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Suffolk County Legislature neglecting wastewater infrastructure

The Suffolk County Legislature failed to take action on June 21 to protect our drinking water and ensure generations to come will have clean, clear water in which to swim. The Legislature recessed the Water Quality Restoration Act (IR 1573) that would have allowed county residents in November to decide whether to approve adding 1/8 of one cent to the sales tax. 

The money would be restricted to replacing cesspools and septic systems, and building and expanding sewers. The lack of effective wastewater infrastructure in Suffolk County is also an obstacle to economic growth and holds down property values in many downtown business districts.

To dispose of our wastewater, we rely on limited sewers and on 209,000 septic systems in environmentally sensitive areas, including near our shores, that are not designed to remove nitrogen. The nitrogen seeps through the soil and pollutes our bays and drinking water. We must fix the sewage problem to reduce the nitrogen in the water.

Some legislators have said they voted to recess the proposal because they believed that too little money would go toward sewers. To address that concern, Deputy Suffolk County Executive Peter Scully said at the hearing that “the combination of funds from the 1/8 cent sales tax and another fund, the Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund (ASRF), would provide $2.1 billion for sewer construction through 2060 so that the overall amount would be roughly divided in half between the sewers and septic systems.” 

Furthermore, the county’s Subwatersheds Wastewater Plan, which has been vetted for 10 years, makes clear that it is too expensive to connect everyone to sewers, and that we must recharge water back into our aquifers to maintain our supply of drinking water. Sewage plants discharge wastewater into the ocean. Legislative opponents offered no scientific evidence that the plan was deficient.

Now, unless the Legislature changes its mind very soon, residents face the probability of more years passing with little action and the loss of state funding while our waters remain impure. It took hard-fought state-enabling legislation to give Suffolk voters a chance to decide. The process was “brutal” and took two years of intensive effort, according to testimony by Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

Pure water to drink and swim in — isn’t that what we all want? Pass the resolution and let the voters decide. It is the democratic way.

Stephanie Quarles, Director, Chair of Issues & Advocacy

Frances Cerra Whittelsey, Director

League of Women Voters of Huntington

Demolishing Maryhaven would be obscene

There appears to be a lot of interest in the Maryhaven Center of Hope property.

There is a desperate need for persons on the autism spectrum. Their families, in many cases, can no longer care for them in a safe and appropriate way. Maryhaven served individuals with developmental disabilities. 

This facility is here — now. 

It would appear obscene in our present environment of climate challenges to destroy this property.

Eileen Wrenn

Port Jefferson Station

Lithium battery storage facility not welcome near Comsewogue schools

To the Brookhaven Town Board,

I just received notice of a planned lithium battery storage facility, in Coram, east of New York State Route 112, southeast of Sterling Woods condominium community, also in close proximity to several other private homes which are in the Comsewogue School District. The notice I received was written on March 6 of this year but not mailed until June 30.

In addition to several homes there are, in close proximity to this requested lithium battery storage facility, two automobile repair facilities, a firearms facility and a gas station, all with extremely volatile and explosive items stored on their properties. How is adding a large volume of even more dangerous lithium batteries to this mix good for the residents of this area?

It is my understanding this type of storage has been blocked in Yaphank, home of the Brookhaven landfill. If it is too dangerous for the town dump, why would it be safe in the Comsewogue School District?

I urge you to reject this application as unsafe, irresponsible, and in opposition to those who are trying to prevent this misuse of our communities such as what happened at the Lawrence Aviation Industries Superfund site.

Francis G. Gibbons Sr.

Terryville

Old, stale and yet I vote

Congratulations, Mayor Lauren Sheprow. In addition, thank you former Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden for your service and contributions.

I look forward to transparency and change that I know Mayor Sheprow will work on and succeed. What really concerns me and motivated me to write this letter is the disgusting way some villagers treat each other.

When I read some villagers are labeled as “old and stale,” I wondered in what world is “ageism” acceptable? I guess ignorance has no boundaries. Many people bring wisdom and experience to the table. We should remember what President Ronald Reagan [R] said about ageism: “I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” 

If that was not unusual, how about the suggestion anyone owning a four-bedroom colonial should move out and allow a young family to move in. If you are interested in the context of these comments and others, do a historical review of village-connected social media pages. Please respect each other. You are better than that.

While neither my husband nor I have ancestry that dates back to the Mayflower, we are 47-year residents and have worked hard to serve Port Jefferson. I served on the school board for six years and five as its president. Then went on to serve 11 years as a trustee on the LIPA Board doing my very best for Post Jefferson. We together kept booster clubs and sports programs alive during the Mount Sinai pullout and more. I love this village.

Suzette C. Smookler

Port Jefferson

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

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Charles F. Wurster. Photo by Malcolm J. Bowman
Prepared by Malcolm J. Bowman

Charles F. Wurster, professor emeritus of environmental science, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, last surviving founding trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund, died on July 6 at the age of 92.

Wurster came to prominence on the issue of the toxic effects of the persistent pesticide DDT on nontarget organisms. During the 1950s and 60s, DDT was used in the mosquito-infested swamps of Vietnam during the war, sprayed on farmer’s crops and impregnated in household fly traps.

A world-class birder, Wurster was concerned with the effects of DDT on birds, ranging from the colorful species of the tropics to the penguins of Antarctica. While a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College in the early 1960s, he gathered robins that had fallen from Dutch elm trees on the campus. In his biochemistry lab, he found their bodies riddled with DDT. The trees had been sprayed to kill the Dutch elm disease.

Of particular concern to Wurster was the concentration of DDT found in birds of prey, including pelicans and raptors, such as the osprey and bald eagle. DDT caused a thinning of eggshells, which led to a catastrophic decline in the osprey reproductive success rate to 2%. The bald eagle was heading toward extinction in the lower 48 states.

In the fall of 1965, Wurster began his academic career as an assistant professor of biological sciences at the newly opened Stony Brook University Marine Sciences Research Center. He gathered 11 colleagues from the university and Brookhaven National Laboratory. In October 1967, for the sum of $37, the group incorporated as a nongovernmental organization in New York State and called it EDF — the Environmental Defense Fund. 

Departing from other environmental organization’s approaches, the EDF used the law to ensure environmental justice. The EDF sought the court’s help in halting the application of toxic and lethal chemicals, with a focus on DDT.

After the EDF filed a petition in New York State Supreme Court in Riverhead to halt the spraying of DDT on South Shore wetlands by the Suffolk County Mosquito Commission, a judge in Suffolk County issued a temporary restraining order. Although EDF was later thrown out of court for lack of legal standing, the injunction held.

Under Wurster’s leadership, EDF set up its first headquarters in the attic of the Stony Brook Post Office. This was followed by moving to a 100-year-old farmhouse and barn on Old Town Road in Setauket.

Lacking funding, EDF nonetheless made a bold public step, taking out a half-page ad in The New York Times on March 29, 1970, picturing a lactating Stony Brook mother nursing her baby. Highlighting the concentration of DDT in humans, the text read “that if the mother’s milk was in any other container, it would be banned from crossing state lines!” Funds poured in.

In 1972, following six months of hearings, founding administrator William Ruckelshaus of the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT nationwide.  

EDF rapidly grew into a national organization. Its purview spread into new areas, including litigating against the U.S. Army’s Corps of Engineers dream of completing a cross-Florida sea level shipping canal (1969), removing lead from gasoline and paint (1970-1987) and eliminating polystyrene from fast-food packaging. 

Today EDF boasts 12 offices throughout the U.S. and in China, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Indonesia and Mexico and has three million members and an annual budget of about $300 million. It focuses on environmental justice, protecting oceans and fisheries, sustainable energy and climate change.

In 1995, at Charles Wurster’s retirement from Stony Brook University, Ruckelshaus traveled from Seattle at his own expense to address the campus celebration.

In 2009, Wurster was awarded an honorary degree from Stony Brook University for his seminal contributions to environmental science and advocacy.

Wurster’s enduring leadership and tenacity helped put SBU firmly on the world stage for environmental science, education and advocacy.

Wurster is survived by his two sons Steve and Erik, daughter Nina and his longtime partner Marie Gladwish.

 

Malcolm J. Bowman is a distinguished service professor emeritus of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. He joined the faculty in 1971 and closely followed the development of EDF for over 50 years, becoming a close associate and personal friend of Charles Wurster.

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The sand tiger shark, pictured above, is one of several shark species that inhabit the surrounding waters of Long Island. Photo by Christopher Mark from Wikimedia Commons

Last week’s Fourth of July celebrations brought fireworks, family gatherings, barbecues and interactions between people and sharks.

Independence Day has increased the number of brushes between these apex predators and humans over the last two years, particularly as people head to the beach in larger numbers around the holiday.

Christoper Paparo, Southampton Marine Science Center manager at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. File photo

Sharks go “wherever there’s salt water” and they often follow bunker fish, which can come closer to shore, said Christoper Paparo, Southampton Marine Science Center manager at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. People encounter sharks around Independence Day because “there are more people around state parks on the Fourth of July weekend.”

Despite potential hysteria and concern about the dangers posed by sharks, most of the encounters around Long Island are “minor” and “not life threatening,” Paparo added.

The waters in the area are a nursery for many species of fish, including sharks. Young sea turtles, dolphins and whales also live along the more protected shoreline.

In recent weeks, five people have reported shark bites along the South Shore. In one incident, a shark bit a 15-year-old boy on the heel and toes. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Also last week, a 15-year-old girl was injured with puncture wounds from an unknown source at Robert State Moses Park.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, at podium, urged residents to take protective measures to minimize the risk of shark encounters. Photo from Bellone’s Flickr page

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) recently announced that the county would step up its surveillance efforts, adding two high-tech drones at the ocean beaches.

“Shark bites and shark incidents are something that we’re going to have to be addressing on a more regular basis,” Bellone said at a press conference at Smith Point County Beach announcing the new measures. “It’s simply going to be a part of the routine of what we do out here every day in terms of the monitoring that our ocean lifeguards do.”

Surveillance teams go out on wave runners and paddle boards, while lifeguards also use binoculars to watch over swimming areas.

The county will train lifeguards as drone operators.

“This is not a simple thing,” Bellone said. “This is something that requires skill and expertise.”

As county beaches await the arrival of these new drones, the beaches have area fire and rescue available to respond to any needs.

“Our goal here is first and foremost to keep residents safe,” Bellone added, “and to provide a sense of reassurance and comfort, knowing that when you come to the beaches, we have every tool at our disposal ready to assist.”

New surveillance drones, pictured above, will help the county government monitor shark activity along its beaches. Photo from Steve Bellone’s Flickr page

Protective measures

Bellone urged the public to take measures to minimize the risk of shark encounters.

The county executive advised people not to swim at dawn or dusk when sharks might be feeding. He also cautioned against swimming toward schools of fish, which might attract sharks who can’t differentiate between a fish and a person swimming.

“Always swim in a lifeguard-protected area,” he added. “Don’t swim when lifeguards are not on duty.”

People who paddle board, kayak or surf should go out in groups.

The sharks in the area are a reflection of a healthy ecosystem, Paparo indicated.

“You need everything below [a shark] to support it,” he said. “If there are no fish or the water is polluted, you won’t see sharks.”

Sharks rely on other senses besides eyesight to find their prey. A swimmer in murky waters can send the same type of electromagnetic signal a shark picks up from a school of fish on the surface of the water.

The sharks “hone in” on the similar sounds, Paparo added.

Paparo also suggested people should avoid swimming near seals, which are prey for great white sharks. That’s not often a problem around Long Island as seals are more prevalent in Massachusetts.

Taking measures like avoiding swimming in murky waters will “increase the odds of not encountering them,” Paparo said.

A range of sharks swim around the waters of Long Island and can include sand tigers, dusky and sandbar sharks.

“We do have mako, blue, thresher, southern, black tip, spinner, scalloped hammerhead and smooth hammerhead,” Paparo said.

Paparo added that the numbers of bites this year — five so far — are still infrequent, especially compared with injuries people sustain in car accidents or other activities.

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An assistance dog leads a man who is blind. Photo from Wikimedia Commons
By Emma Gutmann

For 77 years, the Guide Dog Foundation, at 371 Jericho Turnpike in Smithtown, has used small classes, individualized instruction and generosity to turn the $50,000 expense of breeding, raising, training and placing an assistance dog into a purely joyful human right for those who are blind or experience low vision or other disabilities. 

At no cost to the individual, the GDF provides a welcoming, reputable community and matches each student with the perfect canine companion. Volunteering is the gear that keeps the operation going. 

In a phone interview, Puppy Program Manager Lorin Bruzzese said that while every helping hand is valuable, puppy raisers are the heart of the operation. Raisers are responsible for housing, training and caring for a foundation puppy from eight weeks to 16 months old. While the pups may be hard to let go, Bruzzese considered puppy raising a gratifying and enriching opportunity.

“You know you’re involved in a beautiful dog’s life and their upbringing, but it’s not really letting go,” Bruzzese said. “It’s gaining so much when you’re able to see how they impact somebody really special.”

Variations of the puppy raiser role include breeder caretakers, who care for adult breeder dogs in between sessions, and litter hosts, who take in a litter of future guide puppies and their mother for six weeks.

For shorter-term commitments, one might become a puppy camper, taking pups for two to three weeks at a time when extra help is needed. Similarly, temporary home volunteers open their fenced-in, dog-safe homes to a puppy or adult dog for an agreed-upon timeframe.

There are also plenty of opportunities for those allergic to dogs, partial to cats or otherwise unable to host. Non-canine-related volunteering on the Smithtown campus consists of serving meals to students or clerical work.

Young volunteers looking for community service might arrange a toy drive or puppy shower with the help of accessible resources like GDF’s Amazon Wish List. They can also distribute flyers looking for puppy raisers around their neighborhoods to assist with outreach.

The volunteer services team continues to invent new and modify existing roles to meet the foundation’s needs. The Taxi Team has been expanded as the organization searches for volunteers willing to travel long distances to transport dogs, clients and volunteers along the East Coast. With the vehicle and travel expenses provided, the Taxi Team is only asked to donate their time.

For the community’s continued efforts, the GDF hosted an appreciation event on Saturday, June 10. 

“At Volunteer Recognition Day, we provide interaction with our staff, different events and ways to make keepsakes,” Bruzzese said. “We have the acknowledgment of each person’s role. They add ribbons to their name tags with all of the different ways that they’ve been involved in supporting our program. We also held a graduation ceremony for some of our guide dog clients.”

In an email, Allison Storck, director of marketing and public relations at GDF, said people of any age or skill set could find a volunteer role that suits them.

“The first step is to apply online on our website,” Storck said. “There is a web page with all the current opportunities listed, and by clicking on a button for the volunteer position, it will bring you to the appropriate application.”

She added, “Every volunteer attends an Introduction to Volunteering class and then the appropriate training class for the position.”

Even a simple donation through the foundation’s website will help improve the lives of puppies and their companions. The Allen E. & Patricia M. Murray Foundation will match all gifts up to $34,000 made on July 13 for Giving Bark Thursday.

To begin your journey, visit www.guidedog.org.

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Pictured above, Comsewogue High School nominees Angelo Guzman and Alyssa Deacy are flanked by Butch Dellecave Foundation president Mark Dellecave, left, and executive director Guy Dellecave. Photo by Artist Lake Media

Comsewogue High School seniors Angelo Guzman and Alyssa Deacy were recently honored at the 23rd annual Butch Dellecave Awards held at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook.

Named in memory of the legendary educator, official and coach Gaetano “Butch” Dellecave, the award is the product of a 23-year partnership between local school districts in Suffolk County and the award organizers: the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc., the Butch Dellecave Foundation and Newsday.

Athletic directors from all 66 Suffolk County school districts were asked to nominate one male and one female from their high school senior class. Nominees must be students who are not only at the top of their athletic game, but also score high in classroom performance and in their commitment to local community service.

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Kornreich: 90% of customers ‘paying well more than double’ the rate for natural gas

Cartoon by Kyle Horne: @kylehorneart • kylehorneart.com

The Town of Brookhaven’s Community Choice Aggregation program has drawn opposition within the Town Board.

Brookhaven launched the CCA program in May, pitching the initiative as a way to stabilize energy rates on natural gas and help residents save money. 

Through a two-year partnership with Manhattan-based CCA administrator Good Energy, all natural gas customers were automatically opted into the CCA, receiving natural gas at the fixed rate of $0.695 per therm.  

The partnership allows residents to opt-out free of charge at any time, choosing the default energy supply from National Grid, which fluctuates monthly. This month, National Grid is offering natural gas at $0.278 per them, according to its website.

Now the promise of cheaper gas has met with scrutiny from Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook), who is urging customers to opt out of the program.

“The [National Grid] price has been going down every single month and, of course, the CCA rate continues to hold steady for two years,” Kornreich told TBR News Media. “You’re paying well more than double [the rate] at this point if you’re still opted in.”

National Grid’s “recent supply rates” have been $0.32 per therm or less since the CCA’s launch in May, according to a chart on the town’s website. Meanwhile, 90% of Brookhaven’s natural gas customers remain opted in, according to Doug Donaldson, media representative for Good Energy.

Despite the higher costs, Donaldson maintained that CCA offers a discount when assessed over a 12-month interval.

“The customer would have to study each month’s rate and know the billing cycle, and then change according to the rates to be able to get the lowest rates,” he said in a phone interview.

“But if they stick within the CCA program, they’ll know that over a 12-month period they’ll get a historically lower rate.”

The town’s CCA landing page — brookhavencommunityenergy.com — enables residents to opt in or out of the program. The page mentions “competitive pricing” as one of the program’s goals. 

“Brookhaven Community Energy aims to produce savings for customers compared to basic utility rates,” the webpage reads.

Kornreich indicates that his proposed rate-switching method — opting into the cheapest energy supplier for a given month — better accords with the program’s stated aims.

“I think the way to really create savings is to opt out of [the CCA] for now and to opt in when it makes sense to do so,” he said.

Donaldson noted that natural gas rates tend to be lower in the summer and higher in the winter. For this reason, he suggested there is a certain degree of accountability on ratepayers to monitor their energy bills and choose accordingly.

“The program offers a very easy way through the website to opt in or out,” he said. “It offers that flexibility, but it is on the customer to keep track of the rates.”

Asked whether he would advise customers to opt out during these summer months, during which the National Grid price is lower, Donaldson referred to the CCA as a “no worry” option for ratepayers.

“I sort of think it’s like a no-worry situation if you stay in it,” the Good Energy media representative said. “When the winter months come, you don’t have to worry whether you’ve switched over or about getting a super-large energy bill.”

“I think the convenience of it is worth the price difference, easily,” he added.

Given the gradual changes in National Grid’s supply rates month to month, Kornreich said customers would likely be switching just a few times a year.

“This is not something that you need to be opting in and out of every month,” the councilmember said. The price “doesn’t change that fast.”

While the National Grid rate remains lower than that of Good Energy, Deputy Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Manorville) concurred with Kornreich’s assessment of the situation.

“We encourage residents to check the price and opt in and out to their maximum benefit … to get the best rates that they can,” he said. “That’s the beauty of the program, that you can opt in and out. And I’m working with Jonathan to make sure that we get that message out.”

Kornreich stressed the matter of choice in consuming utility power, maintaining that residents must stay educated on the cost differences between National Grid and Good Energy and choose the lower rate.

“Ninety percent of people are currently paying more than they need to,” he said. “The question is: Do they not care and maybe have confidence that over the long run [CCA] will work for them? Or do they simply not know?”

He concluded, “I don’t know what that mix is, but we have to make sure that our consumers and residents are informed.”

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Photo by Capturing Life as it happens from Pixabay

In recent years, much has been said of the state of division in the United States. But as the nation celebrates its 247th birthday, Americans should remember the many struggles they have overcome.

After the fall of Fort Sumter in April 1861, President Abraham Lincoln believed the Confederate South would never peaceably re-enter the Union. The country was engaged in the defining conflict of its history and the deadliest war its citizens had ever fought. 

Yet Lincoln helped the nation carry on, ensuring that Americans would reunite under one flag. In a speech to Congress on July 4, 1861, he asserted the cause of the Union as that of the American Revolution. The Civil War, Lincoln affirmed, would prove to the world the viability of self-rule.

“It is now for [Americans] to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election can also suppress a rebellion,” Lincoln said, “that ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets, and that when ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided there can be no successful appeal back to bullets.”

And the nation endured.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson nervously watched as European powers marched toward World War I — the “powder keg” ignited after the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated. 

“Nobody outside of America believed when it was uttered that we could make good our independence,” Wilson told a beleaguered nation. “Now nobody anywhere would dare to doubt that we are independent and can maintain our independence.” 

After his re-election in 1916, Wilson declared war against Germany in April 1917 to make the “world safe for democracy.” As it had during the Civil War, the nation again endured.

In early July 1945, the United States was nearing the end of World War II. With Nazi Germany defeated, America was one month away from dropping the atomic bomb against the Japanese. On July 4 of that year, President Harry S. Truman tied the war effort to the cause of American freedom. 

“This year, the men and women of our armed forces, and many civilians as well, are celebrating the anniversary of American independence in other countries throughout the world,” he said. “Citizens of these other lands will understand what we celebrate and why, for freedom is dear to the hearts of all men everywhere.”

The war would end the following month, and the nation endured once more.

President John F. Kennedy presided over the federal government at a volatile moment. After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 and only months away from the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Kennedy reminded his fellow citizens of the cause of independence on July 4, 1962.

“For that Declaration unleashed not merely a revolution against the British, but a revolution in human affairs,” Kennedy noted. “Its authors were highly conscious of its worldwide implications.”

Despite the tumult of the 1960s, the nation still endured.

Near the end of the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan was determined to ensure American victory over the Soviet Union in this global conflict. With tensions mounting between these two superpowers, Reagan reminded citizens of the resolve of America’s founders.

“Their courage created a nation built on a universal claim to human dignity — on the proposition that every man, woman and child had a right to a future of freedom,” Reagan said in his July 4, 1986 speech, likening the cause of independence to the triumph over communism.

The U.S. won the Cold War, and the nation endured.

Today, as Americans enjoy outdoor barbecues and spend time with loved ones, they should remember that the legacy of independence still flourishes. In the face of brewing tensions abroad, Americans must remember that we have experienced such challenges before and will do so again.

And the nation will endure.

Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.

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Gordon Wood, professor emeritus of history at Brown University. Photo by Kenneth C. Zirke from Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the 247th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In the nearly two-and-a-half centuries since this formative moment in American history, much has changed, with an uncertainty of the country’s long-term future.

Gordon Wood, professor emeritus of history at Brown University and 1993 Pulitzer Prize recipient for his book, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” remains optimistic that America’s future is bright. 

In an exclusive phone interview, he detailed why the American Revolution is relevant today, dismissing apocalyptic predictions. 

Revolutionary relevance

Wood contends that despite prolonged separation from the American Revolution, this cause remains highly relevant today.

“It is the most important event in our history, bar none,” he said. “It not only legally created the United States, but it infused into our culture everything we believe.”

Wood maintains that America is “not a nation in the usual sense of the term.” By this, he means Americans are not bound by any common ancestry. Instead, the United States represents a particular set of ideas to which Americans subscribe.

“Someone once said that to be an American is not to be somebody but to believe in something,” Wood noted. “And what do we believe in? We believe in those things that came out of the Revolution: equality, liberty and so on.”

“There’s no other adhesive to hold us together, so I think we need to emphasize that,” he said.

American stability

Within contemporary national discourse, some have expressed fears that America is a declining democracy. Even the nonprofit think tank Freedom House, which measures the strength of democracy in countries around the world, has scored the United States incrementally lower in recent years.

Wood characterized some recent historical developments as “destabilizing,” though he maintained these concerns are often overblown.

“We’re still the greatest power the world has ever known,” the Brown professor emeritus said. “I think that we’re very stable, and I certainly think we’re at the height of our powers.”

Assessing the current geopolitical landscape, Wood acknowledged China is a rising global power. However, he maintained that America’s long-term outlook remains promising.

“I don’t see any evidence that China is going to replace us,” he said. “I think it would be unfortunate if we got into a war with China over this fear of being displaced, but it’s just not in the cards.”

He added that fears of American decline have been pervasive throughout the nation’s history, with concerns about China just the latest iteration of this long historical pattern.

“We have a lot of apocalyptic thinking that goes on, and that’s not new,” Wood said. “We’ve always done that. There are always people saying that we’re going to fall apart.”

Triumph of the future

Wood suggested Americans have an unusual relationship with their national history. “I don’t think we have ever been a historically minded people compared to other nations,” he said. “I think it was President James Polk [1845-49] who said the United States is the only country in the world that has its history in the future.”

Since the Revolution, Americans have always been a “future-oriented people,” according to Wood. Yet the ideas articulated by the Founding Fathers have been passed down to subsequent generations of Americans, and those values are still practiced today.

Americans “know about ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’ and ‘all men are created equal,’” Wood said. “Those are phrases that are very potent and available to most people, but I don’t think there’s much real interest in history as such among Americans.”

But, he added, “I’m not sure that that’s a bad thing. We’re future-oriented. We think the future is going to be better than the present.”

Wood concluded by saying that America’s faith in the future has long attracted new immigrants. Despite the numerous complications throughout its history, America still draws in people from all around the world. 

Wood indicated that this attraction demonstrates how the American Dream lives to this day.

“Immigrants still want to come here because they can get a better life here than they can where they came from,” he said. “It’s an optimistic view.”

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Thank you, TBR

After reading the story in the June 22 edition informing the community about the Guide Dog Foundation in Smithtown, I would like to share as a volunteer — both as a puppy raiser and presently breeder-caretaker — the joys and fulfillment over the years of seeing first-hand people helped by assistance and service dogs.

The Guide Dog Foundation truly helps people “live life without boundaries.” After seeing its flier stating so in a local supermarket, all staff members in various departments helped me through my different roles of training and preparing these special dogs in lives of service. As a volunteer, I have always been treated with courtesy and appreciation in visits, contacts and calls.

Thank you TBR News Media for publishing in detail the mission I am myself living each day, which is close to my heart.

Anna Fisco-Aubree

Ridge

Port Jeff needed change

One must sympathize with Mr. William Snaden’s “broken heart” considering his wife’s loss to Mayor Lauren Sheprow’s remarkable win through a write-in ballot [Letter, “My heart is breaking for Port Jeff,” The Port Times Record, June 29]. 

Mr. Snaden cannot bring himself to understand his wife’s loss in terms of her apparent efforts on behalf of the Village of Port Jefferson. What he fails to recognize is that the people of Port Jefferson needed a change from the same old approach to problems that were pursued by the Garant-Snaden administration. 

Let us face the future with fresh ideas and with the guidance of Mayor Lauren Sheprow. I anticipate that the Village of Port Jefferson will rally in supporting Lauren and her new administration.

Herb Herman

Port Jefferson

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

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Long-time communications professional to serve out remainder of Mayor Sheprow's unexpired trustee term

Village clerk Barbara Sakovich, right, swears newly-appointed trustee Drew Biondo into office on Tuesday, July 4. Photo by Julianne Mosher

In the first official action of the new administration, Mayor Lauren Sheprow appointed communications professional Drew Biondo to serve as village trustee.

Sheprow was elected trustee last year for a two-year term ending June 2024. Biondo will serve out the remainder of Sheprow’s unexpired term. This appointment is not subject to board approval under New York Village Law.

Biondo has served as director of communications at Suffolk County Community College since 2013. He is a former Long Island Power Authority trustee, serving in that role from 2018-23. He also worked as director of communications and press secretary for former New York State Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson).

“I’ve known and worked with Drew in a variety of capacities for more than 20 years,” Sheprow said in a press release July 3. “I know him to be very strategic and purposeful in his approach. His time spent on the LIPA board, in higher education, as well as in Senator LaValle’s [office] has prepared him well to be able to serve the residents of Port Jefferson as a trustee.”

In an exclusive interview, Biondo shared that he visited Village Hall on Monday, where he introduced himself to village staff. He expressed confidence in the administration in place.

“Just in my brief time at Village Hall this morning, I got to meet a few of the career professionals,” he said. “I think we’re in really good hands.”

In the leadup to accepting the appointment, Biondo said he and Sheprow began discussing “government processes,” which he noted will be a central policy focus in the coming term.

“As much as people complain that the government is slow and bureaucratic, those processes are a check and balance to make sure that everything is done properly, that i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed,” he said.

The newly appointed trustee indicated development and redevelopment projects are at the “top of mind for a lot of village residents.” He suggested parking and taxes would also represent priority areas for the reconfigured village board.

“Those are all things that I think all of the trustees will focus on,” he said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced new regulations targeting existing power plants [See story, “Powering down? New climate regulations may impact local power plants,” May 20, TBR News Media website]. 

With unsettled questions surrounding the tax-generating Port Jefferson Power Station, Biondo said he would aim to leverage his experience on the LIPA board to advance the cause of village residents.

“Yes, I will be using my five years of experience serving on the board of LIPA to help the village,” he said.

Speaking to his new constituency, Biondo said, “It’s not lost on me that I’m unelected.” Despite this, he stressed the need for the village to look ahead.

“There’s a time for politics, and there’s a time for governing,” he said. “Now is the time to govern.”

“Thank you to Mayor Sheprow,” he added. “I look forward to serving the village and its residents.”

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