Legal aid should be on agenda

ISSUE | NEXT MAYOR

Worthy pleadings

The mayoral candidates' suggestions for dealing with Philadelphia's staggering poverty problem left out one critical need: increased funding for civil legal aid to poor people ("Mayoral Q&A," April 24).

Philadelphia has one of the very best legal-aid programs in the nation, one that is known for aggressively representing low-income Philadelphians, making sure their problems are heard and addressed, and pushing for systems and policies to be fixed when they harm vulnerable poor families. From access to health care through Medicaid expansion, to reentering ex-offenders seeking employment, to families turned down for food stamps, to poor homeowners losing their homes to foreclosures, to elders denied necessary health care, legal-aid lawyers provide both assistance to individuals and technical expertise to policymakers in a wide range of crucial matters.

As our organization faces its next round of downsizing, we hope the mayoral candidates will support access to justice through legal aid.

|Catherine C. Carr, executive director, Community Legal Services, Philadelphia

GOP appeal

Althought undecided in the May Democratic primary, I was impressed by Republican Melissa Murray Bailey's answers on the issues - direct, specific, and on message ("Mayoral Q&A," April 19).

The Democratic candidates, relying on the unfortunate reality that Republicans have virtually no chance, pander to their constituencies during the primary. Once in office, they ignore the damage to the city's financial health - as noted in The Inquirer's recent pension coverage ("The issue candidates aren't addressing," April 26).

I love my city, but I am as tired of Democratic rule as residents were of Republican rule before 1952.

|Joyce LaCrosse-Smith, Philadelphia

ISSUE | DINING OUT

South Phila. sizzle

Craig LaBan's coverage of the Passyunk Avenue restaurant scene was obviously the result of a long and detailed process ("Restaurant row rising," April 23). It is unusual to have such a concentration of great food in such a small area, and LaBan's reporting shows why Passyunk Avenue should be another source of civic pride for Philadelphians.

I have eaten at several of the restaurants on Passyunk, some visits based on LaBan's reviews. I have found his reviews to be unbiased, honest, and descriptive to the point of causing immediate, intense hunger. Now I know that I will be making many trips back to Passyunk Avenue - and at considerable risk to my waistline.

|Jerry Zeiger, Philadelphia

ISSUE | CABLE DEAL

Good move, feds

We should congratulate government officials when they do something right, as they have done by making it difficult for the Comcast-Time-Warner merger to go ahead ("How Comcast deal was stymied," April 26). Broadband costs twice as much here as in Europe because there is less competition.

|Nick Fuller, Chadds Ford

ISSUE | PHYSICIANS

Behind the TV persona, an accomplished doc

As the dean of a medical school, I was intrigued by the letter sent to Columbia University by 10 physicians, none of whom work at Columbia, urging the firing of faculty member Dr. Mehmet Oz. As a faculty member of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Oz is a distinguished academic surgeon who has authored or coauthored more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and is a member of multiple academic societies. Long before his television career, he was well-recognized in our profession.

However, nothing said on his television show detracts from what Oz has achieved in his professional career. Based on his accomplishments, he would be welcomed as a faculty member at most, if not all, medical schools in this country. Columbia should be, and most assuredly is, justifiably proud to have him. Let us not confuse the television personality with his academic career.

|Larry R. Kaiser, M.D., dean, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia

Pa. lawmaker helped cure Medicare fiscal ill

Until two weeks ago, access to health care for American seniors and military personnel and their families was threatened by significant periodic cuts to Medicare reimbursement for physicians. As chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts (R., Pa.) played a critical role in securing passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act that was signed into law on April 16, ending the uncertainty for patients and physicians.

The new law stabilizes the Medicare program and makes it more sustainable by providing support for physicians to adopt innovative health-care models that will improve quality and reduce costs. It also extends funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers that serve some of our nation's most vulnerable populations. We applaud Pitts for his leadership in securing enactment of this important bipartisan legislation.

|Robert M. Wah, M.D., president, American Medical Association, Washington; and Karen Rizzo, M.D., president, Pennsylvania Medical Society, Harrisburg

ISSUE | SHOPPING BAG FEE

For few pennies, a greener, cleaner city

During the annual Earth Day celebrations, the proposal of a 5-cent levy on plastic bags was most timely ("Shopping bag fee proposed for Phila.," April 24). The invention of the plastic bag was one of the worst of the last 50 years. I can recall one bag being stuck high up in a tree outside my window on the ninth floor for more than five years.

My hope is that if shoppers are hit in their pocketbooks, the change - pun intended - just might make the difference.

|Bernice Sherman, Philadelphia

ISSUE | JUSTICE

Petraeus walks, true patriot remains in exile

Talk about a double standard: Retired Gen. David Petraeus has friends in high places and gets a slap on the wrist for revealing classified information to his mistress ("Petraeus pleads guilty, gets probation and a fine," April 24). Meanwhile, Edward Snowden - whom I consider a patriot because he warned of government wrongdoing in the massive spying by the National Secuity Agency - is being charged under the espionage laws.

Snowden's leak should have been out there in the first place. Remember transparency? His actions forced President Obama to review recommendations on balancing security needs with privacy. What was revealed, in part, was that no terrorist acts were averted because of spying by the NSA and that the rights of citizens were being trampled.

Snowden would like to return to the United States, but his chances of a fair trial are dubious.

|Judy Rubin, Philadelphia

ISSUE | BOARDROOM DIVERSITY

Naming the corporate male preserves

Although Joan Scaccetti and Bill Marrazzo highlighted the absence of women on the boards of more than one-third of the 100 largest public companies in the region, compared with the far more impressive record on board gender diversity of nonprofit healthcare systems and colleges and universities, I was disappointed at their failure to name names ("Local boards must push for gender diversity," April 24). So here are a few of the better-known offenders: Sunoco Logistics, Aramark, Brandywine Realty Trust, Five Below, Sun Bancorp, and Republic First Bancorp.

A huge majority of people in our region - male and female - find the lack of gender diversity on boards of public corporations both shameful and inexcusable.

Those who want to align their values with their stock portfolio can find the entire list of errant companies at forumofexecutivewomen.com.

|Debra Weiner, Quakertown