Drivers, Pedestrians: Caution Needed

To the luckiest woman in La Crescenta: You get to drive home instead of being carried to the hospital in a meat wagon! You pulled into the parking lane southbound on Rosemont, slowed to an almost stop, then immediately pulled a U-turn immediately in front of me heading south on Rosemont. My wife almost had a mental breakdown! 

U-turns are legal in certain places, but not from the parking lane in front of following or oncoming traffic. By the way, my car is white, easily visible and another vehicle behind me was a good driver and avoided a highly probably rear end collision when I braked hard to avoid you. You are very lucky!

La Crescenta drivers and pedestrians are vying to equal Glendale for the worst drivers in California. We are constantly dodging drivers’ doors opened into narrow lanes with oncoming traffic, along with parents loading children into the left rear seat of vehicles keeping the passenger doors open and exposed to traffic. We recently recovered from T-boning a luxury SUV that stopped at an intersection and immediately pulled across in front of us, again on Rosemont. Their car and ours was severely damaged; fortunately no injuries.

Pedestrians are constantly crossing streets, both at crosswalks and otherwise, without checking for traffic. Additionally, some pedestrians strive to cross the street as slowly as possible, holding up traffic needlessly. These people are not elderly or disabled. They are rude and inconsiderate! No one wants pedestrians to run, but rather to walk smartly.

Drivers! Please think while you are driving.

Jim Lumsden

La Crescenta

Sad Loss

I am devastated with the passing of Tom Urquidez. He was dedicated to the Disney Barn and volunteered there as often as he can. He loved doing re-enactments and we talked about it often. He was a good friend and I shall miss him.

Paul Liu

Glendale

Who’s Working for Who?

Government exists to serve the people it represents. When government uses the taxpayer to pay for its employees and their retirement pensions and healthcare it is no longer serving the people first. Something is not only morally but also legally wrong.

California government has had decades to make right their error in judgment regarding a fundable pension that does not infringe on services and cost to the people. Any attempts in the recent past were nothing more than a halfhearted disguise.

Needless to say, the taxpayers were misled by the promise that demands to fund both CalSTRS and CALPERS would not affect them. Then you witness the highest sales taxes and gasoline taxes, much of which do not get used for the promised purposes.

Government fees have increased tenfold. Example: low cost housing with fees as much as $75,000 per unit [and] yearly property taxes that property owners of small business and landlords can barely afford to exist on. New laws such as AB5, SB206, AB1505 and AB1482 will either cost the people more money or interfere with free enterprise.

Government should look to cut costs of living and make our wages go further and keep us more competitive in the world markets. If government was more efficient it would not look for more ways to tax its people. 

Ken Grayson

Arcadia