Letters to the Editor

Cover, May 8: “Mexico, USA”

Light on the Mesa
This presents a solid picture of a perfect micro of our whole grand attitude toward immigration. We used to welcome people who wanted to work hard. Now, we hamper them. As long as no light shines on this stuff, nobody sees it. Thanks for this light, Joseph [Sorrentino].
Sevan Ross
sfreporter.com

Questions
Your story on Pajarito Mesa made me wonder this: Who passed a law making it illegal to sell property there? Whom do the enactors of such a law represent? What is it that justifies the existence of such a law? And, finally, how does the law define “property”?
Albo P Fossa
sfreporter.com

Off the Grid
There is no crime in being poor or wanting to live away from other people. The crime would be the county enforcing its laws on a community such as this. Instead, they should embrace the opportunity to create a low-tech, sustainable community. The roads are more than likely “grandfathered in.” People [who] live there expect bad roads. Rather than trying to add physical infrastructure—ie power, water, sewers, etc.—rewrite the laws and allow the county to help in ways that make sense: low-cost loans to residents for PVs, cisterns, etc. There are low-cost alternatives to conventional septic systems. I’m sure people on the mesa use much less water than the average houshold in town. [Hire] an enlightened consultant (able to help with low-tech improvements) for making their dwellings [as] safe and comfortable as possible without trying to meet county codes. There may not be enough money to meet code, but none of these people want to do anything to their dwellings that would make them unsafe for themselves or their famil[ies].  
Philip F Taccetta
sfreporter.com

Covered in Coffee
The issue in Sante Fe is that we are SATURATED with good coffee and great food [news, May 8: “Breaking Grounds”]. A town of 70,000 can only have so many quirky breakfast places. Plus, this “iconoclastic nonsense”  is insulting to our collective intelligence. Santa Fe is a much more sophisticated audience than you assume.
There is tons of money here, but it takes years if not decades to see if we can trust the newbie. Just ask The Teahouse or Counter Culture how long it took to build a loyal clientele.
Best of luck,
David Goldberg
sfreporter.com

Splendid Revival
Kudos to George [RR] Martin for his purchase and nascent plans to reopen the Jean Cocteau Cinema [cover, May 1: “The Radness of King George”]. His intentions to make it a mixed-use space put me in mind of a theater in Beverly, Mass., which my family and I once patronized in the late ‘70s. The Cabot Street Cinema Theatre was a gathering place where the public could enjoy the best domestic and foreign films on the big screen in the grand elegance of a historic, 1920 movie palace. A group of teachers bought the old theater and restored it to its movie-palace glory befitting a devotion to inspired storytelling. Film retrospectives appeared on the bill along with runs of fine contemporary films and included weekend matinee performances of Le Grand David and his Spectacular Magic Co. for kids of all ages.  If you can dare imagine, the ushers wore tuxedos and small vases of fresh flowers were standard props in the restrooms. All [in] all, a real and vibrant Cinema Paradisio came to be and, I am happy to say, still lives and flourishes in this New England township by the sea. Yes, I dare imagine that the same splendid revival of an old theater can happen here.
Barbara Allen Kenney
Santa Fe

What’s Sacred?
Isn’t anything sacred in this country anymore [news, May 1: “Slaughterhorse-Five”]?  Horses are so sensitive and smart.  They deserve to be protected and respected. I hope, by contacting our legislative reps, that this heinous, terrifying, brutal practice of decimating these animals will once and for all end.
Spirit Dog
sfreporter.com

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