Desk of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy: August 20, 2009

Announces Recovery Funds for New Energy Efficient Traffic Signals

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy announced the release of $4.3 million of federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to upgrade approximately 900 traffic signals on Long Island by replacing existing incandescent lights with more energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs to reduce energy use and improve the environment. The project includes installing approximately 250 pedestrian countdown crossing signals at key intersections to improve pedestrian safety.

Letter: Appointment of Sotomayor Was Right One

(Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor and President Barack Obama and is being printed here at the writer’s request.)

Everyone, especially the poor and the middle class, should be grateful to President Barack Obama for his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

The pride that we should feel as a nation in his election and her confirmation shows us that prejudice can be overcome; that merit counts; that good people can rise to the top; that barriers to achievement, such as poverty, can be overcome and our greatness as a country is in showing our tolerance for divergent views and our acceptance of all people as neighbors and friends. The confirmation of Judge Sotomayor is not simply a profound moment for the hardworking Hispanic community and culture that gives so much to our nation, but it speaks to our vibrancy, our vision as a true “melting pot.”

I was very pleased to be among the thousands of judges and lawyers supporting the president and Judge Sotomayor in this confirmation. I was honored to receive the judge’s kind acknowledgment of my support. This is a person who remembers where she came from and the people she met along the way. She brings heart, soul and compassion to the Supreme Court but as the president has so profoundly said, she brings a most important quality, empathy. We have someone on our Court who is truly representative of all the people.

 

From the Desk of Senator Craig Johnson: August 13, 2009

Appointed to MTA Capital ProgramReview Board

New York State Senator Craig M. Johnson, (D-Nassau), has been officially appointed to serve as the Senate Majority’s appointment to the MTA Capital Program Review Board.

From the Desk of Assemblyman Charles Lavine: August 13, 2009

New Legislation Streamlines Absentee Voting Process; Encourages Voter Participation

New York State Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine (D-Glen Cove) has announced Assembly passage of a package of bills he supported that will make casting absentee ballots easier for New Yorkers who are living away from their voting districts, whether for work, school or because they are active members of the U.S. military.

From the Desk of Assemblyman Charles Lavine: August 7, 2009

Invests in Green Jobs, Green New York

New York State Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine (D-Glen Cove) announced that the Assembly has passed legislation authorizing the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to create and administer the Green Jobs, Green New York program that provides financing to communities, homes, small businesses and not-for-profits to help revitalize the economy in an energy-independent and environmentally responsible way (A.8901).

Town Topics: August 7, 2009

Project Independence

We regularly put the reins of tomorrow in the capable hands of our youth. But, too often we fail to acknowledge that the hopes of past generations for a healthy, productive society were pinned on the shoulders of our present-day matriarchs and patriarchs, the progenitors of our history, our heritage.

For that, we owe them our eternal gratitude.

A Nassau We Can Afford

A recent column published in this paper completely missed the point about the race for Nassau County Executive. The 2009 campaign isn’t about who can raise and spend the most money; it’s about who is best able to govern our county for the next four years.

Who will be able to stop the bleeding that our taxpayers have endured for the past eight years, while the county budget increased $800 million? Who will turn around the current agenda to increase taxes by nearly 4 percent each of the next four years?

Letter: Writing in Protest

(Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to the Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Sudan and is being printed here at the author’s request.)

I write to protest the atavistic treatment meted out to the 13 young women arrested at a Khartoum café for wearing trousers, 10 of whom were publicly flogged and fined.

Legislative Majority Report: July 24, 2009

 

Tomato and Potato Gardeners Beware!

Last month, I wrote about all the wonderful Farmers’ Markets in our area. We are so fortunate to be able to buy fresh local produce and other assorted items from craftspeople who are our neighbors and friends.

This month, it has come to my attention that there is a problem with some of our tomatoes. According to Cornell Cooperative Extension, there is something called late blight which is affecting tomato and potato plants. This is the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s, so whether you have a small backyard garden like I do, or you are a major nursery, late blight is a disease to which we must all pay attention but be careful not to confuse with early blight, which is much less devastating. According to the experts, it is very destructive and very infectious. It presents with at least nickel-sized olive green to brown spots on leaves with slightly white fungal growth on the underside when conditions have been humid – early morning or after a rainfall. Sometimes the border of the spot is yellow or has a water-soaked appearance..Spots begin tiny, irregularly shaped, and brown. Firm, leather-like brown spots develop on tomato fruit.

Letter: Wants Fellow Community Members to Be More Courteous

I have been a resident of the Village of Westbury since 1983. I have always found it to be a quiet and quaint place in which to live and raise my children. I always loved my neighborhood and felt safe to walk around.

In the past 4-5 years that has all changed. I find many strange people walking around my neighborhood at all times of the night. I am not out at night that much but when I am it causes me to be to be extra cautious. We also have neighbors who have large tropical birds, which they leave outside and they are very loud.