An audit has discovered this but the city has “excuses” for its failure. Haven’t heard of anyone being held responsible and fired! But city officials have announced that they have hired an outside collection company to collect delinquent funds.

It would be interesting to find out what company that is, who owns it and what percentage of funds collected they are paid. It would also be interesting to find out why Baltimore isn’t using the Maryland State Central Collections Unit to collect those funds. I’m sure it would be more cost-effective than hiring an outside collection company — with potentially questionable relationships.

— Richard T. Webb, Parkton

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Trump is the quintessential bully who tried every physical and rhetorical tactic bullies employ to avoid responding to her pointed but highly relevant questions. When Welker refused to back down in the face of Trump’s insults, he acted like the spoiled child he is and walked out of the interview.

Why doesn’t Congress see what is so painfully obvious to most Americans — that Trump is not the leader we need in these very perilous circumstances that his horrific judgment has placed us in?

— Benjamin Rosenberg, Baltimore

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But wait. The owners should rue the day they made the inane choice to not enter Golden Tempo in the Preakness Stakes.

I have two suggestions regarding keeping the Triple Crown intact. Owners should be fined heavily if they choose to leave their horse out of the Preakness. The second suggestion is to spread out the time between races. Run the Kentucky Derby on April 15, for example, allowing one full month before the Preakness and another month before the Belmont.

Something must be done — and rapidly — or another piece of Baltimore sports history will surely crumble — and quickly.

— Patrick R. Lynch, Towson

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The ship carries a full naval crew and 150 cadets. When it visited in 1987, I got to meet and know the ship’s captain, Carlos Marron, who happily said, “Just call me Charlie Brown.” He went on to be an admiral, head of Argentina’s navy and at his death in 2003, was saluted by The London Times for rebuilding peaceful relations between Britain’s Royal Navy and the fleet he commanded following the two countries’ Falklands War of 1982.

My wife and I happily walked the streets of Baltimore several times with Charlie Brown and a few of his officers in white uniforms and drank some marvelous Argentinian wines in the captain’s room of the berthed Libertad. And so I write this to urge Baltimoreans not only to see the ships, but to make an effort to get to know and host the crews on board. It is, all in all, a pretty neat way to celebrate our country’s birthday.

I will be drinking a toast to the memory of Charlie Brown. And Libertad.

— Stan Heuisler

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In the 500 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. government has DOGEd, pushed out, fired, retired or induced to leave hundreds of thousands of former government employees.

So the government’s kind of crippled right now and trying to hire some new people. One of the proposed new requirements for working for the government is that you have to sign a nondisclosure agreement (“Trump administration proposes NDAs for federal employees to stop leaks,” May 26).

And what, you might wonder, is a nondisclosure agreement? Well, that’s what Stormy Daniels had to sign when Trump gave her $130,000 to not tell her truth.

That’s what Karen McDougal had to sign to be paid by Trump friend David Pecker for not telling her truth, also about an affair.

So a nondisclosure agreement, as used by Trump, is a contract that you will not tell the truth about what he has done or is doing. A contract — with penalties — for telling the truth.

And The Sun is reminding us: “Authoritarian regimes often assume they can survive crisis by controlling information.”

Actually, Trump’s disclosure agreements are intended to hide incompetence, theft, and wrongdoing from becoming known and corrected. Trump’s nondisclosure agreements are not a formula for good government.

— Harry Leffmann, Baltimore

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My rent went from close to $2,000 to $845 a month. I went from a one-room studio apartment to 3-1/2 spacious rooms.

How did I achieve these savings? Simple. I moved from Manhattan to Baltimore. Gone is trying to fit three rooms’ worth of furniture into a long, narrow space. My Baltimore home overlooks trees; in Manhattan, I had a view of a housing project and skyscrapers. In Baltimore, I needed a car, but while gas is a necessary expense, I save on subway fares.

Manhattan dwellers (like I once was) cannot imagine living anywhere else but Manhattan. With apartments unaffordable in Manhattan (my former apartment is now renting for close to $4,000), they may have to consider moving to Baltimore.

Of course, I do miss being around the corner from Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic. So I subscribe to the Baltimore Symphony. Directions in New York City are easy, while downtown Baltimore can be a strange patchwork of unknown streets.

But in Manhattan, the people are crowded on the sidewalks, the tension is high and elbows are sharp. Baltimoreans are relaxed and friendly. My Pikesville neighborhood is safe and walkable. Classical radio in Baltimore, WBJC-FM, isn’t WQXR, but the smaller city does a great job of playing classical music 24 hours a day. In the car, I can get the D.C. station, WETA-FM, quite clearly.

Baltimore has a reputation for crime, but I walked home at 11 p.m. one night, and it was very peaceful. My neighborhood is safe.

So move to Baltimore from Manhattan, and you too can enjoy these savings. And the quality of life cannot be compared. It’s a Baltimore thing.

— Eileen Pollock, Baltimore

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— Eric Greene, Annapolis

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White oaks are in trouble nationwide, but I found a reason to be optimistic: There’s a bipartisan bill in Congress called the “Fix Our Forests Act” (S.B. 1462/H.R. 471) that would establish the White Oak Initiative Coalition, focused on restoring white oak populations. Maryland would be a big winner from the coalition’s pilot programs and reforestation initiatives. This bill has already passed the House. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks — please vote “Yea” when it comes up for a vote in the Senate.

Why do I care so much about this bill? I still miss awakening in the morning to see the cardinals singing from those two magnificent white oak trees outside my bedroom window.

— Cheryl Arney, Ellicott City

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His termination speaks to the need for objective, vigilant journalism that is not afraid to expose government corruption.

No news organization should ever tell its reporters to knowingly broadcast or print falsehoods.

“60 Minutes,” which is under new corporate management, has gutted its newsroom. It must boldly reinvent itself if it is to remain viable.

Viewership of network news has changed significantly in the past few years, as has competition to its programming.

“60 Minutes” must find its niche in an Information Age inundated by unedited citizen journalist podcasts and web outlets.

Accordingly, each of us must re-examine our news consumption to make sure we are not manipulated by propaganda disguised as journalism.

The fate of democracy depends on this. There is no turning back.

— Mel Tansill, Catonsville

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I never did.

But what I did do was hold onto some very special memories of that gentleman for 68 years (“Baltimore Colts legend Raymond Berry, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, dies,” June 1).

I had never watched, or even understood, the game of football before Dec. 28, 1958. On that day, my family and I were visiting relatives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The NFL Championship Game was on television, and we all settled in to watch.

After a quick tutorial from my father on the basics of football, I quickly got caught up in the excitement and suspense of the game.

And what was so wonderful then — and still brings me so much pleasure to remember today — is hearing the sports announcer saying the words, “Unitas to Berry” so many times. Raymond Berry recorded 12 receptions that day for a total of 178 yards and a touchdown. His 12 receptions set a championship record that stood for 55 years.

Now, on the occasion of his passing, I only hope that Mr. Berry knew how much he meant to all of us in Baltimore and that the memory of what he did on that December day will stay with us forever.

— Sylvia Schechter, Pikesville

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