Mailbag: Integrity missing in 2 O.C. city councils’ actions

The members of the Huntington Beach City Council, in lockstep against the wishes of many constituents, are doing their darndest to hide the damage they are doing to our public libraries, beaches and parks.

Privatizing portions of Central Park without public input and legal environmental review is outrageous. The hush-hush concealment of the Pacific Airshow settlement reeks of corruption. The worst is restricting access to books under a specter of government protection and attempting to sell off control of our public libraries.

A simple sign posted in the library explicitly states children “should not be unattended.” Given this simple warning, children should not access books without parental oversight. However Councilwoman Gracey Van Der Mark charges that the children’s library has pornographic books. There are no pornographic books in the children’s library. It is illegal for publishers to sell pornography to children and teens! Residents, go look for yourselves!

For decades, our parks, beaches and libraries have been funded by taxpayers and are free for the use of our residents. Our freedom has been choked by backroom deals, greed and a stealthy campaign of false information. The council has ignored the requirement for a legal, up-to-date environmental review before pushing a for-profit light show on public property. The council members are fully aware that a permit for the show would never pass the review board. We have bald eagles, rare birds and butterflies nesting in the park.

Huntington Beach City Council is in a crisis of integrity.

Nora Pedersen
Huntington Beach

City’s tactics unfair to spa

In regards to the recent TimesOC article on the La Palma City Council’s decision to deny our conditional use permit at Starlight Day Spa, while I appreciate that my comments at the hearing were quoted, the article fails to provide critical context.

The city of La Palma never provided us with clear guidance on the CUP process or how massage services could be lawfully incorporated into a beauty salon. Instead of working with us, city staff approached the matter with suspicion, offering no clarification or collaborative intent. The CUP process was obscured by surprise inspections, retroactive fees and accusations, rather than open communication or good-faith support for a small business trying to operate legally.

We incurred over $3,200 in nonrefundable CUP fees, only to be informed after the fact of additional charges totaling $1,368 for staff time — fees we had no reason to expect. Combined with planning, licensing and marketing investments, our losses exceeded $15,000 — a devastating hit for any new business.

What was most disturbing, however, was the conduct of La Palma’s code enforcement during their inspection. The approach —aggressive and unannounced — caused fear and panic among employees and customers, some of whom spoke little English and fled the premises, traumatized.

The city’s reference during the meeting to RubMaps — an inappropriate and misleading massage parlor website — as “evidence” was reckless. RubMaps is not a platform on which businesses advertise; it is a user-generated “fan” site, over which we have no control. The implication this page was legitimate evidence raises serious concerns.

The cumulative effect of these tactics has been the public shaming and reputational destruction of our business. We acted in good faith, removed all massage references at the city’s request and repeatedly offered to work under a probationary period. Instead, we were vilified.

I urge the public to consider how easily a small business can be crushed — not by misconduct, but by the very systems meant to support it. We deserve better. The truth is far more complex than what was presented in your article, and our community deserves the whole story.

Tom Scott
Owner, Starlight Day Spa
La Palma