In reference to "Service With a Mouthful" (by Quinn Cotton, Sept. 10), I agree when balancing servicing customers and taking in the occasional meal some discretion is required. However I wonder if Quinn is aware that there is no law on the books in North Carolina requiring employers to provide a meal break? Did she bother to ask any of the munching merchants if they were provided overlapping coverage to be able to take their "feed bag" from the front counter to the back room? In this recession we keep being told we are having, I imagine they were not. In this time where salaries are low and time is scarce, maybe compassion is what we need to express, opposed to gratuitous rant.
-- Michele Ruge, Charlotte
Cotton-Pickin' II
I rarely write letters to the editor because I'm not a tight-ass, but I found Quinn Cotton's "Don't Phone Home" column in the Sept.17 issue especially offensive. Yes, I saw the humor in it but is it really all that funny to promote an ungrateful attitude towards one's parents, especially when they are the benefactors of what passes for an "education" at our universities? Furthermore, to somehow link promiscuous sex and dangerous drug use to "finding yourself" is ludicrous. The issue I have is that this immature rant was printed on the "News' page. The fact that it was printed at all damaged my respect for your publication. I enjoy your muckraking articles on the Clean Water Act etc., but should a newspaper that attempts to expose wrongdoing and hypocrisy in our government and elsewhere, really allow its writers to confess to felony drug use and promote decadent, self-indulgent behavior on its News pages?
-- Chuck McShane, UNC-Charlotte senior
Editor's Reply: Mr. McShane is correct that Quinn Cotton's column should not have been in the news section. It was actually in the Talk of the Town section, which consists of personal columns; a production error resulted in the header "News" being mistakenly placed over the column.
Teacher Fears
After being downsized from a 25-year career in business, I, too, taught in CMS for a year. I'm sure I'm not alone in my agreeing with Shannon Griffin ("Why New Teachers Quit," August 13) -- particularly after seeing the response containing some of the most atrocious grammar I've ever seen. Yet that's what passes for normal in high schools these days. That alone would be reason enough to become frustrated and quit. At the same time, I wanted to let Shannon know that there are plenty of teachers like myself out there who sympathize with her plight. With schools and students like the ones we have today, I have great fear for the future.
-- Stephen V. Gilmore, Charlotte
Fund CSO With Sports Surtax
How could Creative Loafing ignore the current mess that has been made of funding our symphony orchestra? I routinely note the pseudo-investigative stories of Servatius, Perkins, and Boykin, and I would have thought that we would have a whole issue and stories by each of these writers devoted to the behind-the-scenes bullying by ignorant powerbrokers bent on eviscerating our excellent symphony orchestra.
Let me offer one solution to providing proper funding of our symphony. What if the city/county charged a $1.00 surtax on every ticket to our fancy world class sports events? That could generate at least $30,000 for each home football game alone. Who knows what art funds racing and basketball could generate? These monies would go straight to the CSO and, if found in excess of their needs, then into a trust fund of the Arts and Science Council. Football players could pat each other on their bottoms for more than good hits, and sports teams could contribute more to their city than stories of their run-ins with police.
-- Joseph Fail, Jr., Charlotte
Turn It Down!
In response to Perry Tannenbaum's review of Evita ("Pat & Cat Do Argentina," Sept. 17), in particular the comment that the "obnoxious octet drowned out all clear communication," as a musician I have to agree, but not for the same reasons. I fault the sound crew. Yes, all these actors are mic'd, but what's the point of having those bulky wireless mic packs taped to their backs if we can't hear them in the house? The "octet" is already bent over, playing into the walls, under music stands to dampen the volume in a cramped space. Of course if Perry had faulted the sound crew, they would probably blame the orchestra...ad infinitum. Please note there' a volume knob on the soundboard that goes up to 10 (or 11 if they have one of those amps used in the movie Spinal Tap). I know how conscientious the musicians are to their surroundings and how hard they work to follow a tricky score, work with the actors, etc. but there is only so much they can do. They are certainly thankful for the work (Lord knows work is slim and getting slimmer -- just ask the symphony folks). The unfortunate next step may be to do away with them altogether.
-- Brad Wilcox, Charlotte