Fumes in the kitchen: In regard to "Roma on the Cheap" [September 21], I have never heard of referring to someone in writing as a "plump, maternal" woman. How insulting, not to mention very unprofessional. I ate there four of the past seven days, and everyone mentioned how hurtful that description was of Mrs. Coreno.
Also, many people who tried to find the place did not look further east, as the address in the article was incorrect. I hope a follow-up with some kindness will be published. If not, then perhaps the crowd at Caffé Roma was right about your magazine.
Diane Herak
Westlake
Special Order
Good food at Vivo? Who knew: I've recently returned to Cleveland after three years in Philadelphia. I'm sad to see the state of the Cleveland dining scene. I've eaten at Vivo a few times since one of my all-time favorite chefs, Michael Herschman, assumed the exec chef post. I have been incredibly disappointed by the consistency.
I wasn't expecting the Pan-Asian cuisine that I admire him so deeply for, but I was expecting a decent contemporary Italian/ Mediterranean meal. This saddens me immensely, because it's obvious he doesn't have a passion for the genre he is doing now.
I'm surprised you wrote a positive review ["Old World, New Look," September 21], because I can't imagine you getting a decent meal there, unless Herschman recognized you and cooked your food himself. Anyway, I do enjoy your writing -- especially the fact that you are not afraid to write a negative review and are fair about it.
Leo Ho
Cleveland
It's All Inside
On second thought, try the front door: In regard to your recent article about dumpster-diving at JC Penney ["Best Dumpster-Diving," September 28]: There is absolutely no way to access our dumpster. Even if it were possible, everything inside is first destroyed, then compacted. The area is also monitored by closed-circuit TV 24/7, so I think you got some bad info.
Timothy Feorene
Senior Loss Prevention Manager
JC Penney Outlet Store, Akron
The News Is Everywhere
More on why Rupert Murdoch sucks: The comment by Mike McCormick [Letters, September 21], that the media would have covered voter fraud if it existed, is a good example of how few people in this country understand what corporate news is feeding them. If Mr. McCormick ventured off the flat planet presented by U.S. news, he would find an amazing amount of information. To read a newspaper or online network news from Australia, Italy, Jordan, Japan, or Reuters leads one to believe they have landed on another planet. They have pictures of a war, articles about war crimes, articles about cabinet members indicted in foreign countries, and during the elections, articles that made us look like a Third World dictatorship, exposing election fraud.
The media corporations feed us a censored version of the news. They are basically Republican-owned. This information is available by tracing the ownership. Anything that reflects poorly on the boss (the President) gets filtered. The local newspaper is headed by a high-level Republican who has his people on a leash.
Regarding the media being all over anything, the local weeklies have been breaking all the news lately. Regarding proof of election fraud, how about sending voters to an empty building? How about telling eligible voters they could not vote? I was an independent observer in Lucas County and called in federal attorneys at one of the precincts to stop the Republican observer inside the hall from sending people out. I have a picture of a precinct worker with a Bush sticker on his pickup truck loading unsealed ballot boxes.
The bottom line is that a high percentage of people are sucked in by the flat-earth society. Those of us who have gone over the edge are now making a lot of noise about the truth.
Anthony Weishar
Fairview Park
A Glenville Guy
But Ted Ginn is more, and less: There's no doubt that Ted Ginn is a dedicated coach and a Glenville guy to the core ["Thrill in the 'Ville," September 21]. What your article fails to mention is that he played his inside track with Len Jackson in the '90s, that he wants to open an academy even though, like every other teacher-coach in the city, he doesn't have a bachelor's degree, and that he has recruited shamelessly and went verbally ghetto on any coach who dared to call his shtick.
Ted is a fine motivator and a diligent man, but no other solid coach in the city has been given the sweet deal he has. Roye Kidd, Jerry Stueber, Al Valencisi, and a number of others did the job right, and we continually got screwed on schedules and facilities.
That Glenville's players are flourishing makes me glad. That Glenville is a powerhouse is no surprise. That Ted Ginn is now healthy makes me happy. Sadly, there are some programs in the city so poorly run that a program like Glenville's will definitely draw talent. But ask University of Akron coach J.D. Brookhart about his visits to South in 1997-'98, when he recruited at Pitt. South, East, East Tech, JFK, and Glenville were all on his routing map. Now, Cleveland's consolidated. And in the big picture, part of that is a shame.
Pat Snee
Head Football Coach, South High, 1996-1999
Mentor
Clarification
In last week's Best of Cleveland issue, "Best Bar Boxing" stated that Annabell's charges clubgoers $5 to watch folks duke it out in the basement. In fact, the $5 was merely a suggested donation for an Akron rugby team fund-raiser. The bar's boxing events are now free.
