A FITTING HOME
Dear Mayor Abramson, Councilman Tandy, Councilman Owen and Mr. Fischer: I just wanted to take a moment to voice my support for the acquisition of the former Mercy Academy campus by Wayside Christian Mission. Unfortunately, I no longer live in the Highlands, so I can’t express my support through my signature on a petition. However, as a member of the Catholic community and the father of a prospective Mercy student, I felt compelled to express my support. According to Mercy’s own website, “Over a century ago, Catherine McAuley began the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland to meet the needs of the uneducated, the poor and the sick, especially women and children.” I can think of no better legacy of the Sisters of Mercy than for their former home to become the new home to Wayside Christian Mission, an organization that shows compassion, support and, dare I say, mercy to the most marginalized members of our community. The fact that they intend to use the old Mercy Academy campus to house and minister to homeless women and children is especially befitting the Sisters of Mercy legacy. I was disappointed to find that you gentlemen oppose this move. I’m especially disappointed that Councilman Owen opposes it. I have always considered him to be representative of the Highlands’ spirit as well as its elected representative. Whether it was eschewing an automobile by riding the Eastern Parkway bus to U of L and riding his bike downtown, or speaking passionately and intelligently about Louisville’s historic waterfront long before the Waterfront Development project was a reality, he has always seemed to demonstrate that intellectual and somewhat eclectic character that epitomizes the Highlands. I have always thought of him as someone who was more concerned with people and historic legacies than property values and misperceptions of increased crime based on fear and ignorance. I understand that you all may feel you are representing the position of your constituents on this issue. However, there comes a time when elected representatives must choose to lead their constituents rather than merely echo their voices. It is time to use your bully pulpit to give voice to the voiceless and find a way to make this move agreeable to all concerned.
Steve D. Hiland Jr., Louisville
LEO GROUPIE GIVES LOVE
Disclaimer: I didn’t vote for the LEO Weekly Readers’ Choice this year. Forgetfulness and out-of-townness are my excuses. However, after reviewing the winners (Sept. 24 issue), I was terribly disappointed with the results of the category Best Reason to Read LEO. Now, I enjoy geeking out with the News of the Weird as much as the next person and can probably credit 25 percent of my weekly hipster activities to the LEO’s entertainment news and event listings. But is LEO’s readership (and the city of Louisville, for that matter) really that mindless? Seriously, no mention of cutting-edge news stories? Nothing about risk-taking op-ed columns that dig deep into local and national issues? What about an intelligent, quippy and brazen writing staff composed of new kids and veterans alike? If the majority of you people are reading LEO for the fun stuff and not the actual news content, then you’re tragically missing out on Louisville’s only source for fearless, credible and investigative journalism (I see you, unidentified daily newspaper). With the risk of sounding like a groupie, I’m proud Louisville has the Georges, the Baileys and the Joneses giving their best to keep our minds from atrophying and doing justice to the craft of journalism. OK, I’m finished with my absentee ballot — you can go back to your crossword puzzles and guffawing at stories of least competent criminals.
Josh Jennings, Louisville
SERIOUS CLEAVAGE?
I enjoy reading LEO every week. It serves as a touchstone for me and my community. I am sure it serves that purpose for many members of our great community. However, as I was reading the Readers’ Choice Awards (LEO Weekly, Sept. 24), I was caught off guard by the blatant sexism that was on the list. Best News Cleavage? Seriously. This is an affront to all women. Where is Best News Bulge? Or Best News Male Butt? These women have worked hard to be taken seriously as journalists so that they can represent their community to the best of their abilities. This slap in the face makes it seem like they should only be reporting on quilting bees, cat shows or the latest in Tupperware. It is exactly this frat-house mentality that makes young girls who read your paper begin to have eating disorders and save their babysitting money for breast implants. A woman is more than the perkiness of her breast tissue. I hope that other intelligent citizens of our city have sent letters or called in outrage about this sexist and disturbing category.
Patricia Blair, Louisville
Note: We considered male-appropriate sexist categories like Best News Bulge and Best News Butt. However, because news anchors sit behind desks, readers would have little chance — excepting an inadvertent off-camera moment — to adequately judge for such a category. So we included Best TV Reporter Porn ’Stache as an attempt at balance. However, our readers’ choices for that category included exactly zero men with mustaches, so the category was eliminated.
