Legacy

Your editorial, "Unfinished business" (March 10) about Deputy Mayor Andy Frank's departure from City Hall stated that his legacy will be his efforts to bring slots to Baltimore, and if successful at some point in the future, to reduce the property tax rate in Baltimore City. In fact, the legacy of Mr. Frank and the Dixon Administration are the massive public subsidies the city provided to a few politically connected developers for the Harbor East and Westport Developments. Regrettably, those investments came at the expense of city taxpayers and the existing businesses and growing number of residents downtown.

Fred Lazarus has made many great contributions to Baltimore, but perhaps one of his lesser known and appreciated ones is raising the bar for high quality architectural design, as represented by the Brown Center and the Gateway student dorm building on the Maryland Institute College of Art campus ("MICA's Fred Lazarus to retire in 2014 after guiding art school for 35 years," April 30). Those buildings serve as inspirations for the rest of Baltimore. Excellent design is a vital element for raising the spirits of residents, workers and visitors alike.

The "Making presidential elections fairer" commentary (Nov. 17) omits that the Electoral College is another legacy of slavery. The compromise of 1787, the counting of slaves as three-fifths of a person in determining the number of representatives in Congress to which a state was entitled (plus two senators), was the same formula used to construct the number of electors each state had in the Electoral College. Joseph R. Cowen, Baltimore

With the announced near term political retirement of now state Sen. and former County Executive James Robey, it is worthwhile to consider what might be his most enduring legacy, namely raising Howard County state income tax rates from one of the lowest to the highest in the state. In particular, in light of the many tax rate increases in other areas imposed on Howard County residents since that time, and the presently proposed increase in real estate taxes before the County Council, it may be asked whether these increases could have been prevented or greatly reduced with a different set of decisions about what the future of Howard County would be with respect to development.

Isn't the governor supposed to represent the views of the constituents who elected him to office? The governor is opposed to the death penalty, so no murderers have been executed. Does that represent the wishes of the majority of Marylanders? The governor is for in-state tuition for illegals, which the majority of Marylanders are against. UnderMartin O'Malley's administration, we have seen increases in our taxes, tolls and fees. Now this man wants to add more to the already-high cost of gasoline.

Thank you to Dan Rodricks for the article about Bernie Weisman and Charlesmead Pharmacy ("Bernie Weisman, the man who never had a bad day in 65 years," Jan. 13). I smiled as I read the article - I had a warm heart and had tears in my eyes too. He was exactly as you said he was, a lovely, caring, giving man. His wife, Marilyn, is an amazing woman, working at the pharmacy, continuing the kindness - the legacy of Bernie. I love being a customer. The entire staff reflects who and what kind of man Bernie was; he created and ran a "one of a kind" old time pharmacy, soda fountain and all. I have missed him, those twinkling eyes and that wonderful smile, his caring.

I just finished reading Paul Lewis' tongue-in-cheek letter to the editor of The Sun ( "Maybe the Toaster finally figured out where Poe was born," Jan. 23), in which he comments on Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious toaster presumably resurfacing in Boston. I at first took umbrage at the tone of the letter, taking Mr. Lewis' comment "...when Poe died there during what was supposed to be a brief stopover... " as an insult to Baltimore, implying that Baltimore has little, if any, claim to Poe's legacy.

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday will be commemorated on Monday, and the mainstream media will depict King as a benign figure who might have stepped out of a Hallmark card. What is emphasized is King's fight for racial equality — certainly laudable and worthy of celebration. What is downplayed, often ignored, is King's challenge to this country to recognize and correct an economic inequality that has deleterious effects on both black and white Americans. In addition to his opposition to the Vietnam War, King warned us that, "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

The individual accounts presented in your retrospective of the gasoline spill fail to adequately encapsulate the unremitting heartache wrought by the over 26,000 gallons of gasoline that leaked undetected for a month below the Jacksonville Exxon in early 2006 ("Five years later, Jacksonville still grapples with gas spill," April 6). I have spent much of the last five years visiting with friends and neighbors in the community, haggling with ExxonMobil and the Maryland Department of the Environment over well testing and an array of remediation efforts.

If Gov. Martin O'Malley succeeds in his plan to increase the gas tax by 60 percent and index it to inflation, he will have cemented his legacy: Making Maryland the highest-taxed state in the nation. Congratulations, Governor O'Malley. M. Link, Baltimore Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

On June 8, the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County will host “Steppin' into a New Legacy,” a step show and basketball tournament aimed at raising awareness about the role men play in preventing domestic violence. According to the Domestic Violence Center's website, “Domestic violence and sexual assault are far too often viewed as a female-centered issue; one over which men have little voice and a lesser role to play.” However, DVC leaders believe violence is an issue that affects everyone and that men and boys must assume an active stand in helping to stop future acts of aggression.

Rogert Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic who died today, leaves behind a rich legacy, thanks to a shelf-full of books that explore movies -- and his own life. His memoir, "Life Itself," dealt with his battle with alcoholism and the later, losing fight with thyroid cancer. He recounts, as well, his love for -- and exhaustive knowledge of -- movies. I came to admire Ebert, who worked at the Chicago Sun-Times, as he reviewed movies with fellow critic Gene Siskel on their PBS show.

If Gov. Martin O'Malley succeeds in his plan to increase the gas tax by 60 percent and index it to inflation, he will have cemented his legacy: Making Maryland the highest-taxed state in the nation. Congratulations, Governor O'Malley. M. Link, Baltimore Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Now that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is unemployed, here is a synopsis of the world situations she was engaged in and responsible for during her tenure: In China, officials whom she upset would not even meet with her for the last three years. Regarding North Korea, our attempts to talk with them never got off the ground and they are now threatening to launch long-range nuclear missiles at us. Egypt, a former staunch ally, is now run by the Muslim Brotherhood, to whom we are selling sophisticated weaponry.

It takes little effort to find severe problems with the character of Richard Wagner, the man who was born two centuries ago and, as he was the first to acknowledge, became one of history's greatest composers. It's much harder to dismiss his music, which is receiving extra attention around the world during this bicentennial year. Locally, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is taking a close look at Wagner over the next few months. The focus starts this week with a program featuring, in concert form, Act 1 from "Die Walkure," the second of four operas that comprise "The Ring of the Nibelung," the epic filled with heroic and villainous mortals, giants, troubled gods, Valkyries on horseback, horned helmets, a mighty sword and, of course, a magical ring.

She'd never seen a presidential inauguration in her life, or wanted to, but on Jan. 20, 2009, Nathasa Werts braved bone-chilling weather and a crowd of more than a million people for a trip to Washington. The nation had just elected its first black president, after all, and Werts, an African-American mother of three, finally felt a part of the process. "Our ancestors were slaves, and that's an ugly past, but that election told us we have the power to turn all that around," the Pikesville woman recalled.

Now that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is unemployed, here is a synopsis of the world situations she was engaged in and responsible for during her tenure: In China, officials whom she upset would not even meet with her for the last three years. Regarding North Korea, our attempts to talk with them never got off the ground and they are now threatening to launch long-range nuclear missiles at us. Egypt, a former staunch ally, is now run by the Muslim Brotherhood, to whom we are selling sophisticated weaponry.

I enjoyed reading your recent article, "Baltimore County Executive Smith reflects on past, future" (Dec. 3). Looking back over the past eight years, there is a great legacy of accomplishments that Jim Smith will leave behind. In particular, Mr. Smith's stalwart support of the Baltimore County Public Library system deserves special attention. I can think of no other local government leader who has done so much to advance the cause of libraries. Thanks to Mr. Smith's leadership, Baltimore County has new branch libraries in Perry Hall and Arbutus, expanded and improved facilities in Cockeysville and Randallstown, and two new branch locations on the way, in Turner's Station and Owings Mills.

The story has been told many times over the past three decades, as Bill Belichick went from being an up-and-coming defensive coordinator in the NFL to an unsuccessful first-time head coach with the Cleveland Browns to eventually becoming one of the most accomplished coaches in league history. No matter where and how Belichick's story unfolds, it always begins in Annapolis. It also begins with his father, Steve, a college football coach who moved the family there from North Carolina to work at the Naval Academy in 1956.

Thank you to Dan Rodricks for the article about Bernie Weisman and Charlesmead Pharmacy ("Bernie Weisman, the man who never had a bad day in 65 years," Jan. 13). I smiled as I read the article - I had a warm heart and had tears in my eyes too. He was exactly as you said he was, a lovely, caring, giving man. His wife, Marilyn, is an amazing woman, working at the pharmacy, continuing the kindness - the legacy of Bernie. I love being a customer. The entire staff reflects who and what kind of man Bernie was; he created and ran a "one of a kind" old time pharmacy, soda fountain and all. I have missed him, those twinkling eyes and that wonderful smile, his caring.