Henican: In state budget mess, Albany plays park card

This was the week the state-budget mess hit home on Long Island.

Or hit park, to be more precise.

My eyes glaze over at the numbers, as I'm sure yours do. Just know this much: Gov. David A. Paterson and the legislative leaders knocked off for the Easter weekend without a 2010-11 budget in place. For now, they're throwing up their hands at how to fill a $9.2-billion money hole in a $135-billion spending plan.

The current Albany strategy is an odd one: Cut the stuff people will notice the most - and charge a whole lot more for whatever remains. But the logic does make some evil political sense: Maybe people won't squawk so loudly when more obscure cuts are substituted - or taxes shoot upward.

And there's no more beloved target than the parks.

Paterson's budget would close up to 91 parks across the state, including 10 on Long Island. And the others are getting fee hikes of up to 33 percent. That'll mean $10 parking at Jones Beach, up from $8, and admission to "flagship parks" $8, up from $6 or $7. The golfers are getting soaked too - $15 more per round at Bethpage Black, smaller hikes at Sunken Meadow and Hither Hills. And all those hikes will raise a grand total of $4 million.

This is totally unconscionable. Everyone in Albany knows it. At tough times like these, parks should be free - not higher priced.

And now the politicians are messing with the golfers and the beach people?

They're hoping you guys will be loud and angry. Then they can cut something else.

THAT OLD: This could make you feel old. "Senior citizens accused of Jell-O scam," Kansas City Star. "Elderly Couple Arrested For Replacing Jell-O Mix With Salt, Sand," Huffington Post. "Jell-O, no! LI geezer duo busted," NY Post. Alexander Clement is 68. His wife, Christine Clement, is 64.

ASKED AND UNANSWERED: This weather making you forget the floods already? . . . In hindsight, should "Bling Bandit" Kelly Kelson have worn all that flashy jewelry to New Hyde Park and Franklin Square bank heists? The tellers couldn't forget him. . . . The construction biz has been downright icy lately. But does the decision by Albany powerhouse CSArch to open an LI office (in Melville) hint of a coming thaw? Local firms aren't sure how welcoming or territorial to be. . . . Is it possible to write a whole column this weekend without a single mention of the iPad? Guess not, huh?

Ellis' Long Islander of the Week: Dr. Robert Melillo

The researcher and neurologist, who lives in Rockville Centre, is a pioneer of drug-free treatment for people with autism and co-founder of the Brain Balance Centers in Rockville Centre and Lake Success. And the science seems to be catching up with him. Never a big booster of the discredited blame-the-vaccines theory, Melillo is convinced of two things nonetheless: The autism numbers really are rising, and environment plays a big contributing role. Part of the problem? Parents compromising their children's immune systems with excessive efforts to avoid all dirt and germs. His parent-oriented book "Disconnected Kids" is getting big buzz in the autism world.

Link to art from his Web site:

http://www.brainbalancegablog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/drrobertmelillo-pic.jpg

http://www.brainbalancegablog.com/

Other shots available at google.news.

E-mail ellis@henican.com

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