We want more than nice words
The City Council should revisit its refusal to take a stand on building the big toll road through San Onofre State Park.
Maybe the Council didn’t have enough information when it voted two months ago, maybe the paid lobbyists from Orange County swayed some members, or maybe they didn’t realize that we San Diegans want more than nice words at election time about protecting our environment.
The toll road builders up north can find another route, or learn how to build smarter, with denser communities, instead of the sprawling developments for which Orange County is known. At any rate, the highway through our park is a nonstarter!
Stefanie Sekich
Vice Chair, Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Chapter

For whom the road tolls
I think I know why Councilman Faulconer voted against Surfrider, Sierra Club and Audubon by refusing to vote against the highway through a state park.
The Orange County backers of the toll road hired Faulconer’s former employer, a big public relations company, and the councilman evidently finds it difficult to bite the hand that fed him.
A poll shows that only 18 percent of those polled in San Diego would support a highway through a park, with 74 percent opposed, so it seems that Faulconer is out of step on this one.
Elizabeth Studebaker, San Diego

Further information
In a recent issue, I read Jim Hudnall’s letter regarding early Casa Beach history (maps that showed seals there in 1894 and 1897).
More recently, in the July 27 issue of your newspaper, Mr. Hudnall provided further information (“Education, Not Domestication,” Village News, page 8). I had wondered where the seals were in the ’30s when the wall was built. Here, at least, was a partial answer to my question: “By 1922, hunting of harbor seals along the West Coast had reduced the population to several hundred animals in the entire California coast. Thus La Jollans were not seeing many, if any seals, in 1931 when the seawall was constructed.”
Thanks for printing Jim’s letter which provided further information on the seals at Casa Beach.
Pat Taylor, North Park

Congressman goes along with pay to play
I’m not surprised that the Congress voted to lift the 24-year ban on oil drilling off our coast. After all, it’s been giving its big campaign contributors plenty of favors over the years.
Brian Bilbray’s vote in favor of the offshore oil rigs is a surprise. During his recent campaign, Bilbray didn’t say that he’d vote for coastal oil drilling, and the bill would have passed without his vote.
Bilbray’s district includes La Jolla, Encinitas, and Carlsbad ” communities which won’t fare well with oil rigs off their shores.
It’s unfortunate that our new congressman is already going along with the “pay to play” system which rewards special interests as long as they ante up.
It calls to mind a woman who sought to lobby Congressman Tom DeLay on an education bill. DeLay’s staffer first asked if she had contributed, and even looked up the contribution on his computer.
I’ll bet Bilbray didn’t have to look up the contributions he got from the oil industry and his party’s leadership, which raises plenty from big oil.
Bill Collins, Pacific Beach