Letters to the Editor | Jan. 22, 2024

After last week’s snow and freezing rain, Philadelphia’s residents did a pretty good job clearing their sidewalks. The same cannot be said for our city government. The sidewalks surrounding Starr Garden Playground on Lombard Street were an unshoveled, unsalted, dangerous ice slick. In contrast, Dilworth Plaza at City Hall is plowed and ice-free. Our government officials have taken good care of their own workplace, but the sidewalks surrounding their constituents’ parks and playgrounds, not so much. There’s simply no excuse.

Jud Aaron, Philadelphia

The report released by the U.S. Justice Department regarding the overwhelming cascade of failures during the horrific massacre of students and faculty at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, highlights in bold text several untruths often spouted by the NRA and other gun rights supporters after such terrible events. One such fallacy is that the only defense against a “bad guy with a gun” is a “good guy with a gun.” Apparently, there were 376 law enforcement officers — all supposedly good guys with guns — involved in Uvalde that day, and it didn’t make a difference. Another is that if guns are outlawed, only criminals will have guns. The perpetrator of this massacre was legally permitted to buy guns and ammunition, so he must have been considered a good guy with a gun. At least until he pulled the trigger, killing 21 people and injuring 17 others. Having easy access to those weapons is what made it possible for him to commit this atrocity.

Kathryn Creamer, Glenside

It’s difficult to compare decades, but we should compare a couple of upcoming anniversaries with what has happened to the Eagles. This year marks 60 years since the colossal “Philly Phold,” when Gene Mauch’s Phillies — who held a 6.5 game lead in the National League with 12 games left to play in the season — lost 10 consecutive games. Mauch started Phillies pitchers Jim Bunning and Chris Short on only two days’ rest. It will forever be remembered as one of the greatest collapses in baseball history.

Coming up on 30 years, Rich Kotite’s 1994 Eagles started a good run, including a home throttling of the San Francisco 49ers, 40-8. An early 17-7 win at home against the Arizona Cardinals brought the Eagles to a 7-2 record. The team would never win again in 1994. After the ensuing seven-game losing streak, Kotite was fired.

Just last year, the Eagles were just a possession away from a Super Bowl victory, and they began this season with a 10-1 record and for nearly 13 weeks was the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Over the next six weeks, the Eagles would fall to 11-6. The giant green collapse finally ended in Tampa Bay, Fla. If the regular season had been any longer, they may have not even made the postseason. Sure, recent wounds always feel the freshest. But although 1964 and 1994 were bad, this collapse seems worse.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington

. . .

In 1979, the Philadelphia Eagles finished between Dallas and Washington in the NFC East, made the playoffs, but lost to Tampa Bay. In 1980, the Eagles started 10-1 and were the NFL’s dominant team before losing Super Bowl XV. In 1981, Philadelphia began 6-0 and again appeared dominant before a 35-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in a playoff rematch. An ensuing collapse left them at 10-6, and a wild-card round loss ended their year. And in 1982, Philadelphia lost a season-opening thriller to Washington, 37-34, never recovered, and missed the playoffs.

Similarly, in 2021, the Eagles finished between Dallas and Washington in their division and had a wild-card loss to Tampa Bay. In 2022, the Eagles started 13-1 and were the NFL’s dominant team before losing Super Bowl LVII. And in 2023, the Eagles started 10-1 and again appeared dominant before a 42-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in a playoff rematch. An ensuing collapse left them at 11-6, and a wild-card round loss ended their year. One can only wonder how their 2024 season opener will go.

Stephen A. Silver, San Francisco

Amtrak has demonstrated its commitment to environmental and community stewardship by making informed decisions to actively reduce carbon emissions, particularly through its choice to stay on district steam for building energy needs. This commitment contrasts with the information continuing to be disseminated by Philadelphia Gas Works, which appears more focused on attracting customers than preparing our city for the new energy economy. In a recent letter to the editor, PGW persists in promoting on-site gas boilers at William H. Gray III 30th Street Station as a sustainable solution. PGW’s arguments focus on today and ignore tomorrow. These gas boilers will always, for decades, burn dirty fuels and produce noxious air pollution on-site. They can’t be made cleaner. In contrast, district steam can be made cleaner, and in some places, it already has been.

Of course, as long as PGW persists in its antiquated business model, its interest will always be to sell more gas rather than to satisfy Philadelphians’ energy needs in a way that’s consistent with fighting the climate crisis. Transparency, accountability, and a genuine commitment to environmental responsibility are nonnegotiable. As we applaud Amtrak’s positive initiatives, we must urge other organizations to follow suit and actively contribute to building a healthier, more sustainable future for our community.

Eric Cheung, acting executive director, Clean Air Council

For too long, some banks have charged exorbitant overdraft fees — sometimes $30 or more — that often hit the most vulnerable Americans the hardest, all while banks pad their bottom lines. Banks call it a service — the Biden administration calls it exploitation. That’s why it has proposed a rule that would cut the average overdraft fee by more than half, saving the typical American family that pays these charges about $150 a year. That would add up to save families $3.5 billion every year. Unfortunately, some Republicans in Congress continue to defend these outrageous fees. This is just one part of the Biden administration’s broader plan to lower costs for hardworking families. We need to do everything in our power to bring down costs and grow our economy from the middle-out and bottom-up, while standing up to extreme Republican attempts to provide more giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations and undermine competition.

Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Philadelphia students deserve quality schools. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Gov. Josh Shapiro can work together to make this happen. Those are the only things that Jennifer Stefano got right in her recent column. The education savings accounts and Lifeline/PASS Scholarships that Stefano endorses are deceptive labels for private school vouchers. These are ineffective solutions to improving student achievement. Spending public taxpayer dollars to send a few of Philadelphia’s 197,115 students to private schools is a preposterous idea since the majority of our city’s students would remain in underfunded public schools. Plus, private schools — even those taking public dollars through vouchers — can discriminate against which applicants they accept.

The only solution that ensures opportunity for all students is fully funding public education. Last February, the Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania is unconstitutionally underfunding its public schools. If every public school had adequate funding, no student would need to win the lottery to gain access to the educational resources they need and deserve. This is a critical time to stay focused on solving the root of the problem and fulfilling the court order to invest in our public schools. Every student is relying on Gov. Shapiro and the General Assembly to ensure Pennsylvania’s educational and economic future.

Priyanka Reyes-Kaura, policy director, and Julia Wilder, policy associate, Children First K-12 Education, 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.