Restoring Nine Mile Run is involved and long-term
I am writing to clarify a misunderstanding that might arise from "Transformation of 'Stink Creek': Phase I of Nine Mile Run Restoration Project Finished" (Sept. 15 East edition).

Nine Mile Run is being improved significantly by the stream restoration, but it is still not safe to splash in. The restoration is designed to increase wildlife habitat in Frick Park. But it is only the first of many steps required to fully restore the creek.

The stream still suffers ongoing pollution problems, including sewage and pollution such as road salt, car oil and trash. To fix these problems, significant efforts must be made in the upper watershed communities of Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Edgewood and Swissvale to further improve sewage infrastructure and to reduce storm water.

Residents can do a number of small things to help capture storm water and filter it, including attaching a rain barrel to their downspout and planting native plants in place of non-native grasses.

Areas that are safe to splash in are the Fern Hollow and Falls Ravine wetlands. These tributaries have long been healthier than the main stem of Nine Mile Run. Although they recently received attention when a sewage leak was discovered, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has corrected the problem.

As the restoration of Nine Mile Run is such a visible project, it has become an excellent tool in achieving the more difficult aspect of watershed restoration: bringing municipal agencies and residents together to turn "stink creek" into a safe place for future generations to dip their toes.

MARIJKE HECHT
Executive Director
Nine Mile Run Watershed Association
Swissvale

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Save the YWCA pool
What a shame that the YWCA will be closing its swimming pool for lack of funds ("Downtown YWCA Closing Its Pool, Gym," Sept. 14). Over 200 young women and seniors will lose a place to exercise. It is not free, as members pay around $300 a year.

The women who use that pool shop Downtown and have lunch. There goes Pittsburgh, backwards again.

There must be a way that it can be saved. The mayor and our city council should look into this as it keeps both young and old active.

JACK W. HEIM
Avalon

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My high-rise
I noted, with a touch of sadness, that the high-rise in my childhood neighborhood will be demolished Friday ("Garfield Heights High-Rise to Fall," Sept. 17).

I was at the ground-breaking ceremony in 1963 as part of a delegation of students from James E. Rogers School. Chosen by lottery, I represented Mrs. Finnegan's fifth-grade class. The ceremony was significant enough for Mayor Joseph M. Barr to attend, as did City Councilman Patrick Fagan, the Rev. Charles Foggie and East Liberty Chamber of Commerce President Ellwood Knapp. I still have the original photo from the Pittsburgh Press.

MYLES LAMPENFELD
Oakland, Calif.

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Harmed in custody
Thank you, Barbara White Stack, for a compellingly written and highly disturbing investigation into the abuse of children who, for their own protection from parental abuse and neglect, were placed into the custody of the child welfare system in our region ("In Harm's Way," Sept. 18-21).

As I read the first installment, ("Children in Custody Often Hurt, Abused"), I couldn't help thinking that this is journalism at its finest: It has the capacity to pressure the system to end such abuses as the rapes of 14- and 15-year-old girls, a 14-year-old boy getting both arms broken by a worker and the terrible case of another 14-year-old boy who received a series of serious broken bones in the space of one month while in custody.

Ms. Stack, please keep the pressure on with your fearless writing and your restless drive for the truth.

ANNABELLE CLIPPINGER
Mt. Lebanon

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It's not intercourse
I read with sadness, but not surprise, that more than half of our nation's teens, ages 15 to 19, have engaged in oral sex ("Teens Say Oral Sex Common," Sept. 16). An analysis of the data presented by Child Trends seemed surprised that those who have had oral sex include almost a quarter of teens who haven't had intercourse yet and consider themselves virgins.

Why is this surprising to any adult American citizen? In 1998, Bill Clinton, president of the United States, testified under oath, "I did not have sex with that woman." The leader of our nation did not classify oral sex as sex. And his statement was regurgitated over and over in media outlets.

The children in a 2002 study would have been between the ages of 5 and 10 at that time, critically formative years for developing opinions about sexuality and self-esteem. Of course they don't believe oral sex is sex. The former leader of the free world helped instill this value in them.

BARBARA DEVINE
Upper St. Clair

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We're not outcasts
I thank Ann Rodgers for her balanced story on our Behold Your God campaign this month ("Jews for Jesus on Way to Town: Two-Week Stop Part of Worldwide Outreach," Sept. 18). I do, however, want to comment on the quote by Lisa Steindel, director of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Jewish Committee, whoharges that we are deceptive.

Behold Your God is about talking to those Jewish people who want to find out about Jesus. Saying that those who do consider the message are victims of deception demeans Jews and Christians in Pittsburgh. It grieves us that instead of dealing with and debating the issue -- is Jesus the promised messiah of Israel? -- we are treated like sinister outcasts. Isn't this a place where all people can think for themselves?

GARRETT SMITH

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Watertown, Mass.

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Editor's note: The writer is working on the Jews for Jesus outreach in Pittsburgh.

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Paper ballots
We are a group of Unitarian Universalists in the Pittsburgh area. One of the principles of our faith is using the democratic process both in our congregations and in society at large.

The foundation of our country's democracy is an electoral system: Every citizen must have confidence that his or her vote has been counted accurately. Without free and fair elections, democracy crumbles.

In the 2004 elections, problems with electronic voting machines were widely reported. As many as one-third of all voters cast votes on electronic voting equipment that could not be independently audited. Mercer, Greene and Beaver counties had high under-voting rates on machines that were subsequently decertified. More than 10,000 votes cast went uncounted statewide. In other areas of the country, thousands more votes were recorded than people signed in to vote. These disturbing facts demonstrate the need for a voter-verified paper ballot for all electronic votes cast.

The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 550) requires that all voting systems produce a voter-verified paper record of each vote cast and also requires the disclosure of vote-counting software code, bans the use of wireless devices and mandates a percentage of random audits in each state. Reps. Mike Doyle and John Murtha are co-sponsors of this crucial legislation.

So far, however, Reps. Melissa Hart and Tim Murphy do not support H.R. 550. We urge you to write to them and ask for their support for this bipartisan bill that we think is essential to the well-being of our democracy.

KAREN ZOLLER
Mt. Lebanon
Editor's note: This letter was signed by 24 others.

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John Roberts will set back civil rights
With the nomination and confirmation of Judge John Roberts as the new chief justice of the United States assured, U.S. history is poised to repeat itself yet again.

In many ways, conservative Republicans have been planning for years to assemble a U.S. Supreme Court designed to reverse the civil rights gains racial minorities and others had acquired since the Brown decision. This new role of today's court in reversing minority gains is a replica of the U.S. Supreme Court of the late 19th century, which legitimized and nationalized Jim Crow and its cruel consequences.

Because of his background and upbringing, Judge Roberts views the 1960s' civil rights laws with the negative tradition and philosophy of his mentor, the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, whose claim to legal fame was based on his opposition to the Brown decision. He was included in President Nixon's list of nominees because as a young lawyer he had urged Justice Robert Jackson to uphold Plessy and its Jim Crow laws during the Brown deliberations. Rehnquist went on to support many anti-civil rights decisions during his long term.

Although Judge Roberts' paper trail is short, it reveals his unambiguous opposition to civil rights. Do Republicans want to bring back the era of Jim Crow?

Roberts not only sees civil rights cases in the negative tradition of Justice Rehnquist but also in the negative philosophy which inspired the Justice Waite-led U.S. Supreme Court of the 1890s. Waite's court issued decisions that grossly weakened constitutional protections for racial minorities and paved the way for Jim Crow.

Roberts may honor stare decisis, but like other judges and because of his philosophical bent, he will apply that principle selectively. And given what has been revealed thus far, he will not apply stare decisis in civil rights cases.

MICHAEL A. MATAMBANADZO
Professor, History Department
Slippery Rock University
Slippery Rock