I read David Hoppe’s article “Once-in-a-Lifetime Flubs” (Public Interest, March 17-24) with interest as I, too, like to follow planning decisions made by the city of Indianapolis. I am not a professional planner, but just seem to be naturally drawn to the process. I can understand where David is coming from because the projects do seem to be the typical uninspired drab we get in Indianoplace.

However, to a certain degree I think he misses the point. What’s more disheartening to me is that more people choose to live in places like Castleton than downtown Indianapolis. Big, beautiful architecture is not created for tourists. It is created for people who live with it and use it on a daily basis. Where is the daily audience in Indianapolis? Where is the public outcry?

The recent 2020 plan says the current downtown population is around 20,000 and expected to double to 40,000 by 2020. Why only 40,000? The fact of the matter is that people here are used to suburban planning and design and have no sense for how truly urban environments should look or feel. People here actually think strip malls are cool places to hang out. And even if they don’t think that they are behaving as if they do.

Ultimately, people make cities interesting places, not cool architecture (although it can help). And by people I mean the masses, not just the artistic elite. Unless there are some major attitudinal changes by the young people of Central Indiana, this is what we will continue to get.

By the way, I grew up on the Eastside of Indy and currently live downtown.

Brian Carbone
Indianapolis

Former President Jimmy Carter, whose perceived weakness made possible the taking of American hostages in Iran, and who emboldened Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat to continue his War of Terror upon the State of Israel, is hardly in a position to advise this, or any other sitting president, as to how to manage Middle East policy.

Carson C. Smith
Indianapolis

OK, let me get this straight. Ryan Whirty gets to review a CD in last week’s NUVO (Soundforum, April 14-21), and instead of picking something that he enjoys, he decides to review a CD by a band that he loathes? And if we are to follow this “logic,” why would one choose to go after a band like Cheap Trick, whose first five or six records are reason enough to land them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while bands like Staind and Nickelback are selling records hand over fist?

I mean, it seems to me that Mr. Whirty could operate his rock and roll crusade a little more effectively. And I don’t know if Mr. Whirty was sleeping through his History of Rock and Roll course, but “subtlety” is probably the last word I would apply to David Bowie, the Clash or Parliament-Funkadelic when referring to the characteristics that made them “true icons of the decade.”

T. Cravens
Indianapolis

You know, I could go on and on about how wrong your misguided review of Cheap Trick was (Soundforum, April 14-21) but I honestly don’t think that you’re worth the time. I will tell you that you should stick to things you know about or at least stick to things you’re able to make people believe you know something about.

If you had taken the time to research a little you would find that although Cheap Trick may have made some missteps along the way (and what band hasn’t?) they are still out there playing night after night with the same original members and, more importantly, still making great music. (Listen to the new one called “Special One”) Thirty years on and they’re still doing it! They raised the bar for every power pop band that followed after them.

The first five records are classics and full of subtlety and you would know that if you had been a responsible “journalist” and checked it out first instead of some kneejerk editorial like you wrote. Look a little deeper than “I Want You to Want Me” and you’ll see what I mean. My point is you don’t know what you’re talking about and next time around do us all a favor and stick to something you know.

The “greatest moment” at MSA for the Pacers was a foul that wasn’t called, in a series they went on to lose (Hammer, “It’s Pacer Playoff Time,” April 14-21)? That pretty much says it all. I know you Pacer fans (those of you that actually show up when the team loses one or two games, which isn’t many of you) like to think of the Bulls as the great roadblock standing in your way. But the fact of the matter is, the Pacers were bounced from the playoffs long before they met the Bulls most years.

In fact, the two teams only met once in the playoffs throughout the ’90s. Go look it up. Guess what? It ain’t the Bulls’ fault that the Pacers either got thumped in the first round or missed the playoffs altogether during five of their six championship runs.

And yes, before the inevitable reply comes from the bandwagon-jumpers, I’ll fully acknowledge that my Bulls suck right now. Have sucked for several years now. But at the end of the day, we’ve still got six banners, and you’ve still got none. (The ABA doesn’t count, Steve, sorry.)

I’ll be pulling for the Pacers next week, too (mainly for lack of any other rooting interest in the NBA playoffs), but let’s not continue this recent Indy tradition of revising history about the ’90s, OK?

I’ll admit that there are far larger issues in the world today, but what most of the students at BSU were protesting this week was the fact that they are being scapegoated by the city of Muncie for two deaths caused by non-students (one from a campus cop, the other from violent local teens who were driven to an off-campus area late at night by one of their parents) (Dispatch, Thumbs, April 14-21).

They were arguing that the city would do far better in taking care of the criminal elements in their own city rather than wasting resources and having the mayor grandstanding at a raid of an off-campus kegger. The ability to drink unfettered was a secondary issue for almost everyone involved.

I never thought I’d live to see NUVO, the progressive voice in the state, endorsing police-state tactics and politically-motivated scapegoating.

Posted by FactGuy
www.nuvo.net