Christmas in Chicago
Here comes Santa Claus
Here comes Santa Claus
wearing his bulletproof vest.
He’s bringing lots of toys
and bags of fun,
but all they want
are more ammo and lots of guns.
Nine teens are shot
after the lighting of the annual Christmas tree.
As Governor Pritzker defiantly declares:
“We don’t need the National Guard here,”
violent criminals are getting away.
What a way to spend the holidays,
when bullets are flying your way.
So let’s hope here in Philly
we can show “The Brotherly Love” way,
to spend a safe and joyous Christmas Day.
Al Ulus
Somerton
Support Red Cross
When disaster strikes, it often happens in the middle of the night, catching families off guard and leaving them with nothing but uncertainty. In those moments, Red Cross volunteers – neighbors from our own community – are there to provide comfort, emergency lodging and recovery support. Thanks to donations of money and time, this kind of care happens every eight minutes across the U.S., most often after a home fire. And during the holidays, home fire responses spike nearly 20% nationwide due to seasonal risks. In Southeastern Pennsylvania alone, our volunteers have provided emergency assistance to more than 170 people after nearly 50 home fires – just since Thanksgiving. We’ll be there for them – because of our generous donors and volunteers who help in so many ways. But our mission goes beyond disaster relief; we help patients in need of lifesaving blood, teach critical skills like first aid and CPR and support veterans and military families navigating unique challenges. This holiday season, please consider donating at redcross.org. Your gift ensures that when the unexpected happens, families have the support and care they need – because no one should face a disaster alone.
Jennifer Graham, CEO
American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Region
Approve clean-energy projects
Pennsylvania families will see higher electricity bills this winter, with PECO customers facing a 6% increase. One major reason for these rising costs isn’t something most of us ever hear about: PJM, the group that runs our power grid. PJM is responsible for approving new energy projects across our region. Yet nearly all of the renewable projects proposed in recent years are stuck waiting in their “queue.” These renewable energy projects would supply enough electricity to power 60 million homes in the region. Instead of advancing these cost-saving solar, wind and storage projects, PJM has slowed approvals to a crawl, keeping us reliant on expensive, polluting fossil fuels. Pennsylvania is currently 49th in the nation when it comes to renewable energy growth. We need that to change. If PJM allowed the clean-energy projects already proposed to connect to the grid, we could lower utility bills, reduce harmful emissions and make Pennsylvania a leader in affordable, homegrown renewable power. PJM should clear its backlog and bring these overdue clean-energy projects online. Pennsylvania families deserve an energy system that keeps the lights on without polluting our air, driving up costs or locking us into outdated methods.
Eli Booth
Fairmount
School district is the problem
The city has passed so many bills to help tenants and screw the landlords, I’m surprised there are any rentals on the market. It’s amazing how the powers-to-be deem this because the city has so many low-income residents. Maybe the city officials are looking at the situation a— backwards. They should start with the city’s beloved school system that is under-educating and producing low-income renters. This is the source of problem. When your education system has a graduation rate of about 68% and the present 4th-graders are way below the national averages in math and reading, of course you’re going to have low-income residents. The problem isn’t high rents and fees, it’s the city officials allowing the school district to graduate low-income residents. Solve the education problem and you will solve the low-income problem. Stop putting a Band-Aid on it.
Richard Donofry
East Torresdale
