Letters to the Editor 

Bad Dad

Maybe I missed something [“The K Chronicles,” May 23]. What’s funny about a father showering with his daughter’s friends?

Gwen Shervington

Burlington 

Price is the Problem

I read about the difficulty in obtaining a mooring at the Burlington waterfront with increasing frustration concerning current municipal policy [“High and Dry: In Burlington, Boaters Wait Years for a Place to Park,” May 23]. The problems described in the article — the long wait for open moorings, the lack of money for facility upgrades, the illegal sublets via Craigslist posts — all stem from the same situation: politically based rationing due to an imbalance of supply and demand.

Make no mistake; we are not discussing any of life’s essentials. In my book, docking of one’s watercraft in the Burlington Harbor falls squarely in the category of elective recreation.

A short digression: When I was a freshman at an upstate New York college, there were increasingly vocal complaints about the lack of on-campus parking spaces for students. Instead of paving over more grounds, the provost asked the economics department to calculate the approximate rate at which supply and demand would balance. The yearly fee was raised from $50 to $375. Problem solved!

In the case of Burlington’s waterfront, it should be clear that the cost of a slip is far too low. Find a graduate student in economics with a master’s thesis to prepare, and she will calculate the optimal price of a slip so that wait times and illegal sublets are eliminated, and sufficient money is available for capital improvements. If a greater proportion of less expensive small boats, or unpowered craft, is desired for fairness, a sliding scale could be implemented. What are we waiting for?

Steve Levy

Burlington

Wishing in Winooski

It certainly would be nice to have a grocery store here in Winooski [“Winooski Is Still Shopping for a Grocery Store,” June 6]. The few little mom-and-pop corner stores charge extortionist prices. For example: a tray of eggs for $7; more than $4.99 for less than a half pound of factory-packaged ground beef. There are never any sales at these “clip joints,” either. I, for one, would welcome a fully stocked grocery store within walking distance in Winooski. Is it brain surgery or what?

Brennan Doyle

Winooski

What is Sultana?

[Re “So Long, ‘Sultana’: Sen. Hinda Miller Stages Her Exit,” May 30]: According to my copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, a “sultana” is a small, brown raisin.

Connie Brown

Montpelier

“Horror” in the Eye of the Beholder

Since I also did not attend ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center’s latest exhibit, “Our Body,” I feel I am at least as qualified to comment on Kai Mikkel Forlie’s screed about how it was a “carnival sideshow” [Feedback: “Horror Show,” May 30]. In short, he condemned it simply as a moneymaking ploy, with no value at all to the public in general. The fact that this person didn’t even see the exhibit, coupled with his very right-wing statement directed at parents who take their children to it — “People can’t be trusted to know on their own what’s appropriate” — reminds me how some folks absolutely revel in the attempt to control who sees what. If this person had actually gone to see “Our Body,” perhaps the specialness of the human body would have taken on a whole new meaning. When one sees just how intricate and delicate the carriage of our essence really is, perhaps writing ignorant letters to the editor would seem less important.

Christopher Maloney

Barre

Disrespectful and Wrong

After seeing Tim Newcomb’s political cartoon in the May 30 issue of Seven Days, I felt I needed to write: To equate the tens of thousands of American men and women, like myself, who served their country with honor and self-sacrifice to cows is disgusting and completely disrespectful to all those Americans who served this country.

And to add insult to injury: The drawing of the American flag shows it unfurled in the wrong direction! If you are going to be disrespectful, at least get it right.

Robert J. Morwood

Highgate

F-35s Away

[Re “F-35 or Bust: Other Towns Clamor for ‘the Most Expensive Weapon Ever,’” May 30]: The information the public received concerning the decibel levels greatly contradicts the Lockheed Martin report — 80db versus 145db. In November 2011, a Pentagon report cited 13 serious safety issues with the F-35. Many of those are exceedingly dangerous to the general public. Hopefully, they will house their jets at one of the two preferred bases that are located away from residential neighborhoods. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Jerry Bourque

Colchester

Southbound F-35?

Send planes to Bennington; we can use the jobs that go with them [Re “F-35 or Bust: Other Towns Clamor for ‘the Most Expensive Weapon Ever,’” May 30]. This part of Vermont is not rich enough to turn down all the good-paying jobs that go with these planes.

James McSherry

Bennington

Bike Path Benefits

I am so excited that repair work has begun on the Colchester and Allen Point causeways [“Burlington-Area Bike Paths Are All They’re Cracked Up to Be,” April 25]. Both were badly damaged by flooding last spring. These repairs are due to the tremendous dedication of the officials in Colchester and the Department of Fish & Wildlife, and I am thankful to all who are making them a reality. The causeways and the bike ferry are true gems that many people love and are priceless to those who use them. I look forward to riding the bike ferry all season next year!

Alex McHenry

South Burlington