Letters to the Editor | Dec. 23, 2022

Shortly before sunset on Dec. 24, thousands of Delaware Valley residents will engage in the Great Illumination, otherwise known as Santa’s Runway or the Reindeer Runway. Moving swiftly, those who choose to partake in this time-honored tradition will drag themselves to the curb weighed down with brown paper bags, buckets of sand, and tea light candles. After locating the closest box of matches, they proceed to avoid incinerating their lawn as paper bags come to light. Dating back to 1920, Christmas Tree Lane in Altadena, Calif., was the first street in America to be illuminated for the holiday season. Many celebrities, such as silent film star Mary Pickford, also helped to decorate Southern California outdoors with Christmas lights starting in the 1920s through the 1940s. With rogue weather systems and pollution, urgency has never been greater to help provide ample illumination for old St. Nick. So before the eggnog (and optional whiskey), and the disturbing realization that the last of the wrapping paper ran out three weeks ago, please do us all a favor: Light a candle for the big guy. Or fill up the whole front lawn.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington, lightmedia@comcast.net

It was with a heavy heart, but no surprise, that I read of North Philly being left out of the city’s opioid response. The area has been “left out” for many, many years. I grew up on the 3700 block (West 10th Street and Erie Avenue, in the 1940s and ‘50s) before the large and small manufacturing plants went south or overseas; before the spacious vacant lots where we played were covered by an Acme and a Smith-Kline & French warehouse — now abandoned — taking up needed breathing space. Before the Andrew Carnegie Library on Hunting Park Avenue was torn down and replaced with a cubby hole on Germantown and Erie Avenues. If I could, I would join the health department outreach team and, walking streets so familiar to me, help save lives and perhaps offer some sign of caring for zip code 19140.

Mary C. Kirk, Haddonfield, mck0840@gmail.com

How convenient for Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey to now reveal the level of his disgust with Donald Trump. Where was that disgust when Sen. Toomey voted to acquit Trump in his first impeachment trial, over attempting to withhold aid to Ukraine while asking Ukrainians to investigate likely political opponent Joe Biden? Did Toomey suddenly, on Jan. 6, 2021, discover the “real” Trump? Or is Toomey’s disgust now propelled by his decision in 2021 not to seek reelection, and thus conveniently abandoning Trump by voting to convict in his second impeachment trial because it wouldn’t cost him his Senate seat? Ironically, Toomey’s decision to step aside spawned the candidacy of Mehmet Oz, the New Jersey carpetbagger whose loss to Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman assured Democratic control of the Senate. Toomey’s recent revelation arrives too late, and demonstrates how easy it is to offer opinions protected by time, with no consequences.

Joe Miegoc, Carbondale, jmiegoc@gmail.com

Balloon releases are a very harmful form of expression. They are an especially odious form of litter that usually ends up high in trees where they can’t be cleaned up, or worse yet, killing wildlife. All balloons are made of plastic. Regular balloons (which are often marketed as “biodegradable”) take up to four years to break down. The plastic in Mylar takes even longer and they all end up as micro plastic. Plastic never, ever goes away. The bright colors attract wildlife, which eat them and die a painful death from the obstruction the balloons cause. The strings can also suffocate land animals and birds when they become entangled. Australian researchers found that one in five seabirds dies as a result of eating a balloon. Some states have enacted laws to ban balloon releases. I wish they all would, ASAP.

James P. Cantwell, Philadelphia

Columnist Jennifer Stefano reminds us of the principle of one person, one vote and that the minority cannot dictate the rules. She is correct that the 101 Republicans currently seated in the Pennsylvania House are more than the 99 Democrats, but she ignores the fact that a majority of voters wanted the Democratic Party, not the Republican Party, in charge of the state House. I fully expect the Republican legislators to delay any special elections as long as possible to continue to thwart the will of the people.

Hal Morris, West Grove

David Gould, the chief diversity and impact officer for the Sixers and their proposed arena, spoke to the Chinatown community last week. He rightly faced a hostile audience. He had the moxie to say that all the Sixers were doing was replacing “one big box with another.” Say what? This big box comes with an invasion of 4,000 cars for each sold-out game. Four thousand cars represents about 11 miles worth of cars all arriving at the same time and the same place. Unless you love traffic jams and gridlock, it doesn’t work. He then added that if the Sixers don’t build at that Chinatown location, someone else would. Maybe that someone else would instead build affordable housing and put in a park, too. Gould recognized the opposition to the project but implied that nameless others would consider the plan. That’s the old silent majority trick. Who are these people? Why weren’t they there? He let the cat out of the bag when he said the proposed arena would be an overall benefit for the city. Despite opposition from the people who live, work, and own businesses in Chinatown? Sad.

Ed Gruberg, Philadelphia

The residents of Chinatown are exercising disproportionate control over the location of the new sports arena. The location involves more than how it affects its neighbors. This is especially upsetting given our awareness of climate change. An advantage of locating an arena there is its proximity to mass transit, in particular Regional Rail. As a baseball fan, I was greatly disappointed when the baseball stadium was moved to South Philadelphia. Instead of hopping on the Lansdale line, I am stuck with a nightmarish ride on the Schuylkill Expressway or 476 to get to the game. It is a shame that the reduction of vehicular traffic coming to the areas in Center City wasn’t factored into the “plus” side of the equation. This would reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly. That location is also close to the Convention Center and hotels, and an easy walk for visitors.

Robert Haines, Collegeville

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