Rapid Transit Delight, Two Kinds of Fluoride and "Move the Vehicle Now!"

April 28, 2001

Dear Editor,

Following the example of a couple of my fellow docents who occasionally commute from the Valley to the Petersen Automotive Museum at Wilshire and Fairfax on the MTA, I recently took the Wilshire Blvd. Metro Rapid Express line #720 from 14th St. in Santa Monica to Fairfax.

The trip was a delight and took only 35 minutes in relaxed comfort. The senior fare is forty five cents -- compare that to a of gallon of premium. The use of public transit could be frowned upon as heresy by some of the volunteers at the Museum, but I submit that we are deep in a transportation crisis where the pleasure of driving is badly strained by crowding on our streets and freeways.

It is time we all looked at doing something to induce improvement in the traffic and parking problems we face. The MTA has certainly taken a major step with this unique natural gas powered RAPID transit schedule. It has been in effect for nearly a year and those red and white busses are quite evident on their Wilshire route.

For fellow Westsiders, I recommend following the current debate on the Mid City/Westside Transit Corridor and, if you have a chance, attend a public review session when one is presented in your area. I attended one last year and as a result found the draft EIR in my mailbox.

My trip on line 720 was intended as a study session where I could read the document and experience rapid transit first-hand. I have to admit that I got very little reading done because the ever-changing view outside was so dynamic and exciting. I've really never seen it when I've been at the wheel.

Jim Mount
Santa Monica

April 26, 2001

Dear Editor,

(Re: Fluoridation)
As a former longtime resident of Santa Monica, a past Planning Commission member and a political consultant with a couple of clients on the City Council I wanted to share my experience with this important public policy issue/argument.

I worked with a group of citizens in a small community in Washington state a couple of years ago who did not want forced fluoridation of their water system. The Dental Association was a powerful adversary, expensive mailers, non-stop lobbying of decision makers -- probably close to the same campaign occurring in Santa Monica now.

During one strategy meeting a very quiet scientist explained to the group the history of the original findings, i.e., why people believe early use of fluoride helps prevent cavities in children -- the Texas case.

I was blown away when I realized that most people had no idea that there are TWO types of fluoride, calcium fluoride and sodium fluoride. Calcium fluoride is a naturally occurring substance and was in the water system in the Texas study. Sodium fluoride is a byproduct of aluminum manufacturing and a poison. Sodium fluoride is the substance sold to cities for the water system additive.

As Americans our science IQ is woefully low and this ignorance has allowed many public policy decisions regarding this substance to be made without the full facts at hand.

Hope you all aren't forced to buy bottled water!

Sharon Gilpin
Seattle, Washington

April 23, 2001

Dear Editor,

Donna Block wants to criminalize being in a parked car anywhere in Santa Monica, even if the car is parked legally under current law. According to Donna, if you happen to be in a car parked legally you should get a ticket anyway because (1) it's inconvenient for police officers to tell you to move and (2) when people park illegally, "a ticket is issued in a heartbeat."

When I was a teenager living at home my friends and I would sit in a car and talk for hours -- because it was the only place we knew our parents wouldn't overhear us. One night, a police officer in the much-vaunted City of Beverly Hills rapped on the car window and told us we had to move -- or be ticketed. Why, we asked, since we were legally parked. We were told:
because you appear to be living in the vehicle.

You never saw teenage girls laugh so hard -- it was so absurd -- or become so terrified when the officer next threatened to arrest us if we didn't MOVE THE VEHICLE NOW! So we parked on the nearest commercial street -- Wilshire -- and the next time the police told us to move they said it was because we appeared to be prostitutes. At the time I had my coat on over flannel pajamas with feet in them -- cute, but hardly your typical slut-wear.

So we are all supposed to give up our freedom to be in a parked car -- as a convenience to Donna Block and the police department -- because it's good for public safety, just like martial law is! I hope the City Council will have the courage to reject this warmed-over attempt by a failed City Council candidate to whip up the citizenry again over homelessness in the hope of improving her election chances next time.

We don't need more laws on the books about parking or homelessness. And if people are living in their cars -- and no one in their right mind would call that living -- then they should be offered services, not ticketed.