Letters on the dump, porn, and Spanglish

"What the heck is wrong with you guys?"

Like an Outhouse Knocked Over in 100-Degree Sun

I’ve lived in this house for 38 years and I know the differences in the smell of the dump. This has happened probably within the last year or so, or less, and I’ve been complaining to Chris Cate’s office all this time — especially with Mr. Young. We could never get any response to what it was or where it came from, but it happens every Tuesday morning.

There’s a little park here called MacDowell Park where neighbors in the area walk, and we smell it every Tuesday. We’ve been told it’s probably the biosolids plant which is over there, and they truck all the solids to a landfill in Otay, from what I understand. And every Tuesday, when they open the doors, or whatever they do, they release a gas and it smells really bad. It smells like an outhouse that’s been knocked over in 100-degree sun. It gags you.

This article misses that whole point. Different people in the city have looked at it, and the consensus is that it’s the biosolids plant.

  • Mike Stifter
  • Clairemont
See just how young 18 is. (Andy Boyd)

Raise the Age of Consent

I read with interest your January 5 article, “San Diego Porn’s Studios” (cover story). I’m just appalled that this can go on. Eighteen-year-old girls cannot know what they want. They cannot make an informed decision about something that will have a lifelong impact. I would like to get involved in preventing this, or raising the bar — raising the age of consent for the video industry.

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Thank you, Reader. I’ve loved you for 35 years.

  • Name withheld
  • via voicemail

What the Heck Is Wrong with You Guys?

Re: “San Diego Porn’s Studios” (January 5 cover story)

Great article. You put in print the website where people can go to view this trash. Bad. Even worse, you printed it in the article no fewer than 10 times! What the heck is wrong with you guys? It’s almost as if you were begging people to go to the site. Other than this, a great piece of reporting.

Jeffrey Needle

Chula Vista

Peppered tongue (Andy Boyd)

An ESL Teacher’s Take

Spanglish is a great film and so is this article of the same name.

As an ESL teacher, I’ve had many Hispanic students from Mexico, Central America, and South America. They’ve come on student visas to study here. Some violate their visa status and work illegally. The service keeps better tabs on the students, requiring them to attend class. Otherwise, they will lose their status and be deported.

Mr. Trump will first deport criminals with the assistance of law enforcement, then secure our borders. I had two brothers who watched their friend being shot and killed by an illegal alien. Sanctuary cities will lose funding for harboring criminals.

  • Mark Peter
  • Solana Beach

Mexicanismos

I enjoyed reading Matthew Suarez’s article on Spanglish. As a native English speaker, I faced the same problem from the English side when I started working in Mexico. I decided early on to learn correct, educated Spanish. Of course, I had to add Spanglish because my work required clear communication at all levels of society.

I became accustomed to Spanglish if it was necessary for clear understanding. I always took the clues from the person I was speaking to. I quickly discovered that in other parts of Latin America, especially in South America, that I needed to know the correct Spanish word or even the local word. My accent was always recognized as Mexican, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Of course, I had certain Mexicanismos in my vocabulary that couldn’t be avoided.

I went through the introduction of computers and cell phones and watched the vocabulary evolve and stabilize. Nothing wrong with saying computadora or teléfono celular. Even email is winning over correo eléctronico.

Like Suarez, the written apostrophe in Spanish drives me crazy, pero así el la vida. I’ve tried to explain its misuse without success.

  • Gerald W. Sodomka
  • Cardiff by the Sea

Still Not There

I agree with “Not There” (Letters, December 28). But I really miss the crossword contest where you had a chance to win a t-shirt or a hat. I keep hoping it’s going to come back, but every time I open the Reader I find it’s not back yet.

  • Name withheld
  • Pacific Beach
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