Stormwater drainage, executive pay, Oyster Bay fishing, student loans

Towns should deal with stormwater

Newsday’s editorial board warns of what future storms might be like and our ability to deal with these sudden rainstorms that overwhelm our stormwater handling systems [“Be nimble in storm response,” Editorial, Aug. 30].

A major problem results from Long Island’s political structure. Some stormwater handling systems are cared for by towns and some by incorporated villages. Babylon Town, for example, is responsible for creeks and drainage mostly in the town’s northern part, and the three incorporated villages are responsible for the downstream creeks going into the bay.

It costs a lot to maintain these systems, so the villages generally let the creeks fill up with silt, vegetation and trash. The villages also lack engineering capabilities frequently needed to maximize performance and secure state grant money.

A good first step in improving our resiliency would be for the state to make stormwater management systems the responsibility of the towns.

— Dunstan Bradley, Lindenhurst

LI’s top-paid execs? Give us more Musks

The article “What LI’s top-paid executives made” LI Business, Aug. 25] missed the real elephant in the room by focusing on Elon Musk as “the elephantine pay package in the room.” Yes, Musk makes a lot, but the companies he founded and runs produce stuff. SpaceX, The Boring Company (tunneling equipment and services), Neuralink (brain implant products to help many with disabilities), to name a few, and he was an early investor and product architect in Tesla.

And, yes, he makes much more money than his average employee, but without him, those employees would not be working at his companies because they wouldn’t exist.

As for Long Island’s top 10 executives, other than Beyond Air, they are either in realty, financial businesses, sales or distribution of others’ products. Shouldn’t that be the real elephant in the room?

Interestingly, the women executives highlighted, but not in the top 10 highest paid, all make things.

We should focus on celebrating people like Musk, who create innovative products in industries that employ hundreds of thousands of people and less on their becoming fabulously rich.

— Frank Sterber, Farmingdale

Oyster Bay harbors need moratorium

Friends of the Bay supports the Town of Oyster Bay’s proposed six-month shellfishing moratorium on formerly leased areas of Oyster Bay and Cold Spring harbors to study current conditions [“Opposition to shellfishing pause,” Our Towns, Aug. 14].

On Sept. 30, the town’s 30-year lease of 1,830 acres of underwater land to Frank M. Flower and Sons will expire. Shellfish populations there have declined drastically.

The town has taken several actions to address the bays’ long-term health. While the town also has conducted shellfish population surveys, it has not been for leased lands. The moratorium will provide time for studies while allowing independent baymen to continue harvesting in the areas outside the leased area where they currently work.

The town board, after its Aug. 13 hearing on the proposed moratorium, has been allowing the public to submit comments for 30 days. Those who also agree with this critical moratorium to ensure the health of the two harbors can reach out to the town.

— Eric Swenson, Oyster Bay

The writer is secretary of Friends of the Bay.

Get student loans only for education

One big point about student loans rarely discussed is that many students taking loans are not using all the money to pay for school [“The latest on student loan forgiveness,” News, Aug. 30]. Many take out more than is needed for their education, making the loan much greater, and leaving too much to pay off.

With a car loan, a bank or manufacturer finance group sends money directly to the car dealership covering only the car cost. The borrower pays back the bank or finance group. Student loans should be the same — money for only education paid directly to the colleges.

I saved through high school, my struggling middle-class parents also saved, and I attended a university, holding a part-time job, without any debt. I later saved again to get my master’s degree as a single mother, with no debt.

If someone truly needs an education loan, then the money should be spent only on education. These folks would be left with much less debt.

— Karen Ferguson, Glen Cove

If Congress is about forgiving loans, how about forgiving all the Small Business Administration loans that thousands of Long Islanders like myself needed after Superstorm Sandy?

I had four feet of salty water in my basement apartment, destroying almost everything I owned. I didn’t choose to be hit by Superstorm Sandy, and I’m still paying off my loan.

Those students chose to attend college. My wife had a student loan and worked extra hard to pay it off, by age 45.

— Terry Blackburn, Long Beach

CORRECTION: In 2004, Elon Musk was an early investor and board member of Tesla, but the company was founded in 2003 by Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard. Musk became CEO in 2008. An earlier version of the Frank Sterber letter was incorrect.