Madison dances
To K O'Brien: Before you give up on dance in Madison (Letters, 10/5/07), please give Jazzworks a try. I've seen several performances, and the troupe is consistently dynamic, original, professional, and highly satisfying to watch. In fact, given the small dance landscape in Madison, it was disappointing to see that last year both Jazzworks and Kanopy were scheduled to perform on the same night at Overture!
Gail Jacob
I am a dancer, choreographer and successful composer - and I have to disagree with Ms. O'Brien. I think the Kanopy show was very entertaining. Sadira is a unique and well-studied Middle Eastern dancer, and Kanopy is an excellent dance company. The second part of the show had all the drama and intensity that characterizes Kanopy. The combination was wonderful.
Vicky Tzoumerka-Knoedler
Other affordable condos
I was disappointed with your condo story ("Wanted: One Madison Condo Under $120,000," Abode, 9/21/07). Four of the seven projects listed are new apartment conversions, and the other three are well-known developments. There are other condominiums in Madison that should have been featured.
For example, Hunt Club Condominiums and Lincolnshire Condominiums off of Foxwood and Moorland are two great projects on large lots that provide a lot of greenspace. Lincolnshire has a pool and clubhouse. There is also Oak Ridge Condominiums off of Park Street on Ridgewood Way. There are others as well, and the author should have mentioned every one of them.
Sally Balson
Editor's note: As noted in the story, this was a representive sampling from various regions of the city. Space would not allow mention of every condominium development.
No decency
I remain disheartened by the brutal murder of "Idego" at the cold-hearted hands of Department of Natural Resources Warden Tyler Strelow ("The Death of a Raccoon," 10/5/07). Mr. Strelow exercised no decency and should be dismissed immediately.
Having spent my entire life protecting the native landscape and all the creatures that depend upon it, I find this barbaric act by a public servant deplorable.
As long as our society continues to permit the wholesale slaughter and torture of our sentient brethren for sadistic pleasure sports, government experts will continue to increase kill quotas, recruit impressionable children to "keep the hunting tradition alive," and squeeze the life out of our indigenous wildlife.
Poor Nance Curtis has been victimized by the modern adage "No good deed goes unpunished."
Erik Brynildson, Montello
I have just one thing to say about Warden Tyler Strelow: "Did he lose all parts of his mind?" Although it probably isn't a good idea to have a raccoon as a pet, there were clearly extenuating circumstances. The DNR asked Nance Curtis to take care of the animal; it had been in her home for six years, there had been no problems for three years, and the raccoon had never bitten anyone.
This situation could have been handled in a much more humane fashion. Mr. Strelow should seek counseling.
Kelly McCann
I live most of the year in California, where I belong to a group called Native Animal Rescue. Our group of volunteers tries to rescue as many birds and mammals as possible.
I would point out that Wisconsin is a relatively undeveloped state with an abundance of wildlife, which if taken care of will remain a true asset. With this in mind, I humbly urge Wisconsinites to become more vigilant about protecting these precious living creatures.
Sandy Martinez
Valid choice
The U.S. military is a very valid choice for students fresh out of high school (Madison.gov, 10/12/07). Not only is the training topnotch, it can also help young people sort out their futures. It is not evil like you have it sounding.
I don't think a couple of ads at school gyms and a stadium constitutes "being bombarded with stuff from the military." Does that critic have a screw loose?
Paul Young, Inglewood, Calif.
What misperception?
The Madison school board's decision to promote "better PR" in response to a litany of citizen complaints is presumably based on the assumption that those complaints reflect public misperceptions ("The Need for Better PR,"10/19/07).
Has anyone on the board considered the alternative possibility that public perception is accurate and that it's the school board and administration whose vision is impaired? Could it be those rose-tinted glasses?
Carl Silverman
Still kicking
I'm happy to report that Andy Boehm, mentioned and quoted in your "20 Years Ago" feature (10/12/07), is alive and well in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Bob Israel
Many thanks
Bill Lueders style='font-family:Verdana'>: What a wonderful piece ("Farley And Me," 9/14/07). I think I've seldom enjoyed being scoped as competently and as thoroughly for many a long year.
In all seriousness, I really do appreciate your attention to my work, and it's a pleasant thrill to be discovered in Madison. If you ever happen on a little book of mine called My Discovery of America, you might be amused by it. It has to do with my exclusion from the United States a couple of decades ago on the ground that I was considered to be a threat to the U.S. armed forces. If the world has gone crazy since, that was a foretaste of the loony bin.
Claire and I are both working away on new books. Mine will be out next year (title as yet unchosen) - another excursion into the past. It takes me back to the final year of the war and up to 1949, mostly in the arctic. I hope you will enjoy it. Meantime, many thanks. It makes an old fart like me feel good.
Farley Mowat, Somewhere in Canada
Clarification
When discussing the future of the Rape Crisis Center on campus, you reported that RCC may possibly be funded using "health-care dollars" ("Caught in the Crossfire," Madison.gov, 10/26/07). We would like to clarify that we are not currently discussing with University Health Services, the university health-care provider, the possibility of them providing funds for the Rape Crisis Center.
What we are investigating is whether the Associated Students of Madison can contract with the Rape Crisis Center for services. One acceptable use for student segregated fees is health care. We will be funding RCC through the allocable portion of student fees, which is not associated in any way with the University Health Services' budget.
Alex Gallagher, Chair, Student Services Finance Committee, UW-Madison
