FAREWELL, MR. TRUE

To the Editor: To Everett True: While I don't read The Stranger every issue, your work is one of the reasons I read The Stranger at all, so I'm sorry to learn, in the current issue, that your departure is soon upon us. So let this stand as a kind of fan letter.What I have particularly enjoyed about your tenure at The Stranger is the way that you've brought a Brit sensibility to bear upon the otherwise oh-so-serious American rock crit form. Your "building a record collection for $25" was brilliant, your grasp of class and social nuance quite wonderful, your music knowledge unhindered by any sense of needing to appear "with it," and your general attitude (even when I don't agree with it) has been refreshingly direct without being self-absorbed.

The Stranger music section will be poorer without you.

Howard Litwak

GET OUT, EVERETT

To the Editor: Everett: Nice to see you'll be back in Britain where you belong. You can take the British Music Scene and cram it up your ass. Those pinheads are still so much into disco and bubblegum pop groups that they have absolutely no clue. If you think that scene is better than Seattle, you are an even bigger moron than you seem on paper.Welcome home, Asswipe. You can have it--the rest of the world certainly doesn't want it.

Anonymous

EVERETT: DON'T GO!

To the Editor: Everett, you're probably already gone but... please please please! Don't go! I take back any nasty thing I may have said about you. You're so right! We'll miss you more than you'll miss us, I know it's true. Oh, Everett! I never realized how important you were to me! I'm serious! I'm groveling! I'll never do it again, I promise! Don't leave us for That Woman!

Bill

FERNANDO FOUGHT FRANCO

To the Editor: Everett True's ABBA article was quite inspiring ["Hugs & Kisses," April 8]. I found myself nodding enthusiastically throughout, particularly with regard to your comments about "The Winner Takes It All." A deep, painful, Nordic sadness in that ditty. But what was up with that line about "Fernando" being about armed robbery? As far I understand it, the song is about the fighting on the losing side in the Spanish civil war, and that's why it's so moving.

Jeff

NWAF RESPONDS

To the Editor: I am writing in response to the article "Beyond AIDS: In Touch Leaves NWAF" [Dan Savage, April 8]. Dan Savage's article includes several inaccurate statements. Had he contacted the Foundation regarding In Touch's move, we would have been happy to provide him with [answers to] any questions he had.As an agency, we are delighted In Touch has found a home that is a better fit with the services its dedicated staff and volunteers provide. We, in fact, carved the path to that new home by launching a search for one more than a year ago. Our goal was to find an agency which provided direct health care, was committed to serving people with HIV; and was financially solvent. The Northwest Institute for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine met all those criteria and more, so it is no surprise that the In Touch staff are happier than they were here--we planned it that way.

The Northwest AIDS Foundation believes strongly in In Touch's mission. So much so that when In Touch--as an independent AIDS service organization--was on the brink of financial collapse three years ago, the Foundation agreed to absorb the agency as a Foundation department. While it quickly became clear that the Foundation was not the most appropriate agency to house a direct health care program like In Touch, we continue to support its mission.

We could not agree more with Mr. Savage that the level of service available to people living with HIV should be the standard of care for people with ALL life-threatening diseases; however, his assertion that the Northwest AIDS Foundation has been slow to reinvent itself is not true. In the two-and-one-half years since combination drug therapies became widely available, we have dramatically shifted the focus of our community programs. These decisions were made in response to the needs expressed by people living with HIV and AIDS. We asked them to identify their priorities in the post-protease-inhibitor world, and now focus our efforts on doing what our clients told us is most important--providing access to health care and medications, housing, insurance continuation and emergency assistance.

We restructured our case management department to better serve a population whose needs now range from end-of-life care to job retraining to managing chronic diseases (including diabetes and coronary heart disease) that are CAUSED by the new drug therapies. We shifted our prevention programs to serve those most at risk for new HIV infection: young gay and bisexual men, and low-income women of color. We moved the massage program to an agency which specializes in health care. We are in the process of turning over sponsorship of Cal Anderson House to an agency which specializes in property management. And we established new priorities for our granting program. To effect changes like these in less than three years with a staff of less than 75 is nothing short of amazing.

Terry M. Stone
Executive Director

ROFES IS AIDS INC.

To the Editor: Eric Rofes' dissenting article "Barebacking and the New AIDS Hysteria" [April 8] is high on categorical nitpicking at most theories and responses to HIV/AIDS, and low on pointing out what may be going right. Regrettably, Eric comes across as the Dan Savage of what he and many others, as part of an attempt to "re-envision" the Crisis, have termed AIDS Inc. Eric doesn't seem to realize that he is a part of AIDS Inc. Every person diagnosed with HIV/AIDS has a different story to tell regarding what led to their diagnosis. Each "theory" Eric wants to downplay was, is, and in the future will be relevant to some person infected. Doesn't that give each story a right to a small voice?

James Robinson

CLUB 420

To the Editor: I don't hate hiphop or people under the age of 21. In fact, I think this city needs more underage venues. What I do hate is people screaming at three o'clock in the morning 50 feet from my window.I was irritated with your article on Club 420 ["Hip Hop Hit Squad," Ben Jacklet, April 1] because it trivialized problems that the neighbors have to deal with. I have never heard any music coming from the inside of Club 420, even before they began soundproofing. The problem is the noise outside. I live across the street, and almost every weekend since they have been open there have been fights outside, usually after two in the morning.

The clientele are not the only people to blame for the noise. I have heard security guards bellowing to people merely yards away. And one weekend there was a police car parked on the sidewalk broadcasting over the PA, "KEEP THE NOISE DOWN!" louder than anything I had ever heard from the club.

Unless the noise stops, the city isn't going to have to look very hard to find an excuse to close down Club 420.

Megan Knotz

THE FULL BOAT

To the Editor: I was alarmed to read the item in last week's Stranger about Titanic set pieces being shipped to Chicago ("If you saw Titanic, you didn't see the whole show!") [TTS, April 8]. It prompted me to speak with Mr. Leigh Catlett, Production Stage Manager of Titanic, to verify. His response is as follows:"We have the entire show here," he says. "The only set pieces we put back on the trucks to store here in Seattle are extra pieces--spares and duplicates. Nothing was sent on ahead to Chicago. Seattle audiences are seeing the exact same show every other city will see."

Titanic closes in Seattle on April 18, but perhaps you could run this response to let your readers know that they are not being slighted by tours they see at the 5th Avenue Theatre.

Gayle Roberts, Publicist
The 5th Avenue Theatre

CAST-OFFS AND REJECTS

To the Editor: Why have you gotten rid of Carol Lay's "Story Minute"? Overall, The Stranger has the best comics of any newspaper in this country. But it's just not quite as good without "Story Minute." "Story Minute" provided a good narrative balance to the more absurd and nihilistic (although still excellent) comics that you run. Please bring it back! On a related note, why the hell are you running that godawful "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" garbage? It is a tired bundle of tripe from a huge mainstream syndicate, and the artwork is utterly soulless.
Giles

Editor's Note: Carol Lay's "Story Minute" can be found in Seattle Weekly, along with other Stranger cast-offs and rejects. Seattle Weekly is available in shops, cafes, and restaurants in Lynnwood, Issaquah, Bremerton, and throughout the Eastside.