They really give back
I was very pleased to see a feature article, with a big color picture, on Whale Tails Tortilla Chips and their creators in this week’s issue of L.J. Village News (“Whale Tails Tortilla Chips makes a splash,” March 15, page B·3). I have been following this company’s progress from their first delicious batch over a year ago. Not only do they make a tasty product, but as you pointed out they donate 10 percent of their profits to ocean and marine conservation. By the way, Terry Kraszewski, she’s the pretty one on the left, is also the owner of “Ocean Girl” here in La Jolla Shores. She was one of the first in San Diego to design, have printed, and sell special Katrina “Tee” shirts, with the proceeds going to the hurricane victims in New Orleans. She and her husband Ric really “give back” to our community.
Charlie Jones, La Jolla Shores

Shoup studies not perfect fit for La Jolla
The parking board’s reliance on Prof. Shoup is clearly misplaced. The premise for the studies he did, and relies on, is that those communities that need revenue to rehab areas in disrepair should raise the needed revenue by eliminating free parking.
Your La Jolla parking mandate does not include raising revenue, as Ms. Marengo has recognized. La Jolla does not need revenue. Therefore, Prof. Shoup’s analysis is not the expert perspective we, you, should be using.
Prof. Shoup’s reliance on the Pasadena and Westwood Village experiences also is not supportive of installing parking meters in La Jolla. In Westwood Village, the reason people drove around looking for parking meters is because the public parking was $2 per hour. That’s expensive in order to run into Burn’s or Warwick’s to pick up a pre-ordered prescription or book. Also, having meters obviously did not work to solve the parking problem. In Pasadena, the parking meters did a great job creating the needed revenue to revive “Old Pasadena.” La Jolla has an “Old La Jolla” but wants to keep it as it is. Prof. Shoup’s articles don’t tell us that Pasadena still has a parking problem, that the meters did not solve that problem as they did not the Westwood Village problem.
What Prof. Shoup’s studies of Pasadena and Westwood Village did show, that is relevant to La Jolla, is that “Customers had difficulty finding places to park because employees took up the most convenient curb spaces, and moved their cars every two hours to avoid citations.”
Finding a way to cause employers to insure that their employees use the available public parking is the task of your committee. Employers do not want meters to accomplish this solution because meters scare off customers and put the expense of parking on their employees. If employees could park free in public parking and would be fined if caught parking on the street, Prof. Shoup’s findings would be solved.
Requiring a sticker on the bumper of each employee would gain their access to the free public parking and cause them not to park on the street.
R. Jay Engel, Barber Tract

Kudos to Kailee for coastal height limit story
I want to thank the Village News sincerely for the article on the 30-foot height limit on the front page (“City Council will consider code amendment,” Feb. 22, page 1). I think the Village News did the community a great service, in the grand tradition of what is best about journalism, by presenting the facts and making people aware. Regardless of the ultimate outcome, I think the paper did an admirable job. No one within the reach of the publication can complain that this did not get any public attention. My compliments to Kailee Bradstreet for a well-written and balanced story.
Geoff Page, Point Loma

A sober assessment of ‘Beach Patrol’
For anyone who does not think there should be an alcohol ban on San Diego beaches, viewing of Court TV’s “Beach Patrol” is a must.
The entire show consists of drunken and alcohol-related incidents that the lifeguards and police officers must deal with while also trying to keep the beaches and bay safe.
While the show does have a sensationalism aspect to it, it highlights just how many incidents there are and how much time they are taken away from other tasks.
Penny Campbell, Pacific Beach

Victory plan in Iraq
President Bush has a clear plan for victory in Iraq that begins with training Iraqi forces so they can defend their country and fight the terrorists. We are making tremendous progress towards this objective.
Earlier this year, Iraqi forces led the fight in clearing out terrorists during the crucial battle of Tal Afar, with U.S. troops in a supporting role, and every day, Iraqis are taking more control of the situation on the ground.
Withdrawing from Iraq, as some Democrats in Washington propose, would send a dangerous signal to our enemies that we cut and run when the going gets tough. President Bush is offering a clear strategy to win, not a political quick fix.
Stephen Drake, San Diego