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.
RECEIVED Wed., April 7, 2010
Dear Editor,
I just wanted to express my appreciation to you and the rest of the
Chronicle's staff for the superb and probing coverage of the ongoing Cactus Cafe issues ["
Off the Record," Music, April 2]. That venue is an indelible part of Austin's history and warrants the informative attention you've brought to the controversial decision to have it closed.
Longtime reader,
Wiley Koepp
RECEIVED Wed., April 7, 2010
Dear
Austin Chronicle,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to run great articles about the Cactus Cafe ["
Off the Record," Music, April 2]. I'm so glad that you all are keeping it in people's minds week after week, since the fight for it has not yet ended. I'm sure folks are telling you this over and over, but I am an Austinite who watched two of my favorite clubs close (Liberty Lunch and Steamboat), and it's been hard watching it happen, possibly yet again.
I also really enjoyed the April Fools' article this week [“
UT to End Football Program,” News, April 2].
Sincerely,
Miriam McKinney
Wonderland Studios
RECEIVED Wed., April 7, 2010
Dear Editor,
I know you'll get some push-back on it, so I appreciate you having the courage to publish this week's UT cover story [“
UT to End Football Program,” News, April 2]. I loved it – great humor.
And everyone I talked with loved it – a number of people commented "long time coming,” "I didn't think the
AC had it in them to hold UT accountable to that level,” "impressive,” "hilarious,” and "glad the
Chronicle still has their cojones.”
Nice work,
David Kobierowski
RECEIVED Wed., April 7, 2010
Dear Editor,
KUT’s funding drive has commenced. It’s actually ongoing, but now in aggressive panhandling mode. Is it a con? You be the judge. The Perry-wrinkled Republican regents of UT seem to sit on a pile of money (football anyone?), and they hold the nonprofit, educational Federal Communications Commission license for KUT, which specifically bans commercials. How much financial support does UT, a “public” university, give to KUT? Seemingly not enough to make unnecessary the station’s nonstop commercial solicitations to ever-patient listeners. The “supporters” (both commercial and public entities) get a great advertising deal at what may be a fraction of what a true commercial station would charge, and isn’t it tax deductible? As KUT is a very visible and audible part of UT, shouldn’t its operations be fully funded by the public (taxpayer supported) university of which it is a part?
John Callaghan
RECEIVED Tue., April 6, 2010
Dear Editor.
Re: “
Bike Boulevard: Dead or Great?” [Newsdesk blog, April 6]: Bike lanes are worse than nothing. If you bike down Nueces today, you can be in a safe position near the middle of the lane without worrying about anything. Cars will peacefully go around you because anyone who has spent any time on Nueces is used to relatively heavy bike traffic. Bike lanes will squeeze bikes closer to parked cars, which is a bad idea.
If this bicycle trail of tears goes through, someone needs to do a study comparing the average distance at which cars pass bikes and the rate of bikes riding in the door zone before and after implementation. I'm fairly certain it will give solid evidence that the changes are negative for cyclist safety.
Niran Babalola
RECEIVED Sat., April 3, 2010
Dear Editor,
I am so disappointed in the
Chronicle. I thought this was a serious newspaper. The date of the paper was April 2 – not April 1. I didn't pay attention to the headline about UT ending football ["
UT to End Football Program," News, April 2]. I knew that wasn't true, but I read the first part of the article about Garrett Gilbert and was astonished ["
Quarterback Gilbert Transfers – Guess Where?," News, April 2]. Later, I read to the end and realized it was all garbage. None of this was funny. I feel angry and insulted.
Gloria Manos
RECEIVED Thu., April 1, 2010
Dear Editor,
Re: “
Why Not Just Throw a Tomato?” [News, April 2]: This type of ignorant suppression will have consequences of its own. At some point the feds will restrict funding to entities that violate the First Amendment. At some point people will start taking the state to court over this kind of imposition of religious viewpoint on secular culture. There is little difference in kind between this intervention and what the Islamic mullahs seek: a religious state. If this behavior is allowed to continue, at some point there will be little difference in degree, either. A play being canceled because a Neanderthal thinks it's "blasphemous"? I got your blasphemous right here, pal.
Hank Alrich
RECEIVED Thu., April 1, 2010
Dear Editor,
Today's news mentions a new standard for gas mileage: 35.5 miles per gallon. Additionally, there is a new tailpipe emission standard of 250 grams of CO2 per mile. These are actually equivalent.
There are 25 moles of gasoline in a gallon. Each mole of gasoline produces eight moles of CO2 when burned for a total of 200 moles per gallon. Divide by 35.5 miles per gallon and get 5.6 moles per mile. At 44 grams per mole, 5.6 moles weighs 250 grams. So the 250 grams per mile is just another way of saying 35.5 miles per gallon.
Victor Engel
RECEIVED Thu., April 1, 2010
Dear Editor,
Hear my voice. How often can a city save lives by simply painting some lines on the streets? There were more than 100 bicycle accidents involving motor vehicles in 2009. Bike lanes throughout the city would decrease these accidents and deaths dramatically, just by adding a little paint. If joggers get sidewalks and cars have roads, why can't bikes get lanes? I strongly support the addition of many more bike lanes and wonder why it is taking so freaking long to get them all completed. I hope that the Austin City Council has enough sense to make the right choice before a disregarded cyclist lands in the grill of another car.
Sincerely,
Frank Bolton