Retirement village at stadium will be a national model
By choosing our affordable retirement community to redevelop the Memorial Stadium site, Baltimore's leadership is setting an excellent example for the nation on two scores. ("Memorial Stadium's last Memorial Day?" May 30).
First, the mayor is setting a precedent by using a residential model to replace a stadium in a residential neighborhood. Second, the project makes Baltimore the first city in the nation to develop an affordable retirement community.
The "Stadium Place" retirement village planned by Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. (GEDCO) will be a national model for urban living.
It addresses the need for good jobs, housing and care for seniors, youth activities and a strong tax base. We will provide 180 permanent jobs. The apartments and homeownership cottages for seniors, and our small businesses, will generate more than $400,000 in taxes annually.
The YMCA of Central Maryland will provide day care, a summer camp, teen programs and recreational activities for people of all ages.
With our partners, Union Memorial Hospital and the Baltimore City Commission on Aging and Retirement Education, we will provide social and health services to the seniors living on our campus.
We also plan a tribute to veterans of the world wars -- a memorial that will be planned in consultation with local veterans groups, the mayor, the housing commissioner, the neighborhoods and other community members.
Our vision of a retirement community was overwhelmingly favored by the communities around the stadium. It will stabilize the surrounding neighborhoods by making the area an attractive place to live.
The Rev. John R. Sharp, Balimore
The writer is president of GEDCO's board of directors.
State GOP reaches out to Independents and others
At the Maryland state Republican convention, an initiative was passed to allow independents to vote in the 2000 Republican primary election ("State GOP approves open primary," May 23). Its passage demonstrates that the Republican Party is open-minded and willing to welcome new members.
Independents who typically do not have candidates to vote for during the primary will now be invited to vote in the Republican primary.
I supported this initiative because it will help bring people into the electoral process, which is always a positive thing, especially in a presidential election year.
In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the presidency by being inclusive and welcoming moderate Democrats. He understood that to win and, more importantly, to lead the nation, it is necessary to build coalitions and bring people together.
In a state that has been governed by one party for more than 50 years, many people's views have not been adequately represented. Many moderate Democrats and independents in Maryland are willing to work with Republicans because they are tired of liberal Democrats' policies.
The Republican Party welcomes those who share our ideals to join with us and help move the state forward.
Jim Ports Jr., Baltimore
The writer represents the 8th District in the Maryland House of Delegates.
State should stop subsidizing suburbs
In reply to Nelson Hyman's letter ("Running down Smart Growth," June 5), I have no problem with affluent Marylanders living in the suburbs, even though I prefer to live in the city.
My problem is that residents of these developments seldom pay their true costs. The state is constantly supplying money for infrastructure expenses, school construction and roads, which enables the counties to maintain ridiculously low tax rates.
If the true cost of sprawl were reflected in housing costs and tax rates, perhaps it could be minimized in the first place.
Phyllis Sachs, Baltimore
It's a great trail, if you can get to it
Two years ago, the residents of historic Franklintown, on the western edge of Leakin Park, requested help from Baltimore City to control speeding on Franklintown Road.
Since the understaffed police force is unable to monitor the road adequately, we asked for speed humps.
Other neighborhood organizations endorsed our request, but the situation has only gotten worse.
As The Sun mentioned in its editorial "The city's wilderness trail" (June 6), the city has opened a wonderful new biking and hiking trail in Leakin Park just as it has detoured the traffic from Windsor Mill Road to Franklintown Road, which parallels the new trail and is the main access to the western end of this showpiece.
The only safe way to reach this bike trail is by car. With hundreds of cars speeding past at more than 40 miles per hour in both directions, one would be a fool to ride to the trail on Franklintown Road, especially with children.
Isn't it strange to create a facility in Leakin Park, invite the citizens to use it, then make access to it hazardous?
What kind of planners are the taxpayers of this city paying?
Garry F. Cerrone, Baltimore
Of cement trucks and concrete trucks
A recent story in The Sun described the havoc caused by a runaway cement truck on a Baltimore street ("Man saved after truck crushes van," May 29).
The problem is that it wasn't a cement truck, it was a concrete truck -- a mobile concrete truck, which is quite different from the better known ready-mix concrete truck.
Cement is not concrete; it is one of the ingredients that goes into the manufacture of concrete.
Unfortunately, The Sun and some of its sister newspapers have been confusing the terms for many years.
I suggest the paper get its act together before Oct. 31, when the American Concrete Institute will hold its semi-annual convention in downtown Baltimore.
Leon Glassgold, Baltimore
Furor over Chinese spying may lead to persecution
I am concerned by the recent Cox committee report on China's espionage and the response of some members of Congress. The report suggests China has become a greater threat and seems to encourage increasing suspicion of Chinese nationals who are in the United States.
We might rightly be surprised at China's apparent success in stealing some of our nuclear weapons secrets. But we ought not be surprised at such attempts. Trying to learn the secrets of potential enemies is a game nations all over the world play.
We have discovered that even allied nations such as Israel will spy on us.
A recent Opinion Commentary column in The Sun referred to the Central Intelligence Agency's involvement in the coup that brought the shah of Iran to power in 1953 ("CIA must be held to its vows of openness," June 1). That's a good example of our own espionage.
The Cox committee report may make it clear that we need to guard information about our weapons more carefully. I hope it doesn't encourage persecution of Chinese people in this country.
John A. Mote, Baltimore
Spying raises concerns not limited by race
I guess it's Paul Delaney's job to find a racial angle in every news event, but enough is enough. His Opinion Commentary column "Race and spies" (June 6) takes the cake.
In Mr. Delaney's exhaustive search of the "black community" (as if there is one black community) for people "shaking in their boots" over the Cox committee's report on Chinese espionage, he failed to reach this writer or his friends and family.
What Mr. Delaney fails to recognize is that most Americans (black, white or brown) are not very concerned about the committee's findings. Perhaps that's apathy, but it's not confined to any one race.
Let's stop trying to pit one group against another.
In addition, as Rep. Christopher Cox stated, the problem is not just that spying occured, but how the administration reacted after detecting it.
Questions that need answers on this issue include when the president was briefed, how the suspected spy could hold a sensitive position for as long as he did and whether political contributions or commercial interests caused the administration to respond in a lax manner.
Boyd K. Rutherford, Columbia
Pub Date: 6/09/99