I have a large family, and we really like to eat out. I wear hearing aids, and I find the noise level in many of restaurants distracting — sometimes even painful.
I have only one thing to add to ["Sound Man," October 17]. Many hearing aids, for reasons I don't fully understand, magnify the noise of clanking silverware, scraping chairs, etc., which is the result of restaurant designers' need to use hard surfaces to create "buzz." I wish that people who sell hearing aids would pass this message on, as I feel buzz does more harm to the hearing impaired than is justified by any increase in business.
I really applaud this article and the gentlemen in it who make the effort to determine sound level and comfort speaking. Those of us who use hearing aids now may be a minority, but our numbers are growing!
Louise Muise
Washington, D.C.
[Re "Uprooted: Burlington Farmers Market Seeks a New Home," October 31]: I'm not a fan of what Burlington wants to do with City Hall Park — not only because of the number of trees to be cut down, but because the plan will take away many of its green spaces and resting places. I happen to like the park; the Burlington Farmers Market is something my husband and I look forward to every week. We meet friends there, interact with farmers and feel that it contributes to Burlington's heartbeat. What is being proposed would essentially take that heartbeat away.
Many of the new benches along the waterfront — what will be in Burlington City Hall Park — have no backs. For elders and those with disabilities, they are not conducive to sitting. Changing the historic fountain to a splash pad sounds more like an event than an area for reflection.
In a city well known for its green spaces, there are fewer and fewer of them now.
Jennie Kristel
Burlington
[Re "Hole in the Mall: It's a 'Precarious Moment' for Burlington's CityPlace Project," November 7]: As a consistent opponent of the CityPlace project, aka "The Too-Tall Mall," I am not surprised that we are now left with a somnolent chasm in the middle of our downtown core. Developer Don Sinex should have been recognized for what he is: a snake-oil salesman. The fact that, at this late date, "Sinex has no financing to construct the $222 million project" and that his only partners, Brookfield Asset Management, aren't saying anything about their plans should be a wake-up call to our starry-eyed city officials. But no. Somehow the Build-Baby-Build party line is still: "Push this project back on track" and we haven't "given up hope."
I am with Redstone's Erik Hoekstra on this one. Go back to the drawing board; build something smaller, much more Earth-friendly, and more consistent with both the character and the current market of Burlington. We could even go back to the inspired drawings that emerged from the early public "design charette." And please don't bother blaming the opponents' lawsuit for this fiasco. Put the responsibility where it belongs: Mayor Miro Weinberger and the city council majority who failed to recognize the transparently sleazy operator of Devonwood Investors for what he was — and is.
Andrew Simon
Burlington
We're two high school students in Burlington who are proud Americans.
Last night we were biking near Church Street and observed people protesting the firing of Jeff Sessions [Off Message: "Hundreds Rally in Burlington to Protect Mueller From Trump," November 8].
We agree that it is ridiculous that the president could abuse his power so blatantly, but we must disagree with one aspect of the protest: flying the American flag upside down. We find it to be disrespectful to those who have served our country.
In the future we'd like to see the flag appropriately displayed during protests.
Kiran Kuntz
Burlington
Chris Stutzman
Burlington
I am concerned about the poor leadership at the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department ["The Whole Tooth? Vermont's Head Warden Targeted for Covering His Tracks in Bear Case," November 7]. As a Marine, I know that a true leader cares for his troops and insists on integrity and honesty from all the officers and staff NCOs who lead the troops that do the real work! This article about the late bear tooth reveals a lack of leadership. Instead of immediately admitting to this minor oversight, a cover-up was attempted all the way up to the commissioner level. I am a fan of Gov. Phil Scott; however, I voted for his opponent only to ensure a change of leadership at the Fish & Wildlife Department. Now it is up to the governor to review all the issues that have plagued the department over the past years and make the necessary change in leadership.
Hale Irwin
Middlesex
[Re "The Whole Tooth? Vermont's Head Warden Targeted for Covering His Tracks in Bear Case," November 7]: I'm not sure where to start, but bear with me. The chief game warden shot a bear and was late in turning over the tooth for analysis. He informed his supervisors, publicly apologized to his staff and sent the tooth. After he sent it, he removed his name from a list of the other 100 hunters who had not sent in the required tooth.
Was he supposed to leave his name on the list of those who had not done so, thus reporting inaccurate information? The tooth incident is now, according to mostly anonymous critics, a slide into "a culture of corruption." His critics, most of whose names we do not know, want him punished even before completion of an investigation of this heinous act, although it is official state policy not to punish those who did not comply because the law is so new. What ever happened to equal treatment under the law? The reaction to this incident is so overblown one has to wonder what the real agenda is.
Robert Doane
Troy