Westside Today Headlines http://www.westsidetoday.com/news-s1/1/letters-opinions.html Sun, 27 May 2012 09:25:18 -0700 en-us Copyright 2012, Westside Today http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/KivRUuKMaLE/why-we-should-save.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-7003/why-we-should-save.html Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:25:18 -0700 Why do I love The Barry Building? It’s not a Mayan pyramid. It doesn’t have marble columns and gilt trimmings. It doesn’t shock or awe. That’s why I love it – it isn’t about power. It’s about community. And the beauty of simplicity. And it’s a beautiful expression of the best of the Southern California lifestyle.The Barry provides a glimpse into post-war Los Angeles culture. One of the last remaining commercial examples of the internationally admired mid-century “Califor...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-7003/why-we-should-save.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/zWqxHD4XA70/letters-to-the-editor.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6806/letters-to-the-editor.html Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:25:18 -0700 We have been Brentwood residents for over eighteen years. We support the Green Hollow Project. This project will improve the area. It will bring much needed parking, shops, retail, and local amenities to the community. It will be more aesthetically attractive than the current structures (including the Barry Building). All within walking distance. Mr. Munger’s project is being under-developed by 25%. This means he’s not maximizing to its full potential. He’s developing a project tha...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6806/letters-to-the-editor.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/mOEI8gzU0Jg/letters-to-the-editor.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6630/letters-to-the-editor.html Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:25:18 -0700 Look at the great projects Charlie Munger has put together in the past (Pasadena, Montecito, etc.). Why would we doubt the quality of this project? I’m excited to see what he can do with a corner of Brentwood that could use some updating!Nelle MolitorI was taken on a tour of the proposed project by the architect. I live several blocks north of the project and I fully support the development as planned. I have never enjoyed the present condition of the property. It has always seemed drab, di...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6630/letters-to-the-editor.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/ekQlri_UmVo/segue-to-segway-by.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6548/segue-to-segway-by.html Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:25:18 -0700 Segue to SegwayMy fifth white Lexus lease was ending. For eleven months, I searched for new transportation. Determined to be environmentally responsible, I started with the hybrids. Feeling like I was single-handedly rescuing all Polar Bears and ice, the reality is, seats in green cars trash my back.I could have put a deposit on a round, cute convertible, and in ten months when it arrived, pay as much over sticker for that $24,000 vehicle as a Bentley.Instead, I rode up and down, up and dow...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6548/segue-to-segway-by.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/DwogdVeheUs/yoga-wisdom-mastery-of.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6167/yoga-wisdom-mastery-of.html Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Consciousness and its mastery is attuned to the word “Siddha”. The Siddhars are the Sages journeying beyond enlightenment, the mystics of the yoga tradition.From the Siddhars, the masters of consciousness, the insights of consciousness are the ultimate tool to transform our human limitations to Angelic Beings.1. Consciousness is Empowered Realities: As consciousness grows, so does our ability to think clearly from harmony, bring focus to priorities and create the power of intensity within i...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6167/yoga-wisdom-mastery-of.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/M-Ii2JX8BKE/relationships-throughout-ages.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6043/relationships-throughout-ages.html Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Love is universal. It has no boundaries of race, religion, or culture. In relationships, all human beings form an emotional attachment and get hurt when their partners’ are unfaithful. Even so, we strive to form committed relationships that provide comfort, security, and affection. These behaviors are not learned but rather innate. Why do humans long for this bond? Our brains are wired to form a biological program that structures a need of love in our daily lives, which can work beyond our sel...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-6043/relationships-throughout-ages.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/YaHgq0f0s6E/ending-the-cycling-culture.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5801/ending-the-cycling-culture.html Wed, 31 Aug 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Everyone likes bicyclists, even where I reside in upper Mandeville Canyon, considered by many as ground zero in the so-called culture war between those who choose to peddle and those who opt to drive through the congested byways of Los Angeles. In 2008, the canyon was the site of a near-fatal road-rage collision between a rogue motorist and a group of cyclists. This summer, partly in response to that incident and partly in response to the more general hazards cyclists face in their commutes and ...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5801/ending-the-cycling-culture.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/KALWkUk3yHg/brentwood-weighs-in-part.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5734/brentwood-weighs-in-part.html Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Dear Jeff,I finally have read the Brentwood Beat article in the July/August issue of your Brentwood News. As a supporter of your endeavor to supply our community with an open venue to the goings-on in BW I find this article lacking the fairness you have always preached. This time your editorial took a very different approach in explaining an issue facing, in particular, those in the immediate geographic area of “the bridge”. The opposition certainly was not a last minute attack on Metro a...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5734/brentwood-weighs-in-part.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/yFg1NrDCk_A/the-debt-ceiling-will.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5597/the-debt-ceiling-will.html Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:25:18 -0700 President Obama held yet another news conference this morning on the debt ceiling crisis starting off his remarks as follows:Right now, the House of Representatives is still trying to pass a bill that a majority of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have already said they won’t vote for. It’s a plan that would force us to re-live this crisis in just a few short months, holding our economy captive to Washington politics once again. In other words, it does not solve the problem, and it ...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5597/the-debt-ceiling-will.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/anEsqPJGmjo/a-plea-to-residents.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5506/a-plea-to-residents.html Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Though not in the tornado belt that has recently been ravaged by this season’s severe weather emergencies, Los Angeles is no stranger to public safety scares. From earthquake threats to raging wild fires, the county is well aware of the damage that Mother Nature can do. As we approach 10 years after 9/11, we are reminded that natural disasters are not the only time we should consider our public safety. Now is the time to take a close look at what progress we have really made, and start to th...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5506/a-plea-to-residents.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/6hJzf7L9lQA/moving-beyond-coal-means.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5366/moving-beyond-coal-means.html Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:25:18 -0700 From deadly accidents in mines, to the hazardous pollutants from smokestacks, to the disposal of its toxic ash waste, coal is our most dangerous and dirtiest source of energy. Coal-fired power is a serious threat to our health, it is a major source of the neurotoxin mercury, a contributor to four out of the five leading causes of death in the US, and it produces 30% of our climate-disrupting carbon pollution. Despite all of this, Los Angeles still relies on this filthy form of energy for approxi...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5366/moving-beyond-coal-means.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/Wp73j5Tc_yE/will-our-simple-wedding.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5353/will-our-simple-wedding.html Fri, 17 Jun 2011 09:25:18 -0700 My fiance and I are planning a modest wedding as we’re paying for the majority of it ourselves and our budget is limited. However, my sister got married last year at a lavish affair and I’m worried that guests, many of whom will attend both, will compare my wedding day as less than my sister's nuptuals. I know I shouldn’t care what other people think, but I do. How can I stop feeling this way ?Well, Mr. Simon has an answer for himself... and those who are planning June nuptuals. No one h...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5353/will-our-simple-wedding.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/NRnXMwlgWiM/adopt-a-block-a.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5350/adopt-a-block-a.html Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Mayor Villaraigosa has made it clear the city doesn’t have money to pave or repair any streets in L.A., not even his. In Santa Barbara, I lived on a private lane of eight houses. Private meant that when the road disappeared into a sink hole every March 3rd, each homeowner had to repair his own portion of the street himself. Since all the neighbors but me seemed to be in Witness Protection, it was easy to interest somebody’s brother-in-law twice removed, in borrowing gigantic yellow mach...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5350/adopt-a-block-a.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/s3IX9IlQBl0/tavern-comments-on-president.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5189/tavern-comments-on-president.html Mon, 23 May 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Please tell your readers that I can imagine how frustrating it was to have not seen the president, but unfortunately no one at the restaurant was privy to any element of the president’s path of travel or whether or not he had plans to go out and greet the crowds waiting outside. As well, once the president was in the building, no one was allowed to exit the restaurant for security purposes. We really had no idea which route he was taking to and from the restaurant. Those issues are the jurisdi...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5189/tavern-comments-on-president.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/fXczXtkYT3M/how-rude-.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5176/how-rude-.html Fri, 20 May 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Several weeks ago I was hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains to meet up with a group of wonderful people from the Sierra club. Through emails back and forth, I found out that they were going to speak before the Brentwood community council to request their endorsement of a letter to the LA City Council in support for ending the use of coal by 2020 as a source of power by the LA DWP. I thought what a wonderful idea to get to know more about the Sierra Club and more important to get to know the com...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5176/how-rude-.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/D5mbvP9c6Jo/the-va-is-a.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5177/the-va-is-a.html Fri, 20 May 2011 09:25:18 -0700 After reading Mr. Eliasberg’s (ACLU) comments regarding the West LA VA, I finally have to speak up. His organization, for some reason, goes out of its way to slam a terrific facility. Ask those who use its services.I have been volunteering there, often 6-7 days per week, for years and am aware of its value. We treat so may people so well with personnel that really cares. They should be lauded by all instead of so often put down.We are all aware of the use of portions of otherwise unused land l...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5177/the-va-is-a.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/94RiRA7UenY/5-day-at-whole.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5178/5-day-at-whole.html Fri, 20 May 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Brentwood and Los Angeles Friends and Neighbors, I have been a volunteer and committee chair for The Giving Spirit, The Giving Spirit, a non-profit organization helping LA's homeless community through direct volunteer interaction, for nine years. I have watched this worthy (and 100% volunteer operated) Brentwood based charity grow into the incredible operation that it is today. (250k annual budget, 4,000+ homeless served each year, 1,500+ volunteers each year).We were honored to be selected ...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5178/5-day-at-whole.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/AATCaEoiBcs/the-president-s-visit.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5183/the-president-s-visit.html Fri, 20 May 2011 09:25:18 -0700 As a resident of Brentwood for 24 years, I wish to share with you, my total contempt for the events of Thursday night. Prior to the President’s arrival at Tavern, the police set up yellow tape, to control the crowds waiting on San Vicente, hoping to get a glimpse.The motorcade took a left in front of Frontrunners and brought the President up the back alley, and into the restaurant by the back door. It’s totally ludicrous for the President of the United States to be brought in through the k...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5183/the-president-s-visit.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/If84YFXkmpQ/natalie-portman-s-600.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5138/natalie-portman-s-600.html Wed, 18 May 2011 09:25:18 -0700 You may have heard of the goose who laid the golden egg. This time, the goose is a chicken named Mae Poulet, and her eggs sell for $50 a pop. All proceeds go to nonprofits that benefit poultry in need. I adopted Mae a year ago from Craigslist. The ad read, “Free. Would make a good dinner.” “It’s either you or some lady who wants to make chicken stroganoff,” I was told when I phoned. I am an animal rights advocate like Natalie Portman; and recently heard of the vegan actress’ dilemma...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-5138/natalie-portman-s-600.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/-qJRgqeKOwg/va-land-use-claims.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4990/va-land-use-claims.html Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Cyril Barnert, MD wrote in his April 18th letter that some veterans with psychological problems “decline or walk away from the treatment” and that "all the income" from the non-veteran use of land at the VA hospital is used for veterans services. While it is sadly the case that some veterans do not persist with their treatments, we must be careful not to allow the VA to use this as a pretext to avoid their responsibility to provide both treatment and residence to the many veterans...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4990/va-land-use-claims.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/6d4MT-h-w5s/opinions-about-va-vary.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4988/opinions-about-va-vary.html Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Cyril Barnert, MD wrote in his April 18th letter that "all the income" from the non-veteran use of land at the VA hospital is used for veterans services. This statement cannot be verified. For instance, the revenue from the oil lease is paid to the Dept. of the Interior, not the VA. The VA will simply not make the leases available for public inspection, nor will they account for the use of the proceeds.http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4988/opinions-about-va-vary.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/-4ayOG0XtTo/my-choice-for-a.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4972/my-choice-for-a.html Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:25:18 -0700 The world changes in gross and dastardly ways but Brentwood, where we have lived for 46 years, stays as charming and warmly hospitable as always, despite a few minor changes. Some examples are: Hamburger Hamlet morphed into the presidential eatery, known as the Tavern -- and the Safeway Grocery story devolved into a Longs before it eroded into the three-letter store (aka CVS). Resiliently and wonderfully un-changing is Vicente Foods, characterized by its hospitable free coffee adjacent to its ...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4972/my-choice-for-a.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/0V5QMnEAqLU/civilians-targeted-by-hamas.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4801/civilians-targeted-by-hamas.html Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Terrorists in Gaza, armed and financed by Iran, fired an anti-tank weapon at an Israeli school bus today, seriously injuring a 16-year-old and the driver. By a miracle, most of the students who had been on the bus minutes before, had disembarked -- otherwise we would be mourning a major tragedy right now. Photos show the interior of the bus entirely destroyed. There are several points to make about this attack: the target was a yellow bus, internationally known as a symbol of a vehicle used spec...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4801/civilians-targeted-by-hamas.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/6CG92Btvvjk/japan-nuclear-tragedy-not.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4672/japan-nuclear-tragedy-not.html Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:25:18 -0700 Doctor friends tell me that patients have asked them for potassium iodide (KI) tablets. I've received several emails warning me of a possible radiation cloud and that I should run to the hardware store and arm myself with duct tape, plastic and maybe even tin foil. Stop.Doctors cannot hand out potassium iodide (KI) tablets willy nilly; they are not a useful prophylactic. Especially in light of the LA County Public Health Advisory issued on March 15, 2011, which advise residents to avoid ingesti...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4672/japan-nuclear-tragedy-not.html http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Letters-Opinions-WestsideToday/~3/-yJ7gh6ligY/-va-has-breached.html http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4657/-va-has-breached.html Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:25:18 -0700 The Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation, was on-site on the VA campus from July 2009 to October 2010. We had the privilege of working with veterans and clinicians there. I have never before worked with such committed and able people. The focus of our work was the Strawberry Flag: an artwork made of salvaged strawberries and reclaimed water that was fully powered separate fromthe VA grid. The daily practice associated with tending to living things helped to ...http://www.westsidetoday.com/s1-4657/-va-has-breached.html