Mailbox

[September 19th, 2007] A THICK SLICE OF FART-DEVIL It is unfortunate that both Mike Thelin and David Schargel [“Eat Me,” Sept. 12] perpetuate an etymological myth, especially when the real origin of the word “pumpernickel” is much funnier than a story about Napoleon’s horse. “Pumpernickel” is obviously of Germanic origin; both Merriam-Webster and American Heritage trace it to New High German “pumpern” (fart), and “Nickel” (devil, as in “Old Nick”). The coarse bread, being difficult to digest, was a “fart-devil.”

Jefferson Ranck

Instructor, writing, humanities and literature

Portland Community College

HOSE ENVY Could you answer one question about your “Hydro Hogs” story [Sept. 12, 2007]? Are you upset about water waste, or simply looking for a convenient proxy for an attack on the wealthy? The latter would explain your attenuated scorn of “hogs” who engage in philanthropy, as well as your enthusiastic furnishing of details on automobiles, fences, and property assessments.

And while I enjoy (jealous?) vitriol as much as the next guy, you botched a chance to discuss an important issue in a meaningful way. A couple of considerations: Is Portland’s below-national-average water use household really that impressive given above-average rainfall and below-average temperature? Do Portlanders with small homes (and even bikes) ever waste water by say, watering the street or taking long showers? Finally, the Water Bureau can (and should) charge whatever they want for water use, including using punitive tariffs for gluttony. Then the high water bills of your “hogs” can support system overhead that benefits us all.

There is a moral component to resource use, and we need a water ethic just as much as we need a land ethic. But bellicose journalism invites dismissal of an

important issue.

Ray Hartwell

Southeast Brooklyn Street

WHERE THE WATER FLOWS LIKE CHAMPAGNE I enjoyed your article about “Hydro Hogs” but found the property owners’ biographies better reading than their water usage. It’s interesting to learn what career paths people have followed to be able to afford those kind of water bills.

Ed Hausafus

Southeast Judd Road

OLD SCHOOL It was nice to see that Willamette Week took the time to list some of the colleges and universities that serve the Portland area in the Aug. 22 special publication “Schooled.”

What is a little disturbing is that WW didn’t take the time to contact any of the colleges, or at least Mount Hood Community College, to get an update or the latest information about the college for this piece.

Here are some corrected facts your readers should know: MHCC is the only community college in the area that did not raise tuition this year; MHCC has the third-lowest tuition among the four community colleges in the metro area; and the college hired 12 full-time instructors this summer, of which seven are new positions.

I would hope WW works at providing the latest facts when writing these special publications and provide their readers the right information.

Al Sigala

Director of Media&Public Relations

Mount Hood Community College

Editor’s note: The figures provided in the “Schooled” writeup concerned a 10-year trend toward lower enrollment and higher tuition. Kudos to MHCC for its recent success in increasing faculty and holding tuition steady.