THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9605310177
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 60 lines
Citizens should stop griping about amphitheater
It seems as if every time I open the paper some citizen of Virginia Beach is whining about the amphitheater situation. Citizens complaining about prices, parking, ticket availability, talent selection and anything else imaginable. I have a reality check for these people. The City of Virginia Beach does not have control over what acts are booked, or the price and availability of tickets (except the parking fee, a paltry $1.50 per ticket).
It seems as if these citizens feel they are owed special consideration simply because they live in Virginia Beach. Why? ``Tax Dollars?'' ``Our'' tax dollars only partially funded the amphitheater. Our taxes were not raised to fund the amphitheater either. If the amphitheater was not built, that tax money would have been spent on something much less entertaining. The city will make our money back in a few short years.
The citizens of Virginia Beach should be thankful that they don't have to travel to Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh or one of the many run-down venues of Northern Virginia and Maryland. The ticket situation in those areas is no different.
I have been traveling to see concerts for 10 years. In that time, prices have always been outrageous, and acquiring tickets has always been a cause for ulcers. Anyone who has seen a big-time concert in the last decade knows that.
Cellar Door provides the acts, Ticketmaster sells the tickets and the City of Virginia Beach simply provides the site. If you don't like it, don't go.
John B. Overstreet
May 8
Justice eludes dog owner
I was recently charged with animal nuisance by neighbors and had the pleasure of going to General District Court due to those charges. The people who brought the complaint before the court convinced the judge that my dog was vicious and a threat to the neighborhood children, so he was ordered to be destroyed. To say that I was shocked by that decision is putting it mildly.
While I was waiting for my case to be heard, there were several rulings handed down that I found rather surprising due to the nature of the charges in question. One was a man charged with the possession of illegal drugs in a school zone and the other involved illegal drug possession and a concealed weapon charge. Both men were given suspended sentences and ordered to do a certain number of community service hours. It strikes me as odd that my dog is considered a threat to society and ordered to be senselessly killed, but those two men are let back on the streets. They pose a greater threat to the children not only in my neighborhood but to children everywhere.
What kind of justice system allows criminals to go free, but orders a family pet to be destroyed and not even be given a chance to see if perhaps some training would help?
I lost my faith in our justice system that day and learned a lot about people in general through this whole experience. As for the people who brought the charges against me, I feel that they set a poor example for the children involved in this on how to resolve conflicts with others. Instead of coming to me and talking about the problem they ran to court with it, and now my children are losing a beloved friend.
Michelle J. Edwards
May 14 by CNB