Northeast Philadelphia residents talk about environmental funding, child adoption and the Eagles.
Environmental funding
On Jan. 26, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed Department of Environmental Protection permitting reforms and staffing increases to improve permit review and oversight.
The proposals — including a $2.5 million increase for additional DEP staff — signal a welcome priority as we head into the budget season.
This comes after DEP has seen a decade of decline, especially under the previous administration. In the past 10 years, general fund support for DEP staff levels has decreased by 43 percent, leading to oversight concerns as increased demand, especially by the gas industry, has been met with dwindling resources.
The permitting backlog that has resulted from insufficient staff has been a topic of contention for the oil and gas industry and for many of my Republican counterparts. Yet their answer has been to simply decrease regulations and assume approvals, rather than provide the resources necessary to responsibly review all permits and concerns.
A well-funded and efficient DEP is in the best interest of both the environment and the oil and gas industry. While the latter is an important financial resource in this state, as legislators, we have a constitutional obligation to protect and preserve the former. I hope that my colleagues in the state House and Senate, on both sides of the aisle, remember this when it comes time to pass a budget this summer.
We have the opportunity to capture and use this valuable precious resource, and we have an obligation to protect our environment for this and future generations.
We can and we must do both.
Rep. Madeleine Dean
153rd Legislative District
Connect parents, kids
This letter is for those who are unaware about anything pertaining to adoption and the process of getting into contact with their birth child or biological parent. It is a hassle and an unneeded conflict.
Each state has its own policy that varies instead of there being one unified national policy on the steps required in order to gain contact with the other party. I found this information out while doing research for a school project. To me, this is absurd and makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. What makes this even worse is there is no explanation of why there isn’t already a standing unified national policy that all states have to follow.
With each state having their own policy, it makes it that much more challenging for parties in two varying states because they have to go through both states’ policies on reconnecting.
In my opinion, there should be one unified national policy regarding reconnection between adopted children and their biological parents.
Jennine Buchanan
Somerton
Foles, Eagles earned it
Sometimes, nice guys do finish first.
Congratulations to Nick Foles; you are an inspiration. And to all the Philadelphia Eagles: Enjoy this championship victory. You all earned it.
Peter DiGiuseppe
Rhawnhurst
Birds were better team
Poor crybaby Tom Brady losing the Super Bowl.
And a pathetic message from his wife, Gisele, to her two children about Tom’s loss, explaining that, “Sometimes, you have to let other people win.”
“Let?”
Tom Brady didn’t “let” the Eagles win, Gisele, he lost.
And to Gisele, Brady didn’t just let us win, we did it the old-fashioned way, we earned it.
Awesome, Birds.
Al Ulus
Somerton
