The allegations in the CityBeat cover story about WAIF-FM ("Naughty Stepchild?," issue of May 3-9) are very serious, with possible catastrophic implications for the only community radio station in Cincinnati, one of the absolute best stations in the city and one of the few in the country.
While I'm extremely disappointed that CityBeat decided to publicize its findings without getting WAIF's board of trustees and membership's side of the issues, the only correct path is now clear: WAIF membership must convene an extra all-membership meeting and give the board a chance to defend itself against the allegations or become accountable for the problems at the station.
I think CityBeat now has an obligation to follow this process and to be involved at every juncture for resolution and accountability. I hope CityBeat will consider itself to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
— Bernadene Zennie, WAIF member and programmer
Editor's Note: When media outlets do investigative work, occasionally those being investigated refuse to be interviewed and then accuse the resulting story of being one-sided. As our story pointed out, WAIF's board of trustees was given multiple opportunities to address the issues being raised and declined to participate.
Who Is Rick Pender Anyway?
Rick Pender did a bloodless review of Know Theatre Tribe's In the Blood ("Bloodless," issue of May 3-9), comparing the playwright's work to that of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Bertholdt Brecht and calling it "a story we've heard before." One gets the impression from his review that he needs to be less of a theater critic and more of a human being.
Pender says that a third of the audience got up and left at the intermission.
I suspect that many of them, after experiencing this compelling, gut-wrenching drama, needed to go have a drink. Where was Pender sitting? From my front-row seat at Know's inaugural performance on April 27, I found the play to be well-written, well-directed and well-performed. I was overwhelmed in the first five minutes and stayed that way. I cried.
Maybe Pender was sitting too far back or too far up, as he seems to have devoted a good part of his review of the play to looking down on it. After describing Embrya deShango's interpretation of the main character, Hester, as being "low-key" and "worn-down," he says that it "saps the play's dramatic energy" and that Hester's "victimization needs to be played more dynamically."
Who is Rick Pender, anyway, and what would he know about bein' low-key and worn-down?
— John Heideman, Loveland
Magic of Live Theater
Rick Pender's review of Know Theatre Tribe's In the Blood no doubt reflects the night he saw it ("Bloodless," issue of May 3-9), but I wish he could have been with me last weekend in the company of 15-20 women from the First Step recovery programs.
Hester's situation — mother of five children by different fathers and no income — is not unknown to many of them, and all recognize men whose sense of paternity begins and ends with conception. More than once audible comments were heard during the course of the evening: "That's life!" or "Yeah!" The actors were aware of intense reaction in the audience, and I think it heightened their performances. We had an electric night at the theater.
Certain elements of the play seem to me contrived, but that night it had the audience it needed to hit home. Through InkTank, the writers who conspire to change Cincinnati "one word at a time," producer Jay Kalagayan provided complimentary tickets for the group and invited us to all stay on to talk with the actors afterward.
At least three and probably more of the women had never before seen live theater. They think it beats TV hands down.
— Jane Durrell, Walnut Hills
Do As We Do
On May 1, the "Day Without Immigrants" protest was launched (Porkopolis, issue of May 3-9). People skipped work, school, everything. Why did they do it? Well, they were demanding rights for illegal immigrants. That's right: illegal. Criminals. Plain and simple.
This absolutely blew my mind. We have people marching in the streets, demanding rights of people who have absolutely no business being here. If you are in this country illegally, no rights for you. Period. If you try to cross our borders illegally, we have every right to grab your butt and deport you back to your country.
I understand America is the land of immigrants. We're all immigrants. I believe that if you want to come here, come on in. The more, the merrier. But if you do, please come legally. Obey our laws. Get citizenship. Learn our language.
My ancestors came here from Germany in the 19th century. They learned English. They went to school. They obeyed the law. They knew that, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
If people are going to continue to march in the streets for the rights of these criminals, I fear they truly are missing the big picture.
— Gregory Blosser, Silverton
Correction
In last week's CityScapes insert, the cover story about the rehabbed Clifton bungalow featured an incorrect byline. The article's writer is actually Kara Gebhart Uhl.
