THANKS TO

STRANGERCROMBIE
TO THE EDITOR: When you read the issue of The Stranger that features the cover designed by the highest bidder during Strangercrombie 2003, think of the 6,605 nutritious meals it provided to hungry families in Washington. When you watch a film during the Seattle International Film Festival, know that the highest bidder for two festival passes gave an infant seven months of baby formula. And the next time you read one of Nicole Brodeur's enlivening columns, consider that lunch with her supplied rice to the nearly 1,700 people who came to the Cherry Street Food Bank on one full-service day.

Put another way, the $19,201.25 raised by Stranger staff, enthusiastic readers, and the generous contributors to Strangercrombie 2003 provided 36,228 meals to people who are, in essence, strangers to you. At the same time, they are very much like the people you meet every day: families with at least one working parent... with young children... with hard-working parents who become unemployed through no fault of their own... in medical crises... facing the possibility of a layoff....

On their behalf, we thank you. The numbers--the amount you raised and the people you fed--speak for themselves.

Shelley Rotondo

Executive Director, Northwest Harvest

MODEST SUCCESS
DEAR KATHLEEN WILSON: I just read your feature on Modest Mouse ["Follow the Sun," April 8] and I loved it! I have been to many a Modest Mouse show and have always come out inspired. I was right up front the last time I saw them perform, right in front of Isaac, and you know what? He looked good, not just cute-as-can-be good, but content, in love, and in a place full of sweet, sweet hope! It warmed my heart.

Cheers to you and your great article, cheers to the continued success of Modest Mouse.

Adrie Diaz

NEWPORT HIGH'S NEW LOW
TO AMY JENNIGES: I was saddened by your article about Newport ["High School Transcript," April 8]. I graduated from Newport in 2002, my brother in 1999. I have met my fair share of homophobes before, but I never experienced such rampant homophobia. There is this really strange breed of young people in Bellevue who are brought up terribly rich and spoiled and almost emphatically intolerant. I can't imagine how terrible my high-school life would have been if I had been a gay student. It wasn't uncommon to hear "That's gay," "You're a fag," etc., and most teachers and administrators would sort of brush it off. It's not that I think Newport is the only high school in Washington where this is happening, but I feel that the level of occurrences is high enough to be noteworthy. I am disappointed to find that what I hoped would have improved over time has really worsened.

I would like to praise you for a really excellent article. I think it is powerful to see comments coming from the students themselves and not in a medium where they were trying to impress the camera crew. I hope that this will cause the administration, and perhaps the school district, to make changes.

Anonymous

YES, IT IS
TO DAN SAVAGE: I'm no advice columnist, but this boy XXXdOLLstEAk94 sure sounds like he needs a dose of Savage medicine ["Memoria: 10 Years After," April 8]. He's 22 years old, lives with his "bitch" mother, and spends his days anguishing over a rock star's death and disgorging his pain to a shrinking audience. He's done this for 10 years, and apparently has no ambition to do more than that. He feels he owes no one (except Krrt), least of all his mom, whose bitchiness seems to consist of supporting him and reminding him to take his insulin. This fellow's whiny, illiterate self-indulgence is hard to deal with, but not because of its "rawness." You've briskly slapped hundreds of others around for far less. What's this "we're proud to feature his passion" crap? Is this some weird Stranger in-joke?

RC

GODDEN'S FLIP-FLOP?
TO THE EDITOR: You report that City Council Member Jean Godden changed her position on amending the impoundment law after receiving pressure from Mark Sidran [In Other News, April 8]. That is not what occurred in the council hearing on March 29. Council Member Godden supported a motion to refer the legislation to the Public Safety Committee for further discussion. That has no relationship to her substantive position on the bill amending the impoundment law, of which she remains a sponsor.

When the bill comes up again for consideration in the Public Safety Committee and in the full council, impoundment opponents will welcome a full discussion of the merits of the legislation.

Lisa Daugaard

ERICA C. BARNETT RESPONDS: The story reports that Godden "turned" against a piece of legislation sponsored by Nick Licata, which would have immediately repealed a portion of the impound ordinance as part of the budget process. Godden, a cosponsor of the legislation, voted against it. The story did not say that Godden's substantive position on the issue of impoundment had changed.

FEIT'S FAILURE
EDITOR: Josh Feit's column used to be great. City hall politics is woefully under-covered in this town and I used to enjoy reading about what's going on down there. What happened?

The Seattle press has virtually zero presence at city hall and Feit used to fill that void. Plus, if you're going to call your column Five to Four, it seems like you really ought to write about things that have to do with the council or mayor.

Last week's column on our Internet cafe usage has to be the low point. Seattle City Light's thinking about raising power rates again... why not let people know about that? Was Feit heading out on vacation and in need of some piece of garbage to fill the space while he was gone?

Here are Feit's last four Five to Four columns: (1) Internet Cafes, (2) Sound Transit and the state supreme court, (3) Nickels (finally!), and (4) Gregoire. Hey, fine. Write about that stuff, but don't call it Five to Four. Looks like I'm going to have to start reading the Seattle Times or, even worse, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to get my local political news now. Too bad. You guys used to be great.

Steve Harvey

JOSH FEIT RESPONDS: Steve, you're right. My column's focus has broadened beyond city hall. But The Stranger has not stopped covering this important beat. In fact, earlier this year I broke the story that new city council member David Della backed out of chairing the Seattle City Light oversight committee. (City Light oversight had been Della's campaign-trail focus.) I also broke the news that Mayor Nickels was doing fundraising for incoming council members Jean Godden and Tom Rasmussen.

I would also point out that in the very same editions when you found my column disappointing, we zoomed in on city hall news: In the issue when I wrote about websites (you caught me, I actually was on vacation) there was a story on City Attorney Tom Carr; the previous week there was a story on the city budget (coupled with a news feature on monorail politics at city hall); the week before that--when my column was on Mayor Nickels--there were two items on city hall budget issues; the week before that there was a big story on the city-budget cuts; the week before that I wrote another column on Mayor Nickels and an article on Nickels' relationship with media giant Clear Channel.

Also: In recent months, we broke the Nucor Steel city hall giveaway story, spilled lots of ink on the Jorge Carrasco hearings, and covered the city council's annual retreat. Many of our city hall stories were written by Stranger news writer Erica C. Barnett. She has recently taken on the city hall beat (which I've had for five years).

I'm flattered that you follow my column closely enough to have noticed the broader focus. I have been thinking about changing the name, but I can't bring myself to do it.

MONORAIL PROBLEMS
DEAR EDITOR: Sandeep Kaushik's emotional diatribe about opposition to the monorail ["Rapid Transit, Rapid Response," April 1] inspired me to look up some actual facts.

The Green Line is going to cost Seattle households a ton of money. At $1.6 billion the monorail is the largest single investment in the City of Seattle's history; most Seattle households will pay hundreds of dollars per year for decades. I support investments in rapid transit, but we need to be sure that this project is the best possible use of these dollars. We won't get to spend this money twice. Does the Green Line live up to the hype? Not if we look at the facts:

It's slow. The average speed of the monorail will be about 21 mph--slower than the light rail system.

It doesn't get people out of their cars and is less convenient than the bus! Eighty-two percent of Green Line riders are projected to come from the existing bus system--this will be accomplished by cutting bus routes. The monorail wants Metro to replace bus routes that go directly to downtown with little feeder routes to the Green Line. This would add a transfer for West Seattle and Ballard transit riders who currently get downtown in one bus trip. For this extra inconvenience, the monorail plans to charge passengers who have to transfer off buses to get downtown at least an extra half fare.

There is a big risk that the monorail will have to charge a premium fare. The plan approved by voters does not allow the use of MVET taxes to pay for operations after 2020. Monorail planning documents state that the agency could increase its revenues by charging twice the Metro fare. A single-beam track across the West Seattle Bridge will significantly limit capacity to meet future increases in ridership demand. This is a huge mistake that we will regret, and no way to make a 100-year investment.

Linda Anderson

THE STRANGER RESPONDS: We looked up some actual facts too, Linda. While the monorail's speed could average 21 mph if you factor in time stopped at stations, the actual traveling speed will top out at 50 mph on some stretches (like the West Seattle Bridge). That puts the average moving speed at around 27 mph.

You say that 82 percent of Green Line riders will come from existing buses, which is true according to early ridership projections. Also true is the fact that Metro will then be able to reconfigure buses to run more on poorly served routes, like east-west arterials, since north-south riders will be well served by the zippy monorail (which doesn't get stuck in rush-hour traffic like surface buses do).

As for the fare rates, the Seattle Monorail Project hasn't determined a fare structure yet, and the agency is working out agreements with other transit systems. Even if the monorail charges an extra half fare, it's still cheaper than maintaining a car and parking it downtown.

Lastly, a single-beam track across the West Seattle Bridge will not limit capacity; in fact, single-beam tracks there still allow for nearly double the promised system capacity of 69,000 riders per day.

Your first point, that the monorail is going to cost $1.6 billion, is correct. We think it's a worthy investment.