Would it not be supremely ironic if President Joe Biden, in his 78th year of life, and after 50 years in government, turned out to be not presiding over a caretaker presidency — not just being a bridge from the past to a new, much more progressive, future — but instead ushering in a new governmental paradigm and becoming a crusader for progressive values and governance?
Living on Cornell Avenue in the 1960s, my brothers and I were often sent to the butcher for a package. And we played in the creek that runs behind the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore. In short, those streets are in my bones. I am white. And back in the day, Jews and Blacks weren’t allowed to live “just anywhere” in Swarthmore. Inclusivity and diversity came later. So your questions about what Swarthmore should be are thought-provoking.
In my letter to the editor (April 2), titled “What’s wrong with Swarthmore’s Zero Waste resolution,” I inaccurately located the Covanta plant in the wrong place: on the north side of Interstate Route 95, which is far from its actual location on Highland Avenue.
As we head into spring, some people’s thoughts turn to love, some turn to renewal, some turn to lightweight clothes, and some turn to mosquito control. I’d like to urge those of you concerned about mosquitoes to turn to less toxic alternatives to get rid of them.
I think the passage of Swarthmore’s Zero Waste Resolution was ill advised. I also think that the Swarthmorean’s article reporting on this resolution (March 19) was not effective journalism.
Would that life were as simple as was suggested by the letter writer from Rutledge (March 19), regarding the toxic fumes from Covanta’s incinerator in Chester. Just use available technology, he says. Wonder why nobody has thought of that, in all the decades that the smoke coming out of that incinerator has been causing horrendous health problems.
Will you help keep the shelves of St. Katharine Drexel food pantry stocked?
Last Saturday was a perfect day for the annual Chester Ridley Crum (CRC) Watersheds Association Streams Cleanup Day at Little Crum Creek Park, with cool weather and a beautiful blue sky. We always appreciate meeting new friends and seeing our regular Park Pals. Thanks to all for a great day!
Is our state leadership deliberately trying to prolong the pandemic? Or are they simply inept?
If the Covanta incinerator is shut down, the immediate effect would be to increase solid waste, not decrease it. There would be more trucks rumbling through Chester and speeding up and down the Blue Route, going to and from the landfills upstate. It seems to me that, if the problem is dirty air, then what you need to do is clean up the smokestack to remove the pollutants that are coming out.
After a long period of this district brushing racist incidents under the rug, it’s nice to see Black history and people being made a priority. However, this event was very poorly orchestrated, which speaks volumes.
Notices in the Swarthmorean soliciting reflections from graduating high school seniors have made me look forward to the graduation issue. I was disappointed not to see an invitation to share future plans included among the suggested questions that graduates might address in their profiles.
Many of us senior citizens are focused on one question: How and when can we get our coronavirus vaccination? Of course, the question pertains to the entire community, not just seniors.
I voted for you twice, Mr. Governor, and I am a lifelong Democrat, but I am deeply disappointed in your lack of leadership. Tom Wolf: It is time for you to step up and seize the moment. You are failing us in this crisis.
On March 8, Swarthmore Borough Council made a decision that could dramatically change the way our community handles its waste. Resolution 2021-04 requests Delaware County Council to ensure that the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority not extend its contract with the Covanta waste incinerator in Chester.
Today, as a bone marrow recipient, I am calling on Congress to continue to live up to this most important promise by passing the TRANSPLANT Act.
I would like to thank Swarthmore College, and professors John Caskey and Hansjakob Werlen in particular, for inviting the Making A Change Group to contribute to the college’s current Lifelong Learning series, “Towards an Economy of Distributive Justice.” The classes in this free, online series focus on different forces that perpetuate economic disparities, especially along racial and ethnic lines. The series also offers resources for participants interested in activism and volunteerism.
In her article about Kyle McCarthy’s book, “Everyone Knows How Much I Love You” (Swarthmorean, 2/26), editor Rachel Pastan quotes from the novel: “... everywhere we went [in Swarthmore], we knew where we were.” In addition to the psychology of the family of one’s origin and the nature of one’s tribal culture, the geography, landmarks, and memorialized events of one’s childhood are influential. I look forward to recommending Kyle McCarthy’s book to my children, who grew up here.
Despite all the costs incurred by abuses of personal freedoms, our Western culture still prizes the individual, and individual freedom, over the welfare of the group. Restraint and discipline and self-sacrifice are being overlooked in favor of an insistence on a superficial concept of untrammeled individual freedom.
As we are all looking for safe outdoor spaces during the pandemic, many people have been enjoying Swarthmore’s local gem, Little Crum Creek Park. Although you surely have been appreciating its tranquility and beauty, you may not be aware of its interesting history.
