LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Bell ripped over city gang issue

10/20/2013

Congratulations to The Blade’s Taylor Dungjen and Amy Voigt for receiving Touchstone awards for their series on Toledo gangs (“Blade staffers get excellence awards in 2 categories,” Oct. 4).

Mayor Mike Bell did not want this series to be written, preferring to keep Toledo residents uninformed. According to The Blade, he condemned the series as “irresponsible journalism.”

This is just one of many reasons that I have been disappointed with Mr. Bell.

JEFF FERRIS

Vermaas Avenue

 

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Motorcycle clubs not same as gangs

Toledo, like other cities, has a gang problem. But listing motorcycle clubs with street gangs is wrong (“Blade obtains Toledo’s map of gang territories,” Aug. 13).

I have many friends who belong to the Avengers, one of the clubs listed on the police department’s gang map that you published. Our union has many members who enjoy the camaraderie of owning motorcycles and sharing that passion. The Avengers I know are involved in charity rides.

I don’t own or ride a motorcycle. But if I did, I would be proud if the Avengers accepted me for membership.

BILL LICHTENWALD

PresidentTeamsters Local 20 South Hawley Street

 

Bethany House has solid footing

Bethany House is different by design. People such as Kathy Griffith, Bethany House’s executive director, and others, including me, worked long hours to ensure that battered women have the time it takes to recover from hostility, both verbal and physical.

Bethany House lost $37,000 in city funding this year, and will receive zero in next year’s budget because of its refusal to capitulate to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s rapid rehousing approach.

Perhaps city of Toledo officials need to read the research that gives Bethany House its spine.

THEODORA WILSON

Satin Leaf Drive

 

FirstEnergy deserves boycott

In response to your Sept. 19 article “Watchdog group urges boycott of FirstEnergy; Sierra Club hits stance on renewable energy”: Count me in.

FirstEnergy has long failed families when it comes to providing clean energy and efficiency. Now the utility is attacking renewable energy and efficiency standards.

When the General Assembly passed a clean energy law in 2008, almost all lawmakers agreed that Ohio must reduce the amount of energy we waste and diversify with renewables. These standards have opened up a clean-energy industry in Ohio that is creating jobs and saving money by creating demand for local energy efficiency and renewable investments.

I am taking the pledge not to choose FirstEnergy Solutions, and checking into my renewable energy options.

DEBBIE PERLMUTTER

Sylvania Township