Geek Love
I am a little disappointed in Jared Neumark’s article “Street Geeks” (March 15). I expected to read a refreshing critique about local artwork; but instead he personally attacked some of the artists he interviewed. It is one thing to write your opinion about the work that an artist presents in a public forum, and it’s another to literally “pick” at someone.
” … I did manage to find some comic artists who didn’t look like they spent the better half of high school stuffed inside lockers.” That comment proves my point. That was uncalled for. I am not familiar with Paul Lehner’s work; but I feel sorry for him (just based on how brutally Neumark attacked his character).
To be totally honest, I know three of the five members of GodCity. So you think I wouldn’t be so offended by the article (seeing that he gave my friends a great review); but I was … plain and simple. I believe Neumark is above writing such nonsense. I think he is a fine writer who made a bad mistake.
— England Simpson, Charlotte
Down with Gentrification
Re: “Up with Gentrification,” letter from reader Michael Clarke (March 15):
Mr. Clarke ends his letter with a line about how the new development of Morningside will make Veterans Park a less scary place to visit. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. Some of the lower income folks displaced by higher housing costs will become homeless and might take up residence at Veterans’ Park. A few desperate souls might turn to crime and rob the chic shops and pricey condos of the “new” Morningside neighborhood.
These displaced people have to live somewhere; relegating them to some ghetto or substandard housing makes things worse for society as a whole. I’m all for neighborhood improvement — the east side of town sorely needs it. But the new Morningside should include low and moderate income housing to accommodate those who aren’t thriving in our so-called booming economy.
— B. Rice, Charlotte
Drunken Logic?
Regarding “Driving Drunk” by John Grooms (March 15), I am left wondering just what this piece was intended to do. I believe most people have done something stupid or dangerous in their lives and learned from it, but to conclude there is nothing that can be done is a rather ignorant conclusion. “Some problems just won’t go away” makes Grooms’ piece worthy of the bottom of the birdcage.
In the ’80s I was a police officer in NJ and we went from driving drunk drivers home at night to putting a bounty on their heads in less than three years. How we did this was easy. Public education and strict, continuous enforcement. We went to the schools and provided monthly seminars, we stopped at houses where kids were gathering. We stopped vehicles that were leaving the parties. We monitored the stores that sold alcohol. We stopped vehicles leaving the stores and checked IDs. We operated sobriety checkpoints not only on the highways and main roads but also on neighborhood roads. We moved the checkpoints several times a night. A safe back road to travel was done away with.
A drunk driving conviction would ultimately cost a driver $10,000 in court costs, mandatory alcohol counseling, insurance surcharges, etc. We charged the vehicle’s owner with allowing a drunk driver to operate a vehicle if the car belonged to someone else. We impounded the vehicles on the spot. Teenage drinking and driving was almost eliminated.
Attitudes towards drunk driving can be changed and behaviors modified. It takes public education and public enforcement on a continuous basis.
— Dennis Hart, Charlotte
John Grooms responds: I share Mr. Hart’s concerns about young drunk drivers. In the column, I noted that, “barring the establishment of a police state, there’s not much that can be done.” Mr. Hart’s New Jersey solution, to my eyes, seems awfully close to the kind of police state I was referring to.
Endless Love
By all means, please explain why you referred to Diana Ross as a sad joke by now (“Red Hot Mama,” by Jason Gross, March 8). Obviously you were not at her most recent sold-out concerts … read the reviews of her performance at the Pantages Theater, Nov. 8, 2004. Diana Ross received high critical praise for her last concert tour. Sadly, you missed the boat.
— Paul D. Martinez, Los Angeles, CA
Department of Corrections
Numerous crossword enthusiasts noticed last week that we ran a puzzle that did not match the clues. We promise we were not trying to mess with your heads … An error also appeared in the “Cheap Eats” column of the March 8 “Urban Explorer” cover package. The Central Avenue eatery Ben Thanh is not the “sister” restaurant of another Vietnamese establishment, Lang Van. Our apologies for both errors.
This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2006.
