World of Warcraft no life

Gabriel Francisco wrote a great story ("Mind Rot," Sept. 3). I appreciate this myself, since I can easily relate. I have been a gamer for half my life but realized I did not do much else at times and really missed opportunities that were presented to me. I have not been a gamer for about a year and rarely have picked up the controller or looked at the latest ad on the latest hardware.

I believe the future of gaming will be quite incredible due to new technologies such as sound manipulation, holographic tech and the ability of one's mind to give commands. Look out, we might all become zombies, if we have not already gotten there.

Samuel Bass

Napa

Valerie Brown for first district

I am a life-long Sonoma Valley resident, and have personally known many of the previous First District supervisors.

When Valerie Brown was first elected as our supervisor, she made a difference that benefited Sonoma Valley area residents in a very positive way. In the last six years, over $54 million has been applied to the First District for purchases of Open Space. Valerie has also helped the Sonoma Valley get our fair share of dollars for promoting tourism, an important part of our economy.

I really appreciate that Valerie stands up for the preservation of agriculture, environmental interests and business concerns of all. From personal experience, I have found that Valerie listens to all constituents and has always demonstrated an open-door policy to discuss the topics of concern.

While not all decisions or choices a supervisor makes may be popular ones, with Valerie, I know that she has done so because they are ones that she believes are the best for our district and community. That is a mark of a true leader.

We need a strong and experienced voice that represents our district well. We do not want to start all over with the First District. We need to build on what we have and make it better for all. 

My vote is with Valerie Brown.

Jeff Kunde

Kenwood

Man of mystery?

Some people think that Fifth District Supervisor candidate Efren Carrillo is being unfairly judged by the company he keeps. But how can voters evaluate a candidate who has never held an elective or appointive office and thus has never registered a public vote on any critical public issue?

Mr. Carrillo is a promising young man, but he is starting a political career by running for the highest office in the county. Since Sonoma County Supervisors control all the land use in the county, including the Open Space District and County Water Agency operations, our whole quality of life is in their hands.

Given the impact of the office he seeks, Mr. Carrillo's positions are sadly vacuous. On forest protection, he says that he will "bring in the experts." He will help people plant 5,000 redwood trees. (But Preservation Ranch will cut thousands!) His position on continued Russian River gravel mining remains a mystery. And Mr. Carrillo is the only Supervisor candidate who has not answered the Sonoma County Water Coalition's questionnaire.

Since Mr. Carrillo apparently knows little about Sonoma County resource issues, it's only natural to assume that he would turn to his supporters for advice. Unfortunately, his principal advisors include a gravel industry lobbyist and a former county supervisor who works for Preservation Ranch. Voters should be concerned about their influence and the advice they would provide.

Jane E. Nielson

Sebastopol

Dept. of Arrrgh

The photo accompanying last week's review of the Raven Player's production of The Foreigner ("Plenty of Tongue,' Oct. 15) actually depicts the three young actors from Youth in Revolt, the Nick Twisp tale currently onstage at the Glaser Center.

In further tales of the brain-challenged, we tempted fate by producing our Best of the North Bay Readers Poll Handbook on Oct. 8, giving rich opportunity to make the same mistakes we made in March all over again! For example, chiropractor Jacob Quihuis spells his name thusly and the Best Lingerie Shop, honorable mention, is Ma Cherie et Moi Lingerie (formerly Chanelle et Moi Lingerie in Windsor). It can be found at 2332 Magowan Drive, in the Montgomery Village, Santa Rosa. 707.573.1103. We can be found sitting under our desk.

The Ed.

The Sly Stone of Fakt-czeching

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