Just Sayin': Tighten restrictions on today's criminals

Tighten restrictions on today's criminals

In just a few years, we've lost much control of our nation of laws, our freedom to live, work, play and worship in a safe environment. TV and social media have provided us with a front-row seat to dramatic scenes of criminal violence never before witnessed by the public. Violence was reserved for military personnel or law enforcement. This is our new America. How did this come to be?

Leading the change is anti-police sentiment in the response to a handful of negative law enforcement incidents, including a video of the slow killing of George Floyd by a police officer. Many sought to defund the police and release prisoners and those in jails under the guise of COVID-19 or social justice. We allow career criminals arrested dozens of times to roam free, again able to assault vulnerable victims. We reversed incarceration by instituting cashless bail and restrictions on our officers’ street tactics. This justice reform was doomed to failure. Today’s revolving door of justice proves that law enforcement must return to a style that has proven to work, using aggressive police initiatives coupled with mandatory sentences for violent felony recidivists in years, not days. This is deterrence.

Peter J. Pranzo, Mount Sinai

The writer is a retired NYPD lieutenant.

Why are gas prices lower, but not home oil?

While lower prices at the gas pump is certainly a welcome trend, it begs the question, why is this not the case for home heating oil prices? They remain considerably higher than gasoline --as much as $2 more per gallon. I don’t ever recall home heating oil prices being much more than gasoline. The price of a barrel of crude has dropped. Home oil is less refined than gasoline, right? To me, this defies logic.

Julie Rossetti, Islip

I come to praise PSEG, not bury it

Many have complained about PSEG Long Isand. However, I have some praise. Recently, I phoned in a complaint around 4 p.m. about a nearby transformer on a utility pole leaking oil onto the grass. Just a few hours later, a crew was there shutting down the transformer and covering it in a plastic bag. An environmental truck also showed up to test the soil for contaminants. Within 18 hours after my complaint, the transformer had been replaced and the contaminated soil remediated.

Yes, it did take me being on hold about 30 minutes to get a human on the emergency phone line, but once I did, the rapid response began and was greatly appreciated.

Robert Tolle, Cedarhurst