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Your two cents
Walked the Walk
Thank you for writing the article concerning the City of San Diego’s attempt to have the height limits increased to 60 feet, increasing the density and decreasing the lanes of traffic on Morena Boulevard in Bay Park. Picture that: 1000 more vehicles, and then close a lane on Morena.
Glad we stood up to the movers and shakers. I was part of the walk, and it was great to see everyone’s participation. Looking forward to continuing the good fight.
- Pete
- Bay Park
Tragic Story
This accident was a tragedy, but the story written by Maryann Castronovo was also tragic (“Udo Was Gone,” November 13 cover story). It is full of unattributed statements of fact and hearsay, and leaves the reader wondering what, if any, legal action was taken against the bus driver.
Was he cited? Was he disciplined? Did the family or other riders sue?
Who edited this story and why do they still have a job?
- Hal Brown
- University City
Try Your Crap in L.A.
I’m looking at the issue that came out today, November 20. Man, the Reader used to be a really great magazine to read, and had a lots of great information in it. Not so much anymore.
It’s got more shit in it than anything else: SD on the QT, Barbarella, Letters to the Editor, droopy eyelid ads — there’s just not very much information on the San Diego scene.
I just wanted to let you know that I’m done reading your magazine. I’m not going to read it anymore. I think it’s probably a waste of your money, a waste of your time, and a waste of editors.
Good luck. Hope you go to L.A. Go up there and try your crap.
- John
- via voicemail
Obnoxious Cyclists
I’d like to comment on the cover story, “Udo Was Gone” (November 13). If he’s gone, does that mean that he’s going to come back as another obnoxious bicyclist? The author makes it sound like he was one of the very few courteous bicyclists when she says, “And even though there were few cars on the road, the cyclists hugged the right side.” Yeah, sure.
Here’s another quote: “Signs indicated the bike route, set the maximum speed at 45 mph, and reminded cyclists to ride single file.” Ha! That’s a joke — single file. “They were hugging the shoulder, drafting, following the rules.” Of course. Just like all courteous bicyclists.
So, motorized vehicles are supposed to cross a double yellow line?
Because bicyclists are so obnoxious, I can’t leave my name. I’m just telling it like it is. I doubt you’ll print this, but I had to put in my two cents.
- Name Withheld
- via voicemail
Fire the Responsible
Regarding the article about nonxistent parking on Lightwave Avenue in Kearny Mesa (“Musical Cars,” City Lights): That is a commercial/business sub neighborhood.
Are those streets mixed residential/commercial zoned? The entire purpose of having city planning, and a permitting and zoning process is to make sure a development fits a neighborhood and meets codes, statutes, and neighborhood needs.
I’ve lived in Long Beach with one on-or-off street spot per five-ten cars. It was just as your article described: residents had to park up to a mile away, depending on what time they got home. There were rumors of payoffs to city employees for allowing that.
The city of Long Beach allowed rampant development without parking spaces. That building violated the city’s own policies.
That’s what’s happening now in Kearny Mesa. There should have been a contract, or a specific number of spaces that the buildings revealed to the residents prior to them moving in. If the building all of a sudden changed that, then sue the company — misrepresentation, fraud, beach of contract. Do a class-action suit.
There is supposed to be a formula of the number of spaces to the number of residents. That’s how it works with commercial development. Even so, sometimes a mall tenant will move out and a business with far more users, like a health club, will move it. That will destroy the availability of spaces.
If permitting and codes were circumvented, fire the people responsible. Force the city to apply common sense parking zoning and codes.
If the laws allow buildings with no parking, pressure the city officials and local councilmembers to change the policies.
Also realize that residents are partially responsible. San Diegans refuse to park in their garages. They fill garages with other items and park on the street. That screws the parking for everyone else.
One of the residents in the article is renting out a room to someone with a car. If that pushes the level of cars to more then the required spaces for his unit, he is causing the problem.
If developers are illegally painting curbs red, then fine them. If it’s OK for anyone to paint curbs (grey) then the resident’s solution is obvious.
- James Wasser
- Pacific Peach
Sound as a Root for Sanity
“Doing Sound Could be Reckless” (November 6 cover story) by Dave Good was worthy journalism. I appreciate someone writing about a subject as truly abstruse as this subject very much seems, likely more so than what readers could infer even from a lengthy article.
I only say this as an outsider recruited to work some set-ups, from an ethic of work starting long ago, from a railroad gandy dancer to roadie, from a groundsworker of dirt and soil to the air-dynamics of sound production. I never had a great ear for sound and music despite an adolescent fantasy of being famous in a rock-n-roll band. Still, I have come to appreciate the enormous complexity of contemplating all the gadgetry in the sound industry (and related fields of light, stage, video, etc.). That is from the perspective of doing grunt work, of lifting and moving those many items and cables hither and thither — as the author claims, schlepping.
I’m sure there are more complicated businesses to be in, but this one, in my limited observation, demands a great deal of talent and knowledge, and it is too bad that the people that make it possible —not just the soundman (or woman) — aren’t complimented more.
If the word sound is a corollary root for sanity then we need performers who give society something to really think and care about. That is ultimately what this art should really be about: sound with meaning — speeches with soul— beyond the hackneyed and pretended, something deep and fresh and meaningful.
- Brian Becker
- South Park
Smoke Detector
Re: News Ticker: “Apartment Owners Pushed to Butt Out”
After one year of living in a smoking building I was diagnosed with asthma. Despite letters from physicians, the manager moved smokers adjacent to my apartment time and again. These tenants smoke excessively, day and night. There is no ventilation to the roof, and secondhand smoke enters through the vents, flooring, structural gaps, pipes, garbage disposal/drains, and, of course, when doors or windows are opened.
Additional medical conditions linked to excessive secondhand smoke exposure have been diagnosed. These do not include the everyday symptoms: cough, sore throat, congestion, sinusitis, headache, and shortness of breath. My carpet, clothes, bedding, and towels smell of smoke.
Oddly enough, tenants have told me that the manager complains if they smoke in front of the building, even forbidding it. Yet, nonsmokers who complain are ignored, met with sarcasm or worse. These tenants have respiratory illnesses, and two tenants have been hospitalized recently.
The laws are clear about nonsmoking in public venues, yet our homes are not protected. May the H.U.D. report, along with the decade-long efforts of multiple agencies, culminate into new laws that address the health of those most vulnerable. Then we can all breathe easier.
- Susan Inglett
- Hillcrest
Making Way
So, San Diego Unified School District has sold off two properties in the beach area, two schools, to be developed into condos and townhomes (Neighborhood News: “If They Build It, You Can Retire Early”), furthering the congestion on our roads and freeways.
Without neighborhood schools, where are these children going to attend school? They’ll have to be driven further distances, further contributing to the traffic, congestion, and pollution.
- Name Withheld
- via voicemail
Here's something you might be interested in.
Your two cents
Your two cents
Walked the Walk
Thank you for writing the article concerning the City of San Diego’s attempt to have the height limits increased to 60 feet, increasing the density and decreasing the lanes of traffic on Morena Boulevard in Bay Park. Picture that: 1000 more vehicles, and then close a lane on Morena.
Glad we stood up to the movers and shakers. I was part of the walk, and it was great to see everyone’s participation. Looking forward to continuing the good fight.
- Pete
- Bay Park
Tragic Story
This accident was a tragedy, but the story written by Maryann Castronovo was also tragic (“Udo Was Gone,” November 13 cover story). It is full of unattributed statements of fact and hearsay, and leaves the reader wondering what, if any, legal action was taken against the bus driver.
Was he cited? Was he disciplined? Did the family or other riders sue?
Who edited this story and why do they still have a job?
- Hal Brown
- University City
Try Your Crap in L.A.
I’m looking at the issue that came out today, November 20. Man, the Reader used to be a really great magazine to read, and had a lots of great information in it. Not so much anymore.
It’s got more shit in it than anything else: SD on the QT, Barbarella, Letters to the Editor, droopy eyelid ads — there’s just not very much information on the San Diego scene.
I just wanted to let you know that I’m done reading your magazine. I’m not going to read it anymore. I think it’s probably a waste of your money, a waste of your time, and a waste of editors.
Good luck. Hope you go to L.A. Go up there and try your crap.
- John
- via voicemail
Obnoxious Cyclists
I’d like to comment on the cover story, “Udo Was Gone” (November 13). If he’s gone, does that mean that he’s going to come back as another obnoxious bicyclist? The author makes it sound like he was one of the very few courteous bicyclists when she says, “And even though there were few cars on the road, the cyclists hugged the right side.” Yeah, sure.
Here’s another quote: “Signs indicated the bike route, set the maximum speed at 45 mph, and reminded cyclists to ride single file.” Ha! That’s a joke — single file. “They were hugging the shoulder, drafting, following the rules.” Of course. Just like all courteous bicyclists.
So, motorized vehicles are supposed to cross a double yellow line?
Because bicyclists are so obnoxious, I can’t leave my name. I’m just telling it like it is. I doubt you’ll print this, but I had to put in my two cents.
- Name Withheld
- via voicemail
Fire the Responsible
Regarding the article about nonxistent parking on Lightwave Avenue in Kearny Mesa (“Musical Cars,” City Lights): That is a commercial/business sub neighborhood.
Are those streets mixed residential/commercial zoned? The entire purpose of having city planning, and a permitting and zoning process is to make sure a development fits a neighborhood and meets codes, statutes, and neighborhood needs.
I’ve lived in Long Beach with one on-or-off street spot per five-ten cars. It was just as your article described: residents had to park up to a mile away, depending on what time they got home. There were rumors of payoffs to city employees for allowing that.
The city of Long Beach allowed rampant development without parking spaces. That building violated the city’s own policies.
That’s what’s happening now in Kearny Mesa. There should have been a contract, or a specific number of spaces that the buildings revealed to the residents prior to them moving in. If the building all of a sudden changed that, then sue the company — misrepresentation, fraud, beach of contract. Do a class-action suit.
There is supposed to be a formula of the number of spaces to the number of residents. That’s how it works with commercial development. Even so, sometimes a mall tenant will move out and a business with far more users, like a health club, will move it. That will destroy the availability of spaces.
If permitting and codes were circumvented, fire the people responsible. Force the city to apply common sense parking zoning and codes.
If the laws allow buildings with no parking, pressure the city officials and local councilmembers to change the policies.
Also realize that residents are partially responsible. San Diegans refuse to park in their garages. They fill garages with other items and park on the street. That screws the parking for everyone else.
One of the residents in the article is renting out a room to someone with a car. If that pushes the level of cars to more then the required spaces for his unit, he is causing the problem.
If developers are illegally painting curbs red, then fine them. If it’s OK for anyone to paint curbs (grey) then the resident’s solution is obvious.
- James Wasser
- Pacific Peach
Sound as a Root for Sanity
“Doing Sound Could be Reckless” (November 6 cover story) by Dave Good was worthy journalism. I appreciate someone writing about a subject as truly abstruse as this subject very much seems, likely more so than what readers could infer even from a lengthy article.
I only say this as an outsider recruited to work some set-ups, from an ethic of work starting long ago, from a railroad gandy dancer to roadie, from a groundsworker of dirt and soil to the air-dynamics of sound production. I never had a great ear for sound and music despite an adolescent fantasy of being famous in a rock-n-roll band. Still, I have come to appreciate the enormous complexity of contemplating all the gadgetry in the sound industry (and related fields of light, stage, video, etc.). That is from the perspective of doing grunt work, of lifting and moving those many items and cables hither and thither — as the author claims, schlepping.
I’m sure there are more complicated businesses to be in, but this one, in my limited observation, demands a great deal of talent and knowledge, and it is too bad that the people that make it possible —not just the soundman (or woman) — aren’t complimented more.
If the word sound is a corollary root for sanity then we need performers who give society something to really think and care about. That is ultimately what this art should really be about: sound with meaning — speeches with soul— beyond the hackneyed and pretended, something deep and fresh and meaningful.
- Brian Becker
- South Park
Smoke Detector
Re: News Ticker: “Apartment Owners Pushed to Butt Out”
After one year of living in a smoking building I was diagnosed with asthma. Despite letters from physicians, the manager moved smokers adjacent to my apartment time and again. These tenants smoke excessively, day and night. There is no ventilation to the roof, and secondhand smoke enters through the vents, flooring, structural gaps, pipes, garbage disposal/drains, and, of course, when doors or windows are opened.
Additional medical conditions linked to excessive secondhand smoke exposure have been diagnosed. These do not include the everyday symptoms: cough, sore throat, congestion, sinusitis, headache, and shortness of breath. My carpet, clothes, bedding, and towels smell of smoke.
Oddly enough, tenants have told me that the manager complains if they smoke in front of the building, even forbidding it. Yet, nonsmokers who complain are ignored, met with sarcasm or worse. These tenants have respiratory illnesses, and two tenants have been hospitalized recently.
The laws are clear about nonsmoking in public venues, yet our homes are not protected. May the H.U.D. report, along with the decade-long efforts of multiple agencies, culminate into new laws that address the health of those most vulnerable. Then we can all breathe easier.
- Susan Inglett
- Hillcrest
Making Way
So, San Diego Unified School District has sold off two properties in the beach area, two schools, to be developed into condos and townhomes (Neighborhood News: “If They Build It, You Can Retire Early”), furthering the congestion on our roads and freeways.
Without neighborhood schools, where are these children going to attend school? They’ll have to be driven further distances, further contributing to the traffic, congestion, and pollution.
- Name Withheld
- via voicemail