Letters to the Editor | Aug. 18, 2026

Aug. 22 will be the last day of service for SEPTA’s Route 47M bus. But the route, which runs from Spring Garden to Whitman Plaza, should never have been eliminated in the first place. The 47M runs past three major hospitals here in the city: Pennsylvania Hospital, Wills Eye, and Jefferson. Having SEPTA shut down the 47M will affect many riders who use the bus to get to those destinations and others. This route has been a savior for many who depend on SEPTA for transportation to any of these hospitals. Furthermore, many seniors rely on the bus to get them to the Italian Market to do their grocery shopping. Now, they’ll have to travel farther — and that’s unfair for them, since the 47M is already an easy route to take to the market. People need to speak up about this, and contact their local representatives and tell them to save the 47M before it’s gone for good. I hope the 47M can carry on with its service for the people of Spring Garden, Center City, and South Philadelphia — and the only way that would happen is if SEPTA comes to its senses and brings it back to life.

Peter Iannelli, Philadelphia

Let me get this straight: Ghislaine Maxwell — convicted child sex trafficker and partner in crime of Donald Trump’s old best buddy, the late Jeffrey Epstein — is serving time in a federal prison camp.

Congressional whistleblowers revealed that Maxwell receives preferential treatment, including customized meal deliveries, private after-hours gym access, a service puppy, private warden-arranged visits with snacks, and unmonitored communication access.

Sounds to me as if she’s living in more luxury than the suffering sailors dealing with squalid conditions onboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has gone about nine months straight pulling 16-hour days, seven days a week.

God forbid, however, if Ms. Maxwell had a toilet that wouldn’t flush, a meal that wasn’t cooked to perfection, or wasn’t allowed to play with her puppy.

My guess is that Trump, who said the USS Lincoln hasn’t been at sea long enough, wouldn’t say that Ms. Maxwell hasn’t been behind bars long enough.

Vin Morabito, Scranton

Kudos to Jefferson Health System for losing almost $30 million less this fiscal year than last. Likely contributing to that financial success — but not mentioned in the article — is that, at the end of June, Jefferson shut down the 75-year-old outpatient pediatrics clinic at Jefferson Einstein Hospital, with no plan or apparent concern about where its 12,000-plus patients — most of whom are children from low-income families — could get continuing care.

But as long as the bondholders are happy …

Alan Schindler, Philadelphia

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.