Main Street
Regarding “Huntington Beach Tests Closure of Main Street to Cars” (Marketplace column, July 10), Huntington Beach should take a look at the successful example of how the seaside resort of Netanya, Israel, closed its Main Street to vehicle traffic in 1980, and converted it to a pedestrian zone, while allowing that area’s restaurants to expand their outdoor seating facilities beyond the sidewalks toward the center of the street.
The resulting changed environment in the city’s central area has helped it blossom into a premier tourist destination widely regarded to be Israel’s Riviera on the Mediterranean Sea.
David Alpern
Interchange Corp.
Irvine
Barb’s Barb: Teacher Unions
Not a day goes by without hearing news of how teachers unions are influencing policy in our state.
They have unlimited funds fighting for their interests in every election cycle, with elaborate commercials showing some matronly dressed female teacher in a classroom telling the audience how a candidate or proposition will devastate our precious children.
So who are these guardian angels and why do they carry so much clout?
Are they as wonderful as portrayed?
Do they know what is best for our children?
Looking back at my own secondary education, including high school in California, I realize how few teachers actually left a positive imprint.
I had a geometry teacher who told me I had special talent and should stay with it, but most teachers were uninspiring, uninterested and unqualified.
There was the drunken teacher who fell asleep during student presentations, the teacher who stole my boyfriend (apparently today she would go to jail for doing so), the English teacher who every morning told us we were worthless, the chemistry teacher who could barely speak and the football coach trying (I think) to teach civics.
Most students got A’s but I have no recollection of having learned an actual fact about how our government was run.
Most memorable was my 10th grade English teacher who without proof accused me of plagiarizing a poem because he just assumed a mousy girl like me couldn’t possibly write anything profound.
When I got to college I submitted the poem and it was published.
Then I had my own kids and we started the exciting world of public schools with overcrowded classes and incompetent teachers.
We ended the public school folly after asking the teacher during parent/teacher night how our son was doing.
She replied that she had no clue because she had no time for individual students!
The next morning the principal requested that my husband and I sue the school, because he couldn’t fire an incompetent teacher who was three years away from retirement.
We instead opted for a private school where at least the class sizes were small, most teachers were not on heavy medication and kids with discipline problems would not be invited back unless their parents gave lots and lots of money.
I read an article that said most teachers were in the bottom 25% of their college graduating classes.
That may explain a lot.
Recently, one of my in-laws, who teaches English in a California public high school, was beaming with excitement because at least 40% of her students were graduating this year.
Considering peace in the family I kept my mouth shut.
But I wanted to observe that if 60% of the cars built by Mercedes (or even GM) had their wheels fall off, it would be out of business.
Yes, I’ve come across a few teachers I would recommend as competent or even inspiring.
But I’m baffled by the amount of unquestioning respect and trust that empowers the teachers union to get away with pushing a selfish entitlement agenda while failing and marginalizing the children they are supposed to prepare for adult life.
Barbara Hiller Johnson
San Juan Capistrano
Great Park
I can see it now, the El Toro Airport Nimby’s and the gullible park supporters are now aghast that The Great Parking Lot will potentially have up to 9,500 homes.
How ironic.
Now I could have sworn that one of the “drawbacks” was that the airport would generate a lot of “traffic.” Like all those new homes wouldn’t. Ha!
But then again anyone with any business sense should have known that Lennar would not settle for a mere 3,625 homes. Especially not after paying over $1 billion for the land and development fees.
It is only fitting that the Great Park will soon be flying a pretty orange balloon.
That’s because the campaign promises for the park were hollow and full of hot air.
JC Carter
Irvine
