Letters

Unions matter

Shortly after I published my letter in the Local a couple of weeks ago, welcoming the new community-based Valley Green Bank that will open in the fall in Mt Airy, I learned from an article in the Mt. Airy Times that members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 98, have been picketing the Valley Green site because the renovation contractor refused to switch from the non-union electricians he was using to union electricians.

A pity. Now I must retract my promise to switch my business from Bank of America to the Valley Green Bank.

I am a retired member of the American Federation of Teachers and do not support non-union businesses. Walmart and Whole Foods, by the way, are fiercely anti-union, while Costco welcomes unions and treats its employees extraordinarily well, with generous benefits, a living wage, everything an American wage-earner could wish for but almost never gets any more. Costco's CEO truly thinks of his employees as his associates and refuses to give himself an exorbitant salary. He doesn't think it's right that CEO's should make hundreds of times what their workers make.

Weavers Way Food Co-op in Mt. Airy also treats its workers respectfully, so for organic produce and staples I go to Weavers Way, and for other household items I go to Costco. Both Weavers Way and Costco charge annual membership fees, but in both cases the quality of their goods justifies the fee.

Evalyn F. Segal
West Mt Airy

Change status quo

Re: the Cope Linder report

Congratulations go to Cope Linder Architects for their comprehensive streetscape study of Chestnut Hill, which highlights main intersections. The report covered many aspects, changes that will require spending of monies from both public and private sectors to carry out their vision.

But Chestnut Hill's streetscape planners will have a hard time fulfilling their vision while the existing Germantown Avenue traffic pattern remains status quo. Tractor-trailer trucks must be rerouted away from the Germantown Avenue/Bethlehem Pike intersection.

The town of Milford in Pennsylvania's Pike County is a good example of a town that successfully fought, over many years, for the elimination of TTT's rumbling down Main Street, where traffic was already choking the town. Chestnut Hill is a high-density community with particularly narrow sidewalks abutting right up to storefronts and their entrances. The Avenue is not very wide either; traffic culminates in a bottleneck at the top of the hill, competing with three very active SEPTA bus lines and school-bus drop-offs at the newsstand during the academic year.

It may take a lot of time and work before this situation can be politically alleviated, but I think it's crucial while implementing the well-thought-out cosmetic changes put forth in the Cope Linder report.  

Suzanne Dure
Chestnut Hill

Election important

Thank you for the article on the Sept. 13 special election. This is a very small election but very important. The State Rep districts are the smallest election districts in Philadelphia, therefore the State Rep is our most accessible elected official. The person elected Sept. 13 will serve for the rest of 2005 and all of 2006.

Robert Rossman
Chestnut Hill

Promoting harmony

On July 23 (a beautiful Saturday night, by the way) the residents of building A, in the Colonial Manor Apartments on Evergreen Avenue here in Chestnut Hill, hosted what we hope will be the first of many “meet, greet and eat” events. The brainchild of Linda Troiani, Ty Bacon, Michael and Brenda Board, it was our intention to invite not just residents of our complex but everyone in the vicinity.

Philadelphia is said to be a city of neighborhoods. Each has a unique flavor. I spent 11 of my first 15 years in North Philadelphia on the 2200 block of Oakdale Street around the corner form the Connie Mack Stadium. (I’ve got a seat from the last game played there, but that’s a story from another time …) Since then I have lived in several other sections of the city and, as I said, each has something to distinguish itself. One of the best things that all these neighborhoods have in common is the bond that the people have with one another. This was the intent of this event; to help foster that kind of togetherness. We hoped, initially, to get to know our immediate neighbors in Colonial Manor, the Chestnut Hill Apartments and The Hill House. Then we thought to invite folks on the unit block of Evergreen Avenue. Not sure of the eventual turnout, we started to invite residents up and down Shawnee and Highland Avenues.

We didn’t know what to expect and were pleased that so many of our neighbors came out and we were delighted to greet several passersby (and drivers by, too).

We hope to have more of these gatherings to help promote harmony with good food, music, conversation and sharing ideas and concerns. We’ll keep you posted.

Michael Board Sr.
Chestnut Hill

Reframing issues

I would agree with the observations of Shoshana Bricklin and Bert Schultz expressed in their letter to Senator Specter, that there are crucial issues and decisions that will be before the US Supreme Court in its coming term.

I also agree that there are several issues which are “especially divisive and need non-dogmatic and bipartisan attention.” However, I would re-frame the issues as follows:

• Rejecting attempts by the ACLU and other like-minded groups to eliminate any mention of God in public and denouncing their refusal to acknowledge the Judeo-Christian principles upon which this country was founded;

• Promoting the sanctity of life and protecting the “civil rights” of the unborn;

• Adherence to the fundamental constitutional principles of the separation of powers by reversing the present judicial philosophy of invented constitutional rights;

• More concern with victim rights, and less with criminal and terrorist rights;

• Eliminating the divisive and destructive policy of ethnic and racial preferences in the public arena.

I am hopeful that President Bush’s nomination (and anticipated confirmation) of Judge John Roberts to the Supreme Court will provide this opportunity. It remains to be seen whether the admirable concepts of “non-dogmatic” and “bipartisan” are deemed to apply to the extreme left wing of the Democrats in Congress.

Sharon M. Reiss
Mt. Airy

Cloudy vision

It has become a near impossibility throughout the past year to pick up an issue of the Local and not find a letter to the editor dealing with some sort of negativity towards the Bush administration or the Republican controlled Senate, as it is quite obvious that the majority of Chestnut Hill is liberal and proud of it.

This, by itself, is not the problem, as we as Americans should take great pride in our ability to openly criticize our elected officials. However, there is a problem nonetheless, as with each passing week I am amazed by just how quickly and frequently many of these individuals in opposition to the president (who we can all safely assume are mostly Democrats) express their concerns, while hardly any letters float in to the Local in criticism of the government of our own city, which is about as corrupt and irresponsible as possible, and I believe strongly that this lack of criticism is due to nothing more then the fact that our mayor just happens to be a Democrat. If John Street were a Republican, we all know that the Local would have to be doubled in length due to the wrath with which the liberals in this city would rain down upon him, something that does not speak well for the mindset of many within the city.

Now, I am a staunch Republican who is on the same page with the president on many of the important issues facing this nation; however, I have not hesitated to criticize President Bush on some issues on which we don’t see eye to eye, such as the unimaginable amount of illegal aliens within the country and the president’s lax policy towards the growing threat of China. I have no problem with criticizing an official belonging to my party, so why do many Democrats around this city find it so hard to own up to the fact that their mayor, who they strongly fought to be elected to two terms in office, is turning this city upside down?

I do not care what party you belong to, I cannot remember any political group supporting corruption, and that is just exactly what this current mayoral regime is involved in. Not to mention the gross disregard for the safeguarding of our streets, the terrible economic situation, the growing number of young people fleeing the city, and the use of quick-fixes such as an increased city budget and the Live 8 concert to take our eyes off of the true issues at hand.

There are many throughout this city that need to stop viewing this terrible situation through their cloudy and partisan eyes and speak up against the downward direction in which mayor John Street is leading us. If the government of this city was judged on results, rather then its party allegiance, than there would be many others beside myself criticizing the current mayor and the disgrace with which he is running this once wonderful city.

Joe Baker Jr.
Chestnut Hill

No warning

Imagine my surprise on July 31, when for the second time this summer, Philadelphia hosted a triathlon blocking access to Kelly Drive, including Boat House Row.

The first incident impeded attending my rowing class at the Vesper Club.  Some of my classmates used bicycles and inline skates to get to Boat House Row, while another walked across the train tracks from 30th Street.  Fortunately on Sunday, I found a parking space and was only 15 minutes late for my class.

The Dad Vail and Stotesbury regattas and the big bike race receive ample news coverage well in advance of the events so that motorists may make contingency plans. Upon calling KYW Radio later that day, I found out from the assignment editor that it was only the morning of the triathlon that news of the race came across the wires, prompting traffic reports on Kelly Drive’s closure. No details were given.

If Philadelphia plans to sponsor special events in our glorious Fairmount Park, wouldn’t it be prudent to let the public know in advance? Members of the Fairmount Park Commission, won’t you help the public out by providing adequate notice, so that rowers and others may have time to make alternative plans?  Media outlets, more details on road closings, including tips on how to access the Art Museum or Boat House Row, would be very helpful.

Lila Bricklin
Chestnut Hill