Blame the lawyers, administrators, judge for special-ed lawsuit
In the article "Judge insists pact set specifics" (Oct. 10), U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis lambastes school system administrators and plaintiff lawyers for "devious," "outrageous" and "ugly" conduct while trying to settle the city school lawsuit.
I believe those two parties are guilty of all that and more. If they had the children's best interests as their primary goal, why hasn't this issue been resolved? Who benefited from dragging this out? Whose egos became the issue?
The lawyers and administrators.
For that matter, what about some blame for Judge Garbis? How would you classify his allowing something like the Office for Compliance Awards? Parents whose children's futures were jeopardized and destroyed were bought off with computers they couldn't operate, TVs they didn't need and other goods.
"Devious," "outrageous," "ugly"? What comes to mind is petty, ineffective and clueless. I am sick at heart that a group of supposed adults thinks so little of the children they were charged to protect. To quote another person I hold responsible because of his role at the very beginning, "Do it now."
Richard P. Doran
Baltimore
Too few seem to care when history is destroyed
I commend Todd Richissin for bringing the tragedy of the Hendrickson house to our attention ("History goes up in flames," Oct. 8). I find it difficult to believe that none of the perpetrators of the burning thought to question the wisdom of destroying such a historic property.
Perhaps this is a failure of our "enlightened" education system, where following orders may receive higher praise than thinking for one's self. I wish I knew.
It just seems that, all too often, the value of history to the public gives way to the economic interests of individuals or corporations, as was the case with the Samuel Owings House and the others mentioned in Mr. Richissin's article.
What is even more disturbing is my perception that most people don't care about such destruction. Historic properties cannot be replaced. Where is the public outcry when one is? Again, I believe this is a failure of our education system.
W. Brad Schlegel
Baltimore
Remedy for election apathy is to get children voting by 9
Mike Adams' Perspective article "Is it democracy if too few vote?" (Oct. 11) laments that most people don't vote. People learn behaviors, including participation in democracy, at an early age. That's why Kids Voting is such a great program.
Kids Voting gets children involved in the election process. In the weeks leading up to an election, students learn about the electoral process through hands-on activities, and they learn about voter registration in their classroom. Parents are drawn in through family discussion and debate at home. On Election Day, children and parents go to the polls together.
A Kids Voting booth is set up in every voting precinct and is staffed by community and parent volunteers. While their parents are voting, kids vote, too.
In the November 1996 election, 35,000 Baltimore County school students voted through Kids Voting. Their ballots were tabulated and announced in news reports. Kids Voting worked; even adult voter turnout in Baltimore County increased.
Regrettably, because of a lack of funds and support from the business community, Kids Voting is defunct in Baltimore County. Although the program was seeded through generous support from Baltimore Gas and Electric, Bell Atlantic and a few other local businesses, it did not have enough support.
The Sun has wisely invested in Reading by 9. Kids Voting has children voting by 9.
We hope we can rally our business and community leaders to resurrect our voting booths. Maryland can teach its children that voting matters.
Mary Ellen Pease Scheeler
Towson
The writer was a member of the Kids Voting Baltimore County Steering Committee.
Vote Democrat to stop ultraconservatives
An Opinion Commentary column was headlined "Election is a referendum on Clinton" (Oct 10), but contained nothing to support that statement.
The election is anything but such a referendum, because neither political party condones the activities for which the president is now facing impeachment hearings, and a vote for a Democratic candidate cannot be construed as an endorsement of the Lewinsky-related actions.
It is patently and painfully clear which politicians and influence groups are creating long-term national detriments while in pursuit of short-term political gains. They have worked to bring down the president, regardless of the consequences because he was and is interfering with their ultraconservative agendas.
It is incumbent upon fair-minded voters to visualize what awaits if we fail to vote because of apathy, disgust or embarrassment with the matters recently brought to light in the Starr document. If given the opportunity, these same forces will certainly rule the country with the same singlemindedness of purpose in carrying out their agendas. Their unconstrained rule is the disastrous alternative to our not voting.
We must vote and urge our friends to vote in support qualified Democratic candidates in the Congressional elections.
Stanley W. Krohn
Annapolis
Pension investment plan would bring better returns
Regarding Jay Apperson's article "Schaefer suggests investing pensions in high-tech industry" (Oct. 7) which, in presenting a complicated subject, may benefit from more information on the ideas of Democratic state comptroller candidate William Donald Schaefer.
Mr. Schaefer's vision for pension fund investments focuses on improving state pensioners' returns while offering a unique opportunity to develop the entrepreneurial, high-tech industry that drives the state's economic development engine.
It is no coincidence that historically, the biggest investors -- California, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia -- also have thriving entrepreneurial industries that create jobs and revenues for their citizens. While Maryland's pension fund returned approximately 16 percent to its pensioners last year, Virginia returned 26 percent to its pensioners.
In 1990, while governor, Mr. Schaefer supported legislation that created the Maryland Venture Capital Trust, a pilot program investing $19 million of pension funds in five Mid-Atlantic venture capital funds, agreeing to use best efforts to invest in Maryland companies.
Within three years, the trusts' equity had increased nearly $2 million, although the bulk of returns won't be realized for several more years.
Estimates indicate more than 2,400 jobs and $600 million in annual sales are directly attributed to investment in the trusts.
Yet our state's pension board refuses to consider further venture capital investment because of a perception of high risk. While high returns are generally correlated with higher risks, and the young venture capital industry displayed considerable risk in the 1970s and early 1980s, the situation today is very different.
Mona Hoff
Lutherville
Sum of shooting statistics should equal zero tolerance
In his Oct. 10 letter, Lt. Wesley R. Wise, head of the Baltimore Police Department's Management Information Service, said the shooting statistics story written by Sun reporter Gerald Shields was based on old news.
This was in response to a story in which Lieutenant Wise is quoted as saying he told Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier that he had reservations about some of the shooting data.
The lieutenant is desperately attempting to cover up for himself and his boss, the commissioner. He seems to be saying that what was true six months ago is not truthful or reliable today. Obviously, in Baltimore's police department, the official version of the truth changes from time to time.
An independent study by Comptroller Joan Pratt and her assistant Yolanda Brooks found what Baltimoreans already knew -- that shooting statistics used by Lieutenant Wise's office are not reliable.
The commissioner, Lieutenant Wise and other publicity hounds in the police department would be wise to stop playing games with statistics and to allow officers to do their jobs by adopting aggressive zero-tolerance policies that have been so effective in New York.
In other cities, police commanders have learned how to keep the statistics that really count for the public.
Roberto Marsili
Baltimore
To our readers
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Pub Date: 10/18/98