Letter: Cut in State Aid Will Only Hurt, Not Help Mineola Schools

We are writing this letter on behalf of PEACE – People for Excellence, Affordability, and Commitment to Education. PEACE is comprised of a number of community members from throughout the Mineola School District. We continue to be involved and committed to issues, both financial and educational, that affect the students of our district and the community as a whole.

Mineola has gone through the long and difficult process of deciding to close two buildings to cut costs while saving the programs so vital to students’ educational experience. We succeeded in containing costs last year by passing a budget with a 2.3 percent tax increase, our fourth consecutive year of 2.5 percent or under.

From the desk of NY State Senator Jack Martins: January 31, 2012

State Aid to Long Island Schools Doesn’t Add Up

 I flipped through hundreds of pages until I found it. I was scanning the proposed budget released by Governor Cuomo last week, looking to see how our district fared with state aid, in particular the amounts for our school districts. I guess to say I was disappointed by what I saw is an understatement – the Governor had proposed increasing state aid to education by 4 percent, yet time and again our districts were shortchanged. 

It’s no secret that I happen to agree with many of Governor Cuomo’s efforts to get New York’s fiscal train back on track. For too many years, the obvious truth that many in Albany were all too happy to ignore was that New York was well on its way to financial ruin. But in tandem with Governor Cuomo, we were able to change that paralyzing mindset. In fact, the nine State Senators from Long Island were instrumental in helping to close last year’s $10 billion budget gap, capping taxes and reducing overall spending. This year, we face a $2 billion budget shortfall but we remain as committed as ever to balancing the budget without increasing taxes or raising fees.

Around the Town with Lou: January 24, 2012

Cardinal-designate Archbishop Timothy Dolan is a popular man with a winning Irish smile and a quick wit. He enjoys good relations with Governor Cuomo in spite of difference over gay marriage. He also found President Obama receptive to many of his ideas. On a personal note, we appreciate Bishop Dolan’s cutting the ribbon on the “Women of the Spirit” exhibit at Ellis Island. This is the history of America’s nuns put together by our daughter Sister Annmarie and six other religious sisters. It has toured the U.S. and has been seen by more than a million people. Bishop Dolan said the exhibit was wonderful.

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At last the local St. Patrick’s parade staged by the Irish American Society will be held in Mineola on Sunday, March 4. Since the parade’s inception it has been held in Garden City.

Letter: With Care, Fracking Can Work in NY?

Response to January 11 Letter to Editor

Mr. Robert Catell, we the people of New York are educated and you can not pull the wool over our eyes. I know you have a vested interest in fracking as the drilling sites are operated by Energy Departments. I am just going to give the hard facts about fracking.

Fracking: Drilling for natural gas where chemicals and high-pressure water are used to fracture rock, releasing the gas.

It’s called hydraulic fracturing or fracking, and some herald it as the future of clean, safe energy from natural gas. But from Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Arkansas, residents are seeing earthquakes, poisoned watercourses and contaminated drinking water.

From the desk of NY State Senator Jack Martins: January 17, 2012

The State of the State

As is custom, Governor Cuomo gave his State of the State speech in which New York governors traditionally outline where we stand and where they hope to take us. The news outlets naturally put their own spin on things so although there’s not enough room here to touch on all aspects of the speech, I thought it would be good to review a few major ones together.  

Much attention was paid to the Governor’s call for a constitutional amendment legalizing non-Indian casino gambling and the plan to build a convention center, casino and hotel complex at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Constitutional amendments have to be approved twice by the legislature, then once in public referendum so I think it will be difficult to build that kind of consensus.

Letter: Response to Congresswoman McCarthy Column on January 4

I hoped there was more to the update than was provided so I could fully understand the issues that Congresswomen McCarthy wanted us to be aware of.

I can certainly empathize with the Congresswomen’s frustration with the state of affairs in Washington D.C. I do agree with her that we deserve more stable and responsible leadership than what we are getting but it is not because of the Tea Party Republicans.

Letter: With Care, Fracking Can Work in NY

While it is true that the issues related to hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” are not simple we should not be influenced by much of the misinformation that has been disseminated and we should base our decisions on the facts and develop a regulatory regime which can assure safety and environmental sensitivity.

It is ironic that natural gas development, which can reduce carbon emissions by a third compared to oil and a half compared to coal, is caught in an emotional debate over environmental impacts. As businessman and publisher Mortimer Zuckerman pointed out in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, using data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency, this abundant new gas source has reduced our oil imports from 60 percent in 2005 to 47 percent today. Recent events in the Middle East should reinforce the need for a U.S. energy policy based on domestic natural gas.

Around the Town with Lou: January 10, 2012

Magnificent would be the best way to describe our Corpus Christi Choir. The members are Nancy Becker, Marta Bertoni, William Boerner, Katherine Bautigam, Janet Bromfield, Irene DeMedeiros, Maria Dos Santos, Janet Langer, Franni Luisi, Lisa Madson-Connor, Dolores Mangold, Adriara Mello, Tom Murphy, Christina Nunez, Tom Schmitt, Sindy Seabra, Pat Tobin, Greg Tranchina, Mario Valdellon, Michael Vezzi and the director, Troy Gordon.

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Tsontos Furs was founded by a great friend of mine, Mike Tsontos. Mike was wounded and captured by the Germans in the North African campaign. When he was hit and laying on a stretcher he was next in line to be operated on, when two Germans were brought in wounded. He figured they would be moved ahead of him and was surprised when they took the casualties one by one whether they were German, Italian, American or British. He spent three years in a prisoner of war camp. As the Nazi fortunes declined, the POWs received smaller and smaller rations. He says that on the whole the American and British POWs were humanely treated except for the starvation diets. The German treatment of the Soviet POWs in the next compound was brutal. The Germans treated the Russian POWs like they were not human beings. Mike weighted 200 pounds when he was captured and 110 pounds when he was finally liberated by the advancing American forces. Years later he opened Tsontos Furs and built up a prosperous business.

Letter: Open Letter to LIPA Board of Trustees

(Editor’s note: The following is a copy of a letter from Senator Charles Fuschillo and the Long Island Senate Delegation to the LIPA Board of Trustees opposing LIPA’s rate increase proposal. The letter was read into public record at a LIPA public hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 6 regarding its rate increase proposal.)

From the Desk of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy: January 3, 2012

Tea Party Brought Us to Brink of Disaster Again

 Once again a selfish and intransigent Tea Party brought the nation to the brink of disaster.  I’ve gotten dizzy watching House Republicans flip-flop and backtrack in their efforts to win political points.

This is a victory for everyday citizens – from the scores of job seekers who attended my career fair at Hofstra University this month and told me of the importance of unemployment insurance, to the thousands of Americans who tweeted about how this whole charade could bring painful hardship to their families.