Stop driving people away from Market Square

Regarding “Taking the Chairs Away: Merchants Take Aim at Illegal Activity in Market Square” (March 3 news story) and “Order in the Square” (March 6 editorial): Thanks for frightening and chasing us away.

For years we have lived Downtown and enjoyed Market Square. The Post-Gazette even published a letter I wrote last September wherein I defended Downtown vs. a Shadyside person who criticized the area.

Now the merchants and the Post-Gazette have fallen under that illusion and have managed to stop us from going to use the square and even frightened my wife about going there to restaurants.

The solution to driving out bad people is not to limit use of the square by me and other good people.

And frightening people from out of Downtown is not going to build the restaurant business in the square. No, a simple, quiet extra police presence would move the bad people along to elsewhere to do their bad deeds.

I note that restaurants that are close to there have very good patronage, which includes several of us locals living here in First Side. We find the quality, service and prices for food and wine much better in those restaurants just outside the square. Market Square prices are (to me) tourist traps, which we avoid.

To them and to you, I say go ahead and frighten tourists away. But to frighten my wife or other nearby residents — not too bright. I’m actually glad she will no longer complain about my choices of the much better restaurants in the area. NICK BILOTTO

Downtown up phone lines and not give up the microphone during constituent meetings, and then complain to the media that their member of Congress won’t meet with them. KRISTA HARRIS

Mt. Lebanon

“What did the president know and when did he know it?” These immortal words by Sen. Howard Baker in relation to Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal keep playing in my head. If President Donald Trump did not know of the numerous meetings his affiliates had with Russian officials, it suggests a brash sort of ignorance. If he did know, it suggests something more sinister.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said there is nothing untoward in its connections with Russia. If that is true, the White House itself should have no problem in appointing an independent special prosecutor. The American people want and deserve no less. How much smoke do we need before we investigate this fire? LOUISE D’CRUZ

Point Breeze

Where are the Democrats who counseled those of us fearful of an Obama presidency to “suck it up” and recognize that he was our president and deserved our loyalty and support?

Oh, yes, on the evening of President Donald Trump’s speech to the joint session of Congress, they were the juveniles who refused to shake hands with their president or rise to their feet even when ideas supported by the Democratic Party were proposed. Democrats made it plain to the whole world that they support the Democratic Party, not their country.

I guess the advice to “suck it up” applies only when their candidate is the winner.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle should be aware that we who vote will hold them responsible at the ballot box if they choose their own agendas instead of being loyal to our president and his goals. LOIS HART

Chartiers