I slogged my way through the Sturm und Drang of the front-page splash about the three residents who reported the city to the feds and the state for supposed gross negligence in allowing homes to be built where flooding was all but inevitable.

And what do I find, deep down in the story? A temporary $50 penalty, perhaps in the unlikely event that the authorities ever act on this complaint.

Hardly the counterproductive “scorched-earth” tactic that may “punish our neighbors,” as a tut-tut editorial the next day stated. Nevertheless, City Hall remains a well-known and incorrigible laggard on flooding abatement.

Mark Bloom

Gadsden Street

CharlestoP