Safe Lodging
I write in response to Margaret Fleenor. As the promoter and manager of regular Saturday-night dance events at The Lodge (currently the Mambo Room and the soon-to-be launched Dancehouse) that operate well after midnight, I can assure her that we take personal (female and male) security very seriously as does the hotel management. There is always a minimum of three security personnel on duty at any one time and we, at Artcatz, supplement this with our own male and female security staff, both within our venue and on the hotel premises. Many unescorted female guests are personally walked to cars or taxis to ensure their safety. Outside the hotel domain, security of visitors is the responsibility of the police and, of course, themselves, but we do everything possible to provide a safe environment for them to enjoy great dancing and fun at The Lodge on a Saturday night.
Tony James
Santa fe
Smoking Gun
The full page color ad for 100 percent organic American Spirit cigarettes is gross! I'm all for First Amendment rights, but this is over the top! Shame on SFR for carrying this ad for a product of death.
The New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco group are asking lawmakers to keep the current funding of $9.6 million for tobacco-use prevention and cessation programs. That money comes from the $40 million in tobacco settlement funds the state gets each year.
Does smoking 100 percent organic cigs give you 100 percent organic lung cancer?
Don Kimball
Glorieta
Repeal It!
HB 285 proposes to repeal New Mexico's death penalty in favor of life without parole. We are murder victim survivors and know firsthand the devastation that the murder of a loved one wreaks on a family and their friends. Our niece, Wendy Wagner, was murdered at the Glorieta overpass on July 28, 1997.
We were relieved to learn that ours was not a "death penalty case." The loss of another life wouldn't bring Wendy back. Revenge is an emotional response, not justice. The taking of a life by anyone is murder, not justice. It compounds the original act of evil. Life in prison without parole is a just punishment.
Our legal system clearly is flawed; mistakes get made. There is increasing evidence that innocent people do get convicted—particularly those who are poor, of color or are otherwise disenfranchised.
We urge the repeal of NM's death penalty.
Cecilia G Popp and Barak Wolff
Tesuque
Right of Way
I may begin by pointing out that there are cyclists who are commuting, and there are those of us who do it for fitness/sport. We are out there in all types of weather because we actually love to ride.
Most cyclists do try to obey the traffic laws. There are simply not enough bike lanes in Santa Fe. We prefer to ride in the designated lanes, but many times it is impossible due to debris, broken glass and even parked vehicles.
Please learn to share the road. New Mexico law says that we have the right to ride two abreast. If you do hit a cyclist, they may die, but the rest of your life will be a living hell.
Finally, perhaps the motorists who view cyclists as a nuisance should get off the couch and try joining us, or get some other form of physical exercise to make them happier and less aggressive on the road. We are actually helping to keep their health care costs down by staying in shape, and we are not polluting the world that we all share.
We deserve kudos, not being run off the road.
Sue Burdette
Santa Fe
