Letters to the Editor: Dumb driving
Southold
Dumb driving
I’ve seen more stupid and very dangerous driving stunts in the past three to four years than in the previous 50. More speeding through villages and on residential streets; recently, a truck flying 55 mph over the bridge on Bridge Lane in Cutchogue. “They take the concrete from their heads and put it on the gas pedal,” I heard as a kid. But it’s not just concrete, it’s anger, aggression and lots of other emotions on the gas pedal. Road rage.
And the tailgating? These aren’t racetracks, folks. They’re beautiful country roads. And out here, they all eventually lead to dead ends. You can back off to a safe distance and still do the same speed, and make life less nerve-wracking and dangerous for those around you.
Whenever I cross over Route 105 eastbound, I take a deep breath and a moment of gratitude that I get to enjoy all the peace and natural beauty our wonderful North Fork has to offer. So please slow down, even a little bit. Our lives will all be better for it … and a lot safer.
Rick Hall
Mattituck
A very good Samaritan
It had been such a hard week when the last straw of a flat tire sent my car wobbling to the Main Road shoulder Saturday morning, with cars speeding past and my husband working off-Island, unable to help.
It seemed like a scene from that old TV show “Touched by an Angel” when, out of nowhere, Ian Van Bourgondien knocked on my window and volunteered to change the flat. Unfortunately my hybrid had only a mini-compressor and repair kit that could never inflate a shredded tire.
Ian was patience personified — compassionate and understanding as my stress level maxed out. His reassurances calmed me down so that I could communicate with AAA. I’m sure he had obligations and responsibilities, but instead he took time, a long time, to wait with me until the tow had almost arrived.
If there is a NoFo Good Samaritan Award, Ian Van Bourgondien deserves the honor. My wish is that the goodness he generously extended to a stranger be returned to him and his family. I am ever appreciative of his selfless support. His sincere concern for the welfare of others is an inspiration to us all.
Catherine Harper
Southold
More Sherman, please
What a delight to read Joanne Sherman’s column last week in The Suffolk Times! I hope to see more of her work!
Susan Krupski Fisher
Southold
Deadly consequences
Over 100 people have died from the recent floods in Texas. In May of this year, it was reported in USA Today that more than 550 of the 4,800 National Weather Service employees were either dismissed, retired or accepted incentive offers to leave after the Trump administration ordered agencies to reduce staff and draft reorganization plans.
The reporting went on to quote former directors of NOAA, which oversees weather services, warned that the forecast offices will be so understaffed that there may be needless loss of life. Among other things, at the San Antonio weather forecasting office the position of Warning Coordination Meteorologist was vacant.
Not surprisingly, the Trump administration is insisting that the severe reductions in staff had not caused the deaths in Texas. Some Texas officials have suggested the National Weather Center forecast did not convey the storm’s threat.
The blame game is heating up as a political food fight. Yet, many people are dead and there is no escaping the understaffing levels of critical positions in weather forecasting.
Similar severe staffing reductions of critical positions abound throughout the federal government. What other disasters are lurking around the corner?
Dick Sheehan
New Suffolk
Medicaid and mandatory work
Recently, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said “there will be no amnesty” for undocumented agricultural workers. She said, “The mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way. As we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation, which again with 34 million people, able-bodied adults, on Medicaid, we should be able to do that fairly quickly”.
If I were running a farm, I am not sure how confident I would be about “able-bodied Medicaid recipients” fulfilling their now mandatory work requirement in my fields. In New York State, eligible Medicaid recipients include children under 19, pregnant women, adults under 65 with disabilities and adults 65 and older. Only 8% of Medicaid recipients between the ages of 19 and 65 who weren’t on Social Security Disability aren’t already working, and they are statistically likely to be older women who left the workforce to care for aging parents or children.
Donald Trump’s choice for agriculture secretary, Ms. Rollins is an attorney, former Cotton Bowl Classic Queen and the former CEO of a conservative think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, from 2003 through 2018. During her tenure at the foundation, it advocated ending agricultural subsidies for farmers and opposed ethanol requirements for fuels.
Barbara Schnitzler
Aquebogue
A suggestion
My wife and I are full time residents. We love living here since our move 11 years ago. We encourage and support everyone who provides the services, recreation, entertainment, businesses and information that are essential to a happy, cohesive, friendly, well informed population. That includes your paper, to which we subscribe (along with others). We enjoy reading every issue from cover to cover. My wife and I, as well as millions of Americans, happen to have a very different opinion and interpretation of facts — especially as regards politics and policy that you routinely prominently publish in bold, large type on a full opinion page.
There was an election and the mandate of the people regarding polices was clear. We all should respect that decision and support our president even if he is not someone’s choice. Distortion, hate and never ending “resistance” at all costs is corrosive and never good. Time moves fast; four years is not a long time.
You certainly have your First Amendment right to prominently publish your views and we respect that right, as well as your opinions. However, in the best interest of promoting fairness and providing a voice to equally valid alternative views that many of your loyal readers share, I strongly suggest you also solicit and regularly publish an alternate opinion article in an equally prominent location and bold, large type regarding any particular topic.
I believe it would add interest, fairness and increase your credibility, popularity and circulation. This alternative opinion should be equally prominent and not just included in a small easily missed section of your paper.
John Leppard
Calverton
Who’s paying for these tax cuts?
I got an email from my accountant sent to his clients highlighting all the savings for Long Islanders from Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” What he neglected to mention was how we are paying for all of these giveaways. The answer is that in exchange for tax breaks that benefit those who have enough income to enjoy them, we’re cutting health care for the poor, taking food support from the needy, forcing rural hospitals to close, eliminating foreign aid that keeps millions alive in Africa, undermining medical research into diseases that affect us all, impacting services in many government agencies like Social Security and Veterans Affairs, gutting support for clean energy, and promoting coal in this age of more intense natural disasters like the recent floods in Texas and increasing our national debt by trillions, which will lead to a weakening of the dollar, and passing on the cost of our tax sugar high to our children and grandchildren. So when Nick LaLota sends you a mailing (at your expense) touting the temporary reprieve from the SALT cap and his support of this debacle of an ugly bill, please call his office and ask him politely how he’s planning on paying for it.
Jerry Silverstein
