From the Editor

As you've no doubt noticed, the Mirror has undergone a redesign. While still free, the paper now comes in a handy new format. We trust you'll find it easy on the eyes and fun to read.

Some information to bring you up to speed. Although the Mirror has experienced a vertical shrinkage of 11/4 inches, we have not trimmed our editorial content. All our regular features are still here, and some have actually increased in size.

For those interested in technical details, our main body text (the words in the stories) is now set in New Century Schoolbook, which is acclaimed for its readability and should require less squinting. The remaining typefaces (headlines, captions, banners etc) come from the Hoefler Type Foundry of NYC, which we think provides a bold and effective punch.

Kudos to art director Simon Briscoe, who has done an excellent job of agonizing over both the big picture and the tiny but crucial details. Of course, a redesign never really ends, and we're sure to be tweaking it in the coming weeks and months. As always, we look forward to your feedback.

» Alastair Sutherland, Editor

Irate Irish

In reference to the St. Patrick's day article ["Green gills of Erin," March 13], I must say I am very disappointed. I am an avid reader of the Mirror and have in the past done work for the paper in one form or another. When I was asked for a phone interview last week to tell my tales of St. Patrick's Day I was more than happy to oblige.

I know the job of a journalist is to get a good story, but when Thursday came I could not believe how I was portrayed. I feel the author had a preconceived notion of interviewing, "you know," a flighty girl to give readers a few laughs. The Bambi-looking photo that was chosen perfectly fit the profile. The choppy, scattered thoughts, "you know," aided in creating the voice of a 13-year-old Valley girl.

Your writer did his job - I'm sure your readers had a good laugh. But I am stunned that my interview was so drastically skewed. I am disappointed that a paper I love to read has taken someone's reputation and altered the truth to best suit its needs. I'm not naïve. I know this happens all the time. I am just hurt that it happened to me.

» Lauren McCann

645 Wellington

A review by Matthew Hays of the film 645 Wellington [Reeling, Feb. 6] contained certain statements that were unfairly critical of the owners of the building at 645 Wellington.

To set the record straight, we are informed by the owners that in fact: (a) There were no condominiums and none planned for the Immoveable. (b) The rent increases for 2003 average 3.84 per cent (2.5 per cent for Messrs. Blanchette and Shaap). (c) Not a single rent increase (notified Dec. 10, 2002) has been contested at the Régie du logement. (d) Approximately six "tenants" interviewed or referred to in the film are not or were never tenants of the Immoveable. (e) Out of 70 tenants in the Immoveable, only four are multimedia (one of them is bankrupt). (f) One interviewee in the film, Luc Bourbonnais, portrayed as the distracted and vulnerable artist-tenant, owed four months rent (he left without paying).

» Lazar Sarna, attorney

[Ed's reply: Even though most of the finer points you detail were not mentioned at all in the Reeling column, we appreciate hearing the owners' side of the story. We regret if readers inferred from reading the column that rental units were being converted to condos.]

Angry American

Hey, what's up with you pussies there in Canada. You boo the United States at one of your hockey games; one of your MPs, Carolyn Parrish, says how much she "hates American bastards;" you take away the right of your people to speak out against sodomy (probably because a lot of you are queers); you are all still subjects to the queen of England; etc.

You Canadians are cowards and doing what all incompetent, jealous cowards do to their betters: boo them and take verbal shots at them to try and make you all feel better for being such incompetent, miserable failures because you can't do anything else.

We kicked England's ass and freed ourselves from their rule and authority over 200 years ago, but you pussies are still bowing to those miserable monarchs. This proves how cowardly and inadequate you Canadians are, and how weak you are.

Hey Canada, instead of booing us and talking bad, why don't you try to physically do something about us if you have such a big problem? Oh yeah, that's right, you can't. But if we wanted to, we could invade your worthless country and make it ours, and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do about it, and you know it.

And we know it too, which is why we laugh at you. We're ready to go against you anytime you are, you lowlife cowardly punks.

Kiss our ass, Canada, and whine some more while doing so, you faggots.

» E.B., American

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