Audio By Carbonatix
“The Show Must Go On,” Off Limits, June 23
Big Bang Theory
Move to urban environment, complain about noise.
I don’t understand these stupid yuppies. If you want a quiet place to raise your kids, perhaps Parker or Highlands Ranch beckons.
Josh Warriner
Denver
I feel betrayed by the Off Limits item regarding the nightly Elitch fireworks. It is absolutely baffling that the Westword I have known and loved over the years would side with a big business trying to make an extra buck over the valid complaints of nearby residents. You evidently think that Elitch Gardens did reduce the fireworks noise to an acceptable level. We cannot detect a significant difference, if any at all.
I am especially disappointed that Westword did not do much more than merely reprint what amounts to an Elitch Gardens press release. What types of tests were conducted? (More than decibel levels are involved.) How many complaints is “a few,” and who did the counting? I know that people have complained to a variety of different offices. If Elitch’s makes life miserable for only “a few” neighbors and tortures only “a few” pets every night, all summer long, it’s okay?
The concluding paragraph implies that if the location is “downtown,” anything goes. We agree that downtown residents need to be realistic about noise, among other things. The main-line railroad tracks are a few yards from our building, but we have never asked the city to ban the coal trains. Similarly, we have never complained about emergency-vehicle sirens, the traffic noise from Speer Boulevard, the concert noise from Elitch’s, etc. In short, we are not complainers. But we want to be able to go to bed at 9 p.m. without being awakened by what sounds like gunfire if we have to get up at 4 a.m. the next morning to catch an early flight.
Noise in downtowns almost always involves compromise — be it horn-honking, club-closing-time noise, concerts, etc. Elitch Gardens arbitrarily decided after many years of being a good neighbor to change the location and frequency of its fireworks, and has been unwilling to do anything significant to address the problem it has created. Evidently no one involved in this significant decision was bright enough, or thoughtful enough, to suggest that the impact on neighbors be considered. Did they really think the fireworks noise would somehow magically stop at their property line? At best, Elitch’s is guilty of very poor judgment and hardly deserving of kudos from Westword.
Sidney Logemann
Denver
Too many people complain and ruin it for the rest of us. Too many times we give in. I’m sure there are more people who like the show than people who complain.
Douglas Havens
Posted at westword.com
“Shifting Gears,” Michael Paglia, June 23
Sugar and Spice
Kudos to Michael Paglia! A great piece by a great arts writer who is always full of interesting material. He is willing to speak his mind and not sugarcoat. Denver is lucky to have his input.
Tom Turnquist
Lakewood
“Bad Lesson,” Karina Longworth, June 23
A Class Act
I wanted to give kudos to Karina Longworth for writing a great review about Bad Teacher. I haven’t seen the movie, but it truly sounds like another cliché movie. Regardless of the bad movies that leak through, I feel confident that the movie industry is becoming more in tune to the great women comediennes out there.
It’s because of great articles like Karina’s that hold the industry responsible that they’re starting to wake up. Bravo!
Melissa Stoneking
Denver