Letters

Investigative Lead
The rest of the story: Kudos to John Dougherty for "Blasphemous Backlash" (January 29)! The article was very informative and well-balanced.

Mr. Dougherty, while presenting Ross Chatwin as a brave soul willing to stand up to Warren Jeffs, also gave the readers the "rest of the story" when he mentioned that Chatwin had attempted to lure two teenage girls as his other wives.

I was also impressed with the information Mr. Dougherty provided concerning the Colorado City School Board. I guess the term "conflict of interest" doesn't exist in their vocabulary! It would appear that there may be possible grounds for criminal fraud charges against some school board members and administrators.

New Times took the lead with the story of the polygamous cult of the FLDS in Colorado City and it continues to set the pace for everyone else in the news media. Keep the heat on!

Glen Chern
Phoenix

Medical Practice
Lien on me: I found your article interesting but also somewhat inaccurate ("Double Hit," Amy Silverman, January 15). It seems the laws should be changed to protect all of us from uninsured motorists like the one who hit the victim in your story. The hospital is not to blame. They are trying to heal these folks and expect to be paid for their services. They need these lien laws to be paid. Far too many accident victims receive a settlement and never pay the medical provider. Hospitals, doctors and chiropractors need to treat and not chase patients all over town to get what they deserve. They are not detectives. I prefer my doctor concentrate on my care and not have to worry about collecting from folks who maybe have never seen that amount of money. Let's go after the real problems: uninsured motorists, greedy lawyers and lazy people who expect the insurance settlement to be easy money!

Dale Shephard
Via e-mail

Off the Record
Taking stock: At first glance, I thought the article was going to be only about how Zia's selection is pitiful ("Spun Out," Brendan Joel Kelley, January 15). I never realized they were in such disarray! Then again, I guess I should have been clued in by the recent upheavals from old locations and remodelings. The big thing to me is I used to go there exclusively for used or rare vinyl records and they used to be pretty selective. Now it seems they'll take just about anything! Especially the 40th Street and Thunderbird locale. They're so overstocked, I could barely flip through the LPs! Want cassettes? Might as well forget it. Either they don't carry them anymore or the selections are priced at 25 cents for acts most of you have never heard of! They sell mostly CDs now and they even overprice those, like they're selling diamonds from London Gold or such.

The workers are younger and could more than likely take or leave their jobs. The '80s and '90s were Zia's golden age; today they're a faint shadow in a big desert. Won't you please, please help Z? Anyone?

Name withheld by request

A proud employee: I am an underpaid, unhappy and musically handicapped employee of Zia Records. I say this having just read your article that was so flattering to the hardworking, music-loving employees of Zia. We bust our asses every day trying to keep this company from becoming a Sam Goody or Best Buy. You have insulted everything that this company means to us. You may not realize Zia is a family.

Zia carries all genres of music, yes, including Nickelback and Disturbed. We do also carry Desaparecidos. Sorry if Tempe was out of stock when you visited. Maybe you were looking in the wrong section. We carry numerous "indie" bands as well as underground hip-hop.

But that isn't the point. We all want Brad Singer's dream to stay alive. This is why we work every day for minimum wage. The dream is alive in every damn employee in this company. We don't just alphabetize and run the registers. We eat, sleep and breathe the music.

As for all of us hating our jobs, maybe you haven't taken a chance to ask us our view. Yes, I hate my job because it is a job, but I love my manager, I love the customers, I love the music we play. I have worked for Zia for two years and I don't regret one day of it.

Rikki Hale
Via e-mail

Territorial Concerns
Money issues: Thank you so much for Robert Nelson's painstaking reportage on George Johnson's depredations ("Big Bad Developer," January 22). Please follow up with any news regarding Pinal County's decisions regarding La Osa Ranch and any national efforts to stop further destruction of the area.

I join those who hope our governmental authorities have the moral courage to back away from the Johnson bribery machine. Money is tight all over, but a sizable chunk of whatever has been allocated to Pinal County law enforcement should be diverted to this case. You have shown that tribal, state and federal governments have much at stake in this as well.

Thanks again for a great piece of journalism and a significant contribution to the local culture and environment.