Letters 

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Addicted to ads?

Why does your paper carry full-page ads promoting cigarettes?

Cigarettes are very addictive. The drugs produce cancer and results in the deaths of many people. About 460,000 people.

Lloyd Kattenhorn

Fresno

 

 

 

Shame on New Times

Shame on you for printing an article that starts out "What the f---" ("Boohoo for Boo Boo," June 7). I thought that you had better taste than that.

Mary Ineman

Santa Maria

 

 

 

Higher wages for editors

"What the fuck?". These three words erupted in my mind and escaped from my mouth, quickly, after I read the hilariously hypocritical opinion piece by Christy Heron. She must be related to Al Gore or John Edwards. She blasts the people of Grover for not supporting Boo Boo and for allowing "big-city stores" to take over, right after she dropped off a DVD at Blockbuster! Do you morons ever proofread the crap you spew? She even goes as far as listing Blockbuster as one of the stores that remains in the shopping center where Boo Boo was located. How can you expect to have any credibility on this matter, when you're patronizing the very corporation you're attacking? Just like Gore or Edwards telling us to cut down on energy usage, while they themselves are personally using 20 percent more than the average American. Whatever happened to "leading by example?" Typical hypocrisy from the illiberal "do as I say, not as I do" left! Maybe if the greedy owners of New Times would pay the staff a living wage, they could get decent editors who check what they write before it goes to print!

Michael R. Larrea

Los Osos

 

 

 

Boo Boo needs you

Years ago I was driving down the coast from S.F. to L.A. when I felt the sudden necessity to add to my two-tape collection in the hopes that some fresh, blaring music would enable me to endure the approaching trials and tribulations of L.A. traffic. I had a vague recollection that there was one of those cool independent record stores located somewhere in the picturesque hamlet of SLO, so I took a chance, pulled off the Marsh Street exit, and by sheer instinct drove directly to Boo Boo's. I was more than delighted to discover their extensive and eclectic music selection, their hip, knowledgeable staff, and their relaxed, low-pressure ambience, and left with an armful of music which enabled me to wend my way through the horrors of L.A. rush hour without violently venting my road rage on some poor, unsuspecting motorist.

Now, having lived here for nearly two decades, I have come to cherish Boo Boo's as a classic American icon on the level with 1950s-era Chevvys, stainless steel diners, mom-and-pop hardware stores, and used bookstores such as Leon's and Phoenix.

It's a shame that the Grover store had to close, but I think we who live here need to take this as a warning that we need to stop lazily patronizing the Big Box guys and actively and deliberately make our music purchases at the Downtown Boo-Boo's. Otherwise, SLO may become a town that is no longer worth stopping at, let alone living in.

Raoul J. Wise

San Luis Obispo

 

 

 

Nursing story well done

Thank you for the most comprehensive look at the nursing shortage on the Central Coast that has been done to date ("Nurses Wanted," June 7). You really went out of your way to do a thorough story.

Ron Yukelson

Associate Administrator/Director,

Business Development

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center

 

 

 

Pray for rain, and less development

To quote Mr. Achadjian, our 4th District Supervisor and a member of the Coastal Commission, "Water is Nipomo's top priority." This statement from a man who in both his capacities has done everything possible to encourage and support builders and developers seems to be at odds with his voting record. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the more houses you build the more water you will use.

If the people of Nipomo are seriously concerned about the future of their water supply they might do two things: write to the Board of Supervisors expressing strong sentiments on future building (remember, these supervisors were elected to serve the people of the district and not the developers), and it wouldn't hurt to pray for rain.

Gene Slattery

Nipomo

 

 

 

Absolutely appalled by cat incident

I was absolutely appalled when I heard that the SLO high school seniors had played a nasty senior "prank" by throwing 17 dead cats used for dissection into the school's trees over the Memorial Day weekend ("Dead cat display could lead to charges," June 7).

Equally disturbing is the practice of dissection in today's schools. Teachers, experts, and students are finally starting to question and reject the value of dissection exercises due to serious ethical and environmental problems with the way animals are collected, prepared, and killed, and the dissection exercises themselves, which send a troubling message to young people about the way animals should be treated, as you can see in the case of the SLO high school students' "prank." Dissection desensitizes students towards the value of life. More people are starting to believe that dissection devalues life by reducing animals to tools that are to be used then disposed of.

For more information on alternatives, go to www.cutoutdissection.com. And please remember: Biology is the study of life, not death.

Katie Baker

Morro Bay

Ed's note: Last we checked, the police didn't know who did the deed, or why.

 

 

 

Quit picking on the poor rich!

Regarding the letter by Karl Brown ("The poor outcast is a saint," May 31). You state that the rich got rich by lying, stealing, cheating, and killing. A pretty bold statement. What do you consider rich? Making $50,000 a year? $100,000? What about the people that get up at 5 a.m., go to their place of business, work 12, 14, 16 hours a day, to make that $50,000, or whatever? Are they stealing, cheating, lying, or killing, to make their money, or are they working for what they get? But you mention that it's all right to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

Let me guess, you're one of the poor, homeless hippies. Do you have a job? Do you steal from the rich and give to the poor? Or do you steal from the rich and keep it for drugs and alcohol? I suppose I am making some big assumptions about you. But you make some big assumptions about the so-called rich. I would go so far as to say that most of the people you refer to as rich worked hard to get where they are. Just as you worked to get where you are, wherever that is. Hard work, what a concept.

Robert Jones

Oceano

 

 

 

Vehicles and recreation make for a dangerous partnership

California has an excellent state park system. However, it needs to terminate the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division. This program manages the largest off-highway recreation program in the United States.

Why does California promote vehicle driving as a type of "recreation"? Vehicle driving causes air pollution, destroys habitat (e.g. the Nipomo Dunes and Oceano Beach), contributes to global warming, makes us fat and lazy, injures or kills so many, and makes us even more dependent on oil, which is mostly imported. Oil is a finite fossil fuel that is rapidly running out and we seem to go to war over it.

The state park rangers could lead citizens on "nature walks" instead of dealing with traffic on the beach and dunes. Nature walks for exercise and a better understanding of the natural world in which we evolved. Citizens need to listen to waves and get away from their vehicles, which have come to dominate our lives.

The OHV Division of our fine state park system should not be renewed at the end of the year. Yes, it could end on Dec. 31, 2007 if not renewed. Let your elected officials know.

Bill Denneen,

Nipomo

 

 

 

Vaccination debate demands reason, not fear

Both sides of the vaccination debate utilize fear and emotion, both of which do not make for good decision making. I have studied the vaccination issue since 1991 and I have come up with my own thoughts regarding this issue.

My first thought is that this is an individual issue to be decided by each individual.

For me it boils down to the fact that we are introducing foreign substances into the body in a foreign manner. There are very few of the diseases vaccinated against that enter the body directly into the blood stream with thimerosol, formaldehyde, etc.

In the end, aside from all the fear and propaganda from both sides, the real data is sparse and not enough in terms of safety. There is little data on safety and enough data on dangers to deter me. The second issue is effectiveness. There are no randomized controlled trials exposing fully vaccinated kids to pathogens to see if they actually work. Finally, there are no randomized controlled trials that look at the risk of natural illness in a well-fed, well-cared-for child with access to emergency care if needed.

In closing, I want to thank you for printing an article on such a controversial topic. It is this type of article that will get people thinking and researching so that they are able to make their own decisions.

Scott A. Dubrul, D.C.

San Luis Obispo

 

 

Environmentalists should be concerned with illegals

I am wondering why the environmental community has been silent concerning the ongoing discussion of illegals who are flooding our country. With estimates of 15-20 million now here and the potential for tens of millions more, why is the impact on limited resources not a big issue? It's as if these people do not use: housing, water, energy, gasoline, sewers, or other limited resources.

Anytime a developer proposes a construction project, environmentalists can be expected to rally against it. So, where are all these new people going to live? Will it continue to be business as usual to pack them 10 to 15 per residence into homes designed for three to five people? What happens when these families grow up and start families of their own? With current city fees of $21,000 per granny unit, and over $60,000 for single-family homes, how many of these poor people will ever qualify to own a home?

I work in the building trades and can assure you, many of these illegals are not here to do jobs Americans will not do. They are competing across the board with American construction workers. The downside is they are not properly trained nor do they have the same standards required for building in our state.

Steve Rebuck

San Luis Obispo