The mayor should enlist everyone in a cleanup

I am writing in response to the July 22 story, "Convention Center Area Could Use 'Spiffing Up' " and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's plan to clean and spruce up "... areas that need addressed in and around the Downtown community."

While inevitably it is the burden of city and county government to make sure Pittsburgh "shines in September" (in the mayor's words), I also believe that Pittsburghers throughout the city would welcome the opportunity to shoulder some of this weight.

Throughout the past several weeks, letters to the editor have been submitted comparing pristine towns abroad to our beloved city and her abundant filth. Would it not be lovely if we, as a community, organized to combat our blotted landscape?

I challenge Mayor Luke Ravenstahl to name the dates and locations (perhaps at his new spiffy garbage cans throughout the city) for his residents to congregate for a citywide sweep, a cleanup initiative. We will bring our bags and brooms -- we just require the mayor's leadership.

Civic duty for the next several months may need to include participation in weekend community clean-up initiatives.

I will begin today. Who's with me?

BETH GALASKA BURZUK
Brighton Heights