Too bad the judges or a family member weren't the passenger in the car who was killed. These judges should hang their heads in shame for imposing sentences with no teeth. This man was worthless from day one, a total burden on society who contributed nothing. Now, we, as taxpayers, will continue to foot the bill until the day he dies or is released on parole.
Why is it that blacks comprise 12 percent of the U.S. population, but commit 65 percent of the crimes? Seems like a huge disparity, doesn't it?
I thought that once Obama was elected, they would all have a different, more positive outlook on life.
Nothing has changed, and it never will.
James Della Vecchia
Pitman, N.J.
Voter ID and change
People are writing about how good an idea it is to mandate that citizens must have a picture ID in order to vote. The issue is not about having an ID card to vote - instead, the real truth is that Republicans came up with this law to suppress the black and minority vote.
Opponents of President Obama support this only because they haven't been able to adjust to "change" in the White House. They spend 24/7 thinking of ways to get him out.
Charles Veterano
Philadelphia
Minority retort
Your article on minority contracting is somewhat accurate; however, there was no explanation as to why minority-owned businesses don't receive the awards. One of the reasons is the corruption that goes on within the minority-owned businesses themselves.
The large issue at hand in the awarding of contracts is if the bidder is in fact a "responsible contractor." Just being a minority-owned business doesn't warrant award. Many requirements and criteria must be reviewed, such as capital on hand, worker-safety programs, trained-personnel work history and viable credit availability.
Minority-owned business contracts are not a handout. They are necessary, but, with residents' tax dollars being spent, utmost scrutiny must be used for attaining the best value for that money which also is time sensitive.
Jim Lynch
Langhorne, Pa.
Turn of the screwed
There is all this confusing talk about State Tax Equalization Board (STEB), Office of Property Assessment (OPA), tax appeals, the elimination of Mayor Nutter's temporary real-estate tax increases and providing the school district with $90 million more next year.
Let me try and simplify this.
We are going to get screwed, so let's hope that it's only a slight increase above our 2012 real-estate taxes.
Mayer Krain
Philadelphia
