What a doll! Kudos to Patricia Calhoun for her March 8 column, "Blinded by Science," showing how low the high-and-mighty Boulder can sink.
The black-and-white-Barbie saga was embarrassing enough for a supposedly sophisticated city. But unless the box those two Hispanic gentlemen were carrying to their car contained a burning sofa on its way to another "riot"/bonfire on The Hill, that nosy neighbor had no reason to even question their presence.
Not only is Boulder supposedly a sophisticated city, but the University of Colorado is supposed to be a world-class institution. And if that all is true, wouldn't that mean that some students come there from other countries?
Jill McCarty
via the Internet
What's in a name? After what Calhoun points out quite clearly about some of the significant, inappropriate actions of the education system, the community at large and the law-enforcement folks in the city of Boulder, the Boulder City Council may want to consider changing the name of the city to Blunder, Colorado.
J. Matthew Dietz
Denver
No kidding around: Steve Jackson's "The Racer's Edge," in the March 8 and 15 issues, was a good article.
So in Florida, they give a twelve-year-old criminal (who said he didn't mean to crush the six-year-old) life in prison (which I bet will become three years and probation). In Colorado, we give a fourteen-year-old criminal (who says it was an accident and still brags) two years in juvenile.
Nick Werle
via the Internet
Touched by an angle: Steve Jackson's ability to look at all the angles of a story made "The Racer's Edge" really exciting to read. Having been in the shoes of the parents making the donation decision, I could easily relate to their feelings. It's certainly a decision I never dreamed I'd have to make. Hopefully, many others will read Chris Klug's story and decide to become organ donors. Or, if they're ever in the midst of a most terrible event, they'll choose to help someone else.
Doris Brown
via the Internet
Manual labor: I was very impressed with what I read about Manual High School in "The Next Test," T.R. Witcher's article in the March 8 issue. Rather than whine about what they cannot change (including the board and administration of Denver Public Schools!), teachers and officials at Manual are playing the hand they've been given, and they seem to be playing it wisely.
I'm willing to bet that when the CSAP scores are released a few months from now, Manual will do very well.
Jo Barrington
Denver
The rite stuff: I read T.R. Witcher's "The Next Test" and was very upset that the whole truth about taking the CSAP test didn't come out. As a matter of fact, the next-to-last paragraph failed to give the reason why 90 percent of Manual's tenth-graders showed up for the test.
Let me enlighten you. The statement Ms. Sutton made that "no one complained" is a downright lie. When students knew about the testing, there was a walkout scheduled. When Mrs. Sutton learned about the walkout, she sent a letter home to parents stating that the CSAP would be "part of the Rites of Passage." This statement was written in such a way that everyone freaked out and believed that they would not be passed on to the next grade if their CSAP was not included in their rites of passage -- hence the 90 percent turnout for the test. When one student carried a sign the first day of the CSAP test protesting its being part of the Rites of Passage, she was suspended for protesting and was not let back in school until the CSAP was over, because she refused to stop protesting. When Ms. Sutton was asked to clear up the fact that CSAP was not a requirement for the Rites of Passage, she flat-out refused to do that and said that after the CSAP was over, she'd have a discussion with the tenth-graders to see if they wanted to put CSAP in the Rites of Passage. We are still waiting for her to honor that promise.
I thought your readers would like to know just how Ms. Sutton had such a big turnout for the CSAP.
Cindy M. Sole
Denver
Over hill and dale: Regarding Michael Paglia's "Nightmare on Dale Street," his March 15 article on the proposed expansion plan for the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center:
Is there no end to the madness that has plagued the architectural history of Colorado Springs from the late '60s onward? It would seem that absolutely no structure is safe there. They've destroyed practically everything of any architectural significance in that city, and in the most non-sectarian of ways. It cannot be said that the city has a contempt only for modernist buildings: No period of architecture is safe there. Is it the altitude? The water, perhaps? There's nothing that really explains the phenomenon. From the writings of Harry Elmer Barnes, to the Colorado Springs Gazette, to Focus on the Family and the wholesale destruction of any type of edifice that could rightly be dubbed architecture, Colorado Springs will go down in history as a little bit of Mars right here on Earth. What a place to be!
John T. Haeseler
Denver
Radio-free Boulder: Thank you, Michael Roberts and Westword, for printing "The Little Station That Could," the March 15 essay about the best radio station in the world -- KGNU (88.5FM).
Only on KGNU and Denver Community TV (Channel 57) can we hear such wonderful statements as this from Ralph Nader: "We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both."
Or this statement from professor Noam Chomsky: "The mass media in the United States is one of the most awesome and effective propaganda systems the world has ever seen. Its purpose is to cultivate public stupidity and conformity in order to protect the capitalist upper class from interference by the masses."
Thank you, KGNU!
John Cassella
Denver
Something stinks: Greeley has long suffered from image problems as being less hip and more fragrant than Fort Collins. However, the one icon of superiority we can lord over our sister city is KUNC. Michael Roberts's March 15 report on KGNU, "The Little Station That Could," placed KUNC in Fort Collins, when in fact it has always been a Greeley station. Greeley needs credit when credit is due, and in this case, it's for KUNC.
Linda Reiter
Greeley
With raised voices: Thank you to everyone who supported us in our purchase of the KUNC license. We could not have accomplished it without your help -- both financial and emotional. It has been heartwarming to hear how people share our passion for the station and the staff. We are pleased that the University of Northern Colorado decided to let us keep a public-radio voice for northern Colorado. It is our intent to continue to operate the station with the same award-winning format and staff. Long live diverse music and National Public Radio!
Nancy D'Albergaria and Pat Thomas
On behalf of Friends of KUNC
Suffer the children: In regard to Jayne Freeman's March 8 letter about Dr. Laura and Kenny Be's Worst-Case Scenario in the March 1 issue:
It is my opinion that Dr. Laura's focus is the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical well-being of all children, first and foremost. She is recognized for this by many religious and spiritual leaders of all faiths, ethnicities and genders. When I read or hear of someone having an issue with Dr. Laura, I wonder how many of the issues that she addresses are issues the complainants have not addressed in their own lives. I don't agree with all of Dr. Laura's opinions, but who else has the guts to be as high-profile as she is about the moral and ethical issues for which she engenders so much criticism? Being critical is easy; doing something positive apparently is much harder. Not many of her critics are known for their humanitarian missions.
Children are the largest minority that is phyically and emotionally abused today. News reports of abuse by adults and other children are sickening. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater: Dr. Laura's stand for children's well-being is to be commended, not condemned. And for an adult to be held accountable for his or her choice to engage in an act that creates life, to hold that act and that life sacred -- then maybe that adult would have to hold his or her own life and the lives of others sacred, thinking about the consequences of their behavior and behaving accordingly.
Richard Hart
via the Internet
This spud's for you: Regarding Kyle Wagner's "Bad Luck of the Irish," in the March 1 issue:
I have been going to the Celtic Tavern for three months, and I adamantly defend the tavern and the great service they have done for LoDo since they moved here. LoDo is full of trendy restaurants owned by faceless wallets. The Celtic Tavern has changed all that. On any given night, a customer can meet the owners of the restaurant or observe them playing darts. This is the sort of homey ambience that LoDo needs.
I would suggest in the future that Westword send the Cafe critic somewhere more along the lines of Burger King or McDonald's. Unlike the Celtic Tavern, those businesses might get a fair and accurate review.
Jennifer Dennison
Denver
