Letters to the Editor

Wallet Stuffing

It’s fantastic that Steve Downing has politically interesting incidents in the Beachcomber.  It’s unfortunate that this city has been and continues to be a corrupt hole that citizens pour tax revenue into that doesn’t help us but helps many leaders and their friends to live more profitable lives.

My father worked for Douglas Aircraft and we still have a home right under what is now the daily onslaught of commercial airliners from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The story behind this is the city told employees of Douglas the new runway was for Douglas’ new jetliners only and wouldn’t involve commercial flights. Lies.

As soon as it was done the FAA came in and showed the obvious that was always there. We’re going to use this for commercial flights, which will pay great dividends to the politicians and their friends who invested in this venture for their own gain.

This kind of wallet stuffing has always been here and anyone who doesn’t think so needs only look at the difference between the streets we drive on and those in the downtown area that is remodeled every few years to help those in leadership and their friends.

I remember working on Battlestar Galactica back in the late ‘70s when downtown Long Beach was new and used as the Modern Marvel of Caprica. It has been destroyed and rebuilt with the money that should have been put into the construction of the area in the first place. Waste and wallet stuffing.\

I hope and pray Downing and others can change things but after everyone voting to keep the water revenue going into the city budget, I doubt that will occur either. I would really have liked to have seen those ballots.

Vance Frederick

Iron Curtain Admin

Downing’s [July 30, COVID-19 Mandate] column rang a very loud bell in my head. Remember in the not so distant past when our newspapers and TV news reported nonsensical stories from behind the Iron Curtain and South American tyrant-run countries such as, “Health Minister Says Weather is Cause of Heat Wave.”

We laughed at the child-like stupidity of these governments – repeatedly stating the obvious while taking no meaningful action.

Well, this style of government has arrived here. Meaningless and intelligence-insulting actions have become the choice of this administration while answering no citizen’s questions and ignoring all critics. The Iron Curtain fell when its citizens had enough. Have you had enough?

Joe Viola

After listening to an interview with Mitch Geserich at KPFK with Sarah Schulman – author, professor and investigative reporter for ACT-UP 1987-’93, I am appalled at the machinations of government and its arbitrary/selective uses of their own laws and taxes that apply to the general citizenry, but are exempt to select few politically connected individuals.

No mas, por favor. Free us all!

Anthony Briganti

Budget a Scam

City Hall is at it again, putting out a deviously calculated and skewed budget survey, suckering the public into believing they have no other choice but to rob citizens of core services.

The Long Beach mayor and City Council should be ashamed of this budget questionnaire on the city’s website. It is one of the most manipulative documents I have witnessed.

Rather than addressing the real problems of the budget, frivolous and unnecessary spending, it targets our core services of police, fire, libraries, parks and programs for seniors, children and the homeless. It focuses on how to balance the budget on their reduction or elimination.

Of course, no mention is made of the $9 million beach concession stand, or the $100 million Belmont pool or the $3+ million artificial turf soccer field plus $3+ million in ongoing maintenance, the street intersection round-a-bouts, the fancy  million dollar-plus big screen media screen at City Hall, illegally using taxpayer dollars to campaign for self-serving ballot proposals and the list goes on and on.

Citizens must stop allowing City Hall to waste their hard-earned tax dollars. We must contact these politicians by phone, letters, emails or in person at meetings. We must fight it at the ballot box by voting out these scam artists.

No one else is to blame if you wake up one day find your taxes have skyrocketed beyond control. Your silence is nothing but tacit approval.

Diana Lejins