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Letters: Campus stores, bike lanes in New York

Marketplace Staff Jan 5, 2011
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Letters: Campus stores, bike lanes in New York

Marketplace Staff Jan 5, 2011
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TEXT OF STORY

Kai Ryssdal: It’s Wednesday, time now for your letters — or, e-mails actually.

Couple of weeks ago, we did a story about non-profit groups sending direct mail solicitations to potential donors and we wondered along the way, if that wasn’t a waste of both money and paper.

Robert Richardson from Iowa City thought not.

Robert Richardson: The direct mail industry provides a lot of jobs, mine included. And the use of paper is a renewable resource. The trees used for paper are grown on tree farms and they’re harvested. And while they’re growing they help capture greenhouse gases. In addition, the direct mail industry and bulk mail provide a profit center for the post office.

Also on the program recently: Bikes and how New York is introducing European-style bicycle lanes, kind of like in Copenhagen.

Michael DeSiano of Brooklyn, N.Y. — in what will probably be this week’s most commented-upon listener comment — thinks giving cyclists the run of the road is a terrible idea.

Michael DeSiano: The very serious issues left unmentioned pertain to lack of enforceable rules for cyclists, lack of insurance for bicycles that involve accidents with pedestrians and cars and lack of licenses for cyclists who choose to be oblivious to rules of the road and courtesy.

Onto something else now: College bookstores and how they’re changing. They’re selling way more than course materials now, as they try to keep up with the online competition.

Suzanne Donnelly helps run Bronco Bookstore at Cal Poly Pomona out here in California, and she says stores like hers see themselves differently these days.

Suzanne Donnelly: So we’re having to look at all the rest of our store and say, “What is it about the rest of this that’s really important to students? How does it help create their campus identity? How does it help them feel connected to each other?” And we’re focusing on what that means a lot more.

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