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.

Letter to the editor of The Austin Chronicle,
   The Austin Police Department is very concerned with the article on July 16 titled "You Can’t Have That!" [News]. The article contained inaccurate information, which according to the article, was provided to the Chronicle by unnamed sources.
   The Austin Police Department is unable to provide details of this case due to civil service laws that prohibit the department from discussing ongoing investigations.

   [News Editor Michael King responds: As of press time Wednesday, Mr. Buchman had not responded to our request to clarify his mysterious charge of inaccuracy. For the benefit of equally puzzled readers: The APD has refused to release normally public documents concerning two former officers’ time and work records because it says those documents are now relevant to a subsequent criminal investigation. The city of Austin is defending that withholding of open records in court. Presumably, the documents contain information that may or may not confirm Buchman’s charge of inaccuracy, but the APD will not further enlighten us – now claiming its hands are tied by unspecified civil service laws. Until the APD or the city is willing to identify the allegedly "inaccurate information," the Chronicle respectfully declines to issue a correction.]

Dear Editor,
   Apparently, members of the CAMPO board who voted for the special interest toll-road plan are operating under the old adage that it's better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]. I received numerous e-mails from these board members who now are trying to explain their votes. If these board members are so proud of their votes, why don't they name the various toll-road segments after themselves? We could have the "Will Wynn Right Through Zilker Park Tollway" (MoPac from Highway 290 into downtown), "Karen Sonleitner 'I Saved This Road by Destroying It' Toll Road" (Loop 360), "Brewster McCracken Environmentally Insensitive Turnpike" (SH 45 South), and "Gonzalo Barrientos Already Paid for With Taxpayer Dollars Toll Overpass" (MoPac overpass over William Cannon). There are enough segments of this toll-road patchwork quilt for each supporting board member to get his/her own personalized toll road. Then in the next election everyone will know who to thank for this disaster.

Dear Editor:
    The Chronicle's limited interest in the proposed saddling of Travis County taxpayers with $2.2 billion in toll-road debt by an unelected toll-road "authority" remains puzzling ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]. Your coverage has done little to dispel misinformation delivered by toll-road proponents. Just two examples: The pro-toll road folks, including our esteemed mayor, want citizens to think we fell behind in road building and must "catch up," when we have been building roads faster than any other metropolitan area in the country except Tucson; these roads have only increased, not decreased, congestion, as will the toll roads if they are built.
    Mayor Wynn and Chron reporter Clark-Madison have also made the absurd claim that the toll-road scheme is consistent with Envision Central Texas. The toll-road plan is based on sprawl-growth patterns and the traffic they generate continuing unchanged for the next several decades, while ECT's entire premise is based on changing our growth patterns to reduce sprawl and thereby save both tax dollars and our Hill Country watersheds. Guess which of these two futures will win if we bet $2.2 billion on the toll roads (only to be immediately followed by another few billion in Real Estate Council demands to expand roads to serve traffic trying to avoid the toll roads).
   There are related issues worth writing and talking about. Perhaps we could imagine actually fulfilling the ECT vision and saving billions of dollars – dollars that could protect our water, provide health care, improve education, and deliver centrally located affordable housing that doesn't require 50-mile-per-day commutes. Or perhaps ask why Gov. Perry and the toll-road warriors want to lock us into tens of billions of 30- to 40-year road bonds based on the assumption that people will continue driving more and more just when global oil production is about to peak. Some people are even asking the question why we are spending $1 billion per week to fight for oil in Iraq.

Dear Editor,
   Are you reviewers nuts!? Why do they not write well?
   Each tries to outdo the other in new metaphors, and I think they are silly.
   Being erudite is wasted when you can't get your damn point across.
   Please ask you reviewers to stop writing like overeducated shitheads, and get to the damn point of "what this movie is about" and "why I liked it, or not."
   How hard is that?
   They make me laugh at how bizarre and nonsensical they actually are.
   I am sure I got my point across. Why can't they? Do you pay them per word?
   You should fire the lot of them, and get a "wo/man in the street" opinion or two – or three.

Dear Editor,
   I would like to inform the public that a horrendous act of animal cruelty is happening on the upper decks of I-35. It is apparent that kittens are being thrown from vehicles in areas of the interstate where there is no route of escape. According to Animal Trustees of Austin, four kittens have been rescued by heroic citizens that have risked their lives to save the poor, disoriented creatures. At this time, Animal Trustees of Austin is offering a reward of $3,000 leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators. Please report any similar suspicious behavior to APD's animal cruelty hotline at 911. People that commit cruel acts such as these are dangerous!

Dear Editor,
   Get your facts straight before you review a CD next time; it's obvious Darcie [Stevens] did not ["Texas Platters," Music, July 16]. I am from Atlanta, Ga., not San Antonio. And the overproduced record was made for $500. I guess some people really can be fooled by a good engineer. Next time don't do us any more favors. Too bad this CD was in the top 10 on XM Satellite Radio for six weeks straight. Just had to say my peace.

Dear Editor,
   Why is it that 16 government officials can override a conviction shared by 91% of the people ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]? On CAMPO's Web site it says that 91% of the people are against the current toll plan that was passed 16-7 by our elected and appointed officials. This is not democracy. This is rape. The tollbooths will hurt the underpaid workers who live in the outskirts and drive to Austin to work in retail and food service. Our highways will be more congested than Chicago's, which are among the worst in the nation. Our cars will break down more often as we are constantly hitting the brakes and sitting in traffic with the air-conditioning running at full blast. We will waste millions of gallons of gas and 20-30 minutes each way to work, which will hurt productivity and the economy. Property values outside the center of Austin will drop. Property values in Austin in general may drop because nobody will want to live in a congested hellhole. The 16 irresponsible officials who voted yes should be removed from office and barred from government forever for ignoring the will of the people. A much less destructive way to raise money would have been to increase taxes on sales, gas, and/or property.

Dear Editor,
   The proposed toll-road plan was not really a plan, but more like an attack ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]. But not all roads are appropriate to become toll roads. Case in point, the overpass over William Cannon solves a problem for the William Cannon drivers, not just the people driving MoPac. Case in point, the SH 45 extension to 1626 will require additional lanes to provide tolling over environmentally sensitive lands. And Austin voters voted for bonds to pay for this. Furthermore, it is all about Gov. Perry's promise not to raise taxes. Hello? A toll is a tax. We were told that in order to pay for roads with a gas tax, it would cost $3 per gallon. In fact, it would not cost anywhere near that much. Some analysts have said that 15 cents per gallon would do it.
   Since the Hays and Williamson county reps are so eager to put tolls on Austin roads, I will state that I am OK with putting tollgates at the borders into Austin from those border towns and counties.
   The promotional Web site www.congestionrelief.com said "a toll of approximately 12 cents per mile," but now the www.ctrma.org Web site says for Highway 290 West of RM 1826 to East of Williamson Creek, "$1.00 for the main lane and $.25 for the ramp." So if you drive this just twice daily it will cost you $50 a month. That is approximately what my personal gasoline bill is monthly. So, many of us will not be able to afford the road. Of course those who drive gas-guzzlers won't have to pay more. We would not want to discourage them.
   It will not solve the problem of gridlock in the inner city. Wasn't this supposed to be about "mobility"?

Dear Editor,
   The 7-0 council vote to sell the developer our former Mueller airport site doesn't quite yet mean "greed won," which we had concluded and the Chronicle quoted, June 18 ["Mueller in the Middle," News] – from our never-printed letter to its editor ["Postmarks Online," April 16]. Citizen input did clear up why, in contrast to varied reasons given for leasing (more revenue, more land-use control), the argument for selling was always "to move ahead" on the master plan: The developer, Catellus, revealed that nothing but selling Mueller to the developer was ever considered during the years Catellus has been exclusively negotiating with the city staff.
   The big hurdle remaining for Catellus and friends is how to get around the Texas Local Government Code that stipulates a government entity, whether selling land or leasing it, must get fair market value. That's so there is never money from land due the city that goes instead into preferred pockets, in this case the pockets of all buyers and sellers of Mueller land, including Catellus stockholders. That could happen if an indifferent City Council lets city staff and developer have the city paying, after the sale, for improvements which, if it paid them before the sale, add to the land's fair market value that the city as the landowner would collect.
   Something is wrong already. The staff showed that after selling Mueller, an incredibly valuable piece of real estate, the city will owe money! After paying new landowner Catellus' infrastructure expenses?
   Watch whether the council allows negotiations to bypass the fair-market-value law and place a huge dent in the city's finances. If somehow found legal, it would make the usual business subsidies the council is fond of making ["Austin@Large," News, July 2] look like chicken feed.
   So tax-burdened Austinites can't say quite yet that greed has won.

Dear Editor,
   Energy policy drives economic, environmental, and national security policy. By promoting oil and coal, the administration is taking us backward at a time when we need to move forward into an era of clean and renewable energy. The current energy bills before Congress set us on a path for a future of more pollution, corporate irresponsibility, and war.
   Key points of what the energy bill currently before Congress would do if passed:
   They give tax breaks to big oil companies;
   they help the Energy Department to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors;
   they allow certain drilling techniques banned by the Safe Drinking Water Act and waive permit requirements under the Clean Water Act for oil and gas exploration;
   they would open up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Dear Editor,
   Just wanted to say thanks to the Chron for bringing to light the ongoing issue of the plight of skateboarders in Austin ["House Park Skateboarders Roll for Action," News, July 16].
   It's amazing to me that the most progressive city in the state still lacks a permanent concrete skate park. We have funds. We have supposed support from the city manager, the mayor, and the Parks and Recreation Department, and yet we still have no park or actual plan for getting one built. Meanwhile the skaters of Austin are run off or out of most every place they try to skate. It's tiring waiting for something you've been promised for years that everyone agrees is a good idea but no one with any power to fix will actually do anything about. Skateboarding is a multibillion dollar a year industry. Seems like if Austin was really interested in courting more of that business they'd build facilities to support it. I guess that's not as interesting as building empty buildings and engineering tax breaks for silicone pirates.

Dear Editor,
   It's time for change. It seems like almost everything surrounding politics could use some serious improvement these days, and one more item to add to the list is our system of voting for president.
   We should vote together as a nation of citizens, not divided states, for president.
   The driving reason for our current method of voting was because of our limited technological capabilities of the past. Today, we have risen above those barriers, and we are well past due an upgrade.
   Doing this would present a new set of complications but would eliminate the problems that plague the system as it is now.

Dear Editor,
   Judge Barrientos may be right in claiming that people "won't stop moving to our sweet city," but wouldn't it be ironic if the people who are now expected to pay for the roads that they have already paid for started moving out ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]?
   I was born and raised in New Jersey, land of toll roads. Ever get a "better them than me" laugh out of a NJ Turnpike or Garden State Parkway joke? Trust me, every one of those jokes is justified. It is not only a hassle to travel via toll road, it is a constant insult to continue to pay for infrastructure which has already been paid for by tax dollars.
   And last time I checked, "models" Houston and Dallas had, oh, a few million more residents than Austin. Maybe toll roads do work to ease the traffic congestion there. If so, good for them. But I didn't choose to live in a giant metroplex; I chose to live in a midsized, very green, very small-townish city.
   A city that's now starting to look – or at least feel – like my ugly old stomping grounds on the East Coast.
   Run while you can.

Dear Mr. Black,
   You are right to point out that it’s useless to be yowling like babies about the toll roads ["Page Two," July 16]. However, neighborhoods particularly impacted by projected toll roads have a legitimate concern. Our family lives in Scenic Brook, a middle class neighborhood in the city limits of Oak Hill. The main artery leading to our doorstep is Highway 290 West, soon to be improved and requiring a toll. There are three drivers at our house and imminently four. Two attend college in town and work and pay their own car-related expenses: insurance, oil changes, gas, and now tolls. If they make only two trips in and out of our neighborhood every day and the toll is 50 cents each way, their yearly cost will be $730 apiece. If my husband and myself each average two trips, we would incur the same cost. That is a whopping $2,920 in tolls for our family each year. For our daughters who make little more than minimum wage, it amounts to more than a month’s take-home pay.
   I do not oppose all toll roads, but short toll roads that residents of only one part of town are virtually forced to use to get in and out of their neighborhood amounts to selective taxation of that one area. Over the years our taxes have helped build roads in every part of Austin, and it is somewhat stunning to be expected to bear so great a share of the cost of a road improvement just because it happens to be in our part of town. Maybe we should have rolling toll roads, sometimes Burnet Road, sometimes Koenig, South Congress, or East 12th. That way no particular neighborhood is singled out for heavy taxation because the road that leads home needs improving.

Dear Editor,
   Regarding your recent review of Thai Tara ["The Assimilated Appetite," Food, June 25], I felt it failed to represent the charm and quality of the restaurant. It is certainly among the best Thai restaurants in town. The Tom Ka is fabulous, and the dishes are all based on Yupa's own home-cooked recipes. I have quite an appetite for spicy food and have always met my match by simply asking for it to be spicy. You can also always request a spice tray. Finally, the atmosphere is great, with several nooks and crannies away from the TVs, not to mention the pleasant outdoor patio. I highly recommend it.

Dear Sirs,
   I do believe that, contrary to Bush's reluctance to get rid of one of his people when he needs to, he will ask Cheney to step out. It may be voluntary on Cheney's part, but either way Bush and his boys know that Cheney's a liability. As a moderate Democrat, I personally hope that Bush is dumb enough to keep him on, but I doubt that this is going to happen. John McCain will probably step in as the VP running mate. After all the dirt and bs that Bush, Rove, and company smeared on John during the GOP primaries in 2000, he will still take the offer. I think this because, contrary to this "maverick" persona that McCain likes to project, in the end he's just another "party kiss ass." Witness his campaign commercials with Bush last week. Also, I hope that we will have seen the last of Cheney, but you never know. I thought the same of "Ronald Dumsfeld" years ago, too.

Dear Editor,
   I've always been one to try to keep the story straight. May 18 was my last show, but the reality of being out of a job did not hit until, oddly enough, the day Kevin contacted me for the Chronicle story ["The Emmis Shoe Falls at KLBJ," News, July 16]. My radio family and listeners were so distraught, I spent so much time comforting them, and didn't allow myself time to grieve. Life will, from time to time, present undesirable situations we must work through, which I am. I "know" I don't suck, I'm keeping the faith, and I'm going to utilize my gifts and talents to find a job. Stomp.

Dear Editor,
   Thank you for publishing and keeping up on the Internet Michael Ventura ["Letters @ 3am"].

Dear Editor,
   It amazes me that every time I read another story on the flawed toll-road plan, it always seems to gloss over, or fail to enlighten entirely the true subject under scrutiny here: the fact that this and every plan are so vague in their depth and content ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]. It would behoove the citizens of Austin to actually read the actual plan documents and some of the amendments that our leaders and so-called representatives have included in this flawed plan; they are eye-opening at the very least. Let alone the fact that this plan is only three days from being given a green light [Editors note: the plan was approved on July 12], yet construction has been progressing right along for many months now, and at breakneck speed in some locations, and in particular the SH 45/I-35 section. Case in point: One of the amendments proposes to take into consideration a context sensitive design approach to construction; however, anyone with even the worst eyesight can attest the SH 45/I-35 project, under construction for some time now, is a glaring example of this patchwork, hastily strewn together plan that we will all regret in the not-too-distant future. Good luck.

Dear Editor,
   I would like to express my appreciation to the CAMPO Transportation Policy Board for their decision to include the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority toll projects in the CAMPO 2030 Plan and the Transportation Improvement Program ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16].
   This was neither an easy nor popular decision, but it was the right one. The toll-road plan is the most effective tool we have to combat the congestion that plagues our region, and the CAMPO board made the best of an improbable situation. CAMPO leaders will have time to perfect the plan as we progress, and the public will have opportunities to address specific concerns during the implementation process, but CAMPO's commitment allows our region to remain eligible for its share of the Texas Mobility Fund. Without this action, Central Texans would have languished in congestion for decades before traditional funding could catch up to our transportation needs.
   I commend the CAMPO board members who voted to approve this plan for their willingness to make an unpopular decision for the greater public good.

Dear Editor,
   The governor's call to investigate CPS for their mishandling of several cases with horrific consequences is less about identifying and correcting the problems and more about giving the appearance of doing something ["Perry Calls for CPS Probe," News, July 9]. We have seen this pattern all too often in our leaders. Undoubtedly they will find some breakdown in procedure, blame staff, and propose new rules. They will make a big deal about more funding, but any increase will quickly disappear as focus turns to some new crisis. Little to nothing will be done to address the underlying issues, such as low wages, ever-increasing case loads, high turnover, and never-ending pressure to close cases when budgets are stressed.
   Problems at CPS and other essential Human Services agencies have been around for years. In 2002 my niece was nearing the end of a one-year program for abused and neglected children. All indications were that CPS was going to have her placed in foster care. This suddenly changed and she was sent back home. CPS was $20 million over budget. My niece died within six months of going home from a kidney infection treated too late.
   How can the governor with a straight face say that he will address the problems of Child Protective Services, CHIPS, school funding, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and the myriad of other inadequately funded programs while at the same time calling for a 5% cut in all programs to buy voters via a tax break? It disgusts me.

Dear Editor,
   By the time Emmis realizes how many listeners they've lost in Austin, by their rash and heartless move of firing favorite deejay personalities during a ratings swing that actually wasn't even there, it will be too late for them to repair the damage ["The Emmis Shoe Falls at KLBJ," News, July 16].
   Too bad they had to hurt people during their quest for higher profits that will probably actually result in lower ones. It has certainly resulted in a great personal distaste for them as a company. And I know I'm not alone.

Dear Editor,
   Did you see all those Caucasian folks protesting the toll-road initiative? I didn't notice blacks or Hispanics voicing anything for the toll roads to be on this side of Austin ["Divided CAMPO Says Yes to Toll Plan," News, July 16]. Maybe those people know that new investors are being called over for construction and conversion of 360, 130, and 45, and then a "Turnpike Authority" will be set up – with a staff from New York or Houston – mastering the displacing game. The 100 people a day that arrived in the Nineties is finally settling down, and property taxes, fines, and fees are not enough. Just wait until Capital Metro's team (another pusher for outsiders) releases its plan. This time, Mr. Barrientos really slapped some fat cheeks. We (you know, the poor) know him as a traitor to his constituency, but now, he emerged as El Gran Cobarde, by voting in favor. I know he is very aware of the train of ills that these roads will create for us. He's a good kisser.

Dear Editor,
   Contrary to revisionist history, the founder/owner of BookPeople, as well as Grok Books before it, was – is – Philip Sansone ["News/Print," Arts, July 9].

Dear Editor,
   I've heard in the news that Common Cause is all aflutter about electronic voting. Concerned that there is no paper trail. I suspect the real concern is that the computer machines give the same answer every time you hit the enter button.
   Since they were saying it here in San Antonio, I suspect the recent District 28 kerfuffle is at the root of it. In the demo primary Ciro Rodriguez of SA was pitted against Henry Cuellar of Laredo. Ciro was ahead on polling day but lost on the recount. "Suspicious" ballots were found in Webb and Zapata counties sufficient to boost Cuellar. In Bexar County, however, the numbers from computer ballot boxes did not change.
   Bexar County upgraded to computer machines after a series of election-night fiascoes. The touch-screen units are easy to use and they offer a recap of your ballot before you confirm.
   There is, to me as a conservative, something very amusing about continuous whining about voter disenfranchisement from demos when talking about demo precincts in demo counties with demo election officials. Sort of proclaims "We're too stupid to get it right!"

Dear Editor,
   It's time that the people of Austin told the City Council "enough." Enough degradation of the quality of life for residents of Austin, enough of the City Council's endless quest for more Home Depots and Wal-Marts, more highway and street construction, more stress injected into the lives of the residents of Austin.
   No disrespect, but how many Home Depots and Costcos do we need in Austin? Why do we need to endure years of street construction when the job, according to the construction crew leaders themselves, could be done in months? When is the City Council going to start representing the people who live here, when is the quality of life of those people going to become as important to the council as tax abatements for yet another big-box store?
   The question needs to be asked, but who exactly benefits from all this degradation of the very things that made living in Austin special? Not the people who live here, so who? Well, the City Council certainly benefits; if they pave the whole fucking city over and tax it, they can collect billions in taxes to be spent, well, by the City Council. We need to elect a government in this city that will protect what we have left to enjoy, who will consider the quality of life of the people who elected them more than the tax revenues they can collect from a new 40,000-square-foot "home-improvement store." Growth is not inevitable; we can retain what's left of this town before it simply becomes another city.

Dear Editor:
   I too share Wes Marshall's enthusiasm for Chile and Argentina as a destination as well as for their wines ["Will Travel for Wine," Food, May 7]. However, it should be noted that Chilean Sea Bass has been overfished for many years and has not recovered because it is regularly offered by restaurants and markets. One reason for its "rock bottom price" is the mechanized way they are caught, which can cause irreparable harm to the marine ecosystem.
   Many other fish species are listed at www.montereybayaquarium.org based on whether they are being overfished and/or caught/farmed in ways that hurt the environment. Another resource is www.seafoodinfocenter.org. By asking your waiter or restaurant manager if the fish they serve is wild (caught by hook or trawler) or farmed, one can make a better choice to preserve fish stocks and the entire ocean ecosystem.

Dear Editor,
   If you think the USA may have sent our troops to Iraq for reasons based on bad information, questionable research, and biased reasoning just take a look at the research San Marcos is building a convention center on, if you can find it. The mayor and City Council have made their decision to build based on rumored research claiming economic gain that has not been made available to the public.
   Is the data so sophisticated that only City Council members and corporate developers can understand it? Or is the data on the benefits of this project withheld because those numbers will not bear scrutiny? Could it be that the promised benefits are based on bad information, questionable research, and biased reasoning?
   Where will the money to pay for the $24 million for infrastructure and $15 million convention center to service this hotel really come from? Based on the vague information provided to the citizens, if the San Marcos City Council were to walk into a bank and ask for a loan to fund this feel-good "investment" they would be laughed out of the bank. Funding an investment requires verifiable data.
   We have done some research of our own. The promised benefits are just plain bs, and costs are understated.
   A convention in San Marcos promises the conventioneer an expensive taxi ride from the airport in either San Antonio, foregoing the River Walk for entertainment, or Austin and its Sixth Street. No no, give me an exciting San Marcos shopping center far enough away from my hotel room to require another taxi. Yep, I'd consider booking my convention in San Marcos ... and Austin, and San Antonio, and Spokane, and a whole lot of places. But don't hold me to that. Build your convention center anyway.

Dear Editor,
   I am thrilled with John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate. Edwards has a history of standing up for ordinary Americans throughout his career. As a trial lawyer he fought for regular people against the insurance industry. In Congress he has fought for health care, protecting civil rights, safeguarding healthy air and water, and protecting our national security. Our country will be well served by John Kerry and John Edwards in the White House. Consider me a proud Kerry-Edwards voter.