Letters to the Editor

More Girl Problems
But what's the solution?: Thanks for your outstanding article ("Girl Problems," July 19) and interview with "Tanesha." I am especially impressed by Tanesha's statement that "if people weren't angry, they wouldn't be violent." As I finished the article, I was wondering -- as I always do when reading such excellent exposés of a social problem -- how do we take the next step? Your article suggests that "the community" needs to get involved. Well, how does that happen? Why wasn't Tanesha influenced by the church? What "village" -- taking the phrase from Hillary Clinton's book -- might have come to the fore in Tanesha's life in her younger years? Which members of the "community" will see the article and become active as a consequence?

Lots to think about. Keep up the good work.
Bob Somers, Ph.D.
Berkeley

Hey, it pays the rent: Thanks for [the] article on the plight of troubled teenage girls ("Girl Problems"). If you'd really like to do something to stop the exploitation of women, maybe you should stop running ads for prostitutes in your classified section.
Vince Canter
Berkeley

Bracing for the Fall
A night to remember: Bless Lloyd Langworthy for the article about Triple Gang's sendup to the Fall at Kimo's ("This Rock Scene's Saving Grace," Music, July 12). Those of us old enough to remember the grit and vitality of punk shows at the Mabuhay, Club Foot, and even the Farm felt right at home that Saturday night sweating through the extravaganza.

Triple Gang deserves a reward for their performance and good-natured reminder that vital music with political sensibilities can survive unscathed despite the morass of dot-schlop music that has ruined the S.F. music scene.

Long live the Fall. Long live Triple Gang!
Brian Smith
Inner Sunset

Wounded Again
A lawyer laments:Regarding your overtly biased and one-sided article on the racist attack on my clients by Peter Glikshtern (also known as "Tire-Iron Pete") ("Mission: Implacable," July 5), please consider the following:

Your article misinforms your readers about the facts of this case and reveals your lack of objectivity and your outright sympathy for Tire-Iron Pete. You told me that you were writing a story on gentrification in the Mission and wanted to cover the lawsuit as background. You were provided with investigation reports, deposition transcripts, the police report, and access to my client in hopes that your coverage would be fair and balanced. Instead, you spent over half the article heralding poor Tire-Iron Pete's misfortunes as a "pioneer entrepreneur."

What happened to my clients' background, their plight, the 16-hour shifts they worked in some of our finest restaurants to support their families? Did you find Tire-Iron Pete's story more alluring than that of the victims you dismiss as misguided for hoping to find justice in our courts?

The unreported truth is that Inspector Kirk of the SFPD testified that my clients had never been arrested for any drug-related charges. Moreover, even Glikshtern, who according to your article is described by his attorney as a "bit of an asshole," admitted through his attorneys that my clients were employed at two different restaurants and were working over 80 hours a week to support their families. Now, has anyone ever heard of a drug trafficker working over 80 hours a week for 10 years with the same two restaurants to support his wife and two kids?

Hey, we proved our case, but it is hard for juries to overcome centuries of negative Latino stereotyping resulting from unethical journalistic coverage such as Joel Engardio's of SF Weeklyand Victor Miller's of New Mission News, in this instance.

The unreported truth is that in San Francisco a white bar owner can accuse a Latino of being a drug trafficker and some juries will find the accusation reasonable in spite of significant evidence to the contrary. The fact is that a white bar owner who threatens Latinos with a gun and breaks their skulls with a tire iron is not even charged with the crime. To boot, the Mission News and SF Weekly write him up as a hero. Your article will only result in worsening relations between people in our Mission community.

Enrique Ramirez
Attorney for plaintiffs Fredy Parra, Pablo Parra, Jorge Sosa, and Baltazar Fernandez
San Francisco

Suddenly Everybody's an Expert
Says you: With all due respect, your electronics "expert" quoted in "You Could Be Jammin'" (Bay View, July 5) -- isn't. You cannot build cellular-frequency transmitters without special training, equipment, and components -- not what you're going to find at a Radio Shack or salvage from cordless phones. Ordinarily I wouldn't bother to point out this silly and blatant disinformation, but I figure your readership includes a fair number of people who really would know the difference.
Peter Kerrigan
Sausalito