by JoeF » Sun Apr 09, 2017 12:05 pm
Open letter to Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, April 9, 2017
Dear Honorable Supervisors:
Hilda L. Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sheila Kuehl, Janice Hahn, and Kathryn Barger,
You have the power to respect how well supervised hang gliding at Dockweiler results in a great safety performance record! Grade: A+.
Please use that power of discernment and then put that supervised site-specific bunny hang gliding with equal-footing insurance-wise as you serve bicycling, roller blading, board surfing, kite boarding. There is in place process at Dockweiler that is unfairly excluding factions of the public from fair participation in the supervised hang gliding activity; the process involves maneuvers that would be repugnant to the grand principles that the County has championed in its service to the people of the County.
The supervised activity has earned the respect of leaders of the hang gliding world. Please join to see what they see. The safety record of the supervised hang gliding following simple meaningful rules has brought Los Angeles acclaim. It is time to stop the focused burden of special insurance requirement over the recreational part of the supervised hang gliding; the business of selling lessons and of renting gear is another matter that needs that business to cover itself in its special relationship with its direct patrons. But the seasoned recreationist using his or her own gear and not placing themselves under paid instruction need not be covered by that business' sales-relationship liability where the instructor is controlling the very specific actions of pupils. Please treat the seasoned recreationist (still under supervision for the clear simple rules of the premise) without adding the burden of extra insurance as is now the case which is excluding some of your citizens from participating in their recreation that they have had as habit for over 50 years in Los Angeles for some.
Keep a strong waiver in place as part of the supervision that releases everyone in the world and every entity in the world from tort upon a seasoned recreationist being injured, but not a waiver that is unfairly forcing the joining of a private corporation, even if that corporation was benign, which that corporation is not for several reasons. The present exclusionary process being effected at the County's historical hang gliding park could resolve by the Supervisors knowing the A+ safety performance record under the supervisory model and then treating the site-specific supervised hang gliding with equity as the County treats board and body surfing, swimming, kite boarding, rollerblading, bicycling, etc. Please find these matters shining; and then please act to install the equity described.
Thank you for your wise supervision over Los Angeles County in service to its citizens and visitors, myself included,
Joe Faust
Co-founder of the organization that later morphed to be a poor keeper of hang gliding's interests at many fronts.
Resident of the Los Angeles, 90032. Property-tax payer for residence. Resident in Los Angeles County for 74+ years.
Retired mathematics teacher of LAUSD.
Former mathematics instructor at CSULA.
U.S.A. Olympian, Rome 1960, high jump, "from Los Angeles."
Former recreationist of Dockweiler historic hang glider site, now excluded because in good moral conscience I cannot join as member the morphed private organization that effectively has a tight grip on the County's asset in ways the County may not approve, if all was seen in full light. The morphed organization has so married paragliding to the deep detriment of hang gliding service; paragliding has a severe challenge with a built-in wing defect which has been the major cause of most of the 1,550+ known paraglider fatalities.
PS: The gem of Los Angeles, the hang glider park at Dockweiler, under the supervised model, is world's apart from the detrimental paragliding realm, yet that severe morphed organization that supports paragliding is playing a heretonow hidden role in excluding the founder of the United States Hawks Hang Gliding Association and the founder of the United States Hang Glider Association and the co-founder of the United States Hang Gliding Association and the founder of the earlier Self-Soar Association from seasoned recreational hang gliding in the supervised model at Dockweiler. Please protect the gem and serve with equity those who cherish the opportunity to the safe supervised hang gliding activity at Dockweiler.
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All,
Feel free to send six (6) copies of this letter with your note to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Executive Office, 500 W Temple St #383, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Each supervisor will then get a copy; and the executive office keeps one to stamp and maybe return (not sure) to you.