Readers comment on the redesign of The Dispatch, take up ink on
the issue of tattoos in the high school yearbook, and decry
negative campaigning
Very much appreciates the paper’s new look and the local content
Dear Editor:
I have been a subscriber to the Gilroy Dispatch for approximately four years. I wanted to congratulate your staff on the recent changes to our local paper.
Despite winning numerous awards for journalism excellence, the Gilroy Dispatch team does not rest on their laurels. They continue to look at ways to improve the readability of the paper and keep it community-friendly. Striving to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing world of news reporting, especially in this age of technology, is a challenge.
As a former columnist, I miss being part of the weekly features, one that is complemented with local citizens and syndicated writers – a little something for everyone.
I like the strong focus on local news, but there is nice balance with national and world news, too. The face-lift to the front page is wonderful. The layout, use of color and increased use of photos all make for an inviting newspaper – something that has become part of my morning routine.
Keep up the good work!
David Cox, Gilroy
Editor’s note: Well, we did have to hand out a new-look Golden Quill award sometime … and we are very proud of our redesign, so pardon our self promotion. Our former wine columnist swears he was not drinking when he wrote this – and it gives us a wonderful opportunity to thank Katherine Filice and Bryce Hendry at Articulate Solutions for their truly outstanding work in the newspaper’s redesign.
School sanctioned tattoo page in yearbook a new low for Gilroy High
Dear Editor,
I knew our culture, academic world, and society were in a downward spiral; but I did not know it had hit a new low in the Gilroy high school until I saw the Dispatch article on tattoos in the Wednesday, Oct. 24 issue.
I can understand the students getting tattoos, as it is due to peer pressure. But the faculty, cooperating with the fad, indicates a new low for our educational system.
When I was a medical student in 1946, we were taught that tattoos were indicative of low-class citizens, often found on skid row. These people were often merchant seamen who got drunk in a China port, visited the local brothel, and ended up in a tattoo parlor. That tattoo would prove his manhood. If a patient had a tattoo, we were taught to test him for syphilis. There was a close correlation between tattoos and venereal disease. We had little to offer the syphilitic individual in way of treatment. It was the great “pox”, often leading to severe disability (bone destruction and death).
Times really have not changed except that we now have penicillin, an antibiotic that kills the spirochete of syphilis and prevents the ravage of the disease. Today, the role of the tattoo appears problematic. Thank goodness for penicillin!
J. G. McCormack, Gilroy
‘Hit’ piece directed at the mayor can’t counter respect he’s earned
Dear Editor,
Mark Zappa’s hit piece in the Dispatch on page nine of today’s paper against Mayor Al Pinheiro has no place in local elections.
Gilroy voters should reject candidates who try to win office by circulating false information with negative campaigning.
This desperate attempt to smear Mayor Pinheiro just shows that Craig Gartman’s supporters will say anything to get him elected.
Gartman simply can’t counter the fact that Mayor Al Pinheiro has earned the respect and vote of far more local leaders and residents than he has.
Mayor Al also has the support of three past mayors, the mayors of Hollister and Morgan Hill, all of his colleagues sitting on the council ( with the exception of his opponent!), all seven planing commissioners, the majority of the school district board of trustees, five of the six candidates for city council, many community members and local organizations.
To me, this reflects support for someone who has worked with diverse groups in our community, has earned their trust and respect and they now show it by wanting him to return as their mayor.
Take the fact that the existing council members are choosing him and also five out of the six candidates are choosing Mayor Al as the one they would like to work with. I don’t believe Mayor Al is perfect – as nobody is, however, I do know that his heart is in making the decisions that are best for Gilroy. I, too, agree with the many supporters that he should continue what he has started and give us another four years of his unselfish commitment to the office of mayor.
Emilio B. de Sousa, Gilroy
