Half His Drive

I just finished your cover story about Theo Tucker. If someone in America’s Finest City doesn’t grab this promising young man and offer him a full-time position at a living wage, you are crazy stupid!

I wish my daughter’s boyfriend had half his drive! Hell, I wish I had half his drive! In a world where people use their crappy upbringing as an excuse to behave badly, here is a guy who has chosen to rise above it and become a decent person anyway. How many of us can say the same?

I wish I had something to give other than my voice, but I am in no position to help him. I can be his cheerleader though. I know the Reader has a large following and there is someone out there who can help.

Please look into your hart and know what you are doing is helping someone to help themselves. It is good karma and will come back to you a hundredfold.

• Kathryn Stevens
• North Park

Cattle Prods, Firecrackers, and Attack Dogs

Concerning “La Jolla Cove Is Becoming a Sea Lion Cesspool,” I think this has gotten out of hand. I would make two suggestions.

First, get ahold of our congressional representatives and state senators to revise this idiotic Marine Mammal Protection Act so it will allow dealing with marine mammals that have become dangerous nuisances.

Second, after you’ve done that, go down to the beach with some cattle prods which are used to in the stockyards to handle steers with electric shocks in the butt to move them along, and use them against the aggressive sea lions to get them off the beach and into the water.

Third, get some aggressive guard dogs and put them down there with a couple of watchmen on the beach, all day and all night. Then maybe the seals and sea lions will finally get the hint and move away to the Channel Islands, or some offshore Mexican islands.

This is ridiculous. I think people are a lot more important than a bunch of stinky seals and sea lions. It’s gotten out of hand and it’s about time that people do something about it. And I’m not talking about the stupid old ladies, the seal and sea lion huggers. Those people are ridiculous.

So, #1) Get the law changed. #2) Get some guard dogs and run them off. #3) Cattle prods.

The other thing you could do is use firecrackers. Oh, that would work! There are very loud firecrackers that are sold just for uses like this to drive off different useless animals. You can buy them mail order out of a catalog.

Cattle prods, firecrackers, and attack dogs. There’s your solution. Get those damn things off the beach and into the water. Tell them to move on!

I don’t have anything against seals and sea lions, but human beings are more important than pinnipeds — around here, at least. If you read the Bible, in Genesis it says that God gave mankind dominion over the animals. If that’s the case, then let’s do something to kick them off the rocks.

• Name Withheld
• via voicemail

Hollywood Calling

I live in Hollywood, California, and we’re down here filming in San Diego. Every time we’re in San Diego County, we love to get the Reader.

I loved the article on the organic stuff. I became a vegetarian 24 years ago next month, and I’m only 53. I’m originally from Acapulco, Mexico.

A lot of people in the entertainment business read the Reader. We wanted to make sure you knew that.

I’m going to have to keep this issue as a collector’s item because of how it says 2013 instead of 2014. I appreciate you guys. Have a happy new year.

• Manny Aguilar
• Hollywood

Bring Back Bush

I’ve missed the reviews that Robert Bush writes. Beyond enjoying his depth and range as a writer, his columns are an important service to music lovers throughout San Diego. We need this cohesive bond between listeners and musicians now, more than ever.

• Joe Garrison
• City Heights

Nothing New

I’m calling about a News Ticker item in the last issue (January 23) called “Chums Forever: Jan Goldsmith and U-T San Diego.”

Well, there is nothing new in this town. They are like two peas in the same pod. One controls the beautiful people from a dying newspaper. The other controls the bureaucracy of the city.

• Name Withheld
• via voicemail

Alternate Habitat

I think the solution before getting the sea lions to move is to have a place for them to move to.

In my observations of the sea lions in San Francisco I noticed that they would occupy the ends of empty slips of marinas around the bay. What if the city were to create an alternate habitat off the shore for the sea lions that they could then mark as their territory?

I think the habitat should be a floating mass, anchored to the ocean floor. It should be large enough to support the current number of sea lions currently in the cove. Once set in place, block access to the areas the seals are currently occupying. This would also help deter visitors from feeding them.

The city should probably coordinate this idea with experts in sea lion behavior in territory marking.

Regarding the barking, if the habitat were a significant distance from the cove, the barking would be nothing more than light background sound.

• Joe Covino
• City Heights

Lincoln Snub

Please run another story about the Lincoln Club. They are slanting their ads and misleading the public about David Alvarez (as if he were a reverse snob) and Kevin Faulconer (as if he were an independent). I don’t think people have sufficient info about the Lincoln Club and their interests.

• Name Withheld
• via email

Suggestions from Seattle

Coming from out of state, we were interested in the sea lions at La Jolla and how to rid the rocks and beach of them. The stink is awful, so we stopped taking guests there to eat or shop.

Here are some suggestions for the merchants and/or the City of San Diego to try. Some of these are proven remedies and some are just suggestions: use non-lethal electrical impulses of direct current (works in Anacortes, Washington to keep the seals off the piers); drop cherry bombs into the sea about 20 feet out; use whistles, at a pitch that they can hear, but we can’t (like dog whistles); cover cliffs with barbed wire or something slippery, but biodegradable; capture and relocate one half of the herd; use drones to drop some sort of pellets that bother them (if drones can deliver pizza, why not confetti?); feed the females food with birth control in it; and the person that suggested pressure washing the rocks with fire boats hoses is a good idea (make sure they do it every other day until the sea lions find a new home).

Love your publication.

• Phil and Sue Kienast
• Seattle, Washington

Entitled to Live in UH

I’m writing in response to your article regarding the University Heights neighborhood boundaries.

I am one of the people who asked the UHCDC to support a resolution to correct the boundary error that was written into the 1986 North Park Community Plan.

This boundary error was included in the 1986 North Park Community Plan as a result of a meeting of the UHCA board members and then-Councilperson Gloria McColl. They met on June 2, 1984 to discuss reducing the borders of University Heights. Specifically, they met to discuss “the community plan as it affects the area bounded by El Cajon Boulevard on the south, Mission Valley in the north, Park Boulevard in the west, and 805 in the east” (quote from the UHCA’s Newsletter dated May 1984).

The idea to divide and reduce the borders of University Heights was spearheaded by the UHCA’s board member, Chris Huddy, along with the other board members, including Judy D. Abercrombie.

Consequently, only a few months after that meeting, University Heights street signs were strategically placed at Texas Street by the City, thus dividing our neighborhood in half.

Then, in 1986, the North Park Community Plan was published, and the new UHCA’s recommended “reduced” borders that split University Heights at Texas Street were listed in the Community Plan. This was done in error and without proper notice or input from those affected.

No one on the east side of Texas Street was ever informed that these new boundaries had been discussed and decided upon. Indeed, our entire area was removed from having the UH neighborhood designation because of the actions of only a few people. No person or any group should be able to throw 16,000 people out of their neighborhood.

We now have the opportunity to correct this error.The North Park Community Plan is being updated, and we want this boundary error corrected. We want the UH traditional boundaries, from 163 to I-805, to be listed officially in the Community Plan. These have been the UH boundaries since 1888 and I asked the UHCDC to create a resolution to ask the Planning Department and the Mayor to recognize the true boundaries of University Heights.

The resolution was approved unanimously by the entire UHCDC board and unanimously supported by the North Park Planning Committee. I started the We Are University Heights online petition (weareuniversityheights.weebly.com). We are also talking to our neighbors and collecting signatures door-to-door. We currently have several hundred signatures of people in the neighborhood who believe that they live in University Heights and would like to have this noted correctly in the new North Park Community Plan.

While our resolution is being attacked by UHCA because they’d like this boundary error to remain, I want to note that when it comes to doing business, members of the UHCA’s board believe the east side of Texas Street is in fact University Heights.

For example, UHCA’s president, Bernie Horan, is also owner of Twiggs Café on Adams Avenue (east of Texas Street). His business’s website states that his business is “technically located in University Heights.” Moreover, Mary Anne Stevens, a realtor and secretary of UHCA, advertises that she’s recently sold thirteen condos in the University Heights neighborhood. Her advertisement sent by U.S. Mail states that all 13 of these condos are located east of Texas Street and are located in University Heights. These actions confirm that Mary Ann Stevens and Bernie Horan actually believe that the east side of Texas Street is in fact part of University Heights, no matter what they say as officers of UHCA.

Also, I’d like to note that the following people also believe that the east side of Texas Street is University Heights: the United States Geological Survey, Vicki Burgess of SD Development Services, and, most importantly, the 16,000 residents that live east of Texas Street and whose deeds and tax bills all declare that we live in University Heights.

It is time that Community Plan recognizes that the University Heights borders begin at the 163 in the west and end at I-805 in the east. It is time that we stop this arbitrary exclusion of 16,000 people from their rightful neighborhood. Indeed, all of our deeds and our tax bills indicate that we live in University Heights and we are entitled to be recognized as such.

• Ross Lopez
• University Heights

Low Expectations

In light of the embarrassingly botched/withdrawn legal actions against a sidewalk chalking “terrorist,” a guerrilla gardener in O.B., and bribery allegations against “Jane Doe” vs Arevallo, a form of three-strikes penalty should be adopted to wise-up misguided local prosecutors Dumanis and Goldsmith.

I wouldn’t expect much from my city, though, whose best shot at attracting visitors consists of “Happiness Is Calling.” Good luck on the stadium/Olympics tries!

Also, to Ian Anderson regarding “Rebranding a Sunset View, Yet Again,” Quiggs (great food/service) predated Nick’s at the site of the current Wonderland.

• Mike Loflen
• Clairemont

Transparency Advocate

The article in the December 19, 2013 Reader, City Lights: “The City’s Code Monitoring Team: Foxes Guard the Henhouse,” mistakenly referred to Code Monitoring Team (CMT) member Joan Dahlin as a “current land-use lobbyist from the League of Women Voters.”

The League is not a land-use lobbyist but a protector and advocate of transparent, open meetings and the public’s right to know. We appreciate having a slot on the CMT and hope to see Committee actions become more accessible to the public.

• Joan Dahlin
• La Jolla

Straight to the Point

Hello, thank you for writing the travel article about Barrow. The story provided an interesting view. However, the date of actual visit should be noted. The story referenced visiting Pepe’s, which burned down in late August (several months prior to publication).

Also, regarding the cab to Point Barrow — at best a cab could only make it as far as the summer cabins on the north end of town, not quite on the point. A nice story spin could include the “northernmost resort home.” Had the writer scheduled a tour via Top of the World Tours, they would have taken the individual to the actual point for viewing at the whale carcass disposal area.

• Name Withheld
• via email