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 [email protected]. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    For those fretting about the future of urban farming after the HausBar Farms conflict, I write to share some good news and express some public thank-yous.
    The truth is, our urban farming movement is stronger than ever. The HausBar Farms case is one crucial episode in an epic adventure in which hometown heroes are taking bold action, raising important questions, and diving into the complexities of one of the most important challenges of our city: nourishing our diverse urban community.
    Thank you Susana Almanza, and PODER! Your efforts to remove the toxic tank farm from the Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhood led to greater health for neighbors, including opportunities to grow healthy food again. Thank you for assisting our community to build box gardens and secure land for gardening at Levander Loop and in Montopolis. And thank you, personally, for contributing your leadership and wisdom to the East Feast 2022 movement to create Austin’s first public food forest in the Holly Shores/Edward Rendon Sr. Park.
    Thank you, Dorsey Barger and HausBar Farms! Not content to buy into an industrial food system that produces egregious social and environmental burdens, you are boldly experimenting with healthier alternatives. Your experiments are helping us get closer than ever to sustainable urban farming solutions.
    Thank you to Heather Frambach and the Sustainable Food Policy Board for embracing the challenge of creating new rules to advance the public good as we experiment in creating a healthy and just food system.
    Together, we move from unworkable food systems to a healthier city. There aren't silver-bullet, singular solutions. There will be smells to manage and trade-offs to consider. Yet, we can build this healthy, just city, so long as we’re willing to experiment, learn, and adapt together – and forgive one another as we stumble along the way.

Dear Editor,
    Although I appreciate that The Austin Chronicle has for years been at the forefront in providing progressive reporting of issues, it's unfortunate that in the recent story on HausBar Farms and the Govalle East Austin neighborhood, the writer chose to inject her own personal opinions and conclusions [“Communication Breakdown,” Food, April 12]. These interjections slanted the story against the neighborhood. The People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources [PODER] and the Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhood contact team were pursuing a complaint filed by a neighborhood resident. We addressed the HausBar Farms as a specific zoning issue. HausBar Farms, which is located in single-family zoning, was slaughtering chickens and wholesaling them, which is a commercial use.
    It was the city of Austin – not PODER or the neighborhood association – that closed down the operations temporarily. Despite what the story alleges, PODER does not have the power or authority to close down businesses, and that was not our intention.
    With the wave of gentrification in East Austin, many of us are concerned about the lack of affordable housing and about retaining our single-family zoning. East Austin, according to the urban farm ordinance, is the only part of town where people can buy one to five acres of land, regardless of zoning, and create urban farms.
    I am sure that we can work together to keep urban farms without losing our single-family homes and/or single-family zoned lands. We must work together so that all families are growing their own personal crops and sustaining themselves. We look forward to working with the Sustainable Food Policy Board and the city of Austin Planning Commission and City Council.

   [Anna Toon responds: Urban farming is an approved use in SF-3 zoning. HausBar Farms does not need to be rezoned to operate as an urban farm; instead, they must meet certain requirements of the urban farm ordinance. The urban farm ordinance allows for the raising of fowl, and for agricultural products raised on the property to be sold from the site. Zoning officials have interpreted “raising” to include slaughtering. Again, slaughtering and selling chickens is allowed on an urban farm in SF-3 zoning in the urban farm ordinance under agricultural uses. I do not give credit to PODER for shutting down HausBar Farms; in the piece, I explicitly stated that “[a]fter an interdepartmental inspection on March 13, city officials shut down HausBar Farms, citing inadequate permits.” It is disingenuous, however, for PODER to not acknowledge their inaccurate and inflammatory statements before the City Council. Additionally, the urban farm ordinance does not state that East Austin is the only part of town where urban farms are permitted. The implication that officials would only want this type of “environmental injustice” on the Eastside is simply not true. It was my intention to represent the intricacies of the overall issue and PODER’s involvement as a piece of the larger puzzle. My quotes were both accurate and in context, and I stand by my story.]

Dear Editor,
    If these gun huggers don't want to surrender to common-sense gun control laws, then we need to break out some old-style Wyatt Earp justice on their ass and meet them at the county line with some well-armed deputies. Give them two choices: surrender your arms, or we gonna blow you straight to hell. Bet these tough-talking bitches throw their weapons on the ground then!

Dear Editor,
    It is great to see that The Place Beyond the Pines was picked as the AC pick of the week [Film Listings, April 12], but the reviewer failed to mention that the hypnotic soundtrack was scored by none other than Mike Patton! I have seen film reviews in the Chronicle wax poetic about the laconic scores of Howard Shore, but failed to mention this.
    Patton's start was with Mr. Bungle, and later Faith No More, and he was positioned to be the next big thing, but turned his back on many offers – including joining INXS – to start a record label and choose projects and collaborations stranger and stranger (such as Fantômas and John Zorn).
    He has scored for Crank: High Voltage, A Perfect Place, The Solitude of Prime Numbers, and now this score. I am super impressed, and as a fan of Mr. Bungle, I am happy to see Patton mature and always remain relevant.

Dear Editor,
    During my 30 years in Austin, I don't think I've ever seen such an egregious case of corporate power at City Hall as the attempt by many on the City Council to install an unelected board at Austin Energy. When there have been public discussions at City Hall, dozens of people line up to speak in opposition to the unelected board. This is in stark contrast to the one or two representatives of corporations who speak in favor. Unfortunately, the corporations have the support of the Council.
    The mayor and his allies on the Council have never given an explanation of why the unelected board is necessary. Nor have the council members attempted to explain why there is such a rush to accomplish this change. Seattle, Wash., took two years to determine if they wanted to make the same change and ultimately decided against it. Our City Council wants to make this same decision in two months without a real public hearing.
    Another factor that looms large in this issue is the coming 10-1 City Council. There are reports that the mayor has said that he wants to undermine the authority of the 10-1 Council by denying it control of Austin Energy. This is consistent with the City Council’s opposition to 10-1.
    Crucial to this attack on local democracy is Sen. Watson’s bill that would deny Austin citizens a charter amendment vote on the AE changes. The City Council voted in support of this denial of a vote.
    So far, corporate money and an attack on local democracy are winning at City Hall.

Dear Editor,
    I read with great interest the story concerning Google Fiber and their Austin presence [“Point Austin,” News, April 12]. However, I was disappointed that there was no mention of the potential of new Google jobs and/or hiring. In fact, there was very little mention of infrastructure construction, headend construction, or maintenance and installation technical staffing.
    I understand that Google will probably contract much of the outside-plant fiber installation. But it would seem inevitable that Google would hire its own staff to handle outages, direct customer service, etc.
    I know, based on your reporting, that it will be slow going with regard to Google's rollout. But still, it would have been great if the Google executives (through your intrepid journalism) had given us an inkling of any hiring projections.

Dear Editor,
   I am concerned that there may be unforeseen consequences in the rush to improve public safety with regard to firearms. It seems as though there will be a need to create a central database for those with mental problems. Is this a good idea? Might it not be open to abuse? Would such a database be employed for other purposes? Bureaucrats love the way black ink displays in a slot on a white form. Once one's name is placed in such a database, how could one get out? Who would decide if someone's mental or emotional condition has improved? Once defined as mentally ill, would that designation follow one forever? We've read stories of people having to register as sex offenders [because of] public urination or having sex with a minor even though the two involved were separated by a just a few years and subsequently got married. We should be careful of allowing our politicians to do what they feel will look and feel good to their constituents. A lot of unfair practices occur under the banner of "rules are rules."