A tribute to Harry Rudolph Jr. Harry Rudolph Jr. left this earth but not our hearts on May 22 of this year. The Coffee Shop he and his wife, Cathy, founded in 1960 remains a landmark in downtown La Jolla and is carried on by sons Harry III and John, along with daughter Liz. At Harry’s two-hour funeral Mass, an overflow gathering of family and friends heard Father Rafferty say, “This is the closest to a state funeral that La Jolla has ever seen.” Harry III, John and Liz paid a touching tribute to their devoted dad. Harry Jr. opened his shop early every morning, later circulated among his customers, greeting each with a warm handshake. At the rear of the restaurant the King held his court, listening to those who asked for advice. He emphasized learning how to talk to people. I have been blessed to have had Harry as a good friend these past 25 years. I was overwhelmed when Liz gave me a tight hug and said, “Thanks, Elliot, for being a member of our family.” Harry can never be replaced. I will miss him always. Elliot Schubert, San Diego La Jolla Boulevard roundabout hazards — This letter was originally sent to the city. Yesterday I drove westbound on Camino de la Costa from La Jolla Hermosa and stopped when I reached the roundabout at La Jolla Boulevard (at Camino). I could not see cars to my left driving northbound on La Jolla Boulevard due to all the foliage and shrubbery totally blocking my view. Northbound cars did not slow one bit entering the roundabout, making for a very dangerous situation. That foliage must be trimmed so that one can see vehicles before they enter the roundabout. Shrubbery and foliage elsewhere at the roundabouts should be monitored. Although I have not taken inventory of the areas needing trimming, I’m sure there are some. It should not be my responsibility to do this. I call upon you to take the steps necessary to monitor, and when necessary, trim the shrubbery at the roundabouts on La Jolla Boulevard to prevent accidents and injuries. Marty Bloom, La Jolla Preserve Squid Beach I was appalled, simply appalled, to read the July 16 cover page’s picture “Kids & Squids” caption. That the “Save the Squids” advocates have allowed human children to harass 30 wild squid by herding them forcibly from Squid Beach back into the ocean cannot go without comment. With miles of other shoreline where human children can play, the citizens of La Jolla must unite to preserve the squids’ right to peaceful basking on Squid Beach. The fact that the human parents have now given up calamari (yuck, squid) is not enough. What will the hordes of tourist who come, let’s say from Kansas to La Jolla, specifically to see the squids, do if the squids are forced to seek refuge elsewhere? What will the local merchants do? This grave threat to the educational (just ask the kids) and economic well-being of our burg, which up to now has survived in this economy solely due to the squids, must be met head on with petitions a-blazing and lawsuits a-popping. Unite! Dan Linn, La Jolla Seals will leave when people return Yesterday was one of those glorious San Diego Sundays, so I went for a bike ride around La Jolla. At the Children’s Pool, people crowded the beach, swam in the water and kids built castles in the sand (with seal feces gargoyles?). There were no seals on the beach, but there were some offshore on Seal Rock where they have historically roosted. Today we learned that a judge has ordered the city to clear the beach of seals, which may necessitate someone patrolling with a bullhorn emitting barking dogs, at a cost of $700,000 plus police protection! I’ve also seen estimates in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for sand dredging. Unless we hear of some of those folks yesterday coming down with horrible diseases, it would seem to me the issue is already resolved. Simply by allowing swimmers on the beach, the seals dispersed. Problem solved. No bullhorns, no dredging. Now can we get on to something important? Douglas Miller, La Jolla Seal deliverance Has this city lost its mind? (Can’t lose what ya don’t have.) First no drinking at the beaches and parks, then fire ring removal, and now a plan to spend $700,000 to blast barking dog sounds on a beach in hopes it will drive off the seals? No wonder La Jolla wants to regain autonomy. $700,000, cross your fingers, hope it works. And who cares about the neighborhood being pummeled with the offensive noise? Jeez, real dogs would be cheaper and probably more effective. Surely Indian dancers would work just as well too, and be entertaining all at the same time. Or live music of any sort, for that matter. Sure beats hideous dog barking sounds. Pardon me for rolling on the floor laughing. What a hilarious spectacle for tourists and locals alike: PA systems blasting dog sounds. What a story about us dopey, wacky Americans to take back home. At least make it fun and insert the tune “Who Let The Dogs Out.” Don’t the seals themselves make barking sounds?  And how long is this dubious plan supposed to be effective? If it works at all, it will do its job on the day of the bark broadcasting, and that’s pretty much it, I would surmise. $700,000, smoked in a flash. Then what? Will the lifeguards pull out the PA system speakers every morning and fire up the barking, or will a permanent system be installed? Will the beachgoers enjoy the sonic assault of the barking sounds throughout the day? How about this instead: Save a ton of money and do as the professional fishermen do and use seal control bombs. And to further their effectiveness and longevity, hand out several to the beachgoers each day. What a blast! Pun intended. How about an underwater fence to ensure the seals don’t return? That could actually work. Not long ago, I said “Screw the seals,” I wanna go snorkeling. However, since then, reality has sunk in. The humans have clearly made a mistake and created a nice, cushy spot for the seals to hang out and have pups. The sea is their home, and always was. It’s high time we cut our losses and leave nature alone. Some things, like nature, we cannot control, and it is futile to try. (insert serenity prayer.) There’s not enough parking over there anyway. And who doesn’t enjoy eyeballing all the slimy seals from the sea wall? It’s an attraction and rare spectacle in and of itself.  Ben Harness, Point Loma