Photograph by Juliet Sanders

A coyote escaped with his beloved Buffy, but Paul Mott didn’t simply mourn his loss. The tragic event spurred him into action.

Almost Palindrome

The article (“A Man, A Plan, A Banana?”, Cover Story, Septmber 26, 2024) is teasing us with an almost-Palindrome (sentences that read the same backwards or forward). Great title for a fascinating story of local entrepreneurs.

Mike Schaefer

La Jolla

SpikeBite and Blue Planet Ink

As an inventor myself I enjoyed the article (“A Man, A Plan, A Banana?”, Cover Story, Septmber 26, 2024) and felt obligated to point out that another San Diego inventor, Johnny Dumas, created a product called “SpikeBite” that was very similar to the CoyoteVest. Johnny’s design had the spikes hidden instead of exposed. He was selling it in 2013 and got media coverage back then including this which is still viewable: https://fox5sandiego.com/news/protecting-your-pet-from-coyote-attacks/

It’s ironic that if Paul Mott had bought one of Johnny’s pet vests, his dog Buffy would still be alive but Paul might not have gone on his entrepreneurial journey. My own business since 2019 is manufacturing and selling a disappearing ink for printers so that the same paper can be used over and over again. If you need to print something but don’t need to keep it long (and want to save trees), you can learn more by searching for “Blue Planet Ink”.

Carl Yee

South Park

Garbage article

Regarding the article by Walter Mencken in SD on the QT (“Stand with the Banned: Board of Supervisors votes for unsupervised reading,” September 19, 2024) Question: what is the purpose of this? It doesn’t make any sense and it’s in very bad taste. I can’t understand what he’s trying to say; is this true or is it not true? It’s very, very confusing. That’s all I can tell you. I will continue to read your paper, but I am throwing this edition out.

Paul Lang

San Diego

Walter Mencken responds: Apologies for the confusion. SD on the QT is the Reader’s Almost Factual News column. I agree that the prominent display of sexually graphic material in public libraries is in bad taste. But that’s the Board of Supervisors’ call, not mine. Thank you for continuing to read the Reader!

Lawson-Remer extreme?

I was reading this article (“Stand with the Banned: Board of Supervisors votes for unsupervised reading,” September 19) in Walter Mencken’s Almost Factual News. I have a lot of questions about this article. I understand sarcasm very well, but in it, he states that Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer gave the media a sneak peek at the five books chosen for more prominent display, then goes on to talk about them. And then implies with quotes that she recommended this book Justine to be on display. I find that very hard to believe and I couldn’t find any evidence of that. If he’s supposed to be sarcastic then he shouldn’t put it in quotes. It was a very confusing article, and didn’t make any point, unless he’s saying that the supervisor is extreme or whatever. I find it extremely disturbing: it’s either slanderous towards this woman, or it’s very confusing, and I expect better writing from a newspaper like this.

Judy Schlebecker

Ocean Beach

Walter Mencken responds: As you note, SD on the QT is the Reader’s Almost Factual News  column. As to the question of slander: the Supreme Court case that made Larry Flynt a free speech icon concerned a piece that attributed statements to Jerry Falwell about having relations with his mother.

Sympathy for Nazis?

I can’t help but notice you ran an article on Hot Rod Surf years ago (“Stripe My Ride,” Calendar Highlight, June 14, 2007) , a man by the name of, well, he goes by MWM, and I’m just wondering if you guys are Nazi sympathizers. Because this guy has a huge swastika on his leg. And while he does, seemingly, a lot for the surf community, I hope that you’re not supporting that sort of hate and anti-Semitism. I just thought it was interesting, and you should, you know, maybe do a little research before you run articles on people. Thanks.

Name Withheld

The article in question was an Events piece highlighting a book signing for Mark Whitney Mehran’s book on automobile pinstriping. The Reader does not, as a rule, inquire as to an author’s leg tattoos . Nor does it endorse Nazism. —Ed.