Backcountry Benefits
I just read your article on the San Diego County Fire Authority and wish you had talked to another agency for a contrasting point of view (“Big Agency Burns Small Volunteers,” “City Lights,” July 23). I am the fire chief for the Intermountain Fire and Rescue Department, and we cover 125 square miles of the backcountry between Ramona, Julian, and Lake Henshaw. We signed the same contract that Shelter Valley did, and my community and my firefighters have benefited greatly because of it. Your story is incomplete.
Cary J. Coleman
via email

Bauder One Of Two
RE: “Bang! Bang! Pay Up,” City Lights, July 23

I always feel much better informed after reading Don Bauder’s investigative reporting and various weekly commentaries. Both he and one of my friends, Mr. Jerry Mazza, associate editor of the Online Journal, who currently resides in NYC, are hands-down two of the most talented and thought-provoking investigative reporters and commentators in the country.
Fred Harden III
via email

Make Food, Not War
On July 2, Naomi Wise reviewed our restaurant, Pasha Mediterranean Cafe and Grill. Although she concentrated on the Turkish dishes, my husband has many wonderful Lebanese dishes on the menu. Her review mentioned the Armenian controversy, which is currently a hot spot in the Turkish and Armenian communities in California. But we are just a small family restaurant, trying to serve great food. We welcome people from both sides of this issue — Armenians and Turks — as well as Lebanese and everyone else!
Tuba Ibrahim
Pasha Mediterranean Cafe and Grill

Dis-Credited
I picked up a copy of the Reader this week to see your article about the Canes fire (“This Is Not a Good Time,” “Blurt” July 25). I was very surprised to see my photo of the band High Tide with no credit given. This is very disappointing. As a photographer, I take pride in my work, and as proud as I am that my photo was used in a San Diego publication as widely distributed as the Reader, I’m saddened that my name is not cited as the photographer.
Mavi Richmond
Mavi Richmond Photography
via email
Editor responds: Due to a misunderstanding, we failed to give credit to Mavi Richmond. We regret the error.

No Gunism
I enjoyed very much your article on unloaded open carry in California (“They Carry Guns,” Cover Story, July 16). It’s very refreshing to see gun owners portrayed in a neutral/positive manner in a newspaper publication. The majority of gun articles I typically see in the media are a stark reminder that bigotry is not necessarily limited to matters of race, gender, or sexual preference. Thanks for breaking the mold.
Kevin
via email

Get Those Redcoats
I recently read Ms. Jurjevics’s article, “They Carry Guns” (Cover Story, July 16), and wanted to praise her and your publication for a rare piece of honest journalism. Many of your compatriots in the media fail to put the amount of research into subjects related to firearms as she has, and it is refreshing to see the right to arms and freedom of press complementing each other instead of competing. If I may make a bold suggestion for a compelling follow-up piece, try sending Ms. Jurjevics to an Appleseed Shoot hosted by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association [www.rwva. org] where she can not only learn to shoot, but to shoot as a marksman as our founding fathers did. Please contact me for more details, and I’d be happy to sponsor her for such an event and if necessary will even provide a loaner rifle.
Brandon Bentrim
via email

God And George Washington
The Reader is thanked and appreciated for the July 16 article “They Carry Guns” (Cover Story). Every adult should be “packing” — felons already are. Hopefully such armed expressions will rapidly expand, imploring elected and unelected bureaucratic Hitlers to cease violating the constitutional contract or be prepared to pay a heavier price later.

Foremost constitutional authority Sir William Blackstone said the ultimate of all rights “was the right of self-defense.” Paraphrasing George Washington, to keep the peace (and liberty) we (the people) must be prepared to wage war and wage it successfully. “[Firearms] are the People’s Liberty’s Teeth.”

We took our basic law from the Ten Commandments — what does a nonpacifist, nonwimp God say about war and personal weapons? “Every purpose is established by council: and with good advice make war” (Proverbs 20:18). “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 24:6). “Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight” (Psalms 144:1). “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Psalms 149:6).

The currant tyrannical administration is fast taking us to a federally policed Marxist state. Patrick Henry said we should be prepared, that tyrants only understand downright brute force. I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said that the soil of patriots is fertilized with the blood of tyrants (paraphrasing).

HR 2159 by Congressman King (R-NY), if passed and signed, would empower the U.S. Attorney General to deny gun ownership to “terrorists” and “appropriately suspected” citizens suspicioned to be “dangerous” with no due process or trail. Former Attorney General Janet Reno, under President Clinton, designated such citizens who strongly endorse school prayer, home schooling, Bill of Rights, private property rights and 2nd Amendment advocates as “terrorists.” In other words, by homeland security’s federal definition, generally speaking, you and I are enemies of the state.
Bill Cody
Vista

Carry On
I want to thank you for printing the article “They Carry Guns” (Cover Story, July 16). It has inspired me to purchase the domain name Escondido-Open-Carry.org, and I will be posting a website soon to continue urging “the People” to use their rights as granted under our Constitution.

I will be using the Reader as one of my contributors of information.
Gerald Reaster
via email

100 Percent Legal
I am happy to have just read the open carry article (“They Carry Guns,” Cover Story, July 16). It is refreshing and reassuring that a news publication actually prints something that is factual and positive about firearms — not to mention something that is 100 percent legal.

Next, I’d recommend that you guys/gals print a story about how the sheriff’s department consistently denies citizens the right to conceal carry permits.
Mike B.
via email

Punch Bunk
I just read Josh’s article (“Something to Smile About,” “Crasher,” July 16) in which he quoted me as saying that Randy Meisner punched Don Henley. Wrong! Randy likes Henley. He punched Glenn Frey. I hate to get on the bad side of all of those guys in one day, so please print a correction.

By the way, I liked the rest of Josh’s article.
Bray Ghiglia
via email

We Dare You
People become upset when they see law-abiding citizens openly carrying unloaded guns (“They Carry Guns,” Cover Story, July 16). I am more upset at the thought of criminals carrying sharpened pencils. When it comes to the matter of carrying a loaded, concealed gun I am sure that the criminals will strictly comply with all laws at all times. After all, that is why they are criminals.

Now then, what comic book do these Second and Fourth Amendment rights come from? Nonsense such as this might inadvertently lead to freedom of speech and the press. I need to crack open a container of good, vintage canned laughter, but I am not sure whether or not I need a permit to do so.

Who would dare sign their name to this?
Name Withheld by Request

Douse The Flames
Cheers to Duncan Shepherd for his dead-on critique of the Brüno flick (“Gay Abandon,” Movie Review, July 16). As a gay man who has had his fill of flaming-queen movies, I thank him for allowing me the opportunity to skip this one. Sacha Baron Cohen’s flamboyant disguise is bad enough for five minutes on late-night talk shows but becomes unendurably tacky for a feature-length movie. His calculated efforts not only make “no excuse for a camera to be present,” but no excuse for an audience being there either.
John Primavera
via email

Good Ink For God
I really appreciated reading Matthew Lickona’s positive article on the Horizon Coast Chapel in Mission Beach (“Sheep and Goats,” July 16). It was a well-written piece, and it was refreshing to see that folks can run a caring, common-sense church despite not being well-received and yet still get a positive write-up in the paper! Sadly, there are too many negative stories about churches in most papers today (some of them deserved, but many of them not, in my opinion). Kudos to Mr. Lickona!
Lara Farrar
via email

Goat Quotes
I like reading “Sheep and Goats” columns by Matthew Lickona. This one (July 16) was especially good with the quotes from the worship leader.
Name Withheld by Request
via email

Furious
This is the second time my name has been misspelled in the sudoku section. I just checked my sent emails, and it was sent correctly each time and then gets published as Joe Funa, instead of the correct spelling, Joe Furia.
Joe Furia
via email

Rose Creek Rehab
Construction of Mission Bay, America’s largest aquatic park, is a 20th-century monument to economic progress at any cost. Bill Manson, author of “Ok, This Is Tuesday, But Where Is Everybody?” (Cover Story, July 2) led readers around the man-made bay that decades past was a thriving estuary-marsh — home to a billion migratory waterfowl, seemingly infinite numbers of shore and wading birds, and nursery to myriad fish species. Then came the reminder about what happens when humans’ desire for creature comforts trumps nature’s creatures: “If you’re a duck or a fish, Mission Bay has been ruined.” Views of environmental activists were poignant, particularly the list of native species that ought to be plentiful in the bay but are conspicuously absent.

Detailing the adverse effects of development and urban encroachment on what was formerly a mecca for fish and wildlife, Mr. Manson might be surprised to learn that Mission Bay’s primary connecting stream, Rose Creek, which he mentions by name only, has a rich ecological heritage. Decades ago, Rose Creek and its coastal canyon were home to nearly all flora and fauna found in the San Diego bioregion, including native steelhead salmon.

Today Rose Creek hosts a nursery for native fish species, such as Pacific mullet and killifish. Its salt marsh and estuary provide forage for herons and egrets, in addition to young halibut and sea bass, among other fish species, valued for commerce and sport. Hundreds of widgeon and small numbers of mallard, bluebill, and merganser ducks find refuge in the creek’s open water every winter. In spring, mallard hens raise ducklings in small pools sequestered by tall rush and cattail. The documented list of avian species sustained by the creek’s varied habitat numbers nearly 200. Only walking distance to SeaWorld’s famous theme park, Rose Creek is testimony to nature’s resilience, when given half a chance.

The creek’s rebound came through a benchmark reclamation project never before attempted. Two civic-minded volunteers with a passion for the natural world drove an effort to remove 100 tons of garbage, acres of nonnative shrubs and trees, and extensive homeless encampments (some of which harbored wanted criminals). That was just the beginning.

In pioneering the revitalization of Rose Creek and providing outdoor experiences for youngsters, California’s first environmental education and ecological restoration charity was born. With private funding and eventually local and state government support, habitat for birds and fish was enhanced using innovative, low-cost techniques and natural materials. Erosion-control revetments and a native garden were installed near the Rose Creek Cottage, in addition to an improved bike path beside the watercourse near Mission Bay High School.

Wetland habitat was constructed atop the barren concrete floor of the flood channel — a first for California’s urban creeks. Native vegetation was restored to lower-reach embankments, along with access trails that encourage local schools to use the area as an outdoor science laboratory. Hands-on programs in water-quality monitoring and conservation biology and an in-class rainbow trout hatchery curriculum reaped national, state, and local awards for environmental education leadership.

In 1996, the vision manifested to make Lower Rose Creek Canyon an educational nature preserve. Years of neglect had allowed the area to become a polluted, weed-choked garbage dump and homeless campground. With city public works crews chafing to bulldoze a thriving wetland in anticipation of predicted winter floods, volunteer conservationists went into action. They clambered over boulder-covered channel embankments and into a head-high labyrinth of overgrown vegetation, household refuse, construction debris, and piles of god-awful garbage. Using only garden-variety tools and hand labor over three days, 650 persons turned ten acres of urban blight into a scenic waterway for the benefit of wildlife and humans.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which channeled the streambed in late 1960, was pleased that a precious wetland was preserved without jeopardizing the channel’s flood capacity. Volunteer work that initially saved the City of San Diego hundreds of thousands of dollars in 1997 ushered in an era of ecologically friendly flood-channel maintenance, water-quality protection, and community-education programs, saving taxpayers millions.

In its decade-plus odyssey to save Rose Creek and protect Mission Bay from contaminated street runoff, the organization succeeded in rousing public sentiment to the plight of San Diego’s coastal treasures. Print and television news coverage of “get down and dirty” work to protect a number of watersheds across the county prompted community leaders and environmental activists to take greater interest in their waterways.

Ambitious politicians poured money into local urban creeks and sloughs, but with little benefit to nature. Many projects took the path of least risk, focusing on planning — redundant studies and administrative services — rather than improvements for wild things. More recently, with public interest in healthful living and conservation of natural resources, environmental-protection tax dollars have found their way into hike and bike paths and reclamation of fish and wildlife habitat.

With the challenges of prolonged economic meltdown and dwindling water supply, community environmental quality will depend on individual volunteer labor. The time is now for selfless, civic service on behalf of all living things. Personally taking a stand for ecological well-being may be the only way to assure breathable air, drinkable water, and fertile soil for future generations of San Diegans.
Robert LaRosa, Ph.D.
Ocean Beach

The Doctor Is Real
I was deeply saddened to read the article regarding Dr. Stephen Doyne (“The American Board of Nonexistence,” “City Lights,” July 2). I have often enjoyed your paper and the articles pertaining to relevant San Diego issues. I cannot understand how you could print such an article with so many untruths. It is as if this angry child-custody litigant was able to say whatever he wanted and you simply printed the lies. I am gravely disappointed in your publication for not checking out the facts and hurting such a highly respected member of our community. Dr. Doyne is most likely the most highly qualified and respected 730 evaluator in San Diego County. His diplomas are real. He has helped thousands in our community who have struggled with divorce-related child-custody issues. He is a qualified, kind, and dedicated man who has been rewarded by our community for his many years of service with a slanderous article with no factual basis. Please do your homework and correct this outrageous mistake. Thank you for your prompt attention.
Lori Love, Ph.D.
via email

You’re All Wrong
Regarding “Fallbrook’s Mine — A Hit or the Pits?” (“City Lights,” June 25).

My family and I lived in Rainbow during the years 1979 through 1981 and in Temecula from the end of 1981 through 1995.

Today, Rainbow has changed little from the ’80s period. Although I-15 runs directly through it, Rainbow has a sewer hookup moratorium at a certain elevation, thereby halting new building.

Fallbrook, one of the prettiest communities in San Diego County, has avoided overbuilding due to geographical distance from the freeway and, to a lesser degree, avocado production.

Then there’s Temecula.

By the mid-’80s, developers smelled blood. Cheaper land prices than Orange or San Diego counties, lax building-code enforcement, lower taxes, and a just recently completed I-15 all combined to complete the grand maiming of southwest Riverside County.

So Dr. Daniel Robbins, Temecula pediatrician, your concern regarding your young patients’ lung capacity might elicit more sympathy from me if I knew you were performing the examinations on green grass. How about it, doctor? Is your office situated on concrete…containing aggregate? How about your 93 colleagues who are opposed to the proposed quarry? Are their buildings built on concrete…containing aggregate? And what of the mothers who, in their Volvo station wagons and SUVs, bring their children to your medical facilities. Are they driving on asphalt or concrete…containing aggregate? The schools? Does the asphalt on the playground contain… Well, you get it.

Where were all you doctors 20 years ago when the metastasis known as “development” was going on?

And to you, Mr. Vince Davis, regarding the quarry: “It won’t be a scar” and “The only way you would know there’s a hole in the ground would be to fly over the area” — well, Vince, you’re partially right. If a surgeon makes an incision two inches from my anus, I won’t be able to see it. But I’ll sure as hell know it’s there.
Jim Harmon
Lakeside