I’m writing to suggest that all Portland residents might want to consider moving south (to South Portland) for the winter. Kudos to the city of South Portland Public Works for their excellent cleanup of our roads after a snowstorm.

I live in South Portland and work in Portland. I don’t need a sign welcoming me to the city of Portland. I know exactly when I’ve passed into Portland, because I go from completely clear roads to a mix of slush, snow and ice at the Portland line.

Additional Photos

Snowplows in Portland got a workout Jan. 12, but some letter writers feel the effort to clear city streets fell short. 2012 File Photo/John Patriquin

Maybe South Portland Public Works will put on a class for Portland to show them how to clear the roads.

Pat Roberts

South Portland

The city of Portland needs to review when it calls parking bans for snow removal.

We are required to clear our sidewalks or be fined. We paid to have our driveway and sidewalk cleared immediately after the storm, only to awake Saturday to find the city finally plowed our street and dumped the snow on our sidewalk.

Paying over and over for the same service is unnecessary. If the city called parking bans the night of the storm, like most other communities do, this would not happen. I am tired of ever-increasing property taxes and poor service from this city.

Kathleen Kadi

Portland

If the so-called town fathers or city officials in Portland had used their brains, they would have had a mandatory parking ban last Thursday and all our streets would be clear. Now we are left with solid ice that will last all winter.

Thanks a lot for making my street very difficult to walk with my dog for fear of breaking a leg, hip, etc. Next time, don’t try being nice and asking for a voluntary parking ban – put it out as mandatory.

Penny Cobb

Portland

Resistance to national care makes no financial sense

After reading the article “Healing the health system: Once in crisis, now stabilized” (Jan. 10), it once again boggles my mind that a large part of the American public either just does not get it or is so adamantly against a major group health insurance plan (i.e., national health care system) that it continues to buy in to the free-market model that we use now.

When we are spending close to $8,500 a year for every man, woman and child in this country, much more than any other economically advanced country in the world, there is something wrong with the picture.

The story also notes that out of every dollar spent for health care, 7 cents goes to administrative costs. In the “socialistic” Medicare system, 3 cents goes to administrative costs for every dollar spent on care.

It is my contention that if we were all to pool our very valuable hard-earned money that we now pay into private health insurance plans, we would have more than enough to still have a very good health care system with money left over.

For employers, the expense of health care would be gone and monies would be freed up to invest in hiring, research and capital equipment. For those who are worried that their taxes would go up, which they would, they would still be less than $12,000 to $16,000 health insurance policies.

In conclusion, the health of our citizenry should be a right, not a privilege, and health care should be left out of the Darwinian economic model that is currently in place. It simply is not working.

Jake Hawkins

Arundel

Portland should step up, fight super PACs’ clout

If you have any faith left in the American voting system, please come to the City Council meeting at Portland City Hall at 7 tonight to advocate abolishing the influence of corporate personhood over our elections.

Councilor David Marshall will propose a resolution stating that corporations do not have the same voting rights as the people of Portland, and to move toward clean elections.

People in Maine are concerned about the corruption of our government and the inability to get what we want from our politicians due to corporate money.

The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling has allowed corporations to twist their First Amendment rights in order to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections, as long as it cannot be directly tied back to any candidate.

This has allowed super political action committees to form independently of candidates, with an unlimited ability to influence politics with private donations.

Such an example is Mitt Romney’s super PAC, named Restore Our Future, which contains at least three former Romney staff members. Restore Our Future ran dozens of attack ads the week of the Iowa caucuses. Even Newt Gingrich spoke out against unlimited corporate influence over the vote due to super PACs.

Even though Restore Our Future supports Mitt Romney, nothing that super PACs advertise or even lie about can be tied back or attributed to candidates or their campaigns.

Just as in the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland, Calif., Albany, N.Y., Boulder, Colo., and others, the city of Portland and the state of Maine need to pass a constitutional amendment that will limit campaign contributions.

No matter what end of the political spectrum, every American will benefit from ceasing the unregulated manipulation of super PACs over our vote!

Holly Seeliger

Portland

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