Letters to the Editor | Jan. 21, 2025

I will remind Pam Bondi that if she “saw things” in 2020 while observing vote counting in Philadelphia, she was welcome to bring all her evidence to join one of the 62 lawsuits that challenged that year’s presidential election results — nearly all of which were rejected for lack of evidence by the judges who heard the cases (including several Trump-appointed judges). To make vague insinuations in her Senate confirmation hearing merely to score political points is immature, improper, and clearly reveals that she hopes to configure the U.S. Justice Department as a political weapon instead of to uphold the Constitution and establish justice for all. That one answer disqualified her from serving as attorney general.

Phyllis Rubin, Wynnewood

Pam Bondi, Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, won’t say who won the 2020 election, but repeats fraud claims about Pennsylvania: “I saw so much.” The Senate confirmation hearings, once the political equivalent of a proving ground, have devolved into a petty competition between elite politicians. The presiding senators seek to portray themselves as altruistic public servants, but when they read from self-aggrandizing scripts, the resemblance to play actors is incontrovertible. True selfless agents of the people would avoid making a mockery of the vetting process. Yet, we see nominees with thin résumés having their deficiencies either ignored or reimagined by senators with whom they share party affiliation, while the opposition party focuses on sensationalism. When qualifications become subordinate to political ideology, democratic norms erode and America’s security is compromised.

Jim Paladino, Tampa, Fla.

Starbucks says enough is enough, and the corporation is tired of people hanging out and not buying anything. As I understand the frustration of someone visiting a store and not making a purchase, it is and should be out of the employees’ hands. Some people do not find enough peace in their homes to focus, so that’s why when you walk into a Starbucks, you will almost always see someone sitting at a table with a laptop. Starbucks employees also cannot assume or guarantee that someone sitting at a table will not make a purchase in the duration of their time. One could suggest that a public library is a better alternative, but who would you be to judge where a person wants to work?

Business is business, and being stingy about people needing to use the restroom will only drive away customers. In 2022, Starbucks closed 116 different locations around the country, and honestly, this policy change will cause a continuing decrease in revenue. At this point, I’d rather find an alternative place for coffee than be berated by a company with a seemingly ungenerous CEO. My mind could be changed only if the new chairman and CEO, Brian Niccol, sticks to his word to “recapture the community coffeehouse feeling it used to have.” If so, I could possibly get behind Starbucks again.

Lilah Dingas, Warrington

We are horrified, but unfortunately unsurprised, to learn that Philadelphia continues to incarcerate youth at rates far greater than other major cities, despite the pervasive abuse in juvenile facilities. As Samantha Melamed reported, decades of research show us that locking kids up is not the solution to reducing crime, and the deeper kids go into the system, the worse off they are long term, and the more likely they are to be arrested and incarcerated again.

Addressing this issue requires a two-fold approach involving local and state leadership. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and City Council must fund local programming for a real continuum of care — one that includes diversion programs and evidence-based alternatives to incarceration, including access to a quality education — so that children have access to all the services they need, in an intentional and proactive way.

We also need substantive changes to state laws that contribute to our overreliance on incarceration. We need to invest in diversion and community-based programs, stop charging children as adults, and require state agencies to properly monitor what happens in facilities before another crisis or child death occurs. The problems and solutions have already been identified; it is time we act on them. Our groups are ready and willing to work with anyone, in any venue, at any time, to finally make real change in this harmful system.

Margot Isman, policy director, Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project and partners at Children First, Juvenile Law Center, Education Law Center, and the Defender Association of Philadelphia.

I am a dedicated Penn Stater and am still recovering from the Nittany Lions losing to the Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl. The loss aside, I applaud Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman for the way he handled a postgame interview when he was asked by a zealous reporter what it meant to him to be the first Black coach to win a national championship playoff game. His response was direct, showing poise and leadership, when he replied that skin color and ethnicity had no bearing on coaching success and that the attention for this Orange Bowl win should be attributed to his players, not him. It is obvious why young men love playing for Freeman.

Bill Surgner, Newtown Square

The announcement of Macy’s closure in the Wanamaker Building is a significant low point for Center City. Since 2020, the decline of retailing in the heart of Philadelphia has been unsettling. New businesses there continue to trend toward eating and drinking options, fortunately still successful. But downtown areas are not just bedroom communities and places to have dinner or drink and play mini golf, they are to be regional centers of public and business services, as well. Philadelphia already struggled to retain and attract new major employers downtown prior to the pandemic due to decades of onerous fiscal policies that made suburban locations more appealing. Further, the continued rise of stay-at-home work has meant the city has had to issue more wage tax refunds to workers at home outside the city limits, and workers realize they make more money when they don’t work in Philadelphia. This has only continued to damage Center City’s retail prospects.

A city of Philadelphia’s size, with a large population living at its core, should be able to offer significant retail options, and even at least one major anchor store despite the fluctuating prospects for such stores everywhere of late. Does the city have a vision for retaining and attracting viable retail options downtown? Does the Center City District have new ideas for this? Its new headquarters is about to fill one of the largest and most long-term retail vacancies Center City had in recent years, at Broad and Chestnut. Yet another sign no one seems to be looking for Center City retail space of significant size. Meanwhile, the King of Prussia Mall announces new stores that a city of our size should be able to attract first. Consider that years ago, Eataly was looking for Center City locations; now it’s under construction at KOP Mall.

Ryan Caviglia, Philadelphia

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