Letters to the Editor

Your Metro Times, redesigned

For nearly a quarter of a century, Metro Times has been Detroit’s weekly alternative for news, arts, culture, music, film, food and more. Hard-hitting news stories, in-depth profiles of local artists, musicians and cultural icons, and the area’s most comprehensive club and concert listings have made us indispensable to metro Detroiters.

So, why change a good thing? To improve on it.

We’ve thought a great deal about how our readers digest their news and pursue their interests. What we came up with is represented in a new look and feel for Metro Times.

You’ll find a cover that continues to showcase compelling art and that now directs you to more of what’s in each issue. You’ll find new features that bring you into the news, music and arts & culture sections of the paper. And you’ll find a crisp, new approach to page layouts throughout the paper.

And did we mention the size? It’s handier. It feels better. See for yourself. —Lisa Rudy, publisher; W. Kim Heron, interim editor

One reader’s verdict

Re: “Terror and error” (Metro Times, Sept. 8), I just wanted to say how much I’ve appreciated your coverage of the “terrorism” trial. From the beginning, your reporting has been an example of true journalism. The other media outlets in this town either avoided the complexity of the case or served as mouthpieces for the government’s overblown accusations. Thanks for showing how real journalism is done. —Anne Weekley, Detroit

Re: “White guy can sprint” (Metro Times, Sept. 8), man, did you see the article in the New York Times after that Chinese guy won the 110 high hurdles? (“Letter from Asia,” New York Times, Sept. 8) It appears that over there they don’t have a problem speaking of the elephant in the room. Not acknowledging our physical differences is an impediment to racial progress as much as outright prejudice. I’ve learned a lot from John Entine, and I think we can all take a lesson. —Tom Habitz, Detroit, [email protected]

I appreciated your article entitled “The Case Against Sprawl” (Metro Times, Aug 18). Personally, I am strongly opposed to sprawl and agree with much of the article. However, as immediate past chairperson of SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, I realize the many complexities behind transportation decisions as they relate to sprawl.

The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century requires organizations like SEMCOG, working in highly populated metropolitan areas like ours, to look at a bigger picture when making transportation decisions. We must consider the mass transit, air quality and congestion. We must include in our plan urbanized areas as defined by the census bureau, using population density of 1,000 people per square mile as the benchmark. Our only deviation is for activity centers, i.e. Metropolitan Airport and Willow Run Airport. If we don’t include such population centers, the federal government can refuse to concur with our plan and not allow funds to flow into our region. It is a catch-22.

Let’s continue to revitalize our urban areas and reduce sprawl. —Maryann Mahaffey, President, Detroit City Council

Listen, I can appreciate Jack Lessenberry’s politics and have always enjoyed the way he expresses himself; however, I have grown extremely tired of this “house nigger” shit when it comes to Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell. I don’t give a damn what a person’s politics are but there has to be a better way to discuss these differences of opinion than to use racist terms and innuendo like Mr. Lessenberry did in his recent column. No, he didn’t use the same deplorable phrase as that jack-ass Harry Belafonte, but we all know what he was saying when he referenced “Mz. Scarlett” along with Ms. Rice.

Talk about racist! So Mr. Lessenberry can only appreciate successful African-Americans when they believe what he believes (Barak Obama), but let them have a different political viewpoint and instead of discussing the issues it comes back to the color of their skin? —David Watts, Detroit, [email protected]