Letters: Bridging the gap between Phila.'s poor and affluent

Wednesday's paper presented pictures of a city that is divided between the haves and the have-nots.

On one hand, as columnist Mike Newall put it, there are parts of Philadelphia "where living is simply an act of survival," where bullets, drugs, hunger, violence, poverty, fear, and filth take their toll every day ("It's time to reach out to Phila.'s other side").

On the other hand, developer Carl Dranoff wrote in a commentary, "Philadelphia has gained its rightful place as a national model of urban renewal, and the proof is all around us" ("Democracy and optimism transform Philadelphia").

And somewhere in between, former Gov. Ed Rendell took credit for bringing 57 painted donkeys to the city for the Democratic National Convention ("Braying for Dems"). "It did come out of my fertile and overactive mind," Rendell said, "but it had some rational basis."

As I wonder what we can do about the enormous poverty in our city, it occurs to me that we must enlist Rendell's fertile and overactive mind to develop a rational plan for narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots - the latter toward the former, of course. It's time someone takes some action in this direction.

Jean Haskell, Philadelphia, jean.haskell205@gmail.com