Opinion: In Wednesday’s Letters to the editor
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In Wednesday’s letters, readers offered praise for this story about wasteful -- and possibly fraudulent-- reimbursements for travel expenses filed by high-ranking state officials.
According to the report, ‘Carrie Lopez, director of the Department of Consumer Affairs, charged taxpayers to fly from Sacramento, where she works, to Los Angeles, where she lives, to attend a Justin Timberlake concert with her daughter.’
David Goodwin, of Los Angeles, is unimpressed with her attempt to bring sexy back:
On Sunday, The Times ran an expose of high-ranking officials who seek reimbursement for questionable, and possibly fraudulent, expenses. On Monday, George Skelton reported on the creation of the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, an attempt to trace government waste and fraud. A few suggestions for California officials: Abolish the committee and read the paper. File criminal charges against everyone exposed by The Times as an example to others. Don’t insult our intelligence by pretending you care. Have your stupid meeting, adjourn, and go to an expensive restaurant and bill the taxpayers for dinner.
And Marilyn J. Collier, of Twentynine Palms, writes that:
I frequently disagree with The Times’ editorial positions, but the article about the state-funded trips for California’s appointed bureaucrats illustrates why newspapers and top-notch reporters are so vital.
The Times’ future was on the mind of other readers, too, who for the most part lament this newspaper’s decision to fold local and state coverage into the front section. Writes Cynthia A. Smith, of Venice:
Thank you for streamlining my morning. Without the California section, there is so little in the paper I want to read that I’m up and out in no time. I can’t wait until you go tabloid.
The Rocky Mountain news and the San Francisco Chronicle, reaching L.A.’s unbanked, and Hollywood’s tense relations with Iran, too.