Spot the racism! Is it in Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann, who was accused of harassment when he himself was harassed? Or is it in those cadets attending the Army-Navy game, who played “made you look” and got falsely accused of making white supremacist hand gestures? Or is it in this noose pull-down that was positioned in the Talladega Superspeedway long before Black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace was assigned to that garage? Wait - it’s not in any of those? Well then surely it’s in these tortillas that were tossed following the Coronado-Orange Glen division championship game? Yes, surely. And even if it isn’t, that’s no reason not to get upset enough to fire someone.

Coronado capering

Kudos for SD on the QT for exposing the Terrible Tortilla Toss as another in a long line of imagined liberal racism and the Coronado school board as kowtowing morons (“Coronado School Board comfortable with decision to fire head coach following tortilla-tossing incident.” SD on the QT, July 2).

In such light do I nominate Thomas Larson for self-inclusion in the next incarnation of San Diego Stupid (“San Diego stupid,” Cover Stories, June 30). In the first, he includes Ashli Babbitt, killed by an anonymous cop for the crime of trespass during the most peaceful insurrection the world has ever known. (Where else in history have “insurgents” been given access by police who then posed for smiling selfies?) But Larson’s half-dozen non-existent imagined strawmen which he uses as evidence (a typical ploy of today’s “journalists”) are enough to label her as radicalized and justify her death. Larson proves there is no shortage of San Diego Stupid.

• Steven Bennett
• Julian

Dunce boy

Here is another deserving dunce cap as a local lunkhead: Disgraced, ethically challenged Byron Wear. Mr. Wear by his own admission cannot even remember if he attended college or not. He did not. He admitted he ”cannot handle even mundane financial affairs.” He falsified his first application for City employment. After leaving office under an Ethics cloud, “Wear forced to Quit Airport Authority”, U.T. Editorial November 7, 2002. “Wear has been all ears and pockets when it comes to developers, oftentimes at the expense of San Diego’s oldest neighborhoods, many in his District.” From “Wearing out his Welcome”: City Beat Nov. 13, 2002.

• Scott Mac Laggan
• Point Loma

Firing offense

Last night we attended the CIF southern division State Championship between Coronado and Orange Glen. It was an amazing and hard fought game where Coronado came out with the victory in overtime. As the teams lined up to shake hands as usual after every game, the coach of Coronado told the coach of Orange Glen to “...take your kids and get the f__k out of here. Losers!” An altercation ensued and they started throwing tortillas at Orange Glen coaches and players.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment incident. It was planned. There are photos of people with packages of tortillas and videos of people, even Coronado players, throwing tortillas. I am used to being called an illegal alien, so this hardly fazes me, but it was hurtful to lots of people. The Coronado coach ruined an amazing game and the awards ceremony that was to come. He deserves to be fired!

• Name withheld
• Escondido

Admiral Baker Park – cut off from Grantville by Friars Road

militarycampgrounds.blogspot.com

When a tree falls into the chipper

I live in one of the neighborhoods identified in this study, and I’ve observed first hand how ignorance and short-sightedness has led to damage and destruction of countless trees on both public and private property (“San Diego parks fall in ratings,” Neighborhood News, June 1). No doubt you’ve seen the many “tree service” trucks with their giant chippers. I did a quick count a few years ago on Google maps and found over 130 tree service businesses in the county. (Conservatively, if each company prunes just one tree per day, five days per week, that’s 26,000 trees each year.)

These unregulated businesses employ mostly low skilled laborers who can handle chainsaws, but know little about trees. They prey on the uninformed. No doubt you’ve seen their most egregious work, leaving trees that have every limb cut so they look like hat racks. More often though, they top trees, or tip the limbs. Then as the trees continue to grow, these cut points become weak points that eventually fail leading to justification for more pruning. Ultimately, it creates not just a smaller canopy but less healthy trees that require continued maintenance and have shorter lives.

It’s not only citizens that get duped this way. Even our city council, the port district, and the county award huge contracts to arborists who take advantage of the pruning game.

A good example are the coral trees along Spanish Landing. Every few years these trees undergo a severe “pruning” that has created grossly misshapen trees with small canopies. Also, business owners regularly get duped into trusting licensed arborists who have a conflict of interest when asked whether or not their trees need to be pruned. These practices are uncommon in the rest of the country. Unfortunately though, with the added convenience and safety of man-lifts and chippers, and a pool of willing low skilled workers, together with internet support (just Google “how to start a tree service”), this industry is spreading like a virus.

• Steven Ward
• Encanto

"At the Heritage in Mission Beach, I was coming down and hootin'. I started with Bobby Dylan songs. Was singing a lot like that, but I wasn’t writing anything."

Fan letters from strangers

I loved seeing Jack Tempchin sing and play when he was just starting out (“Early San Diego Punk, Muzak all over town, exhibitionist Disco, Penetrators at the Hong Kong Cafe,” From the archives, January 30). He could create a spell with his own songs and others (Ocean Liner Woman).

I wrote him his second fan letter. Just came across his reply when going through old letters today: “Donna, Thanks for your letter. I just got back from traveling around the country. I haven’t been playing anywhere since the Heritage and Alley closed. I’ve just been trying to write songs for my publisher (The Eagles record company). You seem to know my whole life history. I wonder if we’ve met. Yours is about the second fan type letter (meaning from someone I don’t know) I have ever received, so I’m not exactly swamped. I don’t have a picture to send but feel free to write again and if you like I’ll let you know when I’m playing somewhere. Thanks a lot for the letter, it made me feel good. - Jack Tempchin.”

• Donna Cross
• La Mesa

Classic Bedford

Dear Ed, How/why in the world did it take you so long (years!) to discover/review Lola 55?!! It’s not like it’s a new restaurant or anything...(less time in Escondido, more time in San Diego, maybe...)

• -A Reader reader
• Escondido