Balto. Co. works to revitalize Turners Station

The Sun's July 14 article on Turners Station in eastern Baltimore County grossly under-represented Baltimore County government's efforts in this community ("Residents upset over area's decline").

County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger's administration has focused attention and resources on revitalizing Turners Station for nearly eight years, a fact The Sun has reported in previous articles but ignored in this one.

The July 14 article never even mentioned the $3.5 million Fleming Center in Turners Station - a state-of-the-art community and senior center with a full-size gymnasium, activity rooms and computer resource center. The county also renovated basketball courts, replaced athletic field lights and built a new playground.

The article also failed to report that the Office of Community Conservation visits Turners Station several times a week, working with community leaders on homeownership initiatives, senior housing, preservation and social issues.

It failed to report that Turners Station was included in the county's first-ever application for a state Community Legacy grant, or that Turners Station has been deeply involved with the county and an urban design team in a recent long-range planning initiative for greater Dundalk.

And the "weeds" the article mentioned are actually phragmites, a plant native to the Chesapeake Bay area. The Sun did not report that in Turners Station these plants grow in a protected Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. The county cannot simply mow them; removing them requires a detailed plan, including replanting, from state and county officials. The county is working on such a plan.

Baltimore County also is working with Turners Station to inventory infrastructure needs, such as road and sidewalk repairs. We already have installed new playground equipment at Lyons Homes Park and Turners Station Park.

We long ago recognized and responded to the needs of this historic community. We wish The Sun had fairly reflected what the county has done.

Mary L. Harvey

John F. Weber III

David A.C. Carroll Towson

The writers are, respectively, the directors of Baltimore County's Office of Community Conservation, Department of Recreation and Parks and Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management.

Is a crowded pool really a big story?

After reading "Hoping to dampen popularity of pool" (July 17), I found myself asking why this was front-page news and why it deserved so much attention.

Is it really necessary to detail all the problems and woes of the very affluent - who get to decide between a brand-new pool or a slightly older one; who are concerned about whether their children and accompanying nanny will have enough space in which to frolic as they desire; whose children want to be at the right social scene, to see and be seen by all the other wealthy children?

In the same day's paper, we could read about a young boy who was accidentally shot in the neck as he sat outside with his father at the end of another hot Baltimore day ("Boy, 10, latest to be caught in cross-fire of city violence"). I am quite sure that his father has more major heat-related issues to contend with, such as keeping cool without being mortally injured.

In the heat-exhausted, woeful eyes of the less fortunate, the difficulties of the well-to-do in Columbia, who can afford to buy themselves some exclusive isolation, seem pretty minor.

Yasmin Cooper

Baltimore

Our greed popped stock market bubble

Instead of blaming Congress, the president or even the family dog for the drop in the stock market, we should be blaming our own greed.

Instead of looking at the stock market as a place to secure a future income through stock in reliable companies that made real profits and paid real dividends, many Americans saw it as a get-rich-quick scheme.

And now speculators (the term "investors" implies a more intelligent approach to the market) are realizing that their stocks have been grossly overvalued and a period of readjustment is in order.

Robert N. Cadwalader

Linthicum

Now let's limit terms of our U.S. senators

In an unusual display of unity, the U. S. Senate recently voted 97-0 to put America's CEOs on the hot seat by requiring them to swear to the accuracy of their companies' financial reports.

Before this spirit fades, wouldn't it be grand if senators voted 97-0 for term limits on the office they hold? Don't hold your breath.

Kenneth E. Mayhorne

Timonium

Family planning saves women's lives

President Bush's plan to cut U.N. family planning funds is a sop to the religious right wing of the Republican Party. And it will endanger the lives of millions of women worldwide ("Bush poised to cut U.N. family planning funds," July 15).

Many women who need help from family planning funds may be denied basic female health care. They may not have access to breast exams and Pap smears to detect cancer. They may not receive education on the cause, prevention and care of venereal disease or health care for unwanted pregnancies or pregnancies that are planned.

Without funds for family planning, women will die prematurely and unnecessarily.

Janet Daniels

Ellicott City

Decision on abortion isn't taken lightly

Gregory Kane's column "Corrections, oversights - and 'extreme' irony on left" (June 29) accuses the Democratic Party of "extremism" in its views on issues such as gay rights and abortion and says the party supports "abortion on demand."

The phrase "abortion on demand" is too often used incorrectly to imply women demand abortions with the same impulsiveness a child demands candy in a grocery store.

In fact, women and men faced with unintended pregnancy carefully weigh their options before deciding to have an abortion. The choice is personal, private and difficult.

And the platform of the Democratic Party calls for the reduction of the need for abortion.

Daniel M. Clements

Columbia

The writer is chairman of the board of Planned Parenthood of Maryland and a former trustee of the Maryland Democratic Party.

McNatt throws light on the world of art

I wish to single out Glenn McNatt and praise him for his wondrous flair and style, and always doing his homework.

His review on the Baltimore Museum of Art's acquisitions once again throws light on his growth as an art critic ("An Artful Amalgam," July 2). I have saved and savored many of his fine reviews, and now I wish they were all available in book form for future reference.

Mr. McNatt is my main reason for reading The Sun.

Edward Riggio

Towson