Mario thanked the fans, but we owe Mario much

I was privileged to have been at Tuesday night's Penguins game against Buffalo. It was a thriller right to the victorious end. It was so electrifying that I thought we were going to blow the top off and start demolition early!

As exciting as every moment was, my favorite moment came during pre-game ceremonies. The arena went dark. You could see a man step onto the ice. The spotlight turned on and all eyes were drawn to Mario Lemieux. Needless to say, the ensuing standing ovation was enormous. He spoke with his usual eloquence. The first words out of his mouth did not praise the government officials involved in the arena negotiations or NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman for his mediation. Instead he thanked the fans.

Let there be little doubt the arena deal was solidified largely because of Mario's love for Pittsburgh's fans ("Arena Deal Saves Pens," March 13). It is an unprecedented loyalty that you seldom see in sports these days. Ultimately, we should be thanking Mario. He is supplying us with hockey and other entertainment for many years; we can at least show our gratitude.

I encourage everyone to purchase, for $66 of course, a specialized Pennsylvania license plate in support of the Mario Lemieux Foundation. While we may not be able to thank Mario personally, this is one sure way to show him how much we appreciate all he has done for the greatest fans in sports.

Thanks for your passion, Mario! As you said, the Penguins are staying right where they belong!

AARON MORGAN
Mt. Lebanon

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More casino cash?

Not everyone is so excited about the new arena deal ("Arena Deal Saves Pens," March 13). I believe that, really, when it comes down to it, the taxpayers are going to take a hit to pay for it. Good old Ed Rendell runs around the state promising casino money whenever and wherever.

First of all, there isn't really much casino money, yet. Few across the state have opened. It is unknown when ground will be broken on Pittsburgh's, let alone when it will be completed. Not exactly a really positive cash flow. And second, even if there are casinos and casino money, the amount is finite. Casino cash isn't a cure-all.

What really gets me is that Gov. Rendell and Co. (I'm looking at you Onorato and Ravenstahl) can pull this kind of money out of the air when threatened by a millionaire. But no one can find a dedicated funding source for public transportation to help the working poor of Allegheny County. New arena or not, I'll never attend another Pens game. Something tells me that soon there won't be a bus that will get me there and back.

And all the cheers of "Mario, our hero" make me sick. He won't be my hero unless he plans on driving me to work every day when my bus route is cut.

KELLI JONES
Lawrenceville

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About getting there

While we're falling all over each other to worship at the altar of Mario Lemieux, and lauding our politicians for getting the arena deal done, I can't help but wonder if as much effort will go into making sure there is adequate bus service to get there, so that all those minimum-wage earners will be on time for work to pick up the trash and clean the toilets in the luxury boxes. Pardon my skepticism.

DAVE SWOAGER
Brighton Heights

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Wacky priorities

Well, isn't it nice to know that the Penguins are going to have a nice new arena in which the players can continue to earn millions of dollars, and the owners will continue to get millions of dollars thanks to the generosity of our government officials. And yet, I am faced with not having a bus to get me to work so I can earn my meager living.

The priorities of our officials need a serious rethinking. While keeping sports teams in our cities may be exciting for the fans, I do not see how it benefits the majority of taxpayers. There are certainly more pressing needs such as transportation, education and health-care costs that require as much attention as the saving of the privately owned Penguins.

DAN THOMPSON
Wilkins

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Onto real problems

To our illustrious leaders: Now that you have taken care of the spoiled, millionaire playboys and given them the whole farm, do you suppose you could actually put a fraction of that effort into solving the public transportation problem?

PHIL CLARK
Homestead

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Location, location

I am happy that the Penguins will be staying in Pittsburgh. The team provides entertainment for thousands of local residents, and the loss of the Penguins, while not a financial blow to the region, would have been an emotional loss.

On the other hand, I have this deep sense that this region, once again, will take a good idea and somehow mess it up. A new multipurpose sports arena does not belong in a residential neighborhood (the Hill District). Instead, it belongs on the North Side, near the two other sports facilities.

Yes, the North Side is a residential community, as well. But, there is a "buffer" of railroad tracks and highway between what some folks call the North Shore and the core residential community of the North Side.

Remember, this is the same region that built a county jail on prime riverfront property. This is the same region that reopened the Wabash Tunnel, only to realize that the tunnel doesn't take you anywhere you really want to go.

Foot traffic from the two existing stadiums fills up the bars and restaurants on the North Side. Add a new arena, and you have foot traffic from hockey, concerts and dozens of other events. With a casino, suddenly the North Side is an entertainment hub 365 days a year.

Congratulations to the Penguins and to Pittsburgh. But, please, before the ink is dry, reconsider where you put the building.

JOHN B. HAMMER
South Fayette

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Wonderful shepherd

I want to thank the Post-Gazette for its article about the Rev. Mark Lawrence ("Episcopal Nominee at Center of Storm," March 10).

As I write this, he is one vote shy of the necessary consents to be confirmed as the next Episcopal bishop of South Carolina. I had the privilege of serving with Mark in this diocese when he was the rector of St. Stephen's, McKeesport. During his ministry wonderful things happened at that parish and his departure to his new parish in California was a bittersweet moment for us all.

Mark and I were part of a clergy support group for many years where we shared the burdens and joys of ministry and prayed for each other. He has a heart to serve God and to make the transformative power of Jesus known to all. He has repeatedly stated his intention to remain within the Episcopal Church. Those who would characterize him as divisive or schismatic are speaking in ignorance. If he is not confirmed, the Episcopal Church will be a much poorer place.

REV. JAMES B. SIMONS
Rector
St. Michael's of the Valley
Ligonier

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Gen. Pace's comments reflect this administration's immorality

It seems that with civil war in Iraq, the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, the Walter Reed Hospital scandal and an imminent "troop surge" of 20,000-plus soldiers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, might have something else to do besides make bigoted statements about the gay soldiers now serving with honor in our military ("General Regrets Calling Gays Immoral," March 14).

Gen. Pace, who says homosexuality is "immoral" and that he does "not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way," apparently has as skewed a sense of morality as his boss.

If we are to take him at his word, apparently it is not immoral to send our troops into a war based on false premises with not even a minimum of strategic planning. For Gen. Pace, then, the failure to properly equip those troops is not immoral, either. When Americans fed into the maw of Iraq are spit out with their bodies mutilated and their minds broken, is it not immoral to deny them mental health care, cram them into a rodent-infested hospital, force them to spend months or years navigating a bewildering bureaucracy just to get the benefits they deserve, and send them back into the hellhole of war for tour after tour after tour?

That our highest military official cares more for the morality of the bedroom than the morality of the battlefield is just another example of how empty of conscience this administration truly is.

MELISSA ANDRE
Brighton Heights

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He's no leader

Gen. Peter Pace must go. No official whose authority is legitimized by Congress (military officers are commissioned by Congress) can effectively serve all Americans after so blatantly calling a sizable minority of them (homosexuals) "immoral." He took an oath to uphold the Constitution, not conveniently twisted Christian dogma. Fire him. Fire him, now.

JOHN KICHI
Sewickley Hills

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