Re: Spiny Lobster Story

(RLn, 12-8-22)

As a diving instructor back in the 70s, lobster was cheaper for me and my three kids than hamburger while they were growing up. So was abalone

Richard Pawlowski formerly of San Pedro, now in Oregon

Student Letters

Editor’s note: Random

Lengths News received a batch of Letters to the Editor from the students of San Pedro High School English teacher Michael Kurdyla. Students commented on stories published over the past few months. The students did an admirable job following their teacher’s instruction to read and critique stories that piqued their interest. In the interest of space, we will select a few of the letters for print, while posting the remainder online.

Re: Billboard at End of 110 Fwy In the Random Lengths article (RLn, 9-1-22) “Billboard at End of 110 Fwy” editor Hunter Chase talks about the debating factors of the famous billboard off the 110 Fwy and the city’s thoughts and feelings about its history. The reason I decided to choose this article was because of the severity of the impact it has on the view people have of my hometown San Pedro. Some people are embarrassed by what the billboard has to say sometimes and the messages that are being put up to show, and I don’t think it’s fair that when some people first come into our town for the first time they see an embarrassing ad. Some of the residents don’t appreciate the views they see and also the thoughts on why they feel a certain way. It was also brought up to the city council about just not doing anything to the billboard because of certain circumstances.

Graffiti, unpleasant messages, and the town’s opinion are some of these circumstances. Having graffiti on the sign is a huge problem since a vandalized sign is a waste. It’s an unpleasant sight not just for the towns viewing but the people who come to see San Pedro.

In addition, the city council met to discuss the complaints and issues surrounding the billboard, and I found that in Hunter Chase’s article one of the council members agrees “straight up embarrassing”, it was a feeling that many people shared. In 2011 there was an advertisement for the San Pedro Medic Clinic that shows a woman advertising her body in a bikini which concerns a lot of the residents. CBC says after about six weeks of the ad being up people asked the city council to take it down. Although it was making people uncomfortable there was nothing the city could do because the property was privately owned. So after the clinic had been aware, they decided to take it down.

It is a matter that isn’t as big as a crime but can cause well if we made a little change in our community such as this change. It makes the community less embarrassed and more sure that it won’t happen again. I wanted to highlight this article because I feel like the area around San Pedro should be more valued because we are a big part of LA and should be represented more as professionally as possible.

Dahlia Davila

San Pedro High School