Letters to the Editor | June 24, 2024

Heaven knows this section of the paper can be critical. I am a contributor. But kudos to the city’s mayor, managers, and the Department of Parks and Recreation for getting pools open. They obtained lifeguards during a high demand with pay and incentives. The city pools also have swimming lessons. This all sounds like a very thoughtful effort on the city’s part. There are still more pools to be opened by June 30. Perhaps next year, with this track record, all pools will be opened on Memorial Day or the last day of the school year. Congratulations, this is a great investment in the city’s youth.

Barry Beck, Turnersville

It takes courage to go against the U.S. Supreme Court. Our mayor, Cherelle L. Parker, did it by signing legislation banning bump stocks from being sold or possessed in Philadelphia. That’s only the tip of the iceberg in resolving the brainless decision that these devices — which enable a semiautomatic weapon to act like a machine gun — are legal. Regardless of some fancy interpretation by the justices, who aside from a criminal would choose to possess a weapon of mass destruction? I cannot imagine. This country needs more Cherelle Parkers.

Herman Axelrod, Blue Bell

Donald Trump is now a convicted criminal, a felon whose actions will mark him for the rest of his life. His status as a former U.S. president does not exonerate him; rather, it emphasizes the serious gravity of his crimes. This conviction should unequivocally disqualify him from ever holding the highest office in the land again. Allowing a convicted felon to run for president is not only absurd but also a blatant disregard for the integrity of our democratic legal and political systems.

What is even more troubling is the notion that there are still people who support him and would vote for him despite his conviction. This support highlights a huge fundamental problem within our society: a willingness to overlook serious ethical and legal violations in favor of partisan loyalty. If Trump were to be reelected, it would signify a catastrophic failure of our democratic principles and an endorsement of criminality at the highest level. To those who continue to support Trump despite his established criminal record, I ask: What message are we sending to future generations? Are we to believe that the law only applies to some and not others? This double standard is totally unacceptable and dangerous.

H. James Hulton, North Wales

Contrary to the illusion the mayor’s office is creating, there is no horde of city workers returning to Center City on July 15. Truth is, around 92% of the city workforce, on average, is already at their city workstations. The remaining 8% will be the true increase. However, this limited gain is not without negative consequences. Studies show that the employees most at risk for leaving due to these confining policies are high performers, women, and millennials. Ironically, the result of the mayor’s edict will be a loss of city services and less diversity in our city workplaces.

We are asking for real leadership from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. Amid a staffing crisis, don’t alienate your current workforce — retain them. Retention saves the city money and maintains the knowledge base. Address vacancies by actively recruiting, making positions competitive with private industry, and streamlining hiring processes. Modernize city government. Balanced, hybrid schedules, for appropriate positions, contribute to each of these goals. We civil servants, who are also citizens, want Philly’s government to deliver real city services, not fantasies masquerading as progress.

Paul Fry, Philadelphia

We are excited to see Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s “clean and green” neighborhood cleanup program beginning to roll out. However, we are concerned that, as admirable as that effort is, an intensive sweep through the city will only be a temporary fix. The Streets Department alone can’t — and shouldn’t have to — keep Philadelphia clean. To avoid falling back into the old ways, we need to get citizens involved in maintaining our sidewalks and showing that we care about where we live. We need a citywide effort to encourage people to keep their own neighborhoods clean.

More trash baskets on busy street corners would help, but perhaps other strategies can be considered, such as supplying neighborhood volunteers with trash grabbers and trash bags. Or perhaps an ongoing Most Improved Neighborhood contest should be organized, capped by an annual clean and green picnic for volunteer cleanup crews. Maybe we even begin by having City Council members solicit suggestions from their constituents on how to keep the clean and green effort going. Clean and green is a great idea — it just needs to be kept going.

Mary Brewster and Peg Wright, Philadelphia

Donald Trump is a serial liar. He began his presidency by saying it didn’t rain on his Inauguration Day and lying about the size of the crowd there. He lied when he said windmill noise causes cancer, and when he claimed the coronavirus was “totally under control.” He lied when he said his big health-care plan was coming in “two weeks.” Trump lied about the border wall.

He lied when he blamed Nancy Pelosi for the failure to order National Guard troops to quell the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, and when he claimed massive voter fraud caused him to lose the 2020 election. Trump lied when he repeatedly asserted that in 2020 Pennsylvania had 205,000 more votes than voters and that Vice President Mike Pence agreed with him that Pence had the power to reject Joe Biden’s electoral votes. Trump lied when he not only said he didn’t know about the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels but that he didn’t even know her. Let’s remember Voltaire: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem

The raw statistics lay the truth bare: What’s happening in Gaza is a slow genocide. Multiple thousands are dead, many of them women and children, while much of the infrastructure remains shredded by daily bombardments over a strip of land a scant 25 miles long. Add to this a denial of basic food, water, medicine, sanitation, and electricity. Nearly two million civilians have been displaced and made to move continuously where there are no safe zones. Most hospitals have been demolished. Our government fails to act. Instead, it continues to supply money and munitions to Israel. Unless most of my fellow citizens rail against this slaughter, we will all come to regret it.

Sid Sussman, Hallandale, Fla.

The recent letter by Timothy A. Eller, a senior officer of Commonwealth Charter Academy, states that “Families are shifting to online learning because they want their children educated, not bullied, ignored or indoctrinated.” What a loaded statement. The underlying assumption is that in-person, public (and nonpublic) school students are massively failing to learn and are subject to abuse and brainwashing. The additional bias is that educators do not care about the learners in front of them.

Yes, sadly there are too many underperforming schools. Yes, there are school climate challenges due to unruly and bullying behavior. Yes, all schools work from a curriculum endorsed by local educational boards and administrators. Those curricula all have a degree of bias based upon selected values, norms, and U.S. Department of Education directives. No education is bias-free. But students in cyber schools are also challenged. By learning online, they lack direct socialization that can lead to an appreciation of differences. Without direct interaction with people from diverse temperaments, how do cyber students learn coping skills, conflict mediation, resilience, respect, and understanding? If I were an educator, I would feel very insulted by Eller’s prejudice.

Paula de Long, Wayne

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