Editor, Daily Nexus,

Upon reading last Thursday’s article titled, “County Addresses Safety of DP Homes” (Daily Nexus, Feb. 23), I came to the astonishing conclusion that I was psychic for obvious future events. My fellow I.V. residents, I now give you the future Daily Nexus headline that I promise will appear on the front page of our beloved paper in five years or less. “Horror On DP: Houses Tumble Off Cliffs During Storm – At Least 12 Fall to Their Deaths.”

If there is one thing that is to be learned from Hurricane Katrina, besides the fact that President Bush truly does hate African-Americans, it’s that many tragedies caused by natural disasters may be avoided if people simply heed forewarnings seriously and jump into action. Isla Vista is a diverse and unique town, and, unfortunately, it is also run by slum lords and incompetent officials. In addition, Isla Vista is the rejected bastard son of both Santa Barbara and Goleta, both cities providing little public funding to the area. With these factors in mind, the chances of anybody actually taking action to prevent or halt the cliff erosion are slim.

Upon entering New Orleans after Katrina, President Bush stated that he believed no one could have been able to predict a breach of the levee system. We all know that this statement was horrifically false in light of the numerous reports stating that levee failure was more than likely to occur in the event of a Category 4 storm or greater. Our situation is very similar to pre-Katrina New Orleans. The county has no plan to re-evaluate cliff safety unless a “major weather event” occurs. This means that, unless a large and destructive “weather event” starts blowing homes into the ocean, the officials will keep their backs turned. Anybody who has ever walked on the beach knows that the cliffs are eroding back into the houses and that the erosion has been continuous. A solution must be found before such a disaster occurs. Voice your opinion on the matter so that hopefully either the slum lords or the city officials might hear us. Also, please continue to send money and aid to the victims of Katrina who the media is currently neglecting in order to focus on Dick Cheney’s hunting capabilities.