Letter: Mangano, Republican Party Should Pay Back Taxpayers for Failed Referendum

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano’s attempt to sneak through a massive tax hike was overwhelmingly rejected by voters on August 1st.

Mangano and the republicans in the legislature should never have tried to sell the people of Nassau on the bad idea of raising their property taxes to build Charles Wang a new Coliseum.

Letter: Birth Control Should Not Have Co-Pays

The independent, nonpartisan Institute of Medicine (IOM) comprised of health care professionals recommended that prescription birth control be included as a preventive service under the federal health care reform law. If adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), new insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act will be required to cover FDA-approved contraceptive methods without charging co-pays or other out-of-pocket fees. This could result in the elimination of one of the biggest obstacles to effective family planning for millions of American women. HHS is expected to make a final decision on the IOM’s recommendation in August.

Letter: ‘Must Vote NO on Coliseum Project’

With the vote for the proposed Coliseum project looming, I have felt compelled to speak out on this issue.

I will vote NO. I came to decide to vote NO for a number of reasons:

1) We’ve been told that the cost to the taxpayers of Nassau County will be $400 million, but NIFA has said the cost could be almost $800 million.

Are we paying $14 a year more in property taxes or $55 a year? What’s the truth?

Letter: Supports Proposed Coliseum Project

The proposed coliseum project is critical to Nassau County’s economic revival. It will create jobs immediately: 1,500 construction jobs and more than 3,000 permanent jobs. It will help Nassau County get back on its feet economically by generating development in the area and injecting much needed cash into the County’s coffers.

Letter: LWV Objects to Hub Referendum Vote Date

(This letter was sent to County Executive Edward Mangano and the County Legislature.)

The League of Women Voters of Nassau County strongly objects to the August 1 scheduling of a Nassau County referendum on the proposal to permit the county to borrow up to an additional $400 million for a proposed “Nassau County Hub Area Development” construction project, which would include a new Nassau Coliseum and minor league ballpark. Our reasons include the following:

The cost of doing this as a special election, projected to be approximately $2 million, is not necessary and would come at a time when Nassau County is already experiencing serious financial difficulties. Though the cost would be picked up if the vote is “Yes,” if it is “No,” the voters would have to bear this unnecessary burden. This risk can easily be avoided by scheduling the vote on the same day and on the same ballots as those for the general election in the fall. Most bond issue votes have been done that way in the past.

Letter: ‘Dear Residents Of the Westbury Union Free School District’

Thank you, thank you so very much for defeating the proposed Westbury School District budget on June 21.

You were not persuaded or “taken in” by the School Administration’s annual refrain “the children will suffer” or the baseless excuse that “the test scores remain low because of the immigrant population in our district,” or the financial bugaboo “the district’s bond rating will suffer.”

Letter: ‘Taxpayers Take Another Hit on Police Lab’

I have previously written regarding the Nassau County Police Department Lab and the misconduct of District Attorney Kathleen Rice regarding it.  There is an investigation by the State Inspector General; motions by defendants alleging that they were wrongfully convicted and all of this will be followed by civil lawsuits claiming damages. Clearly the Police Department and District Attorney Kathleen Rice are at fault but so are those who covered up or failed to disclose the problems at the lab and exculpatory evidence. This is a monumental disgrace for this County not easily overcome by band-aid solutions but worse yet is the cost to taxpayers. The latest part of this boondoggle is the County’s retention of outside law firms with political and financial ties to the County Executive to represent those implicated.

Letter: ‘Same Sex Marriages Need an Equal Rights Amendment’

A few years ago, a former mayor in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. was attracting a lot of attention by performing same sex marriages. As a Village Justice and attorney on Long Island where I can perform marriage ceremonies, I had not received any requests to perform same sex marriages but wrote an op-ed column questioning my legal authority to do so. The Attorney General at the time, Elliot Spitzer, then picked up on the topic and wrote an opinion stating that same sex marriages were not legally permitted in the State of New York. According to Mr. Spitzer, it would require a legislative change, which we now have.

Letter: ‘SEPTA Says Thanks’

As a member of the Westbury SEPTA, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who are involved with SEPTA and to all others who bought flowers and helped us reach our goal. The annual flower sale for SEPTA in April was a great success. I also want to say thank you to all the teachers, administrators and friends who bought flowers.

Letter: Nassau’s Mitchel Field Deteriorating

Our Long Island high school athletes in track and field have proven to be among the best in New York State. It is with great disappointment that Nassau County’s Mitchel Athletic Complex, once considered “The World’s Biggest Stage, a showcase for the best competition the world has ever seen…,” [Goodwill Games] has let the field events deteriorate to the point of forcing our high school athletes and other famous high profile meets to seek other venues for their competition.