Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to mail@austinchronicle.com. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    It's my understanding that if current noise ordinance laws can shut down Unplugged at the Grove, then surely they can take care of that religious guy on the corner of Congress and Oltorf who screams into a megaphone every week. I can hear him above traffic and all the way over to the doors of H-E-B while he is at the Twin Oaks shopping center.

Dear Editor,
    This July 4 weekend, John Cornyn tried to speak at the Austin tea party but was loudly booed. Voters have not forgotten that our two Texas Republican senators voted for the 2008 bailout.
    They could start repenting by cosponsoring S. 604 (the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009). The House version of the bill (HR 1207) already has 245 bipartisan cosponsors (56%). But the Senate version only enjoys three cosponsors.
    Why not audit? No matter what one's position is on the bailouts, the audit is just an audit.
    During the recent economic crisis, the Federal Reserve has poured trillions of dollars into the economy with no oversight and has refused to tell Congress who is getting the money or what deals are being made.
    The Federal Reserve spends way more than Congress and without oversight. While Congress and America were sidetracked debating a measly $1 trillion bailout, the Federal Reserve bypassed all the arguing and committed $12.8 trillion. That's 14 times all of our currency in circulation. If our “fourth branch of government” is this powerful and unelected, they should at least be open and accountable.
    Taking a leadership position while the bill only has three cosponsors in the Senate could earn our senators some very needed applause. Urge your two senators to audit the Federal Reserve System.

Dear Editor,
    In Richard Whittaker’s coverage of the public forum at Austin Studios on June 25 [“Split Decisions,” Screens, July 3], he writes that “the stage [four] has been empty for the last year.”
    I was the co-producer/production manager on Friday the 13th, which filmed in Austin last year. In the interest of accuracy, I would like to point out that our company rented and occupied stage four at Austin Studios from March 11, 2008, through June 30, 2008. Moreover, when I inquired about renting stage space in November for additional photography, I was told stage four was not available for rental because it was being utilized as a staging area while construction was under way on stages three and five.
    This “yearlong” vacancy is being cited as a justification for the long-term rental and conversion of stage four to music recording studios, so the facts regarding the activities at that stage during 2008 should be fully presented.

Dear Editor,
    Keep Austin weird? Live music capital of the world? Practice what you preach, Chronicle! What is weird is your intentional omission of the death of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential performers of all time. Sure, you mentioned Joe King Carrasco's story about Michael [“Off the Record,” Music, July 3]. However, we all know Joe King hasn't had a hit in years … go ahead, Joe King – cash in on Jackson's death, just like all the other gold diggers out there.
    And the fact that your “fashion editor” (and I use that term loosely … I've seen him in person) called Michael Jackson a freak – are you kidding [“After a Fashion,” July 3]?! Takes one to know one.

Dear Editor,
    Like many of us before him, our worldly city manager is troubled by the racial demarcation I-35 represents [“Ott Tackles Austin's Racial Divide,” News, July 3]. The death rates of people trying to cross this barrier rival those of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. If Marc Ott really wants to desegregate Austin, he will have to reject the current core principle of his industry, which asserts that developer prosperity equals societal prosperity when the opposite is true. At least he will be able to see firsthand the mythical tax base gentrification brings, when he deals with the multimillion-dollar budget deficit.

Dear Editor,
    It seems to me that if you want to start a congressional campaign out on the right foot, the way to go about it would not include sending e-mail spam once every four hours for four days. I keep getting e-mails in my inbox telling me I've registered for Lainey Melnick's announcement list. Until I got these 25 spam e-mails, I'd never heard of her. Now I've heard of her, but I'm certainly not inclined to support her in any way. Bad form!

Dear Friends,
    Much as I am grateful Austin Powell took the time to laud Harlem – if not my own credentials as a prowler (finally, my parents can be proud), I'd like to point out Matador has no plans at present to digitally re-release the band's Free Drugs album, which is still available in physical and digitized formats from their own Female Fantasy imprint [“Off the Record,” Music, July 3]. I don't recall anything about Matador reissuing said recording being discussed during my brief conversation with Mr. Powell.

Dear Editor,
    Perhaps Austin needs to "face the music" and create a secondary or Northern Entertainment District designed to avert noise ordinance problems, thereby getting us out of this legal funk and into some rockin' funk! Demographic data suggests that we are going to nearly double in population in the next 20 years, so supporting this should not be a problem. We can plan and build it before the available land becomes a residential area. This could help to promote the Austin music scene, support local business, and provide the suburbs with additional access to entertainment. It could bring extra revenue, culture, jobs, and gigs for our beloved musicians. We will live in harmony. Our "live music capital of the world" slogan would be indisputable.

Dear Editor,
    Do you hear the giant sucking sound? It’s the soul being ripped out of Austin public radio. KUT's corporate suits just announced they're cutting Paul Ray and Larry Monroe's on-air time to a scant one show a week to make room for more nonlocally produced, syndicated programming. Meanwhile, Hawk Mendenhall and company ramp up the annoying 15-second ads, yet continue to try to sell KUT as a "noncommercial station" during fund drives. The station should concentrate its efforts on improving signal quality, which has become abysmally distorted. “Broader listener base?” Sounds like thinly veiled corporate doublespeak for more revenue. I won’t be subscribing anymore.

Dear Editor,
    It's not even just black people in East Austin. There are Hispanic, poor, and immigrant populations in East Austin, and everyone just kind of writes them off. We call ourselves progressives, and we're nothing but liars.
    All populations should be on both sides of I-35 and both banks of the river: poor, minority, disabled, rich, student, etc. Austin feels very good about excluding people, but saying that the city has hippies and gay people, so it's progressive. Folks, it's time to wake up. The "hippies" are suburban baby boomers who got cheap property and hope to profit off it some day, and there are too many homophobes in our city, as evidenced by the protests of gay marriage.
    We are not progressive to shunt people we don't want to think about to a part of town we don't visit. There is nothing honorable about putting our hands over our ears and pretending like these racial problems don't exist. All minorities need to make living wages, and pretending that all minorities with qualifications have good jobs and quality housing is a farce, and we should really cut it out now.

Dear Editor,
    A common problem with the media and our country was demonstrated yet again recently on the evening news. A python apparently got out of its cage and killed a little girl. Obviously, this is a tragic accident. However, in order to make it a good story, the anchor kept asking, "How can anyone keep such a dangerous predator in the house with a 2-year-old?"
    OK, I don't know why anyone would want a snake either … but is it necessary or realistic to condemn all the snakes and snake owners in the world for one accident? I mean, clearly, this was a statistically rare event (otherwise it wouldn't have made the news). Yet, we are asked by the media to agree that this one isolated event means that everyone is unsafe with a snake in the house.
    People died while riding their motorcycles in the Republic of Texas Biker Rally. So, do we cancel it next year? Do we stop motorcycling altogether? No. Why? Because the vast majority of folks don't die.
    The same thing happens with a plane crash. Tragic events, but statistically rare. Yet following a crash, people are more anxious about flying.
    Folks, if you toss a quarter 1 million times and the results are about 50% heads and 50% tails, then on the next toss it balances on its edge … does that mean that it will not be heads/tails again?

Howdy,
    I am writing to thank you for covering the sad death of Sky Saxon [“Off the Record,” Music, July 3]. The Seeds have been a very important part of my musical development, and I think Sky was a great pioneer and criminally underrated. We lost one of the good ones last week, and he will be missed. R.I.P. Sky.

Dear Editor,
    Some key differences between Austin and Denver that Katherine Gregor left out in her story [“Developing Stories: Learning From Denver,” News, July 3]: 1) Denver built light rail, not commuter rail, and 2) Denver's starter system took passengers directly to major activity centers without requiring transfers.
    You don't get transit-oriented districts around a rail line that makes everybody transfer to a shuttle bus to get to, say, UT or the Capitol or most of Downtown. (Hello, Tri-Rail in South Florida!) Without good "T,” in other words, you don't really get TOD; you just get higher-density car-dependent development.

   [Katherine Gregor responds: Denver's light-rail system began with five lines and 30 stations, linking downtown with the central city and some close-in regional commuters. FasTracks is a 12-year comprehensive plan now under way to add 122 miles of new light rail and commuter rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, and 57 new transit stations.]