Letters to the Editor

I am perturbed that both Gov. Rendell and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy have decided it is appropriate to donate to charity campaign money they received from a convicted felon.

By donating money given to them by Norman Hsu, who pleaded guilty to felony theft charges in 1992, both Murphy and Rendell are attempting to make themselves look like philanthropists on the earnings of a criminal.

This is extremely poor judgment on their part. To try to use this money to influence public opinion by donating it to charity is unethical. I request both to return Hsu's money to him. It appears he will need it for his legal defense.

Robert L. Ciervo
Newtown

Monica Yant Kinney's column of Sept. 19 ("On the waterfront, a new affront to Camden") describes only one side of a difficult challenge facing Camden.

Progress in the form of a medical school building has been years in the making, with approvals from the legislature, the city and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Now it is time to build it, create jobs, upgrade the neighborhood, and make Camden a health-care leader.

This project's location is near other UMDNJ and Cooper University Hospital facilities. It respects the historic neighborhood, and minimizes residential relocation. But a methadone clinic must be moved.

We have experienced the impact of the clinic in our neighborhoods, where there is an elementary school, several day-care centers, hundreds of housing units, four churches, three community centers, dozens of retail stores, and a site for a new elementary school just blocks away.

So it was good news when the South Jersey Port Corporation agreed to lease space to the methadone clinic operator on the edge of its property. This location provides a one-third mile perimeter from any residences or schools.

The objections to the site aren't supported by the facts. The site is not near homes, schools or shops. Many of those protesting are two-thirds of a mile away.

The reason the city faces this relocation challenge is good: Redevelopment has arrived. When the methadone clinic moves, it will allow a major step forward in the revitalization of Camden.

John P. Sheridan Jr.

President
Cooper University Hospital
Camden

Philadelphia's taxi drivers are suffering income losses due to malfunctions of the GPS and credit-card technologies mandated by the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

We are given nothing but negative incentives to comply with the PPA's regulations - fines, a 5 percent surcharge, and so on.

Why not ask for the taxi drivers' opinion before making major business decisions that could immensely affect our lives?

We would not have chosen to place a credit-card system in the back of our cab. It cannot be insured against theft, mechanical failure and vandalism. It shuts down our meter when it isn't operating, so we cannot continue to serve the public and make a living.

It is insulting to us to work without any benefits from the PPA but to be treated as its employees. Philadelphia, a great city, deserves world-class cab service. To accomplish this, the drivers deserve to be treated better.

Steve Chervenka

Organizer
Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Harrowgate@aol.com

The American public is not being well served by the news media regarding the serious consequences that would follow for the United States and other Western democracies from a sudden military withdrawal from Iraq.

The media feed the public, on a daily basis, reports of car bombings and casualties and not enough on the strategic implications of our current situation. The dominant military power in the region is Iran, and it is ready to exert hegemony over there if we succumb to the desires of those who want us prematurely out of Iraq.

As long as the West is dependent on oil for the functioning of its economy, we cannot let a nation that is hostile to our interests and has significant military power dominate the region.

James C. Dever Jr.

Brigadier General USAF (Ret.)
Ocean City
Jdeverjr@aol.com