Photograph by Thomas K. Arnold

17th Street, between Market Street and Imperial Avenue

Street sweeping

This is regarding your [story about] guns, prostitutes and drug dealers hanging out on the streets, [and] everybody with these negative comments about it (“San Diego’s illegal marketplaces.” Cover Stories, February 19). Well since your publication has come out, I’ve noticed that a couple of those locations haven’t had as much activity. I’m thinking that was a good thing, that you let either the people around town know or the police know that we all know about these situations and we don’t like it going on.

• Jay Masch
• El Cajon

From March 20 SD on the QT

Dis, Dat, and Dose

This is a comment on a letter that you published titled “Unappreciated Humor” (Letters, March 26) from somebody named Anonymous. He was complaining about the “Almost Factual News,” and he evidently doesn’t appreciate jokes about the Wuhan corona. But anyway, I would like to inform Mr. Anonymous that most of us learnt in English class in grade school that the second person plural pronoun in English is “ye,” “you” “your”, “yours,” and its not “you guys.” Evidently Mr. Anonymous is under the mistaken impression that “you guys” is the second person plural pronoun because he uses it about eleven times in his letter taking you to task for joking about the Wuhan coronavirus. That’s all I had to say. Mr. Anonymous, please, please, please use good English.

• Anonymous

Alexander Karp, Co-Founder of Etha Natural Medicine

The future’s going viral

Dear Mr. State of Emergency: Ugh. You need to ACTIVELY enlist millennials/spring breakers into public service. Put on your JFK pants, channel your best Abby Hoffman, and Flavor Flav those millennial sleeper cells to bum rush the virus. If you don’t know why, you shouldn’t be a leader now. The revolution is here/coming, let’s keep it positive (“Is the corona virus pushing us into the future?” Golden Dreams, March 25). They’ve got the time; they’ve got the skill sets. Let’s let millennials be the next greatest generation. Check with Dr. Fauci if the before start any program, but here are some ideas:

1. Massive public campaign asking for Millennials to suggest ideas for solutions.
2. Ask Millennials to create communication lines with Chinese, Italian, and other citizens around the world: what worked, what didn’t?
3. Ask Millennials to take action and volunteer:

a. Covid 19 Call Centers: These can be done using Ms’ own cell phones if necessary, in parking lots where’ they’re six feet away from each other. Have Ms call residences: Give out correct virus/contagion information. Ask if citizens have questions and reduce misinformation. Ask if citizens need help. Provide pre-approved directions on shopping on line, shopping assistance, home maintenance etc. Have Ms collect the information they get to help direct public resources.

b. Emergency bill to allow Ms to volunteer at vital services. Ms will have to screened for fevers and maintain social distancing at work. Allow grocery stores, pharmacies, charities, to use volunteers to replace sick or elderly workers. The M does the work, the older worker still gets the pay. or Ms fill in at 2nd and third shifts at factories and farms allowing companies to reduce the number of people working at one time and enforce social distancing at work, but weekly production remains steady. Again, M does the work and the regular workers keep their pay. Housing food and fuel for Ms should be provided by government or Ms should be assured of reimbursement. and The law should also include a triple penalty for, and public shaming of, any employer who lays off workers and uses volunteers and does not use to the money earned from the volunteers work to pay regular workers.

c. Use Ms to assist in social distancing: E.g. Grocery stores & Pharmacies & Hardware Stores. Ms work in teams of 2. People wait in their cars, give their order to M1. M1 texts to M2. M2 collects the groceries and gets them to the check out counter. Customers go pay themselves (if customers don’t know what they want, M can help by going through). M1 and M2 switch rolls every customer, reducing each customer social exposure by 50% (as long as M1 & M2 keep their distance from each other). E.g. public awareness. Ms spray paint outside stores and on sidewalks 6 ft intervals. Ms drive around with loud speakers with a public message. Bottom line: [Insert inspiring catchy phrase here – but basically lead by getting out of the way.]

• Timothy Brictson
• La Jolla