LETTERS: Expand pre-K now, reap benefits later, and more

Expand pre-K now, reap benefits later

Kudos to Congress for its support of federal funding to preserve teacher jobs .

Now is also the time to support the expansion of pre-kindergarten classes through a funding stream for high-quality pre-K in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that's flexible enough to respond to local needs for children's educations from birth to age 5. Currently, pre-K is funded unevenly with disparities among regions and school districts that prevent equal opportunity among children. Quality pre-K should be available to all American children.

Business and educational leaders along with political leaders of both parties advance pre-K as a proven school reform that contains economic development benefits as well. Children who attend high-quality pre-K are more likely to graduate from high school, go to college and become productive members of the workforce.

Paul Arfin

Hauppauge

Editor's note: The writer is coordinator of Seniors4Kids in New York State.

Ballfields in dispute

Fairness dictates we respond to statements attributed to Nassau County administration in its attempt to force out private ball leagues from county fields . The comment that "The abuse of our fields was so prominent that one private company had every single field on Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,'' is not so and never has been.

The county has a plan to "take back" the fields. From whom? Taxpaying Nassau resident ballplayers? There are no gangs or criminal cartels in possession of county ballfields. The county abandoned the use of these fields and the private leagues which have always been with us stepped up and provided the organized sports that taxpayers wanted.

The demonizing of "for profit" leagues is unfair and unjustified. The county administration should be ashamed to be attacking leagues run by churches, synagogues and various businesses located in Nassau. The leagues - including the major ones with national affiliations - are composed of your neighbors and mine looking for low-cost recreation.

Bruce Piel

Wantagh

Editor's note: The writer is chairman of the PARCnassau, a parks advocacy group.

LIRR infrastructure woefully outdated

The admission by the Long Island Rail Road that some of its switching systems at Jamaica are nearly 100 years old proves that the thing that it wants to keep as up to date as possible is employee salaries, benefits and pensions .

Does its parent organization, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, ever inquire as to how much of its constant fare increases go to infrastructure improvement? A law should be implemented to require a separate account be set up for all MTA facilities such as bridges and tunnels, subways, buses and commuter railways, to allocate funds to be used only for maintenance and improvement projects. This wait-until-it-breaks-before-fixing-it attitude simply cannot continue.

Ronald Gendron

Smithtown

I wonder what organization audits the real on-time performance and everyday running of the LIRR.

I suggest the railroad reimburse all passengers their full daily cost of travel when there is any delay greater than 10 minutes, and if it's greater than 20 minutes, the LIRR would issue a refund of double the commutation cost. I guarantee after two delays the LIRR will have no further delays.

Steven Berger

Merrick

I just read "LIRR proves it needs upgrade" . It mentions how "the LIRR communicated well as the week went on."

Are you kidding? I'm still trying to figure out how the 4:01 p.m. train out of Penn Station was canceled, yet it still appeared on the computer screens at Jamaica. When it leaves Jamaica, it appears as the 4:22 p.m. to Huntington. One day last week, this canceled train was not only posted, but had a track assignment. Communicated well? I think not.

When a westbound train arrives in the morning, I have absolutely no idea where that train originated. Yet all of the cancellations were listed based on the origination only. Telling me that a 6:38 a.m. Huntington train due in Atlantic Terminal at 7:36 a.m. is canceled means nothing to me, since I don't know if one of the stops is mine. There's got to be a better way.

Christine Gietschier

Westbury

The riders of the LIRR are all too familiar with "switch trouble" or "signal trouble." Every incoming LIRR president for the past 40 years has promised better communication, yet that was one of the biggest failings last Monday.

Almost every rider interviewed that day mentioned the lack of communication from the LIRR or outright misinformation. Early e-mail alerts that day said the railroad was experiencing "switch trouble." This is something all regular riders would interpret as a routine problem. It wasn't until about 3 p.m., some 4 hours after the incident, that e-mail alerts mentioned a fire in the Jamaica switch house. Obviously a fire in the major switching facility was much more than just switch trouble. Why wasn't the fire mentioned in the first e-mail alert?

John Molesphini

Valley Stream

America is way off track. The latest fiasco - the LIRR's nearly 100-year-old signal system - has frozen us high-paying commuters to the platforms. This is just one small symptom of America's internal disease and decline. Our antiquated, neglected, cash-starved infrastructure is in dire straits.

While the Pentagon's obscenely wasteful coffers overflow with our tax money, bankrupting us common folk while undermining a great nation's true homeland security, its infrastructure.

Meanwhile, one can cheaply ride around in Europe, China, Japan, etc., in jet-like, super comfortable trains that go nearly 300 miles an hour.

Wake up, America. We the people must lead, and our leaders will follow.

Rich Viva Arcery

Massapequa

Discrimination, sadly, not new in America

I remember very well, in 1942 all the Japanese-Americans and many German- Americans and Italian-Americans were met with ugly remarks and, of course, the Japanese lost their homes and all personal belongings and were placed in American concentration camps.

It has reared its ugly head again. Now it's American Muslims who have nothing to do with 9/11 and are getting the brunt of poor judgment by Americans, even to the point of being denied a house of worship. History repeats itself.

Salvatore Canzoneri

Seaford

Just who are good Americans? It depends who's asking the question, and when. As long as there have been Americans, there has been discrimination against those deemed not worthy to be citizens. Enough already.

Ours is a country founded on personal liberty, laws and respect. Anyone who thinks it is their civic duty to discriminate against fellow Americans based on their race or religion should look for a new place to live. America: Love it or leave it, indeed.

Patrick Connelly

Oceanside