Paper Pusher

Somewhere between DWP chief David Nahai’s comment “We can’t all go back to living in huts” and the obscene excess that defines SoCal living is a healthier, more moderate way of life that serves our environment and our souls [“Can David Nahai Keep the Lights On?” Dec. 28–Jan 3]. Unfortu­nately, it’s not what Nahai or his city cronies appear able to model. Start with the nearly half-million bucks spent six times each year on snail-mail billings to DWP’s 1.5 million customers. That’s not even counting the cost of statements, inserts and envelopes urging customers to “go green.” He and his spoiled, inept, overpaid staff are the problem, not the answer.

Ann Bradley

Los Angeles

The Wave That Sank the Ship

The cover story “The Admiral’s Sinking Ship” [Dec. 28–Jan. 3] focused on some of the never-ending problems in the L.A. Unified School District. Some decades ago, before the great wave of foreign immigration hit California, its school system was one of the best in the USA. Now our public schools are right near the bottom of the barrel. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that when poor children are continually dumped into the schools, failure is virtually the only option. This suits the elite who run U.S. businesses and government just fine; that is, overimmigration provides an endless supply of excessive, and thus cheap, labor.

For all the talk by politicians about improving L.A. Unified, nothing significant will happen until immigration rates, both legal and illegal, are reduced. Unfortunately, the media never focus on overimmigration as the principal underlying cause of the mess that is the L.A. public-school system.

Ben Zuckerman

Physics & astronomy professor, UCLA

Poorly Served

I was surprised and dismayed that one of my favorite movies of 2007, Waitress, wasn’t mentioned by any of the critics in their sum-up of the year’s best films. Waitress is a funny, quirky, well-made and well-acted feminist fable. I loved it, and so did everyone I know who saw it.

Melva Colter

Los Angeles

Correction

Last week’s review of Alice Sit-By-the-Fire misidentified actor Tania Getty, who plays the role of Ginevra.

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