Zoning math

A couple of years ago, some of the parents in my Winchester community complained that math wasn’t taught properly to their children. I initially thought that this was completely unfair and misrepresentative of the outstanding educators that have worked with my child over the years (especially considering the challenges of remote learning during the pandemic).

But then I realized that maybe these parents were referring to how their generation was taught math. That might be why whoever zoned the subsidized housing units (“Gov touts T housing act,” Oct.2) in Winchester concluded that despite the mandate that the building had to be located “within a half-mile of a transit station” the complex in Winchester isn’t even a half mile from the closest bus stop (0.64 miles). What’s ironic is that apparently the original projected location was adjacent from the Winchester Center commuter rail stop but it was summarily rejected because it was thought that it would take away public parking. Since the station has been under construction for the past 4+ years, the parking has been “taken away”- scaffolding. Maybe this same generation should also brush up on their civic engineering.

Stephen Bowman

Winchester

Immigrants

Jeff Robbins is a gifted commentator on today’s America. But in his recent column on the United States being a nation of immigrants, he misses a point.

Today’s immigrants are not yesterday’s immigrants.

My grandfather came to Portland, Maine by boat on a legal quota, and he began a construction job eight days after he arrived. Later, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and didn’t miss a beat, working as a laborer until his retirement. I believe Attorney Robbins could relate a similar story about his ancestors.

But today, undocumented immigrants are swarming our borders without verification, vaccination or criminal checks. Biden and Harris provide them with free inducements, obviously hoping that the rolls of Democratic voters will swell. Yesterday’s immigrants were not today’s immigrants.

Frank Olivieri

North Ft. Myers, FL

Helene response

In 2005, in the Letters to the Editor section of the Boston Herald, I blasted then-President George W. Bush for his inept and insufficient response to Hurricane Katrina. I feel I must do the same now to President Biden and Vice President Harris for their equally inept and insufficient response to Hurricane Helene. Merely talking on the phone is not enough, Mr. President. Nor, Madame Vice President, is showing up at FEMA Headquarters in Washington, DC, after receiving the deservedly bad press of attending a lavish celebrity fund raiser in Los Angeles as the tragedy unfolded. For shame to both of you!

Sean Coughlin

Acton