Immigrants must wait too long to work
The editorial “Pittsburgh needs immigrants, and immigrants need an immigration court” (Dec. 27) pointed out the importance that immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, could be to Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy. Unfortunately, as the editorial said, many undocumented immigrants are forced into the “informal economy” whereby they aren’t paying taxes needed to support us all.
I agree with the editorial’s suggestion that Pittsburgh provide space and internet access for remote court hearings in Philadelphia to speed up their cases to achieve legal status and enter the community. Two additional ways to help them work is to shorten the time for obtaining work permits and to allow them to obtain driver licenses.
Manyare not allowed to apply for a work permit until 180 days after they apply for asylum. Due to this imposed schedule, plus permit backlogs, it often takes overa year to obtain the permit.
This system prevents employers from hiring needed workers, forces our government and NGOs to spend resources to support immigrants, and eliminates a source of employment taxes. It’s time to make it easier for the undocumented to obtain work permits so they can work while their asylum cases wind throughthe court system.
Also, allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver licenses would make it easier for them to work (and pay taxes), provide revenue from license fees, make our roads safer, and eliminate a burden on courts and jails — benefits to us all.
ALLAN WILLINGER
Edgewood
Old cartoon
It seems that the Post-Gazette inadvertently printed a two-year-old editorial cartoon (Jan. 26), calling out the Democrats for “massive federal spending” feeding a bonfire of “continuing inflation.”
With inflation continuing to decrease to an annualized rate of 1.7% in Q4 2023, down from 2.6% in Q3, inflation has dipped below the government’s target rate of 2%. The pandemic-related handouts sent to everyone regardless of need were authorized by both this administration and the last one,and they have ended.
Current additional government spending focuses on infrastructure, which is a domestic need as well as a generator of economic growth, as well as defense. Inflation is down, despite the fact that the economy growing rapidly, at an annualized rate of 4.1% over the second half of last year. Please inform your cartoonist Mr. Tim Hartman that it’s no longer January of 2022.
STEPHEN BOBER
McCandless
A better use?
The Kamin gift to the Science Center is certainly outstanding, a special gift to Pittsburgh (“Carnegie Science Center to be renamed after historic $65M gift,” Jan. 24). It was undeniably the decision of the givers to choose the recipient.
I cannot help but wonder if thought was given to the need for low income housing, especially from a couple who know the housing industry. There are independent, nonprofit agencies (not government) that could help with provision of housing given increased financial resources.
I hope that this very generous couple can think about the needs of economically needy families.
BARBARA SCHULTZ
Allison Park
Help out, Nippon
Would there be approval of the deal if Nippon took cash out of its (obviously) deep pockets and followed through on the $1.5 billion Mon Valley Modernization plan? That plan had great union and community support. The region would gain jobs and show that Nippon is here for the long run. LAURENCE COMDEN
Brookline
Peduto’s bridges
“Pittsburgh failed to heed warnings of Fern Hollow Bridge’s decay years before collapse, records show” (Jan. 22) lays bare the fact that while Bill Peduto was Mayor from 2014-2022, the city failed to safely maintain the bridge structures.
As far back as 2014, the beginning of his term in office, the consulting engineers warned the city that clogged scuppers existed. They continued to exist until 2022, causing further deterioration of the bridge’s structural elements.
Cleaning out a bridge drain cannot possibly a major undertaking, yet it was not done. And it took the Fern Hollow bridge collapse to finally get the city’s attention.
Ms. Hagen did not quote Mayor Peduto or identify the name of the head of the Bridge Maintenance Department. It would be nice to have heard from them as to why these problems exist or why the engineering reports were ignored.
It was noted that Ed Gainey has instituted some changes at the Bridge Department, hopefully at the top, and has made repairs to 25 bridges in the fall of 2022.
For the sake of transparency and public safety, the mayor’s office should publish a list of what bridges got attention in 2022, and include what bridges had work done in 2023.
I think after the Fern Hollow debacle, the public has a right to know. BARTLEY J. RAHUBA
Peters
Homeless housing
As an experiment, could one of the three office buildings mentioned in the news story “As three Downtown buildings go up for sale, does a residential future await” (Jan. 16) be converted to simple apartments for the unhoused? Basic requirements could be put in place — no abuse of the physical structure, no drugs, no graffiti, maintenance of the apartments, basic cleanliness and upkeep, cooperation with inspection), overseen by a resident manager.
CATHIE HUBER
Swissvale