I was deeply disappointed and, frankly, shocked by the blatant racism displayed by Charlie Gibson in his recent Living Out Loud column “Garbage Watch” (issue of July 22). While I applaud the author for his efforts in educating your readers on the benefits of composting, I doubt whether it was necessary or even beneficial to impugn another nation, its language and its culture to make his point.   

The streetcar proposal is an economic driver for our city. Businesses will want to locate on the route, and citizens will want to live close to it too. The addition — I should say reintroduction — of streetcars will be a boon for visitors to our city by connecting our various destinations on an easy-to-use and well-laid-out route.