Bill DeWitt should leave his luxury box: Ray Hartmann's column ["Stop the Stadium Madness," RFT, May 9] should be required reading for anyone interested in the truth surrounding the new-stadium issue. Two facts hit me right in between the eyes: The 17 Cardinals owners have a collective net worth of more than $4 billion, and principal owner Bill DeWitt Jr. says, "Busch Stadium stinks for baseball."
Just where does DeWitt sit the few times he ventures from Cincinnati to his old hometown? For the more than 3 million St. Louis fans who have been coming to the downtown stadium season after season to support the Cards, it is certainly a fine park to see a game for the common fan.
Perhaps DeWitt, one of the wealthier owners, should come down from his luxury box and see a game from our perspective. We all think it is a wonderful park for baseball. This is a park that has been open for only 35 years. Let's wait for another 20 years before lobbying for a new park -- or perhaps we should start lobbying for a new set of owners.
George Walden
University City
Lovable Goof
Such great material: The story of Jimmy and Gus [Wm. Stage, " I Am a Downtown Man," RFT, May 2] was absolutely hilarious. How could it have failed to be anything other than a scream when these two unique personalities handed you so such great material? I used to help Pete Parisi with his programming from time to time. I still have fond memories of that lovable but intense goof, Jimmy, dressed as a cop and waving a real chrome .357 revolver near the lens. And Gus? Well, he's a real icon in your city and would stand out in a crowd no matter where he was. Anyway, great work!
Mike Perez
via the Internet
When the Rubber Hits the Road
If you're going to do it, do it right: Please, whoever is in charge of this, don't get a "rubber-wheeled trolley" -- isn't that a bus that is dolled up to look like a trolley [Elizabeth Vega, "On a Roll," RFT, May 9]? Those are so pathetic and depressing. The streetcar in New Orleans, on the other hand, is the opposite of depressing. Everybody loves it and rides it, the tourists and the locals.
Phoebe Love
St. Louis
There He Goes Again
A really interesting read: Well, C.D. Stelzer has done it again [" Maybe in Memphis," RFT, May 9]: a really interesting read on a topic that a lot of people have been concerned about. I do get tired of your regular goofy articles. Tell Stelzer to keep it up -- in fact, make him write more of this type.
Dave Cassens
Edwardsville, Ill.
The RFT is the No. 1 sellout: The loss of C.D. Stelzer from the Riverfront Times is another loss for independent journalism in St. Louis and another in a series of wrong turns for the RFT. Since the RFT was sold to a chain, its ability to report on stories that the corporate media ignore has gone downhill. If they were to have a poll on No. 1 corporate sellout, the RFT might just win. I'm personally tired of eight-page articles on personal tragedies that sound more like a gossip column. My friend, having lived in St. Louis for only a couple years, was surprised at my sadness, thinking the RFT had always only been good for selling beer and sex.
Mark Bohnert
via the Internet
Team Effort
The Humane Society should join grant application: I am responding to your recent articles regarding the Humane Society of Missouri's lack of responsibility to our community concerning the opportunity of the Maddie's Fund grant [Laura Higgins, " Bully on the Block," RFT, May 2].
As a dog lover and now former supporter of the Humane Society, I am concerned that they do not recognize the potential benefits of such a program and the effects it can have on St. Louis. I commend the area animal-rescue organizations and veterinary clinics who are willing to take a stand and move St. Louis in the direction this city is so long overdue for. Even if these smaller organizations are not 100 percent successful, they are reducing the risk associated with stray animals by the percent that they are successful. The Humane Society has a responsibility to its community to work as part of a team in this effort!
Craig Strohbeck
via the Internet
Out of the Box
Appreciate their originality: My ears became acquainted with the Fucking Champs just this April, when they performed with some other great bands at the Mid-South Metalfest in Memphis [Paul Friswold, " Champing at the Bit," RFT, May 9]. I would advise any listener: Forget about attempting to box up their sound under any of the numerous "metal" labels there are floating about. Just get out and appreciate their original music.
Bobbi Logsdon
Quincy, Ill.
