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,
    Regarding the article "Exclusively for Boneheads," [News, March 18]: Apparently Austin was recently named as the most segregated city in the U.S. in some poll, and I personally applaud the "vandal" for bringing this issue into the limelight.
    As a fairly long-term resident of the neighborhood where this heinous act occurred, I have witnessed the steady yuppie-fication of the Eastside and gradual disappearance of my black neighbors who often used to acknowledge me as I passed by. This has not been my general experience with the younger, whiter population that has replaced them. I no longer bother to even say hello to unknown passers-by, for fear of uncomfortable stares. I do admit that I work outside all day and my more rugged appearance is not what people are used to nowadays in Austin, and I feel increasingly out of place here. However I love the music, food, and all that brings people here, including myself years ago. I just wish all Texans could afford to enjoy it as they used to, because it is money that segregates us today, not whites only signs, but the result is the same, and it is this fact that I think this bonehead was trying to point out.
    Those that are most disgusted by this act are more than likely those who would cross to the other side of the street when a black person is walking towards them.

   [Editor's note: See "Contested Territory," March 27, and "Point Austin," March 27. For the record, the Austin/Round Rock metropolitan area was recently reported as the "most economically segregated" metropolitan statistical area in a study released by the University of Toronto ("Desegregation Austin," Feb. 26).]

Dear Editor,
    Regarding “What Now for SXSW?” [News, March 13]: “Tuesday also happens to be St. Patrick's Day, an annual holiday reserved for red-faced drunks." I am disgusted with this racist comment by your so-called writer Chase Hoffberger.
    Way to go with the stereotyping! There is a tiny Irish population here in Austin, hardly enough to keep EMS busy for the day. Most Irish that I met yesterday were out to enjoy Irish music and culture and, yes, to socialize, as it was our patron saint's day.
    Most drunks we met were not Irish, but of the "lets pretend to be Irish for the day and get hammered" variety. Not everyone in a green shirt is Irish.

   [News Editor Michael King responds: As Cathy Healy quotes, the passage makes no mention of the Irish at all; indeed, it refers to "red-faced drunks" of the same sort she describes – using the excuse of the holiday to get hammered.]

Dear Editor,
    I am a fifth-grade student at Barton Creek Elementary. I want to inform you that I have found a major problem in Texas: water shortages. I believe that water shortages in Texas are a big problem. If we don't take care of it soon, we'll use up all of the water!
    Here are some reasons we should conserve our precious water: Water shortages have a huge effect on our environment. If we have a drought, or are running low on water, our animals won't get the water they need, and that is not fair to them. Also, our trees will become dehydrated and will start to wilt and die, and we won't be able to water our gardens.
    Water shortages not only have an effect on the environment, but also on us, as humans. If our crops don't get the water they need, they will dry out, and we won't have any food to eat. We won't have water for our everyday lives, like washing a car or filling a pool, and we won't have any water to drink, too.
    Lastly, if we all work together, we can restore our missing water. We can save water by turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth, and you should take shorter showers. If you, (all of Texas) spend three to four minutes in the shower, you would only use up seven gallons of water (according to the Houston Chronicle). That's not much. Also, if you hand wash dishes, you will save gallons of water instead of using a dishwasher, and drink all the water you fill your cup with. These are some ways we can fix this problem. I know we forget sometimes to use less water, but we need to try harder. I do it, too. Again, do whatever you can to stop this shortage. If we don't, we'll all regret it.

Dear Editor,
    Places of worship are sacred in Islam, which is why I cannot make sense of the tragedy that unfolded in Pakistan this past weekend. Fifteen innocent Christian worshippers died in a brutal attack by suicide bombers. This act is not representative of Islam – a faith that reveres Jesus and his mother, Mary.
    Unfortunately, this is not the first time minority groups in Pakistan have been targeted for their faith. In May 2010, more than 80 worshippers belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community were attacked in the same manner. And the worst part is that the Pakistani government and its draconian constitution has repeatedly failed to protect its citizens.
    My heart grieves for my Christian brothers and sisters in Pakistan.

Dear Editor,
    Man, I miss the old days. My favorite SXSW was 1986, when I somehow wound up on a local band's tour bus in front of the Continental Club, watching a couple of fat, middle-aged record executives snort coke off the dashboard and chase teeny-bimbos around the cabin. It was a classic Spinal Tap moment made painfully real by the fact that nobody ever made it into the club to check out the band's set.
    For me, personally, that marked the beginning of the end; mostly of the innocence that gets lost with a growing community and clash of corporate interests. Having lived here since 1978 and witnessed that change, I wonder if there's another place in the world where that small spark could be re-ignited.
    Probably not. One could point to the demise of the Armadillo World Headquarters and City Council's refusal to save it – only to later declare Austin the live music capital of etc. as an initial example of ignorance, greed, and bad planning. They really sucked for not declaring AWH a historic landmark, but I think a bank really needed the parking space.
    Obviously, I'm slightly bitter, not to mention old and cranky. I don't go out there anymore. My fun's been had, and I've got plenty of memories and gratitude for being in the right place at the right time. That would be Austin.
    I'll grouse at you again next year, but right now, I've gotta get to the airport and pick up the Germans who think I'm friends with Snoop Dogg; they pay big for backyard space with a tent.