The
LookOut Letters
to the Editor |
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To Publish or not to Publish, Transit Gridlock and Policing Pico June 19, 2002 Dear Editor, I applaud The LookOut for having the courage to publish William Bolte's letter ("Call a Spade a Spade," June 18), which stated it was no surprise that Santa Monica's Menorah housing project opened with most of its tenants being Russian Jewish immigrants. Of course you knew that an indignant letter like Michael Cohen's ("Editorial Discretion," June 19) would be fired off immediately in response. Mr. Cohen says that most responsible newspapers have a policy not to publish such "racist" material as Mr. Bolte's letter. It's strange, then, that the parts of Bolte's letter most critical of Jewish people are a restatement of a news article from the Los Angeles Times, presumably a responsible newspaper. The conclusion Bolte draws is fairly obvious to anyone: An organized ethnic group has learned to play the system to fulfill its needs. Research done by LA Times and LookOut reporters substantiates this conclusion. Maybe Bolte's tone was unpleasant, but all you did by publishing his letter was print the truth. In the interest of thoroughness, Mr. Cohen should have also accused the City of Santa Monica--whose officials have declared they don't want to participate in any similar Menorah housing projects -- of anti-Semitism. I thank The LookOut for fulfilling your journalistic responsibility to consider all reasonable viewpoints and not set yourself up as an arbiter of political correctness. Larry Lerner June 19, 2002 Dear Editor, I have to agree with Mr. Cohen about Mr. Bolte. Mr. Bolte's letter is rather offensive. And, or course, having said that, as you know, I would vigorously defend your right to publish whatever you want including anything racist, sexist or otherwise offensive. Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty. Michael S. Klein June 20, 2002 Dear Editor, I can only hope that the new transit district downtown will help those who ride buses and the pedestrians, it certainly isn't helping vehicular traffic! (And, yes, I do ride the buses once in a while.) After I leave work at 7th and California, I generally have two stops, banking at 4th and Wilshire and then the post office on 5th Street. I then try to get home which is near Ocean Park and Lincoln. Since there is only one lane now westward on Santa Monica Boulevard at 5th Street, EVERY time I come to that intersection now, cars trying to "beat the light" on Santa Monica Boulevard block 5th Street, so when the light turns green you can't move! Is there a plan out there to eliminate the blocked intersections? I do not shop downtown Santa Monica anymore. First of all, most of the shops on the Promenade seem to cater to the tourist, and secondly, the traffic is worse than ever with the lanes whittled down to one where there used to be two. As for the parking at Santa Monica Place, ever since Broadway went back to two ways the structure on 4th and Broadway is a horror to enter and exit and the structure on 2nd and Colorado is almost as bad. Did anyone even consider the residents of Santa Monica when all this planning started? Does anyone on city government want the residents of Santa Monica to spend our money here? My Santa Monica shopping now is only the supermarket, and I wish I could support my city more, but I don't see it happening. Lynda Auer June 18, 2002 Dear Editor, There was a paragraph in Frank Gruber's latest opinion piece ("A Question of Priorities," June 17) that I am at odds with: "Our police chief sensibly admits that the police can do little about the violence that plagues the Pico Neighborhood, yet, with crime at historically low levels, the council increases the police budget by more than $5 million in two years." I seriously doubt that our police chief actually said that crime in the Pico Neighborhood could not be stopped (some context as to when Mr. Butts said this would be appreciated). Deploying police officers to the Pico Neighborhood and keeping them there indefinitely would stop the gun violence. There is nothing wrong with giving the police department additional funding, regardless of crime stats (is crime really down?). Public safety affects us all, and the more officers we have patrolling the city, the safer we are. I hope the city council continues its support of public safety and increases the police budget yearly. It can only help. Joe Weichman Santa Monica |
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