Transit plan is an idea whose time has passed
Maryland transportation planners have come up with a mid-20th century transit plan for the 21st century ("Md. rail plan links suburbs to downtown," Nov. 16).
Although I am a city dweller and mass transit fan, I believe the proposal to extend the existing Baltimore rail network is a step backward. Hub-and-spoke networks are horse-and-buggy solutions to contemporary traffic problems.
One need not look far to realize that the hub-and-spoke system doesn't work any longer. It is the most serious flaw in Washington's otherwise excellent Metro system. People increasingly work as well as live in the suburbs. They shouldn't have to take a long detour downtown to get from home to work.
That's why the Intercounty Connector is such a hot issue in Montgomery County. And why the next leg on the Washington Metro will be suburb-to-suburb, not another spoke going downtown.
Or take the airlines. Southwest Airlines is flourishing while its competitors languish because it takes passengers directly to their destinations, not through a hub.
We're stuck with the antiquated subway and light rail system designed in the 1960s. But let's not perpetuate it.
James S. Keat
Baltimore
As a longtime supporter of mass transit, I read The Sun's article "State betting rail expansion will get commuters on track" (Nov. 19) with some amusement.
Comparing the Washington Metro transit system with the Baltimore region's Rube Goldberg creation consisting of light rail (affectionately known in my family as "the snail rail") and short fragments of the beautiful subway line that might have been (see Hopkins station) is ludicrous.
There are good reasons for our system's lack of ridership and its need for large taxpayer subsidies. And state planners seem to forget that Maryland is facing a huge deficit and that the federal government is unlikely to supply the funds for mass transit, as it did for Washington.
These facts, coupled with the loss of population density in Baltimore and the breadth of the Baltimore suburbs, makes this an idea whose time has long passed.
Peter E. Dans
Cockeysville
CareFirst sale plan augurs new horrors
Kudos to Dan Rodricks for one of the best columns I have read regarding the proposed sale of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield ("Latest item on a long list: a $40 million potted plant," Nov. 18).
However, I believe Mr. Rodricks neglected to add that the potted plant was really the blood-sucking, people-eating type of plant from the movie Little Shop of Horrors.
How appalling will it be if this sale is allowed to go forward, the plant is fed and thousands of Marylanders still go uninsured?
Laura M. Satterfield
Baltimore
Van Hollen will wield influence on agenda
The letter "Rejecting Morella hurts Maryland" (Nov. 16) was so erroneous that I had to respond.
First, Rep. Constance A. Morella was never a committee chair, although she did chair a meaningless subcommittee no other Republican would take.
Second, while it is true she was very good at constituent services, that was only part of her job. The other part was to be an effective advocate for her constituents - and in that area she was lacking.
The majority of voters in the 8th Congressional District wanted a congressperson who would take a proactive role in shaping the agenda.
And despite being a freshman, Chris Van Hollen will have more influence with his party leaders than Ms. Morella ever could.
Joe Shapiro
Burtonsville
Anti-gun stance hurt Townsend
I have noticed that the post-election "Monday morning quarterbacking" has gathered many excuses as to why Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend lost the gubernatorial race ("Townsend moves on down a different trail," Nov. 8). What has me confused is why none of the pundits gave the gun control issue its due in this race.
Ms. Townsend's campaign mistakenly assumed that its base is entirely anti-gun, but that's not the case. Many Democrats are liberal on many issues, but it was wrong for Ms. Townsend to assume that all state Democrats were anxious to help her fulfill her anti-gun agenda.
As a black man living in Maryland, I felt that the Townsend campaign treated me like an ignorant person who would readily believe all its claims about "common sense" gun legislation. But as a military officer, I know the facts about guns - their dangers, their limitations and their benefits.
The people are getting wise, and they will not tolerate being unprotected against the armed "bad guys."
Christopher S. Walker
Hagerstown
Some Democrats should switch parties
Much attention has been given to why Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. did so well in the governor's race in Maryland, where most voters are registered as Democrats.
Mr. Ehrlich ran as a Republican for good reason; he is a conservative. The surprise lies not so much in Mr. Ehrlich's unfortunate appeal, but in the confused self-identification of the voting public. Make no mistake, "Democrats for Ehrlich" is an oxymoron.
Democrats who voted for him don't support real Democratic values, and they may want to be more honest about their true party affiliation in the future.
Bernie Lohr
Arbutus
Don't let alphabet dictate ballot order
I have no way of knowing whether Judge Alexander Wright Jr.'s defeat for re-election as a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge was a product of racism ("Judge's loss spurs questions of racism," Nov. 7).
But if his problem was that his name appeared last on the ballot, there is an obvious and cost-free solution: The ballot order of the names for multi-seat positions should be chosen at random.
The fourth ballot position for a three-person office should not automatically go to the candidate whose name comes last in the alphabet.
Sheldon H. Laskin
Baltimore
State DNR needs change at the top
Outdoors columnist Candus Thomson is a good reporter, but she's shaky on her policy suggestions. As possible new secretaries of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), she names various Democrats from Torrey Brown to former House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. ("With a new hand on tiller, direction uncertain," Nov. 17). Then she suggests Governor-elect Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. should keep the incumbent, Charles Fox.
If it ain't broke, the saying goes, don't fix it. But that doesn't apply to DNR. That important agency really is broken. Fixing it will require serious changes, starting at the top.
Peter A. Jay
Havre de Grace