User Rating: / 11
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It is absolutely unbelievable that the Port Authority is entertaining eliminating the P10 route from its schedule. This route was originally formed by combining five routes several years ago. Five routes into one. The buses come every 15 to 20 minutes and are packed to capacity and passengers are standing most times. To eliminate this route would be catastrophic for the northern area of the county.

We residents north of the city have constantly been overlooked when the necessity of keeping routes on the schedule is an issue -- which remains constant. We Northerners work in the city, too. We have a longer commute than others but have sucked it up for the sake of convenience and cost.

If this route is eliminated, the Port Authority is forcing several choices: drive farther to catch the sickening 1 or 91 bus which, even during normal working hours, rides a (shall I say) unique crowd of passengers.

Another choice would be to have people drive into the city, which is another idea with extreme limitations because the city will not be able to accommodate all the vehicles if people are forced to drive to get into the city. Then, people may even be forced to consider leaving their current jobs in the city to take positions elsewhere in suburbs where driving wouldn't be too much of a hindrance.

Is anyone out there really listening to the concerns? This is absolutely ridiculous. The Port Authority employees have to wake up and smell the coffee of the real world and realize some sacrifices on their part need to be made for them to secure their own jobs and future pensions, etc., with the Port Authority. The world is full of give and take -- but unfortunately we riders are the only people giving in these troubled times, and the Port Authority continues to take, take, take from us riders.

EILEEN WARGO
Frazer

User Rating: / 9
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People have cited the Homer City power plant, an 1,800- megawatt coal-fired plant, as a major source of pollution, and indeed it is, but correcting the matter is not the trivial matter they suggest.

First, two of the three boilers already have pollution controls that meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements, and the third is getting a $700 million makeover to do the same. Some have suggested replacing the steam plant with solar or wind power generation.

The first objection is that Homer City is a base load plant -- it must be available at all hours of the day or night. Solar cells have quite a difficult time coping with darkness, and wind generators have the same problem with calms. Second, the size of 1,800 megawatts is far, far beyond anything that has been attempted to date with wind or solar power.

All pollution problems are rather easy to fix when you can take an uneducated "all you gotta do" approach that violates at least one basic law of physics or finance. The engineers and scientists working on these problems are neither lazy nor stupid. Nor are they insensitive to them. They too have children who are impacted by pollution.

Unless some major scientific development comes about, the only feasible answer to future power needs is nuclear power. Anything that is burned contributes to carbon and climate change.

KEITH H. SUEKER
Consulting Engineer
Penn Hills

User Rating: / 19
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After following the hot topics included in the article "More Fireworks on Birth Control" (Feb. 17), I looked back a bit on the history of birth control and was reminded that it was Margaret Sanger who led the battle for women's rights to birth control and founded the first birth control clinic in 1916!

Today, almost 100 years later, the actual role of birth control has expanded greatly. As the wife of an obstetrician/gynecologist, I have learned how contraception is used to treat or prevent many health conditions that would otherwise be painful, debilitating and possibly life-threatening for many women.

President Barack Obama has listened to medical experts and scientists by making sure that contraception is affordable to all women as well as supporting a health care plan that ensures women can get other important screenings and services that are lifesaving. Isn't that what we all want? With President Obama women can feel secure that women's health care is safe from returning to the days of Margaret Sanger and starting that fight all over again.

MOLLY MILLER
Squirrel Hill

User Rating: / 16
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In the Feb. 26 letters, someone wanted to know how a practicing Catholic could vote for President Barack Obama ("Core Beliefs"). I'm a practicing Catholic and I voted for Mr. Obama. I'm not a one-issue voter. President Obama works diligently to help the working class and the poor, to improve the economy, to keep our country safe, to improve education, etc. We need, as a country, to show concern and compassion for our citizens from birth to death.

FRANCES STEVE
Penn Hills