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Thanks for Electoral Educator
Dear Bay Weekly:
I was glad to read once again the list of all the candidates and bios for Anne Arundel County you ran prior to elections. It is very helpful. The state and county websites would take me hours to surf through all the selections and their bios. Yours is relevant and quick.
—Kathleen Litchfield, Annapolis
Steer Clear of Fear
Dear Bay Weekly:
I loved your editorial on the election [An Election to Remember: Vol. XII, No 44: Oct. 28], especially your admonishment not to fear and to think independently. We should be quoting Franklin Roosevelt: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
—Russ Barnes, Bethesda
Linebaugh Reviews and Reviewed Well
Dear Bay Weekly:
We have received press from up and down the East Coast for Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature’s Vanishing Gems [Between the Covers: Vol. XII, No. 35: August 26]. But we have found the book’s photographer, Celia Pearson, was right when she said yours was the best one yet.
Writer Sonia Linebaugh did a magnificent job of capturing the entire character of our book. As you can imagine, a small husband-and-wife publisher really appreciates what you were able to accomplish.
—Richard LaMotte, Chestertown
Save Us from Secondhand Smoke
Dear Bay Weekly:
A recent study produced two more good reasons why smokers should not expose others to secondhand smoke. A 2004 study in the British Medical Journal reports that a comprehensive local clean indoor air ordinance in Helena, Montana, may have resulted in a rapid reduction in heart attacks.
“This study is important because it focuses attention on the large body of evidence that suggests that secondhand smoke exposure causes surprisingly large increases in acute cardiovascular risk,” said Dr. Terry Pechacek, associate director of science at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Smoking and Health.
According to Pechacek, research indicates that nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at typical levels may incur more than one-third of the heart disease risk of someone who smokes 20 cigarettes a day. Also, even short-term exposures lasting as little as 30 minutes may pose significant risks, especially in persons who already have or are at special risk of heart disease.
On a broader level, these findings suggest that comprehensive clean indoor air policies similar to Helena’s could result in an almost immediate drop in heart attacks.
Until such laws become universal, I urge smokers to use common sense and respect for the health of nonsmokers, especially the very young and very old.
—John H. O’Hara, Bowie: President: Maryland GASP
