LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Gazans have no one to blame but themselves

Once again, Stanley Heller is back with another of his one-sided rants bashing Israel for “mistreating” its Gazan neighbors (July 22, Middletown Press “Let Them In”).

As usual, he totally ignores the reality that, for over a decade, the Gazans have been launching rockets into Israeli territory with no concern at all about who gets harmed where they land, that the Gazans have been consistently building tunnels for the sole purpose of attacking Israelis, and that trade restrictions are in place to help stem the flow of the materials which could be used for the purposes above.

I’d like to know how he personally would deal with a hostile neighbor that was trying to kill him and his family when he couldn’t dial 911 to get help. Maybe he should actually spend an extended time under exactly these conditions in Israel. Perhaps he’d walk away with a different point of view.

The truth of the matter is that if the Gazans want someone to blame for their problems, they’ll find it in the closest mirror. Edward Wood, Killingworth

Guerrera gives substance to words ‘public service’

In politics, there are those who talk and those who do. Tony Guerrera has proven over his nine terms in the Legislature that he focuses on doing. His many successes in responding to specific needs are the main reasons he deserves the support of voters in Newington, Wethersfield, Middletown, Cromwell and his hometown of Rocky Hill in his campaign to become 9th District state senator.

One major example drives home this point — the need to insure dollars to maintain and improve Connecticut’s roads, bridges, rails, airports and public transit, including the Middletown Area Transit district. In the midst of this year’s partisan arguments over balancing the state budget, the future of the disappearing Special Transportation Fund was very much in doubt. This House Transportation Committee Chairman jumped into the debate. In closed-door negotiations, he warned Legislative leaders if they failed to restore funding for the state’s transit districts, he would do everything possible to scuttle budget talks. He argued for a proposal to shift proceeds of the sales tax on new car sales from the general fund to the Special Transportation Fund. And he won.

In Middletown, Tony’s victory means that the Transit District’s budget will not be cut by 15 percent, its fares won’t have to be increased, its routes will not have to be consolidated, its night and weekend services will not have to be gutted, and the availability of essential public transit to some 300,000 riders annually will be maintained for at least five years.

Voters in the state Senate’s 9th district deserve a senator who will work hard on their behalf with a strong commitment to listening to their concerns, meeting needs, solving problems, and giving meaning and substance to the words “public service.”

Carl R. Chisem, Middletown Common Councilman