›› LETTERS I don’t judge selfish, unforgivable trust-fund yuppies... I’m writing regarding Jason Walsh’s recent Behind the Sun article about the uncouth male stripper from 1980 [“Flesh for Fantasy,” June 11]. I lived in the big house above the garage apartment where “Daryl The ‘creative-eccentric’ who Drawers” lived [the lived below Will Bowman, Pac Sun was unable at work in 1980. to reach the former stripper for comment about the old story, so we changed his name lest he be a tad bashful about his former career]. ’Twaz on West California, back in the days when we could share a very nice four-bedroom house with a garage apartment above in Mill Valley for $175 apiece. Yes, that’s why there were so many creative-eccentrics living in MV... But, alas, Mill Valley got discovered, the real estate zoomed, the sociological fabric segued into those of wealth moving to “Beautiful Mill Valley,” so close to San Fran with astounding natural beauty and an enclave for a unique arty sensibility. And thus, as the prices rose, the colorful characters who defined MV dispersed to other scenarios—like Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, Austin, Costa Rica, etc... I just moved back from many years abroad. Hey, it’s still special here. I just put on my
blinders to the selfish/self-centered newbies— it’s so funny that they think they are tres nouveau with their trust funds, et al... But I choose to laugh and not really judge...they are quite amusing if in a forgiving mood... Will Boman, Mill Valley
P.S: Note to cyclists: C’mon lads, obey the traffic laws, por favor.
Putting the ‘spit’ back into hospitality... I read Jason Walsh’s review of Chianti Cucina, in which the floor manager of the new Novato restaurant moved him and his wife to a smaller table in the middle of their 10th anniversary dinner [“The Good, the Bad and the Chianti,” June 11]. I would never go to Chianti after reading what they did to you. Are you kidding? Why, why, why didn’t you get up and leave? To continue to review the place and even recommend it? Aren’t you the least bit concerned about your own credibility as a reviewer? I’d be interested to hear how they followed up with you and how quickly the staff involved in that incident were fired. A restaurant is first and foremost a hospitality business. They need to know that customers are assets that they take care of, not sheep. Who cares if co-owner Bonnie is an interior designer? You won’t find me at this place. Thanks for the warning. Mariah Baird, San Anselmo
Editor’s note: Thanks for the sympathies, Mariah. Allow me to respond to your questions. To begin with, we couldn’t walk out—I was there to review the place, which somewhat implies staying for an entire meal, even if
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Your soapbox is waiting at ›› pacificsun.com it includes an unpleasant turn of events. A restaurant could be slipping cyanide into my marzipan and I’d still pretty much have to stick around for the digestif. As for credibility, I believe I would’ve lost a lot of credibility if I’d slammed Chianti too much for moving us to a bad table on our anniversary. (I did spend the first three paragraphs on it, so it’s not like I gave it a pass.) One of my pet peeves with food critics is that they personalize reviews too much. Most newspapers these days only have the budget to send a writer to restaurant a single time, and if something out of the ordinary happens—something that very likely won’t ever happen to the other patrons (especially after the owners read the writeup)—it’s pretty unfair of the writer to dismiss the restaurant simply because it happened to him or her on the one visit. Because, in the end, we thought the quality of food was high and really dug the atmosphere—sort of the restaurant version of the “it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it” theory of rock criticism. For what it’s worth, Chianti co-owner Mark Robertson wrote me, thanking me for the review, apologizing for moving us to another table and saying that he’s told the staff to cut that sort of thing out in the future. So we hope, it’s problem solved, and Novato’s got a fine addition to its stable of restaurants.
to your opinion about our supposed biases. What we’re not so sure about is your statement that the district already has a “fully certified staff [that will] continue running the plant as they’ve done...” From what we’ve been led to understand, the district’s wastewater treatment plant is what’s called a “Grade 4” plant (they’re graded on a scale of 1 to 5) and that requires its two chief plant operators to be certified as “Grade 4” or “Grade 5” operators. According to the district, the four district employees working at the plant are only Grades 3 or 2 so, in the transition from the old plant to the new, the district hired a pair of Grade 5 Veolia managers to supervise the plant in the run-up to the June 8 election. Another Veolia employee was added to manage environmental and safety functions, while a pair of lower-level temporary staffers were brought in to complement the district employees. From our count, that makes five non-district employees operating the plant alongside four district employees—none of whom, according to the district, are certified to supervise operations. The point may be moot anyway, as now that the absentee ballots have been tallied, the county elections office indicates that Measure F narrowly prevailed [see Newsgrams, p. 8].
The whole shocking story Your biased delivery of the news that No on F prevailed in Novato is shocking. [In reporting on the initial reports of Measure F’s failure in its June 11 election-results roundup, the Pac Sun wrote, “The Novato Sanitary District is going to have to look to someone other than the Veolia Water company to run its new treatment plant...”]. Novato will not have to look to someone else now that a foreign conglomerate has been given the boot. The district has a very competent, fully certified staff to continue running the plant as they’ve done throughout the period that the new plant has gradually become operational. Colleen Rose, Novato
Editor’s note: Thanks for checking in, Colleen. Not sure where you found “bias” in our statement that “someone other than the Veolia Water company” would run the new treatment plant if the measure failed, since it is a referendum on exactly that—whether Veolia would run the treatment plant. But you’re entitled
And no, eating your catch doesn’t make it all right...
These kids are going cuckoo! Hi there! Often in my travels I find myself sitting in outdoors food/sitting areas at local shopping centers. I noticed as the parents are talking with others on phone or in person, the kids are chasing the birds as they look for food or socialize on the ground. To the best of my understanding this chasing of the birds is illegal and not acceptable. Parents are not watching kids! A wildcare person, San Rafael
Put your stamp on the letters to the editor at ›› pacificsun.com JUNE 25 - JULY 1, 2010 PACIFIC SUN 7