Good news, bad news:
”
The paper has improved much and is now readable. I have a
comment concerning (last) Saturday’s front page. The coverage of
the high school homecoming and the 105-year-old lady was upbeat,
but why did you have the story about the child molester on the
front page?
good news, bad news: “The paper has improved much and is now readable. I have a comment concerning (last) Saturday’s front page. The coverage of the high school homecoming and the 105-year-old lady was upbeat, but why did you have the story about the child molester on the front page? It ruined the overall concept of the good news theme I think. I realize the victim’s story needed to be told, but maybe next time you can tell it without the attackers picture on there.
“OK, the comics again: They still stink. My suggestion is this: Keep Dilbert and For Better or For Worse, bring back Blondie, and lose all the rest. With the space you’d save you could bring back the local stock quotes. Thank you for listening and keep up the good work!”
Thanks for the comments. Red Phone will take them one at a time.
The Red Phone understands that the story of the child molester was not necessarily a happy one – though it was one of survival and indeed needed to be told. Note that the Dispatch does not put its front page of news together based on happy or sad “themes for the day.” The news placed on the front page is what is deemed newsworthy for that particular day based on relevance, timeliness and what the editors feel the community will most want to read about. Sometimes the news is upbeat and other times it is not.
And, are we back to the comics again? The Red Phone passes along comments received about the funny page (or not-so-funny page to some of you), but has to admit, your comment has been the most amusing yet. It sounds like you’ve really thought this out and, just like all the others, the Red Phone will make sure the appropriate editor reads your comment. (But Red Phone suggests you not hold your breath, as your suggestion would leave only three comics on the funny page!)
Thanks for reading and we’ll continue to do our best to keep up the good work. (Or the Red Phone’s not-so-good work according to the next caller …)
sick of red phone’s
sarcasm: “This is about ‘Crossing Guard Chaos.’ I just wonder why the writer of this column decided to comment about the crossing guard situation to chide the person about having too much time on their hands. We have retirees who walk their dogs around the school every day. I think the person could have answered the question without eating up so much space without admonishing the person for having too much time on their hands.”
OK, OK, Red Phone is chastised every now and then for various things. But note that the caller didn’t ask a question, simply made comments. And, as the Red Phone points out when it’s criticized for its sarcasm and personal comments, that’s what its column is about (obviously you’ve missed that). If a question is asked, Red Phone does it’s best to find an answer. But it reserves the right to comment, gripe, snicker or even recite poetry if it feels the urge. All that aside, it humbly apologizes for offending you or any others. And, let it throw in an apology too for any future comments.
one sorry stoplight: “I’m calling to report the stoplight at Santa Teresa and First Street. If you’re trying to make a left hand turn from Santa Teresa, the light will not trip unless you go in reverse, in forward, in reverse, in forward, or if another car comes up behind you. If neither one of those things happen, you just sit there forever. There’re people all the time going in reverse at that light trying to get it to trip. Thanks for the Red Phone, it’s one of my favorite columns.”
First, Red Phone left a message with Charlie Krueger with the City of Gilroy. Upon a return phone call, Krueger said the traffic signal at that location is controlled by CalTrans, and that he went ahead and contacted CalTrans about the situation. Krueger said they’d check to see if anything’s wrong with it.
“I didn’t notice anything myself driving through there, but maybe there’s some sort of glitch,” he said.
Red Phone then also called and left a message with CalTrans. So caller, Red Phone will stay on top of the issue and make sure it’s checked out.
