Letters to the Editor | April 17, 2023

Here’s a way to address the problems of aging school buildings and empty commercial real estate: Turn these pristine office buildings into schools.

I was a teacher and a psychologist with the School District for 35 years. Many of the schools are over 100 years old and need intensive repairs.

An April 2 article on the banking crisis noted that the pandemic upended office leasing and construction. This may have a domino effect when leases on commercial real estate and loans become due in a year or two and these empty office buildings will then lay dormant and empty.

Most office buildings can be easily converted. Faced with old deteriorating schools with asbestos and lead concerns, as well as shrinking budgets, this should be a consideration. The environmental concerns and remediation of those old school buildings would most likely cost more than office building conversions. (If not, then new construction should be considered.)

Transportation (getting children to and from the office buildings) may be a concern. However, it, too, may be more cost effective than remediating old school buildings. Philadelphia has some of the oldest schools in the nation. This plan could support student learning and improve the quality of life for many schools. It’s time to consider the children.

Antoinette Higman, Philadelphia, antoinette.higman@gmail.com

The streets in Center City are too narrow to accommodate the increased vehicular and pedestrian traffic that would accompany Sixers games and concerts. It would also interfere with patrons going to other Center City events and restaurants. Chinatown is against it. The Sixers should stay in South Philly with the other teams, and revitalize that part of town.

Charles Brill, Philadelphia

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a recent Trump appointee, denied during his confirmation hearings any knowledge of District Court judges deciding cases based on religious ideology. Evidently, he decided to break new ground in issuing an embarrassing opinion abandoning the rule of law and scientific knowledge — and about 23 years of practical experience — in support of his extreme right-wing opinion enacting a nationwide ban on the use of mifepristone. In part, he expresses concern for the alleged danger it poses to pregnant women. His concerns, in light of years of use and study of the medication, are about as hypothetical as one can get before colliding with reality and actual knowledge.

Though, in the real world, every medication carries some risk, mifepristone statistically is far safer than penicillin and Viagra, and imposes virtually no need for medical care for “complications.” Ironically (and in this writer’s hope), Judge Kacsmaryk’s opinion will visit great harm upon one portion of the population — elected Republican officials who are again mute on this issue and have not learned from their repeated losses already inflicted as a result of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Stephen Ulan, Wynnewood

Benjamin Ferencz died on April 7 at the age of 103. He was the last surviving member of the team of prosecutors at the Nuremberg trials after World War II, which led to the convictions of many top Nazi officials. He has since been known as the exemplar of the pursuit of justice for war crimes.

Ferencz served in the U.S. Army during World War II and in its aftermath investigated the conditions at the Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau concentration camps. He spent the rest of his life advocating for the creation of an international criminal court and accountability for war criminals.

These facts do appear in his obituaries. What’s missing from all of them in major outlets — including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC, the Guardian, Reuters, and the Associated Press — is Ferencz’s belief that top members of the George W. Bush administration, including Bush himself, should have been tried alongside Saddam Hussein for war crimes during the Iraq War.

Andrew Mills, Lower Gwynedd

I appreciated the April 4 article about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of an over-the-counter version of Narcan (“Narcan will soon be available over-the-counter. Here’s what it is, where to get it in Philadelphia and how to use it”). As the leader of a health-care network of substance use disorder treatment facilities with headquarters here, I consider this good news for people with substance use disorder and those of us dedicated to helping them.

Narcan is effective in stopping overdoses involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid local officials call the biggest drug threat in our area. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health reports that of the 1,276 overdose deaths in Philadelphia in 2021, 82% involved fentanyl.

I encourage Philadelphians to obtain Narcan and learn how to use it. Think of it as learning CPR and other lifesaving techniques so you’re prepared in case of a medical emergency. Contact the health department for usage information. Take advantage of free programming and 24/7 support at nearby evidence-based addiction treatment facilities. And if you or someone you love has a substance use or alcohol use disorder, reach out for help today. The stakes have never been higher for Philadelphia.

Brian O’Neill, CEO, Recovery Centers of America, King of Prussia

For all those wanting to defund local police departments, I urge you to watch the body-camera video of the deadly massacre at a bank in downtown Louisville, Ky. You will witness two police officers rushing to confront an active shooter. One was a training officer, the other a rookie. The rookie, unfortunately, was shot in the head and remains in critical condition. The training officer is credited with taking down the shooter, who had killed five coworkers. Both officers are true heroes.

Now some of you may say, “Well, they were just doing their job, doing what they are paid to do.” And I would have to agree with you. But if the Louisville Police Department had been defunded, who then would have done their job?

William D. Markert Jr., Philadelphia

The April 11 article about Michael T. Doweary’s statement about Chester losing its “city” status speaks to the reality of a community being deserted by state and county officials for too long. When it was “‘owned” by the county over many decades — when it had plenty of business — everyday residents suffered. This article points to a past that upheld racism, classism, and cronyism without naming it. These all contributed to the climate that current residents grew up in. How would they learn something different? Where are the community centers, the places where struggling families and residents can meet and work together to build something better? Today we have, finally, real nonprofits providing help and a new state representative involved in community affairs. Our population is down to what it was before the wartime industry built it up. For the state to do what it must requires more than advice about pulling a plug.

Joan Gunn Broadfield, Chester, broadfieldje@gmail.com

The recent revelations about the alleged indiscretions of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have reminded me of a longtime point of confusion I have had. Why is it that jurors are selected and chosen based on their avowing not to have any preconceptions or knowledge that might affect how they vote on a case? Yet some judges, like Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, to name a couple, were chosen specifically based on how they are expected to make judicial decisions. This inconsistency is yet another example of how common people are held to a different, higher standard than the judges who are appointed to uphold the highest of laws.

Valerie Franz, Haddonfield

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