October 4, 2000

The Mori Point Argument

Dear readers: please excuse the following, which is an attempt to reply to an e mail missive I received following last week's column criticizing the purchase of Mori's Point by the Trust For Public Lands. I used the reply feature on my computer, but Earthlink rejected it. I know the person who calls himself Rick saw my last week's column in the Tribune, so perhaps I can reply in the same fashion. Here's his e mail to me, exactly as sent.

>Dear Paul;
>You are a big dummy. Why don't you move to Daly City. You can have all the tax money your old heart desires.Mori point is a Great thing for this city. You are to (sic) stupid to realize what a wonderfull (sic) thing this is.
>Rick

Dear Rick:

Thank you for your attempt at a cogent, intelligent argument. I regret you failed to accomplish same, but for someone whose IQ and shoe size are so close together, you did pretty well.

Doesn't that make us both feel better, now that we each have insulted the other?

(I attempted to learn who Rick might be by asking him some questions via e mail. Unfortunately his e mail address was as faulty as his argument.) Please reply with the following information. First, your full name, address, and phone no. Then explain why differing from you on this subject makes me a dummy, or for that matter, makes me wrong and you right. I like open space too. Daly City crowds 100,000 people into 7.7 square miles. Pacifica has about 40K people in 12.6 square miles. With half our town government-owned open space, we're reaching the point of diminishing returns when we add more of the same. Since you're so smart, explain where Pacifica is going to replace the millions of dollars in tax income it is going to lose while Mori's Point is stored away in GGNRA's attic? You kissed that off in a hurry. I have seen little benefit in tangible form to Pacifica from Mori's Point in 35 years. But at least during those 35 years property taxes were being paid which benefited our city. After the trust for public lands does its thing, even that benefit will disappear. All that will remain will be the need to police Mori's Point and protect it from the danger of fire.

Best wishes to you, whoever you are.

That's what I would've written to Rick, but he has a fake e mail address, so we can't communicate except through this public forum. It's certainly possible to disagree with me intelligently on this and other subjects. I don't have all the answers. Even my wife and kids reserve the right to disagree with my opinions. However, I haven't yet heard a good, cogent argument that overcomes my objections to more Pacifica acreage joining thousands of acres already put away in the attics of various governmental agencies.

There are exceptions. Our beaches are well used. San Pedro Valley Park has a legion of fans and users. Sharp Park Golf Course is used and enjoyed by thouands. Even the bocce ball courts at Oddstad Park get more use than I expect Mori's Point will enjoy in future years. If you disagree, I am certainly open to argument. I hope I am wrong, because if Mori's Point becomes a source of income to the city of Pacifica and a source of pleasure to thouands, I'll be delighted to have been wrong. Unfortunately, the best Rick can do is tell me to move to Daly City. Sorry, Rick. If I do move it will be to a place a lot farther away than that.