CREDIT DUE

EDITOR: Josh Feit asked some very good questions when he interviewed me for "Borrowed Time" [May 18]. Unfortunately, he drew some incorrect conclusions.

Nobody has extended the McGavick campaign credit. Not our firm. Not the media. The "net 30" that Feit refers to is extended by the media to our agency because we have good credit. Similar terms apply to all our clients, political or otherwise. We do, however, bill—and the McGavick campaign pays—on a weekly basis for the media costs they incur.

Regarding payment for media time by political campaigns, it is a big misconception that all political advertising must be paid in advance. The FCC has made it clear that when qualifying for credit, the media cannot discriminate against a political campaign simply because it is a political campaign. Regular credit policies apply. Any agency or buying service that has established credit and accepts legal responsibility for payment of that account qualifies for credit under a station's credit policies (see Beth Daly, 7 FCC Red. at 5990).

Kathy Neukirchen

Media Plus

JOSH FEIT RESPONDS: The McGavick campaign's arrangement with Media Plus allowed McGavick to put off debts incurred in the first quarter—nearly $150,000 worth—until the second quarter. My reporting brought this to the attention of the Federal Elections Commission. The FEC said that was not kosher, and as a result, McGavick's campaign publicly acknowledged they had made a mistake and would amend their FEC filings.

More important, not every candidate has the luxury of hiring a firm like Media Plus. I never claimed doing so was illegal. I merely reported what media buyers on both sides of the aisle told me: TV stations don't traditionally extend credit to political candidates because it raises a host of red flags, including questions about unreported contributions.

PROTECT THE COEDS

DEAR EDITOR: This letter is in response to Thomas Francis's article "Boys Next Door" [May 18]. It is disturbing to know that a group of sex offenders can live so close to a group of college students, but it's even more bizarre how reluctant the landlord was to share that information with the community.

Sex offenders cannot change the way they think or what they are attracted to; they can only be taught proper behavior through counseling backed with legal reinforcement to make sure they do not hurt anyone else. While "rehabilitated" sex offenders have every right to housing, I believe it is in part the landlord's responsibility to respect all of her tenants and her surrounding neighbors by informing them of this.

Students flock to 18th Avenue and other neighboring streets on the weekends in search of a good time, and most of the time one feels safe there. I am a sophomore at Seattle University, and have visited this area with my friends on the weekends. Look around you, Mrs. Clarke. Would you want your children, away from home, partying in college, around registered, dangerous sex offenders, people who might take advantage of them when they are drunk and unaccounted for?

Lauren Padgett

BETTER ON TV

There is no doubt that living next door to a bunch of registered sex offenders would be of concern to almost anyone, particularly young female students. How can these young women be extra vigilant without that knowledge? However, I would argue that the KING 5s and KOMO 4s of the world provide more than enough coverage of these types of issues, without The Stranger's help. If you need to know about murders, sex offenders, fires, burglaries, assaults, car chases, rapes, or sports scores, go ahead, turn on the TV and enjoy the evening news. They will be happy to provide a lazy, half-assed investigation into the local lady who rents rooms to sex predators—right next to innocent (hot!) sorority girls! I'm just disappointed that now The Stranger is also providing us with lazy, half-assed articles about local sex predators, and the women they frighten. Don't compete at the bottom guys. Stick to trashy alterna-culture coverage, and the occasional gem about underreported issues.

Cedar McKay

DON'T MESS WITH TRILL

Man what do you really know about Houston rap or its screwed and chopped music ["Trill Communication," Shaun Bruce, May 18]? Obviously nothing, 'cause it seems like in your article you are just trying to dis it all the way through. Don't knock something you don't know anything about. Keep your attention on Seattle's dead music scene and stop dippin' in ours. Uh, and woodgrain steering wheels look better than other steering wheels and they cost more, so that's why the woodgrain steering wheel is more preferable. "Switching lanes" means "swangin" on the street, which means turning your steering wheel left and turning it right, and just swangin on the street. I don't expect you to know any of this but when you write about something, make sure you know what the hell you are talking about.

Michael Marbut

Houston, TX