Support art in Bellevue, make art in Bellevue, don't just bring it here.

Have some fun

People at the zoo: What could be more wholesome?

Editor, The Times:

I was brought up to believe that racism is abhorrent. I spent a number of years living in East Africa in the late '60s, where my friends and schoolmates were African, Asian and European. It was a unique time when many of us felt that almost any human injustice could be overcome.

However, I was chagrined to learn that a group of students and professors at the University of Washington, where I am now a graduate student, feel they have the right to levy their opprobrium on the Woodland Park Zoo, its visitors and a Maasai employee they could not possibly know ["A misguided use of zoo guides?" Times, Local News, Aug. 8].

If these individuals truly cannot not see the difference between equating a man with an animal and utilizing the singular skills of a Maasai to describe what life is like on the plains of Serengeti — one of the last refuges of the large ungulates of Africa and the nomadic herdsmen who have lived among them for eons — then perhaps they are just a little blinded by their own jaundiced view/racial correctness.

Where Catherine Claiborne and her teachers see a black man employed in an animal exhibit, most visitors certainly see nothing of the kind. They see a knowledgeable man, and an ambassador from an exotic land, where both the wildlife and the way of life of his own people are in danger of extinction. This is what I see, and it is what many Maasai fear.

All this is apparently lost on this myopic group of people who have unjustly accused the zoo of racism. This kind of attack is little different from the kind of ugliness we have heard from the Daughters of the American Revolution, the John Birch Society and their ilk.

So, even though I rarely go to the zoo, I will vote "yes" on Proposition 2 [which would, among other things, support the zoo], and I will make a donation to the Woodland Park Zoological Society, because it appears to be employing innovative and effective means to save wildlife around the world and fight for human rights simultaneously.

— Stephen Krival, Seattle

Reserve seats now

About the Bellevue Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE) project ["Bellevue's PACE again raising money," Local News, Aug. 3], a new 2,000-seat performing-arts facility in downtown Bellevue: I think this idea is the completely wrong one for what our arts community needs right now.

What Bellevue and the Eastside need is not the largest theater in the Northwest, but smaller theaters that can actually support local performance groups, and not solely house tours. There is no way that any local groups (especially on the Eastside, where there are virtually no theater, dance or music groups to begin with) would have the money or resources to rent a 2,000-seat performing-arts facility.

PACE will not employ or support any arts in the area, but will support the touring companies and visiting artists. And why do we need this theater? We already have more than eight Broadway shows touring in Seattle every year, as well as the Paramount and Moore theaters housing dance performances, as well as KeyArena and other concert venues.

Why not use the ridiculous amount of money proposed to be spent on this massive theater to build two (or three! Or four!) smaller theaters that can actually be used by local theater and dance companies. Or if the idea of this monstrous complex isn't going away, set up new resident theater, music and dance companies in the building and make it a place to create our art, not just showcase someone else's.

Support art in Bellevue, make art in Bellevue, don't just bring it here.

— Brandon Ivie, artistic director, Contemporary Classics, Seattle

Meet me at what's fair

Seattle City Councilman Richard McIver's claim that the proposed King County parks levies "aren't fair to Seattle" ["Two parks levies would raise $217M," Local News, Aug. 8] suggests he doesn't use our wonderful county parks system.

If he walked the Burke-Gilman Trail, hiked around Cougar Mountain or enjoyed a concert at Marymoor Park, he'd run into fellow Seattle residents like me who use and appreciate our regional parks and trails and will be voting to preserve and expand them.

— Jon Scholes, Seattle

A date with Mother Goose

As a pediatrician who has often shared the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) recommendation against TV for young children, I hope parents will note University of Washington research demonstrating the negative impact of baby videos on language development ["Videos hardly creating baby Einsteins, research finds," Local News, Aug. 7].

The simple message that all parents, grandparents and other caregivers need to know is that babies are born learning, and they need loving adults who talk and read with them. Instead of a DVD, reach for a book, and cuddle while you read and talk together.

Creating a love of books helps children develop early language skills, and prepares them for school and later reading. Many doctors "prescribe" reading and give families new books through a program called Reach Out and Read.

The early-learning movement in Washington state strives to create high-quality early-learning experiences for all children, starting with parents as children's first teachers [see "Off to school — early," editorial, Aug. 1].

Despite extensive and successful marketing, baby videos are not the answer. We must all help parents and caregivers understand what helps babies learn. Buy books, not videos, as baby gifts. And support parenting and early-learning programs, such as those in our libraries. Babies will benefit, and ultimately we will too.

— Jill Sells, M.D., FAAP, director, Docs For Tots Washington State, Seattle

Thanks for the piggyback ride

The notion that bicyclists are nontaxpaying" and "don't pay for" the streets on which they "play" is utter nonsense ["Trouble on the way: Bicycle built for who?" Northwest Voices, Aug. 10].

If reader Bob Humphrey were to familiarize himself with Washington state's and Seattle's road-funding policies, he'd discover that streets like Stone Way are funded almost entirely by property and sales taxes, not fees paid just by motorists.

And since my bicycle creates much less wear-and-tear on these roads than does Humphrey's automobile, he is actually being subsidized by me!

You're welcome.

— Doug Nellis, Seattle