Mailbag: How Back Bay bicyclists ruined my day

On my walk around the nature reserve of Newport Back Bay the other day, I was mowed down by a gaggle of middle-aged women in the form of a pack of cyclists. No doubt they had their heads down pedaling hard.

In the sprawl of bodies, I was hit twice by swerving bikes and thirdly by the much harder pavement. The cries of “Oh, no!” from behind were not soon enough to warn of the imminent crash.

One of the group announced she was a “medic” and instructed me not to move. She asked me about my injuries, and I reported impacts to my right knee, hip, elbow and shoulder; as I write, I would add ribs on the right side as well.

The “medic” followed no vital sign protocols except asking my name. When I got up a couple of minutes later she asked me no questions regarding my condition; maybe she is a veterinary medic. Not hearing an apology, I was told one had been made, presumably when I was laying face down on the road, trying to recover my faculties.

Each day, I am passed by streams of speeding cyclists who are only inches away at 20 mph. Sometimes they call, “On your left!” to warn you of the pending danger.

Do they think about the pedestrians who may not understand that? Would it be too much to ask that they slow down to try to avoid hurting someone? Why are they in such a hurry?

If they need to get somewhere fast use the roads, not a path through a nature reserve.

Graham Jones

Costa Mesa

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No justice for defendants with means

We should not be as concerned with wealth redistribution as we should be with judicial redistribution. Former Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard gets 60 days in jail for two felony convictions. And to make it more disturbing, he only serves four days (“Hubbard released from Jail,” Feb. 28).

How insulting that is to all fairness sensibilities.

On Jan. 8, the Daily Pilot reported that a 43-year-old Irvine woman killed an elderly woman while driving under the influence of methamphetamine (“Irvine woman gets two years for fatal crash”). She was charged with a misdemeanor and given two years in prison.

How insulting is that to the doctrine of fairness?

The Los Angeles Times in January reported that a young man was convicted of stealing a sandwich from a convenience store, charged with a felony and sentenced to five years in prison.

Let’s guess as to which two of three had the best attorneys.

It is insulting to all of us that the rich and connected can get away with crimes with virtual impunity and those not well connected not so much.

And I’ll bet Hubbard retires with full benefits — pensions, accumulated vacation pay, maybe even severance pay, and lives happily ever after. That should be satisfying to those school board members that wrote the court asking for leniency for him.

Bob Tiernan

Newport Beach

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Taxpayers paid price for Hubbard

John Guy LaPlante suggested putting Jeffrey Hubbard to work in the jail as a consultant about what he sees as being wrong with the jail system (“Mailbag: Put Hubbard to work in jail,” Feb. 29). Because Hubbard only had to serve four days of his 60-day sentence, he could hardly be considered an expert in those matters.

What Hubbard should do is apologize for asking for and receiving a paid leave instead of an unpaid leave and taking taxpayers’ dollars that should have been spent in the classroom, not on his personal legal issues.

Why, he even found the time during his leave to get married and take a honeymoon. I don’t think that was meant to be part of the package he was given.

Besides that, I don’t think folks will soon forget about those emails he sent to co-defendant Karen Anne Christiansen with disgusting sexual innuendoes. That type of behavior is hardly indicative of an “upstanding individual,” as some school board members have made him out to be.

Jane Hilgendorf

Corona del Mar