We have the power to remove this mayor

Once again, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl abuses his office, threatens the whistle-blower and then professes ignorance. It is hard to settle on what offends me most: his arrogance, his corruption or his stupidity. If he read the papers, he might realize that the allegation of using a government car for personal purposes is one of the things that landed Cyril Wecht in a federal indictment ("Mayor Defends Use of SUV; U.S. Attorney to Review It," Oct. 3).

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan is to be commended for investigating the mayor's disgraceful conduct. The true responsibility, however, lies not with Ms. Buchanan but with us, the voters.

Electing Mark DeSantis, who seems to be an honest, intelligent man concerned for the city's future, will both rid us of Mayor Ravenstahl and notify the Democratic Party that we deserve more than the usual suspects for public office.

With Pittsburgh hemorrhaging jobs and corporate headquarters, we can ill-afford to wait for the mayor to grow up. The time to act is now.

THOMAS J. FARRELL
Point Breeze

The writer is a former assistant U.S. attorney.

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Bad for the region

When I first saw the headline about Luke Ravenstahl refusing to speak to the Executive Women's Council of Greater Pittsburgh until his challenger, Mark DeSantis, left the room ("Mayor Wouldn't Speak at Forum Until DeSantis Left Room," Oct. 4), I thought it must have been April 1. Sadly, it wasn't April Fools' Day but rather one month until the mayoral election for the city of Pittsburgh.

Is this the kind of leader whom city residents want to represent them in negotiations with unionized workers, massive nonprofits (swimming in cash but willing only to support the city with meager voluntary contributions in lieu of taxes) and the few remaining Fortune 500 companies and other businesses?

As the city of Pittsburgh goes, so goes the entire region. As a citizen of Allegheny County, I urge all residents to seriously consider a man who worked for Sen. John Heinz; has started, grown and run a successful business; and has returned to Pittsburgh to serve the city. Please vote for Mark DeSantis on Nov. 6.

JOHN McLANE
Dormont

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Downsize the city

I have been following the current mayoral race in Pittsburgh with great interest. I am beginning to wonder if there are any politicians left in this city capable of facing reality.

In 1950 Pittsburgh hosted a population of 677,000. Today, that population has fallen to a mere 313,000, yet we insist on maintaining and paying for all the old infrastructure and the services that go with it. It's time for this city to start decommissioning a few residential areas, tearing out the streets and converting the land to green belts. Property owners could be compensated with land or homes already owned by the city, on streets that will remain open.

In this way, the costs for police protection, fire protection, repaving, plowing, etc., all can be reduced, without reducing service levels. The green belts would enhance the character of the city and would also serve as a land bank, should demand for residential property increase in the decades to come.

JAY SILLA
Elliott

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Blawnox angels

Thank you to the Blawnox Police Department. After the first rock slide disaster, Route 28 construction/destruction and the recent rock slide on Route 28 ("Route 28 Open for Slide Cleanup," Oct. 4), these policemen have risen to the challenge.

Whether the time is 6 a.m. or 4 p.m., the officers are there directing traffic, controlling the traffic signals and making a horrendous situation a bit more palatable. Kudos to these wonderful angels ... and, to PennDOT, you owe them a bonus!

DEBORAH CARLBERG
Oakmont

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'Trickle-down' care

President Bush has vetoed the latest version of the bill to provide health care for children ("Child Health Veto Irks Casey," Oct. 4). He justifies this by claiming that the bill will cover some kids who are not actually living in dirt-poor poverty.

So, now, I have come up with a brilliant way of resolving this impasse. It's called "The Trickle Down Theory of Child Health Care," and it is brilliant in it's adherence to the policies of Republican administrations, past and present.

The Republican Party believes that giving money to the rich (for example, cutting their taxes) is good for the economy because they will use the money they gain to buy more goods and services, and the money they spend will trickle down, ultimately, to the middle class and poor. So, let's provide free health care for the rich kids. Then, their health will trickle down to the kids from less-moneyed families.

One side-benefit is that it will provide more healthy young people from the lower classes to draft and send to Iraq.

It's win/win all around.

PAUL A. ALTER
Wilkinsburg

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What regional asset?

The Regional Asset District board has some explaining to do. The RAD board disburses proceeds from the extra 1 percent sales tax that is paid in Allegheny County to support regional assets (parks, libraries, museums, arts-related societies, etc.) that are to serve all residents.

The Post-Gazette recently listed the 2008 planned RAD budget (Oct. 2), which included a payment of $500,000 to Upper St. Clair Township. It is beyond me to understand why a wealthy community like Upper St. Clair needs any additional taxpayer funding, especially any RAD funds at all.

What "regional asset" does Upper St. Clair have to offer? Less-affluent communities like Millvale, Etna, Reserve or any in the Mon Valley would love to have this kind of money to support their recreational parks or "regional" assets they may have to offer to Allegheny County. Once again, it appears that the rich get richer.

PAUL WASHINGTON
Reserve

The writer is a Reserve commissioner.

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'Gay' is earned

I have to agree with Sen. Larry Craig's claim that he is not gay. People have forgotten that "gay" is a term of liberation. Being gay means having the maturity to accept yourself as you are. It also means having the courage to represent yourself honestly to the world. Not all homosexual men are deserving of the term "gay."

Sen. Craig is not gay. He's just a coward. He should spare us bearing witness to his thousand deaths by reversed pleas and canceled resignations ("Craig Vows to Remain in Senate," Oct. 5). He should slink quietly away to be forgotten.

KURT COLBORN
Swisshelm Park

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