WW welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less. Not Afraid To Change I thought that your article about cloth versus disposable diapers ["Dispo Ball," WW, Oct. 6, 1999] was informative but gave too grim a view of washing cloth at home. I have been washing cloth diapers at home for almost a year, and every time I do laundry, I think, "This is so easy, and I am so glad about the money I am saving and the landfill space!" I think that it should be pointed out that breast-fed infants poop less often (and less smelly) than formula-fed infants--from the time my son was 4 months up to now (about a year) he has had only one poopy diaper a day. So it doesn't seem like a lot of trouble to me. I have a quick setup for dealing with poopy diapers, which I think could change some minds about home washing. In our laundry tub, I installed a short hose on the faucet with a garden-type sprayer on the end. I simply carry said diaper to the sink, spray it off and put it in a diaper pail nearby with some detergent. I have a small spray bottle of bleach water that I use to keep the sink and hose germ-free, and some hand soap and a towel there for my hands. I wash all my diapers, diaper covers and cloth diaper wipes together once a week--first on cold, then on hot--and put them in the dryer. It takes about 15 minutes of my time to load the washer, to reset it, and then to load the dryer...and presto, we have a bunch of fresh, stain-free, sweet-smelling diapers that takes about seven minutes to fold and put away. What a feeling of satisfaction! In short, I would like to say that I am a stay-at-home mom and do not judge anyone for their diaper choices. I use cloth everywhere, even on the road--on airplanes, during weeklong vacations and while camping. Russelle Baltzell Northeast Emerson Street Diaper Disservice Boo hoo hoo! Susan Wickstrom's whiny article about diapers ["Dispo Ball," WW, Oct. 6, 1999] really underscored how impractical and immature parents can be in the United States. When my daughter was born in 1997, I spent $40 on 25 cotton diapers, $40 on diaper wraps, $4 on diaper pins, $10 on wash cloths (Hey! They work better than diaper wipes!). I spend no more than $10 a month washing and drying diapers at home (less in the summer because I hang them out to dry) and about $40 a year on biodegradable detergent. Grand total: $494 for 2.5 years! Less than $200 per year! Compare this to disposables at about $730 per year, at a rate of one package of 44 disposables per week (not including trash fees). Or $676 from a diaper service, at a $13 weekly fee. So wah, wah! I have to wash diapers! But I have to wash clothes anyway! And that's time my husband and I don't have to spend away from our kid working more at some dumb job to pay for more yucky disposables that will continue to leach toxins into our soil, air and water supply even when my daughter's children's children's children are grown. Worried about herbicides in cotton diapers? Buy organic ones--they are easy enough to find, and even the most expensive cotton diapers will be far cheaper than disposables in the long run. Worried about the water you use to wash diapers? Guess what--millions of gallons of water and oil and other forms of energy go into the production of disposables. Plus, most disposables will be around for hundreds of years--long, long after the cotton ones have biodegraded. Yes, it takes a little more time to use cotton diapers, but it's not rocket science. I've traveled all over the country with my baby in them, and anybody could do the same. I never have to schlep out to buy expensive disposables or diaper wipes, and I don't have to feel guilty about screwing up the planet all the more for our kids! Jennifer Davis Southeast Brooklyn Street Trying To Find Chinatown Being a recent New York City transplant, I found your "Portland's Best Restaurants" guide [Oct. 13, 1999] to be helpful and quite accurate. The scope and quality of Portland's fare is superb, relatively speaking, in comparison to other cities of its size. I find it frustrating, however, that with so many top-grade spots for even the most finicky palette, there ain't shit as far as Chinese food goes. Even a sketchy, yellow-awning-adorned "Lucky Lantern"-type dive, in the outskirts of Queens, has a more palpable and diverse menu than anything Portland has to offer. If Bamboo's represents our finest Chinese fare, I guess I should stop looking immediately for anything better, in lieu of wasting any more money on such mediocre, banal, Americanized food-court fodder. I just find it puzzling that one can indulge in the finest prosciutto at Genoa, but a dish as simple as beef tripe and ginger over Hong Kong lo mein is nowhere to be found in Portland. This letter is a cry for help; it's meant not as a put-down but as an offer of sympathy to those who know, and a congratulatory tip of the hat to the blissful ignorance of those who don't. Adam Bayer Northwest 22nd Avenue Come As You Are This letter is written for anyone having read the recent Willamette Week dining guide ["Portland's Best Restaurants," WW, Oct. 13, 1999]. In it there was an article written by Christina Melander about restaurant dress codes ["Elegant Meals, Downtrodden Heels"]. To our horror someone from Higgins was quoted making a very inappropriate statement, alluding to the homeless as somehow less than acceptable. I can only hope that all of you share in our complete disgust for remarks of this nature. They are not funny, cute or flattering and will not be tolerated by our restaurant. Again, to any and all that have been insulted, we give our sincere apologies. By the way, our standard response to the question of appropriate dress is "whatever you are comfortable in." Paul Mallory and Greg Higgins, Owners Higgins Restaurant Boss Katz Thanks for the article on Mayor Katz and her administration ["Behind Closed Doors,"WW, Oct. 6, 1999]. I'm pleased you had the guts to take her on. Mayor Katz engages in traditional big-city politics: back-room deals, secret handshakes. While the police department engages in unconstitutional surveillance and payroll scams, while hundreds of people sleep in doorways and parks, developers get richer and richer and Portland becomes Just Another Big City. The mayor uses the latest terminology and trendy gimmicks, but it's still old-time politics. Her spin doctors have eliminated cigars, pinkie rings and tommy guns, but behind that, it's dirty politics. Peter Webster Northwest 19th Avenue - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published October 20, 1999