6 lagunabeachindy . com DECEMBER 8 , 2023
Letters LETTERS CAN BE MAILED TO : EDITOR @ LBINDY . COM
On Wednesday , Nov . 29 , approximately 95,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled out along our coastline areas from Laguna Avenue to Blue Lagoon . With the area polluted by our very own human waste , I couldn ’ t help but think about our fragile ecosystem and what effect this will have , both short term and long term , for our aquatic life , not to mention the quality-of-life issues for the folks who live along the beach and the many businesses that rely on it . I can ’ t stop asking myself , how could we let this happen ?
When Amplify Energy spilled thousands of gallons of oil in our ocean , killing land and marine life and closing businesses , we were all rightly outraged . What happens in our state and federal waters is out of our control . We rely on the good actors , or , in Amplify ’ s case , the bad actors , to maintain their infrastructure and to sound the alarms immediately in the event of a failure to minimize the impact . But in this case , the spill of raw sewage now polluting our shores and water is our fault . We have no one to blame but ourselves . And it ’ s not the first time . As recently as November 2019 , one million gallons of sewage spilled into the ocean near Aliso Beach . Some have suggested this November timeframe has to do with the city ’ s strategy for managing runoff in the winter .
Recently , David Shissler , a civil engineer with many years of experience in building and maintaining sewer facilities and training employees , retired as the city ’ s director of the Water Quality Department . Under his management , the department was divided into two divisions , one handling sewers and the other handling stormwater infrastructure . The city has since rolled these divisions into the Department of Public Works and Utilities . Instead of finding and hiring the top candidate to focus on
our water quality , the city eliminated Shissler ’ s position . To me , this seems to indicate that water quality and public health and safety are less of a priority .
I would think bringing on an experienced engineer and ensuring we have the latest and greatest technology , infrastructure and staff would be among the city ’ s top priorities . Instead , we chose to have a void in leadership by eliminating positions , all while having old and failing infrastructure . In a town where ocean water quality is a public priority , how should we interpret this coastal city eliminating the department with that sole responsibility ? Judie Mancuso , Laguna Beach
In his defense of glyphosate as non-carcinogenic in last week ’ s Indy , Mr . Reed offers very sweeping conclusions but no evidence in his column . He asserts without evidence , as just one example , that the World
LAST WEEK ’ S QUESTION
Is Laguna allocating enough money toward wastewater management ?
- No , 86.49 % ( 32 votes ) - Yes , 13.51 % ( 5 votes )
TOTAL VOTES - 37
LETTERS PAGE 17
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EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR Clara Beard clara @ firebrandmediainc . com
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DESIGN DIRECTOR Tracy Powell
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PUBLISHER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Steve Zepezauer
CREATIVE & MARKETING DIRECTOR Tracy Powell
PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING Scott Sanchez
CITY HALL MEETINGS :
Tuesday , Dec . 12 - Laguna Beach City Council meeting at 5 p . m .
HOW TO CONTACT THE CITY COUNCIL
Bob Whalen Mayor bwhalen @ lagunabeachcity . net
DESIGN REVIEW BOARD
Sue Kempf Mayor skempf @ lagunabeachcity . net
SECOND AND FOURTH THURSDAYS , 5 PM LOUIS WEIL : lweil @ lagunabeachcity . net KRISTINE THALMAN : kthalman @ lagunabeachcity . net DON SHERIDAN : dsheridan @ lagunabeachcity . net JESSICA GANNON : jgannon @ lagunabeachcity . net TOM GIBBS : tgibbs @ lagunabeachcity . net
Mark Orgill Council member morgill @ lagunabeachcity . net
Alex Rounaghi Council member arounaghi @ lagunabeachcity . net
PLANNING COMMISSION 1ST AND 3RD WEDNESDAYS , 6 PM STEVEN KELLENBERG , steve @ kellenbergstudio . com KEN SADLER : 616-0517 , ken . sadler @ cox . net JORG DUBIN : 497-2618 , jdubinart @ cox . net STEVE GOLDMAN : 203-554-2290 , steveg415 @ ymail . com SUSAN McLINTOCK WHITIN : 838-6317 , whitinsusan @ gmail . com
George Weiss Council member gweiss @ lagunabeachcity . net
Ann Marie McKay City Clerk amckay @ lagunabeachcity . net
Laura Parisi City Treasurer lparisi @ lagunabeachcity . net
OTHER ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES :
REP . KATIE PORTER , 1113 Longworth House Office Building , Washington , DC 20515 . 202-225-2415
ASSEMBLYWOMAN DIANE DIXON , 19712 MacArthur Blvd . Ste . 150 , Irvine , CA 92612 . 949-251-0074
FIFTH DISTRICT SUPERVISOR KATRINA FOLEY , 333 W . Santa Ana Blvd ., Santa Ana , CA 92701 714-834- 3550 , Katrina . Foley @ ocgov . com
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