A rush to expand Colfax has not served its neighbors

The Pittsburgh Public Schools launched a blitzkrieg in April to obtain zoning approval for a large addition to Colfax Elementary School. The target completion date is September 2007 and the projected cost is between $11.4 million and $15.3 million ("Parents at Colfax Ask Board to Build Addition," June 14).

Principal David May-Stein held a series of community meetings. He orchestrated and controlled these meetings -- setting the agendas, chairing the meetings and systematically suppressing discussion of concerns voiced by neighbors. One meeting was moved to a Friday evening. The June 13 meeting of the School Board occurred during the Jewish holiday Shavuot.

The neighborhood around Colfax is reeling under the force of this assault. In vain, property owners point out to the principal, the school district, the school board and the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition that the costs and benefits of alternatives such as remodeling the existing building have not been discussed. Nevertheless, tomorrow the school board will vote on whether to approve a contract for the architectural design of the building.

Pittsburgh is not well served by a process that doesn't follow the same rules we claim to teach our children: "Haste makes waste" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The school board should delay its decision to issue a contract for construction until the community has discussed the costs and benefits of available options fully.

MICHAEL WAGNER
Squirrel Hill

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She earned the job

I would like to ask Post-Gazette staff writer Dennis Roddy two questions regarding "Grand Jury Hears Witnesses on Wecht" (June 16). Does Don Kanai's father do any volunteer community work? How about the fathers of Gerald Gilchrist, Alicia Roskov and Patti Kurzawski?

What does the fact that Nicolette Romaniello's father is a member of the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education have to do with the case? The implications made by adding that bit to the story are insulting to both my daughter and me. Mr. Roddy seems to imply that my daughter has her job at the coroner's office because of the position I hold. Nothing could be further from the truth.

First of all, my daughter was hired before I ever was elected to the board. Second, I am proud to say that Nicolette attended both Penn State and Community College of Allegheny County where she studied business and biology. She earned her job and is good at her job, and the implication about her job was very unprofessional.

I have no problem with the reporting of her name or that she was called to testify because that much is true. But Mr. Roddy's innuendo is reminiscent of the National Enquirer.

That my position is without pay is why I asked what kind of volunteer work the fathers of the other employees did. There's no reason to imply anything other than the fact that my daughter is educated, good at her job and earned it all on her own.

DAN ROMANIELLO
Brookline

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Dean was insulting

The June 14 editorial "Dean's Day: Democrats Should Appreciate His Tough Talk" supporting the "tough" talk of Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is disgusting. His statements were not "tough." They were racist and demeaning. No wonder that the Democratic Party has become the minority.

Here is a news flash: Most people in this country are white and Christian. Is it a surprise that a party that speaks for these people is the majority party?

Also, whites have the lowest unemployment rate of any race. It is insulting to say that this group of people does not work for a living.

Democrats better wake up and realize that they need to respect the wishes of the majority or else they will cease to be a factor in national elections.

There is nothing wrong with being white and Christian, and I certainly will not vote for any candidate who thinks otherwise. If we would just follow the Ten Commandments rather than worrying so much about where they are posted, then we would all be much better off.

JIM DOYLE
North Versailles

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Dems know better

The June 14 editorial "Dean's Day: Democrats Should Appreciate His Tough Talk" asks why are some prominent Democrats shushing him after he dismissed Republicans as "pretty much a white, Christian party" and questioned the work ethic of rich Republicans?

Well, here's a theory: Maybe it's hard to take serious a man who envisions himself a leader but constantly criticizes (through ignorance and generalizations) the opposing party based on its race, religious beliefs or social standing.

Maybe, just maybe, Dean's own party realized that his views were not as inspiring as it had hoped but were instead ridiculous and downright offending to its own leaders as well as to core Democrats whose ideas he hoped to embody?

FRANCESCO ROSATO JR.
Brookline

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Bricks for an arena

I keep reading all the comments about who will pay for the Penguins to have a new arena.

Well, I'm not sure how much they project it would cost, but I propose that the city of Pittsburgh and its fine residents do what I heard they did to pay for the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning.

My mom bragged for years that she owned a brick in the Cathedral that she paid for when she was a child going to school and even had a certificate to document it. The certificate had her name on it and, I believe, where she went to school and a really nice drawing of the Cathedral in the background. It certainly looked authentic.

Couldn't we do that again ... for our beloved Penguins?

ELIZABETH BUTTER
Crafton

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Santorum's soft spot

The June 12 letter "Sen. Santorum Deserves Praise for His Animal Welfare Bill" shows his concern for the welfare of animals. But why doesn't the senator show the same concern for people who need prescription drugs?

When a bill came before Congress to allow the importation of less expensive drugs from Canada, Santorum initiated a letter to members of Congress stating that if they passed this bill, "The sky would fall."

Drugs from Canada would save everyone, especially senior citizens, thousands of dollars a year.

MANNY KANN
Shadyside

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Hospital scrubs

I am a nurse at Shadyside hospital, responding to the June 6 letter "Scrub the Scrubs" about employees wearing scrubs outside of the hospital. Not all nurses work in the operating room.

Some of the nurses I work with take their scrubs home and iron them. We do not work in the operating room.

In certain UPMC institutions, inventory-control machines dispense scrubs on a daily basis. Operating personnel can only wear scrubs dispensed from these machines.

The most important sanitary issues are hand-washing and changing contaminated clothing. Hand-washing campaigns have been pushed as long as I have been a nurse. Prevention of employee exposure and employee-to-patient contaminations is high priority. In rooms where various infections are present, precautions are practiced, such as wearing masks, gowns, gloves and hair covers. The goal is to prevent contamination of clothes.

I appreciate the letter writer's concerns, but he needs to know that the hospital has high priorities on infection control.

GAIL YOCHUM
Crafton

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The firefighter shortage requires a two-step plan

There's been much discussion about the shortage of volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania ("Multiple Alarm," June 10 editorial). In my opinion, the problem has a two-step solution:

1. Consolidation of the nearly 2,400 volunteer fire departments to a much smaller number.

2. Greater involvement and support by local municipalities in the day-to-day operations and funding of their departments.

Consolidation would allow the shrinking pool of volunteers to combine efforts and merge administrative and line functions. It would also allow greater ground coordination efforts, better training, conservation of financial resources and more reliable revenue streams. Pennsylvania doesn't suffer from a shortage of fire apparatus, it suffers from a shortage of personnel.

Local governments need to take on a much greater role in the operations of their volunteer departments. They have the right to expect an efficient fire service structure with modern training and professional standards. They have the right to demand the elimination of unnecessary duplication of resources.

Volunteer departments themselves have a right to expect far more help from local government. With the many calls for service and the ever-increasing training requirements, fund-raising has little place in the modern volunteer fire service. Volunteers have a right to expect their service to be fully funded.

In many locales, it's also time to hire at least some paid firefighters, especially during daylight hours. We've gotten to the point where if you place a call for service during the day, you may not get any response at all!

The Pennsylvania volunteer fire service must adapt if it is to survive. We can only do it by working with each other and with our local governments.

BRIAN A. COLELLA
McCandless

Editor's note: The writer has served as a volunteer firefighter for more than 25 years and is currently the chief of the Highland Vol. Fire Dept. in McCandless.