Mailbag:

Last week, the environment lost its most dedicated, intelligent, tenacious and caring advocate it had.

For 29 years, I have been in awe of this great man and his dedication to saving the environment with deeds, hard work, generous financial backing and heart.

I knew him as a director of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica many years ago; a co-founder and director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust; a director of the Ocean Outfall Group, which forced the Orange County Sanitation District to abandon their waiver, which allowed them to dump partially treated sewage into the ocean; and a director of Residents 4 Responsible Desalination, where he was working to stop the Poseidon Resources desalination plant from coming to Huntington Beach.

These are the roles I knew him in. His contribution to many other groups are too many to mention.

Jan Vandersloot will be remembered by many of us as the greatest environmental advocate ever.

Boater’s death not the city’s fault

Regarding “Family files claim after boating death,” Nov. 5:

Huntington Beach, if litigation results in awards to plaintiffs, will have encouraged and rewarded grossly irresponsible behavior by boaters inside the harbor channels. There is no boater I know of not familiar with clearances at high tide. Maneuvering them in daylight can be daunting, and reckless dinghy operation at 1 a.m. by what appears to be a not-too-sober 35-year-old thumbing his nose at the most basic water safety rules will hopefully not be rewarded courtesy of the taxpayer.

While sympathy is in place for the family, the article’s statement that the suit is being filed on behalf of a “toddler and newborn” should not persuade the reader that this fact makes for a more compelling case in favor of a settlement by the city.

The only “navigational hazards” in the harbor in those fateful early morning hours were the victims themselves.