RHOADES LESS TRAVELED:

It’s a nightly, pre-dinner ritual: I sit on the deck, enjoying a glass of wine or a cigar, while my significant other surfs the net. We converse through a screen door. Sometimes, the cat, who can be loud but hardly loquacious, weighs in.

Wednesday night, the infusion of $17.3 million in federal stimulus money into the dredging of Upper Newport Bay came up.

“See, I don’t agree with that,” she — my significant other, not the cat — said.

“The Upper Bay is a precious natural resource,” I pointed out. “And by most all accounts, and despite the vigorous fundraising efforts of city officials, the bay is turning into a meadow.”

“Stimulus money shouldn’t go to cities that are that rich. They could easily raise that money through the private sector,” she said.

Then she went on about the deficit.

Newport Beach was originally asking for about $13 million, so when news broke of the $17 million, city officials and residents were surprised and ecstatic.

“This is a major milestone for improving the environmental quality of the bay and for our many citizens who appreciate this remarkable resource,” said Newport Beach City Councilwoman Leslie Daigle.

And this from a reader who wrote in: “Trust me, when the grind of human life builds-up, take a short hike or bike in the Upper Back Bay area and you will understand the healing benefits of a healthy environment,” wrote David Worthington, of Costa Mesa.

So what about my significant other’s points? When you’re talking about billions upon billions in spending, the increase in the deficit can’t be denied, let alone offset.

My instinct tells me that Obama’s plan is to jump-start the economy and deal with the deficit later, perhaps in a second term.

I don’t believe his claims that he can jump-start the economy by doling out money by the bagful and reduce the deficit.

I should note that I find it amusing that Republicans who said nary a word about deficits in the Reagan and younger Bush’s terms — and they soared to record highs in both — are suddenly concerned about, you guessed it, deficits.

As far as private funding goes, I didn’t have an answer. It seems to me that you’ve got enough deep pockets in Newport Beach that with a concerted, well-organized effort, you could raise $13 million to save the bay.

I mean, Jack Croul gave about $700,000 to Measure B, which called for a new city hall.

And years ago I remember parents raising $1 million for infrastructural needs at Andersen Elementary School.

Wouldn’t residents — attention outdoors types and boaters — pony up to save the city’s most esteemed natural resource?

Maybe, maybe not.

In my experience, rich folk can be very generous but also maddeningly frugal, depending on the situation.

So, in plain, political terms, you take it where you can get it.

And Newport Beach got it in a big way from the feds.

Editor BRADY RHOADES may be reached at [email protected] or at (714) 966-4607.