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FEELING BLUE
I am greatly saddened that Blue Monkey is being forced to close its doors [
Outtakes, Jan. 9: �Barbicide�
].
I�ve been a loyal Blue Monkey customer for six years, and Nicole and Kiko have become family to me. I�m sickened that she�s been forced to close down and file bankruptcy. And let�s not sugarcoat this: Blue Monkey, either by specific intent or by simple inaction, IS being forced to shut down.
I have to shake my head at County Commissioner Harry Montoya�s comments in your article: �It�s never good when we lose a business, regardless of what it is, and certainly this is surprise�I had no idea they were even in a financial state as far as bankruptcy. Our staff has been working with them to relocate, and I thought that was moving along.�
Um, yeah. Montoya�s comment annoys me on so many levels, but let me draw your attention to two specific items:
As a bureaucrat myself, I know that blaming your staff is the bureaucratic equivalent of saying, �The dog ate my homework.� It�s a pathetic attempt to avoid being the bad guy in a situation where you�ve failed to act.
And what about the backhanded slap he gives Blue Monkey? A comment like �no matter what it is� seems to me to be a dead give-away about how dimly he views this avant-garde salon and its customers.
Santa Fe actually did receive significant economic benefit from Blue Monkey�s existence, Commissioner Montoya�s views notwithstanding. Every other month, I would drive up from Socorro for a dreadlock maintenance, something that isn�t exactly cheap. I would also spend money in Santa Fe on gasoline, post-appointment meals, and occasional shopping in the various funky shops around town.
But no more.
If any of the stylists do stay on in Santa Fe (please, please, PLEASE!) I will certainly continue to make appointments with them. But�and please note this, Commissioner Montoya�I will NOT spend any more of my money within county limits. No gasoline, no food, no other purchases of any kind. If this is the only way I can express my displeasure with the county�s tactics, then I will embrace it fully.
Let me say this publicly to Nicole�thank you
so much
for your hard work and dedication and sacrifices. I have fabulous dreadlocks thanks to you and the fine folks at Blue Monkey. Most importantly: I don�t LOOK or ACT like a heartless bureaucrat. It does my soul good to know that I haven�t given in to the soul-sucking nature of bureaucracy, and that I haven�t yet gone over to The Dark Side of impersonality and blame-avoidance.
To you and to all of the other folks at Blue Monkey: Safe travels and be well, my friends. I�ll really miss you.
STEPH MOORE
SOCORRO
THINK POSITIVE
Your article about second-choice votes, while showing what good buddies Bill and Hillary are, omitted two key points [
Outtakes, Jan. 2: �Survey Says�
]. One is the positive campaigning that happens when voters are allowed to have a second choice�an instant runoff vote, if you will. For instance, Kucinich publicly urged his supporters to vote for Obama as second choice if Kucinich did not himself reach the 15 percent threshold. In San Francisco, where they use ranked-choice voting for municipal elections, candidates are now making similar recommendations about their �opponents.� In winner-take-all election systems, this sort of positive campaigning never occurs�instead, we see backroom deals and attack ads.
Secondly, on March 4, Santa Fe voters will have a chance to implement ranked-choice voting for municipal elections. Charter Amendment 5 will give Santa Fe voters the same opportunities enjoyed by Iowa Democrats and voters in San Francisco, Minneapolis and other cities across the country. If we want to see more positive campaigns and increased voter participation, Charter Amendment 5 is the way to go.
RICK LASS
DIRECTOR OF VOTING MATTERS
SANTA FE
THEATER SAFETY
Your Jan. 2 issue carried two letters from your readers with whom I agree totally [
Letters, Jan 2: �Don�t Insult Us� and �Feeling Spiteful�
]. They referred to your reviewer�s extremely insulting comments about not only Santa Fe Playhouse�s production of
The Mousetrap
but any audience members who enjoyed the show. Whatever are your reviewer�s qualifications for that job?
I was fortunate to have seen the London production of that play in 1975 when it was an already-established theatrical classic. I enjoyed the Playhouse�s production the second time around. According to your reviewer, that makes me doubly feckless along with the countless hundreds of other theatergoers on two continents who have enjoyed Agatha Christie�s masterwork for many years.
Congratulations to the members of the local cast, including Virginia Hall Smith who played nasty Mrs. Boyle with professional expertise.
However, I hope that, in the future, the management of the Playhouse would pay more attention to fire safety. During the performance which I attended, folding chairs were placed in the two aisles in the theatre area to provide for overflow seating. Only one of these aisles has an exit door other than back to the front lobby. And, over that door is a poorly lighted sign. Throughout the performance, I kept hoping that the candles visible in the set decoration on stage would not be lighted. They weren�t.
The Playhouse�s wishes to accommodate their supporting attendees as much as reasonably possible is understandable. But, they and any fire safety supervisors looked the other way during that particular performance, to the resulting uneasiness of at least two persons in the audience: myself and a friend. Were there others similarly concerned?
Fortunately, all is well. But those extra folding chairs could have precipitated a panic in an emergency situation. Better to be safe, even at the expense of a few box-office receipts, than sorry.
ALMA P BOBB
SANTA FE
THE TRUTH HURTS
Oi!
What the bloody hell is going on here? As a Brit from �beyond the pond,� I am feverishly baffled by the idiot out there that can assume my entire country can possibly take offence at the brilliant words of Mr. Angelo Jaramillo [
Letters, Jan. 2: �Don�t Insult Us�]
. We here in Santa Fe are blessed to have such a gifted writer amongst us. I look forward to reading his calendar every week and his theatre reviews are truthful and insightful. Jaramillo is a native-born Santa Fean who has worked in theatre here in New Mexico for over a decade now and knows what he�s talking about. So, my fellow newly arrived transplants, please take heed, read more and engage your brain before opening your mouth.
BEVERLY CLARKE
SANTA FE
The Reporter welcomes original, signed letters to the editor. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to speci�c articles in the Reporter. They may be edited for clarity and space. Please include address and phone number for veri�cation purposes; these will not be published.
