Rep. Peter King stands outside the House chamber on Capitol...

Rep. Peter King stands outside the House chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 27, 2015. King says he will "take cyanide" if Ted Cruz wins the Republican presidential nomination. Credit: AP

Trump wants others to be distracted

President Donald Trump’s genius — call it evil, call it brilliant, or maybe both — gradually appears [“Wiretap furor is a clown show,” Editorial, March 20]. He’s encouraging the press and his opponents to become distracted with phony, politically based charges.

When Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein made unsupported allegations of manipulated vote counts, Trump countercharged that there was voter fraud on a massive scale. Weeks ago, we got Trump’s unsupported charges regarding wiretapping.

Meanwhile, Trump proceeds unhindered in doing what he promised in his campaign. Months before anyone thought, we have a bidding announcement on building “the wall.” And the press and the opposition are talking only about allegations of wiretapping and a Russian connection.

Art Mattson,Lynbrook

Desire for King to hold a real town hall

I attended a telephone town hall with Rep. Peter King [“Grassroots groundswell,” News, March 13].

It was a ridiculous attempt to placate constituents who have concerns about the way the government is being run. It was 90 minutes and didn’t cover nearly as much as needed to be discussed.

The questions about health care costs, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and the economic effects of repealing the Affordable Care Act were glossed over. Immigration and the travel ban were addressed in nothing more than a short diatribe. There was no mention of many subjects, such as defunding the Environmental Protection Agency, President Donald Trump’s tax returns, the military buildup or the “alt-right” and increasing attacks on Muslims and Jews.

King’s insistence that the news media lie and paint Trump in a bad light was laughable. Our legislators work for all of the people and deserve to be listened to. King needs to hold a true town hall.

Brian Zimmerman, Massapequa

 

Regarding his refusal to hold in-person town hall meetings, Rep. Peter King is quoted saying, “The way the town halls are going, almost nothing intellectual is served by them. It’s almost impossible to have intelligent debates. You have people coming up and screaming, shouting down speakers. It demeans democracy and I won’t be a part of it” [“Rice offers take on why Dems lost,” News, March 5].

I believe he meant that he shouldn’t have to listen to any of his constituents who don’t agree with him 100 percent.

Edmund Fountaine,Oakdale

Solar farm would achieve multiple goals

After reading “Don’t clear acres for a solar farm” [Editorial, March 14], I felt it was important to offer my perspective on the critical benefits of this project.

The proposed solar energy center in Shoreham is likely the most affordable and most effective renewable energy implementation option for Long Island. This is the result of the economies of scale gained from a large project and its advantageous location. In 1965, the Shoreham property was designated to house an energy center, and the infrastructure is already in place to connect to Long Island’s power grid.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has mandated that 50 percent of the state’s energy use be generated by renewable sources by 2030. Today on Long Island, we are generating just about 5 percent of our electricity from renewable sources. All of the renewable energy solutions being offered, including rooftop solar and wind energy, are part of the solution to meet the energy goals.

However, this large-scale solar project would play a critical role within that portfolio to meet the governor’s goal.

The proposed solar energy project also offers an unprecedented preservation and land conservation opportunity. Upon its completion, the project would combine a 300-acre preservation easement — at no cost — with the creation of a $5 million fund to support an environmental and tree program as part of the project’s community benefits package. The easement would include the precious area along the waterfront.

Patrick G. Halpin,Oak Beach

Editor’s note: The writer is a former Suffolk County executive. He is a consultant for LI Solar Generation, which proposes to put solar panels on part of 800 acres south of the closed Shoreham nuclear plant.

Newsday LogoSUBSCRIBEUnlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 5 months
ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME