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Letters

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Just Rewards
Every time I read a story like the Winterhawk/Cord story ["Need or Greed," by Brian Wallstin, November 26], I get sick to my stomach. How can one person get away with so much? How can so many people give so much money to someone they don't even know? How can people like the Melsons and Holcombs willingly participate in such a scam and then plead ignorance? Puhleeze! I hope they all get their "just reward" -- then everyone's prayers will be answered!

Pat Barrios
via Internet

Live with Lead Poison
Ms. Crimmins and family volunteered to join the eclectic mix of the Heights when they purchased a newly constructed house on Harvard Street ["Abatement by Any Other Name," by Brad Tyer, October 15; "Grinding It Out," by Tyer, December 3].

Because of the influx, the Heights will continue to see renovations to the lovely homes that were built near the turn of the century. Crimmins and her family knew this before they decided to purchase a new house. They should also have known that such work could present a health hazard to children and, further, that such work will likely continue well into the next century.

Why is the owner of the lot to the north the only bad guy? It seems the work he is paying for will increase the value of Ms. Crimmins's house and the Heights at large. He could have let the peeling paint fall off the old house one chip at a time, thus exacerbating the potential harm to Ms. Crimmins's child and diminishing the look and value of all the properties along Harvard Street.

The real story is this: Is the Heights the right community for a family that seems to think they bought a new house in Fort Bend County, where everything is virgin?

Perhaps, the Crimmins family should just admit to a consumer mistake. They might be better off if they sold the house and packed off to the Woodlands where everything has been planned and approved by a committee, and everything is new.

Robert and Linda Parsons
via Internet

KPFT Speaks Out
I would like to clarify recent remarks made by Houston Review publisher and editor Marc Levin as reported in the Houston Press. KPFT/90.1 FM does indeed receive taxpayer support in the form of a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). All qualified public broadcasters receive these grants.

But Mr. Levin is incorrect when he implies in a recent letter to the Press ["Levin Lashes Out," December 3] that KPFT receives $1 million a year from the government. Pacifica Radio, which holds KPFT's broadcast license, also operates other public stations around the country in addition to KPFT. The total of grants for all of these stations is approximately $1 million. KPFT's FY1999 CPB grant totals $99,500. This represents 15 percent of our annual budget.

Mr. Levin says he objects to KPFT receiving such support, because we "are rewarding a convicted cop killer" by airing commentaries by death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. KPFT and Pacifica Radio take no stand on Abu-Jamal's case. We aired the commentaries as an exercise of the First Amendment, a move that was supported by many groups, including the Society of Professional Journalists. KPFT has a long and proud history on First Amendment issues (the same First Amendment that protects the Houston Review), and we will continue to air many different points of view.

Garland Ganter
General Manager, KPFT/90.1FM

Right in the Playbook
Lee Williams is welcome to read my copy of the production script from the original Broadway production of Funny Girl ["Not-so Funny Girl," December 3]. If she would, she would find the leopard coat, the lamppost and several other of the "movie" ideas come directly from the author.

It is now, as it has always been and always will be, the responsibility of all directors and designers to convey the author's concept. If she would like to read my copy, I will be happy to supply it to her free of charge. That's even cheaper than renting the movie.

Thom Guthrie
via Internet

Funny is Fab
I saw Funny Girl and loved it. I thought Holli Golden was fabulous, and what a voice! I was impressed by the entire cast. I say, "Go see it, you'll be glad you did"!

Kim Cooper
via Internet

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