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Questionable funding

To the Editor:

The plan to help businesses along Baltimore Avenue improve their facades ("Residents weigh in on Baltimore Ave. makeover," 9/22/08) has a laudable goal but has been poorly executed.

It is eye opening that only one-third of the funding is going to the improvements themselves, with two-thirds to the University City District's (UCD) overhead costs.

This should make anyone nervous, but from my standpoint I am particularly apprehensive. In the last mayoral primary the UCD helped run and fund a rally for Democratic candidate Tom Knox at a nearby park. This is illegal for a nonprofit. It appeared that they also utilized personnel assigned to them by the courts to fulfill community service requirements.

They have admitted their culpability in this effort but have never publicly accounted for the money that they improperly expended or made any effort to recover any funds from the politicians who benefitted. They are, in effect, accepting public subsidies in not being responsible for tax payments and using that money to fund Democratic politicians.

Will any of the seemingly high cost of overhead be used to further the UCD's political agenda?

We should not give them the chance. J. Matthew Wolfe The author is a College 1978 alumnus and a Republican Ward Leader Progress on sustainability

To the Editor:

I was disappointed to read, as you noted in Monday's editorial, that student involvement in sustainability was given a "B" in the latest Green Report Card.

As a Penn student, I am always disappointed by B grades, and in this case I firmly believe that Penn students lead the country in their ongoing involvement in and concern with sustainability.

To cite just one example: This year, the Undergraduate Assembly has created a standing Committee on Sustainability that brings together UA members, representatives from RAB and PEG and concerned students from all walks of life to work with administrators to keep Penn on track to fulfill its climate commitments.

The UA is already working to bring bike-sharing to campus, provide a recycling bin in every dorm room, and further educate our constituents about living sustainably.

We are engaging in unprecedented collaboration with PEG and other student groups to make sure this is a whole-campus effort, not just another UA project.

Quite simply, student involvement in sustainability is strong and growing stronger by the day - far more than our scorecard may suggest.

If this were a course, rest assured that we'd be appealing for a regrade! Alec Webley The author is a College sophomore and chairman of the UA's Sustainability, Safety and Facilities Committee

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