Publication Date: Friday, December 02, 2005
ReaderWire
ReaderWire
(December 02, 2005)
Movie-venue dearth
The termination of the film program at Spangenberg Theatre is a sad event for anyone concerned about the dearth of quality movie venues on the Peninsula.
Over the years the Spangenberg folks have shown everything from classics such as "Lawrence of Arabia" to eclectic foreign productions such as "Run Lola Run." Very often the films shown there were either not screened anywhere else in the Bay Area, or at the very least required a drive to San Jose or San Francisco.
Contrary to Gunn Principal Noreen Likins, I found the theater to be well maintained and, although I am not a fan of buttered popcorn, I never noticed an odor there. On the positive side, the film screenings brought to my attention the other interesting productions that are held at Spangenberg and the decorations brightened up what was a drab lobby.
Given the fiscal crunch that schools always seem to be in, I would think that the school administrators would be interested in efforts to generate extra cash, especially when the program expands community awareness of other school-based arts endeavors.
Many thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Spangenberg film program for the many fine movies they brought to the Palo Alto area. Your work will be missed.
Eric Gilbertson
Oakhurst Place, Menlo Park
Setting bad example
How sad that a beautiful facility like Spangenberg Auditorium will be dark because of an unresolved dispute. Showing excellent films has been a service to the community.
Would not a better example for the students be to successfully negotiate a solution agreeable to all parties in the dispute?
Joan Barbour
Westridge Drive, Portola Valley
Review off the mark
As a former food writer for national and regional magazines, I am writing to express my dismay at Dale Bentson's mean-spirited, uninformed, and poorly written attack on Caffe Riace (Weekly, Nov. 25).
The restaurant is a delightful place where many of us enjoy wonderful meals on a regular basis; it is certainly not deserving of such a poisoned pen. In his review, Mr. Bentson sneers at every aspect of the restaurant without any awareness of the welcoming atmosphere, the obvious sense of fun and the Carrubba family's generous spirit.
In fact, Mr. Bentson cannot find a good word to say about what he himself describes as a popular restaurant. Surely he doesn't imagine that in this competitive town such popularity hasn't been earned.
Even when he can't find anything in particular to complain about, Mr. Bentson fails to say anything positive: "Not overly sweetened" or "unremarkable." He even complains that the tomato sauce is too red.
Caffe Riace uses high-quality ingredients to create fresh flavors without undue fuss. Mr. Bentson's "yearning" for "more pungent" tastes leads me to believe that he is more interested in overwritten prose than in Italian food.
Nancy Read
Kipling Street, Palo Alto
Stanford inclusion?
Exclusion of Stanford residents from Foothills Park seems especially egregious since so many of us walk the Dish and otherwise enjoy access to Stanford's beautiful land and facilities. Shouldn't we at least welcome them into our club?
Might we also open the park to others during times when usage is low, say Labor Day through Memorial Day, or when clocks are set to PST? If consequences are tolerable, we could then extend access periods, bit by bit, excluding others only during peak usage periods.
This approach would allow us to evaluate and control possible damage to the ecosystem, the only unselfish argument that seems to have validity.
Jon Richards
Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto
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