More Housewives
Re “The Real Housewives of Orange County”:
We are 14-year residents of Coto de Caza and have raised four children there. At least on our street of some 20 homes, maybe a couple of women have had their breasts augmented, but certainly not 85% as this program suggests.
More importantly, life is not about things per se. It is about family, relationships and spiritual matters.
So, while some of our Coto and other Orange County neighbors may live in the materialistic and sometimes spiritually bankrupt world that this program suggests, it is not the one we choose to live in.
On the contrary, we love living in Coto and enjoy the numerous, wonderful families we have met over the years, in what is a special and somewhat unique community.
Dean McCormick
Coto de Caza
Infrastructure
California’s infrastructure needs significant investment to keep our state safe, move our economy forward and prepare for the millions who will move here over the next decade.
Gov. Schwarzenegger highlighted this when he called for a strategic growth plan in his State of the State address and we applaud the governor for his strong leadership in addressing this crucial issue.
While it is disappointing that an agreement was not reached in time to place an infrastructure bond package on the June ballot, it appears that all sides agree on the importance of this issue to our state and will continue to work toward a successful proposal to place before the people.
In the absence of an agreement on new infrastructure investment, it is even more important that we protect the existing Proposition 42 measure approved by the voters to require investment in transportation projects each year. Californians likely will have the opportunity to take action on this issue in November by supporting an initiative to guarantee their gas tax revenues are invested in transportation projects every year.
In addition, voters in 12 counties will be able to address the infrastructure needs of their communities directly this year by supporting local option sales taxes dedicated to transportation projects.
Approximately $18 billion in much-needed transportation resources will be available through elections in June and November to reduce congestion and improve air quality. We strongly encourage the voters to approve these measures for their local communities.
Allan Zaremberg
(Zaremberg is president of the California Chamber of Commerce. He is co-chair of Californians to Improve Traffic Now, which is gathering signatures to qualify for the November ballot an initiative to close a loophole in Proposition 42, which was supposed to ensure that gas tax revenue be spent on transportation projects.)
Bad Lawsuits
Orange County Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse has announced its “Looney Lawsuit” for April. This month’s frivolity looks at how you can sue anyone,even yourself. It may sound like an April Fool’s joke, but this lawsuit is all too real.
According to a March article in The Lodi News-Sentinel, Curtis Gokey decided to sue the city of Lodi for damages when a dump truck backed into his car. The looney thing is that Gokey, a Lodi city employee, was the person driving the dump truck. Even after he admitted that the accident was his fault, Gokey filed a $3,600 claim for damages to his car.
The city denied Gokey’s claim because in essence, he was suing himself. That still didn’t stop Gokey. He and his wife decided to file a new claim under her name.
The city attorney said this claim also lacks merit because Mrs. Gokey can’t sue her own husband. According to Mrs. Gokey, she has the right to sue the city because it was a city vehicle that damaged her private vehicle.
Frivolous lawsuits hit each one of us in the pocketbook and Californians feel it everyday with higher prices for everything.
Maryann Maloney
Executive Director
Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse,
Orange County
Corona del Mar
