I suspect you voted for Bush because he has the same type of logic (absent as it may be) as you do when it comes to science. I suspect that you never saw Al Gore's movie. Did you know that out of over 900 articles -- peer-reviewed articles, that is -- none of them claimed that global warming was fiction? None. Zero. Goose egg.
You either think science is completely wrong or you must admit you are wrong. I think I will side with the scientists. The only global-warming controversy exists in the minds of people like you.
Elton Fontaine
Cleveland
Lame, Annoying Children
Two hours with them was plenty: Your review ["In the Playroom," January 3] says it all when it claims that Little Children gives us characters it's impossible to identify with. Those were my exact feelings as I left the theater. Who cares about this unpleasant lot? Why waste film on them? Is it supposed to warn us against living in the suburbs? It should have been titled People in the Suburbs All Suck. That would have been a bit more upfront and limited attendance to those interested in such a message. You were too kind to it.
Gene Quermann
Cupertino, California
God vs. Garfield Heights
Someone will pay someday: Reading this article ["Tomb With a View," January 10] scared the heck out of me. My boyfriend and I just purchased a home in Garfield Heights in June 2006, and we are planning on raising a family in this town.
I grew up in Cuyahoga Heights, so I know what the smell is like competing with the sewage plant. I'm still not sure which was worse. This article really hit home with all the nasty things my family has been breathing in for years, and to know that I'm even closer to the source boggles my mind.
I hope that in the coming years, someone gets the guts to stand up to the Ohio EPA and town officials and can actually make something happen. I hope that I have the guts to stand with that person and lend my voice to such a worthy cause. We need to ensure the health of our future children to live in the areas being affected by the hazardous materials and the total disregard and disrespect of the officials of Garfield Heights. It's a tragedy that money is more important than the lives of the people who keep this city running.
I hope those responsible can live with themselves, but I know they will get exactly what's coming to them when they meet their maker. He will not allow this injustice to go unpunished.
Christine Malek
Garfield Heights
Cancer's going around: My family and I lived in Valley View, just up the street on Canal Road, and went to Cuyahoga Heights High School. My mother died of cancer, but the shocking news from this article is that my brother, David Shubert, died in July of 2003 of a brain tumor. Very scary.
Laura Spraw
Brook Park
Get out while you can: I grew up on Murray Road. I played near and around the dump. In 1997, my dad got colon cancer. Thank God he had surgery and had it removed, and so far it hasn't returned. He, of course, moved from Valley View in 1999. This article just confirms all the stories that used to circulate about the dump while I was growing up. It is scary to know that this is something that could have or still could affect me and my family.
Melissa Colon
Cuyahoga Heights
When shopping doesn't help: I was glad to see such an important issue tackled in your paper. As a child, I played in the woods and near the ditches on Murray Road, and am appalled at the flippant attitude of the EPA, city and federal officials, and anyone involved with the dump, the water conditions, and the general safety of the residents of Valley View.
It's sad enough that those who could help have done nothing more than cover up or point fingers elsewhere, without thinking of all the lives they have put at risk -- lives that have actually ended because of these conditions. It is even more shocking that this issue is considered a "low priority" because of the number of lives it has affected. I'd like to think that if even 20 people in all of Cleveland were put at risk, it would be considered a serious matter. But when half of the people in a small, one-block area are affected, no one seems concerned. In fact, they continued to build and cover up dangers, putting more people at risk.
Now there are stores with employees and customers from outside the area that are also being affected, and still nothing is being done. Is there anything that any of us can do to help right this wrong?
Carol Harnett
Cleveland
A welcome surprise: I would like to commend Jared [Klaus] on his article. This was not the kind of thing I expected to see in this magazine. My parents were two of the people who died in the story.
I really hope Jared continues to follow this story and keep us updated. I believe that this is what journalism should be. Thank you for writing about something truly important.
Why don't you get Carl Monday involved with this, instead of the worthless things he usually calls investigative reporting?
Ray Magalski
Streetsboro
