Easy…
Give yourselves +2 on the weekly scorecard for Janet Giampietro’s Let’s Be Friends’ (News & Features, Nov. 27). Her writing is, well, easy to love. Keep up the good work. – Lisa Kroll
Sharks Behind Bars
I read with great interest your article regarding the progress of Gov. Gilmore’s shark commission (Street Talk, Nov. 27). The governor should be commended for his strong stand against sharks. I believe I’ve come upon an idea that Commission Chair Ron Hamm should consider as a way to avoid future attacks.
Since it is known, as noted in the article, that there are 25 percent fewer sharks in the waters off Virginia’s coast in recent years, I urge that the remaining 75 percent be rounded up and incarcerated in the newly built state prisons that are currently housing out-of-state inmates. Virginia would then avoid the importation of violent offenders and also make our beaches safe. – Kay Cuppstan
Blood Wasn’t Wasted
Your recent article, OLocal Blood Supply Does Not Go To Waste (Street Talk, Nov. 13) needs clarifications.
Since the article stated that the Red Cross Ohad to throw out buckets of blood, and that we continued to collect blood in lieu of Ohaving the guts to start shutting down, and also since Style Weekly did not contact the Red Cross for a response, I write to share a few facts.
After Sept. 11 no blood-collection agency had a crystal ball to predict when the next terrorist attack might occur. President Bush, who is the honorary chairman of the American Red Cross, had also warned us that another attack was expected. If such had been levied on America, the Red Cross, because of our collections, would have been prepared to respond to the nation’s emergency blood needs.
No Red Cross donation was wasted. Every donation that met our safety and quality requirements has been or will be used to help people in some manner, including platelets to treat cancer patients, plasma and albumin for critical-care patients, red cells to treat trauma and anemia, and immune globulin to aid people with immune deficiencies.
Since Sept. 11, the Red Cross has tripled its supply of red blood cells, an effort considered essential in the wake of terrorist attacks and the ongoing threat of new ones. Prior to Sept. 11, the nationOs blood inventory was at potentially inadequate levels and now is in its best shape in history. A little over two months ago our nation had a one- to three-day blood inventory. Now, thanks to the surge in donations, Red Cross has a 10-day red blood cell supply.
The American Red Cross has been helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies for over 125 years. This creed had never before been proven so invaluable. – William A. Harrison Jr.
Vice President Public Relations
American Red Cross,
Richmond Chapter
Editor’s note: The quotes Mr. Harrison refers to were from Laura Cameron, the spokeswoman for Virginia Blood Services, which is the only nonprofit that collects blood donations for the Richmond area. The Richmond chapter of the Red Cross does not collect blood.
What Southern vote?
I was amused to read that Cody Bowles somehow thinks there is such a thing called the Southern voteO; that this coalition somehow views the NAACP as its enemy; and that Gov. Gilmore cut a deal with it to change Confederate history (Letters, Nov. 27).
It appears that some Southerners are still upset with the fact that our mighty stars and stripes triumphed during the Civil War. Others are still upset with results of the NAACP-led case Brown v. Board of Education (1954). It’s also quite obvious that many of the Southerners Bowles is referring to are still blinded by this false image of the old South as a place where both slave and master loved each other and the evil Union army invaded and raped their OfineO tradition and honor. As far as the comments on Gov. Gilmore losing the Southern vote: Maybe Bowles is upset with the realization that Southerners will still have that car tax come Christmas. – D. Lynn Davenport
