Comments of the Week: 'Maybe We Need a Resident Crocodile'

L.A.’s Plastic Bags Ban: What Your Neighbors Think

Few stories got readers talking more than Eagle Rock/Highland Park-Mt. Washington Patch Editor Ajay Singh's visit to a local grocery store to ask customers what they think about Los Angeles' ban on plastic bags. There were 34 comments (and counting) posted to the story:

Nina G June 19, 2013 at 09:26 am
Oh puhleeeeze! I am so sick of this bag B.S.! Why can't the stores, from which we purchase items at a profit to them, provide paper bags? They always did before when we had the choice of "paper or plastic"? Now I have to pay for a bag?! Give me a break! I'm all for the obliteration of the ubiquitous plastic bag, but to then punish me for using a paper bag? Just another gov't rip-off....

krd June 19, 2013 at 10:13 am
I think it's a shame that since so many irresponsible, wasteful people aren't bright enough to find other uses for these bags, we feel we need to ban them altogether. 

Marino Pascal June 19, 2013 at 01:57 pm
Just because you don't pay for it, it doesn't mean it's free. These bags go to the landfills and the oceans. Billions of them. In the Pacific there is a floating island twice the size of Texas with this stuff. 

Crystal Blue Persuasion? Don't Let the New Echo Park Lake Fool You

Many of our Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch readers were a little shocked to find out that the blue glow of the new Echo Park Lake is the result of a dye job that could be potentially toxic to anyone who ignored the "No Swimming" signs. Reader Linda Arroz gets our Top Comment of the Week prize for her extreme suggestion on how to stop swimmers:

Mary Farina June 19, 2013 at 08:28 am
Parents need to keep their children out of the water. The community that is enjoying the park needs to be willing to tell kids to get out of the water as well. Those who are wading and swimming are going to ignore the signs regardless of what is written on them. We have to all get involved and take responsibility.

Linda Arroz June 19, 2013 at 03:24 pm
If people can't read or are so stupid as to ignore signs that clearly say no swimming, then they deserve the consequences. Parents that let their children wade are encouraging disobedience in the future. Maybe we need a resident crocodile. That would keep the kids out.

Where is "Reggie the Alligator" nowadays when you need him?

Lloyd D. June 20, 2013 at 08:27 am
I think that the contaminants left behind from the homeless who utilize this as their bath at night are far more concerning than algaecide.

Opinion Boards

The Opinion Board is a place that readers can sound off on, well, just about anything they like. We've contacted Special Agent Fox Mulder of the FBI to decipher the following post. We know this Hollywood Patch reader is trying to tell us something, we're just not sure what:

Posted by lewis cook, June 19, 2013 at 07:40 am
1956 2056 us military engineers  of 725 23rd st nw wash dc are the real us govt not the 666 hollywood tv govt of antichrist clinton and 666 beast ronald wilson reagan 

Ooooookay. 

One doesn't hear too many bad things said about Alcoholics Anonymous, the non-profit group that has helps people quit alcohol and drugs, too often. But try telling that to this reader, who has a few bones to pick, and in a 3,177 word posting (manifesto?) likens the group to a cult, and it's founder, William Griffith Wilson, to David Koresh, Charles Manson and Jim Jones. You can read the whole post here - FOUNDER'S DAY 2014 REGISTRATION AWARENESS

While some of the board postings are rants, or non-sensical, this last one is the kind of post that Patch's hyperlocal focus, with a mission of bringing the community closer together to solve local problems, is a great place for:

Potholes Galore!
Posted by John Milbauer, June 10, 2013 at 11:14 am
When is the city going to resurface Mulholland between Outpost and the Hollywood Freeway? There are too many potholes to count!

Remember, we don't just bring you the news here at Patch, but we also get the news from you, our readers. Our comments sections, as well as our Boards, offer our readers a chance to tip us off about news that is happening, offer an opinion, add something to a story you think may be missing, communicate directly with other locals, or just simply sound off. 

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