Speed cameras near all schools
Greenburgh, N.Y.: Legislation being pushed by Mayor de Blasio in Albany would raise the number of speed cameras in school zones from 140 cameras to 750. A great idea. The bill, if approved would allow cameras to be installed up to a half mile away from school entrances. The current limit in New York City is a quarter-mile. The cameras would be operational every day 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. And the city would be required to install signs within 300 feet of a camera alerting drivers that the devices are in use. This could save lives. It’s a no brainer. Only one problem with the bill: It only applies to the city. Communities like Greenburgh can’t implement this safety initiative near crosswalks around schools. In recent months I have received many complaints about speeding near schools from parents and children who worry about safety when students cross the street. Why should the lives of children in the city be treated differently than the lives of children who cross the street in Westchester? Speed cameras should be authorized near schools throughout the state.
Roger and out
Hallandale Beach, Fla.: Roger Ailes founded Fox News Channel as a “fair and balanced” cable TV news network in October 1996. His network soon surpassed CNN as the most-watched cable TV news network. He was a brilliant broadcaster, playing a huge role in America’s media over the last 30 years. We will remember Ailes now and forever.
Paul Bacon
Fit and counterfeit
Cincinnati: Donald Trump may be unfit for the presidency but I bet he knows, as Barack Obama did not, that our fair land is composed of 50 states, not 57 as Obama said when campaigning in 2008. As far as narcissism is concerned, can anyone beat Obama’s statement that his election marks the time when “the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal?” Ignorance and narcissism are not color-coded.
Paul Bloustein
The clock is ticking
Edison, N.J.: Hey, Melania, better hold off on Barron’s application for St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland for the fall term. Your husband (hopefully) may be out of a job by then.
Carole Canace
He lost and so did we
Mechanicville, N.Y.: If Trump had lost the election, he would most likely have launched a reality TV show that would have undoubtedly attracted a record number of viewers. From an unconstrained and lucrative perch, he would have relentlessly attacked the President, the Democratic Party, and select Republicans alike. He would have continued to influence, if not dominate, public opinion while he twisted and manipulated the truth (fake news). Adoring crowds, a life he owns, with time for golf and women. It turns out, Trump is a loser after all. Shirley Smith
The law is the law, isn’t it?
Hillsdale, N.Y.: I fail to understand why illegal immigrants are not considered criminals. I am under the impression that a criminal is someone who breaks the law. If they entered the U.S. illegally, are they not breaking the law or is there no law upon entering the U.S. illegally? If such a law exists, then anyone entering the U.S. illegally is a criminal and anyone who aids a criminal is also a criminal. To go one step further, anyone who has a sworn duty to uphold the law must do so without interference, or the person interfering is also breaking the law. I am not a lawyer, so maybe that is the reason why I am confused about the subject of laws and the definition of a criminal.
Phil Antico
Without delay
Great Neck, L.I.: Please add points five and six to “Get on track, gov” (editorial, May 18). Point five: Gov. Cuomo should come up with the outstanding balance of $5.8 billion today he still owes toward the $8.3 billion shortfall he originally promised two years ago to fully fund the $29 billion 2015-2019 Metropolitan Transportation Authority fiveyear capital plan. Point six: Cuomo should restore $3 billion cut from the same original proposed $32 billion plan he referred to as bloated and unnecessary.
Larry Penner
Transit gets too many breaks
Westbrookville, N.Y.: I’m so tired of hearing the woes of mass transit costs for the people living in the city. Will advocates push legislation to lower insurance costs to cut back on low-income people being stopped for not having auto insurance they can’t afford? No, but they want to give discounted passes to avoid people being arrested for breaking the law jumping turnstiles. Where’s the funding coming from? I wish I could travel everywhere I needed to go for $120 or $200 a month. Tolls are raised, registration fees added, and there is a constant push to raise the gas tax, all so monthly and daily passes don’t go up! Try living out here and having to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars per month to be able to get to work, shopping, doctors, school. Insurance of more than $100 to $300 per month, car payments from $250 to $600 or more, gas $100 or more a week oil changes, tires, registration fees, inspection fees, maintenance and repairs. Never mind if a household has two working parents requiring two vehicles. I’d be ecstatic if I could get around for $400 a month. So I have no sympathy and am so tired of hearing the woes of only having to spend $120 a month or whatever a monthly pass costs.
Brian Wacha
Watch your step
Bronx: Is the pooper scooper law still in effect? Lately I see dog poop (at least I hope it’s dog poop) on every street/block/avenue! Pick up after your dogs, people! Patty Marsibilio
Fighting for kids’ rights
Glendale, Calif.: Thank you, Daily News, so much for keeping up the coverage of this very important bill to provide a legal recourse for people who were sexually abused as childen. I was born and raised in Queens. I remember as a kid what a hero Mario Cuomo was, because he had the guts to lead on important issues. His son, not much older than me, is a huge disappointment and a discredit to his name. He says there is “no public support” for this bill? Bull. He is afraid of the archdiocese. And he has no courage to lead. Legacy pols are too often effete. The Daily News, however, is leading on coverage for this bill with more guts than the other spineless rags. Keep up the good fight. And I am sure the archdiocese would never have offered settlements but for the courage of advocates, including your paper. Joseph Kennedy
Feed every kid
Manhattan: Re “All schoolkids entitled to lunch” (May 17): Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña has made clear that she denies the massive public support and evidence that universal free school lunch is necessary and must be implemented in all city public schools. The chancellor demonstrates an astounding disconnect from the experiences of students in the lunchroom by offering an agency memo to principals, requiring school workers to feed hungry children who don’t have lunch money, in place of developing sound public policy that would firmly establish a federally funded universal lunch program for all children. School workers have for decades tried their best to make sure that hungry kids eat, but most are too embarrassed to come forward for a free meal. This Band-Aid solution is meant to dismiss her critics, and does nothing to eliminate the lunch bills burdening working families who are struggling to make ends meet. Most importantly, pressuring staff to identify hungry students among their peers further reinforces income divisions, as well the “tale of two cities” the mayor is so fond of referencing in public speeches. Education equity must not be reduced to mandated charity — all public school students in every community throughout New York City must have full and equal access to the same resources, and that includes lunch. Liz Accles, executive director Community Food Advocates
Goldie is not golden
Cocoa Beach, Fla.: In her May 10 film review of “Snatched,” Amy Rowe laments that Goldie Hawn deserves better. No, she doesn’t. Hawn has never been a great actor. Amy Schumer is a lot funnier than most actors out there these days. Please tell me one movie that Hawn was actually funny in. Hawn has never made myself or my friends laugh as hard as Schumer makes us. Goldie Hawn is no great actress.
Christa Clark
Take a bow
Howell, N.J.: My wife and I thank you very much for the tickets to the Off-Broadway show “Church and State.” The seats were third row center. The production was excellent. The atmosphere was excellent. The actors were excellent. It was a good ending for the Mother’s Day weekend. Thank you again. James Dougherty