Bob Biddle

The apparent deliberate killing of innocent schoolchildren in Costa Mesa by a Santa Ana man driving his car into the crowd (May 4) was just as outrageous and senseless as the recent shootings in Colorado. I wonder if the anti-gun lobby will be setting its sights on outlawing automobiles now? Because if guns are the agents of death, according to the anti-gun activists, then why not use that same twisted logic on the automobile--especially when one was used as a weapon? BOB BIDDLE Huntington Beach

Your Nov. 14 editorial "Win a Few, Lose a Few" correctly concluded that once voters are convinced that a school bond is needed, they will vote for it. The failure of the Irvine parcel tax is an example of a case that was not convincing. On the face of it, the parcel tax appeared to have had wide support. Like Capistrano, the voters' guide did not have an opposing opinion, and like Huntington Beach it had the support of the business community. Yet it failed for several reasons.

As a planning commissioner in Huntington Beach, I feel qualified to make some comments concerning your July 8 article, "Council OKs Revised Holly-Seacliff Project." Nowhere in your article did it state that our City Council approved the Planning Commission's recommendation. Although the council has the final say, it was the Planning Commission that did its homework, listened to all sides, and made its decision. Contrary to the grandstanding by Councilman Dave Garofalo (who is running for reelection in November)

The apparent deliberate killing of innocent schoolchildren in Costa Mesa by a Santa Ana man driving his car into the crowd (May 4) was just as outrageous and senseless as the recent shootings in Colorado. I wonder if the anti-gun lobby will be setting its sights on outlawing automobiles now? Because if guns are the agents of death, according to the anti-gun activists, then why not use that same twisted logic on the automobile--especially when one was used as a weapon? BOB BIDDLE Huntington Beach

Regarding Dana Parsons' Dec. 9 column: A professor of statistics at a local university has been consulted about the validity of selecting the fourth-place finisher in the Huntington Beach City Council election in a race for only three spots. He explained that it was statistically invalid to conclude that the fourth-place finisher would have won a seat. He pointed out that no one had a fourth vote; one could not determine how the 62,842 people, who did not pick Mrs. Newman, would have voted in a race for four seats.

Is your five-day series "Republican Reign" in Orange County really news? Everyone over the age of 7 knows that the majority of Orange County supports a 73-year-old, card-carrying National Rifle Assn. member who has strong ties to the tobacco industry. He speaks of less government but will tell a woman and her doctor what she should do with her baby. It appears that wealth and conservatism go together. Therefore, I must thank Democratic U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, John Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy for having a more tolerant, unselfish point of view.

Your Nov. 14 editorial "Win a Few, Lose a Few" correctly concluded that once voters are convinced that a school bond is needed, they will vote for it. The failure of the Irvine parcel tax is an example of a case that was not convincing. On the face of it, the parcel tax appeared to have had wide support. Like Capistrano, the voters' guide did not have an opposing opinion, and like Huntington Beach it had the support of the business community. Yet it failed for several reasons.

I'd like to see our beaches and parks preserved--free from development. I'd like to see that all future development considers the current residents, and takes in practical and sensible planning for traffic control. We hope to build a better public education plan, and try to get more and better community involvement by going to the different groups throughout the community and getting them involved.

The Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 to table a measure to revoke a conditional use permit for the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center until late November. Commissioner Bob Biddle dissented and Commissioner Jan Shomaker was absent. The center cares for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife native to California. Revocation of the permit would require the center, which has been operating since 1998, to close. The center has yet to fulfill some conditions for the permit set by the city.

Huntington Beach Tomorrow, an environmental organization, has accused the city of using its Channel 3 cable-television station to propagandize for the controversial Pierside Village project. City Public Information Director William Reed, however, denied the charge Friday and said equal time will be offered to opponents of the project. Pierside Village is a proposed complex of restaurants to be built on bluffs next to the municipal pier at Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway.

As a planning commissioner in Huntington Beach, I feel qualified to make some comments concerning your July 8 article, "Council OKs Revised Holly-Seacliff Project." Nowhere in your article did it state that our City Council approved the Planning Commission's recommendation. Although the council has the final say, it was the Planning Commission that did its homework, listened to all sides, and made its decision. Contrary to the grandstanding by Councilman Dave Garofalo (who is running for reelection in November)

Is your five-day series "Republican Reign" in Orange County really news? Everyone over the age of 7 knows that the majority of Orange County supports a 73-year-old, card-carrying National Rifle Assn. member who has strong ties to the tobacco industry. He speaks of less government but will tell a woman and her doctor what she should do with her baby. It appears that wealth and conservatism go together. Therefore, I must thank Democratic U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, John Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy for having a more tolerant, unselfish point of view.

Regarding Dana Parsons' Dec. 9 column: A professor of statistics at a local university has been consulted about the validity of selecting the fourth-place finisher in the Huntington Beach City Council election in a race for only three spots. He explained that it was statistically invalid to conclude that the fourth-place finisher would have won a seat. He pointed out that no one had a fourth vote; one could not determine how the 62,842 people, who did not pick Mrs. Newman, would have voted in a race for four seats.

I'd like to see our beaches and parks preserved--free from development. I'd like to see that all future development considers the current residents, and takes in practical and sensible planning for traffic control. We hope to build a better public education plan, and try to get more and better community involvement by going to the different groups throughout the community and getting them involved.