Make sure job pledge is kept

8/28/2010

A logical and solid pick for a Lucas County representative to the Ohio Casino Control Commission would be Jerry Chabler (“37 apply for Ohio casino regulatory panel,” Aug. 23).

Jerry has served on a number of state boards and commissions that have both Democratic and Republican members, at the behest of governors of both parties. He currently serves on the Ohio State Racing Commission and the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board. He is diligent in his duties, is accessible to members of both political parties, and has an impeccable attendance record.

Jerry's knowledge of casino issues, and of promises made by and responsibilities of casino owners to their respective communities and the state, was gained firsthand as co-chair of Truth PAC, which opposed the casinos.

I have known Jerry for 25 years and worked with him on various projects, most recently the successful Airline Junction intermodal project. He has my personal support for this job.

The most important promise the casino developers have made is jobs. Jerry Chabler will see to it they keep that promise.

James Seney

Sylvania

Chamber is union for small business

The Aug. 20 Readers' Forum letter “Honor those who make life better” suggested engineers, inventors, and small-business owners should be honored in the Labor Day parade.

The parade honors all workers for their contributions to society, and there are engineers, inventors, and small-business owners in these ranks. Most of the vehicles in the parade belong to small-business owners, with their logos prominently displayed on the side.

Small businesses have a union. It's called the Chamber of Commerce. Its purpose is to promote the civic and commercial progress of our community.

We celebrate the contributions of labor unions because of their pivotal role in upgrading the standard of living of those who make our lives better. Let's contact the Chamber of Commerce and organize a parade for small business. I'll be waiting on the curb.

Terry Myers

Maumee

Much of gulf was unaffected by oil

Your Aug. 17 article “Shrimping begins anew along Gulf” reported that Louisiana shrimpers are worried about the safety of consuming shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico and question the federal government's testing of Gulf shrimp.

My husband is a shrimper in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. He has been shrimping continuously in the gulf during the oil spill. Many shrimpers have been working parts of the gulf that have not been affected at all by the BP spill.

The opinions of a few Louisiana shrimpers are damaging to shrimpers working in oil-free waters. Louisiana is not the only place that has a marketable shrimping industry.

Christine Judd

Fort Myers Beach, Fla.

Now is the time for a New START

Your editorial on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (“Treaty heel-dragging,” Aug. 21) was on target. In addition to restoring vital procedures for keeping tabs on Russia's nuclear weapons, the treaty will cut U.S. and Russian arsenals by one-third, signaling to the world that Washington and Moscow are serious about eliminating the nuclear danger.

That will make it easier to build global partnerships to address Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs and curb the threat of nuclear terrorism.

There is overwhelming agreement among current and former U.S. military leaders about the urgent need for New START to be ratified by the Senate. Most recently, this support was underscored by a letter to Congress from seven former commanders of U.S. nuclear forces.

The letter noted that “we will understand Russian strategic forces much better with the treaty than would be the case without it” because it “will allow us to observe and confirm the number of warheads on individual Russian missiles,” among other security benefits.

The time to ratify New START is now.

William D. Hartung

Director

Arms and Security Initiative

New America Foundation

New York

Tainted eggs in Ohio inevitable

Last year, voters approved creation of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, an issue funded by the big-farm industry that was only concerned with protecting profits of factory farms.

This year, Gov. Ted Strickland, the Humane Society of the United States, and that board agreed to minimal standards on care, thereby deferring a new initiative to establish humane conditions for farm animals (“Humane Society, farmers reach deal on standards,” July 1). Chickens and pigs still are confined in tiny cages where they cannot even turn around.

Now there has been an outbreak of salmonella from infected eggs. Salmonella thrives in fecal dust, amongst rodents and insects, in difficult-to-sanitize cages.

An outbreak was predicted by Dr. Michael Greger of the national humane society in your newspaper (“Ohio may face 2nd vote on care of farm animals,” May 30). Yet the governor allows this health hazard to continue. It is only a matter of time until Ohio experiences a disease outbreak from eggs produced here, because Ohio is one of the country's largest producers of eggs.

If the livestock board cared about public health, it would act immediately to demand chickens be allowed to run free or be confined in humane, larger, and healthier cages.

David S. Baumgartner

Bluffton, Ohio

Ice experiment was flawed

Using the example of ice cubes melting in a glass of water, a letter writer attempted to prove that melting icebergs do not affect sea levels (“Laws of physics can't be violated,” Readers' Forum, Aug. 19).

His experiment overlooked the fact that icebergs begin as land-based glaciers. Once they reach the oceans, their melting will cause sea levels to rise.

Ron Lora

Bluffton, Ohio

Physics lesson neglected history

Thanks to the letter writer for his lesson in physics. Evidently, he neglected the eons of time when the oceans were much lower because a great deal of the water was tied up at the poles.

Walter Henry

Oregon

Ice shelves won't raise ocean level

As ice shelves extend under the water because of glacial pressure, the shelf lifts the ocean level ever so slightly. When the pressure of the ocean water causes an ice shelf to break off and float, the ocean level goes down, not up. The melting of that glacial ice, or any other floating ice, does nothing to the ocean level.

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center: “With the current acceleration of glacier contribution to sea level rise, the total contribution from small glaciers and ice caps by the year 2100 is expected to be 240 +/- 128 millimeters.” That's about 10 inches.

Take a chunk of ice and a bowl partly filled with water. Push the ice down and the water level rises. Then fill the bowl to the top with water. The melting ice will not cause water to spill over the side. Ice floats because it displaces more water than after it melts.

Larry L. Fish

Lambertville

TPS money find looks suspicious

Toledo Public Schools officials pulled an $824,000 rabbit out of their hat (District discovers an extra $824,000,” Aug. 25). It makes you wonder what else they have up their sleeves?

Jamie Newton

Morrison Drive