Letters for January 28, 2010

Letter of the week

Getting Coachie right

Re “Coachie & the kids” by Nick Miller (SN&R Feature, January 21):

As associate director of athletics at Princeton, I wanted to commend Nick Miller for his piece on Pete Carril, the Sacramento Kings’ assistant coach and longtime Princeton coach.

There have been countless articles written about Coach through the years, and while they mostly get their facts right, they rarely capture the real essence of who he is. Nick Miller’s story succeeded on both counts.

In addition to that, it was extraordinarily well-written and a reminder that there is still a place in journalism for an outstanding—and lengthy—feature story.

Jerry Price

associate director of athletics
Princeton University

Democracy costs money

Re “Paying for the party” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Frontlines, January 21):

The registrar of voters already had the law changed so that if a party has one candidate or less for each seat to be filled, no names appear on the ballot. The candidates are declared elected.

In the old days, politicians use to sit around in smoke-filled rooms and make decisions. When parties run different slates of candidates against each other, they send out mailing to the voters explaining their issues. The voters in those parties decide.

Democracy is not cheap. It costs money. You want cheap? Set up a dictatorship. No elections. Real cheap.

C.T. Weber
Sacramento

Outdoor pot is better, he sez

Re “Pot glut” by Skip Jones (SN&R Frontlines, January 21):

Thanks for publishing this interesting but somewhat inaccurate article. It is simply untrue that indoor-grown cannabis is more potent or better in any way than outdoor grown. In fact, indoor gardens usually produce “air bud,” meaning loose, immature flowers, that is substantially less potent than outdoor!

Electric lights cannot replace the sun and the enclosed space requires the use of toxic pesticides to control mites. Powder mold is practically guaranteed in a confined space, and the power consumption works out to 1 ton of coal (800 pounds of natural gas) to produce 1 pound of useable bud.

It is also important to note the “nonprofit,” “compassionate” retail storefronts are charging more than street-corner dealers. Think about it.

Tim Castleman
Sacramento

R.V. for Congress!

Re “Place your bets” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Race to the Bottom, January 21):

Brilliant! If you pick the game correctly (i.e., the NFC/AFC championship games over the weekend), you know football. And if you pick the wrong team, well, it’s because you put money on the game. It’s perfect.

Did you ever think about running for Congress?

Richard “Media” Copp
Sacramento

What about Marysville Boulevard?

Re “¿Qué pasa, Del Paso?” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Feature, January 14):

This is a great story. It is nice to see the interest in the boulevard. My only question is that a main route to get to the boulevard is from Interstate 80 on Marysville Boulevard. Many people may avoid going to the redeveloped area because they have to go through a not-so-good area.

Are any developers, or the city, considering revamping Marysville Boulevard? It would be awesome if the entire stretch from I-80 to Highway 160 was rehabbed. I think this would do wonders for Del Paso as a whole. This would keep the entire boulevard (Marysville and Del Paso) safe. I just thought I would ask.

Matthew Findley
Woodland

Pathetic excuse for justice

Re “No justice possible” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Race to the Bottom, January 14):

Here’s the bad news: I’ve been before half a dozen family-court judges in Sacramento, and [Judge Peter J.] McBrien is one of the better ones. That’s a sorry indication of just what a pathetic excuse for justice is meted out by family court. The whole system is biased, incompetent and illegitimate, and needs to be totally revised.

Fred Hayward
Sacramento

Loves some Whores

Re “Whores after dark” by Nick Miller (SN&R Music, January 14):

Thanks for running this piece on DJ Whores.

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Dan [Osterhoff] for nearly 15 years or so, and beyond spray cans and turntables, he is one of the most genuinely kind and down-to-earth people that I’ve ever come across. You can see this with the eclectic crowd he draws when performing, and how everyone seems comfortable shaking their ass a little (or a lot).

Dan is a real-deal audiophile and has turned me on to some great tunes in past. But most importantly, I know that he is always optimistic and enthusiastic about the Sacramento music scene in all its incarnations.

Monsieur Whores always reminds me not to take the scene too seriously and to get behind our local music institutions because there is still a community of people who enjoy music just for the sake of it.

Keir Wilkinson
Sacramento

Praise for Jackson G.

Re “Like an unhinged assclown” by Jackson Griffith (SN&R Sound Advice, January 14):

Because I just can’t get too much good writing in my life and I’m sternum-deep with dreck, for some of the best writing in and about this town, I’ve been going to Jackson Griffith’s blog. While that’s been satisfying to my synapses and pleasing to my artistic sensibilities that simply dictate that those who can create should, I’ve been left scratching my head and wondering why he’s real good for free.

Jackson is a writer in the true sense of the word; his work is compelling and it’s stuff people want to read. How he knew I wanted to know all about his ass-clownedness and his addiction to Jersey Shores, I dunno. But he hits the mark every time.

I want to see more of it, please.

Elle Wrathall
via e-mail

Subsidized rant ’n’ rail

Re “Rant ’n’ rail” by R.V. Scheide (SN&R Race to the Bottom, January 7):

Nowhere in his column did R.V. Scheide mention that public transportation can only keep prices low because almost all public transportation is subsidized by tax money.

James Sakauye
Sacramento