I agree with the PG's points regarding good planning ("Work It Out: Successful Cities Plan Good Developments," Feb. 25). Understanding Richard Stanizzo's perspective ("Labor Leader Assails Foes of Arena, Casino," Feb. 20), trade councils are less concerned with good planning than jobs. When they appear to be at odds, they side with work sooner rather than later.

Look around the country and the world, and you'll appreciate Pittsburgh's extraordinary buildings and neighborhoods. I hope our mayor found this himself on his recent economic development trip to Europe. With these developments under way, billions are being spent, publicly and privately, to pump new life into our economy. This is frightening without long-term planning to guide the investment. Can anyone demonstrate that billions being spent on a casino, arena or tunnel are key parts of a long-term master plan for revitalizing Pittsburgh?

To fully disclose, my organization is a One Hill Community Benefits Agreement Coalition member and a named supporter of the new arena master plan appeal now pending. Let me be clear: I do not oppose the new arena or these projects; each could spur significant, long-term economic benefits. We need a plan, developed by true stakeholders, demonstrating how these projects serve our collective best interest. Regarding the new arena, I haven't heard of such a document validating its location or design. It is where it is, and looks the way it is, because that's how the owners/occupants want it, not because it fits within long-term plans for Pittsburgh.

Let's embrace development projects great and small. Let's make sure they serve their greater purpose, not special interests. With a real master plan, these developments would be different -- and better.

STEVEN PAUL
Executive Director
Preservation Pittsburgh
Downtown

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The Feb. 25 editorial "Work It Out: Successful Cities Plan Good Developments" included the following quote: "Does [Pittsburgh] really want to drop a new arena at the foot of the Hill District without ensuring significant improvement to the surrounding neighborhood?"

Please tell me if "the foot of the Hill District" is the same as "Uptown," because that is where the new multipurpose arena site is located. With that in mind, I would like to know why the neighboring residents and businesses that are actually adjacent to the new arena site are not the ones benefiting by this much-needed development? Instead, money might be funneled to residents and businesses of the Hill, not those who border the new arena site.

As a member of Uptown Partners of Pittsburgh, a community group in Uptown, I have witnessed firsthand the overwhelming number of residents and businesses who favor new development along Fifth Avenue, especially something as magnificent as the new $300 million arena!

The new arena is the best thing that could happen to this neglected corridor. It will bring construction jobs, retail, restaurants and other much-needed employment opportunities, not to mention the restoration of pride to this once-thriving eastern gateway to the Downtown central business district. Other than Duquesne University, UPMC Mercy and the UPMC parking lots that border Fifth Avenue, there has not been any large-scale development in Uptown in years.

As a resident of Uptown, a student at Duquesne University and an employee of UPMC Mercy, I look forward to any positive improvements to Fifth Avenue and Uptown.

BYRON WADE
Uptown

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Reading your article on funding for nursing homes ("Nursing Homes Want More Funding for Seniors," Feb. 21) made me spring into action. As an active AARP volunteer, I can tell you that survey after survey tells us that most people do not want to go to a nursing home. In addition to what we want, we know that it is less expensive to keep a person at home rather than in an institution even if they do have conditions that require a lot of care.

We have two programs that prove that fact. One is in Allegheny County and in certain other counties. That program is called the Life Program. The other, the PDA waiver, is administered in every county by the Department of Aging. In both of these programs you must be medically eligible for nursing home care and have a low income. You remain at home and receive care. The state is also doing what it can to move patients from nursing homes back into the community through a program called Nursing Home Transition.

The state is receiving less money from the federal budget to run the Medicaid programs. Medicaid is what pays for the health care, including nursing home care for low-income seniors. If the state has less money to work with on this sort of thing, I think it should go where it will do the most good: paying for home health care.

BARBARA DICKMAN
Delmont

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I have to disagree with the idea that bicyclists on the streets of Pittsburgh are a danger only during bad weather. They are always a danger. Why should a motorist have to ride behind a bicycle traveling at 5 mph until they get the chance to drive into the oncoming lane to pass them?

However, the real issue here is how legal are they? I must pass a driver's test, pay for insurance, have my vehicle inspected, pay for a license and license plates to travel on these roads. I see none of these state requirements for bicyclists.

What is my recourse if one of these uninsured, untested cyclists runs into me and causes bodily injury or damage to my vehicle on his or her noninspected vehicle? I have none. If they want to share the road they should share the expense and have the same requirements as all people traveling on the roads of Pittsburgh.

PAT FRUSCELLO
Bethel Park

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I read with interest the letter by Amy Senkow of Jeannette ("Schools Ruin the Fun by Policing Snacks," Feb. 21). I also often hark back to my school days and wish times could be that simple again, but then I wake up!

As an emergency physician and father of a daughter who has life-threatening food allergies, I know firsthand how deadly these allergies can be, even in cases of simple mistaken contact.

Life-threatening allergies have risen dramatically in the United States over the last 10 years, and schools, hospitals, restaurants and even sports stadiums have changed their policies in regard to the distribution and handling of the common allergens.

I would encourage Ms. Senkow not to look at this as government stripping away her rights, but rather as her school board making a reasonable decision to keep her children safe. I'm sure that if one of her children had passed out M&M's, which are often processed on the same equipment as peanuts, and a child became very ill or died, she would feel terrible. You can't expect lower-grade children to vigilantly read each label or trust another child who brings in "egg-free cupcakes."

Keeping kids safe at school is a top priority and it should not be equated to governmental intrusion. They are not taking the peanuts out of your hand at home; they're just protecting others who may be harmed by them at school.

I'm sure there are many parents and educators who would like to learn more about allergens at school and at home. A good starting place is The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, www.foodallergy.org.

KIP BENKO, M.D.
McCandless

The writer is assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

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The Rendell administration's latest budget proposal provides for an additional 690 beds in state prisons, and the Department of Corrections wants to open two or three new state prisons ("Pa. Legislature Asked to Fund 3 More Prisons," Feb. 29).

What we don't see in the budget is funding for hiring more corrections officers to fit the state's expansion. That's unfortunate because as the needs for state prisons grow, our officers are facing larger populations with fewer people to watch their backs.

This is an all-too-familiar problem.

The state closed the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh in 2005 after a new facility was opened in Fayette County, explaining it wasn't needed because the state could handle its prison population. That didn't turn out to be the case and SCI Pittsburgh was then reopened last year. Unfortunately, the ranks of our officers didn't increase. Officers were simply pulled from other institutions, thinning our ranks even further.

The administration predicts the prison population will be reduced if a legislative package is passed that would reduce sentences for so-called "nonviolent" offenders. Predictions sometimes are correct, but all we know for certain is the past -- and the past has shown us that the state prison population has only gone up each year.

It's time to give officers the backup they need.

DONALD G. McNANY
President
Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association
Harrisburg

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