Rock Harder

Re Rocktober (Cover Story, Oct. 8): I have been a freelance promoter and advertiser in the Bay Area for two years now, and I have noticed that downtown San Jose has been lacking in entertaining nightlife events. Today, I always see the same dreary club events that offer the same types of crowds and music.

Before I turned 21, I remembered seeing a plethora of event fliers and advertisements that featured top-notch singers, bands and artists from around the world. Since then, I have always wondered why we haven't seen these types of shows on a weekly or even monthly basis. Is it because powers have shifted within the nightlife community or maybe promoters are lazier than they were four years ago? Whatever the cause may be, I believe that San Jose promoters and event coordinators need to step it up and give their audiences what they really want to see.

Michael Grammer

Santa Clara

Abominable? No, Man

Mr. Pegram is lucky ("Missionary Man," Cover Story, Oct. 1). No one ever told him his love for his wife was "an abomination."  Of course that's not true, but neither is it true that same sex love and marriage is a perversion. Moreover, he has never been kicked out of a church because of his sexual orientation. Both of these incidents have happened to me and many other gays and lesbians.

Do I wonder why this valley is so "secular"?? I will gladly be secular over fundamentalist any day.

David (Berry) West

No on 8 Volunteer

San Jose

Restore Tradition

Re "Missionary Man": I am concerned about the need to restore Traditional Marriage in the state of California. It was wrong for the court to ignore the will of 61 percent of California voters who already did.

Gays have the right to their private lives, but they do not have the right to redefine marriage for the rest of us. What gays do in their private lives is already protected by law, but I do not want children exposed to it.

I do not want public schools to teach elementary school children that gay marriage is OK. Nor do I want mandatory sex education taught under a gay marriage agenda.

Karen King

Corona del Mar

Astounded

Re "Missionary Man": Larry Pegram is fighting nature—what is he doing? This article and his beliefs astound me. Seems as though he's got something to hide.

Carri Mangelli

San Francisco

Students Hit Hard

I am disappointed with the low economy and its devastating effects on the rest of the American people. As a college student I am already struggling to afford the cost of living as well as pay for school. To make up for the large deficit we are in I have had to make cutbacks on my spending, along with many of my friends. This semester I made a budget and cut out most forms of entertainment that cost money. Loans are becoming more expensive to take out so some students might have to get a job, or take fewer classes. I feel like I have to deal with the consequences of other peoples' neglect and bad oversight. This is ridiculous and I hope the economy improves quickly.

Raquel Rivas

San Jose

VTA vs. BART

Re "BART Point ... and Counterpoint" (Fly, Oct. 8): OK, let's say somewhere in the distant future BART gets built, and comes into Santa Clara County. Who'll run it: BART, or VTA? Who'll man it: BART, or VTA union members? Who'll get the fare box receipts: BART, or VTA? Who'll honor strike picket lines: BART, or VTA? Who'll answer the questions (screams) of BART riders who get on in Alameda County (where they'll park their cars), only to get off in Santa Clara County to find that there are no buses to take them to work, school, shopping, doctors, so on—because bus service was cut back to pay for BART? At present, it appears no one is seeing the farce for the treats.

Jeff Coykendall

Los Gatos

No on B

So how is it that Santa Clara County voters are being asked to approve $50 million in additional annual sales tax levy now for "BART Operating Costs" when BART here isn't operating and won't be for another decade. That amounts to from a half-billion to a billion dollars collected during a time when the train isn't running. What is VTA going to do with our money? And why does the SJX project cost over four times what the SFX BART extension cost when it is less than twice the length and less than twice the stations? The $50 million is five times what San Mateo County pays annually for its extension. If Measure B gets voted down then we don't have to pay operating costs until the trains start running—imagine that!

Jim Stallman

Saratoga