As a former member of the Pennsylvania House and as an attorney representing more than a thousand homeowners in Allegheny County on property assessments, I urge all state lawmakers to support Rep. David Levdansky and his push for "Achievable Property-Tax Reform" (Jan. 16 Midweek Perspectives).

Rep. Levdansky is "right on" when he talks about the short term and advancing House Bill 1600. This bill would combine slots revenues with the 1997 statewide homestead exemption (including farms). This bill would advance immediate property tax relief to almost every homeowner in the state.

As for the long term, House Bill 1947 is "it." This bill in large part calls for amending the Pennsylvania Constitution to provide for the elimination of property taxes for homeowners.

This plan, a shift, would move the cost of education off properties, where it does not belong. The education cost would pass to those who have the ability to pay.

Finally, I must point out something Rep. Levdansky did not, and that is, by advancing House bills 1600 and 1947, there is a diamond in the rough. With the financial tax burden shifted off property owners, home values would stabilize and, in fact, increase. These two bills would welcome with open arms first-time home buyers into the market. The reasoning is simple: Without the burden of property taxes escrowed in their payments, more people could afford their lifelong dream of owning a home.

I applaud Rep. Levdansky and wish him Godspeed in his efforts to bring about real property tax reform.

SHAWN T. FLAHERTY
Fox Chapel

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In response to "Rendell Vows to Press Ahead on Health Care" (Jan. 13), I applaud Gov. Ed Rendell in his efforts to provide affordable, quality health insurance to all Pennsylvanians.

As a provider of services to seniors, I have seen a shortage of trained health-care workers grow to crisis proportions. These workers provide essential hands-on care to older adults wishing to remain in their own homes and in their communities. The aging community is growing rapidly and the need for this kind of care is growing, too.

Providers of in-home services to the elderly are often unable to provide health-care benefits, so they employ part-time workers who are not eligible for full-time benefits. Many direct health-care workers hold part-time jobs at two or more agencies in order to support themselves and their families.

How can we expect to attract individuals to the direct-care worker jobs when they are earning as little as $10 per hour without benefits? How does such a person afford to pay for health-care coverage?

I hope that our legislators do the right thing by ensuring that direct health-care workers have the same access to health-care coverage as the rest of us.

DEB SHTULMAN
Executive Director
Valley Care Association
Sewickley

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There's little of substance I can add to the excellent commentary "The Importance of Libraries" (Jan. 13 Forum). Still, I'd like to share an understanding Andrew Carnegie imparted and to which this commentary alluded.

Without a car, my visits to the library are not to Oakland but to the East Liberty branch. Still, most of the information I receive comes via phone from the main library.

Not having a computer, I've found the library an invaluable resource. What is truly wonderful is the congenial professionalism of each librarian who is always willing and able to help.

Though on a limited income, believing in payback, I am a small contributor to the library. In essence, however, I am really giving to myself. For, as sustained by this commentary, I find the words of Andrew Carnegie very true: "A public library outranks any other one thing that a community can do to help its people."

JODY ROSENBERG
Shadyside

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I noticed that two Jan. 9 articles focused on different aspects of health care being moved from the doctor's office to the home ("Patients Can Learn to Do Time-Consuming Dialysis at Home" and "Medicare May Allow Sleep Apnea Diagnoses From Home"). On one level, I can understand how allowing patients to receive dialysis treatments from home is time saving or that permitting sleep disorder testing from one's own bedroom is more comforting and perhaps in some sense more reliable. However, I cannot help but wonder if the quality of these health-care provisions will be negatively impacted.

While I believe that the health-care industry is on the right track by attempting to go beyond our current routine of patients making doctor's office and hospital visits, patients should still receive in-person professional attention when they decide to try alternate treatments.

Perhaps we could take clues from our history or other nations' health-care systems and have doctors and nurses make house calls to assist with situations, including those brought up in the articles. For example, patients who use home testing to diagnose their sleep disorders should have a trained professional with them to ensure that the correct protocol is being followed.

Having professionally trained individuals visit patients at home can help prevent the quality of health care from suffering due to improper use of medical technologies while increasing the access of care to patients.

CHANTELLE RAUB
Squirrel Hill

The writer is in the health law certificate program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

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Just a quick note to say how impressed I am with our community's embrace of "green" solutions to daily problems like the recent snowfall and icy conditions.

Now that we're mostly too fat and lazy to clear our sidewalks, you don't see Pittsburghers resorting to noisy, wasteful, gas-guzzling gimmicks like snow blowers. No, we use solar energy. You know, don't do anything; eventually the sun will melt it.

WILLIAM McCLOSKEY
Regent Square

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I thought that the most interesting part of your Jan. 17 editorial on Mitt Romney's Michigan primary victory ("Romney's Win") was your recognition that pre-election polls have been grossly inaccurate this year. As one who has and will cheerfully provide false demographic information to public opinion polls, I hope you will stop wasting news space on this garbage.

LEE MOSES
Squirrel Hill

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France went smoke-free ("France Stubs Out Smoking," Jan. 3); they have a history of capitulation to fascism.

Government-imposed smoking bans breach the freedoms on which this country was founded. Siding with special-interest groups that have spun data by twisting science and manipulating the English language is not government's job. As a republic, government exists to secure and protect pre-existing rights. Democracy is tyranny of the majority and the reason our Founding Fathers secured a republic, not a democracy. Freedom is the absence of government coercion.

In a free society, all people have individual freedoms and that includes making choices of their own. The free market should allow private property to remain private and not claim it to be "public places."

If the government applied critical thinking rather than emotional reaction to this issue, it would be mute.

Science is composed of evidence, not opinion of tainted "experts." A little investigation would quickly reveal no merit to use the force of law to control the choices of individuals and private businesses.

Freedom of religion should include no laws imposing the dogma of anti-smoker zealots onto free people and business. As with any religion, they are free to believe as they wish.

ROBERT GEHRMANN
Pennsylvania State Coordinator
Citizens Freedom Alliance/Smokers Club International
Crafton

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