thumbs_up A HOUSE-TO-HOUSE SEARCH PARTY FOR SCOFFLAW CATS? GET MEOWTTA HERE! [Louise Cunningham, July 31]

This column deserves a “Purr-litzer” for sure! A real problem, but presented in a hysterically funny piece. Don’t government folks have better things to do than come up with this silly piece of law? Encouraging neighbors to turn each other in for one, two, or even three, healthy and well-kept cats is just too Big Brother-ish. Let’s hope Miss Kitty will be safe from any ratfink neighbors, and the animal cops, too. I look forward to reading more of Louise’s columns! Keep ‘em coming! / CAROL BRADLEY

Well, Louise, you managed to entertain the folks that hate the city; well done, but pathetic! Your use of innocent cats and a proactive program that has the potential to save their lives in a number of ways, and your inappropriate mention of Anne Frank, is less than distasteful. [Hurricane] Katrina is a perfect example of animals that would have been saved if they had a form of identification, but they didn’t. Thousands of pets were never reunited with their families. It cost millions of dollars to help these displaced pets. Like it or not, when pets cost Long Beach taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars because their guardians refuse to be responsible, it is time for the City to step in. And no, this is not a seemingly fascist attempt to help bail the city out of the red. Licensing provides a lost-pet recovery system, helps to elevate cats’ status in society and helps Long Beach Animal Care Services return cats to their families, which lowers the euthanasia rate. With fewer cats entering the shelter, the animals already there have a longer stay helping to increase adoptions. Yes, it has the potential to increase revenue, which in turn will help with education and assistance for the community and those “little old ladies” who are on a tight budget. Visit the NACA and CDC website. So come on, relax, meditate, and above all else, get your thyroid and hormones checked! / JUDY CRUMPTON

Love the piece. I find it typical of the city to insist we have to license our cats without deciding what the annual fee will be yet. I, too, refuse to put my senior kitties in the car and pay the vet to look at their private parts to make sure they were fixed. The vet no longer has that paperwork on file. This ordinance will not keep cats from being put down. I have had people who are already struggling tell me that they are overwhelmed by all of this and may just have to drop their pets at the shelter. It’s like it’s the last straw for those who are trying to keep their homes or pay their rents. The Animal Control website stressES that rabies shots are required due to an increasing number of cats getting rabies; they cite a 2004 article. But the state website (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/Pages/rabies.aspx) states there have been ZERO cases of Cat Rabies in the ENTIRE state in 2010 and 2009 and  ONE case in 2008 in Humboldt and ONE case in 2007 in Trinity. So the city simply lies to try to charge us fees? I had a guy ask me if the city was going to start charging for fish licenses. Well, why not? I mean, it’s the city’s water, and, if the aquarium breaks, the paramedics may have to be sent out if someone got cut on the glass. / KIM

The city is using taxpayers resources to hunt down the owners of unlicensed cats (when the licenses are free), yet for years ignored the $1.2 million it was losing by not licensing check-cashing businesses and ignores illegal immigrants, garages converted to living areas, code violations and late night crime and disturbances in Belmont Shore. In the last two years our city has dictated to its residents when they can water their lawn and that their cats must have licenses. Can priorities be any more screwed up? / MIKE RUEHLE

SUJA ANSWERS LOWERY: SHE’LL TELECOMMUTE TO COUNCIL MEETINGS FROM FAMILY WEDDINGS IN INDIA [Steve Lowery, Aug. 2]

 So Long Beach has outsourced the vice mayor job to India… / HOWARD X

So who’s paying for this “internet phone software”and VOIP plan? And everybody knows that folks just surf the web during teleconferences. Oh wait, they do that during city council meetings, anyhow. / ANDY

Once the precedent is set, all the council members can telecommute. / MARLEY

 AT BIXBY PARK, A CAUTIOUS CELEBRATION OF A TENUOUS VICTORY [Dave Wielenga, Aug. 4]

“They need to adore me, so Christian Dior me…” from Evita, the musical. Suja is obviously ripping pages from Eva Peron’s political playbook, though; here, it was those $500-plus Christian Louboutin designer high heels Proof: “Thank-you, Vice-Mayor Lowenthal,” said Ron Sylvester, the CEO of The Center, who served as master-of-ceremonies, as Lowenthal left the stage. “And I think I speak for everyone when I say, ‘Love those shoes!’” All that was missing was a sheeple crowd adoringly chanting , “SUU-JA!”, “SUU-JA!” and a high-up, bannered balcony for espousing her chintzy, pseudo-emphatic shout-outs. The real significant difference between Eva and Suja is that Peron genuinely was on the common citizens’ side while Suja Lowenthal only pretends to be. / FULL OF IT

VECTOR CONTROL: SUJA LOWENTHAL—SHE CAME TO SAY SHE MUST BE GOING [Steve Lowery, July 28]

The people of Long Beach should wake up, accept their democratic obligation and use the ballot box to weed out little political saplings such as Suja Lowenthal before they grow up to become real problems in the garden politic. Just like a neglected garden, the Sujas of the world thrive on public ignorance and apathy. / KING J

GARCIA’S GOT HIS REASONS: FIRST MOTHER NATURE CALLED, THEN HIS FAMILY [Dave Wielenga, July 28]

Secretive backscratching dealings among councilmembers IS the problem, and taking those dealings apart in public view, whenever we can identify them, is key to minimizing their impact. Thank you, Dave. If anything, you haven’t gone far enough. / PIODE

Garcia can’t “hold it” forever; he’ll “pee his pants” eventually and show the world what he’s really all about. / WRONGBEACH JOHN

EAT, PRAY LOVE: INSIDE THE OTHER PROTEST AT THE LONG BEACH HYATT [Rachel Powers, July 23]

Great article, though the only criticism I have (aside from the obligatory snarkiness) is that it doesn’t really explain WHY folks are protesting the Hyatt, especially in terms of their abuses of workers. / TD