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U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota. Photo from LaLota’s website

Freshman U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) held the third telephone town hall event of his tenure Wednesday, July 26. 

During this event, he addressed the exorbitant utility costs shouldered by Suffolk County residents, opined on rising opioid overdose deaths in the county and around the nation, and condemned the federal government’s handling of immigration.

Utility rates

County residents, on average, pay $226 per month on electricity, 28% higher than the national average, according to EnergySage. Pressed by one caller about how he would help lower energy bills for 1st District residents, LaLota proposed an “all-of-the-above energy strategy.”

“There’s battery, there’s wind, there’s solar,” he said. “I think that we should explore it all, and we should take advantage of everything that is on the table.”

He tied energy development to national security. By promoting homegrown energy sources, LaLota maintained that utility costs would begin to decrease along with American dependence on foreign energy.

“I think that increasing American energy independence will not only increase the supply of energy, it will bring the prices down,” he said. “A correlated benefit of that is we have to buy less oil from Russia, from Venezuela and from the Middle East.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers petroleum “a significant source of emissions of methane” while “drilling for oil may disturb land and marine ecosystems.” Despite these environmental risks, LaLota expressed support for expanding domestic drilling.

“Forty-something billion barrels of proven oil reserves are underneath our feet,” he said. “We can get those resources out of the ground safely. It will help bring energy prices down, both at the pump and what it costs to heat your home.”

SALT deductions

The congressman said he and members of a bipartisan caucus are working to repeal the $10,000 cap on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions created under the 2017 Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“We used to be able to, as New Yorkers, deduct an unlimited amount from our federal taxes that we paid into our state and local taxes,” LaLota said. “Right now, it’s capped at $10,000.”

LaLota said he had prepared legislation to increase the maximum federal SALT deduction to $60,000 for individuals and $120,000 for families. He pledged to oppose any tax package proposed by the Republican majority in the U.S. House which does not include “a reasonable accommodation” on SALT.

“I’m going to say ‘No SALT, no deal for real,’” he added. “I’m in it until the end.”

Immigration

LaLota denounced President Joe Biden’s (D) handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and New York City’s “sanctuary city” designation.

He said he supported two recently passed resolutions barring public schools and colleges from housing migrants, legislation that comes on the heels of a proposal to house asylum seekers at Stony Brook University. [See story, “With Hochul’s asylum plans uncertain, policymakers weigh in as county issues emergency order,” June 1, TBR News Media website.]

“I don’t think that we ought to be mixing unvetted migrants with our school-aged children,” LaLota said.

He also suggested that migrants receive disproportionate government assistance to other vulnerable groups. 

“Right now, the homeless shelters in New York have more migrants in them than they have American citizens,” the congressman said. “Veterans, the mentally ill, drug addicts, they’re not getting the government resources they need because they’re being diverted to folks who are not in this country legally or are manipulating the asylum process.”

He added, “I think that needs to change.”

The congressman proposed reinstituting Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration policy allowing swift expulsion of asylum seekers over public health concerns.

“I support increasing funding for [U.S.] Customs and Border Protection, building more physical barriers, investing in technology and vehicles, and hiring more asylum judges,” he said, adding, “But what’s absent is we need leadership from the executive branch.”

Opioid epidemic

The most recent data from the New York State Department of Health indicate overdose deaths and those involving synthetic opioids had “significantly worsened” in Suffolk County between 2019 and 2020 — deaths in 2020 totaling 363, up 88 from the previous year.

Fentanyl “is coming in at ports of entry, it’s coming in between ports of entry,” the congressman said, advocating for beefier border security measures to reduce opioid deaths.

LaLota said the House-passed Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act would sanction Chinese companies “who are putting this poison into our system and killing our young folks,” adding, “We should exercise all other options on this.”

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Giancarlo Stanton. Photo from Facebook

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Bronx Bombers that day

The score stood five to zero, with one inning more to play

Then when Higgy died at first, Bader raised up hopes with a double,

Judge was up next, which could have caused some trouble.

With four hits against a Rays team with spring in their gate

Yankee fans were ready for yet another cruel twist of fate.

They thought, “If only Stanton could but get a whack at that-

We’d put up even money now, with Stanton at the bat.”

But Judge flew out to left and the game was almost done

some fans took to the exits, with few having much fun

So upon that stricken multitude a grim melancholy sat,

for there seemed but little chance of Stanton getting to the bat.

But Torres drove a double, to the wonderment of all

and Rizzo singled, creating a lift upon the pall.

And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what occurred,

there was Rizzo at first, with Torres standing on third.

DJ came up next and tapped a ball towards third base

he raced to first with a determined look upon his face.

The throw from Paredes was low, allowing Torres to score.

With Rizzo at third and DJ at second, the team wanted more.

Then from the few thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell:

it rumbled through the city, it rattled in the dell.

It pounded on the bleachers and recoiled upon the flat,

for Stanton, mighty Stanton, was advancing to the bat.

There was grit in Stanton’s manner as he stepped into his place;

there was pride in his huge bearing without a smile on his fierce face.

And when, responding to cheers, he ignored all the sound.

no stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Stanton who would pound.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he twitched in the batter’s box;

five thousand tongues applauded when he rattled in his socks.

Then when the new pitcher, whose name we won’t repeat

reared back for a pitch, he planted his foot, he dug in his cleat.

And now the leather covered sphere came hurtling through the air,

and that opener was a ball, which created a chance for prayer.

The next one was low, and Stanton took a hack

The only thing moving was that behemoth’s huge back.

The next one came in high and Stanton offered at the pitch

and yet again, he missed, causing angsty fans to twitch.

With but one more to go, the mighty Stanton stood ready

would he change the script, bringing dreams of confetti?

The pitch came down the middle, in Stanton’s favorite spot

he had his chance to tie this ugly game into a knot.

The pitch was 98 and as it bore down on the plate

Mighty Stanton took a swing, that would seal his team’s fate.

For on this night in the Bronx, as a wind blew threw the stands

Fans would not be cheering or clapping their defeated hands.

No, in a season filled with losses and offensive woes galore

the beloved home team would leave them wanting more.

And so, as the days blur one into another

die hards are left with a chance to mutter.

“Our team isn’t good, they don’t score to meet their needs

they turned a glorious Cole season into a footnote in the weeds.”

One day the Bombers will be back and get those needed hits

they will crush balls to corners; they will give pitchers fits.

But for now, my friends, as the team goes gently into good nights

we can picture better games from future boys in future fights.

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Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

Who could forget the frantic scene of Berliners tearing down the Wall? That one action marked the beginning of a changed world.

It was 1989 when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall came down. Officially the end of the government came on December 26, 1991, with the 15 consistent republics gaining their independence, but the disintegration had been apparent for some time. Berliners were able to tear down that Iron Curtain, symbol of East-West separation and the Cold War, because the Soviet soldiers simply walked away from their posts. 

Why did they walk away? 

They hadn’t been paid in many months due to acute economic problems, food shortages and widespread political upheaval in the Soviet Bloc and in East Berlin, the Communists’ foothold in Western Europe. Government and its systems were bankrupt.

Yes, the West had won the Cold War. But as its name indicated, it was not a military war. It was an economic war. In trying to globalize Communism, the Soviets had spent themselves into insolvency.

Once again, the West seems to be locked into a struggle with Russia, the successor government to the Soviet Union. This time there is a military, “hot” war, but the economic war remains. And the Economic War may ultimately dictate who wins. The western allies have been sending hundreds of billions of dollars in the form of armaments into the battlefront of Ukraine, and the Russians have been doing the same, not only militarily in the Ukrainian war front but also within their country. 

The internal toll was revealed in a front page article of The New York Times this past Tuesday. The domestic economic fallout of the Russian effort is enormous. There is a state-led spending boom that has propped up the Russian economy from the effects of far-reaching sanctions imposed by western countries. As a result, this economic boom has helped maintain popular support for President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian war effort. But Russian economists have warned of a threat to the country’s financial stability. Can their economic high be sustainable?

Russia’s expanding military production and the increased funding for Russia’s poor in the form of higher pensions, salaries and benefits like subsidized mortgages, particularly offered in marginal regions with the most military recruits, is fueling inflation. Lending by the government has stimulated the economy and kept down social unrest. Mortgages supplied by Russia’s top 20 banks rose 63 percent in the first half of this year, with one out of every two mortgages subsidized by the state. Soldiers’ salaries are much higher than average local earnings, and families of those who die get payments that can be greater than their annual earnings. And with 300,000 men called up to fight, worker shortages are extreme and salaries have risen, furthering inflation.

Even as Russia’s federal government has spent almost 50 percent more in the first half of this year than in the equivalent period in 2021,  the country’s energy revenues have fallen by half.  “Sanctions have forced Russia to sell its oil at a discount and European countries slashed purchases of Russian natural gas,” according to the NYT. And hundreds of thousands of predominately white collar workers have left the country in protest of the war or to avoid the draft, an additional loss to earnings.

So once again, money is pouring out, and not just from the Russians and their allies. We, too, are spending prodigious sums to maintain the war effort, and doing so in the aftermath of previous huge outlays to sustain Americans during the pandemic. Our economy seems strong, for the moment, even as our growing national debt seems to bother few officials. 

The war in Ukraine has become one of attrition, with Russia and its allies waiting out the American-led coalition in the belief that we are a short-term nation in our war endeavors and will withdraw sooner or later. While that may well be, whoever withdraws first may be the side in financial ruin.

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Photo from Wikimedia Commons
By Larry Penner

It is about 70 years since the TV dinner was supposedly invented by Gerry Thomas.

His employer, Swanson & Son, overestimated the demand for Thanksgiving turkey in 1953. They were stuck with 260 tons of frozen turkeys. The birds were stored for many weeks in 10 refrigerated train cars, which traveled back and forth on a train between Nebraska and the East Coast. The train had to be moving so the compressors, which supported the refrigerators preserving the turkeys, could keep working.

In the early 1950s, Thomas observed how airlines provided passengers with meals in aluminum serving trays. He modified this by adding separate sections for the main course, vegetables and potatoes. This resulted in the first Swanson TV dinner.

For only 89 cents, over 25 million were sold in 1954 — the first year of production. Many were consumed by customers watching television, which was also still a relatively new invention in the 1950s. Thomas was the marketing genius for Swanson & Son, who came up with the name TV dinner.

Growing up in the 1960s as a teenager, my dad was a teacher during the day and a high school librarian several nights per week. On those evenings, I would have to prepare dinner for my younger sister and me. When we were tired of the local options such as McDonald’s, Wetson’s, pizza or Chinese takeout, TV dinners were a quick solution.

Selections were provided by either Swanson’s, Banquet or Morton’s. They were the big three competitors during that era. The standard choices were chicken, turkey, roast beef or meatloaf, referred to as mystery meat. Cooking time was 30 minutes in the oven as microwaves hadn’t yet been invented.

A real treat in those days was the TV dinners that provided a fourth compartment containing a brownie for dessert. Sometimes two TV dinners were required to satisfy your appetite as the portions were never that big. Recycling was unheard of in those days as millions of aluminum TV dinner plates went straight into the garbage can. I can only imagine today how much space was taken up at the local community landfill site over the decades.

The selection of TV dinners at your local supermarket today is much different from those of past generations. Besides Swanson’s, Banquet and Morton’s, there are many more competitors, such as Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s, Boston Market, Marie Callender’s, Hungry-Man and others. Their various product lines offer far more variety and selections. Far healthier choices are available for today’s generation on the go.

Even during college and post-college bachelor days, TV dinners always found some space in the freezer compartment of my refrigerator.

Lucky for me, my wife Wendy is a great cook, and I’ve learned some skills in the kitchen myself since then.

Conversely, according to the Library of Congress, Betty Cronin, a bacteriologist who was also working for the Swanson brothers at that time, asserts that it was the brothers themselves, Gilbert and Clarke, who came up with the concept of the TV dinner.

However, the United States Postal Service should still consider issuing a stamp for Gerry Thomas and the TV dinner, still American as apple pie some 70 years later.

Larry Penner of Great Neck is a transportation analyst and former director for Federal Transit Administration Region 2.

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Photo from Wikimedia Commons
By Kerri Glynn

The culture is being fought not only in school libraries but also on the school stage.

Theater programs are the latest battleground, with a recent New York Times article decrying not only the ban on books and arguments about the way race and sexuality are taught but also the restrictions on what plays can be produced.

The most popular high school performance in America, “The Addams Family,” has been barred from many schools for its “dark themes.” Musical staples such as “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Grease” have also been challenged for showcasing “immoral behavior” like smoking, mooning and the possibility of pregnancy.

“Legally Blonde” is “too racy.” “James and the Giant Peach” calls for actors to play both male and female roles. A local production of “9 to 5” was almost shut down by a parental complaint that a dance was “too sexy.” 

Drag performances have recently been restricted in Tennessee, but I remember the Massapequa football team dressing up as cheerleaders with “balloon boobs” back in 1964. And in the 34 years I taught in Smithtown, every Halloween would bring athletes dressed as pregnant nuns and — you guessed it — cheerleaders.

Although “Romeo and Juliet” is a ninth-grade classic in schools across America, a recent production was considered too controversial and replaced by “SpongeBob The Musical.” I pity the student actors who lose the opportunity to be challenged by Shakespeare’s language and tragic themes and instead play cartoon characters. 

“The Crucible” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” have long been part of our school curricula. Now they also face cancellation — “The Crucible” for dealing with adultery and witchcraft, “Mockingbird” for its incest, rape and racism. Both plays were lauded in recent Broadway productions, but what is their future in America’s high school auditoriums?

Students deserve to read and experience challenging material, not just benign and family-friendly fun. A high school theater program should be an open and creative space where students can make friends, be accepted for who they are and have a platform to explore other points of view. My theater kids included AP and special ed students, closeted gays and star athletes.

“Drama teachers are on the firing line, and I marvel at their resilience and their commitment,” said Jeffrey Sanzel, the artistic director of Theatre Three in Port Jefferson. “The opportunities and guidance they provide are immeasurable. I cannot fathom how they face new challenges every time they want to put up a production,” he added. Sadly true. 

A drama teacher in Pennsylvania was fired for directing the Monty Python spoof “Spamalot” because the play contained “gay content.” Imagine the terrible message that sent to LGBTQ students.

I was a lucky one: A drama teacher with a four-year acting class and an administration that allowed me to choose my own shows: “A Chorus Line,” “Company,” and “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” We also performed assembly programs that included material about alcoholism, drug addiction, teen suicide, bulimia, domestic abuse, drunk driving, safe sex and AIDS.

We have to respect and honor the inner life of teenagers and give them a chance to try on other lives in the characters they play. Just this summer, a former student who graduated over 25 years ago posted this note on Facebook.

“My high school acting experience made a profound impact on my life. The only time I felt truly alive was on that stage. It was the escape I needed, and the places I explored showed me how much more to life there truly was. Forever grateful.”

Somewhere in America, the musical “Shakespeare in Love” was rejected by the school administration because the characters had to cross-dress — boys playing the roles of Juliet and the Nurse. Did they miss the authenticity? In Shakespeare’s time, all female roles were performed by men. I shudder to think what the world would have lost if he had lost this culture war, too.

Kerri Glynn is a retired English teacher who has lived in Setauket with her husband Tim for many years. Today she is a writer and tutor as well as the director of education for the Frank Melville Memorial Park.

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Pixabay photo

From wildfire smoke to heat waves, Long Island has experienced significant impacts of climate change this summer like many parts of this country and the rest of the world.

People tend to ignore the problem until it directly affects them. Signs of climate change have been evident on Long Island for generations, such as water quality issues, rising sea levels and erosion. Some have overlooked newspaper articles covering these issues, dismissed local environmental activists and prioritized other concerns like affordability, cultural debates and health care.

However, the undeniable reality of a changing environment can no longer be ignored. The memory of walking outside within the past two months, suffocating in residual smoke from Canadian wildfires, remains vivid for many. The relentlessness of this summer’s heat and the overall warming trend throughout the year are hard to ignore.

The issues we face are not just anecdotal. Moody’s ranked Long Island as the fourth worst area among major American population centers regarding chronic physical risks associated with climate change. The consequences are not only on human health but are costly economically. 

While our area boasts beauty and affluence, a significant portion of this prosperity comes from shoreline businesses and homeowners. With rising sea levels threatening these properties, the potential for immense property damage looms, leading some to consider leaving the island before catastrophe strikes. 

This departure would not only impact local businesses but also philanthropic efforts and community engagement. Furthermore, the loss of beaches, parks and recreational spaces would profoundly affect the essence of the North Shore.

It is now imperative for our community and elected leaders to take this problem seriously. We don’t envy those in positions of power. With climate change on the brink, the decisions they make will affect future generations irreversibly.

Experts at every level of government, from federal to the village, must work diligently to assess the specific risks of climate change in our area and develop effective solutions to mitigate its impact.

We encourage our U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) to advocate for federal funding to address environmental concerns in our district and to sponsor national legislation to combat climate change.

To protect the North Shore we cherish, we must invest in solutions like wind energy, the preservation of open spaces and beaches, safeguarding aquifers and water quality and monitoring toxic waste. 

Climate change does not offer an easy, one-size-fits-all solution. It requires extensive research and collective effort to both understand and address it. It falls on all of us to support experts in finding solutions, whether through financial support or spreading awareness.

Climate change is a scary prospect, especially when imagining how much Long Island could be affected according to expert projections. Change itself can be terrifying for the average person, making it tempting to push aside the problem. But avoiding the issue will only exacerbate the situation. Superficial solutions will not suffice in confronting the serious consequences of climate change.

This is not a political issue. It is a matter that impacts our community and economy — as well as the world at large. We urge everyone to treat climate change with deep respect and do their part in protecting the environment. Let’s unite in safeguarding the place we call home.

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Gilgo Beach sign. Photo by Hector Mosley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
By Carolyn Sackstein

The July 13 arrest of Rex Heuermann, of Massapequa Park, for the alleged murders of three women — Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Melissa Barthelemy — has people talking. As investigations ramp up, TBR News Media interviewed mainly visitors to downtown Port Jefferson on Saturday, July 22, asking them for reactions to Heuermann’s arrest, evidence against him and closure for the victims’ families. One is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

— Photos by Carolyn Sackstein

 

 

Wilber Argutea, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Argutea suggested parents must do a better job raising children, promoting positive activities such as school and sports. He said, “We need more people in the community raising kids [to do] good. Teaching good stuff in schools, sports, so people stay away from [doing] bad things.”

 

 

 

 

 

Maddy Trotta, Glen Cove

Trotta expressed her concern, “It is just ridiculous to me that people can get away by doing that for such a long time and not get caught right away. Now that they got caught, I think they will pay the price for all they have done and the damage they have caused.”

 

 

 

Sarah Hull, Port Jefferson, and Thomas Hull, Wilmington, Delaware

Sarah was breathing a little easier with the arrest. She had heard that Heuermann had visited Port Jefferson years ago, explaining, “I found out that he had dinner at the Steam Room, and I used to work there — luckily not in the same year.” 

Thomas also weighed in on the alleged crimes. “I live out of state right now, so I got the news [from] people all over Long Island who kept texting me, ‘Did you hear the Gilgo Beach killer got caught? They caught the Gilgo Beach killer!’ I was driving in, driving past Massapequa Park. I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s the exit.’”

 

 

Marinka Buckley, West Hartford, Connecticut

When asked about the recent arrest, Buckley responded, “It brings you back to when they first were talking about it. I was surprised to hear who they had arrested. It seems like he was a normal guy, I guess. It’s interesting.”

 

 

 

 

Naomi Ponce, Bridgeport, Connecticut

“I saw the news a few days ago,” said Ponce. “I was surprised after so many years that they were looking for this person. I was happy that the families finally have closure. It must be terrible.”

 

 

 

 

 

Janet Ficht, Long Island

When asked about the arrest, Ficht said, “It was scary and crazy, but I’m glad they got him. It is unbelievable the stuff they are finding, how far back it goes and how many states it goes over. It’s crazy.” 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew Kubelle, Suffolk County

When Kubelle was asked about the recent arrest and the evidence, he said, “It is great it finally happened, but obviously not how long it took. Closure for the families is great for them. I think it is a solid arrest. They have a lot of evidence, and he doesn’t have any clear alibis. And as more evidence comes up, he looks guilty. It’s about time we stopped this stuff.”

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Environmental advocates protest outside the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge on Tuesday, July 25. Photo by Raymond Janis

Cries for liberty and demands for clean water were heard outside the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge Tuesday, July 25.

For the second straight month, the Republican-led Suffolk County Legislature shot down a proposed 1/8 penny sales tax creating a local match program for state and federal subsidization for wastewater infrastructure. 

The 10-7 vote to recess was along party lines, effectively dooming the measure from reaching the November ballot.

According to environmentalists and county officials, individually operated cesspools have grown increasingly problematic, with leakage from septic tanks contributing to brown tides, rust tides, algal blooms and fish kills. 

Dave Calone, Democratic nominee for Suffolk County executive. Photo by Raymond Janis

In a rally, dozens of environmental advocates and community members joined Democratic candidates Tuesday morning, who collectively condemned the course taken by the majority.

“Today, the most fundamental need of water meets that most fundamental of American values — the right to vote,” said Dave Calone, Democratic nominee for Suffolk County executive. “The county Legislature needs to act. They need to give the people of Suffolk County the right to have a say about their own future.”

Joining Calone and others were several Democratic candidates running for county seats, including former New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright of Setauket and pediatrician Eve Meltzer-Krief of Centerport.

Englebright, a geologist by training who had previously served as chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Environmental Conservation, tied clean water initiatives to regional economic development. 

“Our two largest industries on Long Island are tourism and agriculture,” he said. “Both of them require clean water.”

He added that Long Island’s sole-source aquifer is continually “in motion,” with contaminated groundwater “changing the chemistry and ecology” of the county’s harbors and bays.

“Do you think the tourists who visit us, who put the money into our restaurants, hotels and motels, will want to come out here if there are dead fish and putrid algae masses in the harbors?” Englebright said.

Skyler Johnson, chair of Suffolk County Young Democrats. Photo by Raymond Janis

Meltzer-Krief maintained that the Legislature is depriving county residents of limited grant opportunities from the state and federal governments.

Skyler Johnson, chair of Suffolk County Young Democrats and former candidate for New York State Senate, referred to the Legislature’s posture as “willful apathy.”

“The Republican majority in the Legislature is throwing young people’s futures under the bus,” he said, adding, “We cannot afford to be using water that is polluted. It is not fair for our residents, our children or our future.”

Legislators quarrel

Inside the Legislature building, Republicans and Democrats went back and forth on the issue.

Majority leader Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) indicated that the “bill as it sits right now is not right.”

“We disagree on resolutions all the time,” he said. “Let’s get together and fix it, and we can.”

Eve Meltzer-Krief, candidate for Suffolk County Legislature. Photo by Raymond Janis

Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said the majority is passing up on “the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“If we keep waiting … the water will get worse,” she said. “It will cost us more to fix the water. People will be getting sick. We’ll be losing money on our economy.”

Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) suggested there are surpluses within the county budget better suited for reallocation for sewers. He said he objected to introducing new taxes with alternatives on the table.

“Stop taxing the people and run the government more efficiently,” he said.

Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) said she was saddened by the decision, suggesting that as the body delays funding “our water gets dirtier.”

“If we wait to get it just right, the money gets allocated elsewhere,” she said. “Why should we wait for clean water?”

A second measure that would consolidate the county’s 27 sewer districts was also tabled.

As the Legislature recesses, wastewater infrastructure will likely remain central as campaign season ramps up.

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Denying Suffolk voters input is undemocratic

Newsday, yet again, reports that our water quality in Suffolk is hitting an all-time low.

When many of us moved to Suffolk after the establishment of the Suffolk County Legislature in 1970 — to be more representative after 200 years of the Board of Supervisors — the Legislature took a lead in protecting our land and water.

We were proud of its ability to “work across the aisle” for the good of our county community. We were proud to have a government that put the well-being of people and our treasured island ahead of any hint of partisan politics. 

The case has been made over and over again that septic discharge is the culprit. Now there is a major proposed funding mechanism to make it all work — a sales tax increase of 0.125% to generate an estimated $3.1 billion through 2060 to expand sewers and offer grants to homeowners for new septic systems. It’s the culmination of a 10-year campaign and part of a referendum authorized by the state Legislature in April to be placed on the ballot as early as November. This mechanism is IR1573. 

The county Legislature’s decision to table IR1573 and remove it from Suffolk voter input is undemocratic and suggests their underlying distrust of voters to educate themselves when the referendum would be voted on in November. Objections to details of IR1573 should not be the issue now. 

Arguments that we have enough money to make a difference in water quality are beside the point. Work is already in progress — for 10 years — and there can always be more money allocated if we have fiscal windfall. We need to do much more, and only allowing voters to take personal responsibility and decide on the $0.125 increase to the sales tax is the first step. 

The science is clear, our economy is paying the price, our children’s health is at stake.

Last week, both the Republican and Democratic candidates for Suffolk County executive supported putting the referendum on the ballot. If they can agree, why can’t the Legislature? 

The League of Women Voters’ mission is making democracy work through informed and active participation in government. Let the voters decide, not individual politicians in an election year.

Lisa Scott, President 

League of Women Voters of Suffolk County

Republican majority is failing its homework

Ironically, in the very same week we learned that the water quality in Suffolk’s waterways is at an all-time low, the Republican-led county Legislature effectively turned down billions of dollars in time-sensitive state and federal grants that would have paid for the needed interventions to clean our waters. 

They blocked residents the opportunity to vote on a .125%  tax increase, essentially 12 cents per $100 that would have funded the expansion of sewer projects and updated septic systems leaking nitrogen into our waters, the culprit of our poor water quality. The tax funds collected were to be matched by New York State and would have allowed us to access the grant funds. These monies will not be waiting for Suffolk County in a lockbox until this can be revisited next year. The waters which deteriorate in quality with every passing day have also now become much more expensive for us to clean thanks to the actions of the legislature. 

In a recent letter [“Voters deserve legislators who do their homework,” July 20], Legislator Stephanie Bontempi [R-Centerport] asserted that the legislators are keeping the water quality referendum off the ballot this November because they want to “do their homework” before bringing the initiative to the people. Anyone with knowledge of the water quality project knows that this plan, which has wide bipartisan support, has been years in the making with ample opportunity to raise concerns, propose changes and “do their homework” rather than waiting until the 11th hour. It was in  fact the legislators’ responsibility to do their homework long before they claimed they needed time for further exploration. Interestingly, the Presiding Officer [Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst)] had given every indication that the Republican caucus would be supporting including the referendum on the ballot on Election Day.

Reversing course now with contrived concerns shows utter disregard for the bipartisan group of policymakers, scientists and legislators who have been dedicated to this work along with every credible environmentalist group who implored the legislature to move forward with the referendum. 

Either they did not do their due diligence when they should have or are concerned that having water quality on the ballot will risk bringing out voters who might not be voting for them. In any case, their decision has effectively lost the county a window of opportunity to affordably address one of the greatest environmental challenges faced by Suffolk County. They have failed “their homework” and have failed the people of Suffolk County.

Eve Meltzer-Krief

Centerport

Democratic candidate, Suffolk County Legislature LD18

Intervention on water quality is long overdue

Contrary to what County Legislator Stephanie Bontempi [R-Centerport] claims, the environmental record of the Republican majority does not “speak for itself.” [Letter, “Voters deserve legislators who do their homework,” TBR News Media editions, July 20.]

What does speak volumes is unanimously blocking voters from deciding for themselves in a general election whether the Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act, 10 years in the making, should be implemented. All Suffolk state legislators from both parties support it. Ditto Suffolk congressmen. And ditto both candidates for Suffolk County executive.

Legislator Bontempi refers to “a false sense of urgency.” Last summer and this summer, there have been record fish kills, algal blooms and other water quality impairments. According to the Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook University, “Excessive nitrogen coming from household sewage that seeps into groundwater and ultimately into bays, harbors and estuaries or, in some cases, is directly discharged into surface waters, is a root cause of these maladies.”

So, should we continue to allow this problem to fester as it has for decades. Or should we finally do something about it? What will it take to give Bontempi a true sense of urgency?

She promises that it’s the “intention” of the Republican majority to “ultimately” allow voters a referendum. Why should we believe this? Excuses for inaction are a dime a dozen. As they say, get it in writing.

In another letter about the same issue, Peter Akras complains about cost [“Proposed sales tax a blank check for developers”]. Implementing this plan would unlock state and federal matching funds. That’s free money for the benefit of Suffolk. He claims our water quality is as good as that of Nassau County. In fact, Suffolk County has more lakes with blue-green algal blooms than any of the 64 counties in New York state. Most water quality impairments in Long Island — brown tides, algal blooms, fish kills, hypoxias — are in Suffolk. 

He also asserts that if homeowners want to install advanced septic systems, the cost should be on them, not “on the public dime.” This is fundamentally wrongheaded. The benefit of installing these systems doesn’t go to the individual homeowner no more than does the benefit of lugging disposed toxic chemicals to a recycling center instead of simply dumping them in the garbage. The benefit goes to the public — to all of us — in the form of cleaning up the environment in which all of us live and finally doing something about the toxic algal blooms and hundreds of thousands of dead fish in our bays and estuaries.

David Friedman

St. James

Let voters decide

Thomas Paine said something like, “A body holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” The majority in the Suffolk County Legislature is blatantly exercising the evils of “legislature-ism,” stealing the residents’ ability to register their vote on their own drinking water and claiming to know more than the voters. 

The Republican majority in the Suffolk Legislature cannot be trusted. What choices will they deny next?

Joan Nickeson

Terryville

Legislature appropriately nixes sewer tax

Kudos for the Suffolk County Legislature for not enacting another tax — that always increases over time — for sewering the county by closing cesspools and septic tanks in homes and small buildings, while building and expanding sewer plants and laying the large and numerous pipes needed for connections. This is no small change as $2.1 billion is mentioned arising from this initial tax.

 Sewering is the landowners’ and developers’ dream. Lack of sewers prevents them from increasing building height, numbers and density, hence more rent, profits and value. If they could get the Legislature to have the public pay for sewering, they hit the lottery.

Regional sewer plants are concerning. Huntington has one as does Northport, for example. They discharge into the harbor and even with “upgrades,” high nitrogen and other components flow into the harbor and beaches. In stagnant conditions, the water is deoxygenated, fish die and green and brown tides of algae proliferate. Would you swim from a town beach in a harbor with a discharging sewer plant?

But are cesspools contaminating groundwater? They have been used since Roman times and work for single homes and structures. Waste goes into a perforated cement cylinder buried in soil and bacteria digest it. The effluent flows through the dozens of feet of sand and soil and is cleansed before entering the water table.

Sewering may be useful in coastal and near-coastal areas to prevent pollution. The rest of Long Island is doing fine with cesspools and septic tanks, and is quite happy that high-rise offices, housing, commercial structures and density are not blighting their communities.

Mark Sertoff

East Northport

Maryhaven is not just a facade

The July 13 article, “Port Jeff village board cans code changes for Maryhaven,” states that the proposed changes “were an effort by the previous administration to preserve the historic building.” That’s not entirely the case.

While the preservation of the building’s facade was touted as a concern, the proposed code change was, as former village attorney Brian Egan explained, a “proactive” step to clear the path for developers. And because that change in code, from Professional Office to Moderate-Density Residence, would have allowed developers to construct nearly 200 condos — a significant increase in density — it came under strong opposition from the public. 

Many residents urged the board of trustees to consider alternative uses for the property that would not only be in the best interests of the village as a whole, like moving our Fire Department and EMS there, but more in line with the legacy of a building once known as the Center of Hope.

We thank Mayor Lauren Sheprow and the current board of trustees for rejecting this code change and allowing us the opportunity to explore those other options. A building, which for generations was used to help those in need, should be repurposed for something greater than expensive condominiums that would only serve the few at the expense of the many.

Ana Hozyainova, President

Kathleen McLane, Outreach Officer

Port Jefferson Civic Association

Official newspaper of the Northport-East Northport school district

It is with great pleasure that I notify you that at the Annual Organization Meeting of the Board of Education of the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District, held on Thursday evening, July 13, The Times of Huntington-Northport was designated as the official newspaper for the district publications and legal notices for the 2023-24 school year.

We thank you for your support and extend our best wishes for the new school year.

Beth M. Nystrom

District Clerk

Official newspaper of the Village of Belle Terre

At the Organizational Meeting of the Board of Trustees held on July 18, The Port Times Record was designated as the official newspaper for the Village of Belle Terre for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.

Louise Smit

Deputy Village Clerk-Treasurer

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Taylor Dayne belts out a hit song at Funtastic 2023.
Neil Giraldo and Pat Benatar at Funtastic 2023.
Pat Benatar waves to a fan in the crowd during the Funtastic 2023 concert at Bald Hill on July 23.
Catherine Canadeo, Taylor Dayne, and LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo pose for photos at Funfest 2023.
The crowd enjoys Funtastic 2023 at Bald Hill on July 23.

On July 23, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame celebrated the power of music with “Funtastic 2023,” a benefit concert for the organization featuring Pat Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo with special guest Taylor Dayne at the Catholic Health Amphitheater at Bald Hill in Farmingville. The packed crowd enjoyed rock favorites including “Love Is A Battlefield, “Heartbreaker” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” from Benatar and “Tell It to My Heart,” “Love Will Lead You Back,” and “With Every Beat of My Heart”  from Dayne, both native Long Islanders.

Photos by Tara Mae and Dylan Ebrahimian

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