Letters

Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.

COUNTY SUPERVISOR GIVES MOXLEY PROPS
I appreciate R. Scott Moxley's close examination of the Orange County budget and other Board-approved expenditures [R. Scott Moxley's “Privatize This!” July 7]. His concerns are understandable. With thousands of individual budget expenditures considered each year, it is a challenge for elected officials to assure that these public funds are spent effectively. We need civic-minded citizens and a vigilant press to help us in that effort.

Upon further examination, many of the items questioned do bear scrutiny:

•The $45 per hour in “rodent control services” is reasonable, considering the contracted service includes a full-time technician and a fully equipped truck with all rodent control traps, materials, etc. This contract was competitively bid and is essential to keep our flood control channels free of collapse or leakage.

•OC did pay $22.6 million for a parcel assessed at $9.5 million by the assessor's office. However, that $9.5 million is not an appraisal. Homeowners know that the official assessed values of their homes are only for tax purposes and are usually far less than their resale value. The $22.6 million purchase price was the result of an appraisal and is fair under market conditions. These funds will be recouped by the sale of OC's Katella Yard maintenance facility, destined to become the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC).

•The $740,000 “no-bid” contract for OC Fair security is actually the amount the state-appointed Fair Board pays to the county to provide sheriff's patrols. This expense is fully covered by admissions charges to fairgoers.

I do appreciate Moxley bringing to light some items that need special scrutiny:

•The $165,655 bonus paid to ACS State N Local Solutions was part of a $22 million contract awarded before I came to the Board. Certainly, vendors should be paid for work conducted, but should not expect extra fees for contracted performance.

•The $100,000 granted to the OC Business Council and $99,000 to a Newport Beach consultant helped produce workforce and community indicators reports. It is true that many government reports are vague, subjective and are of limited value in predicting future trends. Costly studies do need a critical eye to assure they are of public value.

While my staff and I make every effort to provide fiscal value to our constituents, a vigilant public and press are a vital part of that effort.
Chris Norby
Fourth District Orange County Supervisor

WHAT A PIECE OF LIT!
Your piece on Lit was typical Will Swaim—brilliantly written, thoughtful, smart, funny, by turns sentimental and academic in the good ways [“Lit Up,” July 14]. But you swerved away from an important truth that would have put the story over the top: you didn't tell the readers that you were the editor who allowed one of your music writers to pound the crap out of Lit for years. You had the perfect opportunity here to explain that. Was your story an attempt at apology? Your own purgation of guilt? I'm not saying the story isn't great; it is. But inquiring minds want to know: What explains the sudden turnabout?
Anonymous
Via e-mail

WET AND WILD CELL PHONE KIDS
I have changed my feelings about your newspaper after I saw this ad: two young, half-naked boys in an embrace with the words “GET MORE” underneath them [T-Mobile ad, page 17, June 14]. I had no idea that someone on your staff is into children having sex together. If I ever see such an ad in your paper again, I will never read the OC Weekly again.
Brenda Bradac
Costa Mesa

The editor responds: A few of my summertime memories as a young boy: boogie boarding, Slip 'n Slides, cops and robbers (not that kind, Brenda), dad's barbecued hot dogs, water-gun fights, wrestling (again, c'mon, Brenda). As the sun pulled itself higher up in the sky, we pulled off the shirts. Our “half-naked” bodies exposed to the world, mainly because we were boys who preferred to roll around in the grass (Brenda! Stop!) shoeless and shirtless because it was summer, the hot season, the shirtless (or half-naked) season. This is beyond the fact that the ad is not an OC Weekly ad; it's a T-Mobile ad. You know, the T-Mobile that has registered trademarks on such slogans as “Get More,” “Whenever Minutes” and “Family Time.” Weird that they'd use a picture of two boys without shirts, possibly brothers, almost certainly enjoying some of dad's barbecued hot dogs in the back yard.

TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL
Regarding Gustavo Arellano's “Battle of the Christian Titans” [July 14]: Enjoy Sharia, you castrated dhimmi bitch.
Debra Walker
Via e-mail

DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
Matt Coker's “Hatesville, USA” [July 21] included the following sentence:

As the Republican Party hitches its re-election trailer to immigration reform and gay marriage, [Orange County Human Relations Commission Executive Director Rusty] Kennedy suggests those debating the issues stick to the facts without spouting rhetoric that demonizes individuals.

To be clear, Kennedy did not single out a political party. His position is non-partisan by law.

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