Scripps Park’s serious problems need attention
Reminders of Village history are precious few in La Jolla. When I am out of the country for even three weeks, I return to find a favorite shop missing or an interesting old property scraped for something bulkier.
As a neighbor and admirer of Scripps Park for 40 years, I question the wisdom of moving the La Jolla Bridge and Shuffleboard Club (I enjoy its original name) to the other side of Scripps Park.
1. Given the critical financial needs of La Jolla and San Diego, it seems absurd to allocate $250,000 to drag a 1930s building uphill, where it would be in someone else’s view, or to tear down the existing clubhouse and rebuild another on a new site.
2. In my opinion, it does not “block the view” as proponents of a new Scripps Park Plan suggest, but is a charming part of the view. From the veranda of the Brockton Villa (one of the few surviving frame cottages and now a pleasant eatery), the roofline of the Clubhouse carries on the theme. From the roof of George’s at the Cove, the clubhouse, its protective hedges and gnarled trees, enhance the crinkled coastline, the sea and sunset. Ocean views should be surprising and Scripps Park offers views from every angle.
For the Scripps Park plan to focus on serious problems of erosion and storm drains that dump pollution into the sea would seem a wiser focus of funds and energy.
P.S. If beauty and views at Scripps Park are primary concerns, I would rather see someone of clout and authority rebuild the two authentic cottages facing the Cove (the now derelict Red Roost and Red Rest) or give them a decent burial. The rotting structures, flyaway tarp roofs, overgrown, barricaded fences and Keep Out signs are hardly the warmest of ‘Welcome to La Jolla Cove’ images.
Judith Morgan, La Jolla

North Island is under-utilized
“Use it or lose it” seemed to be the criterion for the recent closing of military bases across the country. With that in mind, it is difficult to see how the Navy’s North Island facility was able to escape closure given the small amount of runway activity there.
Perhaps members of the latest airport authority should take some time off and spend it on Shelter Island and talk to those who bring their motor homes and campers for the day and wonder, as I do, about the lack of activity on the runways on North island. On most days, a handful of take-offs and landings seem to be the norm.
For the panoramic view of the Navy’s facility on North Island, authority members might stop by the Cabrillo National Monument atop Point Loma and gaze down upon the vast, sprawling wasteland of under-utilized runways.
At the same time, one can look across the bay to Lindbergh Field where a combined daily total of airplane arrivals and departures reaches approximately 600 flights using a single runway, with 48,000 passengers per day arriving in San Diego, according to the airport’s PR department.
Things have changed a tad since I arrived here in 1925.
As detailed in recent letters to the editor, San Diego has never denied the Navy anything it asked for. Perhaps San Diego may share some of the blame for the adamant stance now taken by the Navy, for in the act of acquiescing to the Navy’s wants, the city has conditioned the Navy for “receiving,” as opposed to “giving” or even “sharing.” This might account for the quick, off-the-cuff “no” when the authority spoke of sharing. Could this be a sort of “I’m on board, pull up the ladder?”
However, the airport authority should not be lobbying (excuse the expression) for a share of North Island, given the lack of runway use there. Rather, North Island should become the sole, exclusive site for San Diego’s new civilian, international airport. The Navy’s new airport should be 20 minutes away by air and east of the Laguna Mountains. A portion of the island could be retained by the Navy for servicing aircraft carriers and helicopters, which do not use the runways.
In appreciation for the support of the Secretary of the Navy in this endeavor, his name could be emblazoned over the main entrance to the airport terminal.
Charles Plummer, Point Loma

Let’s get SeaWorld to be ‘good neighbor’
An Associated Press item printed in the San Diego Union-Tribune July 8, 2004, stated that Disneyland in Anaheim is using pressurized air to launch their fireworks.
Disneyland stated that they switched from using explosive powder to pressurized air to reduce the noise of the explosions, the smoke and the hazards to safety. Disney said they wanted to be “good neighbors.”
SeaWorld’s nightly fireworks season is about to begin. Again, this year, so far, they have been launching their fireworks using explosive powder, the concussions of which resemble a war zone.
If enough of us contact Mike Cross, an executive vice-president for SeaWorld, we may be able to convince him that SeaWorld could also become a “good neighbor” by converting to pressurized air to launch their fireworks.
Contact him at 500 SeaWorld Drive.
Karl A. Korhum, Ocean Beach