Gun violence, wildfire smoke, Oyster Bay government, NYS Legislature, and LIV-PGA merger

Coddling criminals increases shootings

I can see the frustration in readers’ words [“Taking their shot at gun violence,” Letters, June 11]. I’m now a retired NYPD lieutenant, and I never witnessed a mass shooting in my 27 years in law enforcement. So to this point, I have no expertise.

I have witnessed shootings. Most, if not all, were committed by career criminals. Whether they were drug-related, during a course of a robbery, or involving anger toward the victim, there were usually two common denominators: The guns were stolen, and most of the criminals had no value for life — not even their own. Criminals do not register their weapons.

During the 1990s, when the police became more proactive, most criminals wouldn’t carry guns, fearing they would be caught by law enforcement. The district attorney’s office vigorously prosecuted these cases, and the courts handed down stiff prison sentences.

The past few years, this is no longer the case. The system coddles criminals, and shootings will increase to the detriment of the public. Far more people are victims of street crimes than mass shootings.

— Joe Alagna, Levittown

A reader suggests that a 1,000% tax on assault rifles would limit their purchases. The Second Amendment states that “. . . the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This tax would be an infringement. Clearly, something that can be legally owned can’t be taxed out of existence. Other laws might be more reasonable.

Also, the reader’s math is off. His tax suggestion could make the cost of a high-end AR-15-style rifle more than $20,000.

— Pete Scott, Centerport

How to keep bad air from coming back

Prevention through controlled burns is the best cure for wildfire smoke [“Alarming smoke, weak response,” Editorial, June 9]. This eliminates the fuels at ground level, will reduce the risk of crown (aerial) fires and therefore greatly reduce wildfires.

This practice has been established for decades, but is rarely used, thus increasing the risk of wildfires and unprecedented pollution in cities that are far away.

Let’s initiate more controlled burns, in our country and Canada. As a holder of a degree in renewable natural resources, I believe we will be happier and healthier, and so will the environment and wildlife.

— Peter Jablonski, Babylon

The unhealthy air that Long Islanders were breathing last week was not primarily a result of climate change. It resulted from the lack of proper forest management.

Piles of brush and debris built up over the decades, few dead trees were removed, and no fire breaks were set up, leading to an inferno.

My wife and I saw this firsthand in northern California, where then-Gov. Jerry Brown cut the forestry budget to where it hindered efforts. If you want to have clean air and prevent climate change, take care of the planet’s forests.

— John Romano, Baldwin

Transparency needed in Oyster Bay Town

I and others have been sharing our frustrations about Oyster Bay’s business-as-usual policy at town board meetings and with various media for years [“Oyster Bay way has got to go,” Editorial, June 8].

The call to investigate town Inspector General Brian Noone in seeking answers on how the Oyster Bay requests for proposals and bid processes truly operate is just a Band-Aid.

One area that requires a closer look is the process of labeling a bid for products or services as a capital or operating expense. Apparently, items considered capital expenses usually do not require oversight or approval by the board and as such never come up for public discussion.

With Oyster Bay’s procurement process outed, the town’s lack of openness and transparency needs to be exposed, although Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino has claimed otherwise.

— Arthur Adelman, Sea Cliff

State Legislature’s inaction a good thing

Your editorial “No way to run a legislature” [Opinion, June 11] has a secondary headline saying, “Lawmakers finish short session in rushed fashion with little to show.”

To the average resident and taxpayer, this is great news. I hope this means they didn’t further raise New York State’s taxes to drive more of us out of the state, and they didn’t issue any more “felons get out of jail free” cards. The less they do in Albany, the better.

— Arthur Mattson, Lynbrook

Mickelson, others should be ashamed

Shame on Phil Mickelson and the other golfers who are so happy with the merger of PGA and the Saudi-run LIV “PGA, LIV join forces,” Sports, June 7].

They worship at the altar of money, turning their backs on American families who lost loved ones on 9/11. Of the 19 hijackers, 15 were Saudis.

Mickelson himself reportedly received about $200 million in compensation from the Saudi government. What a disgrace. I hope no one shows up at their tournaments. Sadly, money overrules their ethics, honor and loyalty to the United States. I am disgusted with them.

— Rhonda Weintraub, Kings Park