Letters to the Editor | July 24, 2023

Three hundred and fifty-four years ago, a young man was imprisoned in the Tower of London. There, he wrote passionate pamphlets about his faith that quickly spread across the country despite efforts by the British monarchy. That man was William Penn, who was at that time widely criticized for his Quaker beliefs. In the centuries that followed, Pennsylvania would be at the forefront of American freedom, whether it be through our “keystone” role in the creation of our democracy or Benjamin Franklin’s founding of the country’s first library in 1731.

Freedom of information has been integral to our nation since its early days, but our future doesn’t look as rosy. The American Library Association documented the highest number of attempted book bans last year since it began compiling data. Pennsylvania ranks among the worst states in the nation in book banning efforts, with 56 attempts to ban 302 unique titles, the vast majority of which were written by or about members of the LGBTQ community or people of color.

With these facts in mind, I plan to introduce legislation to protect Pennsylvanians’ freedoms by preventing the banning of books from our public libraries for political or doctrinal reasons. Our state is better than the book bans that have been pushed recently, and our history proves it. It’s time we stood on the right side of that history. Join me in ensuring Pennsylvania upholds our cherished constitutional protections against censorship in our libraries.

Amanda M. Cappelletti, state senator, 17th Senate District

Donald Trump’s egregious antidemocratic behavior should be promptly dealt with in court. The American voting public deserves to know the outcomes of expeditious trials before casting their ballots. Americans collectively are truly the most aggrieved party in this matter, with a level of standing superseding even defendant Trump himself, who is voluntarily in the midst of a presidential campaign whose outcome will substantially determine the fate of America and her position in the world — perhaps for generations to come.

Lawrence Uniglicht, Galloway, lrunig@gmail.com

I would like to clarify a few things regarding The Inquirer editorial on historic districts, which come under Philadelphia’s 1984 historic preservation ordinance. For one, the zoning overlays that have proliferated in neighborhoods across the city in recent years (including the controversial one in Society Hill) have been created completely outside the preservation ordinance. Instead, they stem from newly created ordinances that often have little to do with historic preservation. In addition, undeveloped parcels in historic districts are not regulated, giving property owners free rein to build, constrained only by a parcel’s zoning classification.

The editorial also buys into the myth that historic districts inflate property values, setting up preservation as a straw man for the problem of housing unaffordability that is much more attributable to other market forces. The proof is not hard to see. Property values in many city neighborhoods that aren’t historic districts have seen tremendous price appreciation in the past two decades. Yet some long-standing historic districts in the city, such as West Diamond Street (enacted in 1986) and Parkside (2010), have seen far less appreciation. It is disappointing to see the Editorial Board buy into debunked mythology in a city where a lack of historic protections has damaged the fabric of our neighborhoods.

Paul Steinke, executive director, Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, paul@preservationalliance.com

It’s appropriate that famed opera singer Marian Anderson’s name will now be associated with a South Philadelphia school. However, before Chester A. Arthur is permanently designated a racist for signing the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act while president, his defense of the rights of African Americans should also be included in his accomplishments. One hundred and one years before Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move from her bus seat, African American Elizabeth Jennings was violently yanked from a New York City streetcar and thrown to the ground. With Arthur’s legal expertise, Jennings won a $225 judgment (around $ 7,900 today) against the streetcar company, which then immediately ended discrimination of its Black passengers. Arthur was also one of the attorneys involved in successfully fighting the Lemmon slave case that emancipated seven enslaved people whose owners had stopped in New York to change ships.

Paul L. Newman, Merion Station

Kudos to Taran Samarth for their recent op-ed on Pennsylvania’s open records law on public universities. Almost exactly 32 years ago, on July 18, 1991, The Inquirer published my op-ed on the same subject. A bill to extend coverage of the law to Temple, Pitt, Penn State, and Lincoln universities passed the State House of Representatives in June 1991, by a vote of 202-1. But it was killed in the Senate by the GOP leadership, who would not let it come up for a vote. Now in 2023, GOP representatives are using the issue as a tool to hold up funding for our public universities. Let’s have a clean vote on open records now. The issue is too important to be tied to the state budget crisis. The public has a right to know more about its public institutions.

Art Hochner, former president, Temple Association of University Professionals, AFT local 4531, AFL-CIO, Philadelphia

When I-95 collapsed, creating commuter and neighborhood havoc, the Shapiro administration responded immediately, bringing substantial resources to get the highway restored in 12 days. There is no such miracle coming for the more than 16,000 Pennsylvanians with intellectual disability and autism, and their families. They have been in crisis since the start of the pandemic due to the inability to receive critically needed services. Pennsylvania’s rates for these services are simply too low for providers to pay Direct Support Professionals a decent wage, and 1 of every 4 of these positions in Pennsylvania remain unfilled. Families have shared their desperation with the governor and the legislature.

With the state in the best financial shape in decades, the ask was for increased rates so providers can hire much needed staff. Instead, the Shapiro administration will continue with a three-year rate freeze and providers will continue to struggle to recruit and retain essential positions. The support professionals who continue to work in this service system make sacrifices every day. These are complex, demanding jobs. Yet, the commonwealth’s rates value their work at between $14.07 and $15 an hour. It’s been great to have I-95 back, but the road to needed services remains blocked until our leaders in Pennsylvania show compassion by increasing payment rates for providers to hire a sufficient and qualified support workforce.

Kathleen McHale, president and CEO emeritus, SPIN

I wake up each morning hoping that the incursion by Russia into Ukraine has reached a point where the fighting ceases and the repairs to Ukraine can begin — at the expense of the invaders. This war is unbelievable. World leaders — including the United Nations and NATO — do not have the backbone to tell Vladimir Putin they will not tolerate this absurd invasion. They need to act together to demand Russia withdraw its troops and end the bloodshed. Other than sanctions, little is being done and Putin is relentless in killing civilians, including children. The world needs to stop this needless war now. Not in a month, or a week, but now. Perhaps if America and the world had acted decisively against Germany and its ruthless army before World War II, many millions of lives could have been saved.

Martin Mikelberg, Warminster

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