Give us our daily Ted
What will it take to restore Ted Rall to the pages of C-VILLE? Must one stand on 29N, holding a sign proclaiming “Will Bake Bread For Ted”? Or “In Thrall With Rall”? Now that we are approaching the nadir (not Nader) in our battle to win the hearts and minds—to say nothing of the lives—in Iraq, we desperately need the righteous gall of Rall. Perhaps he can explain Bush’s rise in the polls, as this disastrous war continues to count the number of America’s fallen. Please, pretty please, won’t y’all give Rall back to us?
Barbara Rich
Charlottesville
The editor replies: C-VILLE carries Rall’s weekly cartoon, found in this issue on page 36. Rall posts his opinion column on www.tedrall.com. With this issue, C-VILLE adds to its lineup Molly Ivins, a longtime liberal Bush basher dating back to his Austin days.
Zone home
I feel I must reply to Elaine Callaghan’s letter in the C-VILLE last week [“The war next door,” Mailbag, April 27]. I take offense many statements in this letter, referring to Virginia NeuroCare and the brain-damaged residents who live there. She writes: “It’s too bad that some people apparently feel uncomfortable in their presence.” While some people may feel uncomfortable, both Richard Myers and I work with disabled people daily and do in fact volunteer our time to help less fortunate people. Implying that by volunteering to help Virginia NeuroCare, Grove Avenue neighbors “would acquire understanding and compassion” is presumptuous. While Callaghan may volunteer some of her time to this agency, she is also employed by them and makes plenty of money from the business.
Our issue did not begin as a battle against Virginia NeuroCare, Dr. George Zitnay, Callaghan, or with the residents. It is simply an issue of zoning. Assisted living facilities are permitted in an R-3 zone, for good reason. R-1 and R-2 zones are residential and are intended for families and other long term residents. A typical residence does not have three shifts a day with cars coming and going at all hours, numerous trash cans by the road, cars parked in neighbors’ yards or obscenities yelled for children to hear.
Virginia NeuroCare acquired the home through threats against the City and inaccurate statements about us and our neighbors. Virginia NeuroCare has masked the zoning issue with one of prejudice. In doing so, statements against us and our neighbors have consistently been derogatory and have insinuated that we lack compassion and/or understanding with regard to war veterans or brain-damaged people. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Janie Myers
Charlottesville