I am writing regarding the article “The Police and the People” in the Aug. 16 edition of the Alibi [v27 i33].One of the issues discussed was related to the criminal cases against James Stewart and Teri Sanchez. I represent Ms. Sanchez in her criminal case, and I wanted to bring your attention to some factual misstatements that have, unfortunately, become enshrined in the local media reporting on the cases.First, the article makes no distinction between the charges filed against Mr. Stewart and those filed against Ms. Sanchez: "The case involves parents Teri Sanchez and James Stewart who are facing charges of child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, human trafficking, promoting prostitution and various lesser charges." However, Ms. Sanchez has never been charged with anything except child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Given the sensational nature of the charges, it is not a small detail—yet it is consistently repeated. It is easily verified by checking court documents. Second, all of the charges (in both cases) actually concern only one child, not all three. I have always been a fan of the Alibi, and I appreciate the reporting as well as wishing to support local media. I know that the Alibi also seeks to be accurate and place itself in contrast to other media outlets which may not dig into the facts or look closely, and I hope that this clarification is helpful. Thank you very much for your attention.
Letters: Ice Ice, Baby Ice Ice, Baby
I have seen employees in Walmart and Albertsons supermarkets take frozen ice bags from the ice freezer and throw them on the dirty floor. They do this to break up the frozen cubes for customers. However, this spreads a grand army of happy, non-friendly germs to the buyer.Today, I alerted the employee who did this at Walmart on Menaul, and spoke to Robin the manager. A simple barrier, such as clean newspaper or other paper placed on the floor would do the trick. I explained to Robin that I am trying to keep people healthy. She assured me something will be done. Customers need to pay attention. Knowledge is power.
Letters: Gas Vs. Glass Gas Vs. Glass
For many years I have been trying to do the right thing with glass recycling. The nearest recycling bin has been removed and now it has become increasingly difficult to do so since I have to warehouse the glass at home until I have enough to justify the 12 mile round trip to the nearest glass recycling bin. I have asked the city why we don’t have curbside glass recycling and the answer has been because it is too dangerous. Why is processing glass from my curbside bin more dangerous than glass from a community bin—also why are other communities (e.g. Mesa, Ariz.) able to safely provide curbside glass recycling?I feel like I am getting the run-around, so in the spirit of protest, and in order to save gas (and the attendant pollution) I have decided to put the glass in my trash bin, as I suspect the majority of people in town are already doing. Eventually the landfill will become a big enough problem that the city will be forced to take action and provide curbside glass recycling. But we’re not there yet.
Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number via email to letters@alibi.com. They can also be faxed to (505) 256-9651. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium; we regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter. Word count limit for letters is 300 words.
