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Mailbag: Balboa carousel should keep spinning

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Welcome to the Balboa’s “No-Fun Zone.” In just a few short weeks, the beloved Fun Zone merry-go-round will be no more. The decision by the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum to acquire and locate the museum at the Fun Zone site will prove, in time, to be a poor strategic move. But the recent decision to not renew the lease for the carousel tops that mistake.

With one stroke, the NHNM has cut the major attractions of the Fun Zone in half, and in doing so will deprive generations and generations of one of the most enjoyable attractions in our beautiful harbor. Make sure to enjoy these last glorious days of the carousel and particularly take in the beauty of the lights from it and the Ferris wheel in the evening. It will never look that way again. We are close to entering the No-Fun Zone.

Mike Talbot

Newport Beach

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Irvine shouldn’t build those homes

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Your article about 5,000 homes being planned in Irvine (“Plans for 5,000 homes around Great Park get first OK, Sept. 4) seemed like a pie in the sky plan, entirely out of sync with the present unemployment rate of 9% and the downturn in the economy.

More than that, the plan to have this large number of houses surrounding the yet-to-be-built Great Park, neglects to consider the presence of the four large runways in the park. While these runways are not being used now, they are available for emergency landings or evacuations following a catastrophe such as a large earthquake, tsunami, forest fire, or a meltdown at San Onofre. This project does not seem to be at all realistic.

Shirley A. Conger

Corona del Mar

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NBPD should not assist Costa Mesa

I wonder how many Newport residents know about the changes being discussed at the Newport Beach Police Department and how it will affect every resident.

The Police Department is talking about picking up the arrestees from Costa Mesa. Costa Mesa arrests more people a night than there are beds in the Newport Beach jail. They also arrest a lot of homeless/transients every day. Those arrestees will be released from the Newport Beach jail and will either decide to hang out in Newport Beach or walk home to Costa Mesa, through Newport Beach neighborhoods.

They are getting rid of the Animal Control officers (ACOs) through attrition. When the current ACOs are gone, guess who gets to take care of barking dogs and other animal related activities, police officers? So we are getting rid of someone who is trained to deal with animal-related issues and make a lot less money than a police officer to have a police officer tied up taking care of animal calls. If they have to transport an animal to Huntington Beach to the animal shelter, how long will they be off of the streets instead of patrolling the streets of Newport Beach?

Newport Beach residents are used to a level of police service not shared by many other cities. This is not going to be the case in the future.

Trent Harris

Huntington Beach

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