From the Desk of Senator Craig Johnson: May 22, 2009

Senator Johnson Urges Passage of Sex Offender E-Notification

New York State Senator Craig M. Johnson called for the passage of important legislation that will enable concerned parents and residents to receive instant email alerts every time a sex offender moves into their zip code.

“Ever parent would want to know if a danger lurks in their neighborhood,” Senator Johnson said. “This commonsense measure will use existing technology to enhance our current system and proactively alert residents when a dangerous sexual predator moves into their community.”

Letter: School Administrator Salaries Should Be Regulated

The Obama administration’s plan to regulate executive pay at companies that receive taxpayer funding should include Long Island’s public school administrators since their revenue is from property taxes and state aid.

If President Obama sets the executive pay cap at $215,700, which is the salary of Vice-President Joseph Biden, some school superintendents would have to take a whopping cut in pay, bringing some welcome relief to taxpayers.

County Executive’s Column: May 15, 2009

‘Grown on Long Island’ Campaign

Last month, I joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at Martin Viette Nurseries in East Norwich to kick off the “Grown on Long Island” campaign to promote the purchase of locally grown produce and horticulture items. Long Island is home to plenty of farmer’s markets, garden centers, farm stands, and wineries, giving all of us easy access to fresh local fruits, vegetables, jellies, juices, homemade baked foods, wines, and beautiful flowers, plants and other garden items.

Letter: A Mother’s Day Reflection

Last week we had the privilege of participating in two simultaneous events here in town, which were both inspiring and humbling.

On Tuesday, May 5, the West Hempstead School District hosted its first Family Literacy Night at the high school. It was a community event of culture, literacy, and diversity intended to kick off our schools’ and library’s summer reading programs for grades K-12. Throughout the building, older students helped their younger schoolmates with games and arts and crafts, produced culinary delights for the crowd, and entertained in dance and musical performances. The event was truly a public celebration of the many gifts we have in our children and families here in West Hempstead. It was a privilege to attend on behalf of the Nassau County government.

Around the Town: May 8, 2009

Lacrosse Academy

The warm weather is here and summer is right around the corner, but there’s still time to plan your child’s summer activities. Fresh off a successful 2008 season of instructional clinics, the Town of Hempstead Lacrosse Academy (TOHLA) is ready to face-off for its 5th anniversary season.

In its first year, TOHLA instructed 400 boys and girls during four weeks of clinics. Since then, over 3,700 youngsters have participated in the summer clinics. TOHLA instructors stress the teachings of fundamentals in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. This year, in addition to our three-week long morning clinics, the town will also be running four night sessions at various locations.

All clinics are open to boys and girls, ages 7 to 15, who are residents of the Town of Hempstead. Once again, TOHLA has “lined up” quality instructors, including local high school coaches and players from high-profile universities.

Clinic locations and dates are as follows (all clinics run Monday to Thursday):

June 22-25 at Seamans Neck Park, Seaford, 6-9 p.m.

June 29-July 2 at Seamans Neck Park, Seaford, 9 a.m. to noon

July 6-9 at Oceanside Park, 6-9 p.m.

July 13-16 at Speno Park, East Meadow, 9 a.m. to noon

July 20 – July 23 at McLaren Stadium, Levittown, 6-9 p.m.

July 27-30 at Rath Park, Franklin Square, 6-9 p.m.

August 3-6 at Rath Park, Franklin Square, 9 a.m. to noon.

I am also pleased to announce that the tuition for all 2009 lacrosse summer clinics will be the same as in previous years. The four-day, 12-hour clinic is affordably priced at $60 per participant per week with a discounted rate of $45 for each additional family member.

Registration forms are available by contacting the academy office at 783-3208 or 3205, or by downloading the form from the town’s website at www.toh.li/content/rc/

athletics/lacrosse.html. Please note that each participant is required to bring his/her own lacrosse equipment.

Our talented and energetic staff of coaches are eager to teach youngsters who are new to the great game of lacrosse, as well as those with more advanced skills.

No prior lacrosse experience is needed to participate. The goal of the clinic instructors is to provide a fun atmosphere and make each student a better lacrosse player by teaching the fundamentals of the game. I hope to see you and your child this summer at a Town of Hempstead lacrosse clinic.

Editorial: New York – The Backwards State

New York’s nickname has been “The Empire State,” but in light of the recent state budget passed and the struggles with the MTA, it may as well be called, “The Backwards State.”

When times are tough with the nation mired in a recession, with people losing their jobs and taking pay cuts, the citizens need their state leaders in Albany to think outside the box and come up with a budget that does not further hurt residents. So what do the leaders come up with? More taxes and fees.

At a time when residents may be hurting financially, state lawmakers in Albany have decided to take more money to close a budget deficit. Who is going to close the deficits that exist in people’s personal lives? In a time when people need relief the most, state lawmakers found a way to make their situations worse.

It is backwards thinking to take more money away from the public when what we need to help the economy is for people to spend money. We need consumers to support our local businesses. The true purpose of a tax cut or an economic stimulus is to give people some relief whereby they can use additional money to spend on goods and services. Businesses are helped and jobs are created. Instead, the state has given people less money to spend.

Senator Craig Johnson, who voted for the state budget, said that people would spend money. Perhaps Senator Johnson is out of touch with those who have had to endure layoffs, pay cuts or pay freezes. After all, some of Senator Johnson’s staff members received raises of over 50 percent after the Democrats became the Senate Majority leaders in January.

Senator Johnson says his staff works extremely hard. That may be so, but New Yorkers have been asked to do their share during difficult times. On Long Island, it seems people do more than their share.

Then, there’s the case of the backwards agency that is the MTA. With the country in the midst of an energy crisis whereby we continue to buy oil from foreign countries to satisfy what has been called an addiction to oil, it makes sense that we should encourage mass transportation. However, the MTA has managed to discourage mass transportation with its enormous fare increases to help fill a budget deficit created by excessive spending. For a weekend trip from Mineola to Penn Station, it will cost $15.50 for a round trip ticket. For a family of four to go to New York City on the weekend, that’s $62 and that’s just for transportation to Penn Station.

You have to wonder where the MTA is spending the money. Recently, we received an eight-page, glossy brochure from the MTA on the 70th birthday of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. This is an agency that some lawmakers are considering bailing out with a payroll tax.

While there is talk these days, the ones most in need of a bailout are the residents, but nobody seems to be listening.

– Joe Rizza