Regarding “DeMaio questions plans for City Hall” (Our Region, Sept. 19):

I appreciate the time and effort Councilmember-elect DeMaio has put into his analysis of the proposed new Civic Center development. He has raised numerous long-term policy issues that should be explored at the appropriate time by the mayor and City Council.

However, what we have today is a City Hall that violates the city's fire codes, is laden with asbestos, will not stand up to even a moderate earthquake and in addition to being a death trap is a lawsuit waiting to happen. We need a new City Hall today and the fact is the proposed project, when built, would do nothing to hinder DeMaio's other goals.

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It would also be nice if DeMaio and other elected officials would take a long-term view of the financial consequences of the decisions they make today. Too often, our leaders are only concerned with their brief time in office and therefore leave bigger challenges for their successors and taxpayers to handle.

This project is a perfect case in point: If DeMaio's analysis is correct, the project might cost the taxpayers slightly more in the first 15 years than it would cost to do nothing (assuming no lawsuits, illnesses or earthquakes). It would, however, without question, save the taxpayers dramatically more than the “do nothing” option for the following 35 years. It would also solve a lot of today's problems in the process.

I hope that we can finally remove the dangerous eyesore that is now City Hall and not let this discussion devolve into another case of paralysis by analysis.

ANDY BERG
Rancho Peñasquitos

Aghast over defense of price grouging

Professor Matt Zwolinski's commentary, “Price gouging in a free market” (Opinion, Sept. 18), fails to acknowledge the damage price gougers do to disaster victims by sharply reducing the already limited funds victims have to provide for the necessities of life – food, water, shelter – in a situation where life has been completely disrupted. In effect, Zwolinski argues that a hypothetical free and efficient market is more important than the very real people in that market, and if people suffer unnecessarily, too bad.

He also argues that government should either buy directly from the gouger, to redistribute to victims, or provide tax credits to victims of price gouging. However, this approach only damages the taxpayers, who are forced to bear the added cost of overpriced goods. It would be far more efficient for the local or state government to procure the goods itself, at a far reduced rate, and cut the gouger out entirely. Free markets cannot, and do not, solve all problems, and in some, such as disaster areas, free markets cause far more misery than the benefit they provide.

It takes a truly contemptible human being to argue that it's perfectly OK to unreasonably profit from your neighbor's suffering and misfortune. In reality, price gouging in the aftermath of disaster is tantamount to extortion or looting, and price gougers should be treated accordingly. Perhaps people who support price gougers should be treated accordingly, as well.

LAWRENCE GRAHAM
San Diego

Bay-park tram idea doesn't hold water

Regarding “Cable car line proposed to link San Diego Bay and Balboa Park” (Real Estate, Sept. 14):

As a San Diego taxpayer, I can't abide wasting resources on a tram link between the bay and Balboa Park. The tram car works well for San Francisco because infrastructure was in place from the city's origins and has become part of its image. However, the time of street cars has long passed for San Diego, and bringing them back is a bad and costly copy of a San Francisco attraction.

Tourists to San Diego have been OK in the past using our mass transit to get between places. Adding a tram line would not ease congestion but make it worse through traffic caused by the additional stops to support the tram on surface streets.

The article states that original city plans called for a connection between the bay and the park. That was 100 years ago, and the city has grown enormously since then, so this argument lacks support. Yes, the tram would be nice but at what cost in construction time and money to taxpayers? San Francisco can keep its tram cars; I'll be taking the trolley and bus.

BRADLEY PICKETT
San Diego

Back to the future with vinyl

Regarding “Music lovers are going back to the future with vinyl” (A1, Sept. 14):

The sound quality of vinyl is exponentially better than that of CDs or digitally downloaded music. As an avid listener of music for 15-plus years, I have had plenty of experience with low quality, sometimes garbled recordings of songs and crave for the exquisite, cogent sound of vinyl. The San Diego musician Ray Suen said it best in describing vinyl sound as “much more of an engaging physical experience.”

What do you see at most entertaining parties or clubs? CDs or iPods attached to sound systems via auxiliary cords? No! You see turntables with crates of vinyl next to them waiting for the deejay to spin them. The sound quality of vinyl is unparalleled as attested by the fact that “demand for vinyl is through the roof.” Therefore, next time you see a deejay spinning vinyl appreciate the music because you are listening to it right.

ANDREW CHEUNG
San Diego

Debating economics, need for high-speed rail

Regarding “10 billion bond for high-speed rail sought” (A1, Sept. 9):

Your coverage of California's high-speed rail project would be more balanced if it mentioned positive economic impacts as well as costs. The price tag for anything in a big state budget always sounds dramatic, but this is a bargain compared with alternative transportation solutions for a population expected to reach 50 million.

Our location at the tip of the state and as a rail terminus makes it a good investment for our economy and for San Diego voters. While the cost would be shared statewide, we would particularly benefit from improved accessibility to the rest of California, getting us inexpensively to San Francisco in the time it can take to crawl through Los Angeles in a car. The California High-Speed Rail Authority, a nonpartisan government body, lists interesting figures on its official Web site, cahighspeedrail.ca.gov, which voters should consider.

SHAUN BRILEY
La Jolla