Dear Mr. Hermann,
 
I am extremely concerned that the 'spin' you put on Tuesday's crime meeting was to try to purposely divert people's attention  from the increase of crime in my neighborhood to attack the character of the lady who brought the meeting to order, my mother. Your intent was clear to me, to write a juicy, controversial article with many layers and diverse characters, an antagonist and a protagonist. You have dramatized a real problem at our expense.

You interviewed Mr. Jafari after the meeting because he did not have the courage to speak during the meeting. His only recourse was to imply racism and that we (Cafe Gia)were his competition. I'm sure you are an intelligent man who recognizes the absurdity in Mr. Jafari's theories, however, there are those who read your blogs/articles who may not be AS intelligent and perhaps have a personal vendetta against my mom. You were irresponsible in using my name(Gia Blattermann) in your article, and subsequently cause me much grief.

I take exception to the several postings that I am a racist. Never has race/religion/gender/ nationality been apart of my vernacular relating to the crimes in my neighborhood, where I was born and raised, by the way. Inflammatory and libelous comments have been made trying to blemish my character.

I am a working mom who wants a safe and clean environment for her  family. There are a select few who have personal agendas and are trying to ride this wave for selfish reasons. They are misconstruing the truth for reasons of their own, perhaps they own a flailing business in Little Italy or perhaps they are simply perturbed that my mother did what no one else has cared to do or capable of doing ie: successfully and tactfully conducting a meeting, as you stated in your article (one of the few facts you relayed) that the turn out was standing room only. Even so called people with 'clout' in Little Italy haven't been able to rally the troops.

Bravo to my mom, Giovanna. Shame on you sir. This is a formal request that a retraction be made on the misuse of my name. Please correct your mistake. As an aside, if you are pondering that my mom is also referred to as 'Gia', the flier you were e-mailed, by fellow restauranteur I might add, clearly is signed 'Giovanna Blattermann' Truly yours, Gia D. Blattermann, sole proprietor Cafe Gia Ristorante 410 S. High St.