It is such a shame that Roth Carpet is closing ("Roth Carpet Closing Business," Sept. 17). I worked for Roth for 15 years and I can honestly say that I never enjoyed working anywhere as much as I did for their family.

Bernie Roth was the one who hired me. He was an honorable man who had such a fun way to market his product, being the first to hold sale events such as the Moonlite Madness Sale. And he truly cared for his employees.

His son Richard was the same if not better!

Pittsburgh will surely miss this fallen icon of retail establishments. And I will too.

Nicholas J. DeIuliis, executive vice president and chief operating officer Consol Energy, has made the absurd claim that clean coal technology does indeed exist and has since the 1970s ("Consol Executive Takes On Coal Critics," Oct. 3).

If this technology does exist, why has it never been implemented by the coal mining or coal-powered electric industry?

The largest threats to our health and environment in the United States come from the mining and burning of coal. Consol's unconscionable mining practices of mountaintop removal and long wall mining egregiously harm the environment by permanently destroying clean water sources.

Burning coal releases millions of pounds of poisons such as mercury and arsenic into the air we breathe and the water we drink.

The only thing "green" about the coal industry and Consol is the money they make while they destroy our environment for their own greed.

Let me start by saying that after reading your article ("Kit Evens Playing Field on Time Off for 'Kids'" Oct. 11) I could barely keep my breakfast down. What an insult to the working mothers out there.

The woman who created this kit has no clue about the stress of being a working parent. It is much easier being a working person -- male or female -- without children. It's easier being the one not having to worry about the fact you may be fired for calling off or your co-workers being angry with you.

Just in the last two weeks I had to call off 21/2 days of work because my children were sick with the flu, one after another.

Maybe she should come up with fake parent or grandparent kits so people can lie about a dying parent.

Sounds to me like the workings of a jealous person who has no life!

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