Letters to the editor: No stadium for fairgrounds; Carbajal meeting; racist history

Ventura doesn’t need a stadium

Re: Phil Foster Ranger’s April 16 guest column, “A fair proposal for the fairgrounds”:

In the 1980s we backed in our pickups and vans into a dirt parking lot in front of the fairgrounds and called it “Surfer’s Point.” Today, with an extended boardwalk and some pavement, we still do the same thing.

Phil Foster Ranger, a “surfer,” should know we do not want a major event center development city. Eleven days a year at the end of summer we cannot access Surfer’s Point and we are OK with that; everyone enjoys the fair. The other 264 days it is a place for Patagonia employees, small business employees, and contractors to surf on lunch breaks and weekends. The last thing we want is every weekend to be like the fair.

Comparing Ventura to Camarillo and Oxnard is nonsense. Two of those three cities have an airport. We go to L.A. to watch baseball and attend large events. We are happy to leave it when the event is complete. Here we host small festivals and support local small businesses.

Ventura is a blue-collar surf town. Big ideas come in the form of climbing gear and sustainable clothing, craft beer and a simple lifestyle, not stadiums and event centers.

Chris Creighton, Ventura

Sham of a town hall meeting

On April 12, I attended a town hall for U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal. The event was held in a tiny, overcrowded meeting room at Ventura City Hall. The representative spoke for 30 minutes. Attendees were encouraged to submit written questions. Staffers then cherry-picked the questions that would be answered. For the next 45 minutes a staffer asked these prescreened questions and the representative responded. Not a single other voice was heard. Shame on you, Congressman. If you don’t have the courage to permit your constituents to speak freely in a public forum designed for that purpose, you do not deserve the privilege of representing us in Washington.

Patricia O’Sullivan, Ventura

Continuing to ignore racism

In a recent letter to The Star, the writer moaned about the fact that Dilbert was canceled and that it was a mistake. The writer wants it reinstated. It still astounds me that racism is still ignored by some Americans. No matter what Governor DeSantis claims, our country is and has been steeped in racism. If you study history, this fact will be proven. This is nothing for Amerikkka to be proud of and certainly nothing that should be ignored or supported.

Jim Shahan, Oak Park

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Letters: No stadium for fairgrounds; Carbajal meeting; racist history