Your article, “Eds and Meds” (Artvoice v7n25) again points to the gigantic failure of locating the largest unit of the State University of New York in Amherst, 15 miles from downtown Buffalo, New York State’s second largest city, where most of the cultural and architectural treasures of Western New York exist, which belies the point made by former UB President William Greiner in his new book, Location, Location, Location. In 1966, the Committee for an Urban University, which I chaired, stated that there was nothing of the size and magnitude to energize Buffalo and its lagging development than to put the University in downtown Buffalo.

It’s no surprise that a Republican Party pollster was able to get 57 percent of respondents to supposedly approve of drilling for oil in Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge and in coastal waters. I wonder what question was asked. And oilman Bush has threatened Congress with having to explain why gas prices are so high if they don’t approve his demands for more oil. Consider that what we pay for gas at the pump is nowhere near what we pay for our oil wars in terms of lives lost, tax dollars we spend on our military, and the toll our reputation is suffering throughout the world.

I applaud much of the work you do pursuing city hall characters, but the Wilmers story (“The Emperor Has New Clothes,” Artvoice v7n24) and previous articles on the local economy is where my friends on the left always cease to amaze me.