Letters to the editor
Share with others:
Amid all the angst and consternation created in and around Major League Baseball by the release of the Mitchell Report ("7 MVPs on Baseball Drug List," Dec. 14), no one seems to be realizing one of the true benefits of the report: awareness.
The agencies and individuals who deal with substance abuse on a daily basis know that the abuse of steroids has reached the high-school level, impacting not only young male athletes looking for an edge, but also young females looking for a better body.
Whatever "damage" baseball has suffered as a result of this report and the behavior of individual players is nothing compared to the damage that substance abuse causes each and every day.
If the Mitchell Report results in just one young person saying no to the idea of taking steroids to improve their body, then it's worth the cost.
MIKE MANKO
Communications Director
Allegheny County District Attorney's Office
Downtown
Regarding the Mitchell Report: What we're hearing now comes as no surprise and it's the usual yada yada. If nothing happens to these guys' records (retired or active), then they better take another look at the Pete Rose and Joe Jackson situations, for if you do a "wrong" in numbers (volume of players) it's sort of pushed aside.
Let's face it: It's all about the money.
Give me a break, folks ... it's a game. If you were only successful at your present job one-third of the time, would your boss consider you great? I don't think so.
LARRY DILLINGER
Export
After reading how the national "Do Not Call" list has been touted as a government success story, I can only shake my head and remember Orwell's "Animal Farm" ("Ringing Endorsement for Do Not Call List," Dec. 13).
"Where all are created equal, but some are more equal than others" holds true in today's society. For the "Do Not Call" legislation to truly be a success, it needs to include stopping politicians, their volunteers and their voice recordings from reaching private telephones should people not wish to receive those calls.
For people who perform shift work and need to sleep during the day, but for personal reasons need to have the phone on for certain calls, these politician calls are just as big a nuisance as telemarketers, whose calls the politicians saw fit to limit to only those people who didn't opt out.
I want to opt out of receiving all calls from telemarketers, charities, survey takers and politicians endorsing their re-election. Why can't they be included in the legislation if telemarketers are limited?
MICHAEL SHAPIRO
Scott
I don't think Rep. Mike Doyle could have said it better in the letter he wrote to the Post-Gazette regarding Congress ("Mr. Bush and Senate Republicans Thwarted Progress," Dec. 14).
On top of raising the minimum wage and implementing provisions of the 9/11 commission, the House has passed legislation to cut interest rates on student loans and give Washington, D.C., full voting rights in the House.
Democrats have held tons of votes regarding Iraq and passed the Peru free trade agreement that has solid labor standards, something the Bush administration never wanted. You can't forget the ground-breaking ethics bill that was passed earlier this year that makes stunning change in how Congress and lobbyists do business.
Sadly, most legislation that passes the House goes on to die in the Senate because the Democrats rarely have 60 votes to break a filibuster; in that chamber, Senate Republicans are on pace for the most filibusters in a Congress. The new Congress is getting work done but is constantly getting obstructed by either filibusters in the Senate or delay tactics in the House.
But I do like to point out that it's good to see that Pennsylvania has Republicans with half a brain who aren't afraid to break ranks once in a while, like Reps. Charlie Dent and Todd Platts and my Rep. Tim Murphy. You saw this in their support of the State Children's Health Insurance Program and I thank them for that.
BRADLEY MINOSKI
North Huntingdon
As an HCR Manor Care employee, I have a few comments regarding the recent media coverage of the HCR Manor Care buyout by The Carlyle Group ("Nursing Home Officials Try to Allay State Lawmakers' Fears Over Buyout," Nov. 15).
There have been articles that suggest that HCR Manor Care employees provide less than excellent care for their patients -- I can assure you that this is not the case. My co-workers and I go out of our way every day to make our patients feel like they are cared for completely. The HCR Manor Care staff is there to help and our patient satisfaction numbers support this. The Service Employees International Union should use some common sense and realize that NCR Manor Care staff care about their patients and no buyout is going to change that.
TAMMY WEISS, R.N.
McKeesport
I have chosen to live in the city because I value the vitality and diversity afforded by urban life. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh, like other cities in which I have resided (Boston, San Francisco), still suffers from a great deal of segregation by neighborhood.
I was therefore disturbed to read the criticism of an East Liberty community activist that within the Eastside development, in her words: "there's really nothing there for us." ("Bridge Vs. Wedge," Dec. 11). Does she mean to suggest that only white people go to Starbucks, Whole Foods, Walgreens or Borders?
I certainly don't want to see some of the urban redevelopment mistakes of the past century repeated (see Penn Circle). However, efforts to further integrate our communities will never succeed if such isolationist thinking is allowed to influence future development.
LARRY KANE
Shadyside
I cannot understand the logic that puts importance on the outcome of the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire. Not only are they very small in population but they lack the ethnic diversity of states like California, New York, Pennsylvania etc. I don't mean to offend Iowa and New Hampshire but let's face it, they do not represent a cross-section of the United States.
A.E. "CHIC" VOLTURNO
Wilmerding
It is frustrating to watch the casino and arena debates in the media, at public meetings and in the hearing room of the city Planning Commission. Why? Because so much of the needed design review and debate is limited and even caused by inadequate drawings and a lack of technology that is available to all architecture firms and even our kids -- software like Google's "Sketch-Up" or more sophisticated modeling software like Rhino (used to build models for Frank Ghery's complicated forms and our new Gateway light-rail station).
Too many projects are being reviewed with inadequate information about how a building will perform in our complex urban landscape. The debate in words and poorly edited photos in the newspapers too often confuse rather than enlighten.
For those who are interested and inclined, one can go online with Google Earth (it's free) and actually see the city of Pittsburgh built in 3D without any additional technology. Just a few years ago this would have been impossible.
So here is my proposal:
All projects submitted to our planning commission and design review panel should be required to provide a 3D model that can be plugged into the Google Earth map of Pittsburgh. Any citizen or official can then see for themselves the impact a project would have on our public spaces or its neighborhood. This does not relieve the need for traditional renderings, which can often accurately convey the spirit and character of a design.
If we want to be a leader in technology, it's time we bring our design review process into the 21st century. It would cost very little, and if you are a neo-Luddite, your kids could do it for you!
ROBERT SHAW PFAFFMANN
Shadyside
The writer is an architect.
First Published December 20, 2007 9:16 am
