Ticket Tantrums in the District

It was tragic to read about the District government's "Baseball Gate" fiasco ["Fenty Ends Council's Baseball Ticket Tempest," Metro, May 18]. It is clear that D.C. Council members are almost continually engaged in the pathological pursuit of petty perquisites -- when they aren't taking time to deeply deliberate such peripheral controversies as same-sex marriage.

Little wonder that the city government is held in such low esteem on Capitol Hill and that important D.C. issues can readily be hijacked by any senator or House member with a cause to highlight. Poor Washington -- always suffering from self-inflicted wounds.

LOUIS H. KNAPP

Rockville

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I have a few questions about the D.C. Council's tickets to Washington Nationals games:

Were the tickets a form of payoff for the council's vote in favor of a stadium built with taxpayer funds?

How much are the 19 seats in Suite 61 worth? Do ticket recipients have to report the value of the tickets as income on their tax returns?

MEL PELLER

Chevy Chase