Letters for April 18, 2013

Drink the Kool-Aid

Re “Long live the Kings?” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, April 11):

Ain't speculation fun? Well, how's about this? 1. The NBA approves the Sacramento Kings move to Seattle. But since the city parents have apparently well-dowsed themselves in the “arena = development” Kool-Aid, 2. the league then offers the proposed partnership a new franchise.

Win-win, right? The owners protect their ownership interests from interference should they decide to sell their own teams in the future. Meanwhile, if the deal falls apart here, it's Sacramento's fault.

Bill Reany

Sacramento

If the mayor loved music

Re “Long live the Kings?” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature Story, April 11):

Last Saturday, I attended a moving performance by the Sacramento Philharmonic, [who played] to a packed house at the Community Center Theater. But public support for music and opera is withering here, while an unnecessary arena gobbles all of the hype, money (over $400 million) and attention. The mayor’s priorities are upside down.

If Mayor Kevin Johnson were a music lover, we would have a better city. He could gain inspiration from visits to Auburn, Grass Valley and Nevada City with their vibrant downtowns and arts scenes.

Evan Jones

via email

Good for business, bad for people

Re “Sacramento County affordable housing in jeopardy” by Dave Kempa (SN&R Frontlines, April 11):

I’m confused. Sacramento is woefully short on affordable-housing units, and the board of supervisors vote to reduce the percentage of units required to be built? The argument is that building desperately needed housing in our community is bad for business and the region’s well-being? If so, is business good and the region healthier having scores of people homeless and many more one paycheck away from joining them? What is their definition of “regional health”? Making as much money as these privileged companies can by building homes that low-income and first-time buyers can’t afford? What a bunch of nice people this crowd is.

Bill Mash

Chico

Correction

In “War on the war on drugs” by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R Frontlines, April 11), portions of the reporter’s questions with Eugene Jarecki were inadvertently transposed with Jarecki’s answers. The story has been corrected online.