It would not be accurate to say you readers enjoyed our Jan. 13 feature story about how the bust of two local pedophiles led to the dismantling of an international child-porn ring (“The Secrets of Scooby-Doo,” by John H. Tucker). Devoured, yes. Couldn't stop reading? OK, that, too. But this was a dark tale about some very twisted people; even though the good guys won in the end, no one was enjoying anything.

Writes Christopher142, “I've read some sad, ugly depictions of the human condition over the years in the L.A. Weekly, but I think this takes the cake for me. This Jeff Greenwell earns a spot in the Monstrosity Hall of Shame, down there with serial killers. From having the gall to put a production graphic on child pornography, to charming single women just to get to their children, to clearly not being capable of feeling sorry for what he has done — 'outrageous' doesn't even cover it. These children will probably be damaged for life. The organization of pedophiles these days, with a manual for preying on children! I don't think I'll be able to scrub this from my mind. Painful.”

Michael Roberts agrees. “A very disturbing, but compelling, investigative article,” he writes. “Well done.”

Lisa offers a thank-you to the FBI agents and investigators who worked the case. “Thank you to the dedicated women and men who worked so hard to uncover these monsters and their sick activities. Please keep searching and fighting — the parents of the world are immensely grateful. These criminals are shameless and remorseless and should be removed from society.”

Say Goodbye to (Historic) Hollywood

Even as your souls were crushed by the depravity of our local pedophiles, your spirits were angered by the actions of our local politicians — particularly those seeking a high-density, skyscraper-heavy regional center for Hollywood (“War for Hollywood's Soul,” Jan. 13, by David Futch and Jill Stewart). And yes, we're talking about you, Councilman Eric Garcetti.

Writes Joanna Momma, “It's not like anyone with a somewhat normal salary (if you're lucky enough to have a job) can afford to live in any of these high-rise, highfalutin monstrosities. I find it disgusting that you have to be a rich a–hole to afford to live in Hollywood. I used to live there and moved out. I can't imagine being able to pay those rents. Garcetti is telling everyone to go suck an egg if you're not a rich developer.”

Kris Sullivan agrees. “Anyone who lives in Hollywood should read this article,” she writes. “We are going to be another Manhattan, not another Pasadena, and we are going to subsidize these infernal skyscrapers.”

Rick Abrams is also not a fan, to put it mildly. “The Hollywood Community Plan is a fool's idea. It is based on the childish idea of 'if you build it, they will come,' ” he writes. But it hasn't worked out that way: “The more Garcetti and the CRA built, the more people fled. While people who knew Hollywood were saying that the CRA projects were financial disasters and the subway was not revitalizing Hollywood, Garcetti and the CRA continued to squander hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a few megabillionaire developers, while downgrading police and fire services and depriving children of parks.

“When the 2010 U.S. Census figures supported everything the critics had been saying about the harm being done to Hollywood, Garcetti declared that the Census was wrong and he was right! Following Garcetti's hubris, the Hollywood Community Plan similarly ignores the 20-year downward trend and promotes the Big Lie that the population is zooming upwards.

“The Hollywood real estate market is imploding, and even the City Council recognizes the disaster Garcetti has brought upon the city. This week, only Reyes and Alarcon supported Garcetti's demand that the city itself become the successor agency to the CRA. The others finally realized that supporting Garcetti 99.3 percent of the time has brought the city to financial ruin.”

Dcbsky wants to look at the bigger picture. “The question is, Why do Angelenos keep voting in these idiot incumbents, just because they have a D after their name? Do you think maybe this latest example of crony-capitalist destruction will shake people out of their habit?” Call us cynics, Dcbsky, but we're not betting on it.

You Write, We Read

Please send letters to Comments, L.A. Weekly, 3861 Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230. Or write us at ReadersWrite@laweekly.com. Full name and contact info preferred.

Corrections

Last week's Comments section, detailing the reaction to Tibby Rothman's Jan. 6 cover story about surfer Bobby Martinez (“Bobby Martinez's Rebel Cry”), mistakenly said Martinez is still suspended from the Association of Surfing Professionals' World Tour. Rothman's article did not state that, and we went too far.

Also, a feature on our Arts page entitled “Noble in Resin” (Jan. 6), about the hardware store and fabricator Hastings Plastics, implied that one of the sculptures pictured, Robert Irwin's Untitled (1970), was constructed by Hastings. It was not. The sculpture was a part of the Light and Space art movement, in which Hastings played a central role, but Hastings did not work on this particular sculpture.

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