Letters from the week of March 15

Burnt Ends, March 8

Wright Writes In

I was at Subway not long ago. In the process of ordering a Spicy Italian, despite the fact that I was standing there, fruitlessly trying to direct the sandwich artist in construction of my lunch, it came out so messed up that, if I weren’t a more trusting soul, I’d be certain they did it just to spite me. Which is a long way of saying: Well-intentioned fast-food employees have been known to make mistakes and certainly shouldn’t be used to make the most serious accusations possible against a journalist. People in Kansas City, even longtime fans of the Pitch and its outstanding writers such as Ben Paynter, Andrew Miller and former employee Casey Logan, have grown accustomed to the rather pathetic tone of a small bulldog barking at the ankles of the hulking intruder (see the juvenile and poorly reported hit piece on The Kansas City Star‘s reporting about an NHL franchise [“We’re Pucked,” September 7, 2006], which is suddenly looking prescient, eh?), but your attack on Bill Reiter’s story about Dan Glass is a step too far. Shabby journalism done in the name of attacking shabby journalism is a new low and, quite frankly, beneath you. And, additionally, to infer that Mr. Reiter (who is a friend and a former roommate, in the name of disclosure) is somehow less “hard-hitting” than I was is also irresponsible. Just a week or two ago, Mr. Reiter was honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors for an incredibly hard-hitting story on new Kansas State basketball coach Bob Huggins — a story I didn’t read in the Pitch, by the way.

Wright Thompson, former staff writer for The Kansas City Star

The Pitch

Daydream Believer

My name is Anna Garcia. I’m 21 years old, live in Lee’s Summit and am a freshman at Longview Community College. I read your paper every week, and I just had to write and tell you how much I love it. The controversial articles draw me in every week. I just can’t get enough!

I wanted to let you know I was sitting in my algebra class today daydreaming, and because of your paper, I have decided to change my major to journalism. I’ve always been interested in writing but never thought anyone would want to hear what I had to say because I’m overopinionated and I don’t care what other people think — that is, until I began reading the Pitch. Your writers are all amazing.

Thank you again for putting out such inspiring and often hilarious reading material every week. Lots of love! Anna Garcia, Lee’s Summit

Burnt Ends, March 1

Fare Play

I once rode on a Southwest flight with nearly all of the Florida Marlins. I didn’t know any of them — after all, I’m a Royals fan for life, and they’re the Florida Marlins, which is KC’s younger brother in baseball. Even if I had a lot of money, I wouldn’t spend it on a two-hour flight. A $100,000 Jaguar or Bentley, yeah, but not for 6 more inches of legroom.

Ty McCarthy, Olathe

Hey, You! March 8

Weather Vain

The anonymous “Hey, You!” writer was spot-on about not only Bryan Busby but also Katie Horner, Gary Lezak and all the other local weather guys and gals! If they really feel the need to stay on the air for hours on end or issue crawls and alerts that take up a third of the screen in obnoxiously bright colors of red and blue, do it on their lesser-watched sister stations or Web sites.

So often, the watches and warnings seem to pertain to very remote areas of the viewing area. I so agree — if it is truly imminent, cut in, but please remember to go back to regular programming. Please stop all the ridiculous commandeering of the airwaves. If you want to be on-air for hours on end, get a job at the Weather Channel! Name withheld by request

White Noise

Upon reading Gustavo Arellano’s column — actually, the first one I read — I could not believe the disgusting racism that still exists here! These white people are so selfish and vile.

I want to know why a teacher would call his students “wetbacks.” And who gives a shit if someone puts their foot up on the wall? I am a light-skinned Cubana, and this kind of treatment of Mexicans and all Latinos pisses me off. For all those white, racist, gabacho readers: Mexicans come here for a better life! Isn’t that your so-called American dream? Or does that not apply to nonwhites?

As long as I’ve lived here in KC, and as much as I love my hometown, these assholes really need to lay off the hate. People aren’t racist on the coast, and they shouldn’t be here. Can you please tell me, señor, why these jerks are so reluctant to change? Gracias por todo. Name withheld by request

Bloody Hell

I am the owner of 3721 Broadway, the apartment building on the south side of ZLB Plasma Services. I so appreciated your story about the center.

Prior to the plasma center, our building was full and able to be managed well with our usual attention. Since the plasma center, it has been very difficult to attract renters, with the major reason being drug action around our building.

We have tried to keep drug activity and loitering off our area with the security people of ZLB overtly shooing them back in front of our building. We have written letters to the manager and talked directly with management and security, to no avail. We resorted one time to hiring our own security, as described in your article. I hope your highlight can spark all of us to unite for change. Mary Ann Seeger, Portland, Oregon