MAILBAG - Dec. 7, 2006

Rohrabacher should be more bipartisan

What a shame! After reading your article (“Power Outage for GOP,” Nov. 23), I was struck by the glib sentiments expressed about the outcome of the election by our representative in Washington D.C., Dana Rohrabacher. It seems that for him the primary significance of this landmark election is that now he will no longer have the inside track on the chairmanship of the science committee in the House of Representatives. In addition, Mr. Rohrabacher felt that the main reason the Republicans lost was “because Republicans didn’t hit Democrats back hard enough” during the campaigns.

Give me a break! If there’s one thing the Republicans know how to do, it’s hit hard during the campaigns. Mr. Rohrabacher also implies that Republicans are tougher on illegal immigration than the Democrats. More baloney! Both parties have long acquiesced to the desires of the big business lobbyists who want cheap labor in our country. I’d like to believe Mr. Rohrabacher’s detached and simplistic comments about this election were merely fodder for reporters. Hopefully, he understands — like the American electorate understands — that the Bush Administration and Congress have done enormous damage to this country and have left us with problems that are going to take years to fix. More importantly, I hope Mr. Rohrabacher will be the type of congressman who will be willing to work in a bipartisan and collaborative manner to face these challenges and do what’s best for America.

Adam Bernstein

Huntington Beach

A cloud hangs over desalination plant

There is a marked difference in the way various jurisdictions approach desalination. One approach was used by the Long Beach Water Department. It performed extensive research on ways to reduce the energy consumption that desalination requires and the agency seriously investigated the effects the plant would have on the environment. The department’s website contains an abundance of operational data and its employees are very forthright about the problems they have encountered.

Poseidon, in contrast, although it is about to start a plant in Huntington Beach has either not done any of these type of analyses, or chooses not to share the information with the people of Huntington Beach. A cloud hangs over it because of its first venture into desalination in Tampa Bay. In Tampa Bay, the plant operated just long enough to demonstrate its huge flaws, and although repairs and modifications were supposed to have been completed in October 2006, it still is not producing because its pumps rusted and had to be sent back to the factory to be refurbished. The repairs to that Poseidon plant will cost the people using Tampa Bay Water’s product an additional $29 million. Tampa Bay Water has announced that it will operate the plant on a limited basis because of the cost.

John Scott

Huntington Beach

Desalination plant will benefit Southland

This desalination plant will be good for Huntington Beach and Southern California in general. Look at Mono Lake or the Owens Valley; wouldn’t it be great if they could be restored? We have the technology to extract usable drinking water from the abundance of the ocean and this makes a lot more sense than piping it in from somewhere else. I believe water is a resource we can’t take a chance with and this will be a win-win for everyone.

Bob Kramer

Huntington Beach