SOUTHOLD
Our community
Words cannot fully convey the gratitude I feel — we feel as a community — to all those who led, inspired and coordinated two recent events in our town that brought us together in aspiration and celebration of unity, uplift and hope. The Southold Women’s Rally held in Greenport Jan. 11 and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance held in Peconic Jan. 19 affirmed the heart of Southold. Our local town representatives’ and spiritual leaders’ attendance and support affirmed our community’s strength of spirit and character. Thank you also to our local police officers, who were present at both events providing assurance that neighbors gathering together can do so in safety and peace.
Elizabeth Brittman
JAMESPORT
Unanswered questions
The supervisor and the rubberstamp Town Board recently voted to override long established residential zoning with a special exemption allowing a cell tower in Wading River (“Wading River residents sue town over cell tower,” Jan 16). This cell tower is a 213-foot, 21-story-high monster topped by a powerful red blinking beacon light, smack in the middle of an established residential neighborhood and 50 feet from the nearest home. Yes, you read that right: 50 feet. Now the residents have to spend their hard-earned money to sue their own town for (among other things) circumventing the Zoning Board of Appeals jurisdiction, where this properly belonged.
There are so many unanswered questions, as usual, with anything this administration does, such as: Was the size and scope necessary for the size of the reception dead zone? Were all other feasible locations carefully reviewed and considered? Was the lease revenue for the fire department a factor in the location on their property? Is the size of the tower necessary to accommodate the two private cellphone providers that will also use it? Why use the special exemption? Was it because, with proper scrutiny, it would not have been approved?
No one wants vital emergency communication compromised, but town leaders are supposed to look out for their residents. I would like to think the town exhausted all other options to protect the people they were elected to serve — but with this administration’s track record of arrogance, I can’t.
Scott Gillespie
ORIENT
We sailed through troubled waters
As a sailor, I liken the past four years to sailing through troubled waters with a smart, steady, caring helmsman. President Biden has navigated us into the safe, clear waters of a strong economy after COVID. The labor market is near maximum employment and adding jobs, and inflation is trending down (Reuters). Biden is handing over a 2,3,4 economy: inflation 2.2%; GDP growth 3%; unemployment 4%. Other countries are envious.
Some grocery prices are dipping for the first time since 2020, reports CBS News. Gas prices are declining, with predictions of going below $3 a gallon nationally. The Biden big deal manufacturing boom is booming – the U.S. Census Bureau shows a record-breaking 5,481,437 new businesses starting.
Many of us want more access to wind and solar energy — a renewable resource that can replace dirty climate-heating fossil fuels. I applaud Biden’s approach of using public investment to jump start the U.S. to be competitive in key clean industries like EV batteries and semiconductors. This has attracted private sector investment to the tune of $1 trillion. Wow.
All done in a bipartisan way. Biden had the mastery to collaborate with Congress on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act that is now reaping a return on investment – for us all. Further, Biden has lowered the deficit by $1 trillion due to our strong economic recovery, and another $1 trillion in savings over the next decade by empowering Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and cap insulin at $35 a month.
We all benefit from the stable and consistent course and reliable leadership during challenging times. Thank you, President Biden.
Mary Morgan
GREENPORT
A test of our will
These are trying times, as we stand on the precipice between Martin Luther King Jr. and Trump, Monday was a day of reckoning, a true test of our will to remain part of this misguided republic faltering under the hands of oligarchs across the globe. In a country that values wealth and power over democracy, the disparity is both the mechanism and the tipping point that brought us to this precipice. As we stand on ground that crumbles beneath our feet and look at the decaying artifice that propped up our closely held beliefs, we can? either step back and abandon our rights and independence or step out and trust in the winds of change while resistance keeps aloft.
Prayer has always been foreign to me, but over the years, I cultivated a desire to mine the depths of spirit and emotional heredity. These lifted me up by stimulating curiosity and connecting me to the great diversity of humankind. Today, I wish for a kind of religious fealty. One that relieves the pain of defeat and helps us navigate the currents of subterfuge and supremacy with hope. Hope is a feeling and not an instrument of change. While it can’t keep the vulnerable alive or instill compassion in those who exercise cruelty as the lever of power for autocratic rule, hope is an energetic force necessary for survival.
All of which leads to one question: Are we capable of transcending mere subsistence during these trying times to break the cold anesthetic of material existence and spread the enduring warmth of empathy and personal connection that defines our place in the world?
Melanie Mitzner