Laurel
Caring communities
The plane crash in D.C. caused a decades-old family tragedy to surface; hearing about a search for bodies, frigid January water and families grieving.
For our family it was a tugboat accident. A search followed for the bodies of my father and my brother. The frigid water was the L.I. Sound. That said, the D.C. plane crash did not require a personal loss to feel deep pain for all affected.
That same week, hundreds of Southold Town residents attended a meeting about our town policies regarding undocumented immigrants. Many of us are concerned about families being separated, for one thing.
Supervisor Al Krupski called for a moment of silence for the victims of the D.C. plane crash, for their families, for the heroic first responders.
The person next to me came off as inconsiderate and small by using the start of the quietness for an outburst of something he wanted heard. How chaotic if we all did that. A reminder: We’ve got the King of Chaos in the White House again, who models behavior devoid of thoughtfulness.
Thank you, Supervisor Krupski, for setting a respectable tone. Police Chief Grattan, Superintendent Petretti, our Town Board members, you set a fine example of caring. No small matter.
Mary Ellen Tomaszewski
Southold
Zeldin’s for Long Island
While I don’t agree with Lee Zeldin’s politics, I believe he’s in the right job at the right time. He’s a Long Islander with lots of experience (just think of his work with Plum Island) who knows what the problems are and will be swift in addressing them in a timely manner. I don’t believe he’s a ‘yes’ man but will do what he thinks is best for our island during his watch.
Elaine Goldman
Southold
Bag the bags?
Re.“Town garbage fees to increase in March” (Jan. 23).
Why are we adding extra plastic to our environment? The use of the yellow bags adds to the plastic waste problem. Is it recyclable? The trash is most likely already in a bag and that goes into a bag — what sense does that make?
I love it that the town is encouraging people to recycle and compost. We pay a fee to use the Transfer Station. Can we have cars and trucks without the badges pay single use fees determined by weight? The scale is already in place. We dump the plastics and paper with no bags. Of course, this is a complicated issue and I very much appreciate the work that it takes to get anything done. Transparency about why we’re stuck with the yellow plastic bags might lead to finding a solution to not adding more plastic to our beautiful environment.
Information could help; give people the info to recycle better. The basics are listed at the Transfer Station but where on the town’s website is a list of exactly what to recycle? What kind of plastic is recyclable: Sandwich bags? Pizza boxes with pizza on them or dirty glass jars? Rubber? I’ve looked many times but have seen no instructions.
Cynthia Wells
Cutchogue
Future in doubt
Thomas Jefferson said: “To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”
Patrick Henry said: “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their leaders may be concealed from them.”
Two of our Founding Fathers seem to have foretold future paths of governmental corruption in their statements. If only we the people had heeded their wisdom.
Enter Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency. Under Elon Musk, in just one agency, those foretold paths have been revealed for all to see!
What troubles me most is the unreasonable opposition to the curtain being pulled back and to act in a manner the people expect. Our Congress should welcome an unbiased and unconventional audit.
Instead, we witness a herd of Democrat leaders trying to deter or even halt such an audit as unconstitutional.
Isn’t it within the authority of the executive branch to weed out, expose and correct corrupted practices within its branch of government? If it isn’t, as Democrat leaders are saying, then our American Experiment becomes dubious going forward.
Bob Bittner
Orient
They warned us
They warned us about what to expect in a second presidency for Donald Trump — seasoned public officials like John Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff during his first term, and former Rep. Liz Cheney, who once held the third -highest post in House Republican leadership.
Mr. Kelly, a retired four-star general, said last fall that his old boss “falls into the general definition of fascist” and had privately praised Hitler while in office. Ms. Cheney, said two years ago that America was “sleepwalking into dictatorship” if it re-elected Mr. Trump.
Their words ring all too true as the president brazenly flouts the law and treats the constitution with contempt. John Kelly and Liz Cheney knew their man. If only more people had paid attention.
John Henry
Southold
Close the border
Where does it say federal agents are going to go into schools, churches and hospitals to round up illegal immigrants?
Our borders have been inundated with people coming illegally with no clear process for vetting them. They have gone into communities and sometimes been given aid that should be given to the needy legals who live there. Some of them are dangerous individuals.
There is a way to come into this country — and it isn’t breaking down barriers or climbing over fences! We are not a sanctuary for every person who wants to come here because they think we will take care of them.
The system is broken and needs fixing. It is time Congress did their job to fix this problem. Let’s figure out a way to make those who have come here in the past and have been working to make a better life for themselves easier to become legal. But close the border!
Barbara Cuenin
Southold
Do you have buyer’s remorse?
Many of you voted for Donald Trump. In the weeks he’s been in office, he has taken actions that are widely unpopular — all acts that jeopardize the security of our nation and the privacy of its people.
Trump ran on his promise to reduce the cost of living for Americans, but his removal of caps on the cost of vital drugs like insulin, his threats of severely curtailing Medicare and Medicaid, threatening the FDIC and his imposition of and threats of tariffs targeting trade partners and allies will raise prices and hurt our economic well-being, including the loss of jobs.
These heavy-handed measures cause many to throw up their hands and ask, “What can be done? I didn’t vote for this!” Both houses of Congress, now with Republican majorities, have not stood up to him. This will change if enough people call their representatives and say: ‘You won’t get my vote if you don’t resist Trump’s complete consolidation of power to himself.”
It is particularly important for those who voted Republican to call Congressman Nick Lalota. People who have supported him will have even more influence when they call. They should also contact state and local party leaders. All should also urge friends and family members in districts and states represented by Republicans to call their representatives and urge them to do the right thing!
Philip Wasilausky
Orient
Tariffs = bullying
Did you know that the fentanyl leaving Canada for the U.S. is 0.2% of what is seized at the U.S. southern border (New York Times)?
So our groceries and gas prices go up, we risk shutting down auto assembly plants, we risk our national security, we break our long friendship with our border neighbor — all because of what? So America can look like a big, tough bully instead of the trusted leader of democratic order in the world?
These tariffs, not even aimed at solving the U.S. fentanyl problem, are illegally breaking trade agreements made by President Trump as “the best trade agreement ever” just a few years ago. I don’t want my country doing illegal things and bullying our neighbors and allies. Or bullying us! We are a democracy. Our voices matter. I’ve told my elected officials that I expect them to introduce a bill to nullify these tariffs.
Mary Morgan
Southold
Save USAID
The Trump-Musk administration has issued a “stop-work order” for the U.S. Agency for International Development, declaring that foreign aid is “not aligned with American interests and is in many ways antithetical to American values.” This is the opposite of the truth. Our values include educating people to contribute to society — dare I say most “efficiently” — and our interests are served by helping developing countries have healthy economies and people. We benefit greatly, too, by those countries’ recognition that it is the United States, not China, that best helps them achieve that economic and human health.
One summer during college, I worked for USAID processing applications from qualified young African agronomists to study state-of-the-art agricultural methods from top U.S. agriculture schools, so they could take that knowledge back to their countries. Through this and other such programs USAID — for a tiny fraction of our budget — we advance U.S. interests in critical parts of the world. When those countries and their people flourish, we flourish. I hope my Suffolk County neighbors will learn more about the reasons for and the results of the work USAID does, and will stand up for its continued existence and strength. Our country’s strength comes from building others up, not tearing them down or leaving them at the mercy of our competitors like China.
Patricia Lloyd
Southold
Lemmings abound
I’ve never felt quicksand, but today I feel this nation is slow walking in quicksand to the end of democracy. I don’t think I’m being a “drama llama” as I read how Musk is, with Republican disinterest, dismantling our government. I am watching our Republican legislators ignore the Constitution, give up their responsibilities and allow Musk free rein over our government.
The Republicans in Congress fit the definition of a lemming, which goes straight into a circumstance that is dangerous, stupid or destructive: These lemmings that eat up conspiracy theories are so blinded by lies, they don’t even see the cliff they’re about to plummet over.
Rosellen Storm
Peconic
Reduce N.Y. child poverty
This legislative year, New York State can make the morally right and economically wise decision to invest in its children, especially those ages 1 in 5 who live in poverty. New York state has one of the highest rates of income inequality and the highest rate of childhood poverty (18%) among the states. Syracuse has the highest city rate in the nation (46%), with Rochester (41%), Binghamton (42%), Troy (41%) and Buffalo (40%) close behind. Child poverty is no stranger on the North Fork either. We must do better for our children, our future.
The good news is, we can! We have the mandate, the methods, and the means to save and improve the lives of New York’s children. The 2021 Child Poverty Reduction Act, a near-unanimous bipartisan effort, mandates that New York state halve the rate of childhood poverty by the end of 2031. With the CPRA Advisory Council’s robust policy recommendations (state housing vouchers, Empire State Child Credit and cash assistance increases, and food assistance), we have the proven methods to reduce childhood poverty. The estimated cost of $9 billion per year comes in the context of the highest concentration of extreme wealth in the nation, and many of the most profitable corporations. New York state has the means, via modest tax increases on the wealthiest people and businesses, to fully fund this agenda. Our state legislature and Governor Hochul should adopt the Advisory Council’s recommendations and pay for them by taxing the state’s wealthiest people and corporations. I have written our East End representatives to this effect and encourage others to do the same. What is more important than the health and welfare of our children?
Michael Zweig