This letter responds to Richard Picheny's personal attack on me in the Coastline Pilot's May 4 story, "Cottage to be torn down."
Picheny indicated that I do nothing as a council member to protect old cottages. His statement is simply untrue. Here is one example: Several years ago, when I was involved with fundraising for our community/senior center, the city had purchased parcels on Third Street, where four old structures were located, to be used for the center. A couple of these structures had been made available by the city to the 2005 landslide victims to live in at no-cost while they were trying to rebuild their lives and their homes, and I had been inside them visiting those folks. While they were extremely run-down, some had value, in my mind.
With the assistance of some very generous Lagunans, I helped to relocate some of the victims in those structures to other housing; the Third Street structures became empty. As progress was made on the community/senior center, a decision had to be made as to whether to move and store the Third Street structures or demolish them. I voted with others on the City Council to move and store them, clearing the way for the center.