Letter: Seek state OK to move park cops

Wording in the story "Delay in Suffolk cop recruit hires to cost $1.5M" [News, Oct. 28] indicates that I oppose the move to obtain state legislation. I do not oppose or support proposals; I ensure that civil service law is being followed and is adhered to.

In the issue of moving park police to the Suffolk County Police Department, the county is seeking state legislation to amend civil service law to allow for the transfer. My opposition was to approving this locally. I do not oppose the initiative to seek state legislation to accomplish this. That is the prerogative of the county executive.

The State Legislature should determine whether this can take place.

Alan Schneider, Hauppauge

Editor's note: The writer is the personnel director for Suffolk County.

Go organic to protect groundwater

The ode to pesticides by Joe Gergela of the Long Island Farm Bureau ["LI doesn't need aquifer panel," Opinion, Oct. 27] would be laughable if it weren't such a serious subject.

Let's remember: The purpose of pesticides is to kill living things. And they do that very well. So, pesticides in our drinking water should be a scary thought to a reasonable person.

Maybe that is why organic farming is growing so fast on Long Island and elsewhere. Long Island farms have demonstrated that they can grow crops -- and their businesses -- without pesticides.

Our drinking water quality should be our No. 1 priority!

Elisa Gerontianos, Port Jefferson

Editor's note: The writer is on the board of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, an activist organization.

Casino money is headed out of NY

Writer John Yinger missed a critical fact in his op-ed about casino gambling ["Casinos mean more jobs? No dice," Opinion, Nov. 1]. While I agree that casinos in New York may not result in property tax relief or additional school aid, his statement that job growth would not occur is just plain wrong.

Yinger states that income spent at casinos would siphon spending from elsewhere. This would result in job losses in other sectors of the economy, he argues, thereby offsetting the jobs gained from casinos. He says that simply opening casinos does not give people more money to spend.

But the critical fact is, the money is already being spent at casinos outside of New York. It is estimated that New Yorkers spend more than $3 billion annually in states such as New Jersey, Connecticut and Nevada. Having casinos in New York will allow New York residents to spend the money here instead, and it would probably even attract people from out of state.

It's a shame that Proposition 1 will not allow a casino on Long Island. Instead, Long Islanders will continue to visit Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun and Atlantic City.

Eric Grasman, Massapequa

School principals' job evaluations

I found it eye-opening to read that school principals didn't agree with the performance evaluations they were given by their employers ["Principals pan eval system," News, Nov. 4]. I thought to myself, welcome to the real world.

Like there has never been any other employee who has ever disagreed with the evaluation he or she was given! How unfair is life?

Donna Campanelli, Hauppauge

So Long Island school principals are unhappy with the evaluation system? I, as a taxpayer, am unhappy with the overall performance of our school system, including the principals and teachers.

We constantly read about how teachers, and now principals, are unfairly evaluated, and that their evaluations don't reflect reality.

How about a reality check? U.S. schools are failing our children by worldwide standards. American schools rank 12th worldwide in reading and an appalling 26th in math. That means the principals and teachers are failing as well.

Until those in our education system begin to address the real issue of where their performance ranks worldwide, we will continue to chase the wrong issues.

Mary Jane Adrian, Huntington