We need a plan
Joseph Booe says that Charlottesville will never become Northern Virginia [Mailbag, June 24]. No, the residents of Charlottesville will not awaken one gray morning to find that their fair town has transformed into NoVa whilst they slumbered. But, depending on decisions that we make in the next few months (e.g., the gauntlet of planning disasters looming in the near future), Charlottesville and its surrounding counties will continue to acquire the arguably gruesome characteristics of a suburban wasteland—notably a continued increase in traffic, big box retail and a healthy dose of McMansions littering former countryside.
As Stratton Salidis points out in his article "Sprawl is not for all" [Comment, June 17], these changes in our urban fabric come at a high price: a decrease in pedestrian-friendly, diverse, humanly scaled spaces that promote social interaction. Not to mention the loss of locally owned businesses and a hearty increase in taxes to support the mess that we’ve created.
Booe claims "people in this region…do not see the whole picture." I agree (although it’s safe to say for different reasons). The lack of foresight to visualize how significantly auto-dependent development can transform a landscape is no longer confined to Northern Virginia. If we want to join the ranks of American landscapes gone bad, build Hollymead Town Center. Build North Point. Heck, throw in the Meadowcreek Parkway for good measure. Otherwise, let’s focus not only on sustainable models of city planning, but also on comprehensive regional planning that effectively addresses regional public transportation. That way, we can allay Booe’s fear of our county neighbors breaking a sweat as they bike to work.
Landscapes change quickly. Not long ago while in gridlock outside of Dulles Airport, my mother wisely observed, "Thirty years ago, I couldn’t understand why anyone would build an airport in the middle of so much farmland." Some green pastures, eh?
Susannah Wood
susannahwood@hotmail.com
Rip-off artists
In his review of the StationBreak2 compilation CD [Reviews, July 15], Matthew Hirst referred to my music as "Trent Reznor cum Prodigy." Not only do I strongly and vehemently disagree, I am also offended by the comparison.
PS: If he knew the slightest thing about electronic music, Mr. Hirst would know I was ripping off Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb.
Shawn Decker
Member of Synthetic Division
www.mypetvirus.com
Eure’s cure
For those who doubted my recent assertion about the hateful vitriol emanating from WINA radio [Mailbag, June 17]: Please note that MSNBC just fired Michael Savage (who occupies the evening primetime slot of WINA’s programming) for saying to a caller, "Oh, you’re one of the sodomites! You should only get AIDS and die, you pig!"
I ask again, is this the type of dialogue that creates a positive impact on our community? If Brad Eure is not a hypocrite about the programming on his station, as his supporters have suggested, then he should show the same integrity as MSNBC and dump the Savage show.
So what’s it going to be, Mr. Eure?
Jeffrey Fracher
Charlottesville
The right to be polite
Re: Barbara Rich’s July 1 Mailbag letter bemoaning WINA syndicated programming’s "hate-filled rhetoric": I am assuming that Ms. Rich is contrasting WINA with the polite, sophisticated public discourse provided by such spokesmen for the left as James Carville, Sidney Blumenthal, Michael Moore, Robert Scheer (L.A. Times), Al Franken and perhaps even the masters themselves, the perfectors of the modern art of character assassination, Bill and Hillary. No one has clean hands when it comes to political hyperbole and Beltway bombast.
I think that what liberals hate most about conservative broadcasting is the mere fact that it exists. Remember, for decades, the left essentially got a pass from the broadcast and print media. Their viewpoints were never challenged and their dogma was unquestioningly repeated in hushed, reverent tones on the evening news shows, as it still is. Conservatives have always been forced to vigorously defend their positions.
Now, there is the Internet and new networks like Fox News that actually have the nerve to (gasp) present the other side, too! Citizens now have access to a lot more information and they are asking tough questions of political figures who have never had to answer tough questions before. It is unsettling to them. I think it is great for America. The founders would love it.
John Payne
Afton
Keep ’em coming
First of all, I would like to say how very much I look forward to articles written by Ted Rall. In his letter printed in C-VILLE Weekly [Mailbag, July 8], Larry Howze seemed rather upset by Rall’s article "They impeach killers, don’t they?" [AfterThought, June 17]. It’s fairly obvious that he doesn’t ask questions concerning Bush and this administration’s motives for the war on Iraq. Apparently Bush and his warhawks were sure that there were WMDs or our troops would not have been geared up for the eventual unleashing of the same—or was this to throw the public off of their real motives? There was never any doubt in my mind when it came to Bush’s plan to go after Saddam Hussein and his "WMDs." Of course, he had to convince the American people, and that sure wasn’t hard to do. Paranoia was then in full mode.
Lastly, Howze thinks the readers of C-VILLE have had enough of Rall’s rantings and that the editors should move on to something more rational and realistic. Frankly, I want to thank your newspaper for giving us Mr. Rall’s point of view. I look forward to his writings. Keep them coming! Thank you.
Janet Roudabush Johnson
Charlottesville