Letters To The Editor

Opening forests to construction defies public will

The Bush administration's removal of protection for roadless areas is a travesty ("U.S. to allow new roads in wild forests," May 6).

Several years ago, the Forest Service held hearings all over the United States on wilderness areas. The vast majority of respondents supported protections, especially the designation of roadless areas. Only 5 percent of America's original temperate rain forests remain; now even these may soon be open for logging, drilling and mineral extraction. Clearly, this newest assault on our country's natural heritage goes against public opinion.

President Bush's deliberate disregard of our nation's environment is appalling, especially when he applies deceitful slogans that obfuscate the effects of his policies, such as his "Healthy Forests" initiative that allows road-building and logging and his "Clear Skies" initiative that does very little to cleanse the air or reduce global warming.

This administration's policies pander to the selfish interests of the coal and oil industries and threaten the health of present and future generations as well as of our planet. This lack of vision is a tragedy.

Ajax Eastman

Baltimore

Keys to improving juvenile services

I'm writing regarding Mayor Martin O'Malley's proposed 10-point package for reforming the state Department of Juvenile Services ("Mayor offers reforms of Md. agency for juveniles," May 5).

My husband and I have worked in the field of antisocial juveniles for 29 years. It has been our passion, our purpose and our life.

DJS must introduce two factors before any children are going to straighten out:

Mandatory innovative programs in juvenile facilities, and also in the community, with documented success rates. Some creative private programs have been far more successful than state programs.

Many more well-trained, caring staff members (not guards) to implement the programs. One staff member for every two students should be required.

All of the expensive facilities in the world will not straighten out a troubled child. He will go right on pursuing the criminal lifestyle. However, antisocial juveniles could live in a barn and straighten out very nicely if they were surrounded by enough caring, trained staff using tough, demanding programs that work.

Elaine Lehman

Taneytown

When will agency finally get it right?

I am disappointed with the slow pace at which the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services is making reform occur. Children, not adults, are languishing in a system that cannot find the resources to begin to rehabilitate these precious minds.

What we appear to have is a system that is reactive instead of proactive. Children have tried to commit suicide. They have been in seclusion for longer periods than they should have been. They are still spending too much time sitting at a facility waiting for placement to a program.

DJS continues to have problems with broken locks, dilapidated structures, unclean facilities, poorly trained staff, lack of benefits for some staff, and not enough staff.

After all these years of chaos and confusion at DJS, when will they get it right? These children, many of whom are nonviolent offenders, deserve a chance to get it right and make something of their young lives.

Cameron E. Miles

Baltimore

The writer is director of community outreach for the Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition.

Partisanship leads to `talking points'

I would like to point out one salient fact omitted by Michael Olesker in his column "Ehrlich `talking points' yet another sign of the bitter times in Annapolis" (May 3).

Mr. Olesker takes Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to task for his transmission of "talking points" to public information officers in state government.

While Mr. Olesker may be right that this is an unusual approach, as confirmed by two press secretaries to previous governors, there is one major flaw in the reasoning: Previous governors have been in the same party as the legislative majority. The Democrat-controlled legislature has absolutely no interest in seeing a Republican governor succeed. When there is such absurd partisanship, is it any wonder that such situations occur?

The people of Maryland did elect Mr. Ehrlich as their governor, a fact that the legislature and Mr. Olesker would like to ignore.

John Miller

Timonium

Filibuster protects rights of minority

Threats to abolish the filibuster are ill-considered ("Ad campaigns turn up volume on debate over judicial filibuster," May 3). Such a move could only produce a bullying majority that would no longer need to consider the rights and interests of the minority.

It would bring us a perilous step closer to Iranian-style or Soviet-era "majority rule," wherein the right of the majority to rule is absolute.

Michael Klapp

Baltimore

New technology, but old behavior