Letters: Protect what remains of downtown; Don’t risk abortion access

Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times welcomes letters endorsing candidates in the Nov. 8 election and will accept letters that are received by Nov. 3. Letters are subject to editing, must be based on facts and should avoid attacks on other candidates.

Protect what remains of downtown

A recent headline in the Centre Daily Times read State College Borough Council “pauses” downtown high-rises. Why are we “pausing” and not canceling? I grew up in State College where there were once thriving downtown businesses. Today, what was, at one time, a charming college town, now resembles Trenton, New Jersey, with 12-story generic high-rises that block our view of the mountains. All of a sudden, as they voiced at recent meetings, council members are concerned about empty storefronts in these buildings, designated spaces which were originally slated to encourage small privately owned businesses. What do we have instead, a downtown Target and a lot of dreary vacant commercial space? I was glad to read that “a business recruiting study is underway.” In the meantime, we just lost Woodring’s Floral Gardens, which has been on Allen Street for decades.

Preservation has not been on the agenda of the borough council. I understand there are neighborhoods that are designated as “historic districts,” but what is there in place to protect the churches downtown, the Fairmount Avenue School, the Masonic Hall, the Heatherbloom Apartment Building, residential and fraternity houses near town, many of which date from the 1920s?

It’s fine that council members want to create a new “recipe” for downtown development and consider the encouragement of small retail businesses. I just hope they will protect what little is left of our once aesthetically pleasing town, and do more than “pause” future high-rise apartments.

Don’t risk abortion access

There are still many undecided voters in the race between Fetterman and Oz for U.S. Senate.

As you think about your choices, please remember that Oz has a video on his campaign website saying that he is “very pro-life” and that “life begins at conception.” These are not the words of a man who will support women’s rights to basic health care during pregnancy.

Abortion is a complex topic, and yet most Americans support some access to abortion, particularly early in pregnancy. Most Americans also understand that pregnancy-related medical decisions can be very complicated. Women should have access to abortion as an option, not only in life threatening situations, but when their health and well-being are significantly jeopardized. We’ve seen the stories from states with strict abortion laws and they are scary. These difficult decisions should be up to women, their families, and their doctors. The government has no place in these medical decisions.

Yes, Fetterman had a stroke recently. And yes, he is still recovering. But he is capable, willing and ready to be the deciding vote in the U.S. Senate to break the filibuster and pass federal abortion protections to ensure women’s access to necessary medical care.

Democrats, Republicans and independents need to send John Fetterman to the U.S. Senate, sending a clear message that restricting women’s access to health care is not OK.

Once access to abortion is gone, it could take decades to get it back.

Women matter in elections

On Nov. 8, the women of America can bend the arc of history on the issues women care about — reproductive freedom, democracy, climate change, economic inequity, homelessness, broken immigration and criminal justice systems, increasing crime and gun violence, racial injustice, inadequate education and a failing health care system.

But to have a decisive influence on these issues, many of the 40 million women who are not registered must become registered and vote.

When women do show up, they alter election outcomes. Case in point: In Kansas, on Aug. 2, 2022, voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have restricted abortion rights. Women played an outsized role in this outcome. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision (Dobbs) eliminating constitutional protection for abortion, 69% of newly registered voters were women.

Registering enough women to alter election outcomes is within reach. For example, in the 2000 presidential election, Florida’s popular vote — which determined the Electoral College vote — was decided by just 537 votes. And in 2020, in three states having the narrowest margins, the presidential outcome rested on just over 20,000 votes.

Women admire the vision of leaders like Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, and the women leaders of #MeToo, #TimesUp, Moms Demand Action and MADD. But their vision will not be realized until women register and vote for political leaders who share women’s values.

The November election creates what Dr. King called “the fierce urgency of now.” Women urgently need to register and exercise their right and duty to vote.

Democrats responsible for economic woes

My wife went to the grocery store recently, and the total amount was more than we have ever spent before. Grocery prices are skyrocketing! Joe Biden and his Democratic buddies would know this if they ever visited a grocery store. I guess they are too busy eating blinis with caviar and crème fraiche.

Joe says things are better than people realize. Don’t his advisors ever tell him what is happening to grocery prices? Recently, it was reported that food prices have gone up 13.9%. Everyday people know this, but Democratic politicians who are too rich to be affected and too uncaring hardly understand. They just don’t get it.

Major central banks realize that price pressures are not diminishing, so we should expect further increases in interest rates. More pain for average Americans. Mortgages and rents are going up.

Oil prices are going down, but only because Joe is releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This is pitiful because these reserves were created to protect Americans from adverse strategies by OPEC. An oil embargo would be devastating now that we have significant reductions to our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Democrats should be thankful that elections are held in the fall. Many experts are predicting large increases in heating prices, and such increases will underscore the consequences of Democratic policies.

With little fiscal restraint, the halting of oil pipelines and other regulatory bugaboos, the Democrats gave us our economic woes. Let’s tell them what we think of their policies come November.

Oz said...

Much is being made of John Fetterman stumbling over a few words in his debate against Dr Oz.

Unfortunately, Oz has no such excuse with his speech when he said that “abortion decisions should involve a woman, her doctor, and local political leaders.”

What?!

As a woman I can think of nothing worse than local political leaders being involved in any of my personal medical decisions and I’m sure every other woman agrees. Yet this is what Oz clearly said and clearly believes.

It is horrifying that, with beliefs like this, TV huckster and carpetbagger Oz could end up in the Senate making the laws for our nation.

Fetterman will continue to recover and will serve us all with fairness and compassion.

Oz’s condition is terminal and represents Republican groupthink.

Pennsylvania voters should return him to selling scam potions on TV and to his home in New Jersey.