EDITOR'S NOTE: Below is a selection of the responses from readers of MDJOnline.com in reaction to recent MDJ stories.

Councilman confronted on building's state ...

Marietta Bus. Owner wrote - It amazes me that the City of Marietta and anyone who lives or does business around Marietta accepts the blight that is Philip Goldstein. He has spent the last 20 years destroying the greatest amenity any Southern town could possess. The Square has such potential to be one of the great destinations around this area and it is a testament to the ability of the city council that the Square is not a run down slum. With the disrepair of the Goldstein-owned buildings and his lack of concern about the aesthetic appeal of the square, he has done everything he can to destroy the area.

Marietta is great wrote - Is this a joke? It seems like a lot of people around Marietta just want Philip to pay for something, they don't care what it is, they just want him to pay and they want it to hurt. Philip Goldstein is not destroying the city. There are a lot of egos out there working to destroy each other when we should be working together to accomplish positive things for our city.

The truth hurts wrote - He is a slumlord, plain and simple!

Jimmy 5 Fingers wrote - You can all pine about the Square, but this is not the landmark you think it is. There is nothing there of interest for the average person/family. The restaurants are mediocre, parking stinks and the entire site is a hodgepodge of uncohesive architecture. The only people that have any interest are the "business" owners and local residents. No one outside the immediate area ever talks about the Square or recommends going there. Downtown Acworth and Roswell have more to offer!

One more question wrote - Why is anyone allowed to erect a FIVE story building on the Square? Who's in charge? Anyone?

Like Chalfant wrote - If Grif Chalfant ever decides to run for mayor, I will be first in line to vote for him. Goldstein rules in Marietta and he should at least be made to take care of all the property he owns.

Property Rights wrote - Interesting that many people in Marietta believe that a person should lose his/her property rights because they get elected to office. Anyone who wants the city to pass laws to crack down on Goldstein should not whine if the city uses those same laws to crack down on them. Too bad the City Council is not as interested on the steel framed hulk on the South Loop or the burned out hotel off Delk Road.

Anonymous wrote - If the Marietta City Council had not forced him to act on his demolition permit, the building would be sitting there still, not the hole. This is a prime example of just how dumb the other members of the Marietta City Council are. They cut off their nose by making changes to the demo permit rules in an effort to force Goldstein hand, only to have their face spiked by Goldstein when he was forced to demo before his permit expired. Everybody saw it coming but them.

MAY-RETTA SURVIVOR wrote - Once again, Gold$tein is blaming others (in this case his insurance company) for his broken promises.

School board clashes with Rep. Setzler's SPLOST bill ...

Ted Sheckler wrote - Ignore them, Setzler, and keep it going with this bill.

Leo Pith-Garnell wrote - Still voting NO on SPLOST. Enough with the taxes already.

Samuel Adams wrote - In some counties, SPLOST dates are determined by a very small group of people. In most, there is very little or no authoritative oversight. In Cobb, it's widely known that school was let out early and pro-SPLOST messages were spread via PTAs and outside message boards. Teachers were leaned on by administrators to vote yes and hey, when there are 15,000 employees of the school system and they're all voting yes, this is abuse of the system ... the system is being manipulated. I'm disgusted at the condescending tone used by those in this article who say voters are uneducated.

Veteran Observer wrote - The argument that putting these items on the national election ballot to get larger turnout doesn't hold water! After people vote on the top of the ballot the numbers fall way off for items farther down the ballot! The anti-everything crowd knows this and is hoping for this confusion to rein so their spreading of fear and rumors will prevail! There is no problem here to fix!