Letters/Online Comments

Re: Co-existing with Sea Lions: Don’t Become a Viral Hit (June 16-29 issue)

Lies by NOAA

Weasel wording from NOAA again. The article is about sea lions and they talk about seals. They have no reported cases of seals biting anybody so they cite “reports of a number of injuries to humans as a result of getting too close to an animal.” And that cited sea lion was not intending any harm or he would have done some. People were making him jump for treats. He popped up and spied something left for him and grabbed what looked like a bag of stuff. He had a 1/4 second to make a decision. No harm done. NOAA PR is just trying to justify driving everybody away from docks or beaches where their surplus animals have overflowed into. Sabre rattling to make up for their impotence in the face of unintended consequence of over populating the state with marine mammals past the mandate of the MMPA. They cite the same old story of the guy holding the fish where a sea lion could jump up and steal it. The sea lion took the fish, hand and all and spat out the fisherman. No malice intended. I don’t mean to stand up for sea lions as lovely things, but point out the lies NOAA is broadcasting to justify closing facilities to the public by intimidation and gossip where they should be removing the marine mammals they rescued and released in urban areas. They have stopped working by the law and gone completely to PR and fake news. They let people sell urban marine mammals as worth exploiting for tourist attractions to replace revenue lost to the fishing industry and then think they can control that remotely.

John Leek

 

Re: Federal bill aims to keep foreign marine debris away (June 2-15 issue)

Sewer meets Sea

So why don’t they look in their own backyard!!!!!! Every state has the same problem we have here in Wilmington Shores!!!! And every state has a bunch of gov employees doing nothing about it!!!!! The Dominguez Channel is not flowing right now, so our waterways are relatively clean. Just wait until the first rain and we will start all over again!!!! Where the Sewer meets the Sea!!!!

Dave Mark, Commodore, San Pedro Yacht Club, California Yacht Marina, Wilmington

 

Re: Second home tax deductions: Boaters on edge with AB 71 (June 2-15 issue)

 Stop stealing monies

How about California government not stealing money, thereby not need to take boat owners write-off? A court ruled … California is obligated to return $331 million that it took from a fund designated to help troubled borrowers but instead used to plug holes in the state’s budget.

Jeffrey

“Commies are at it again”

The Commies are at it again. They are just pushing productive people out of the state. Soon it will be the Ultra Rich and the peon welfare class. The Democrats are truly idiots in action.

Leroy Achoy

 “Taxation with representation”

I’m a Conservative however, the idea of getting  a tax “loophole” for calling  a boat a “second home” is not something I agree with. The article definitely presents a lot of ‘alternate facts’, such as the average boat purchase price being $16,517. Obviously this would not be considered a live aboard boat. There is one area of taxation that is definitely a huge rip-off for all income levels:  The tax that slip renters have to pay annually. This is a “property tax based on the valuation of the slip/space, and is imposed on whomever occupied that slip on January 1st of each year. I can’t imagine how this outrageous tax has been accepted by the hundreds of thousands of slip renters. I know it has been challenged in the past, however, it never received much, if any publicity—thus it died on the vine. This is no different than a home or apartment renter being taxed on the value of his rental. Also, even more egregious, the slip renter could be there on Jan. 1 and move out the next month, and will still be taxed for the whole year. What about the ‘Guest slips’? Which one of them gets taxed? Talk about “taxation without representation”. This is what the ‘Tea Party’ was all about. Apparently we are a different culture today—and, simply accept this sort of thing.

Wayne Ford

 Moving on out

People are leaving California and it’s all because of JERRY MOONBEAM BROWN. He has ruined this state, first it was companies leaving and now it’s the people leaving because of the stupid ass way he is running this state, he is taxing the people to death; they have no choice but to go to greener pastures. I know of some people that have left, I have a good friend that moved to Idaho and he loves it. I will be going there to see him and check Idaho out for myself. Like my good friend, we both live on a small pension and AS. Our money is fixed, and we don’t get raises so we can’t live with all of these taxes. So me and my wife and my boat might be moving to Idaho.

Denis Kenshalo