Phoning it in

Return of Tent City?

My comments concern the article in the December 11 edition, “Black Hole Development in Little Italy” (Neighborhood News).

I don’t want to rain on Mr. LiMandri’s little parade, but what kind of fraud was committed in having a bunch of money that was supposed to be devoted to projects for homeless people, and is instead going to the development of this plaza? Or perhaps Mr. LiMandri has in mind having homeless people put up tents in the pedestrian plaza.

And, also, regarding “Mainstream U,” (Blurt, December 11). Wow, all those vastly overpriced craft beers, and they can’t do any better with regards to coming up with excuses for ousting Porter’s Pub and that swill that they’re putting out? Porter’s “is selling too much food” and the UCAB didn’t like it. Not enough beers being sold on a university campus in San Diego County? Come on!

• Kilian Roever
• Clairemont Mesa

Classless Article

Don Bauder, I just want to say shame on you. Your entire article — News Ticker: “Ryan Leaf Released from Montana Prison” — as short as it was, was in poor taste.

Was this article to show your lack of compassion for the demise of another human being? Was it to show the statistics you managed to gather about the former player’s history? Maybe it was to demonstrate your disdain towards a person with substance abuse issues?

What it seems like, to me, is that your classless article about Ryan Leaf being released from prison was all just to set yourself up for the cheesy attempt to further bring down the Union Tribune (who need no help; they are doing it themselves). Your article was in bad taste and is a demonstration of how the media likes to portray the facts.

I am so disgusted with media commentary that only reports one side and leaves the rest behind, and often gets their facts all wrong anyway.

I’m not claiming to like Ryan Leaf; I don’t even know him. But I certainly don’t find his life’s demise to be worth gloating over, even if he was not a positive point in the chronicles of the Chargers. If you’re going to write stories for the Reader, please try to make them noteworthy, and have a specific point other than being self-serving. After reading your article, I don’t think any more of you than I do Leaf.

• Christina Koch
• East Village

As If the Days Aren’t Short Enough

Under the Moon Calendar in the Waterfront section of this week’s Reader (December 11), it indicates that the sunrise was at 7:10 in the morning on December 11, and the sun set at 4:29 in the afternoon, which works out, according to your paper, to be a length of day of nine hours and nineteen minutes. Not so! There were ten hours and two minutes of daylight on December 11.

So, I’m wondering what city has this little daylight? Even Seattle has more daylight! In any event, ten hours and two minutes is the time from sunrise to sunset for the eleventh of December. You folks are telling me it doesn’t rise until 7:10 and sets at 4:29 for only nine hours and nineteen minutes.

It’s very important that we know when the sun rises!

• Jack Bulong
• via voicemail

The Way He Writes

Re: “The Abundant Life of Peter Kuhn,” December 11

Robert Bush is a brilliant addition to the Reader and to San Diego as a whole. He is such a great addition to San Diego’s music community, and we all appreciate his extensive musical knowledge, and the smart and interesting way he writes his reviews and interviews. More please.

• Bonnie Wright
• Mission Hills

Somebody’s Lying

I was reading “Good Fences Don’t Make Good Neighbors,” (November 27 cover story), and I agree with it a hundred percent. I moved to Vista in 1968 with my folks.

My neighbors and I had a three-foot-high fence for years. I had a little dog who was pretty nice most of the time. The neighbors put up a 12-foot fence because they didn’t like it that their boy was looking over the fence and yelling at me and my 16-year-old boy. For some reason, they thought they were better. They used to be squared away when they were younger, but they’re getting old now. A little senility has set in, I believe.

Point being, fences don’t make neighborhoods better. My neighbors have so much trash in their yard, I have to go pick it up. In and around September 2012 I was over there cleaning up all the fire hazards so that my house wouldn’t burn down. I couldn’t afford the fire insurance anymore.

I had to sell my house because of my neighbors. They kept making accusations that weren’t true. Well, some of them were true.... I did have a loud Harley with no exhaust pipes on it. And I put megaphones on it to make it even louder. One night around 11:00 the cops rolled up on me. Said the neighbors had called the cops. The neighbors didn’t like the noise. The neighbors were whiners. The neighbors were complainers. The guy throws beer bottles at dirt bikers riding up the street, and calls the cops on me.

Anyway, sounds a lot like your story. I hope they send out an investigation team to find out what’s really going on at that house. Hard to say. One of the neighbors is lying.

You guys are a cool paper. Keep up the good stories.

• Doug W.
• via voicemail

If It Was Better, I’d Ride a Bike

I’m calling to comment on the article about pollution (“San Diego’s Most Polluted Areas,” November 20 cover story). In the article, when you talk about air pollution, you never mention that the EPA has constantly rated San Diego as one of the worst cities in the United States for ... how long? Please answer that question. L.A. is rated just ahead of us. They have millions more people, millions more businesses, and millions more cars, and they’re actually surrounded by very high mountains.

So, the question is Why? Why do we have such bad air? I think one of the main reasons is because it’s allowed by auto body shops and all kinds of industries. It’s not regulated very well by the Air Pollution Control District who has the balls and the audacity to say that they “deserve an A for effort.” No, no, no. They deserve an F for effort. It’s one of the worst cities in the whole nation.

I’ve complained about the paint and auto body stuff in my neighborhood for eleven years. They tell me, “It’s not that bad.” That what the one of the guys at Air Pollution Control told me, and it’s just ridiculous.

Another interesting point is that The Weather Channel used to show the EPA’s forecast for ozone and bad air days, and they stopped because there were a whole lot of them. It was always red.

Anyway, it’s a great article. I appreciate you doing it. The people (and the sheeple) in San Diego need to wake up to the fact that, yes, we’ve got a great climate, great weather, great views and vistas, but the air we’re breathing is Grade F. It’s just bad. It’s could do better. If it was better, I’d ride a bike. But I don’t want to ride a bike in air that’s so bad.

• Tony Villodas
• via voicemail