As someone who has worked for the State Department of Mental Health in both direct care and support services since 1972, “punishing” someone for not knowing the wrongness of their action isn’t justice for either the victim or the person committing the offense.

I consider myself a handy person. I can use a power drill, I’ve made wedding dresses, I can read a map. But what I really need is a surgeon.

One who works on animals.

Stuffed animals.

Here in Boston, we are proud of the successes of our residents, our business owners and, of course, our sports teams. After an incredible start to the 2007 season, our Boston Red Sox clinched the American League East title.

We invite you to be a part of this community forum. Express your point of view! Our deadline for letters sent by e-mail is noon on Mondays. For faxed or regular mail, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Letters submitted for publication must be typed or printed legibly and must be signed. We ask that you include your neighborhood and phone number for confirmation. Phone numbers will not be printed. E-mail letters should be sent to transcript@cnc.com. Our fax number is 781-433-8202 or send U.S. mail letters to:

Here's are thumbs up and thumbs down for this week:

Tell me, O Great and Mighty Food Gods, what cardinal sin I committed to deserve this cruelest of sentences in culinary purgatory: the realization that plunging my face into a cavernous bag of steamy, salty, buttery popcorn might not be quite as healthy as nibbling on organic bananas.

Biking is a low-cost transportation; it’s great exercise that can help lower obesity and asthma rates with our young people. It’s great for the environment, helping to reduce smog and carbon dioxide emissions and can help generate revenue for the city.

We invite you to be a part of this community forum. Express your point of view! Our deadline for letters sent by e-mail is noon on Mondays. For faxed or regular mail, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Boston residents, visitors and commuters will likely notice a change in the bright lights of the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge over the next few weeks. Teal-colored lights will drape the bridge marking the end of a monthlong campaign designating September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

Here is a list of some people who deserve thumbs up and thumbs down based on recent actions:

We invite you to be a part of this community forum. Express your point of view! Our deadline for letters sent by e-mail is noon on Mondays. For faxed or regular mail, the deadline is 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Letters submitted for publication must be typed or printed legibly and must be signed. We ask that you include your neighborhood and phone number for confirmation. Phone numbers will not be printed. E-mail letters should be sent to transcript@cnc.com. Our fax number is 781-433-8202 or send U.S. mail letters to:

While Boston residents have provided generous and heartfelt support to the victims, we also must look at how we could manage a large-scale emergency. In thinking about our response to a major emergency, the safety of our residents must be foremost.

For more than 34 1/2 years, I have seen the ups and downs of people living in the worse periods of their lives. Some people get better and move on. Others stay the same and go chronic.

Our hearts are still filled with the sadness of the deaths of firefighters Warren Payne and Paul Cahill, both of whom were laid to rest in two very moving and emotionally difficult funeral services late last week.

No need for helicopters at a funeral

To the editor:

One wonders how it can be respectful of the death of Boston’s finest firefighters for media helicopters to hover for hours over their funerals. The noise, air pollution and disruption to the community generated are without justification.

This has been a week of heartache and tears over the tragic loss of Boston Fire Department veterans Warren J. Payne and Paul J. Cahill, who died in the line of duty fighting a four-alarm fire on Centre Street that began at the Tai Ho Mandarin and Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant.

From the WRBPA

Our prayers and sympathy are extended to the families of West Roxbury Firefighters Paul Cahill of Scituate and Warren Payne of Canton, who lost their lives last week at this horrendously tragic fire on Centre Street.

I guess I remember most the way that the firefighters let the schoolchildren on a field trip jump up and sit in the fire truck and maybe pull on a bell and get a badge. The firefighters were so nice and the kids were so happy and thankful and many of them went home and dreamt of someday maybe making the fire station their second home when they grew up.

At a dinner party this August, someone raised a question that surprised me. “What do you think about the restoration of the Latin Mass?”