Letters to the Editor

Is courtesy dead?
The Editor:
The other day I went to use the ATM. Less than 10 feet from it, a young man in a hooded sweatshirt lounged against the wall.
I waited a few minutes, then asked if he was going to use the machine. �No,� he said. I waited a few more minutes, then observed that, �it makes people uncomfortable when a person hangs around an ATM.� Nothing - so I left.
I did not think the young man was there with ill intent, but the question arises. Is courtesy dead? Are we raising a generation that has no respect for privacy?
George Tranberg
Blaine

Welcome the business
The Editor:
I almost laughed out loud when I read the letter from Jo Slivinski about �scare tactics� concerning the proposed rezoning for the spa in Birch Point, because if anyone is using �scare tactics� it is those opposed to the proposal. They seem to feel that a small private spa will mushroom into wild commercialism, heavy traffic and rampant growth.
Nearby Birch Bay Village has restricted building codes, but our board is open to �variances� to allow individual attention to individual building concerns. I am sure the Whatcom council can come up with some kind of restrictions so that the Neighbors of Birch Point will not have to put up with strip malls and McDonalds on the block any time soon.
We should welcome such a quiet tasteful business to our area and be pleased that growth can proceed in a dignified manner.
Three cheers for Kathy Berg who is not willing to be swayed by the scare tactics of a vocal few and who is willing to go out and investigate the situation personally rather than be swept up by those who seem to feel they speak for all of us in the area.
Many of us who never dreamed that there would be a problem with such a proposal have been silent. Hopefully the council will understand that many neighbors of Birch Point do not share the views of Ms. Slivinski.
Linda Clark
Birch Bay

Head out to the play
The Editor:
Blaine high school�s drama program is gearing up for a two show run of a showcase of scenes and monologues. Since November, the troupe has been meeting and rehearsing as many as five days a week.
For the nearly 20 students involved, it�s been hectic. Five have prepared monologues, as well as participating in one or several of the six scenes and three dance numbers to be showcased. They have studied styles from Shakespeare to conceptual playwrights David Ives and Christopher Durang, exploring topics from the traditional love and death to frustration at the DMV and Leon Trotsky.
Much of the rehearsal process has been student driven. As a part of his senior project, Josh Maschado has taken on a directorial role in the production. Students were also given the opportunity to select their own pieces.
Included in the show will be selections from Shakespeare�s �Hamlet,� �Richard III,� and �A Midsummer Night�s Dream.� Newer works will include two Ives plays �Sure Thing,� and �Variations on the Death of Trotsky,� both comedies from his collection, �All in the Timing,� and two Durang pieces, �DMV Tyrant,� and a large ensemble piece, �Actor�s Nightmare,� which follows a non-actor�s struggle to assume roles in various well-known plays he has never rehearsed.
Audiences will be treated, too, to variation in the dance numbers. The students have put together a hip hop number, a swing dance and a scene from �Grease.�
The zero budget show has served as a creative outlet for drama students anxious to perform in the interim between last fall�s production, �Servant of Two Masters,� and the upcoming April show, �The Man Who Came Together.� Proceeds from the showcase will go to fund the spring production. Performances are Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21, at 7 p.m. at the PAC. Admission is by donation.
Mikael Kenoyer
Blaine

War on words

Dear Editor:
President Bush recently made the remark that his administration �looked at the intelligence and we saw a danger. Members of Congress looked at the same intelligence, and they saw a danger. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence and it saw a danger. We reached a reasonable conclusion that Saddam Hussein was a danger.�
Congressman Kucinich points out that Bush misstates the facts. Says Kucinich, �I looked at the same so-called intelligence and did not see a danger�and I convinced 125 additional member of Congress to join me in opposing Bush�s illegal, immoral and ill-conceived war....I do see danger: but the danger I see is in our continuing to occupy a country and in selling off its assets to the highest bidder�as long as that bidder is an American company. And I see a grave and serious danger in a President who continues to lie to the American people and to the world about the reasons this country embarked on this illegal war.�
Please visit www.kucinich.us.
Rita Weinstein
Bellingham

Letters Policy
The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters should be limited to 10 names. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please send your letter to:
225 Marine Drive, Blaine, WA 98230 or fax 360/332-2777.
E-mail:editor@thenorthernlight.com

Letters Policy

The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor; however, the opinions expressed are not those of the editor. Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters must not exceed 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. A fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published.

Please email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com