MAILBAG - Aug. 16, 2006

New restaurant’s makes this reader kind of blue

I was upset to read that Blue Coral will be yet another upscale seafood restaurant — how many do we need? I miss the Hard Rock Cafe. There are not many places (Mimi’s Cafe, Bluewater Grill, etc.) where one can take a family and have family prices and good quality food and service.

We do not need another upscale restaurant. That location would have been perfect for a Red Robin (not hidden away in the center) or an affordable chain place. Do Mastro’s Steak House, 21 Ocean Front Restaurant, and Eddie V’s Wildfish, fill to capacity each night?

This is very disappointing. I have lived here for 35 years, and Fashion Island used to be family friendly.

Sandra Basmaciyan

Corona del Mar

Mayor Mansoor is a brave and honest man

I’m disappointed by the recent letters regarding Mayor Allan Mansoor’s comments after the horrific drive-by shooting in your city.

I have met Mansoor and find him to be a brave and honest man. As a sheriff’s deputy, he has seen much more of the effects of illegal immigration, gangs, and crime than those who type out uninformed letters to the editor will ever know.

Mansoor is telling the truth. No matter how much Return to Sender (Reason) wishes to disparage what the mayor is trying to do for the residents of Costa Mesa, the truth is that illegal immigration brings negative elements to the community; overcrowded housing and schools, bursting emergency rooms, illegal building conversions, and people spilling into the streets and back alleys. All of these make for a disaster ready to happen.

I laugh each time I hear of Steve Dzida calling for a “group hug” to solve these problems.

EILEEN GARCIA

Laguna Beach

Costa Mesa is lucky to have Mansoor

Mansoor, a real patriot.

After reading many letters in the paper from the bleeding-heart liberals, supporters of illegal immigration, and Mayor Allan Mansoor’s political opponents it is obvious they are desperate for anything they can conjure up against the mayor.

Costa Mesa is lucky to have a brave, experienced and patriotic mayor in Mansoor. I just wish he were on the City Council in Laguna Beach. Patriots in Costa Mesa should speak up loud and clear to support their mayor.

DAVE CONNELL

Laguna Beach

Let our elected officials make the decisions

It is very simple. As a retired homeowner in Newport Beach, Greenlight I and II both have as a stated objective to raise city revenues by creating an environment for increased home assessments. That means getting more money from me.

Obviously not what I want.

Let our elected officials make the decisions. The electorate is far too financially inefficient to handle these decisions.

Again, they want into my pockets.

Dennis Halloran

Newport Beach

Return to Reason is a diverse group

This morning I was shocked by the July 31 letter to the editor “Nothing reasonable about this group” that accused Return to Reason of being nothing but a front for a bunch of Newport Beach industrialists, and other outlanders, who just want to meddle in Costa Mesa politics.

Return to Reason is a diverse group of people, young and old, Republican and Democrat, entrepreneurs and blue-collar workers, professionals and public servants, who have one thing in common — their love for the city of Costa Mesa. They have come together to rally the great mainstream of Costa Mesans to get our city back on track. Return to Reason wants our City Council to focus on issues of local importance within the purview of city government, such as parks, roads, senior services, adult and youth recreation, public safety, business development and tourism.

Our goal is to elect two new council members in November who will bring us thoughtful, deliberative leadership based on building consensus to serve our whole community, not just a radical fringe. That is the kind of leadership we had when Mary Hornbuckle and Joe Erickson (Return to Reason supporters) served as mayors

To date, the vast majority of Return to Reason supporters live in Costa Mesa. While it is true that some of our supporters do not live in Costa Mesa, all of them have good reasons for supporting Return to Reason, and many of them have deep roots here. Examples include: My mother, Kathy Blank, who made her home in Costa Mesa for 35 years and was a longtime teacher in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District; Dave Snowden, now living in Newport Beach but previously the chief of police for our fair city for more than a decade; Chris Sarris, a business owner who served as the commissioner of AYSO Region 120 for many years and also served on the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission; Barbara Van Holt, a non-Costa Mesa resident who put the Estancia High School drama program on the map, and for whom the theater at that school is named; Paula Tomei, an Estancia High School graduate who is the managing director of one of the most well-respected and well-known arts organizations in the country, which just happens to have a four-decades long history in Costa Mesa; Karen and Fran Ursini who own Newport Rib Company and contribute generously to our city’s youth sports and charitable causes. Industrialists? Outlanders? Perhaps, but all of these people have deep roots in Costa Mesa and care enough about our city to pitch in to help make it a better place for all of us. That’s what Return to Reason is all about.

Would you rather join them and Return to Reason in their efforts to get Costa Mesa back to basics, or the Minuteman Project radicals from outside Costa Mesa who are funding Mayor Allan Mansoor’s reelection campaign? I guess we’ll find out in November.

CHRIS BLANK

Costa Mesa

Working the crowd at Paul Simon concert

I was interested to read Steve Smith’s story of Aug. 2 “Don’t lose your point of view,” as I also attended the Paul Simon concert. The bad behavior that upset me came, however, not from the audience, but from the security staff.

About 10 feet from my seat, on the outside of Section 1, was a gated area in which two to six security people milled around throughout the show, talking loudly. During “Graceland,” I went over, and asked them politely to quiet down, as I could hear them over the music. “We’re WORKING,” one replied, shaking his credentials at me, “You got a PROBLEM with that?”

I should point out that this same gentleman was drinking beer throughout the concert. I thought giving booze to the security staff went out with Altamont. (OK, I’m dating myself!)

Kudos to Mr. Smith for his actions and article. No kudos to Pacific Amphitheater for their staff selection and training.

Steve Dulson

Costa Mesa