Offshore wind project becalmed too long

ISSUE | WIND POWER

Becalmed too long

Fishermen's Energy has been stymied for four years in its quest for approval of a five-turbine offshore wind demonstration project near Atlantic City. In mid-June, we filed documents with the state Supreme Court signifying our intent to pursue a ruling that will overturn the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities denial of the Atlantic City project.

We are reluctant litigants. But the BPU's decision cannot be left standing or it will ensure that no offshore wind projects are approved in New Jersey.

|Chris Wissemann, chief executive officer, Fishermen's Energy, Atlantic City

ISSUE | GUNS

Founders' foresight

Using the reasoning with which John Yoo criticized the same-sex marriage ruling, I doubt the framers envisioned a deranged young man murdering 26 first graders or a white man murdering nine people solely because they were black ("A short-circuiting of political process," June 28). I doubt the framers considered that the Second Amendment would result in Americans being killed not on some battlefield, but in their homes, businesses, schools, and streets. If the framers had that much foresight, they would have restricted access to guns to a much greater extent.

|Paul S. Bunkin, Turnersville

ISSUE | ART IN SCHOOLS

Creative budgets

Too often, when budgets are tight, arts programs are the first things to go ("Bartram forced to choose music over art class," June 26). Yet students who receive arts programming are more likely to achieve academically, with better SAT scores and lower dropout rates.

It is time for city and state leaders to prioritize improving public education, including the arts programming that students need and deserve. Piecemeal fixes will never work; Philadelphia needs a long-term cultural plan that addresses not just arts education, but integration of the arts into the full school curriculum. At the state level, the legislature must establish equitable funding for schools and restore the funding cut from schools in 2011.

|Maud Lyon, president, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Philadlephia, maudl@philaculture.org

ISSUE | TRANSIT

Wrapped in ads, bus shelters won't feel safe

The Design Advocacy Group is supportive of the effort by the city to update its bus shelters and take advantage of revenue they can produce. We admire the design, which manages to be both simple and inventive. But we believe that the extent and placement of advertising will be a detriment, and that the main function of the shelters will be compromised.

Not only does the proliferation of advertising wraps in our city look terrible, but it makes the sidewalks less safe. I clearly remember standing in a wrapped shelter at 13th and Market Streets earlier this year. I'm not timid, but as a woman standing alone, in the dark, cut off from passersby, I felt unsafe even on that busy corner. Our beautiful and vibrant city deserves better.

|Kiki Bolender, Design Advocacy Group, Philadelphia

ISSUE | DEBATES

Open the stage to third-party hopefuls

The Annenberg Public Policy Center deserves a lot of credit for trying to improve presidential debates, but it seems to accept as a given that only Democrats and Republicans should participate. To reverse the steady decline in viewership, the two parties must consent to wider participation in the debates, which is unlikely, or the networks must refuse to televise them, which is equally unlikely.

That's why the Libertarian Party and Green Party have joined a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission, whose rules exclude independent and third-party candidates. They argue rightly that any candidate on enough ballots should be on the debate stage.

|Emerson Ellett, Ocean

ISSUE | FOURTH CELEBRATIONS

Dog lovers, reconsider backyard fireworks

As the Fourth of July nears, many dog owners face it with dread because their pets absolutely panic at the sound of fireworks - and the solutions for their distress are few. Many dogs get so frightened that they run away; one friend even lost her dog as it bolted through their glass patio door to its demise.

We can't control thunderstorms, which also frighten our pets, but we can ask neighbors to please refrain from setting off fireworks. It's better anyway to leave the fireworks to the professionals, making safety a priority. And think of the peace of mind that will bring to neighbors and their dogs.

|Catherine M. Poole, Glenmoore, cmp11@comcast.net

ISSUE | STATE STORES

Privatization would leave tipsy balance sheet

Having worked closely with Ed Rendell, I was surprised that he lost sight of the fiscal impact of dismantling the state Liquor Control Board ("Compromise in Harrisburg," June 26). The State Stores transfer more than $565 million a year to the treasury. Public Financial Management Inc. found that privatizing would mean $1.4 billion in transition costs over five years, and that lawmakers still would have to come up with $408 million in new annual revenues.

|Wendell W. Young IV, president, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, Plymouth Meeting