Lifeguards deserve better treatment
I feel the city needs to step up and acknowledge the incredible
job our understaffed lifeguard department has done and support their
need for more full-timers.
Will City Manager Ken Frank wait until we have a preventable
drowning until he acts? Will the city wait until it is sued by a
disgruntled employee who for years has been putting in full-time
hours at part-time pay?
The Laguna Beach Lifeguard Assn. will celebrate its 75th
anniversary in September. Not sure if Frank should be invited.
JIMBEAU ANDREWS
Laguna Beach
Don't wait until a drowning happens
I fully support increasing the number of full-time lifeguards and
giving benefits to some of the part-time lifeguards. The city should
encourage retention of dedicated year-round public safety staff. This
adds to the quality and professionalism of its staff and the
reputation of the city.
Too often a city will delay costly action until enough injuries,
accidents or fatalities occur, confirming a need for additional
expenditures. Whose life is the Laguna Beach city administration
willing to risk with its cost saving measures? Is it the swimmer or
kayaker who lives down the street, the relative who begins each
morning surfing, the scuba diver who lives in the next town over?
While I agree that every California agency must be prudent with its
money, public safety is a primary responsibility. Public safety for
beach users is just as important as police or fire protection for
landlubbers.
As a frequent visitor to Laguna Beach, to scuba dive and also to
shop and dine, I hope that my voice will be heard. I do not live in
Laguna Beach but I certainly spend money there and I expect city
services for public safety to meet the demand of the population that
lives, works and visits there.
The economic health of the city depends partially on the visitors
who frequent Laguna Beach. Protect public safety by supporting the
lifeguards' needs.
DEBBIE KARIMOTO
Mission Viejo
Presumably you are receiving many e-mails (or faxes) that
encourage the city to hire additional full-time lifeguards and to
make available benefits that most civic duty positions are entitled
to.
As a visitor to Laguna and the surrounding areas my family and I
are comforted to know that there are properly trained and experienced
lifeguards on duty. This is a very important factor in allowing my
family to enjoy the beach area. As you know, the ocean can unleash
surprising currents, surges, rip currents, waves, etc. Having a
