Come Back, Matt!

What happened to Straight From the Hip? I have been reading that in the Reader for multiple years. I make a beeline for it every Thursday. Straight From the Hip is the first thing I go to. I guess Alice needs a break? I hope you didn’t drop it, but if you did, would you please tell us why?

I’m not going to go on and on, but I just miss it. The paper is seeming thinner these days, a little lighter. I hope you’re not losing advertising — although it’s not the advertising I go for; it’s the articles. I hope this doesn’t mean bad news for me.

Matt, if you’re within earshot, come back!

Alicia Brown
Serra Mesa

Linda Nevin, who wrote “Straight From the Hip” for more than 20 years, died in February this year. Ian Pike took over Nevin’s duties until June. We felt that Pike’s time was better directed to his food blogging (see Feast) and Art Seen, which debuts this issue. — Ed.

Taking a Pass on the Burrito

Less than half a page into the story of the “Burrito Brothers” (July 11 cover story), I came to the conclusion that Mr. Torrance should have simply described himself as “the moron writing this,” and saved everyone the trouble.

Sufficient to say I didn’t bother to finish reading it.

Carl Hancock
via email

Sickly Apropos

Re “Mad Chalker” (July 4 cover story) and deputy city attorney Hazards’s claim to represent the people in defending their “quality of life,” which is being degraded by colored chalk truisms on BofA’s sidewalk.

First, the entire justice system has abdicated its sworn duty to represent the people by ignoring the bank’s destruction of our quality of life by playing duplicitous mortgage fraud games. We finally had to pass a law just to get the banks to behave decently — not in the cynically sociopathic manner they had been willfully doing, what with “losing” paperwork duly submitted by refi applicants, by “dual tracking” (a euphemism for knife-in-back tactics of foreclosing in the midst of an alleged refi process) or by “robo signing” (euphemism for forgery by holier-than-thou lenders who jump all over you if an i isn’t dotted or a t is left uncrossed).

Such felonious behavior has been ignored by the Hazards and the holders of this world. For shame! How can you compare Olson’s chalking with the egregious legal and illegal rip-off that is the financial system? Olson is one of the few lone brave souls trying to alert the people to their mass victimization.

I find it sickly apropos that the BofA’s head of security trains “Christlike men” to blow fellow humans away with firearms. I’d love to hear his explanation of the relationship of Jesus to weaponry. I’ll be waiting eagerly.

Lastly, corporations are not people. This poison, illicitly slipped into constitutional law by a railroad CEO who, in the 19th Century, conveniently tacked it on to a judgment while somehow acting as a clerk, must be expunged from our legal system.

Norm Simon
via email

Patriotic Chalker

I saw a kid chalk a patriotic slogan on the street during a July 4th parade. What offended me were the 12-feet-high Budweiser signs on two humongous trucks that were actually in the parade.

A truly patriotic local jury on Monday acquitted 40-year-old Jeffrey Olson on 13 misdemeanor counts after Olson chalked protest messages on the sidewalk outside some San Diego branches of Bank of America (“Mad Chalker,” July 4 cover story). “This is a nonsense prosecution,” the obstreperous San Diego Mayor said.

In the early morning of November 20, 1969, some 80 Native Americans sailed to Alcatraz and moved in. This was shortly after the prison closed. “We will purchase said Alcatraz Island for $24 in glass beads and red cloth, a precedent set by the white man’s purchase of a similar island about 300 years ago,” said the Indians. Federal marshals removed them June 11, 1971. The former prison — Alcatraz — is now part of a national park.

Chalking “Custer had it coming!” is a federal offense. However, the government has made an exception for that circa 1970 graffiti, and several others left behind during the Indian occupation of the island. In fact, the Park Service spent $1.5 million earlier this year restoring the messages painted by hand on the Alcatraz water tower.

Richard Thompson
via email

Speech Is Not Physical

In regards to your article “Mad Chalker” in the July 4 issue, defendant Olson is guilty of not only vandalizing public walkways, disturbing the peace, causing the bank expense, effort, and time, but he wasted his time and efforts. Absolutely nothing beneficial will come of it for either side.

What he is practicing is the right of free speech, which does not and should not include physicality. My definition of speech is verbal or written communication of thought, which is my reason for arguing against money as a form of speech. Olson and others make the mistake of confusing the “right” to express themselves, with the probable effect of doing so in an effective way.

I’m certain that no one who saw his vandalism had, or is, closing one’s accounts with the bank; no positive effect will result from his actions. His life is now swallowed up by organized crime — political and big business — and the natural order of things civilized.

The only “speech” that has a chance at changing things is what would move the mass to rise up and take the time and effort to do what Lafayette wrote to Paris about American success with democracy. The American people learned to associate for greater impact. The only problem now is the fact that not enough of us do that.

Now, with the internet, and the wherewithal to associate in common cause, with intelligent and well-organized presentations, and communication through email, we should be able to beat up the banks, as well as our governments. Wisdom is not magnetic.

Mister Olson will eventually bow to the BofA in defeat, as will my website, TBEPP.org, when the annual payment comes due.

Absolutely nothing will help, certainly not picketing or vandalism. The American people will not rise to the need.

Saul Harmon Gritz
via email

Not Weird Enough

I would like to comment about a “News of the Weird” item that appeared in the July 4 Reader, “Backward Incentives.” Basically this is about a barmaid who got fired by her boss for calling the police on an inebriated customer. The guy was arrested. So, her boss fired her.

According to News of the Weird, this is apparently seen as a strange thing, that someone would get fired for calling the police on their customer. In New York, at least, the barmaids and bartenders are responsible for their customers. If they give them too much to drink, they’re the ones who get into trouble. They’re responsible for making sure their customers don’t drive off, whether they get apprehended or not.

To me it’s odd that anyone would consider this weird to begin with, that it would be unusual enough to published in News of the Weird. The bartender is — and should be — responsible for making sure they don’t give their customers too much to drink.

Vivian Dunbar
Playas Tijuana, Mexico

Incompatible Uses

Re “Hard to Breathe in Barrio Logan,” June 27 cover story.

Sadly, the zoning changes proposed for the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update will accomplish little to eliminate the diesel truck- generated pollutants, such as fine particles.

Fortunately, Los Angeles has already solved the problem by banning older diesel trucks. The Huffington Post reports: “Since 2008, the program has taken more than 1,500 older trucks out of operation and reduced diesel truck pollution at the port by some 90 percent, according to port statistics.”

I have brought this solution to the attention of the planner, the Environmental Health Coalition, and politicians. So far, nothing has happened. Often retrofitting or changing the engine to take advantage of low-sulfur fuel and introducing a particulate filter should be sufficient to permit the continued use of trucks. These trucks can also have their engines upgraded to hybrids, which will permit them to have the engines stopped during idling and to have an advertised fuel consumption decrease of between 40 and 60 percent.

The Environmental Impact Report admitted that the proposed land use changes would not have a significant effect on the level of pollution. This would also be true for the solution suggested by the Smart Growth Coalition. I have made the suggestion of separating the Barrio along its short axis at Sicard Street into a southeastern part, which will contain the industrial and heavy commercial uses, and to a northwestern part that will contain the residential, mixed use, and light commercial parts. This choice results in the largest physical separation of “incompatible uses.”

In short, the present plan keeps pollution, while taking away jobs.

Robert Leif, Ph.D.
via email

Not Nicey-Nicey

I’m calling about an article that was written about Barrio Logan a couple of weeks ago (“Hard to Breathe in Barrio Logan," June 27 cover story). Generally I don’t react too much, but that story was so out of context and so bad that I ended up throwing my Reader away.

Whoever that author is, they don’t know what they are talking about. To begin with, the people from Logan, they weren’t nicey-nicey and wanting to do a park there. The only reason that you have Chicano Park is because the Highway Patrol was going to put a substation in there and they didn’t want the police in their neighborhood.

Second of all, it states that the only thing between Logan and the naval base was National City. Well, hey! There’s a place called Shelltown that’s between National City and Logan Heights. If your author would have known, or would have researched, they would have known what was there.

I am Mexican, or Latino, or whatever label we’re using now. I’m 71 years old. I was born and raised in National City, basically OTMC. Having said that, what purpose does it serve to show a little girl with that ugly phantom costume as the cover? It has no meaning!

Name Withheld
via voicemail

Portrait of a Father

This letter is for Terri Mitchell who wrote your cover story for the Father’s Day issue (“God, Country, and My Dad,” June 20).

Miss Mitchell, not only are you a good writer, you’re a woman of strength and courage. Your portrait of your father was touching, but sad. Just remember:

1. He’s a drunk.
2. You can’t argue with a passive-aggresive person about religion or anything else.
3. He’s jealous of your accomplishments and your strengths, for which you probably received inspiration from your mom, not him.
4. He’s a drunk.

Name Withheld
via voicemail

Private Hellhole

This is about “75 Reasons to Love San Diego” (June 13 cover story). In the article it talks about creepy homes in Hellhole Canyon. I live up there, and that is not part of Hellhole Canyon — by about three or four miles.

The property that you’re talking about is private property. The roads you need to walk on to get there are private property. There is no way that anyone just hiking around should be in that area. I’m not sure why anyone would want to visit houses full of garbage anyway.

My girlfriend who lives in that area said she’s had groups of hikers looking for “the commune.” She has no clue how they got out there, why they were there, or where they were going.

There are some interesting places to hike out there, but it’s all private land.

Name Withheld
via voicemail

Comparing Casinos to School Districts

The last three months I have been out of service and missed the last editions of the San Diego Reader. Now that I’m back I found two articles that seem to be the same history, just with different actors: “Can You Find the Big Secret in This Casino” (June 6 cover story) and one in Neighborhood News, “Did He or Didn’t He?”

The casino’s executive committee and the board of trustees with Mr. Brand has its heads act like they are not accountable to anyone for whatever they do. Both of them have managed for many, many years the finances of casinos and schools like these are their own businesses. They cut the cake assigning the biggest chunks to themselves and the remains to the closest to them: siblings, friends, and of course, in the case of schools, to the unions ­— the unions that sell themselves for power, money, and good jobs for the same reasons: siblings, friends, and unconditional people that show and yell wherever the unions need to show power. Extremely bad, but true.

The first ones they want to keep happy are the authorities, so the unions need to make sure those have a good chunk of the cake. They surround themselves with whoever has power or political presence. That way they feel secure. Who can touch them? The law is by their side.

Many family members of these law representatives are already part of the payroll of the school districts. Both of them have a mission statement that is as heart-touchable as it is fake: Our community and our children are our priority.

See the reality? Both of them are fighting for money and power. Both of them want to get rid of whoever causes a problem for their wealthy living. The casino cannot be ruled by the state and federal government. Schools create their own government, making a “governor” of one who is working for them, creating and signing propositions that keep the money increasingly flowing.

Think about it. Mr. Smith and bandits are using the money that casino players are happily willing to spend, hurting the Pala community members, and, in some way, all of us — because their profits are not taxable, right? Mr. Brand and his bandits are taking all California citizens’ money and hurting the future of all our children when they just pretend to educate them, prioritizing the well-being of union members and themselves.

As the “Dig Deeper” letter writer says (June 13), “There is much more going on, you should dig deeper into this story.” I’ll say! Way more is going on! After all, Brand and bandits aren’t the only ones. Most of the school districts have their own corpses, very stinky ones.

Name Withheld
via email

Faux Libertine Rebellion

Dear Barbarella:

1. You stole your name from Jane Fonda, which tells me you have no real originality.
2. Faux libertine rebellion is not cool anymore. (That was the point of punk.) The glam rock stars of the 1970s already used ambiguous sexuality to stroke themselves and their fake discontent that was really boredome (bad spelling intended, see how clever?).
3. After the gay rights movement, isn’t it disrespectful and insulting to still do all that? The gay people I know that are in healthy relationships really don’t do that anymore.
4. If my children ever happen to see a pig in pink pants exposing himself on a public road because he thinks he is all that and a bag of chips, he is going to jail — please believe me.
5. Oh, and you can’t write worth a damn. Grow up.

Greg Cobb
Point Loma

Diminishing Puzzle

I’m an avid Reader reader and an avid puzzle solver. Even though I wear glasses and can see to read papers and books galore, I’m not happy with the puzzle. It’s diminishing. Every week it gets smaller and smaller. Last night I had such a splitting headache trying to see the clues.

Every Thursday it’s such a highlight. I say to my husband, “We’ve got to get the Reader!” But I had to put the puzzle aside last night because my head was going crazy. I’m just not happy.

Why are you doing this? I know economy is a factor, but this is ridiculous. It’s too small for anybody, let alone a person in their seventies to look at. At least find a compromise, because this is utterly impossible. I kicked it aside last night. It’s sad, because I love it so.

I hope something can be done to improve it.

Ellie Tucker
La Mesa

Coach Closed

I don’t know why you have happy hours for the Coach Stop in Lakeside listed in your happy hours for the Reader. The Coach Stop has been closed for several months now.

Lynda Bowden
via voicemai

Weak-O-Rama

I’m an avid reader — read your publication every week, page to page. But since Jerry Schad passed on, Roam-O-Rama is really weak. You never have anything related to mountain bikers. And your maps are absolutely horrid because you can’t read anything on them. I can’t see any of the diagrams or anything.

I think maybe you need to get some new guys involved with that column who are a little more in tune with the current profile of San Diego. Something a little more trendy.

Other than that, I love you guys! Just wanted to let you know.

Thomas Johnston
via voicemail