Less than best
I'd like to award Best Smear Job to Metro Times, for its piece about the Russell Bazaar in the Best of Detroit issue (April 22). I appreciated the nice words about the Russell Industrial Center; then I noticed the smear job on the Bazaar. What is unfortunate about the second half of the article is that the writer lumped all the stores together. We have well over 100 vendors in the Bazaar and I can assure you that all of them do not sell porn and dusty video games. And frankly, to question a salon is ridiculous. I am sure that the writer of the article is fully aware that there is a salon in the Somerset Collection (where he or she shops, I'm sure), and I am pretty positive there is a cell phone store as well. But Somerset doesn't have original designers, like the Bazaar does and who were overlooked in the article. Or the fact that the Bazaar has business owners who are trying to develop retail in the city of Detroit. Sure Banana Republic is not in the Bazaar, but whose fault is that? Most likely major retailers with the same attitude as the writer of your smear piece, someone who believes the city of Detroit is just a waste of time
Give me the good, the bad, and the ugly. I will make sure to find them a place to do business in Detroit. —Eric C. Novack, project manager, Dionysia Properties, Detroit
Publish or perish
Thank you for the entertaining article on John A. Common, titled "Drunk Drunk Drunk" (April 22). I write poetry and short stories on a writing site and met John on it by reviewing back and forth. Thank you for straightening out something. John had told me he published a book and honestly I didn't believe him. I mean, here I am writing uplifting stories and award-winning poetry and can't even get a book deal.
I read John's poetry and I felt sorry for him at first. I suggested trying for another job. I told him poverty was a disease and offered information on self-help books and tried to console him. I realized he liked the world he was in — Taylor. I'm seeing now I should have taken advice from John, no doubt. Looks like he's moving on up! —Nuala Molloy Moran, Fort Lauderdale
Healthy thoughts
I believe we need a one-tier, Universal Health Care system paid for through tax dollars. Such a system should be cheaper and more efficient, as the profit required in our current private sector insurance system would be eliminated and one common system of paperwork would exist. Most people contribute some of their pay (i.e. co-pays, deductibles) even with corporate-provided insurance, so why not remove the burden from corporations, thereby making them more competitive globally? Some people claim we would lose some freedom of choice in our care in such a system but I see it just the opposite. In Canada for example, you can go to any doctor you wish and are not at the mercy of some company trying to make a profit by refusing you insurance coverage. —Jason Dumas, Rochester
