Mail letters to Letters, Santa Fe Reporter, PO Box 2306, Santa Fe NM 87504, deliver them to 132 E. Marcy St., fax them to 988-5348, e-mail them to editor@sfreporter.com, or use our online form.
DWI FIX-IT IDEAS
The roadside memorials are constant reminders of the reasons better solutions should be across the board with DWI programs. As your article points out, the "improved response" is the foundation of a cottage industry, filled with gimmicks (such as the talking urinal-"No female DWI") and increased "Super Blitzes" [Cover story, April 18: "
"]. While the article pointedly provides insights upon the use of interlocks and increases in media awareness programs, along with the lack of resources in provision of intervention and counseling programs, perhaps a closer examination can be made of the employment of "new technologies" and means. For example, the recent "drunk busters" line received "tips" from drivers over their cell phones. We are not that far away from where not only is the call made, but the tip is accompanied by a cell phone video prior to a police stop.
A comprehensive approach should include better roads that are safer and well-lit with signage. And backup signage. Some of the "rural character of the roads," including Interstates 25 and 40, could be transformed for safer conditions and lighting. Note the lessened fatalities along 84/285 as a result of its improvements. Court administration provides several "lessons learned," such as better tie-in with the Department of Motor Vehicles, updates and administrative procedures. City administration and traffic monitoring allow remote sensing and dispatching for arrest.
Clearly, if the criminal defense of drunk drivers is a lucrative business, then the code and workings must be replete with exceptions. Drunk drivers are always "bad guys" and targets of public opinion. And truthfully there is no defense for drinking and driving. Some serious statistical and societal self-examination should be made toward the root causes. Are they conditional upon certain life events or are they a "habit and history"? It makes a difference because of who and what we are. And for all the memorials we pass by.
Eliot Gould
Santa Fe
INTERLOCK WORKS
Thanks to Nathan Dinsdale, who valiantly attempted to report on the complex DWI problem in New Mexico. Sometimes numbers say it all:
1. Each DWI death in New Mexico in public and private costs equals $3.2 million dollars.
2. There were 191 deaths last year-$60 million, every year.
3. A hefty portion of these costs is borne by us, the taxpayers.
The article stressed the resources spent to combat DWI, including treatment providers, public and private research organizations, government public awareness campaigns, etc. Not mentioned are the costs of DWI in our courts system, public defenders for indigent offenders, assessment and monitoring by county DWI programs, supervision by probation departments, incarceration and costs to law enforcement agencies. These costs are paid using the old, apparently ineffective, strategies. All are paid for by us, the taxpayers.
Consider ignition interlock in this analysis:
1. Reduces repeat DWI by 65 percent.
2. Only 8,500 people on the interlock with 12,000 convictions per year.
3. Has reduced DWI fatality and injury crashes significantly.
4. Helps those wishing to establish or maintain sobriety.
5. Assume interlock saves just two deaths a year-$6 million dollars (public and private costs).
6. Costs of interlock paid by the offender, not the taxpayer.
The ignition interlock definitely prevents more than two deaths per year and hundreds more injuries and new arrests. Let's see, reduces repeat DWI arrests, reduces death and injuries, less incarceration, law enforcement, supervision, treatment and less emergency room treatment costs. And paid for by the offender? No wonder Mothers Against Drunk Driving has named the ignition interlock the best tool in combating DWI, period.
Timothy Hallford
President
New Mexico Interlock Distributors Association
Santa Fe
GET SOME RESPECT
Mark Clark hits it right on the nail [First Person, April 18: "
"]. Santa Fe is a tough town for musicians. The musicians in Santa Fe are treated as second-class citizens in some venues. Most of the time the musicians perform for less than the minimum wage if you count a four-hour gig with one to two hours of getting there, setting up and taking down a lot of very expensive equipment, add in the time to practice and rehearse to keep up to date with all the current trends and we work for next to nothing.
I am sure Mark felt good after venting; however, if we as musicians want to be respected and treated like the talented artists we are, we need to step up to the plate, as Mark mentioned. Never be drunk or high on stage. Always be on time. Dress appropriately. Be accommodating to whatever the situation might be. Do not play for free or for next to nothing; your time is worth money, and you're not helping the music scene. Last but not least, when you do play a gig, show that you're having a good time. If you are treated badly by a club owner, drop them like a sack of dirt and tell your fellow musicians about it. Club owners will change if no one wants to play at their venue.
There are some very nice places to play music in Santa Fe; let's keep providing them with the best we have to offer.
Arie Brasser
Drummer
Santa Fe
ART IN MOTION
The large image of the bus covered in price stickers [Cover story, April 11: "
"] is part of a Santa Fe Art Institute Art in Transit program. Rachel Perry Welty, a former SFAI artist in residence, created the image "Product" for the bus wrap. The Art in Transit program has been a labor of love between the City of Santa Fe Art in Public Places program, Santa Fe Trails and the Santa Fe Art Institute. Art in Transit brings work that is created by SFAI artists and writers in residence and the youth education and outreach program to buses, bus shelters and benches throughout the Santa Fe community.
The Art in Transit program has placed work on more than 15 shelters and 30 bench backs, as well as a series of public response postcards placed inside the buses, posters inside buses and the above-mentioned bus wrap. The SFAI is committed to providing yearly programming, national and international residencies as well as youth education and public outreach.
The SFAI wanted to clarify the origin of this amazing image and give credit to the artist, as well as the organizations that partnered with the SFAI to make this project possible. All of this information can be found on the side of the bus and listed on each of the public transit posters, bench backs, etc. The signs are in both English and Spanish. For further information, visit www.sfai.org.
Diane R Karp, Michelle Laflamme-Childs, Sheilah Wilson, Johanna Kohout, Jennie Lewis, Lia Woertendyke
Santa Fe
The Reporter welcomes original, signed letters to the editor. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. They may be edited for clarity and space. Please include address and phone number for verification purposes; these will not be published.
