In a letter to the editor published Monday, the Old Waverly History Exchange & Tea Room was named incorrectly.
The Evening Sun regrets the error.
Church bells are too much of a good thing
Saint John's Episcopal Church at Huntingdon and its neighbors have co-existed harmoniously for decades. But the church broke with tradition a year ago when it instituted a bell schedule that awakens those living nearby at 6 a.m.
With the new schedule, bells go off every 15 minutes, seven days of the week, at decibel levels determined to be unsafe by the American Speech and Language Association.
Some residents have moved because of the disturbance. But those of us who remain continue to try to restore quiet to our neighborhood.
When our struggle came to light, your editorial spoke ruefully of "silencing" the bells of St. John's, as though this were the only alternative ("Sounds of the City," Oct. 16).
We ask: Why not simply restore the schedule that had been in effect for the past 35 years? Why not allow the tradition of church bells on Sundays to continue? Sunday church bells are a part of Baltimore's charm and set the day apart as a day of worship.
Those of us who live directly across from the church on East 31st Street understand that bells, like wine, are a potent force that should be savored. A person may enjoy a glass of wine every evening with dinner, and more than one glass on Sunday, without ill effect.
But the same person would protest if you poured a glass of wine down his throat every 15 minutes for nine hours a day. That would be an abuse of a good thing.
We are not malcontents who have decided not to like bells. We have a legitimate complaint that is not being addressed.
Ms. Shapiro of the Waverly Tea Room wrote that "this neighborhood remains, because of the bells of St. John's, the Victorian village so beloved by Lizette Woodworth Reese" (The Forum, Oct. 20).
The truth is we are not a Victorian village. We are a neighborhood in Waverly in 1995. About a third of the residents on our street either work shifts, attend school and work, or hold down more than one job.
In view of the profusion of city sounds, we need periods of quiet, not someone's version of a "good" loud sound overcoming someone else's version of a "bad" loud sound.
The bells have been lauded for keeping us "on schedule." But in these times, we cannot afford to have our sleeping and waking patterns and our schedules dictated to us by the local church.
Our right to sleep and our ability to enjoy our property should be protected under the law.
Dolores Moran
Baltimore
Work for money
Now I've heard everything: According to Anna Warren, a spokeswoman for the tenants of Claremont Homes, having to work for the money you receive is wrong and tantamount to slavery.
Would someone please tell my boss this? Who does he think he is to expect me to come to work every day before he'll pay me? I'm not his slave.
I should get paid to work whenever I want to, if the spirit moves me. I don't want to be told I have to work for my money.
This is ludicrous. What's even more ridiculous is that city leaders backed down. They're not going to insist that tenants of %J subsidized housing offer anything in return.
On the campaign trail, Mary Pat Clarke says, "These people [the tenants] don't believe in having something shoved down their throats."
Well, I agree. I've had unfair taxes shoved down my throat for years, and a lot of those tax dollars support people who think they shouldn't be expected to offer a little work in return.
Baltimore Housing Commissioner Daniel Henson's excuse was that mandatory community service would be too hard to enforce.
Funny, my boss always seems to know when I don't show up for work.
Beth Ullmann
Bel Air
33d Street plans
It is no secret that the Greenmount Avenue corridor around 33rd Street is in a state of decay.
Shops are closing. New shops that open do not necessarily instill sense of growth and prosperity for the surrounding neighborhoods.
There is, however, enough residential and commercial interest in maintaining a viable community that the benefits district law was passed. There is hope for these neighborhoods, after all.
A variety of community organizations have been working for years to improve these neighborhoods. But now that tax money is about to be spent on improving conditions in the area, the rug gets pulled from us.
The demolition of Eastern High School and replacing it with a shopping center may undermine all efforts to improve the area.
Valu Food wants to build a shopping center in the location. Yet Super Fresh, which has just remodeled, is four blocks away off Greenmount Avenue.
We have a privately owned pharmacy at the intersection of Greenmount and 33rd streets as well as one inside a nearby Rite Aid. We have restaurants on Greenmount and need more.
Also, Baltimore does have football. It may not be the National Football League, but it draws on average 30,000 or more a game.
Will the Canadian Football League have to give up its overflow parking lot for a grocery store? Does that mean the neighborhoods will have to absorb the overflow parking on their streets?
The site at Eastern High School should be developed. But it should reflect the needs of the community, not simply corporate interests.
The mayor's office has an obligation to listen to all sides. When recognized community organizations that have an interest in what happens at Eastern or Memorial Stadium have to hear about such plans in the newspaper, it shows a lack of consideration by the mayor's office.
There is a process that must be followed. There are communities that must have a say. There is a historically vibrant area of Baltimore that needs to be saved.
Myles Hoenig
Baltimore
Fine job by city
This past Christmas I purchased a live tree to be decorated and displayed in our office lobby. It was our plan to plant the tree on a piece of land adjacent to our offices after Christmas. We would purchase and plant trees each Christmas in hopes of improving the appearance of our building and the neighborhood we're part of.
I called the Baltimore City Forestry Department and asked for planting information and for any help that they could offer. I was contacted by Matthew Taylor.
Mr. Taylor asked me about our location and the size of our lot. He told me the city had some pine and holly trees he could plant.
This past Friday, Mr. Taylor and his "crew" brought and planted five pine, two holly and a weeping cherry tree.
The president of our company was so impressed with the courtesy and efficiency of Mr. Taylor and his men, he's asked that I have picnic tables built and placed on the lot for the use of our neighbors.
We read too often that the city doesn't show up or the city doesn't do the job asked of it. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the city government, Mr. Taylor and his men for the fine job they did.
My company will maintain, with pride, what will become, we hope, a neighborhood picnic area.
Harold M. Heller
Baltimore
The writer represents Rita Ann Distributors.
Straight talk on parents' drug use
Now that Oprah Winfrey has admitted publicly to using cocaine 20 years ago, the question remains whether her admission was helpful or just a ratings ploy.
As Oprah goes, so goes the nation. Today there are thousands of adults, including parents, who, like Oprah, used drugs in the 1960s and '70s.
They became neither addicts nor criminals. Many are now successful and face the dilemma of how to tell their children about their past drug use.
Whether you're Oprah or just an average parent, you can't hide your past -- nor should you.
Young people respect honesty. The question isn't whether you tell your children about your past drug use but how to tell them.
When parents talk to their children, they should remember that it's not the 1960s or '70s anymore. Drug use today is very different and more dangerous.
Many drugs, like marijuana, are more potent today than previously.
There is also much more violence associated with drugs today. And there is a dramatic increase in the number of drug-related AIDS cases.
Meanwhile, the average age of first drug use has dropped. This )) is the reality of drug use in the 1990s.
The need for communication between parents and their children has never been so important or so difficult.
If Oprah's admission of past drug use helps make it easier for parents to talk about their past drug use with their children, then we owe her a debt of gratitude.
Michael M. Gimbel
Towson
The writer is director the Baltimore County Government Office of Substance Abuse.