Fixing lead water pipes, shutdown chaos, social media

State aid needed for lead pipe fixes

On behalf of Long Island’s water providers: We agree there should not be any presence of lead in our drinking water [“NY must push to replace lead pipes,” Editorial, Oct. 1]. It is not in our source product and not a product of our water mains. The source, if present, is the service line to the house or the internal plumbing.

As water suppliers, we already take numerous steps to mitigate the leaching of lead from these home-specific sources from making it into the water coming out of the tap. Legislation seeks to place the burden of identifying and removing these house-specific sources on water suppliers. If proposed legislation changes requirements for replacement of home lead service lines, local providers won’t have the current financial capacity to comply without significant funding increases.

For Albany to pursue these measures, additional state or federal funding must be provided. Without that, the limited state dollars given to water providers would be diverted from other critical infrastructure projects. This cannot become another unfunded mandate handed down by state or federal governments.

It’s crucial that lead is eliminated from all water infrastructure, but dedicated funds need to be created. Newsday has long documented the level of investment being made to treat for emerging contaminants, and the editorial board should have added that we cannot siphon money away from those programs. If this legislation is enacted, we could have no choice but to comply and raise rates further.

— Robert McEvoy, Oyster Bay

The writer is chairman of the Long Island Water Conference.

An agenda lurks in chaos of shutdown

The federal government shutdown is being portrayed as just another partisan standoff, but it’s time we recognize a deeper and more deliberate strategy at play — namely, the Project 2025 agenda [“Project 2025 co-author in role to make shutdown cuts,” News, Oct. 5].

This shutdown isn’t just political dysfunction. It aligns disturbingly well with Project 2025’s stated goal of dismantling large portions of the federal government, weakening regulatory agencies, and gutting civil service protections. By forcing agencies into chaos and delaying or eliminating essential services, shutdowns become a convenient tool — not a failure — for those who believe government should do less, or nothing at all.

We should not be distracted by the day-to-day theatrics of Congress. The real danger is the systematic effort of the Trump administration to make Americans lose faith in the federal institutions that protect our food, our air, our wages, and our safety.

This is not governance. It’s sabotage dressed as politics. And it’s being carried out at the expense of federal workers, small businesses, and everyday Americans who rely on a functioning government.

— Ken Feifer, Massapequa

Truth, integrity must guide social media

Matt Bai offers us a heartfelt, genuinely reflective and sober assessment of what we, along with governments and corporations worldwide, are doing with social media [“Democracy’s real foe sneaked up on me,” Opinion, Sept. 30]. It is fracturing us with biased information that manipulates rather than informs. And while media outlets make it harder to find and use facts to inform our opinions, many use our weakness to be self-serving and self-gratifying.

However, integrity can empower us, and it is the basis for trust and prosperity. Where we go for our information matters and what we don’t do also has enormous consequences. That means using sources that are telling us what to think instead of finding sources working hard to provide us with transparent facts.

If we choose to care about the truth, then it requires us to put time aside regularly to carefully consider and think about our neighbors, community, and ultimately our country. Time is precious, and time well used is a life fulfilled.

If our knowledge is power, then our ignorance is the abuse of power.

— Charles A. Perretti, Setauket

It was nice reading that PEN America keeps track of banned books in schools [“Report: King most banned author in schools,” News, Oct. 2]. However, it would be better if PEN and other groups tracked the cyberbullying, misinformation, disinformation, and pornography seen 24/7 on social media.

Guardrails must be placed on social media to protect ours and our children’s welfare. Does Congress have the moral backbone to restrict these companies? We have to have our kids and ourselves refuse to watch these apps and television shows. Without views and thus diminishing advertising revenue, these companies would have to set stringent controls themselves on what they displayed or go out of business.

The internet is a valuable tool, but apps and programs that are unethical and immoral are wrong and must be controlled — now.

— John Wolf, Levittown