Audio By Carbonatix
The Big Boom Theory
Hunter drops Dobson: I have never paid a lot of attention to The City, by Derf, before, but the March 3 comic about how Hunter S. Thompson really died was perfect. If only it were true!
RIP, HST.
Brian Moriarty
Aurora
The Mystery of Pi
Frat pack: This letter is in response to Kenny Be’s “ChristiAnimal House” Worst-Case Scenario in the February 24 issue. I’m a Sigma Pi from Colorado State University and also a Christian. While the comic was satirically clever, it seems that Kenny has the wrong idea about the “Spirit of Sigma Pi.” I realize that after Samantha Spady’s death, the majority of people regard us as another example of excess in college and equate us with the Animal House image. I’m so sorry that we as a house contributed to that national “frat-boy” stereotype.
However, it seems as though it doesn’t matter that we have organized an alcohol-awareness group called “Ace of Spades” to educate incoming college students about the dangers of binge drinking. It doesn’t matter that Samantha Spady’s parents, Rick and Patty, have traveled around the nation organizing and speaking about the loss of their only daughter so that no other parents have to experience what they have. And now I know it doesn’t matter how we strive to help Timberline Church create a neutral environment for college students.
To people like Kenny, it doesn’t matter that we have been beaten down as a fraternity by the university, the media and our guilt; apparently we deserved one more kick while we’re on the ground.
Bryce Ballew
via the Internet
Editor’s note: For another look at the former Sigma Pi house, read this week’s cover story by Jared Jacang Maher.
Giving Martino the Business
Shoot to bill: Regarding Michael Roberts’s “Target: Tom,” the March 3 Message:
Your article on Tom Martino was long overdue. I think the referral list is a total joke. I tried using it several times, and usually the vendors never even bothered calling back. I contacted troubleshooter.com and they did nothing about it. In my opinion, all they care about is collecting the money. I still use the referral list, but for a different reason: I avoid doing business with companies on the list!
Bob Morgan
Denver
Dogging his tracks: Bravo! Tom Martino does some great things for consumers here in Denver, but it is high time he was exposed for exactly what it is he does. His eye is on profits first and consumer satisfaction second. I was a troubleshooter referral-list provider at one time. I was selling a very high-quality dog food. I signed a number of papers detailing how disputes would be handled (never had any), papers stating the Troubleshooter credo that I was expected to live up to, and more papers explaining how much it would cost me to be a referral-list provider. Every bag of dog food I sold through his site would be subject to a “Tom tax.”
I never met Tom or any of his minions. Anybody can sign up if they just sign the papers and pay Tom. Something just doesn’t seem right about that. It is my opinion that he has garnered so much power over the years that he is “untouchable.” I am glad to see you report this side of the story. I, too, have heard him say on many occasions on the show that he wasn’t there and can’t say what happened. He gets nebulous about things when they don’t look good for him.
Keep up the excellent work you do.
Jeff Noble
via the Internet
Target practice: Three words regarding Michael Roberts’s takedown of the Troubleshooter: ’bout friggin’ time. Couple more: You’re just getting warmed up, right? This is, like, part one of a series, or what?
JM Schell
Arvada
The tiles that bind: Normally, it is not in my nature to comment on such a well-written article, but I have known Tony Marquette and his family for approximately twenty years and can speak highly of his credibility. In the time I have known him, nothing like this has ever happened, and he is very fair when it comes to people working on his place — he has even recommended some of them to his friends, so the situation here is in no way indicative of an issue on Tony’s end. Tony is a businessman and simply wants the job done right. For the contractor to offer a half-price settlement is ludicrous. Obviously, the floors need to be completely torn up and redone correctly, which may cost even more the second time around, now that all the existing tiles need to be demolished!
I would also like to point out, in defense of Tom Martino’s network, that the fees they are charging contractors are very reasonable and probably don’t begin to cover the costs associated with the diligence they do with their contractors and all the people required to manage such a site and keep their entity as lock-tight and reputable as possible. No one should construe their fees as a hidden agenda, and anyone who thinks that Martino does his job for free needs to revisit their junior high school economics teacher for a “rethink.”
I think that from a common business-sense standpoint, both Martino’s network and the contractor should share in the liability of giving Marquette what he wanted in the first place — a fairly built floor at no additional cost to him, using another contractor. This would seem like a rational cost of doing business for the network; that’s part of why they charge contractors fees to be in their program — to compensate a homeowner when something goes wrong. Fortunately, if this is the worst thing that ever came from Martino’s list of qualified contractors, then I would say it’s still the best referral program out there and has proven its weight in subfloors!
Steve Forgy
Golden
Troubleshooter shoots back: I have never hidden the fact that I am an entrepreneur and a businessman, and, yes, I have the nerve to make a profit! I have never claimed to be a journalist or a news reporter. In fact, I think my life’s experience makes me uniquely qualified for what I do. Unlike most people in the media, I actually know what I am talking about when it comes to business, finance, customer service and management. Consider these factors:
Media enterprises make a profit.
Media enterprises have paid sponsors.
So-called “objective” journalists and opinionated columnists are paid a salary.
They all have individual investment and business interests.
Here is the difference between them and me:
I pre-screen all sponsors with an extensive background check.
My sponsors sign a code of ethics and submit to arbitration.
I have a mechanism for receiving feedback about sponsors.
I kick sponsors off the radio show and/or referral list if they do not resolve serious complaints.
I openly discuss my investments, business interests and personal life on the air.
I take complaints on the air about sponsors and non-sponsors alike. I sometimes side with consumers; I sometimes side with businesses — without regard to whether they are sponsors.
I used to be a news reporter and got sick and tired of the hypocrisy. While in the so-called “objective” news media, I was told what to cover and what “angle” the media outlet wanted. If I or other reporters came back with facts that did not support the angle, the stories were often dropped. In other words, media enterprises often “censor” by “exclusion.”
While writing a column for the Rocky Mountain News, I was instructed to not write columns about car dealers because they are major sponsors. While at KCNC News 4, I was told not to cover a particular story about the Denver Broncos because they were the “Broncos Station.” Companies pay a fee to appear as guests on a local morning show on KUSA — where they talk about their products and services. KCNC charges businesses to be “Saluted” as a “Company for Colorado” within their newscast. Oddly enough, I have found the purest form of expression to be talk radio. I have worked in the business for thirty years, and I was never forced to talk about a particular topic. I was never asked to take a particular stand.
I am proud to be a capitalist, a businessman, an entrepreneur who has been able to build a career on helping people. I am proud that I have recovered millions of dollars in cash, merchandise, exchanges, refunds and services over the years. I am proud to be able to give people a voice in the media to express their frustration with everyday life. Before this show, their only alternative was to turn to lawyers or government officials.
Tom Martino
via the Internet
Where’s the Justice?
The hard cell: With the March 3 “Blind Justice,” Michael Paglia did an excellent article on an again-misguided justice-center proposal. It took less than two years in public office to turn our new mayor from a sensible businessman into a boondoggle builder to match previous mayor Wellington Webb. Our city government has completely failed to make the case for building this expensive new monument. No doubt the jail system needs some work. Can problems only be resolved with a nearly $400 million justice center? I doubt it, and the city has not adequately considered less-expensive alternatives.
Why not look at expanding the current Smith Road facility? It is inconvenient for the city to transport prisoners back and forth to hearings downtown, but inconvenience is not sufficient reason to build a new facility. My guess is that there are big-money interests who would rather not have a jail in the back yard of the shiny new Stapleton development. And no doubt it is unpleasant for the mayor and other high officials to see prisoners moving around in City Hall, but again, this is not a good reason to spend a fortune in public money on a new building.
Until I see some cost-conscious consideration of alternatives, I will vote no on the city jail proposal. The voters had the good sense to twice turn down justice-center ballot issues. I hope the popularity of our new mayor does not blind the public to the extravagance of this proposal. If it gets turned down again, maybe the city finally will be motivated to seek a more modest and cost-effective solution.
Tom Reilly
Denver
Chicken Littleton
Down the toilet: John La Briola, you are totally wrong about the Commodes (Playlist, March 3). Just ’cause they live in Littleton doesn’t mean that they are rich or bratty. In fact, they are really down-to-earth guys who know what they are doing with their music, and they aren’t going to let your stupid review stop them. Because you didn’t even talk about their music; you just criticized the town that they come from. Maybe you should open your mind and actually listen to the CD and try and review the music for real.
Megan Rendall
Littleton