Sound Shore

Good Tuesday morning. Here’s a look at opinion content published today in The Journal News:

East Ramapo schools: Editorial
We comment on news that East Ramapo School District board member Aron Weider faces a misdemeanor charge for allegedly violating state election law. “He is accused of blocking the entrance to the polls, photographing those who showed up to vote and otherwise intimidating residents from casting votes. Sgt. Brian Gorsky of Clarkstown police said two unknown men are believed to have assisted Wieder,” we write. The incident is a fresh outrage in a district plagued with problems. More from the editorial:

… The allegations are a new headache and fresh embarrassment in a district where tensions already run high. The East Ramapo school board has a demonstrated propensity for discouraging public engagement and for keeping taxpayers out of the loop on important decisions. The district’s controversial sale of the Hillcrest school (where the alleged voter intimidation took place) is under investigation by the state Education Department, and the federal Department of Education’s civil rights division is probing complaints about the district’s actions, including the funding of special education.

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Good Monday morning. Here’s a look at opinion content published over the weekend in The Journal News:

Saturday, May 21
Kendra’s Law: Commentary
Vanessa Bellucci, whose brother, Eric, is charged in their parents’ murder, argues that loopholes in Kendra’s Law would be closed by a bill currently making its way through the legislature.

American Cancer Society: Commentary
Lillian Jones, the American Cancer Society’s regional vice president for the Hudson Valley, replies to a May 14 Community View that was critical of ACS programming changes.

Sunday, May 22
Property-tax cap: Editorial
We encourage Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature to continue to pursue a so-called hard 2-percent property tax cap. Some have proposed exemptions that we conclude mask “the true cost pressures vexing budgets and taxpayers and creates a mere fiction of frugality.” We write:

… The Republican-controlled Senate has already approved the no-exceptions tax cap proposed by the governor, who has been on a statewide tour to promote it and other legislative priorities.

That resolve showed signs of cracking last week, in the face of continued opposition in the Democratic-controlled Assembly, where the tax cap has stalled.

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Good Friday afternoon. Here’s a glance at opinion content published today in The Journal News:

Honoring heroic officers: Editorial
We salute the police officers honored at Thursday’s Westchester County Law Enforcement Memorial Day Service & Awards Ceremony. In particular, we applaud the fortitude of Luigi Osso Jr., the Irvington police officer who was seriously injured in April 2010 when a teen car thief plowed into his police cruiser at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street. We write:

For a while, it didn’t look as if Osso, then 31, would survive; he suffered severe head trauma, a shattered pelvis, broken bones — he was in a coma for days. “It was touch and go for a while,” his wife, Maria Osso, wrote in a letter to the editor last June.

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The Editorial Board will host two Editorial Spotlights this week:

• Proponents of marriage equality promise a full-court press in 2011 to make same-sex marriage legal in New York. An interview on the battle is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday.

• Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, defeated a two-term incumbent in November, helping the GOP to gain a majority in the House. She has been in the thick of the chamber’s party battles. Hayworth discusses the issues at 1 p.m. Wednesda.

To watch the Editorial Spotlight interviews, go to www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; to ask a question or comment, engage the “CoverItLive” blogging feature on the screen.

New York doesn’t permit same-sex marriages, but it does recognize the unions of gay couples married elsewhere. A New York appeals court ruled Thursday that the survivor of a same-sex couple married in Canada can inherit as a spouse, in a decision gay-rights group called the first appellate decision of its kind in New York. Do you think that gay marriage should be legal in New York? Share your view in our poll:

Received this via email:

“The Westchester faith community will host a rally in response to the recent defeat of the marriage equality initiative and in support of the rights of all people to marry.

Many religious institutions and clergy in Westchester perform weddings for their same-sex members, but these couples aren’t recognized as being married under state law and they are denied very basic human and financial rights.

Organized by the Kulanu (“All of Us”) Committee of Temple Israel of New Rochelle, this rally will educate the community about one of the most
important civil rights issues in today’s society. The committee supports and advocates for all LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) individuals, families and friends.

The rally will be held rain or shine on the temple grounds, 1000 Pinebrook Blvd., New Rochelle, from noon to 3 p.m. June 13. Speakers will share
inspirational stories and provide information about how you can get involved. There will be music and food as well. Contact 914-552-1566 or kulanu@tinr.org for more information.

Submitted on behalf of the Temple Israel New Rochelle Kulanu Committee.”