Letters to the Editor | Sept. 1, 2025

Kudos to The Inquirer and its brilliant international columnist, Trudy Rubin. Her excellent on-the-ground reporting about drone warfare in Ukraine was truly eye-opening. It is quite extraordinary how the Ukrainians have perfected a novel way of fighting their much larger Russian aggressor.

Ms. Rubin deserves all the applause for her commitment to telling the story of the war that is being waged by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

Ulana Mazurkevich, president, Ukrainian Human Rights Committee, Philadelphia

The one bright light in Israel’s war in Gaza is the charities that arrange for severely injured children to be brought from Gaza to the U.S. for medical treatment. This month, HEAL Palestine evacuated 63 children to hospitals in nine U.S. cities.

Alas, this humanitarian program won’t be tolerated. The New York Times reported that the U.S. State Department “stopped all visitor visas from Gaza, while conducting a full and thorough review.”

This was instigated by Laura Loomer, an anti-Islam activist, who called the incoming flights “a national security threat.” She has no position in the Trump administration, but influences his decisions. She claimed without evidence that this program was connected to Hamas.

Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, said that “this move is consistent with the Trump administration’s overall treatment of immigrants as constituting a threat to U.S. public safety.”

I find it shocking that the administration blithely admits its toxic view of immigrants and children. Like the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and its supporters, they are quick to label any person or program opposed to Israel as a member of Hamas.

Donna Greenberg, Philadelphia

The recent article on construction cost inflation touches on a broad range of causes, but does not zero in on some things that could be done right now to help with affordability. Developers and builders will always focus on regulations as a major hurdle, when the reality is a mixed bag of rules that are outdated, and others that are vital for responsible development.

Zoning is the one topic that needs a comprehensive overhaul now. Zoning treats all land as flat, identical parcels and “bakes in” outmoded ways to exclude rather than include imaginative approaches to land development. This is different from a Wild West approach sought by many developers. Stormwater, parking, building, and energy codes all serve a public good; rigid density, height, and setback regulations do not.

Well before tariffs injected even more uncertainty into construction supply chains, costs were far outpacing inflation. Communities and local government can help through transparency and dialogue in the planning process. There is no reason for multiyear hearings if there is a common good to be achieved. My own experience as both an applicant and reviewer proves that point.

James B. Garrison, Phoenixville

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