Congratulations on the well-researched and balanced coverage of the LTV mess ["Slow Burn," March 22]. Not only were you professional enough to give all involved parties their say, but you were brave enough to lay the blame right where it belongs -- on the horrific managerial decisions made right here in Cleveland since 1994. The Welded Tube and Copperweld acquisitions saddled LTV with enough debt to turn a normal steel industry downturn into a death spiral. So now we expect taxpayers across the U.S. to bail us out of this Cleveland-born fiasco? Think about it next time you're tempted to complain about your taxes.
It was hysterical to read Dennis Kucinich whining about "illegal" imports. Suddenly this sworn enemy of big business (and anyone else daring to make a profit) is crusading to keep the smokestacks belching along the Cuyahoga. Picture this alternate scenario: A prospering LTV just reported record profits today. Do you think Mr. Kucinich would hesitate one second to call a press conference publicizing some environmental group's estimates of the death and disease toll caused by LTV's massive air, ground, and water pollution? Of course not! Dennis's friends are determined by which way the wind is blowing on any given day and which way the TV cameras are pointing. What a shallow way to live.
Dave Kolpak
via the Internet
County's treatment program destroys lives:
This article ["Good Idea, Bad Blood," February 22] simply made me sick to my stomach. How can a civilized society -- or any human being -- decide that a child should be "a carrot on a stick" to enforce some arbitrary "treatment" program. Where is the outrage any mother or child psychologist should be expressing at the total disregard for the mental and emotional damage a destroyed family has on a child? I believe there is a preconception that these crack-addicted single mothers may be prostitutes.
The perceptions of how this system works and who is being used in it are wrong. Case in point: A single working mother, never found guilty of any crime, had her 8-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter taken away. Both children and mother are devastated and begging to be brought back together. The county refuses to do so because the "program" has "requirements." A county social worker said to this woman, "Sorry, it doesn't matter what the best interests of the children are . . . the program must be completed."
Every night I must see the woman cry herself to sleep, as she wonders why all the lawyers and all the counselors who say this isn't right won't help her. And how can a government be so callous toward family values? No, this is not a "good idea." It is nothing short of barbarian! And if anyone doubts this story, these facts, I would more than welcome an investigation. So many lives are being destroyed here, and far too many tears are being shed.
James McNemar
Cleveland
Northeast Ohio needs The Beacon:
I really appreciated Pete Kotz's article on The Beacon Journal ["Slouching Toward Mediocrity," March 8]. It was insightful, fair, and informative. Although it was somewhat critical, I believe your article will come to the attention of the publisher, who is a terrific person (I know from experience).
Just as we need Scene, we need The News Herald and The Beacon Journal to offset the dominance and mediocrity of The Plain Dealer. Your article might remind the parent company of its history of achievement and excellence, and that it should not capitulate to a profit standard alone. I believe Scene, The News Herald, and The Beacon Journal can be successful at reportage as well as profit.
Victor Salupo
Cleveland
Clarification
In Scene's March 29 story on Fannie Lewis ["Hangin' With Mother Hough], we wrote that Triangle Development CEO Alfred Edwards was convicted of writing $32,000 in bad checks to contractors. However, it should be noted that Edwards's conviction was overturned by an appellate court in February. Edwards further notes that he has not served as Triangle's CEO for "almost two years."
Finally, Triangle is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization protection, not Chapter 7, as the story may have unintentionally implied.
