Housing agency keeps holdings in sorry shape
The Sun's article "Vacant houses a thorn for city" (Nov. 10) could have enlightened the public about the continued failings of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC), but unfortunately chose to relieve HABC from blame and paint it as the solution to the vacant house dilemma.
However, HABC has knowingly kept thousands of viable properties vacant and off the tax rolls for years. In Butcher's Hill, our community association has been monitoring, securing and even rescuing animals from HABC houses so routinely that we budget for the cost every year.
And over these years our community has approached HABC numerous times, seeking to unburden it of the 20 vacant properties it owns in our small neighborhood. Most recently, members of the community went so far as to form a community development corporation primarily for this purpose, the Butcher's Hill Community Development Corp. (BHCDC).
HABC was presented with a proposal for BHCDC to buy (at market rate) the abandoned properties and rehabilitate them into a combination of subsidized rental units and owner-occupied units. The HABC did not even give us the courtesy of a response.
In the meantime, most of its occupied properties sit in stark contrast to other houses in my neighborhood -- with peeling paint, structural cracks and other flaws known only to the residents struggling to live in them.
At the very least, HABC needs to demonstrate it can maintain its current stock of houses acceptably before it begins a huge initiative to occupy additional sites.
HABC certainly does not have the resources to re-occupy and manage all of its 13,500 abandoned properties. And so far it has not proved to the community it can be a willing partner in rehabilitating the properties, either.
Debra Wright
Baltimore
The writer is a member of Neighborhoods Matter, a community group that promotes neighborhood stabilization through increased home ownership.
Culture of violence puts region at risk
The Sun's editorial "Region at risk" (Nov. 7) discussed how noncompetitive this region is against large regions. The two examples it cited -- that most graduates of the 21 regional colleges tend to settle elsewhere and that unemployment is high in the region -- lead The Sun to call for political and economic leaders to concentrate on job creation and attracting outsiders to create opportunities.
That call may be proper, but don't ignore the words of the writer of one of the Nov. 2 letters titled "Take responsibility for city's violence."
The writer noted that: "The Dawson family died because they lived in a culture that glorifies cruel and malignant thuggishness and disparages education and civility as weak."
She was, of course, writing about Baltimore City, but the culture she so pointedly described exists outside the city and around the state.
How could anyone justify locating a business in a region where too many people disdain education and poor schools cheat serious students of opportunities? Where would such firms find adequately trained and motivated workers?
Why would anyone want to settle where brutality is too common and civility too rare?
The Baltimore region has many problems, and it is unlikely there is one key for solving all of them. But maybe the letter-writer sees what the rest of us would rather not.
Francis R. Slaughter
Elkton
Parole agents need support from system
The writer of one of the letters responding to October's Question of the Month stated, "We can no longer expect parole agents to simply react to the arrest of parolees. Rather, we should expect them to enforce the technical conditions of parole" (letters, Oct. 26).
I can assure the writer that parole agents don't wait for new arrests to seek warrants on offenders.
Most of us are enforcing the technical and special conditions of our cases. We are constantly writing warrant requests for violation of parole or probation based solely on technical violations.
We can't be held accountable for the fact that Baltimore's courts and the Parole Commission engage in weak sentencing practices.
We also can't be accountable for the fact that politicians fail to fund appropriate programs and fail to give us the resources to do our jobs.
When parole and probation agents are given reasonable caseloads, the appropriate programs to which to refer offenders and back-up from judges and parole commissioners in the form of tough but fair sentences, then we will slowly be able to make a long-lasting impact on crime.
Rai Douglas
Baltimore
The writer is executive vice president of AFSCME Local 3661.
Stronger gun laws protect the innocent
Gun control laws need to be strengthened. This would certainly cut crime and help identify criminals should guns fall into the wrong hands.
We need strict rules about who can buy guns so that incidents such as the sniper attacks don't occur again.
We need fingerprinting to identify guns when they are used.
And strict gun control laws must be enacted in all of the states. When gun control laws are strict in one state but lax in another, a person will go to another state and buy a gun so that he or she can't be tracked down easily.
A few states with strong anti-gun laws will not make a difference.
Gun control is not too costly. And most of the cost of strict laws will be passed on to the gun buyers, not citizens in general. If you don't buy a gun, it won't be your concern.
The more expensive route would be to keep letting guns fall into the wrong hands. That way more innocent people are sure to be killed.
Rachel Sarenka Smith
Baltimore
The writer is a sixth-grade student at Krieger Schecter Day School in Baltimore.
Single-payer solution to health care woes
America is the only industrialized democracy on the planet without a single-payer health care program run by the government. The fact that this is nothing but a money grab by business bigwigs was amply demonstrated by the headline regarding proposed payouts to CareFirst executives, "CareFirst bonuses criticized as illegal" (Nov. 15).
It is mind-boggling that Americans have been bamboozled into believing large corporations will look out for our interests more effectively than a government-run program.
Under a single-payer system, the average citizen receives a level of care that is quite high, and care is fairly available to all. And, at the very least, by going to a single-payer system, we could eliminate multimillion-dollar payouts, bonuses and salaries. We could also reduce the 20 percent or more of health care dollars that go to the paper-shuffling our system requires. This would leave plenty of money for well-paid professionals to run and oversee the system.
The next time you look at the deduction for health insurance on your pay stub, consider which corporate bigwigs are being enriched by standing between you and your health care providers.
Tom Heiland
Baltimore
Limits to services ERs can provide
Having been an emergency physician for more than 20 years, I think the article "UM hospital's new ERs reflect growing demand for services" (Nov. 15) did not adequately emphasize the reasons for and the implications of the growth of emergency departments (EDs).
Some of this growth comes from the quality and effectiveness of medical care provided in our EDs. However, since most patients seeking care in EDs do not have life-threatening emergencies, it is clear that the lack of timely access to primary care services is forcing increasing numbers of patients to seek care in EDs.
Few medical practices and clinics are available to patients after-hours. And primary care physicians, faced with escalating costs and decreasing reimbursements, are reluctant to spend time with complex patients. I regularly see such patients arrive in the ED, with a note from their primary physician saying, "Please evaluate and treat."
While emergency departments deliver care well beyond the scope of treating critical illnesses and injuries, they cannot substitute for adequate primary care services.
Services such as cancer screening, cardiac risk factor modification, immunizations and prenatal care are rarely, if ever, addressed in emergency departments.
Since the winter months are the busiest months for ED visits, perhaps some community medical providers might consider better meeting their patients' needs by expanding their hours and availability during this time.
Dr. Steven Grufferman
Ellicott City
Israel still seeks a peace partner
The coming Israeli elections once again demonstrate the vibrancy of Israel's democracy. But as Israelis prepare to go to the polls for the second time since the Palestinian leadership launched a war of terror in September 2000, it is simply wrong to place the entire onus of making peace on Israel, as if it can somehow solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis by itself.
For 54 years Israel has sought peace with its neighbors. A Likud-led government made peace with Egypt and a Labor-led government signed the Oslo accords and achieved peace with Jordan.
In 1999, the Israeli people elected a leader who, joined by President Clinton, made a historic attempt to advance peace with the Palestinians -- only to find that their leadership was incapable of accepting a negotiated path to peace, even one that offered a viable Palestinian state.
What is still needed above all is a credible Palestinian partner to grasp Israel's outstretched hand. Peace cannot be made in a vacuum.
Edward J. Gutman
Baltimore
The writer chairs the Baltimore chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
The Democrats ran the wrong candidate
"What happened to Maryland?" asked The Sun's Nov. 10 headline in regard to Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s victory. And then a number of academics and officials wrung their hands and fretted about a sea change in Maryland voters. Malarkey.
What happened is the same thing that happened the last time a Republican won the governor's office: The Democrats nominated the wrong candidate.
As the article mentioned, in 1966, Democrats picked the ludicrous George P. Mahoney, a certified buffoon (I know, I met him). This time the Democrats got Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend shoved down their throats.
It was her turn; she had earned it; she was a woman; she was a Kennedy.
When people are in the voting booth, however, they don't care whose turn it is. In 1968 they looked at the candidates and saw a no-brainer, even with the soon-to-be-infamous Spiro T. Agnew as the opposition. This time, they looked at Mr. Ehrlich and Ms. Townsend, and decided Ms. Townsend was clearly second-best, even in the eyes of many lifelong Democrats.
Can anyone dispute that if the Democrats had nominated their strongest candidate, Mayor Martin O'Malley, he would have won in a walk? But it wasn't his turn, Democratic politicos insisted.
To those gifted strategists, we Republicans can only say, "Thank you very much."
Jim O'Reilly
Monkton
GOP wins power, must show it cares
Republicans have scored a great victory and are fully in control of national government. Now theirs is an awesome responsibility -- and to successfully lead our country, the GOP will require drastic changes in its outlook and values.
After all, this party has opposed child labor laws, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, equal opportunity and civil rights laws, pure food and drug protection, product safety laws, worker's compensation, occupational health and safety laws, wage and hour laws, campaign finance reform and minimum wage laws.
These measures transformed America from an aristocracy of wealth and privilege to a nation that is close to becoming a true democracy, allowed minorities to enter the mainstream and improved America's quality of life.
Yet almost all of these laws were enacted in the U.S. Congress over Republican opposition. And many Republicans even today would repeal these laws if they thought they could get away with it.
I hope and pray that the Republican Party, with its new-found influence, will have the courage and wisdom to work for the good of the average citizen and move into the 21st century.
Jack Kinstlinger
Baltimore
GOP gains ground in Balto. County
The election returns do not support the argument of the letter "Balto. County tilts toward Democrats" (Nov. 16).
While the writer paints a portrait of Democratic victories, the Republican Party made some historic gains. Before the election, Baltimore County Republicans held six House of Delegates seats and one state Senate seat. In 2003, Republicans will hold nine delegate seats (almost half the county delegation) and two Senate seats.
Some communities in Baltimore County, including Middle River, Kingsville and Perry Hall, will have a Republican state senator for the first time.
And GOP county executive candidate Doug Riley won about 45 percent of the vote despite being overwhelmingly outspent by his opponent.
Similarly, the Republican candidate for Congress in the bizarrely redistricted 2nd District narrowly lost a race that clearly would have gone the other way if the district had not been gerrymandered to an extreme.
Republican candidates can overcome voter registration odds and the Democrats' fund-raising advantage, if they run strong campaigns with an appealing message.
Perry Hall
The writer is secretary of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee.
War on terrorism gave Bush upper hand
In her column "Bumbler bowls them over with bold leadership" (Opinion*Commentary, Nov. 11), Mona Charen fails to mention that the tragedy of Sept. 11 greatly helped embolden President Bush. Without this unfortunate event, it is unlikely that Mr. Bush would enjoy the power he now wields.
His declaration of war on terrorism sparked a wave of flag-swinging patriotism and loyalty to their chief in the American people -- and this was a natural reaction after Sept. 11.
But sadly, many Democrats in Congress have remained thoroughly intimidated by this show of loyalty. They did not have the courage to stand up to Mr. Bush and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft even after many months had passed.
Ms. Charen goes along with Chris Matthews' childish characterization of Democrats as the "Mommy party" and Republicans as the "Daddy party." Compassion is listed as a virtue of the "Mommy party," while the "Daddy party" promises to be tough.
But since when do compassion and strength have to be in opposite camps? President Franklin D. Roosevelt proved they can co-exist effectively.
But compassion is an empty word in our present GOP-led government. And the strength it displays is reminiscent of the behavior of a worldwide bully.
Elke Straub
Baltimore
Filby's counsel will be missed
Permit me to briefly supplement Frederick Rasmussen's fine obituary for P. William Filby ("P. William Filby, 90, chief librarian, director of Maryland Historical Society," Nov. 9).
Over 40 years, Mr. Filby held multiple offices in the Baltimore Bibliophiles, including three terms as president.
Libraries both public and private frequently called upon Mr. Filby's expertise. In fact, there is probably no library or book-holding institution in Maryland that has not at some point been aided by his advice.
In addition to his study of "The Star-Spangled Banner," Mr. Filby edited multiple volumes compiling passenger and immigration lists from ship manifests and records.
And everyone who seeks to establish or compile family histories and genealogies will be forever in debt to Mr. Filby for Guides to Published Records of Immigrants who came to the New World between the 16th and mid-20th Centuries, Passenger and Immigrations Lists Index and Filby's Immigration Lists.
Mr. Filby also published guides to heraldry and A Bibliography of American County Histories.
With his passing, the bibliophiles mourn the loss of a treasured friend and supporter.
Joseph E. Jensen
Timonium
The writer is president of Baltimore Bibliophiles.