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File photo

Last week, a Shirley man was killed on the streets of Port Jefferson in broad daylight. 

He was gunned down at 3:35 p.m., outside the Dunkin’ Donuts that many of us frequent on our way to work.

It’s a tragedy. No one deserves to die.

But here’s where another problem lies: The impact of social media when it comes to an incident such as the one on that Wednesday. 

People began spreading rumors across Facebook, in private — and not so private — groups. They claimed there was an active shooter, a robbery gone wrong, a drive-by gunman attacking the innocent women and children enjoying the sunshine.

None of that was true. 

It was mind-boggling, seeing what people were posting online while an active investigation was going on. They blamed the local government, the Suffolk County Police Department, the school district, the media — one resident even posted that this event in our village was all the fault of President Joe Biden (D). 

Some residents began playing detective or journalist — they wanted to track down the guy who “soiled” our perfect little town. Some used it as a jumping pad for their own agendas.

Everyone made it about them. 

Even a comment such as, “That could have been me dead,” is false. This was a targeted attack between two men. 

We understand this was scary — we were frightened, too. But this was someone’s son, a brother, a friend. No matter what he got caught up in, someone lost their life the other day.

Stop meddling in what the police and local government are trained to do in these situations. 

On Facebook, people shared photos of David Bliss Jr. dying in the street. In one of the photos, you see him lying there, covered in blood while people hold up their phone cameras around him.

How would you feel? Your last visions of the world are of people leaning above you, filming your last breath. 

We are disappointed in the community. Instead of coming together, they are taking the event personally and spreading fear among others. 

Let the mayor do her job. Let the police do their job and let the media do their job. 

Things are kept private for a reason. Names and residencies are not released because an investigation is ongoing. Any leaked information can completely ruin a case. 

And that’s the worst part. People began believing false rumor-filled Facebook threads and posts. The rumors caused anxiety and instead of coming together, it pulled people even further apart. 

We found out the shooter was from Port Jefferson Station — not far from where he killed the 25-year-old man — and he was found within 72 hours thanks to the village cameras and hard work of law enforcement.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened on social media as we have seen it happen with other incidents across the Island, state, country and around the globe. And in those events, social media took over, too. 

Only newspapers and their digital media check all facts. Social media does not. 

It’s sad, it’s terrible, but it happened, and we need to grow from it. 

We can all do better.

Go to TBR News Media for accurate breaking news.

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Photo from Pexels

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

When I was in college, I learned an important lesson in class that had nothing to do with the subject I was studying. Many years ago, I attended an early morning anthropology lecture.

Pacing at the front and bottom of a semicircular stage, the professor shared details about the hungry ghost festival. In various parts of Asia and India, people practice a ritual in which they relieve the suffering of their deceased relatives by providing food. During this time, the professor said, people prepare meals and leave empty seats for ghosts, who ritualistically consume the food.

Seated next to a friend from our dorm, I was busily taking notes, not only because I wanted to do well on a future test, but because I also found the description fascinating.

That’s when the professor became distracted. Someone from the audio visual department was quietly packing up equipment at the back of the room.

“Excuse me,” the professor yelled to the man. “What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry,” the man said.

“Well, you should be,” the professor barked back.

The man continued to try to pack up the materials quietly. The noise, which I barely heard from a seat that was much closer to the back of the room, was still too much for my professor.

“You’re sorry, but you’re still disrupting my class!” he shouted.

“I’m packing up the material. I work for the university. One of the other classes needs it now,” the man replied. “I’ll keep it down.”

“No, this is ridiculous,” the professor said through gritted teeth. “I won’t tolerate this. You will leave.”

The man stood still, unsure of what to do. In that moment, I felt like I had a choice: I could either say something to support the man in the back of the room or walk out of the class. By doing and saying nothing, which is what I did, I felt like I was accepting the professor’s behavior.

When the man spent one more minute doing his work, the professor demanded to know where he worked so he could show up and bother him while he was trying to concentrate.

All these years later, I still think of that small moment. These types of incidents require a readiness to think, speak or act, especially to something that disturbs or distresses us. It’s akin to what coaches say all the time in sports: know what you’re going to do with the ball before it comes to you. If you have to think too much about your next move, it’s going to be too late.

A recent anti-Asian incident in New York City, in which security guards watched as a man knocked down and kicked a 65-year-old woman on her way to church, reminded me of the need to be prepared to do the right thing, even when someone wrongs someone else.

We are more likely to act when we are prepared to help, even if the moment creates discomfort for us.

Nowadays, we all have an opportunity to support each other, particularly amid anti-American attacks on members of the Asian American community. These cowardly verbal and physical assaults will become less prevalent if perpetrators know we’re all prepared to stand up for our friends and neighbors who have become the target for random anger during the pandemic. Asian Americans are not an enemy of the rest of us any more than our heart is the enemy of our body. We should stand with, and for, each other.

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President Kennedy greets Peace Corps volunteers in 1961. Wikipedia

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Here is an idea that you may find goofy. It has to do with the unaccompanied young people hoping to enter the United States at our southern border and our sperm count crisis.

I don’t know how many of you remember when President John F. Kennedy called to our young and proposed the Peace Corps initiative exactly 60 years ago. How we responded stands as one of our finer moments as a nation. 

In that program, those wanting to make a difference in the world could volunteer to work in other countries on health campaigns, encourage entrepreneurship or teach English to name a few possible jobs. 

Today, the opportunity still exists to serve in over 141 countries (as of 2018), and what was required then still is: resiliency and heart. Those who entered the two-year program had appropriate skills and found the experience gratifying, even life changing.

Now I propose turning the idea on its head. The unaccompanied minors gathered at the border, mostly 16-to-17-year-old males, probably have little in the way of skills except for two assets: youthful energy and desperation. These are both of powerful value.

The government could offer them the following path into the country: They would agree to be assigned to families in different cities and towns and to help those families as directed. This proposition might be of particular aid in agricultural settings but certainly not limited to those. They would not be paid but would enter into a work-study program in which they might gain education, room and board. They would provide much needed work to those who have lost immigrant helpers on farms, in hospitality jobs and childcare, for example, over the past few years due to limitations on foreign workers imposed by the government. 

In return for their efforts, these young people would earn, in due time, a path to citizenship, just as there once was an offer to foreign-born males during WWII to enter the army in return for naturalization. There is still such a pathway today which they could eventually opt for.

A reverse Peace Corps program would require a complex administration in which the families offering such a position would be carefully vetted, as would the young people entering the country. And monitoring within the country would of necessity be in-depth and ongoing. The young people would have to be protected from gangs seeking to force them into their ranks, as well as from exploitive families. Duties would have to be carefully laid out, with hours and goals met. 

It occurs to me that there have been such immigration programs in history, most recently the Kindertransport that brought some 10,000 children up to the age of 17, whose lives were in mortal danger from Nazi atrocities, to England between 1938-1939. After the war, several thousand remained in Britain, and as adults “made considerable contributions to Britain’s services, industries, commerce, education, science and the arts for the defense, welfare and development of their country of adoption.” [Wikipedia.]

Now back to our own situation. Not unrelated, there has been a serious drop in births in the United States over the past half century, in part due to economic circumstances and even to declining sperm count as a result of ongoing pollution. We have learned from previous recessions that for every one percent increase in unemployment, there is a reduction of one percent in the birthrate. 

The current pandemic is anticipated to bring a baby bust, not a baby boom. Even before COVID-19, underpopulation was expected by some researchers, as our falling birthrate was most recently below the 2.1 babies per woman (2019) required to sustain our population through birth alone.

We are, after all, a nation of immigrants, and those seeking to enter our country, by and large, bring the aforementioned energy and grit, determined to realize the “American Dream.” They are an easy way to solve the need for more people. The ultimate goal here is for any such policy to be done according to the law.

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By Harry To

After I started paying closer attention to politics, I’ve noticed a dichotomy in the way some Republicans treat Asian Americans.

I say Republicans, because most Democrats, as ineffectual as they may be in combating systemic racism, at least acknowledge that it exists.

This is in stark contrast to Republicans, who have referred to Asians in insulting ways to my face, and denied that they were racist, all in the same interaction.

On one hand, Asian Americans are placed on a pedestal, framed as the “model minority” of which other minorities (often implying Black people) should follow the lead. A group too white to be a minority, but too minority to be white.

Of course, this view disregards the fact that Asian Americans are the poorest group in New York City, and country-wide income averages are skewed by recent Asian immigrants.

On another, Asian Americans are the communist invaders bringing about “cultural Marxism,” while also being the perpetrators of COVID-19, or “China virus,” as former President Donald Trump (R) likes to call it. Meanwhile, conservatives will deny that the use of the term “China virus” has led to a rise in anti-Asian sentiment.

Asian Americans have even been used as pawns in promoting right-wing policies. When affirmative action was making rounds in the news, a prominent conservative lawyer, Edward Blum, did everything he could to dismantle it.

For Fisher II, a supreme court case that had the backing of prominent Republican politicians, Blum strategized that he specifically “needed Asian plaintiffs” to gain leverage in his attempts to dismantle affirmative action, a policy where 70% of Asian Americans are in favor.

Now, Asian hate crimes are up nearly 150%, and conservative media would rather scapegoat Black people while denying its role in perpetuating anti-Asian sentiment. Trump referred to COVDI-19 as the “China virus” on Fox News the same night eight people were murdered in Atlanta — six of whom were Asian women.

In many ways, this reminds me of how Muslims were treated in the aftermath of 9/11. Hate crimes spiked, and people who weren’t even Muslim were murdered in the name of patriotism.

At the same time, Muslims were gaslighted into believing that the hatred wasn’t against Muslims as a whole, but just terrorists. Now, the xenophobic rhetoric that conservative outlets adopted after the events of 9/11 has found a new target: Asian Americans.

The same cultural ignorance that led to everybody from the Middle East becoming demonized is the same cultural ignorance that’s leading to everybody from Asia becoming demonized.

A fear I have is that the pandemic will become a tipping point in the way Asians are perceived in this country. Like how anti-Muslim sentiment grew and persisted over the decades, becoming a talking point for Republican policies such as the Muslim travel ban or Trump’s attempt at a Muslim registry.

This rise in anti-Asian sentiment has affected the lives of many Asians around the world, including myself.

Many of my peers are scared to go outside in public, afraid that they may be harassed simply because they look different.

Some I know have started buying pepper spray, and fortified their businesses in fear of vandalism.

My parents even persuade me to take expensive Uber rides rather than take the subway because they’re afraid that I might become a statistic.

Most important to me, however, is that this past year has been a reminder that conservatives have been on the wrong side of almost every issue. Women’s rights, civil rights, and slavery.

Three turning points in American history where most of us look back and realize that they were good things, even if at the time the country didn’t realize it. But on every issue, conservatives have been on the wrong side.

Now, the largest civil rights movement in history, Black Lives Matter, is marching in the street to protest systemic injustices.

Recently, Asian Americans started marching in the street to condemn the rise in hate crimes.

But what have conservatives marched for? They marched for the anti-suffrage movement in an attempt to deny women equal rights. They marched for the anti-civil rights movement in an attempt to deny minorities equal rights. And they marched into the capital, in a delusional attempt to subvert the election.

If anything, this is just another example of why unity between marginalized groups is so important. Because in every instance, conservatives have attempted and failed to make our lives more difficult.

As individuals, we are weak, but as a collective, nobody can mess with us. We just have to remember that when one of us falls, that’s one less ally in the fight against hate.

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

— Martin Niemöller

Harry To is a journalism major at Stony Brook University 

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Photo from SBU (copyright ©2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.) by Drew Fellman

Stony Brook University Distinguished Professor Patricia Wright wants you to visit Madagascar, virtually for now and in person in the future. Wright, an award-winning scientist who has spent over 30 years studying the lemurs of the island nation of Madagascar, has been encouraging virtual ecotourism to the island nation, which has been struggling economically amid a pandemic that halted tourism. Wright recently raised money to support continuing operations for Centre ValBio, a research station she built in a national park she helped create. She has also helped secure money to create the nation’s first canopy walkway. The award-winning professor discussed COVID-19, conservation and science in Madagascar.

TBR: How has Covid affected Madagascar?

Wright: I flew back in January just after New Year’s. The Madagascar I saw was a lot different from New York. They have been able to stave off Covid by not allowing people into the country. It’s an island nation. There’s only one international airport. It was in some ways, a little bit better than in New York because there was less Covid. However, economically, it was a disaster because much of the gross national product for Madagascar is tourism and there has been absolutely no tourists there, and no researchers, either.

TBR: Has the government provided some support to bridge the gap?

Wright: It’s a real problem, because it’s the third poorest country in the world. The government doesn’t have a lot of funding. We’ve been asking for funding from the United Nations, from the World Health Organization, from the international agencies and they’ve been able to give some stop gap funding.

TBR: Does this crisis become worse with each passing week?

Wright: This is what I worry about because families were telling me when I was in Madagascar that they don’t have money to buy the seeds to plant their crops. That means that it’s not only right now that they don’t have enough money, but if they don’t plant the rice, they’re not going to have enough rice to eat. It’s reaching a crisis. Stony Brook has really pitched in … We have virtual wildlife tours, where people can go to Madagascar and our tourist guides will take you to Ranomafana. That’s adding income. People are taking their families to Madagascar by just doing zoom.

TBR: Does it look like tourists will return to Madagascar soon?

Wright: We’re hoping that that will occur in June or July of this year. That’s what the hope is, that this will start. The international airport right now is closed. That’s a good thing because that means that there’s not as much Covid coming in … When enough people get vaccinated, you’ll probably have to show your vaccination card if you want to get on a plane.

TBR: Are people booking trips?

Wright: I have a ticket to go at the end of May. Air France and Ethiopian Airlines are booking tickets for May, June and July. There’s hope.

TBR: You mentioned the virtual tours that people are taking. How many people are taking those tours?

Wright: A couple of hundred a week, and particularly because we’re also tapping into schools. A teacher can bring a class to Madagascar … Families can have a family reunion going to Madagascar all together. It’s interactive.

TBR: Are people seeing the same things they would see if they were on site?

Wright: They have some really great footage. They can get much closer to lemurs than if you were underneath them looking up in real life.

TBR: Do you hope people will follow up with an in person visit?

Wright: I’m hoping we’ll get a big increase in tourism once everything opens up

TBR: What about conservation?

Wright: It’s really difficult because people think that because the nation is shut down from the outside world, they can just go in and hunt. They can go back into protected areas because there’s not tourists there. There’s a real threat. We’ve been able to continue our programs in education and health and reforestation.

TBR: Are you concerned that some of these species might become extinct?

Wright: I really worry about that. There are some species of lemurs where there’s only 50 left. … We have 113 species of lemurs. They are in every part of Madagascar. It’s hard to protect them all, each one is so individually different. Lemurs have been evolving for 55 million, 60 million years. They’re only found on Madagascar. If we lose them, we really lose a part of our primate history that is very precious.

TBR: Is there any thought about capturing them and protecting them in an enclosed space?

Wright: We have thought about that. There has to be a long term program, though. If you bring that many animals into captivity, you have to be sure you have the funding to keep them fed and well protected. We have been thinking about that. We’ve been doing some translocations, where we take them from a place where they’re really threatened and they’re eating crops and farmers don’t like that. We take them out of that very dangerous situation and bring them into a protected area.

TBR: Are there funders that recognize this is a time where they can do the most good?

Wright: We do have some foundations that are stepping up, but we need more to step up … I just received a grant from the Leakey Foundation, which is out of San Francisco, and they just gave us money to keep the lights on for another three months. We are working hard to keep going.

TBR: How can people help?

Wright: I’ve already mentioned virtual tours [which cost about] $30 a person. For donating, we have a donation button at Centre ValBio. This is through Stony Brook and Stony Brook is very good about making sure the money goes straight to Centre ValBio, which is the name of the research station.

TBR: What about the science side?

Wright: I just got off a Zoom call with the sifaka guys … With the Covid year, we have a beautiful database, now we’re able to mine that, which consists of the plants and animals that are in Ranomafana. We’re making a relational database [that has over] 35 years of data that we’ve been taking from all over the region. It’s one of the few long term databases that there are in the tropics and we’re very proud of that.

TBR: Will the public be able to access some of that data?

Wright: Yes, we’re not at that point yet, but that what’s what we’re hoping for … We just heard news that we’re going to have a canopy walkway, which we have been wanting to put into Ranomafana National Park for over a decade and the funding has just been found. And so, we are going over to Ranomafana in May/ June with a designer to put in that canopy, so we’ll be ready for the tourists when they come, so they can go up in the canopy and see the lemurs eye to eye, to be able to see those chameleons and birds and everything in a new way.

TBR: Who provided the funding?

Wright: It’s called Mission Green and the organization is raising money just for canopy walkways, there will be 20 canopy walkways. This will be the only one in Madagascar.

TBR: As far as the sifaka call you mentioned earlier, is there any news?

Wright: So far, we know that all the babies from last year have survived. We’re kind of at that stage right now. That’s very exciting. The babies will be born in May and June.

TBR: What did you notice that was different in the Covid world of Madagascar?

Wright: When we went out there without being there for six months, because the national parks were closed. When we did get to go out there, I couldn’t believe it. They came down and were [practically] saying, ‘Where have you been?”

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) File photo by Sara Meghan Walsh

To hear that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has been accused of sexual harassment is distressing, but to read that many elected officials would like to see the governor resign or be impeached is just as disappointing.

While all of the women’s allegations should be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, Cuomo just like any other American deserves due process. Innocent until proven guilty is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. He deserves that process, too.

To ask the governor to resign or impeach him, would not only go against due process, but it would go against the wishes of the majority of New Yorkers who voted him in office.

We understand that Cuomo has exhibited behavior in the past that may seem aggressive or arrogant. The potential that he could have committed such acts is there, but until the alleged victims and witnesses are thoroughly questioned, a decision about his future as New York governor must be put on hold.

No matter what the outcome, this is a lesson for all. For men, it’s time to understand that women are their equals and must be treated as such. Women are not playthings or ornaments to be ogled or fondled at a man’s desire. Females just like males have talents and skills and contribute to society. Just like their male counterparts, they have the right to feel comfortable in their workplace and every space for that matter.

The 20th century is more than 20 years behind us. Women are more than wives and mothers, they are teachers, doctors, lawyers, legislators, journalists, scientists, CEOs and so much more. It is time to recognize and respect the strides women have taken throughout the decades by treating them with the respect they deserve. No person should ever feel uncomfortable in any circumstance, especially in a workplace, because they feel someone will touch them in inappropriate places or talk about uncomfortable topics.

But it still happens. No matter how many sexual harassment trainings there are, there is always someone somewhere who thinks it doesn’t apply to them.

And it doesn’t have to be someone inappropriately touching you or making you do something you don’t wish to do. It could be a remark, a comment, an email or a note. We’ve seen and heard it all. For years, women didn’t want to speak up. They felt like they couldn’t. Now, thanks to the #MeToo movement and other women sharing their stories, they are able to discuss what they’ve been through and people are now listening.

For women, this is a reminder to speak up when we see something inappropriate. If someone crosses the line, it’s OK to say, “No,” or “Stop.” Or, whatever you need to say or do to make the behavior stop. If it continues, have the strength to report the person to human resources and file a complaint. Even in social situations, it’s OK to tell family and friends you will no longer be at social gatherings if a certain person attends.

Of course, as human beings, we all have different boundaries and senses of humor, but if you laugh at a joke that you know women will find offensive, don’t hesitate to say, “I know I laughed, but others may find that inappropriate.”

Last but not least, we must educate our boys and girls. It’s important that they learn that everyone should be treated equally. We must always take their pains and discomforts seriously, ask the right questions to get to the heart of the matter. This way they can forge ahead in life knowing that if they feel boundaries have been crossed, they have the confidence to speak up.

Women and men have been at odds for too long. It’s time to unite. It starts today with respect for all and believing that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

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Photo from Pixabay

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

No matter how much uncertainty and anxiety clouds our lives, the passion that inspires us can  penetrate the haze.

My retired neighbors, whom I see regularly on our walks, have shared their lives with us over the last year, offering news updates about their two grown children as well as their pursuit of vaccinations. Amid all the other news, they shared a development in their backyard that has completely captivated their attention.

Andrea and Bob said they were doing their usual gardening, trimming their bushes and reseeding their lawn, when they noticed something new next to their grill. Two mallards had decided to nest in a nearby bush.

The presence of this nest has captivated them to such a degree that it’s clear that the first place they look when they return from their walks is in the direction of the nest. They are eager to see whether their visitors, whom they assure us will take about the same 28 days to hatch that it takes between each of the two Moderna vaccinations for COVID, have pushed their way out of their eggs.

Each day, the parent mallards swim in their pool, taking short breaks from their early parenting duties to wade back and forth in a water body that Andrea and Bob assure us won’t have any chemicals or even salt until later in the summer.

They seem so thrilled to host their new guests that the bird droppings or other germs that might clog their filter or encourage bacterial growth don’t seem to concern them.

Indeed, they are so focused on these duck eggs that they have told anyone who ventures in their backyard, including insect control experts, not to spray or go near the nest.

Just to make sure the nest remains undisturbed from human activities, they have also put sawhorses — the kinds of temporary fencing police use to control crowds and building managers use to keep people away from exclusive entrances and exits to buildings — on either side of the nest.

Once the ducks hatch, they plan to take pictures from their window or around their yard, sharing them with friends and family.

The excitement this nest has created not only speaks to the Groundhog Day nature of our lives, but also to the core passion some people feel for nature.

When the right kind of animals appear, and I suspect a young raccoon or a nest of vultures wouldn’t make the cut, people will go well out of their way to support those creatures and to encourage the safety of their young.

Perhaps the arrival of spring and the renewal and hope it brings offers a fitting backdrop for the affection and appreciation of this collection of eggs.

After all, this spring in particular is unlike any other, as people hope to get vaccinated, emerge from their versions of hibernations and plan, tentatively, for the next steps over the next few months and year.

We will hopefully see friends and family we haven’t seen in months or even a year and, in some cases, will also visit with extended friends and family fortunate enough to have added new life to their ranks as well. Despite the baby bust, two sisters in my wife’s extended family gave birth to baby girls within weeks of each other. They will have their own stories to tell, passed down to them from their parents and extended family, about the unusual and challenging environment into which they were born.

In the meantime, however, Andrea and Bob can plan for something in the next few weeks that is unexpected, unplanned and wonderful: the hatching of new ducklings.

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Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

For the first time in many months, I went out to a restaurant for a meal. It was breakfast and I was joined in this remarkable activity by a good friend who, like me, has had both vaccine shots plus the requisite 14-day period for the second one to take effect. There was no one else in the restaurant, although by the time we left, a couple of tables, in the distance, were occupied. It felt … familiar yet a little odd … to be sitting there, waiting to be served. We all wore masks, the waiter and the two of us, at least until the food arrived and we were about to eat. It was nice eating hot food instead of the cooled down takeout meals in the aluminum or Styrofoam containers we occasionally had brought home. 

The food tasted delicious, perhaps partly because I was savoring those first bites. And the pleasure of sharing the experience with someone across the table whom I had only spoken to on the phone during these many pandemic weeks was a delight. I could see her face, and not just her eyes and eyebrows. How lovely it all was. How normal!

In fact, according to a front page article in The New York Times this past Monday, we seniors who have been twice vaccinated have become the “life of the party.” We older folks, who got the shots ahead of everyone else, are “emerging this spring with the daffodils, tilting [our] faces to the sunlight outdoors. [We are] filling restaurants, hugging grandchildren and booking flights.”

The article goes on to declare an upside-down world of generational reversal in which the older folks are drinking the martinis and crowding around the bars instead of the more typical scene populated by the younger set. Two-thirds of Americans over 65 have started getting vaccinated and 38 percent have completed the process compared to 12 percent of the general population. Many older people are still maintaining cautious lives as mutations of the virus may pose unknown threats, and the unvaccinated are still at risk if those who have had the shots turn out to be inadvertent carriers. Of course, this is the demographic segment that also has suffered the most losses, as the senior, more medically vulnerable were the main cohort stricken by the deadly coronavirus.

Still, despite the greater risks, recent studies have shown that the older generation throughout this pandemic was less concerned with the threat of COVID-19 and was associated with better emotional well-being and more daily positive events. Under the constant stress, their coping skills were relatively strong, a benefit of aging, and they reported less stress.

As of Monday, 60 million Americans had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, more than 31 million are fully vaccinated, and more than 2 million people are being vaccinated every day. But we know that the pandemic is not over by any means, and the worst possibility at this point would be for us to suffer another surge the way European countries presently are.

It’s still hard to know what is safe. Despite the science, there are several unanswered questions. including how long vaccinated protection will last and whether the vaccines can continue to defend against the new, more contagious and more virulent variants. We can gather in private homes with small groups of likewise vaccinated without masks or distancing and even with single families whose members have not yet been inoculated but are at low risk for developing severe illness should they catch the virus. This best applies to grandparents who may now visit unvaccinated children and grandchildren without masks and social distancing.

In public places, however, those who have had their shots should still wear their masks, practice social distancing, avoid poorly ventilated spaces and frequently wash their hands. Long-distance travel is still discouraged.

We are so near and yet still so far.

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Activists attend a rally for police reform in Hauppauge March 15. File photo by Julianne Mosher

This week, dozens of groups across Long Island stood together, calling on lawmakers to adopt “The People’s Plan” for police reform, including one outside county offices in Hauppauge on March 15.

Created by community task force and advocacy groups, the plan is in response to a separate version Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) submitted to lawmakers last week. 

And it’s needed, especially since the plan has taken into consideration feedback from retired law enforcement, civil rights attorneys, advocates and activists.

Earlier this month, Bellone held an urgent press conference, alleging the assault from police on a man who stole a car and ran from the cops, in Port Jefferson Station — our backyard.

Of course, there are two sides to every story. 

The county’s current police reform proposal directs the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission to review complaints of police misconduct. That being said, the police department would still have the power to investigate and discipline their own.

The plan created by advocacy groups would create a community council to review and hold the police accountable for misconduct.

What’s wrong with that?

 By allowing the community to deliberate on what was wrong, it would alleviate some of the stresses that police officers constantly deal with. It might even prevent the “bad apples” from doing bad things. 

A year after Breonna Taylor’s death and nearing 365 days since the George Floyd killing, 2020 was a mess filled with protests, anger, fear and arguments. 

We’re three months into 2021. Let’s start anew, afresh and let open conversations prevent the beatings of innocent people, prevent unlawful deaths and make the communities we live in a better place for everyone — no matter their gender, race, income level or role in society. 

Transparency is a good thing in all walks of public life. 

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Photo from Pixabay

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

This month, we completed our first pandemic year. As we prepare for a hopeful future, please find below the words that reflected the realities of our past year.

— “We were behind the eight ball on testing for a while now,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) on a conference call with members of the National Association of Counties and the press, March 18, 2020.

– “These are not helpful hints. These are legal provisions. They will be enforced.” Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) on a conference call with reporters, describing his decision to shut down businesses not considered essential, March 20, 2020.

– “A lot of us are thinking about staff on the hospital side who are really being tested in an unprecedented way.” Cathrine Duffy, director of HealthierU, an employee wellness program at Stony Brook University, March 25, 2020.

— “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Joan Dickinson, community relations director at Stony Brook University, in response to the over 100 emails she received each night from people eager to donate to the university, March 27, 2020

— “For the N95 masks to come in without a charge helps all those local entities laying out a lot of cash at the moment.” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) in response to the announcement that President Donald Trump (R) would ship 200,000 masks to Suffolk County, April 6, 2020.

— “I never imagined being in the position of reporting the numbers on a daily basis of people who have died in our county from anything like this.” Bellone on his daily conference call with reporters, April 12, 2020.

— “We feel that science will solve this problem, and hopefully soon.” John Hill, director of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, who was part of a team coordinating Brookhaven National Laboratory’s COVID-19 research across all the Department of Energy labs, April 19, 2020.

— “We have a hard winter ahead of us.” Bettina Fries, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, regarding projected increases in viral cases, April 23, 2020.

— “I always felt an urgency about cancer, but this has an urgency on steroids.” Mikala Egeblad, associate professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in describing her efforts to apply her scientific expertise to COVID, April 26, 2020.

— “Coming to the hospital is still safer than going to the supermarket.” Todd Griffin, the president of Medical Staff and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, April 30, 2020.

— “We love you, but you can’t come anywhere near us.” Malcolm Bowman, distinguished service professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, recalls his extended family in New Zealand telling him and his wife Waveney as they left an old car with food at the airport so the couple could live in a camper in New Zealand , May 1, 2020.

— “At a certain point, it’s not just about the patient. It’s about the whole support system. You’re pulling not just for them, but for their whole family.” Amanda Groveman, Stony Brook quality management practitioner, describing the My Story effort to personalize patient stays at the hospital, May 7, 2020.

— “I always knew you were smart, but now I know you are brilliant.” Marna said to her daughter Tamara Rosen, who  defended her graduate thesis at Stony Brook University through a Zoom call, May 24, 2020.

— The death of Minnesota resident George Floyd at the hands of police officers was “an outrage” and was “unacceptable.” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart in a statement on a media call, May 30, 2020.

— Army veteran Gary Degrijze has “truly made a remarkable recovery.” Jerry Rubano, a doctor in Trauma/ Acute Care/ Surgical Critical Care in the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine, said after he spent seven weeks on a ventilator and twice lost his pulse , June 9, 2020.

— “You couldn’t have found a happier group of people.” Dr. Frank Darras, clinical professor of Urology and Clinical / Medical Director of the Renal Transplantation Program at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, about a transplant at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, June 12, 2020.

— “My whole career has brought me to be who I am in this moment.” Risco Mention-Lewis, deputy police commissioner, in the wake of protests over policing, July 3, 2020.

— “When you have untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders, the county will pay for that one way or the other.” Children’s Association Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Reynolds amid an increase in demand for mental health during the pandemic, July 31, 2020.

— “People sent really moving and emotional notes. We saw a lot of good in people” [during a difficult time.] Colby Rowe, Trauma Center Education & Prehospital outreach coordinator who helped coordinate donations to Stony Brook, Aug. 7, 2020.

— “Long Islanders deserve better.” Thomas Falcone, CEO of LIPA, in response to a letter from Senator James Gaughran (D-Northport) questioning LIPA’s oversight of PSEG after extensive power outages and communication failures following Tropical Storm Isaias, Aug. 28, 2020.

— “I tell my patients, I take their hands, I say, ‘Listen, I was in there, too. I know what you’re feeling. I know you’re scared. I know you’re feeling you can die.” Feliciano Lucuix, a patient care assistant at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, describing her hospitalization with COVID and then her return to her work in the same hospital, Dec. 14, 2020.

— “As hard and as difficult and sad and heart wrenching [as it was], so many other parts, you just saw such humanity. It was amazing.” Patricia Coffey, nurse manager at the Critical Care Unit at Huntington Hospital reflecting on the challenges and responses of the health care field amid the pandemic, Dec. 31, 2020.

— “When we reach our number, we make an announcement inside.” Michael Connell, who runs the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station, said about alerting people about crowds awaiting a chance to visit with family during a funeral service, Feb. 26, 2021.

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