Editorial: Ring The Bells

The complimentary wedding for a Nassau County veteran or active duty armed forces member at The Viana Hotel & Spa in Westbury on Veteran’s Day is just one of many ways in which the community is giving back to those who have given their all for the United States.

The Viana is still looking for local organizations that want to contribute their services for the event, as no business has come forward to donate tuxedos, a cake and more. If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this event, please call 572-6560 to get involved.

Letter: Nassau County Needs Its Soil & Water Conservation District

The Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District has long provided cost- effective, efficient, and valuable services to all of the people of Nassau County. Since the district opened in 1977 it has been serving residents, businesses, nonprofits, agencies, schools and municipalities with environmental expertise and assistance. Like all conservation districts throughout New York State and the nation, it is a proven public-private partnership that leverages local taxpayer dollars by bringing in funding from grants, state matching funds and other sources. Yet, Nassau County may soon become the only county in the state without a Soil and Water Conservation District. The steady decline in funding over the last four years has depleted the district’s small reserves and it is in danger of closing.

Letter: Westbury/New Cassel NAACP Convention

As New York State celebrates our 76th year, the generosity of our members has helped to bring our civil and human rights agenda to underserved communities across this great state.

We hope you will continue to help the NAACP New York State Conference serve those communities who gain so much from our programs when we convene our 76th Annual Convention, Oct. 5-7, 2012 at the Hilton Long Island in Melville.

Letter: Steinbrenner, The Last Lion Of Baseball

Lions are beautiful and majestic in their appearance and power. They are also dangerous especially at feeding time, which seems to be all the time. Whether George Steinbrenner was the last lion of baseball remains to be seen.

Bill Madden, a sportswriter for the Daily News has more than amply annotated the history of the New York Yankees under Steinbrenner. What is missing from the book is whether George’s erratic personality allowed him to achieve in spite of himself. Turning a $168,000 investment of his father’s money in 1972 to join with partners who bought the Yankees for $8.5 million and turned it into a business, according to Forbes, worth over $1 billion 30 years later, was a combination of luck, fear of him, which George instilled in others by being totally unpredictable and perhaps even bipolar. George was smart and capitalized on baseball’s free agency rules to buy up well-established major leaguers.

Letter: Politicians Bought And Paid For

In 1977, fresh out of law school, I ran for supervisor in the Town of North Hempstead. I had been a zone leader and committeeman; ran election campaigns and I was a member of the New Democratic Coalition, the liberal wing of the Democratic Party that championed the campaigns of Congressman Allard Lowenstein, Eugene McCarthy, Bobby Kennedy and George McGovern. I was an elected National Convention delegate. I received and gave campaign contributions. I headed Ed Muskie’s campaign in New York.

In 1978, I joined the Republican Party and then its Chairman’s Club, the alleged “Fat Cat” arm of what was then a political machine in my county. I ran the candidacies of judges and other candidates serving as the head of Ronald Reagan’s Nationalities Committee and being offered a position at the Department of Justice after he was elected. It was a standard custom and practice for candidates including judicial candidates to assemble teams of lawyers who then endorsed them and gave them money.

Letter: We Need A Plan

I have been reading with great interest as well as with some amusement, the weekly letters submitted to The Westbury Times by a former Westbury Board of Education Trustee, Mr. Larry Wornum, regarding for the most part, the Westbury Union Free School District’s spending and performance.

I must admit that while I do not always agree with Mr. Wornum’s views, and less often his presentation of his perspectives, in light of the recently published July 17 issue of Newsday, which featured the 2011 Long Island math and English test scores, I now wonder if Mr. Wornum has not cast the Westbury School District’s performance issues in the correct (if not new) light.

Letter: Carle Place Relayers

On June 9, nearly 400 community members participated in this year’s Relay for Life of Carle Place. Though we were unsure if the weather was going to affect our event, we were determined to have a successful night. After a couple of rain showers, the sun decided to shine and our event was kicked off with a beautiful survivor reception. 

Editorial: Fight The Bite

Who knows if the influx of mosquitoes in Nassau County can be attributed to the mild winter, standing water or overgrown vegetation; however, one thing is certain – this is the summer of the “skeeter.”

These bloodsuckers aren’t your grandparent’s mosquitoes – the Asian tiger mosquito is more aggressive, harder to kill and bites during the daytime. I predict an outbreak of agoraphobia way before we see another West Nile scare.

Letter: For Fair And Transparent Redistricting

In response to Susan Lerner’s opinion piece in Newsday on July 3, entitled “Voters Are The Losers In Nassau Fight,” The League of Women Voters of Nassau County believes in many of the same principles Ms Lerner proposes. As a nonpartisan organization, the league has repeatedly spoken before the county legislature and to the temporary advisory redistricting commission for a fairer and more transparent process for redistricting than is currently being considered by this advisory commission.

The league believes first that the advisory commission should conduct hearings to receive input from residents about how the process should occur and suggestions on how district lines should be drawn. Then, after the commission creates proposed districts, there should be additional public hearings to discuss them. These hearings should be in all three towns and two cities in Nassau County and should occur at a variety of times (day and evening) and at multiple locations in order to accommodate as many people as possible. Equally important is that all meeting locations be handicapped-accessible.

Letter: CPR In Schools Bill Should Have Passed

It is difficult to express my disappointment that the Assembly did not pass our CPR in Schools bill (S2491/A3980) to ensure that all students learn CPR before graduating from high school. In August of 2006, my 14-year-old daughter, Leah, went into sudden cardiac arrest while trying out for the volleyball team at Bethpage High School. Thankfully, Leah’s life was saved by her coach. However, to think that her fellow teammates could have saved her life as well after a short CPR lesson is empowering.

I am truly thankful to my representative, Senator Kemp Hannon, for sponsoring and helping champion the passage of the CPR in Schools legislation in the Senate. He is well aware how important this bill is to saving lives.