Letters to the Editor: Why Do We Publish These in the Herald Mail?
National parks are in danger
To the editor:
Do we want to see "Keep Out - Contamination" signs when we visit Grand Canyon National Park?
The Forest Service is being allowed to gamble with this national treasure, and future generations stand to lose. Americans must understand that Vane Minerals' plan to drill for uranium three miles outside the park is just the beginning.
In the past five years, more than 800 claims for uranium, gold and other minerals have been staked within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park. Now that the British- owned company has started to move on their claims, other companies will follow.
Grand Canyon National Park must remain open and protected for all Americans, not sacrificed to profit foreign companies. The House of Representatives passed the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 (H.R. 2262), which will protect all our national parks from toxic mining. Bottom line, the Senate must do the same, because too much is at stake!
Tommy Landers
Environment Maryland
Field Organizer
Baltimore, Md.
I'm sorry Herald Mail, but this letter to the editor has absolutely nothing to do with anything that has been reported on in the community or even located near this area. Now don't get me wrong, I am for keeping the Grand Canyon preserved for everyone, but why do we need to turn the letters to the editor section of the paper into a place where environmental lobbyists can post their material free of charge? The letters to the editor section should be used for relative commentary about what people see going on in the Hagerstown and Washington county community not for publicizing special interest groups agendas. If you want to save the Grand Canyon then that is fine, but either hold an event in Washington County that the Herald Mail can report on or take out an ad in the paper to push this kind of information, don't abuse this section of the paper.
Hagerstown City Council Boosts Incentives for Living Downtown but not the Ones That Matter
The council’s decision will increase incentives from $100 to $150 per month for people who rent downtown properties.
For home buyers, the city will increase the amount of loans that it offers from $1,500 to $2,500 for homes selling at $150,000 or less. Loans will increase from $1,500 to $5,000 on homes selling from $150,001 to $250,000.
This article appeared in the Herald Mail today and it strikes me as odd that these types of incentives are viewed as helpful for revitalizing downtown Hagerstown. As much as I like Hagerstown, what really needs to happen is to have some real business money injected into the commercial spaces that will force the continuing cleanup of streets like Potomac and Franklin. We need to see more commercial services firms move in and setup shop in the town before it can hope to expect to attract residents with the money to put into home improvements, especially with the way the economy is going. The other issue is the incredibly high property tax rate within the city itself which needs to be lowered to encourage growth.
Until the city center is cleaned up a bit and the population starts to shift towards a more middle-income demographic I don't think you are going to see much change in downtown. I would love to see more high-tech firms come to Hagerstown that don't really need to be based in a major city since much of their business is conducted over the Internet. Not only is the commercial office space cheaper but their is a workforce that is begging for these types of jobs to come to the area. Otherwise you have people like myself who are commuting 100 miles a day because finding a Manager of Information Technology job in Hagerstown is impossible. If Hagerstown can attract these firms based on the lower operating costs in the area, then we will see real growth and improvement downtown.
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