Chance for another great shopping center exists...

Chance for another great shopping center exists

I would like to add two thoughts to the debate over the location

of a Kohl’s department store on Harbor Boulevard. I acquired these

reflections during conversations with my neighbors. Sixty-nine of

them, as indicated by their willingness to sign a petition, agreed

with me that the replacement of Kona Lanes, the Ice Chalet and the

Edwards Theaters by Kohl’s would be preferable. We are homeowners who

live about halfway between the proposed store site and the Harbor

Center. Our homes stand in an area bounded by Princeton to Fair Drive

on the one hand and Harbor to Fordham Drive on the other. In these

discussions, two points of consideration emerged.

Once, we saw the center where Harbor Center is now decline and

wither. With the new development, we have a dynamic, better-designed

business core. Panasonic, Albertson’s, TJ Maxx (especially), Home

Depot and Starbucks provide us with services that are convenient. I

think, too, that those improvements contributed to the rising

property values in College Park. Kohl’s, too, will afford us a

convenient shopping location. Further, newer structures would have to

look better than those there now. I think the city needs to act

before conditions become worse.

Second, much has been made in this debate about the loss of

recreational opportunities. When people built the Ice Chalet and Kona

Lanes, Costa Mesa had fewer parks and other recreation programs. In

1972, Costa Mesa residents, led by Arlene Schafer and the late

Vaughan Redding, passed a bond issue that enabled the city to buy

several of the parks that we now enjoy. Moreover, the city did not

have the innovative mobile recreation unit that has been introduced

to the community in the last two years. And the AYSO soccer program

and Little League have expanded. Those of us who have looked at the

latest city recreation brochure have been impressed with its diverse

agenda. The dramatic growth of these activities tells me that Costa

Mesans care for and uphold recreation, but not if a deteriorated

business area continues to decline.

BARBARA PANIAN

Costa Mesa

Congratulations, without regret, due to Robinson

This is in response to Sunday’s editorial “Congratulations, with a

few regrets.”

Congratulations are indeed in order to Mayor Karen Robinson on her

appointment by Gov. Gray Davis to the Orange County Superior Court.

Truly, the city of Costa Mesa’s loss is the judicial system’s gain.

It was never a secret that Robinson had a desire to one day wear

the robes of a judge. When she joined in the fight to stop Judge

Ronald Kline from being automatically re-elected, an unprecedented

250,000 registered voters went to the polls on election day to “write

in” someone else’s name in a judicial race that any other time would

have received less than a nanosecond of voters’ attention.

Someone in Sacramento, I’m sure, was watching the outcome very

close. I, for one, am thrilled to think that residents of Costa Mesa

who helped Robinson’s election campaign for City Council also had a

part in helping her to achieve this amazing goal. As an Orange County

Superior Court Judge, Robinson will not only still be serving the

citizens of Costa Mesa, but the entire county. I am also grateful and

appreciative for Robinson’s willingness to step up and run for

council at a time when the residents really needed someone who we

felt would be our voice. She was a wonderful council member and, as

mayor, raised the bar on fair and professional leadership.

Do I wish she were able to finish her term? You bet. But once the

wheels are in motion, the time frame is pretty much someone else’s

call. And when the call comes, I doubt anyone of us would turn it

down. I appreciate the time we had Robinson serving on council. We

were lucky to have had her guidance and influence that I’m sure will

last long after she steps down off the dais.

CINDY BRENNEMAN

Costa Mesa

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Cindy Brenneman was one of Karen Robinson’s

campaign managers for her City Council campaign and worked on

Robinson’s judicial write-in campaign.