Editor:
The recent article in the Daily Press proclaimed “good news” for the rusty pile of chains in front of City Hall (“Council likely to save ‘Chain Reaction,'” Jan. 3). Although some donations have been made to save the chains, the city of Santa Monica manager/czar will recommend to the City Council commissars that City Hall “will cover remaining costs, whatever they may be.”
Whatever they may be! Estimates for repairing this eyesore range from $85,000 to over half-a-million dollars! What a great job for the contractor who has to restore this pile of iron to its former “beauty.” They will get a blank check provided by our fearless city leaders and we, the taxpayers, will of course foot the bill.
Meanwhile, the same city manager who heralds this “good news” has also cut many city services by 5 percent. Good news for the few peace activists that make a lot of noise. Bad news for the silent majority of Santa Monica taxpayers.
Don Wagner
Santa Monica
So, I wonder what the proverbial “silent majority” thinks about the mis-spent billions of dollars on insane nuclear weapons by the US?
The U.S. is on track to spend between $620 billion and $661 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next decade. Do we really need to be spending so much on weapons that military experts don’t believe are relevant to today’s threats?