Letters: Some ‘Valleys Visions’ left off the list

I am, and have been for almost 50 years, a great booster of the San Fernando Valley and read Christopher Reynolds’ feature [“Valley Visions,” April 24] with great anticipation. He obviously cannot cover everything, but I did notice the absence of a major presence in the Valley — Cal State Northridge. If CSUN didn’t fit the story because it is not an entertainment destination, surely the magnificent new Valley Performing Arts Center is. It dominates Nordhoff Street (at Lindley Avenue) and is a source of enormous pride, not just to CSUN, but to all the citizens of the Valley who can now attend first-rate performances in this beautiful, acoustically exceptional theater. How could Reynolds have passed it by?

Joy Picus

Reseda

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Contrary to popular belief, the Valley is alive and well, thriving in our new cultural center at CSUN. In addition, we have good restaurants such as Pinot Bistro, Cafe Bizou, Raphael and some of the best Japanese food in L.A.

Reva Biers

Tarzana

Don’t accept ‘hidden fees’

In the response to Catharine Hamm’s “Hidden fees” [On the Spot, April 24], she states that taxes and/or fees “add up, and you can’t do anything about them.” I heartily disagree with the last part.

In December, my husband and I had plans to go to England for two weeks. When I shopped for airfares, I found round-trip, nonstop tickets to London for about $480 a person, but taxes and fees added about $440 more to each ticket. So what did we do? We canceled our plans and stayed stateside instead.

If more people protest these fees by changing their travel plans and then making noise about it, maybe the governments and air carriers that benefit will realize that we’re not gonna take it anymore” and stop gouging travelers.

Wendy Wainwright

Los Angeles

Tell travelers the full story

Regarding U.S. State Department travel warnings: As a representative of Ixtapan Spa Hotel & Golf Resort in Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico, we examine every word in every State Department issuance on Mexico.

To be fairer to Mexico, newspapers should consider a more balanced use of State Department copy. Why not mention actual phrases from State analyses or do an article on why it is important for tourists to read State warnings along with headlines?

Are we being responsible neighbors by not telling the full story? Should the State Department warn Mexicans from visiting New York City, which had four to five times more murders in 2010 than Americans killed in Mexico the same year?

Phyllis Stoller

Marketing

Ixtapan Spa Hotel & Golf Resort, Mexico