Who’s ludicrous?

Re “Recall Gives the East Coast Yet Another Excuse to Snipe” by David Shaw (Media Matters, Sept. 28), I also find these matters fascinating. I transported myself to California from the New York City area 13 years ago. I came here not only for better weather but for a chance to relax. I’ve found instead that the work pace and knowledge expected of individuals here are greater than those required in or around New York City. I do have problems here because I’m blond; however, this seems to be a nationwide handicap for women in the workplace.

As far as the state of the media, all I can say is that Howard Stern’s running for governor of New York was more ludicrous than anything the California recall can come up with. And I’ve really enjoyed not hearing too much about Al Sharpton, Amy Fisher or Woody Allen out here.

In case you’re not aware of it, California newspeople are wonderful in their ability to speak without a dreadful New York accent or any accent (they have to train local New York reporters to speak for TV, or get them from the Midwest or West); there are more women running entire news shows, and wearing and saying what they want, than in the East; and it’s so nice that the weather reports are comic relief instead of the main topic of the day.

Finally, as a crossword puzzle fan, the New York Times Sunday puzzles are absolutely archaic compared to those of the Los Angeles Times, and I challenge anyone to compare their difficulty.

Mary Ellen Harris

Mentone