‘CARMEN’ RETURNS

SHUTDOWN MEMORY

In the late 1970s, I worked for the Department of Labor. The government was shut down, and I did not receive a pay check. My husband and I were living paycheck to paycheck at that time. I did not know how I would pay bills or buy food. To this day, I remember the anxiety and fear the shutdown caused and I can imagine what the government workers experiencing the same thing today are going through. This is unconscionable.

Elected leaders’ inability to compromise has led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. I am proud of my work as a federal employee in service to the country I love.

Federal workers nationwide are forced to stay at home and wait for the government to reopen. They are no longer able to provide the services on which Americans rely.

Middle-class federal workers and their families are stretching their pennies until the shutdown is over. Even though pay will be restored eventually, bills still arrive on time even if paychecks don’t, and many federal employees are being forced to make difficult and unnecessary financial decisions to make ends meet.

Legislators in Congress and the president need to stop playing political games with government services and those who provide them. We are in the midst of a crisis, and our leaders must work to promptly reopen the government.

– Carolyn Klein, Boca Raton

It was exciting to read the Jan. 9 Herald article “Where is Carmen Sandiego? In Miami, where actress Gina Rodriguez visits with students.” It brought back wonderful childhood memories.

I am so glad to learn that Carmen Sandiego is coming back as a Netflix show