Letters to the Editor | Nov. 7, 2023

Wouldn’t it be great if we had enough money to fund the construction of new schools and invest in educating our children? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if businesses jumped at the opportunity to occupy vacant storefronts? Wouldn’t it be beneficial if Pennsylvania could stanch the flow of millions of residents’ dollars enriching neighboring states? Every day that Pennsylvania delays legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana, the state loses money to New York and New Jersey. In the Times Square area of New York City, some blocks have two or more cannabis shops. Billboards on I-95 tout New Jersey sellers. Imagine the amount of money we’d be losing to other states if Pennsylvania did not have casinos. Legalizing cannabis sales, as the state did with gambling, will be a financial boon to Pennsylvania in general and Philadelphia in particular. Like it or not, state-sanctioned cannabis sales, like casinos, are inevitable. The sooner it happens, the better.

Marc Werlinsky, Philadelphia

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that “calls for a cease-fire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism.” As a follower of Jesus, I must disagree. Peace does not mean appeasement, nor does a cease-fire mean support for Hamas. Contrary to the logic of violence, there is no military solution to this crisis. This is a time for peacemaking — and that starts with a cease-fire. Palestinians have experienced more than 70 years of forestalled efforts to secure the right to control their own destiny.

Andrew Mills, Lower Gwynedd

Reading the heartrending accounts of deaths, injuries, and lack of water and food in Gaza reminded me of American ingenuity and compassion during the Cold War with Russia. This effort, known as the Berlin Airlift, lasted for more than a year and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo into West Berlin. The least Israel can do is to allow its foremost ally to fly over Gaza and drop essential survival goods down to Gazan civilians. Why should everything have to come through the painfully slow Rafah crossing with Egypt? The contrast of dropping food rather than bombs would improve our reputation in the region.

Joan Hazbun, Media

I hope Gov. Josh Shapiro saw Sunday’s “Crumbling City” article in The Inquirer and will help release the funds being held up for the continuation of the Whole-Home Repairs Program that was started using federal pandemic aid. While he’s at it, he should also release the $100 million in Level Up funding this year for the state’s poorest school districts while we wait for the Pennsylvania legislature to remedy our inequitable funding system of education. These investments would go a long way in giving the poorest Pennsylvanians a chance to stay in their homes and get an adequate and equitable education.

Beth Logue, POWER Interfaith education justice team, Philadelphia, elizabeth.logue44@gmail.com

I would like to thank the looters and shoplifters in Philadelphia for making it more annoying and time-consuming to shop at my local Target store. So many more of the products in the health and beauty section are now behind locked plexiglass doors, causing additional inconvenience to shoppers and staff. In three different aisles, I had to wait for a staff member to come unlock the doors so that I could pick out items like toothpaste, pain relief tablets, and skin care products. When I asked why, the answer was looters.

I know many drugstores already have several products in locked cases, but toothpaste, really? Part of the pleasure of shopping in brick-and-mortar stores is browsing the aisles, picking up products, reading the labels, and making choices. I feel like once I have summoned a staff member to unlock the cabinet, I need to pick what I want immediately, so it can be relocked, and the staff member can get back to whatever they were doing. In recent years, retailers have closed or announced closings of locations due to the excessive amount of theft. This will lead to even more people shopping online and add to the porch package theft problems. It’s such a shame. I’m not sure what the solution is.

Diane Pringle, Philadelphia

Councilmember Quetcy Lozada’s mission to fix Kensington is personal to me. In 2020, someone close to my family died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl purchased there. When I drove past the site on my way to a funeral in the area a few months ago, I was stunned by the scene: people who use drugs clogging the sidewalks and police on standby, apparently to prevent violent behavior. I felt depressed at the thought that this place was our loved one’s last stop before taking the drugs that killed him. I sincerely hope that Lozada can rally resources to effectively address this tragic situation. But the approach must include both policing by personnel trained to deal with those sick with addiction as well as help by professionals who understand and respect the afflicted as human beings. Despite opposition to supervised injection centers, these are known to save lives and keep people off the street. Without a comprehensive approach, we will continue to whistle past the graveyard, literally.

John Groch, West Chester

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