Just finished reading an article describing Mayor Bob Whalen’s state of the city speech this past week, basically emphasizing that more civility is necessary in order to deal with all the current dilemmas facing our city, along with quite a few other articles and letters stating the same sentiment. Then, to top it, further in the Indy appeared two separate full-page advertisements condemning the Village Laguna organization and calling for a boycott of the Charm House tour, both apparently being supported by the Liberate Laguna political group.
Being a now somewhat rare fourth generation family from Laguna, I have become somewhat dismayed over the obvious polarization of our city. What Laguna Beach needs to be liberated from is the plethora of gridlock from traffic and tourists (not to mention the homeless situation) which has changed the total dynamics of our living environment.
We should all be working together on how to deal with the current situation, which is only going to get worse with the unrestricted growth and development throughout all of South Orange County. Why don’t we all come together to try and make the current situation (which I think is approaching the intolerable) better for us locals?
Mark Judy, Laguna Beach
Mark, come to our Residents Alliance meeting on may 18th at 10:00 a,m, at wells fargo bank upstairs, we are having discussions on what we can do regarding transient criminals /homeless…Learned a lot!
The solution to LB traffic gridlock lay before our community for the past twelve years yet City Council and the developers deny this solution. On the homeless issue our community has a new voice. Do come to the meeting.
Yes, too many of those who are in charge enjoy that power at your expense…
What seems to be happening, and happening for some time, with our local politics, is in fact what has been happening for a long time with our national politics. And on both playing fields it seems things are at last being exposed.
The ruling elites are now and have always been opposed to a government by the people, for the people. And the people are becoming restless and angry.
The ruling elites would love nothing more than to see us turn on each other, rather than to band together and petition the “leaders” with our grievances.
Why else would the Toni Iseman crowd hold a “by invitation only” summit to discuss conservation and exclude the minority political party? And was that summit really about what it was about – or was it a big show to throw as much support behind Bob Whalen and Toni Iseman?
Conservatives and Liberals and all other reasonable people within that spectrum wish for and are demanding the same thing. We demand that those whom we elect reflect and fight for our interests, above their own or the shady figures who back them.
We share a common enemy and that enemy is coming at us from within, pretending to be one of us. But they are in fact a far cry from that. They will always look out for their own and do so at our expense.
The majority of the residents of Laguna Beach are good, kind and reasonable people. But the same cannot be said for many members of our elected governing body. And perhaps even more distressing are those nameless and faceless figures who operate from within un-elected governing bodies.
The marco and the micro are nearly one in the same. Our community is in many ways a microcosm of America, at this point in history. And maybe it is indeed true that all politics is local. Therefore we must band together locally and force certain robber barons who claim to be our voice in government to be loyal to the will of the people, or else be replaced.
The time for a shake up is long past due. As Republicans and Democrats and Independents, we should be looking for ways to build bridges – without the arrogant “adult supervision” of those who see us only as their useful idiots.
The money that is wasted is your money. The resources mis-managed are your resources. And the future squandered is your future and the future of your children and grandchildren.
The time has come to find the courage and the will to call our enemies by their name – and then to replace their names with those who truly represent us – all of us.