Letters to the Editor | Oct. 27, 2023

On Tuesday, we said a final goodbye to a hero, Philadelphia Police Sgt. Richard Mendez. His life was beautifully eulogized by his only daughter, Mia. The innocence in her voice as she spoke about her father touched everyone present. Her last conversation with him was to encourage him not to go to work. He denied her request to heed the call of duty. Heroism begins with the act of donning the uniform. Every officer knows that doing so comes with the possibility that they will have to lay down their life for those they protect and serve. Yet they do so willingly, rushing to help in situations that others run from.

Mendez loved family, friends, and the community of police officers he worked with. As a husband, father, and officer, his goal was to keep everyone safe, and he committed himself to this command each and every day. His actions on Oct. 17 changed all our lives forever. We lost a hero in our midst. The pain of loss pulls at our heartstrings, playing a sad melody that will echo in our thoughts and minds often. Rest in peace, Sgt. Mendez, your work is complete. Keep your eyes on us from your place in heaven.

Stephen Ferry, Philadelphia

It was deeply troubling to read that Cape May County has joined with fishermen and environmental groups in invoking federal laws originally designed to protect land, wildlife, and biodiversity from commercial development in an effort to block New Jersey’s first offshore wind energy farm. Ironically, most of those statutes were enacted half a century ago when the greatest threat to the environment was economic development. Today, we live in a different world, one where we have a profound and immediate need for new green sources of energy to preserve nature and ourselves from the effects of global warming.

The pipeline of green energy projects is choked today by lawsuits that entail long, costly, and discouraging delays. Once litigation begins, the average delay is six years. Clearly, the federal process for reviewing and permitting clean energy projects needs a reset, one that eliminates duplicative requirements from multiple agencies, facilitates timely review of legal challenges, and gives all interested parties a voice but not a veto. Congress has before it several “permitting reform” bills designed to do just that. It needs to act quickly to prevent laws enacted to protect the environment from being used to block the path forward to clean energy.

Elaine Fultz, Philadelphia

I have no doubt that there are those who see the government purchase of coastal homes as justified. After all, those homes are being threatened by natural causes (like beach erosion and sea level rise) that the homeowners could not possibly have foreseen. Would it not make sense, then, to suggest that no coastal home purchased after a certain date should be bought by the government due to the owner’s inability to sell? Or, if this government bailout is to continue, perhaps the prices should be tied to market value and the owner not be given a profit.

Philip A. Tegtmeier Sr., Honey Brook

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