Born to Run


Good to know that Jason Burnett will run. Now who can we get to bump Dave Potter from the Board of Supervisors? (“Squid Fry,” Dec. 29-Jan. 4). Any real progressives out there willing to run? - MarinaWatch | via Web


Climbing the Tower


One more non-scientific knee jerk reaction holding the rest of us hostage (“PGUSD attempts damage control on botched AT&T cell tower lease,” Dec. 29-Jan. 4). Make yourself an aluminum foil hat and it will all be fine. $12,000 a year does a lot of good in our school district. - rabid73 | via Web


A cell tower on a school site? These towers emit the same kind of radiation which the World Health Organization declared last May to be a class 2B possible carcinogen. The FCC standards are out of date and serve industry, but do not protect public health. 


The Telecommunications Act of 1996 allows industry to pollute our environment with a form of RF radiation that is man-made and disrupts the natural electromagnetic field. Rather than expose the students, their children, teachers and staff to an RF radiation experiment, the school board would serve its community better by practicing the precautionary principle and voting to remove the tower from school property. - Melissa Levine | via Web


Defending the Fort


I see the continuation of the saga of Fort Ord just keeps on and on (“A legislative debate over [Fort Ord Reuse Authority] is just around the corner,” Dec. 22-28). It is a real shame that there hasn’t been a better quality focus, expectation and “reuse” of Fort Ord. Over the 18 years since the closure, the oversight process has been fractured and not responded to both the economic realities and the realistic expectations for Fort Ord – thus here we are at 2012 with a mess. Along with gross incompetence were the plans of greedy developers that gullible government entities agreed to, the entire Fort Ord at this point needs to have all future development stopped and preservation should be the only plan. 


Fort Ord lands are a jewel that the area will never see again – when it’s gone, it’s gone! Do not be so stupid to destroy a once-in-a-lifetime, natural beauty of a gift to the area that people can enjoy. You have enough tacky development in the Monterey and county area. I fell in love with the beauty of the Fort Ord lands, the sunrises and sunsets as a high school dropout and a 17-year-old trainee in 1966. Most of all, let us please preserve the land at Fort Ord to honor so many veterans who trained and gave so much for our country, and for all of us while they served at Fort Ord over the many decades. - Truck | via Web


Net Advantage


Was delighted to read about Carmel Beach Volleyball (“Frozen Volleyball,” Dec. 22-28). In the late ’50s and into the Beach Boys era of the ’60s, a lot of us had a ball playing volleyball at the beach. It was a WARM weather recreation. It trained me to play for The Big Red One (1st Infantry Division) U.S. Army in the 1970s. Let the spike go on! - R.C. Wilkerson | Carmel


Critical Reading


Feeling hopeless because her life was so boring, she picked up the Monterey County Weekly and leafed through (“Your bizarre dreams manifest in print in our 101-word short story contest,” Dec. 22-28). “Ha, short story contest might be amusing.” They were all unhappy, some even disgusting.


She threw away the paper and bought a bottle of vodka. This at least will numb her brain and will put her to sleep, and hopefully shorten her life. - A. Reader | Seaside


Critical Viewing


My first reaction when seeing the cover of this week’s Weekly was shock (“The past year brought a range of stunning portraits – and surprising emotions with them,” Dec. 29-Jan. 4). 


Does the Weekly have any discretion? Do you know that the MotoGP world lost one of its most famed riders this year in an accident? If you knew that, you would understand that it may not be the best year to boast a photo of a MotoGP accident on your front cover. I don’t think any of the Italians mourning the loss of [Marco] Simonelli would have ever done such a thing, nor would they appreciate your “art.”


To add insult to injury, I reviewed the remaining photos in the spread, and came across something astounding and disrespectful. You show a photo of paramedics attempting to save a man in his final moments after an SUV fell on top of him… what a disgrace that you think this is appropriate to share with all of Monterey County. I understand that part of art is to evoke emotion that is not always happy and delightful, but please, have some respect for the deceased and their families. 


Award them some privacy. Understand the line between sharing “high impact” art and showing some humanity. Make sure you always do the latter. Extremely disappointed and no longer a fan of the Weekly. - Anonymous | via U.S. mail


Reduce, Reuse


At least someone’s trying to recycle! (“Garbage Reckoning,” Weekly LEED blog posted Dec. 28). The apartments I’ve lived in don’t provide recycle containers. Just one big dumpster. - Cathy Anaya | via Facebook 


Foie-versation


Why are you promoting foie gras? (“Tapping a deliciously rock-star year in local food,” Dec. 22-28). Calling this local rock-star foodie news… The area’s greats, meanwhile, didn’t sit on their saucepans – and managed to put Napa on notice. At Aubergine (624-8578), floor general A. Kay Musich and new chef Justin Cogley made few miss Christophe Grosjean as creations like Cogley’s foie-gras mousse helped the joint earn a number five Zagat rating among all eateries between here and… Napa.” - Audrey Bryk | via Facebook


(Editor’s note: The Weekly responds on Facebook that one of the chef’s creations happens to be a foie-gras mousse. There is no stance taken on the ethics surrounding foie, nor do we promote or discourage its consumption. It’s simply one of the dishes that has put Aubergine on the map.)


IMHO, “rock star” is not a neutral term. - Audrey Bryk | via Facebook


(Editor’s note: Point taken.)


Thankee, Squid


Reading Paula Poundstone’s excerpts on Carmelites from her Sunset Center performance was downright hilarious (“Squid Fry,” Dec. 29-Jan. 4). 


Now I wish I could have attended that performance. Great stuff! Thanks, Squid, for the heads up. - jcchangtop | via Web