Regarding J.J. Gasparotti’s Feb. 15 column, “Don’t Come Here, You’ll Drown:”
J.J.—Your best column ever, maybe the best column I’ve ever read that sums up the schizophrenia. The slippery slope was built and greased when the city raised bed taxes by 2 percent what, 15 years ago or so? Giving half of the increase (1 percent) to the Visitor’s Bureau in essence gave them over $1 million/year to make this into a year-round destination. We have been monetized. And they’re not being held accountable for how/where/why they spend that money. Our money. Well, there’s good news and bad news: Good news is that they were successful, we’re now over-run continually, visitations have trebled over that funding period. Bad news is the same: We’re now hostages year-round, gridlock more rampant instead of just high season summers and pleasant weather holidays.
Even more brutally abusive, is the pro-development council presently seated, predisposed to exacerbating our woes alleging that we’re fearful of change. Higher, denser, monolithic parking structures, more upscale rooms and restaurants locals can’t afford, and yes, more people crammed into a defined space like sardines: Welcome to Mo-Town!
Roger Bütow, Laguna Beach
More central control is needed, from “progressives” (sic) who of course have all the answers because they have all the intelligence, all the morality, all the caring, all of everything that is anything. Right Roger?