Basic Human Need

Why doesn’t Siobhan Braun tell the whole story about the sex trade in “We Need Our Hearts Broken Over This”? Why are politicians and law enforcement going after the Johns instead of the pimps, when Johns are oftentimes victims as well? Indeed, if people really gave a damn about these young women then why not legalize and regulate prostitution so that the women who freely choose to do this work can keep most of their earnings, while the underaged and those working against their will can be screened out?

Are people really that ignorant of the laws of supply and demand, and that higher prices mean higher profit margins for those who are profiting from the sex trade? By keeping the sex trade illegal is it merely an excuse to create business opportunities for the ex-cons who can’t find work anywhere else? Why pretend as if sex is not only a natural animal instinct but even a basic human need? Or is it that certain people are afraid to admit that they are trying to force their religious beliefs off onto others?

• Ben Scrude
• via email

Photo by Neal Obermeyer

Sick and Tired of the Homeless

I take issue with the June 23 Obermeyer cartoon suggesting that the Padres and the city conspired to “install sharp anti-homeless rocks along Imperial Avenue so the city can then blame it on Sherman Heights residents.”

As a Sherman Heights resident, we did ask for it, we wanted it, we’re happy they’re there, we hope they stay, we wish there were more, and we’re sick and tired of the goddamn drugged-out homeless invading our neighborhood and the city and general. And we’re sick and tired of people extending sympathy to them, and not giving a crap about the city residents who actually pay taxes and contribute to our city.

• Pete Zanko
• Sherman Heights

That’s Not How it Works in Baja

This is regarding “Baja’s Tragic Pan Revolution” about Baja environmentalists in the June 23 issue (originally published January 9, 2003). As a founding member of a Grupo Ecologista Gaviotas in Playas de California, I found the article very interesting.

A lot of things have changed since the original publication of this article in 2003. Most importantly, Playas de Tijuana is not the center of environmental activism anymore. That has shifted. It has gone to Ensenada and Mexicali. A lot of things have changed in more than 10 years with activistas and panistas who dabble in environmentalism. A new generation of environmentalists has come to age and have learned to be successful lobbyists and, in some instances, prevail in the struggle for sustainable development policies of the government, like the moratorium of big horn sheep hunting in Baja California, which we, as environmentalists won, over the state and federal government more than 20 years ago.

Other things we’ve prevailed in are the closure of several organic chemical plants in Mexicali, and the lobbying for state environmental law in Baja, California, which contains one of the few provisions for citizen participation, which the state government doesn’t comply with in the state environmental council. They don’t comply with state law — but that is nothing new.

This article that you published tells the story of a panista who tries to reform the party and the policies from within. My opinion with that is, Good luck! He didn’t do it. That’s not how it works in Baja, California and Mexico. You need to be independent to be effective. And that independence is not with the panistas, I can tell you that.

The epicenter of environmental activism has moved to Ensensada and Mexicali with several environmental struggles that are currently happening now. It is not common knowledge that Mexicali has the worst air quality problems in Mexico — first place, and I think third place in the world. The air quality is Mexicali is dangerous. It’s bad. You don’t see that in the Reader. And you don’t see that in the local press.

It’s good news when you print the environmental issues of Baja, California instead of focusing on booze and food.

Another issue that environmentalists have long worked against is the off-road industry, and the Baja Off Road 100, Baja 250, Baja 500, Baja 1000, and all those off-road races that mostly cater to gringos who come here to Baja to do what they cannot do in California: trash the environment. That is a long struggle that at some point in the near future, we will prevail. Environmental activists are growing in Baja.

Another issue coming up in Baja is the desalination plant that the government and private interests in cooperation with American interests are trying to build between Rosarito and Ensenada — the biggest desalinization plant in the Western Hemisphere. Do you think they’re going to comply?

• Balthazhar Macias
• via voicemail

Bernie Sanders Owes Each One an Apology

“Michael Vu, We’re Watching You” (News Ticker) is nothing but a bunch of slander and uninformed opinions not backed by facts!

Here’s how a few things work in an election in San Diego County where Mr. Vu is the registrar of voters:

All volunteers who worked as election officers were well-trained on the legal procedures to be observed, practiced, and upheld during the hours the precincts were open for voting. Strong emphasis was placed on provisional ballots as how, why, when, and what causes a voter to be handed a provisional ballot. The envelope to contain the provisional ballot must be clearly marked by an election officer with the reason it to become necessary. The voter fills in his name, address, legally acceptable ID number prescribed by California election codes, signature, and date. The voter also receives a receipt for his provisional ballot, which he or she can call the Registrar of Voters office to verify that it was received.

For primary elections in California, each political party has the choice to make the election open i.e., nonparty preferred (NP) voters can vote for their candidate, or have it closed, wherein only voters registered to vote for their party can cast ballots for that party candidate.

For the June 7, 2016 primary, the Democratic party had an open election that NP voters could vote for Democratic candidates. All election workers were trained to explain clearly to NP voters of their choice between NP ballot (no presidential candidate) or Democratic NP (all Democratic candidates on ballot for vote).

Voters who filed a registration form to request a mail ballot before the legal deadline would have received a mail ballot sent to the mailing address indicated on the registration form for that voter. If same voter shows up at the designated poll, without the mail ballot sent by the registrar of Voters office, the roster of voters at that poll would indicate that the voter requested a mail ballot, and it was sent to him or her mailing address on file. This voter would be required to cast a provisional ballot, so to allow the registrar of voter to verify the validity of the voter’s ballot, and to prevent fraudulent voting more than once.

There are extra ballots of each type i.e. Democrat, Republican, American Independent, Green etc. that must be available at any precinct to satisfy the voter’s request, and to provide up to 3 ballots per voter, in case of errors made by a voter. To say that there were not enough ballots available is nothing but an insult to the efforts and great work done by hundreds, if not thousands, of election workers to accommodate a voter’s choice.

The Registrar of Voters and his employees made, make, and will make all efforts possible, and legal under California election codes to count each and every ballot cast by voters, whether in person at the poll, by mail, or by provisional method.

By California laws, Registrar of Voters of each county, San Diego included, must certify election results 30 days after each election. So will the Secretary of State. Until then, result publishes, estimated by media is just an estimate. No Registrar of Voters will ever declare a candidate is/is not the winner. He or she will only certify the official ballot count.

The ballots to be hand-counted in the 1% audit were selected by citizens of San Diego County, and not by Mr. Vu or his staff. Those

selected, from any of all San Diego county precincts, cover precinct paper ballots, mail ballots, and early voting ballots from touchscreen machines used by voters at Registrar of Voters main office, provisional ballots.

If Bernie Sanders has anything to do with this derogatory and deeply insulting article aimed at San Diego county Registrar of Voters Michael Vu and the dedicated election workers, Mr. Sanders owes each and everyone an apology. Let’s hope Bernie will have the courage, as expected from a leader, to do so.

Every election officer performing his/her duties at the precinct during the open voting hours has a manual containing detailed procedures of how to conduct the election processes as prescribed by law. I am sure the Registrar of Voters office would furnish a free copy at request. Mr. Lutz should take a close look at one and, hopefully, he will not write another totally ignorant article.

• Chanh Tran
• Poway

It’s a Wonder More Trees Don’t Fall

Re: “Deport the Eucalyptus,” June 2 cover story

Mere opinions are not worth the hot air that carries them forth, and reasoning from authority is a universally recognized fallacy. Just because an “expert” says so, it ain’t necessarily so.

“What we have here, is a failure to communicate,” as Strother Martin’s character said to the vanquished Paul Newman’s character in the movie Cool Hand Luke. We are using ill-founded opinion instead of facts (of which we have damned few) and the scientific method.

First, there never were any trees in the exact locations the subject trees were planted in. The geology and soils are not suitable for trees.

You might say that if God or nature wanted them there, they would have been there. But we (or our gardeners or landscape architects) are smarter than God or nature, right?

Soils are shallow, and sometimes very shallowly underlain with a hardpan and/or clay stratum that tree roots can’t penetrate. This means that structural-support roots can’t develop. Ever notice how every time an entire tree comes down the roots are (like, dude) all flat and everything? That is common almost everywhere except in the riverbeds and riparian areas, or sometimes in the hills where the roots can go deep enough to both hold the trees up (for a long time, but not forever) and get water that other plants can’t (some oak tree roots have been measured to more than 80 feet).

On top of that, we don’t irrigate our trees properly — hell, we hardly irrigate them at all and, when we do, we put the water at the base of even mature trees. The rest of it they have to get from lawn and landscaping irrigation. Tree roots need two things to penetrate “the earth’s sweet flowing breast,” an opening as big or bigger than the diameter of the root tip (not very big), and water — always. Most trees require at least 20 inches of precipitation per year — or more; that’s the minimum. We might get eight or ten. Eight minutes per day, every few days doesn’t even come close to meeting a tree’s needs, and that little can never penetrate to the depth a normal tree needs. Every soil has a set water-holding capacity, and shallow irrigation penetration means that only the plant’s shallow roots will ever get any water. So, water conservation, too, is the enemy of trees. It’s a wonder that more trees don’t fall than do.

There’s more, but space does not permit.

• Wayne Tyson
• Hillcrest

J.O’B: Get Another Job

Can someone please ask Sheep and Goats writer Joseph O’Brien why his weekly questions are always the same!? Why does he always ask,“How long do you spend writing your sermon?” Along with the second question he always asks: “What is your favorite subject on which to preach?” How does he get away with this and still be called a writer? And why does the editor of the Reader allow him to do so?

I have been picking up a weekly copy of the Reader for probably 20-plus years. It is an excellent weekly magazine. Please, someone in charge needs to tell him to start writing questions that are interesting and meaningful to readers. Either that, or go get another job.

• J.B.
• via email