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Mailbag: Our police, firefighters are overworked

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Excessive work is a killer. Literally.

Four years ago, a local firefighter collapsed and died of cardiac arrest while on the job. He had served an extraordinary amount of overtime during his 30-year career, his captain said during the memorial service I attended at Mariners Church in Irvine. He was only 56.

I repeat: Overtime can kill.

Firefighters and police officers in Costa Mesa continue logging overtime, and I am concerned about their health and well-being.

The Daily Pilot reported May 16 (“Newport-Mesa firefighters help battle San Diego fires”) that eight of our Costa Mesa firefighters jumped in to help our neighbors in San Diego County. Were they working overtime too?

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A Costa Mesa police officer told me that police feel forced to work overtime. He told me of a three-day stint that started with working a night shift, followed by testifying in court and driving home to sleep briefly before heading back to work for another full shift.

Costa Mesans support our fire and police departments. We value their dedication and service to our community. Both departments are understaffed. Not good. Life-threatening.

Our safety personnel deserve better.

Flo Martin

Costa Mesa

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Clapping between movements is a no-no

The Laguna Art Museum has wonderful concerts on the second Thursday of every month, and I have been attending them all.

The musicians are always excellent and very professional, but the audience leaves something to be desired. Many people don’t seem to know that compositions may have several movements, and the applause should be held until the end of the last one. You can tell when the whole composition is over because the musicians look at the audience and usually stand.

Clapping between movements is disconcerting to the musicians and shows ignorance on the part of the audience.

Margot Rosenberg

Laguna Beach

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