Letters to the Editor

Tidal Flooding

We have known for over a decade of the risks to our community by increase ocean volume and the reality of coastal flooding. The 3rd District is unique in that it is bordered roughly by 45% water.

Today, it is no longer a question of when this will occur, flooding has begun in many locations in the 3rd District.

In January 2022, I reached out to Councilwoman Price with pictures of the hard deck of the rowing center, the sidewalks along the Stadium and Marine Stadium Park awash with tidal water. The Councilwoman referred me to the Public Works Department which sent me a 100-page document with many charts and photo’s however, nowhere in the document was there an actionable plan to address coastal flooding in the 3rd District.

Coastal flooding in the 3rd District should not be left to a 911 response. We have had a decade to create a plan yet there is no actionable plan!

Bulkhead work on Naples Island is only partially complete, while other bulkheads around the bay sit decaying, not even scheduled for repair or replacement. The seawall on Bayshore Drive along the beach is routinely close to being breached at high tide.

Our storm drain system was designed as a gravity flow system which has served us well. However, what happens when we are faced with a serious winter storm and tidal flooding? We are in the same place Louisiana was before Katrina are we going to make the same mistake?

Tidelands funding is due to be depleted in 12 years, heightening the concern over the priorities in Tidal infrastructure enhancement. Will our city be on a solid fiscal foundation when those funds are depleted?

Ken Weiss

*@#%&! Bike Lanes

It puzzles me (or not) that the city partially resurfaced Loynes Drive just to put in a bike lane where there were two sidewalks on the other side of the east direction which would have easily accommodated a bike lane.

Whereas the remaining portion of Loynes to Studebaker is akin to a ride on the Pike! This portion sees multiple accidents due to its condition.

This doesn’t make any sense.

Tim Moore

Who decided a full lane each way should be taken on Spring Street from the freeway to Studebaker? Not only isn’t it used for bikes but there is an access road right next to it from the flood control to Studebaker going west and the park on the east. 

Studebaker also has access roads along most of the bike areas from nearly CSULB to Carson.  Who designs this stuff and why are they wasting our tax dollars on something that won’t be used as extensively as it is for vehicles? This is a total waste of money and space and for what? 

Please find the losers doing these idiot things and put them in straightjackets. Our gas and vehicle taxes pay for the roads, not bikes!

Vance Frederick

Gift to Faculty Union

About ten years ago the LBCC Board of Trustees increased the workweek for full-time faculty from 40 hours to 45 hours, one hour per day for each teacher, excluding part-time faculty. It appears the faculty was complaining that three hours per day of prep time, out of eight hours, was insufficient given all the paperwork, correcting tests, preparing the next day’s lecture, updating curriculum, preparing tests, doing community outreach, etc.

Today that three-hour prep time has increased to four hours, out of nine hours pay. Prep time is now 44% of faculty daily pay and total non-teaching time represents 67% of the nine-hour teaching day.

This ongoing one-hour increase costs taxpayers about $4.7 million per year. That equates to about $13,400 per faculty member and coincidently covers one month of the two months unpaid summers off.

Faculty members belong to a union, and that union can make political donations to board members to gain their favor. It’s called pay to play. However, students and their families have no cash to contribute to board members to gain their favor.

Larry Boland