Mailbag: Viewpoint on political mailing was too one-sided

I am responding to the written piece presented by Eric Bever in the Daily Pilot (“Commentary: Employee unions are paying for Costa Mesa political mail,” Oct. 22). As usual, he presents one side of the story. All of us have been drowned with shiny political ads.

I have found that it is difficult to know who paid for the ad with few exceptions. The Costa Mesa Employees Assn. ad is clearly labeled but with so many other ones, such as the “Home Rule” ad, one has no idea who footed the bill. An informed voter can draw valid conclusions if the purse string is clearly noted.

I was going to bring up the point of election fliers at the City Council meeting on Tuesday during public comment. But my name was not selected, and I was unable to wait until the end of the meeting. It is sad that our city is dominated currently by a group that does not appreciate its citizens’ rights to free speech. Amazingly, the council majority always takes as much time as it wants while curtailing the free speech of others.

Susan Shaw

Costa Mesa

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Reclaimed water washes buses

In response to the letter, “Let the buses get a little dirty,” (Oct. 21), we thought it was important to respond and let your readers know that the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is always very diligent about conserving water, even more so now that we’re in a drought.

OCTA’s buses are washed only twice a week using reclaimed water. And the water used is then captured and recycled to use on other buses. The wheels and rims are washed by hand, using buckets, so water is never continually running. In addition, OCTA’s buses may look cleaner because many of them are newer or have been recently painted.

We take great pride in the fact that our buses are some of the cleanest and best maintained anywhere on the road, and we always balance that with the need to conserve.

Ken Phipps

The writer is deputy CEO of OCTA.

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Irvine election is baffling

I just read your article today in the Daily Pilot regarding the Great Park misconduct allegations. Unfortunately, it only added to my confusion regarding the fight in Irvine between the Mary Ann Gaido, Larry Agran and Melissa Fox team and the Steven Choi, Jeff Lalloway and Lynn Schott team.

I receive at least three to four political fliers and “fake community newspapers” a day. Both sides point fingers at the other as working with the developers to increase growth, while claiming to support slow growth. Will you please write an article about the truth between these two sides?

Carole Edelhauser

Irvine

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