I find it appalling that only because of a defect with the Birmingham Bridge, did the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation even begin to uncover the degree to which other bridges in the area are in serious disrepair and at risk of failure ("8 More Bridges in Region Need Fast Fixes," July 2). Having grown up only a mile or so from one of the main Hudson River crossings in upstate New York, I remember how those bridges were repainted and maintained every summer.

When I came to Pittsburgh more than 20 years ago, and noticed that bridges were rotting and decaying, I shook my head in wonder and thought, "Do they fix them only when they are about to fall into the river?" I guess my question has been answered.

RON DYLEWSKI
Aspinwall

So much ineptitude

In respect to Don Barden, the state Gaming Control Board, the city planning commission, along with the unique appearance of Dan Onorato and the county: They just typify the old Firesign Theatre album "I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus."

Since the approval of the slots establishments in Pittsburgh and the license to Mr. Barden -- based on his proposal, which influenced the board's decision -- he is, at this juncture, still obtaining financing ("Builders Stop Casino Work," July 2) and wants to scale back the very project that was approved, in an effort to contain costs. Sure, he stated that three years after the casino opens, he intends to comply with the original plans, just not at the beginning.

The board that issued him the license should have been more astute in ensuring the developer could actually carry out any proposal given. And the city planning commission, well, it adds its own set of interesting antics to this debauchery.

In short, when one gives a proposal, and all aspects are agreed upon, either he lives up to it, or the state board finds someone else who can. Building this one casino is just showing the ineptitude of all those involved, and if the process wasn't so amusing, it would be just plain pathetic.

MICHAEL SHAPIRO
Scott

When will we learn?

Congratulations to the voters of Western Pennsylvania. Enough of them decided to re-elect Gov. Ed Rendell for a second term, knowing full well he couldn't care less about Western Pennsylvania.

His latest folly in a string of follies, such as the US Airways pullout or the proposed turnpike fire-sale to foreign interests (instead of selling the state's liquor monopoly), is his choice -- or his handpicked "team's" choice -- in a casino developer. Thanks to Mr. Rendell and his gang, we now have a casino that might or might not be finished, and if it is, will be trimmed to the bone to get built.

Not only that, but we have a $500 million tunnel being built to a destination that might not exist! If the Isle of Capri group had been chosen, this would now be a nonissue and we would have a free arena.

Is this our punishment for Harrah's not being the favorite?

So now this third choice is suddenly running out of money. This is about par for the Rendell course of operations.

When is Western Pennsylvania going to stop routinely pulling the "D" lever, and actually elect a candidate who might care, instead of one who we know doesn't? Lynn Swann may or may not have been a better governor, but it would have been interesting to see how things were handled by a candidate who actually cared about us.

NICK CONTIS
Whitehall

Roosevelt's absence

I am writing as the disappointed grandmother of a male student who was graduated from Schenley High School at this year's June 14 ceremony. Thankfully, he is also the last of my grandchildren attending city schools. My disappointment is that the superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Mark Roosevelt, chose not to attend the ceremony for what has turned out to be the final class to be graduated from that historic building.

His absence was noted with a statement that "he can't attend every graduation." I understand that but feel it would have been an opportune time for him to congratulate the 2008 graduating class while showing the community that he is concerned about the uncertainty and angst people feel regarding the decision to close the building.

JEAN CLARK
Baldwin Township

Distorted picture

In "There Are Multiple Israels" (June 24), New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof relied on reports by B'Tselem and Machshom, despite their being political organizations that have appropriated human rights rhetoric for partisan goals, mixed fact with fiction and continued to distort history to promote their radical left-wing political agendas.

Their narratives portray the Palestinians as the perennial victims, and Israel as the oppressor and they twist any and all facts to fit that rubric.

A more balanced understanding of the situation in Hebron would also consider the human rights of the Jewish Israelis living there, starting in 1929, when the Arabs massacred and expelled the entire Jewish community of 800 that had lived there for centuries. But that piece of history and the more recent, intentional shooting of a 10-month-old baby sitting in her stroller by a Palestinian sniper, to cite just one example, don't fit the good Arab/bad Jew dichotomy, and so they are ignored.

And where do the hundreds or perhaps thousands of Israeli lives saved by the separation barrier fit into Mr. Kristof's calculus of hardship imposed by it?

Until such groups cease exploiting the language of human rights for political goals, excluding the complexity and context of a conflict and applying human rights selectively, they will continue to undermine the credibility of all human rights groups. These organizations and the journalists who rely on them would do well to remember that Israelis have human rights, too.

DEBORAH FIDEL
President
Zionist Organization of America
Pittsburgh District
Squirrel Hill

Truly follow Hillary

I am writing in response to the June 28 letter "Still Behind Hillary." The writer states that she is a Hillary Clinton supporter and considered voting for John McCain out of spite, but has decided to write in Hillary Clinton's name instead on Nov. 4.

It is time to move on and unite the party, not encourage others to write in Hillary Clinton's name or vote for someone out of spite. Doing that is as productive as staying home on Election Day.

Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States. Sen. Clinton has given her full support to Sen. Obama and encourages all of her supporters to vote for him. It's simple: If you support Hillary Clinton, you support Barack Obama.

BRIDGET YOCUM
Ross

Resist the write-in

In response to Bethany E. Ronallo's June 28 letter "Still Behind Hillary": I, too, have felt the allure of writing in a presidential candidate. It was 1980 -- my first presidential election. We had worked so hard for Sen. Edward Kennedy in the primary. I just knew he was the better candidate and could not settle for second best (Jimmy Carter). So I wrapped myself up in my "pure purpose," wrote in Edward Kennedy and helped elect Ronald Reagan for his first term.

It never crossed my mind that the American public would actually elect Reagan -- but with my help (and others like me), we did.

Please don't be bullheaded; vote for Barack Obama. We really cannot endure four more years of destruction.

THERESE KISIC
Morningside

Another Fourth of July passes, and what a waste of money on parades and fireworks, again.

Communities that can't afford the expense waste the money because, well, they have to be patriotic. How about instead giving the money to veterans' organizations where the money can be put to much better use?

Thanks to George W. Bush and his useless Iraq war, far too many servicemen and -women are coming home with major trauma injuries and a VA system overwhelmed or mismanaged by cronies of Mr. Bush.

So please, Pittsburgh and all other towns, next year give that money to help our soldiers and not waste it on stupid fireworks and parades.

ADAM K. SMITH
North Fayette

Regarding "8 More Bridges in Region Need Fast Fixes" (July 2): Joe Grata is to be complimented on his in-depth reporting on the problems with the Birmingham Bridge.

Unfortunately, the officials of PennDOT still hold to their unsupportable findings that rust and corrosion froze or locked the movement of the rocker bearings causing them to overturn. They also maintain that the expansion dams in the deck were recently replaced and were therefore not the cause of the failure.

The diagram, published with the June 2 Web report, showing the pier in question, indicates both bridge girders and both rocker arms moving and falling toward the north. This movement is far beyond the design capacity of the rocker arms and confirms that such movement was unrestricted by rust and would not be curable by lubrication.

Assuming that the movement of the girders was caused by severe temperature changes and the expansion joint at this pier was free to move, the girders would move toward each or away from each other, depending on an increase or decrease in temperature. It is inconceivable that after all these years of adequate service that we can find the rocker arms poorly designed.

PennDOT intends to replace all rocker arms with a sliding support that may offer a fail-safe solution. But if maintenance remains the problem, stresses may occur in other areas of the bridge that can cause failures.

I would suggest that PennDOT seek advice from an engineer experienced in bridge design and ignore that offered by a forensic engineer who may focus on a no-fault legal cause not supported by the findings.

EDWARD F. BROWN
Peters

The writer is a retired civil engineer.

June 28 letter writers Alan Lichtenstein ("Cancerous Attitude") and Gary Rosensteel ("Not So Christian") are quite right to criticize the remarks of state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe -- unfortunately, my state representative. The lack of a widespread public rebuke to his remarks ("Resolution Derailed by One Lawmaker's Anti-Muslim Remark," June 19), as Mr. Lichtenstein alludes to, is an ominous sign for how acceptable it has become to elevate Christianity to the de facto national religion.

I can assure Mr. Rosensteel that the people of the 12th Legislative District are not proud of Rep. Metcalfe, and his views are certainly not representative of this district. It is long since overdue that Rep. Metcalfe not be given a taxpayer-supported salary to advocate for the destruction of freedom in this nation.

AMESH A. ADALJA
Butler

They published Post-Gazette Executive Editor David M. Shribman's column about the Boulevard of the Allies here in Las Vegas, and I totally agree with him ("This Grand Roadway Commemorates Those Who Fought World War I, a War Which Lives With Us Still," June 29).

My father was a World War I veteran and, as a retired teacher and a history buff, I know that America's entry into the war tipped the balance in favor of the Allies. But I've always wondered what would have happened if we had stayed neutral. Without American aid and military, the French, English and their allies and Germany and its allies might have fought themselves to a standstill. A certain corporal named Adolf might have died in the fighting, and the stern surrender measures imposed on Germany, which helped Hitler's rise to power and gave us World War II, might have been avoided.

But that's only speculation; the real story is that it was a terrible war, and the American military did a heroic job.

RICHARD J. MUNDY
Las Vegas, Nev.

I was back home on an annual pilgrimage to the Pittsburgh area in June. When there, I always pick up the Post-Gazette -- on Saturday night, the early Sunday edition. Oh, that takes me back to being a kid and reading Sunday's funny papers Saturday night at my grandmother's.

The June 22 Forum article "Growing Old With Pittsburgh" by Richard Peterson really expressed my sentiments, especially the subheadline, "I never came back for good, though I never really left."

I, too, left in the '60s, first for college, never to return there to live. I lived in California from 1963 until we retired to Minnesota to my husband's hometown in 2005. My mother is dead, but every year we come back to visit my aunt and uncle and some cousins.

I'm from New Kensington, where there is nothing even resembling the good old days at the height of the mills and the Alcoa plant and lab. I was part of the glory times in that area; we didn't know it then, but looking back I see that we early-'60s kids lived in the best of times and were part of magnificent history. So much has changed there, not for the better, despite talk of "resurrection."

Very few of my old gang from Ken High are around. The new Pittsburgh Mills mall is an attraction when we are back home. But for me, nothing beats Glen's Frozen Custard in Cheswick. More of my favorites at home are the fresh pierogi from the churches and warm Syrian bread. I've found nothing like it, no matter where we live or travel. I can be in an airport anywhere and know I'm near a Pittsburgher when I hear "yinz."

Kudos to "Pete" Peterson for reminiscing about life as we knew it back when we were developing resilience that would last us a lifetime. There is nothing like coming home, even when, for someone like me, there is no home there. But every year, we check in, and I get my fix of the hills and the woods and, for a week or so, think back on the past. We can never go home again, but I'll look forward to Pete's book.

PATRICIA BALL MORRISON
La Crescent, Minn.

Regarding The Associated Press story "Feeling Thrifty, the Thirsty Reach for Tap Water" (June 17 Web): While many in your audience -- undoubtedly -- choose bottled water, this article served up a one-sided view that was not in the best interests of your readers.

As a result of a tightening economy, people are not only reducing their bottled water consumption, they are changing their purchasing behavior for all consumer goods. Bottled water is a safe, healthy, convenient beverage that consumers choose to stay refreshed and hydrated. And, when compared to other bottled beverages, bottled water offers thirsty consumers an inexpensive refreshment option that provides the health, safety and convenience people demand.

Many people choose a diet mixed with a variety of bottled drinks, and most consumers likely drink both bottled water and tap water, depending on the circumstances. It does not always amount to a tap water versus bottled water choice. Bottled water is growing in popularity because people appreciate its consistent quality, taste and convenience and choose bottled water over the other beverages because it does not contain calories, caffeine, sugar, artificial flavors or colors, alcohol and other ingredients.

The bottled water industry is a leader in the food and beverage industry in reducing its environmental footprint, while at the same time delivering the healthful value of bottled water. Any efforts to reduce the resources necessary to produce and distribute packaged goods -- and increase recycling rates -- must focus on all packaging and not just bottled water. The wrong path is to disparage a healthful beverage choice by falling into the trap of pitting bottled water against tap water or by focusing on the sliver of packaging used in bottled water products.

JOE DOSS
President and CEO
International Bottled Water Association
Alexandria, Va.

We welcome your letters. Please include your name, address and phone number, and send to Letters to the Editor, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. E-mail letters to letters@post-gazette.com or fax to 412-263-2014. Letters should be 250 words or less, original and exclusive to the Post-Gazette. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity and accuracy and will be verified before being published.