Disaster Unreadiness

So L.A. has spent years stalling and stumbling rather than strengthening the long list of buildings that could crumble if the Big One hits, Gracie Zheng reported last week (“An Earthquake Could Topple Hundreds of Buildings, and L.A. Leaders Are Doing Nothing,” March 7). WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!

JonasGrumby writes, “We've gone through a decade of Teabag austerity madness, and the entire nation is crumbling. Oh, we'll spend a gazillion for military arms we'll never use that the military doesn't even want, but a few billion for infrastructure? Nope.“

Scottzwartz observes, “Look at it this way: When an earthquake knocks down buildings, Garcetti's cronies have the space cleared for them to construct more high rises with tax dollars. Anyone who thinks that City Hall has any interest in anyone except the billionaires who fund their political campaigns is living in Never-Never Land. For them, a massive earthquake is God's wrecking ball.“

But Brainwashed_in_church blames the citizenry: “Given the choice of paying an extra $69 per month in rent for earthquake retrofitting, or continuing to feed their Starbucks or iFad addictions, how do you think 99 percent of Angelenos would vote?“

The Scourge of Skid Row

Readers had mixed feelings about LAPD Officer Deon Joseph, who's spent years trying to stop “Skid Row Ricky” from selling beer in the downtown neighborhood from which he takes his name (“'Skid Row Ricky' Sells Beer Outside Rehab Centers, But Not If Officer Deon Joseph Can Stop Him” by Hayley Fox).

Writes El_Kite_Pics, “If Officer Deon Joseph can't find a more productive way to spend his work time, maybe we can do without Officer Deon Joseph on the city payroll. I remember standing in line one night in Beverly Hills about 30 years ago, waiting for a concert to start. A guy with a duffel bag came by selling ice-cold beers for a buck apiece to those of us standing in line. That man was a fucking saint. There are hundreds of MURDERS in L.A. that are yet unsolved. Maybe it would be a better use of limited cop resources to go after those guys first. Then, after solving the murders, you can go harass the little guy providing a service to drinkers.”

LakerH8 disagrees: “Seems like for some, the police are damned if they do, damned if they don't. If the cops enforced the law like this where I live, crime would be cut in half.”

Corrections

A Calendar item highlighting the Festival of the Kite was listed under the wrong day last week — March 9, of course, was a Sunday. Also, we made a few errors in our roundup of the city's essential restaurants: Sotto serves Southern Italian food, and the restaurant is now open only for dinner. Bucato is open for dinner on Mondays. And Hinoki & the Bird is located in a condo building, not a hotel. Finally, our list of alternative art spaces (“Spaces in Between”) provided incorrect information about the Beacon Arts Building. The curatorial initiative we previously highlighted has folded, but the building is still open. We regret the errors.

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