We need a comprehensive plan to reduce violence

In response to the Jan. 30 story "Pa.'s Black Homicide Victim Rate Leads Nation": There is rarely a serious discussion about the fundamental causes of violence in the African-American community. There are conditions often outside the African-American community's control that contribute to the current dangerous condition.

First, individual problems that plague many of our youth often go unresolved. These problems include child abuse, gang activity and involvement, substance abuse, weapons, arrests, psychological problems and educational difficulties. A disproportionate number of African-American children and youth experience these negative influences that increase their risk of youth violence.

Second, these social problems have been compounded by the collapse of the vibrant middle class with its economic support in our inner-city African-American communities. The upper- and middle-class withdrawal and abandonment of traditional African-American communities have contributed to the present climate of despair.

There are several parts to a possible, comprehensive, community-centered violence-reduction plan. One part is prevention and intervention activities that include educational, counseling, academic and mentoring programs. Another part is economic development activities that include small business development, affordable housing construction and sufficient employment opportunities. The third part of a violence reduction plan is increased public safety that includes criminal prosecution, appropriate incarceration and subsequent rehabilitation. Finally the plan's last part is ex-offender reintegration, vocational training and community education, organization and empowerment.

So, the real solution to curbing the violence is the infusion of economic resources to the at-risk African-American community through a comprehensive violence reduction plan.

REV. RICKY V. BURGESS
North Point Breeze

The writer is pastor of the Nazarene Baptist Church in Homewood.

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They earn their pay

Regarding the Jan. 17 letter "Always Our Money," which said, "The bus drivers are overpaid, bottom line": Talk about timing.

See the article on the same day "Police Seek Gunman Who Shot Passenger Through Bus Window." Not all Port Authority drivers are in harm's way every day, but they have more than their share of sometimes violent and unruly passengers. Don't you think possessing a commercial driver's license and maintaining a good driving record, on the job and off, are reason enough to expect a decent wage?

Maneuvering the city streets all day in a 40-foot vehicle is not a job most people can or would care to do.

LOUIS HILDEBRAND
North Huntingdon

The writer is a Port Authority employee.

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Open bigotry

It's nice to see PG columnist Tony Norman take to task the homophobia in the black community ("Actor's Homophobia Just Tip of Iceberg," Jan. 26), although other minorities like Hispanics and some Asians deserve to be scolded as well.

While discrimination against these above-mentioned groups is not politically correct, the bias continues in less overt actions. Not so with homosexuality. One can spout anti-gay epithets with impunity and cloak the bigotry in religious and moral overtones. Caveats are offered about giving up this evil lifestyle and redeeming yourself, but the message is clear: being gay is wrong and temporal punishment and discrimination can be expected if not condoned.

The ignorance and intolerance that these above-mentioned minorities suffered are in turn being hurled at the gay community, and Mr. Norman decries this breach of civil rights. Unfortunately, too few leaders are willing to risk offending their ethnic or religious base by taking a stand against homophobia.

RAY McGOGNEY
Shaler

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Bush's reign of terror

In her Jan. 18 column, "The French Connection: Our Educator-in-Chief Finally Gets a Lesson in Intractable Insurgencies," Maureen Dowd, with her usual sardonic humor, comments on the president's recent elucidation. She ends with a proposition: "maybe W. [President Bush] should move on to reading Sartre's 'No Exit.' ..."

Readers of Sartre's play would understand her allusion to "No Exit," a pessimistic drama of three characters trapped in a surreal room, continually berating each other for sins committed on Earth. The setting of the play simulates a hell: a hellish existence with no exit. Is this not the verbiage and existence of the Sunnis and Shiites?

"No Exit" is a metaphor for the fighting in Iraq: Sunnis and Shiites submerged in a hellish place with seemingly no exit. The intention of the United States is to bring about a political entente, but it doesn't seem to be working, leaving no good exit for U.S. troops.

Moreover, President Bush has taken an intractable stance. He chooses not to heed advice from his military experts. Republican politicians, with long careers, lost in the fall election due to his inflexible policies.

Finally, the electorate is angry, as the polls indicate. From where does he derive power to lead if not from voters? When I hear him speak, I only hear the words "war on terror." Does he derive his power from these three words?

Since Sept. 11, 2001, a day for the history books, five years have passed. Our country is now healing, notwithstanding a remembrance of the victims, their families and the country's vulnerability. Truth be told, though, the only terror I'm feeling lately is the terror of propaganda.

JANE OFFUTT
Mt. Lebanon

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Mourning a friend

My father once told me that it is not fame and fortune that matters in life, but rather the friends one is privileged to meet along life's way. I had such a friend, though I knew him for less than a year. This friend was a true winner -- he won all his fights in life, save one. He had courage, fortitude and a heart as large as in anyone I have ever met.

But as with us all, he fell upon bad times. Through it all, he kept his head high, struggled forward through good days and bad and dealt with the pain as best he could. Each time I saw him, he had a gleam in his eye I rarely see in anyone I've come into contact with in these times.

I can't call him a hero because that term has lost all of its true meaning in this day and age, when many of us use it in the same context as Hollywood, partisan politicians and overachieving teams and athletes.

My father also told me that true men never cry, though I caught him at it once or twice in his short life. True men do cry. I surely did the other day when this friend of mine lost his final battle. And although I never met him in person, I am still proud to say I was privileged to know him. You see, my friend was a horse -- and his name was Barbaro ("Barbaro's Saga Ends," Jan. 30).

Enjoy those pain-free greener pastures, my friend! And peace be with you!

BILL MARO
Jefferson Hills

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We're committed to providing high-quality water and service

I write in response to Laura Magone's Jan. 16 letter, "Should Foreign Companies Control Our Water?"

For 125 years, American Water and its family of local water companies have provided fine water services to hundreds of communities throughout the country. Our mission is to assure that water quality meets or exceeds requirements and that the service we provide is reliable. Independent surveys confirm that we are succeeding -- 93 percent of our customers say they are satisfied.

We work hand in hand with municipalities, regional authorities and state and federal governments to meet the challenges facing communities related to water supply, quality and rates, which, in Pennsylvania, are regulated by the Public Utility Commission. We are additionally overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Allegheny County Health Department.

In 2006, Pennsylvania American Water invested $164 million on treatment and distribution facilities statewide. Skilled professionals -- treatment plant operators, scientists, engineers and utility workers, for example -- work day in and day out, to comply with regulations and meet customers' needs. In fact, the company stays ahead of the game by anticipating forthcoming regulations and providing water that is in compliance even before regulations take effect -- which means that our customers often receive water that exceeds current regulatory standards.

As parent firm RWE moves forward with its divestiture of American Water, we remain committed to providing the highest-quality drinking water and service that is first-rate. At the local level, American Water employees are your neighbors and friends, and they always treat and deliver your hometown water -- their hometown water -- with exceptional care.

DANIEL W. WARNOCK
President
Pennsylvania American Water
Hershey

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