MAILBAG - March 25, 2007

Hoping for a fairy tale ending for teachersOnce upon a time in the Land of Milk and Honey, there was a Bored of Education. This “bored” had seven little members who were very nice but didn’t understand what was going on in the Land of Milk and Honey.

In this great land, the workers were the best in the world. They worked hard and long to educate the children. They worked through thick and thin, through thin and thick, through something called bankruptcies, through theft, and other big mistakes.

In this Land of Milk and Honey, the workers were happy because they worked in the best place on earth. At least that’s what they thought, but because of all the mistakes, they didn’t have much money.

The “bored” solved the problem for the workers by promising them that they would be “attaining and maintaining teacher salaries between the mean and 75th percentile when compared to salaries of teachers in other unified school districts in Orange County.”

This promise was made to the very hard workers seven years ago and sadly never came to pass. Then the workers found out that they were at the very bottom of the districts in Orange County!

And now the Bored of Education said to the workers that they would “negotiate” their salary with them (and some other things).

“Not acceptable!” said the workers. “You have shamed us and not told us the truth. You must give us what you promised now!” The workers felt sad that the “bored” didn’t like them enough to say to them, “You have worked hard and long, and we are sorry that we didn’t notice your very hard work and try harder to fulfill our promise to you.”

So this wonderful Board of Education said, “We will not bother to negotiate your salary; we will give you the money that we owe you right now!” And they did!

This, of course, is a fairy tale, but sometimes fairy tales come true.

SANDY ASPER

Newport Beach

Thanks to legislators for Back Bay fundsI am very pleased that the Upper Newport Bay dredging project will receive another $5 million in assistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, thanks to the help of U.S. Reps. John Campbell and Ed Royce (“Congress allots $5 million for Back Bay work,” March 22). Their continued commitment to Upper Newport Bay is greatly appreciated. I would be remiss in not thanking U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her help securing the original authorization for the project. The $5 million will match $13.5 million in state and local dollars set aside for the ongoing project.

The Upper Newport Bay dredging project is designed to preserve the viability of the diverse ecology of the bay, a resource of regional significance. Not only will the habitat be enhanced and species protected, but the project will improve water quality and preserve our navigation channels for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike. We look forward to the completion of this important project.

LESLIE DAIGLE

Newport Beach

LINDA BEACH

Newport Beach

City hall on park lot just makes senseI just want to give kudos to Tom Johnson for his fabulous column, (“Conflicted in Debra Allen Park,” Fair Game, March 23). The one thing he left out was that it also makes sense to have city hall adjacent to the library where we could have a civic center.

WENDY BROOKS

Newport Beach

Cheers to columnist Steve SmithHurray for Steve Smith’s column, (“Political flub, leadership flaw,” On the Town, March 14). He says a lot of things that people are afraid to say.

SHARON CROM

Costa Mesa

City hall belongs in de facto downtownI just wanted to thank Publisher Tom Johnson for his column, (“Conflicted in Debra Allen Park,” Fair Game, March 23). I wish it had “city hall” in the headline so more people would read it. While Newport Beach is a collection of villages with their own names and ZIP Codes — like Lido, Balboa Island, Balboa, Corona del Mar, Newport Coast, Fashion Island and Newport Center — the surrounding area has become our de facto downtown. So let’s put our city hall there — at Debra Allen Park — and who knew that was the name of the park? Let’s put it there right in the middle of the city for easy access to all.