Letters

The Big Shovel

Steve Aceti continues to B.S. the Reader (“Here Comes the Sandman,” “City Lights,” May 7). The Reader could do an interesting article on Aceti and CalCoast (taxpayer funded). I’d be happy to go on record about my experiences with CalCoast and CalCoast’s board of directors (none of them would talk about CalCoast’s budget or how it actually operates).

Here is a bit about my experience tinyurl.com/da8bqr.

Name Withheld by Request

Half Right

Re “Aceti insisted that when he lobbies for beach restoration, he looks ‘at the ecosystem and recreational benefits. I am not looking at the homeowners’ ” (“Here Comes the Sandman,” “City Lights,” May 7).

You’ve allowed Steve Aceti to lie to your readers by not checking up on his background. He represents CalCoast as a lobbyist. CalCoast is supported by blufftop property owners, not recreational users of beaches. There are public docs available to prove it.

Aceti has realized the public will not support destroying natural habitat with seawalls and fake beaches to protect a handful of millionaires and has begun to co-opt his opponents’ message to confuse the issue. He was betting you and your readers won’t check up on him and was at least half right.

Rob Rhyne
via email

Craig D. Rose replies: The story identified Steve Aceti as a lobbyist. The California Coastal Coalition’s membership includes more than 30 coastal cities, among which are San Diego, Del Mar, and Imperial Beach, as well as nongovernmental members.

Musical Confusion

In reading the “Blurt” section of the Reader (May 7), I noted a few factual errors in the second paragraph. The name of the company both Bob Taylor and Greg Deering worked at was the American Dream Musical Instrument MFG and was located in Lemon Grove. The American Dream was my brother Gene Radding’s music store and was located near College Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard.

The Lemon Grove shop was started by Robert Morris, Lee Fulmer, and myself. Within two years, Robert Morris was gone and Lee was no longer an owner. Of the three people mentioned as owners in the article, only James Goodall had anything to do with the shop while I was an owner. In trade for one of his paintings, James spent about two weeks learning what he could about the guitar-building process.

It was a time when knowing how to make things and teaching that knowledge to others was important. I have always stressed the importance of a free flow of information and hands-on training in building musical instruments. I am very happy to see that both Bob and Greg still hold that close to their hearts.

Sam Radding
Go Guitars

A Narrow Bit Of Sweden

Barbarella’s friends, Urs and Gudrun, have a strange perception of Sweden. (“Diary of a Diva,” May 7).

First, the milk-at-dinner thing: My grandparents came from Sweden. I never saw them drink milk with dinner. None of my Swedish friends drink milk at mealtime. When I’m in Sweden, I never see anyone except children or Americans drink milk with dinner. What strange little restaurant do they frequent?

As for the “If you ask a question outside of the weather or something else that is very surface, they don’t answer you” comment: I have had some of the most stimulating, informed conversations in Sweden, with friends and casual acquaintances alike. On any topic. And they quite often know more about American culture and politics than most Americans.

Perhaps Urs and Gudrun couldn’t get much of a response because Swedes have little tolerance for people who are snorkiga (snooty, uppity). They live in a little, out-of-the-way town. You can’t judge an entire country and its inhabitants by what you see in one small area of that country. Is all of America like Barstow? Or Encino? Perhaps it’s more a matter of a narrow outlook rather than what one actually encounters.

Paul Johnson
via email

The Vinegar Attack

Re “Grass Be Gone!” (“Stringers,” May 7). Believe it or not, vinegar works just as well as or better than Roundup (which I have used for years), and vinegar is environmentally friendly. I saw this suggested the other day and used it on some weeds. They were totally dead by the end of the day — amazing and cheap! Get a sprayer and get to work!

Cynthia Jensen
via email

Turtles And The Narcissist

Re “Searching for San Diego’s Sea Turtles…and a Job” (Cover Story, April 30), I have to agree with this week’s letter-writer Neil Allen of Talmadge (May 7) who takes author Nasreen Atassi to task for her narcissistic story of job hunting (and sea turtles).

Now, what searching for yet another job for Nasreen to quit and sea turtles have in common is beyond me. As someone who is unemployed, I found her insensitivity in this time of dire need and economic turmoil astounding!

The Reader cover stories are either fascinating and hard to put down or absolutely worthless, as this “Sea Turtles” is. Why couldn’t you find some benign scientist at Scripps to ghostwrite a nice, friendly article on sea turtles in San Diego? Everyone loves a tender story on such cute creatures! But lumping it together with that self-absorbed woman’s travails about quitting jobs the day she is lucky enough to get one screams: “Where was the Reader editor?”

If the Reader was unfortunate enough to actually pay for this story, then add to the list of traits that Nasreen Atassi possesses, in addition to obnoxiousness and inflexibility, you can now add: fleecer extraordinaire!

Gail Powell
via email