Letters to the Editor
We welcome your opinions and letters — with name and address. We will edit when necessary. Include your name, address and phone number for verification. Mail them to Bay Weekly, P.O. Box 358, Deale, MD 20751 • E-mail them to us at [email protected].
More Boos for Pugh’s Reviews
Dear Bay Weekly:
Once again, Matthew Pugh [“Xanthomatic Wins High School Battle of the Bands” Vol. XII, No. 6: Feb. 5] has put his lack of insight on display with his second annual trashing of the best of Anne Arundel County’s high school bands. I thought he’d like to hear an opinion from one of his peers, who also makes a living via the written word (advertising). I am also a proud father of two of the musicians in the band Westin.
Matt was very careful to illustrate what was wrong with each band. I suppose this is some form of reverse psychology? What can be gained from this? Just because a band doesn’t have the advantage of a spell-checker, as Matt and I do, doesn’t mean that they have to be labeled as “sloppy.” Besides, Mick Jones of The Clash once said “It ain’t about playing the right notes.” That’s the inherent beauty about rock ’n’ roll. And why was the brass section of Westin “drowned out”? I don’t know! Point is, stuff happens. I can’t explain why my son broke a bass string during Westin’s first song any more than I can tell you why Bay Weekly pays Matt Pugh to write!
It’s all too easy to see where Matt’s coming from when he writes about “searching their parents’ record collections.” Then my 1970s punk rock band, Small Change, should have covered Henry Mancini and Lawrence Welk to please geezer critics like Pugh. So Matt, go back to the comfort of your Zeppelin albums. To quote Bob Dylan, “Don’t criticize what you can’t understand.”
Rock on, kids. Thanks for a lovely evening.
— Ernest Beckner, Deale
Kudos for Carr’s Dying Bay
Dear Bay Weekly:
Steve Carr’s column on the Bay [“Our Dying Bay Needs Treatment, Not Research” Vol. XII, No. 6: Feb. 5] was right on the mark. Thanks.
— Dick Lahn, [email protected]
Give Native Oyster Efforts More Time
Dear Bay Weekly:
I thoroughly enjoy reading Bay Weekly. It’s great to have a small, local paper that focuses so much energy and space on Bay-related topics. It’s by engaging and educating the public that we have a chance of recovering our precious Chesapeake.
In Vol. 12, No. 5 [Jan. 30], C.D. Dollar wrote an excellent column entitled “Listen to the Trees.” I would like to offer a small but pertinent clarification to the South River Federation’s position. Our goal is to protect resources inside the critical area on Homeport Farm that have been identified as Resource Conservation Area. The owners/developers of the farm would be entitled to develop areas outside of the critical area, and we are not opposed to development outside the critical area.
On a second note, I have been pleased to read about the controversy surrounding the introduction of an Asian oyster to Chesapeake Bay. South River Federation is opposed to introducing any non-native species to the Bay region. The introduction of a non-native species is a very drastic step. We believe that, at this point, it would be more prudent to make a sincere and concerted effort to restore our native oyster and see where that leaves us in 10 years.
We understand that there are watermen whose livelihoods depend on our Bay’s waters and that because of declines in water quality, increases in population in the watershed, etc., it is increasingly difficult to earn a living working on the water.
It’s our belief that solutions are out there if we are willing to think outside the box, to be creative. There are opportunities for conservation groups like South River Federation to work closely with local watermen to restore our native oyster. And it is imperative that we make a concerted effort to restore native species before we open Pandora’s Box by playing God in the Bay.
— Drew Koslow, Annapolis
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