Mailbag: There’s a dearth of winter shelters for Orange County’s homeless

For over a decade, I have performed weekly volunteer outreach at the Fullerton Transportation Center in Fullerton — the site of the tragic and fatal police beating of homeless man Kelly Thomas in 2011.

Since the summer, I’ve repeatedly contacted the Fullerton city manager, chief of police, housing manager and various case management organizations, urgently requesting a temporary cold weather homeless shelter. Unfortunately, I’ve only received empty promises and bureaucratic excuses as the city and county pass the responsibility back and forth, leaving vulnerable individuals at risk. The inaction is reckless.

With temperatures in Orange County expected to drop into the 40s this week, the National Weather Service warns that exposure and hypothermia can be fatal in such conditions. If it rains, the risk increases significantly.

It seems Fullerton and other cities in Orange County may be choosing to overlook the suffering of the homeless, opting for the easier route of letting the coroner handle the consequences of their negligence. All the necessary resources are available — the county has the funding, and several approved SB2 zones are ready for temporary shelters. Operators are prepared to manage these shelters, so why is there a delay?

What’s a homeless person’s life or death worth in Orange County?

Leigh White
Costa Mesa

A wish for Newport City Council

Newport Beach’s outgoing mayor is quoted in the Pilot this week as being optimistic about the future of Newport Beach. He relates the city’s symbolically positive response a few years ago to a young girl who had requested that the city install ADA accessible equipment so children with disabilities could enjoy the playground as well as those without disabilities. The city offered the thoughtful solution to that young resident, no doubt making her life and that of other challenged children happier.

There have been many such positive additions to the city in the last several years, usually in the form of construction projects which have continued to add to the beauty of Newport Beach. No doubt the City Council has played a role in the creation of these improvements.

My wish for the Newport Beach City Council would be for it to form an independent panel to oversee the council elections, making sure that candidates abide by a set of rules that would make the elections more democratic instead of a source of embarrassment for many of its citizens.

The panel should be bestowed with the power to enforce election guidelines independent of the mayor’s office. The already-existing rule about posting election signs on public property needs to be better enforced, council candidates’ monetary contributions and expenditures should be closely scrutinized and, perhaps the most important of all, there should be oversight of election fliers, which is crucial because it is the most abused. Such scrutiny would include also the oversight of the use of social media as campaign material.

The Pilot makes some ado about the new council having a majority of women for the first time in the city’s history but goes on to say that the new females elected “campaigned on platforms that aligned with many of their new colleagues positions.” That is not necessarily a good thing. I would think it would go more to the city’s well being if the new members, be they male or female, be as objective as possible. They need to remember their role is to represent their district, not to please their colleagues.

Lynn Lorenz
Newport Beach

Message to H.B. council: Address problems

The newly elected Huntington Beach City Council members now face a critical mandate: fix Huntington Beach. The community demands real action — keep us financially above water, repair crumbling roads and close the city divisions that were created by the past majority.

Genuinely protect our libraries, not just pay lip service.

This is no stage for grandstanding over national issues like the new council members previously conducted before they came into office. This is not a “Face the Nation” show. It’s a council seat with real responsibilities to all Huntington Beach residents.

Campaign slogans like Butch Twining’s “Save Our Library” ring hollow when past statements — like calling libraries “lousy” on August 13, 2024 in a Facebook post. Twining has also been seen vaping during a public meeting. This lack of professionalism and violation of California health laws are very troubling and lacks common sense.

Finally, true leadership needs independent judgment and accountability, not a group think mentality. The community is watching, excuses will not suffice. The choice to lead, and heal this community is now yours.

Andrew Einhorn
Huntington Beach

Next week is the first full meeting of the Huntington Beach City Council with its new 7-0 MAGA majority, and while our electeds may feel bulletproof from local opposition, there is not enough Kevlar in the county to protect them from being gunned down by Sacramento and subjected to lawsuits, penalties, restrictions and other negative impacts in areas like housing, voting rights and environmental issues. You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.

The stakes for Surf City are incredibly high. Michael Gates, our pugnacious elected city attorney, is leading what amounts to a “Charge of the Light Brigade” against overwhelming odds. You don’t need to be a history student to guess how that foolhardy move 170 years ago turned out. All the partisan patronage behind the “Seven Zeroes” will not stand up when the state huffs and puffs and blows our house down.

The best course for the new City Council is to jettison its grievance-filled agenda and concentrate on solving problems, addressing issues and serving the citizenry by listening to all of its residents. That is what representation is all about.

Tim Geddes
Huntington Beach