We must care for those who care for others

On July 3, the Post-Gazette published a Perspectives piece from Jane Miller and Aims C. Coney Jr. that supported the passage of Pennsylvania House Bill 1247 to provide mental retardation services for 20,000 individuals in need ("Our Impoverished Caregivers: Those Who Care for the Mentally Ill Deserve a Living Wage"). The bill, as they pointed out, does not set a requirement of fair pay for those who provide care to those individuals, commonly called direct-care workers.

As the Pennsylvania campaign coordinator for Health Care for Health Care Workers, I can tell you that quality jobs and a living wage are imperative to ensuring that aging and disabled Pennsylvanians receive quality care.

Current research shows that direct-care workers, although they love the work they do, are leaving the industry due to unfair wages and, particularly, a lack of health coverage. Direct-care workers are being forced to decide between caring for our most vulnerable population and caring for themselves and their families.

When long-term care workers seek employment elsewhere, it is the consumer who suffers the most. By 2016, Pennsylvania will need 43,000 additional direct-care workers to satisfy the projected need. There is little chance of this happening, however, if the state does not act now to require that these workers are paid a decent wage.

To ensure that Pennsylvania has care it can depend on in the future, please contact your legislators and ask them to include a minimum-required wage for direct-care workers in House Bill 1247 and urge them to include affordable, accessible health-care coverage for caregivers.

To read more about the struggle that direct-care workers face each day, visit www.coverageiscritical.org.

TRACY LAWLESS
Pennsylvania Campaign Coordinator
Health Care for Health Care Workers
Marshall

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Real LCB change

So the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is tired of reading about the commonwealth's antiquated liquor system. It wants to change its agency into what consumers are looking for ("LCB Uncorks Novel Sales Plans," July 9).

Here's a start: Disband and allow the free market to intervene. Allow passionate, informed entrepreneurs and individuals to sell me my wine, instead of a massive bureaucracy.

Record sales do not equate to effective marketing. The LCB is a monopoly. We consumers have no choice in the matter.

DARYL CROSS
Friendship

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Can such expenses

I am a resident and business owner in Greenfield. I grimace in disgust every time I walk past the $1,000 garbage cans on Greenfield Avenue, each decorated with the current mayor's name prominently displayed. When I see that Port Authority fares are going up, the Carnegie library system is short on funds and Pittsburgh has been in Act 47 distressed status for five years, I think, "How can this guy justify the extreme expense?"

I belong to neither major party and vote independent. I vote for the best, most responsible-seeming candidate. I believe that this ridiculous purchase, which appears to be blatant advertising in an election year, sums up the immaturity, lack of foresight and impulsive behavior that Mr. Ravenstahl has exhibited during his short stint as mayor.

I love this city and have come back after leaving multiple times. I love the future I see here. What I fear is the cumulative, end result of having someone at the helm who shows such an absence of basic common sense.

We are in the midst of a recession. Tax revenues will decline. Money is badly needed in other areas. You don't buy $1,000 garbage cans when funds are needed for other things!

JOSH INKLOVICH
Greenfield

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Paddle along

Regarding the July 6 article on the Pittsburgh Dragon Boat Challenge held July 5 at the Three Rivers Regatta ("Dragon Boats Fire Up Regatta"), I would like to call some additional facts to readers' attention:

The Three Rivers Rowing Association's Pittsburgh Paddlefish were given scant mention, though responsible for a lion's share of the organization and execution of the event. To name a few key people would be to leave off too many who helped out immensely in the weeks leading up to the event with planning execution of the event, so it will have to suffice to simply list Laurie Butler as the team's coach.

Also, it should be mentioned that every community team represented on the water that day had coaches, steerspeople and even some paddlers from Pittsburgh's established dragon boat teams.

As readers may have surmised, there are two dragon boat clubs in Pittsburgh, and both welcome new members. In addition to the sessions mentioned and the URL listed for Steel City Dragon Boat Association, the Paddlefish have seats open for new paddlers Saturdays at 9 a.m. at the Three Rivers Rowing Association boathouse in Millvale.

The team also has winter workout sessions at TRRA's Lambert Boathouse in Washington's Landing. Information, directions and contact numbers can be found at www.pittsburghpaddlefish.org.

JACOB WITUL
Ben Avon

The writer is a member of Pittsburgh Paddlefish.

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Truly pro-life

In reading Bishop David Zubik's Perspectives piece ("I Am Pro-Life," July 1), I fully understood that his emphasis, his passion and his focus was that of being anti-abortion, a pro-life belief in its most recognizable form.

However, I very much appreciated his acknowledgement that to be "truly" pro-life is to oppose killing in all of its aspects, capital punishment most definitely being one of them.

SHARYN REED KELSON
Forest Hills

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Consider the drawbacks of larger school districts

Regarding the June 21 Next Page piece ("For a New Allegheny County: 26 School Districts, 26 Municipalities"): How can it make good sense to combine districts into larger-sized districts of more than 3,000 students if the studies show the optimum for cost savings is between 2,500 and 2,999?

In fact, it would seem that the Pittsburgh Public Schools (currently spending $20,000 on each of its almost 27,000 pupils) might be better for taxpayers if it were split into smaller districts to reach "the goal of creating more cost-effective, economically competitive and efficient government bodies."

Other issues to be considered when school districts merge:

• Teacher contracts: It is unlikely that the teachers union would accept the salaries of the lower-paying district when a merger occurs;

• Transportation costs: Increased costs for more busing across the district;

• Other financial costs: Possible school closings (and attempting to sell them in a down economy), rebranding (signage, stationery, Web pages and even band uniforms);

• Local school taxes: Due to the above issues, taxes would invariably increase at least to the millage of the higher taxed district;

• Academics: Smaller districts have consistently higher test scores and graduation rates;

• Local control: Larger districts typically have less parental involvement and taxpayer control over the direction of their schools. Consolidation can be a threat to the social network and even the local economy.

We would like to suggest that having fewer students in each school district, instead of more, would create a more nurturing environment where all students can receive the attention they need -- and none will "fall through the cracks" as often happens in larger districts.

More information about our organization is available at ceopa.org.

MARILYN REED
CHERYL BOISE
Commonwealth Education Organization
O'Hara

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