Northeast Philadelphia residents discuss Mayfair Elementary, the opioid crisis and the important of journalism.
The importance of news
In a time when neighborhood newspapers are in decline, the Northeast is fortunate to have the Northeast Times as a reliable free information source for local news and issues. Now our region has an exceptional free resource for national and world news as well.
Library card holders now have full access to the New York Times online via the Free Library of Philadelphia website. While an online subscription to the New York Times regularly costs $9.99/month, Philadelphians can now get the same access for free with their library card. In its 166 years, the Times has won 125 Pulitzer prizes. Its website, NYTimes.com, is the most visited newspaper website in the world. Follow these easy steps to access the New York Times through the Free Library.
Go to freelibrary.com and click on “Databases.”
Click on “New York Times Anywhere.”
Enter your library card number and PIN number. (If you don’t know your PIN, click on “Forgot your PIN?” on the Free Library’s log-in webpage.)
Click “Redeem” and you will claim a 72-hour pass for New York Times digital access.
After your 72 hours are up, you can repeat the process to claim another pass. It’s that simple.
One more exciting news-related development: Starting in August, the Northeast Regional Library will be offering a new class, “How To Spot Fake News Online.” This class will run every other Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. starting on Aug. 15. In this class, we will discuss the different types of fake “news” articles, how to evaluate online sources, how to research the validity of a claim and best practices for finding information about current events online. Contact Northeast Regional Library at 215–685–0522 for information.
Peter Lehu
Regional Librarian, Northeast Regional Library
Worry about Philly, not ICE
This is in response to the city wanting to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to discuss Philadelphia’s Preliminary Arraignment Reporting System. It would be nice if the powers that be of this city worried about the legal citizens of Philadelphia. How much money is being wasted on this problem? They are spending money like they really have it (yet $33 million is missing). The city is going to hell in a handcart, and the politicians want to solve a national problem.
Richard Donofry
East Torresdale
Don’t send kids to Meehan
It seems that parents’ concerns about their children’s safety and health mean nothing to Philadelphia school officials.
Meetings with members of the School Reform Commission proved futile to the parents of kindergarteners and first-graders at Mayfair Elementary School.
Because Mayfair is overcrowded, they plan to relocate these babies to Austin Meehan Middle School. They disregard the stress of having siblings who need parental supervision in different schools. The School District of Philadelphia expects parents to put their 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds on buses that they will provide.
Unexpected early dismissals, sickness, family emergencies, half-days — they find nothing wrong with children waiting unattended because the parent can’t be at two schools at one time.
They will not provide modular classrooms to keep our babies near and safe. Supposedly, it will be a one-year relocation. I ask, how can it be for one year when the new Meehan won’t be completed till 2021? That’s when school boundaries are supposed to change.
So we ask, why can’t we have modulars on Mayfair School property?
Maria Barowski
Mayfair
Opioid crisis is everywhere
I’m tired of the press talking about the “opioid crisis” regarding Kensington. This is the norm for the rest of the people who come from there.
Now that it’s no longer just the people from the hood and it’s not able to be hidden from the neighbors in suburbia any more, now people want to address the issue. Better late than never.
It is sad that all the hundreds of people who have died didn’t matter until it hit rich, white suburbia. Now there is no choice but to address this decades-old issue. It’s truly a shame that’s the only way the problem is now being recognized.
Roxanna Schroeder
Burholme
