Logical Step

First came the gourmet coffee craze. Then the microbrewery blitz. Now a Bend man hopes to tap into the next Northwest-led rebellion against bland or chemically enhanced products. Jim Bendis has started Bendistillery Inc., a micro-distillery that makes Cascade Mountain Gin and Crater Lake Vodka. "To me, it seems like the next logical step to what's been going on with Oregon wines, microbrewed beers and coffee," Bendis said.

The clouds of dust that swirl over dirt roads, farm fields and construction sites are a major source of local air pollution. Dust particulates--microscopic pieces of pollution--contribute heavily to smog and can cause serious respiratory problems. But the impact of these visible clouds pales in comparison with the political dust storms that have greeted costly local and federal initiatives to control them.

As pressure built last year to join nine other foothill communities and form one large city, longtime residents here just smiled. From the day the first homeowners took possession of their piece of Rancho Santa Margarita, residents have eagerly anticipated the day when their community would become a city--by itself. "What drew me here is the idea that this is a complete town," said Jack Wynns, a resident of this planned community of 25,000 since 1986. "There is a very strong sense of place here.

Re "Whose Life Is It, Anyway?" (March 26): I, like many others, had heard of the birth of the baby boy to the comatose woman and that her impregnation occurred from a rape. I was shocked that a rape would occur under these circumstances, but relieved that the baby was born healthy. Therefore, I was startled by the presumed ethical dilemma outlined in the article. Since the comatose woman's family did not believe in abortion and the woman's last views coincided with theirs, they took the logical step, which was to achieve a healthy birth.

As trends go, the steady, stunning parade of fashion models marching to Hollywood is hardly a startling one. If we start with the premise that seeing a movie is like sharing a few hours with a film's characters, then the explanation for why models show up on theater screens could be stupendously simple: Most audiences prefer to spend time with attractive people.

Call it Compu-Coif. The Digital Dresser, perhaps? Microchip Clothier? Or how about just . . . Soft-wear? Jean Chen, a 26-year-old USC graduate student in engineering, uses a computer program to get dressed. It chooses everything--skirts, blouses, accessories--each choice geared to the weather, season, event, even her sartorial whimsy.

I am appalled by your editorial (Aug. 29) calling for a counterfeit-proof ID card based on an individual's Social Security number. When I received my Social Security card, the card clearly stated "for Social Security purposes, not for identification." Today everyone from the IRS and DMV to the local electric and water company demands a Social Security number to file a tax return, obtain a driver's license or establish utility service. What is next, a requirement that all citizens are required to carry this ID card at all times?

Young Algerians frustrated by Muslim social restrictions and a housing crisis are advertising for love and mates, homeowners preferred. Some newspapers devote several pages to the plaints of the lovelorn and ads placed by men and women seeking marriage. For some, the only qualification is a place to live. "Single accountant, 26, seeks woman with lodging for marriage, 25-35," said a recent ad in Le Soir d'Algerie. In the effort to lure a mate, no resource goes unmentioned.

Our readers wrote letters throughout 1992, expressing their viewpoints on a variety of issues. Here are condensed versions of some of those letters to help us remember the events that mattered to Orange County readers this past year. We would like to thank the readers who took the time to share their views, and we look forward to hearing from them and others in 1992. Cheers for Judge James Gray for having the bravery to suggest legalizing drugs. The "war on drugs" is indeed lost; it has brought us overflowing prisons, the enmity of our neighbors in Central and South America, inner cities that are armed guerrilla camps and little else.