Newsday letters to the editor for Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017

Excited that Islanders will be skating home

I had all but removed the Islanders from my life after the franchise fled Nassau County for Brooklyn. I went from being a diehard fan to cutting emotional ties with the franchise after 2015. That all changed when it was announced that the Islanders will come back to Nassau County [“$1B Bet at Belmont,” News, Dec. 21]. With that, I, too, am back.

For almost 30 years, I hurt when the Islanders lost, I felt pride when they won, I sat on the edge of my seat at the Coliseum and pounded my knees with my fists and screamed “Let’s go, Islanders!” until I was hoarse. It was part of life, like making the sign of the cross and saying prayers at dinner or kissing my mom goodbye when I left the house.

In the summer, I walked around the new SunTrust Park where the Atlanta Braves play. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice for the Islanders to have a state-of-the art facility, attractive real estate for recruiting talent, and an accessible home for fans?

Thanks for the early Christmas present, and welcome back!

Chris R. Vaccaro, Lake Grove

Editor’s note: The writer is executive director of the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame.

Rename a landfill, not a medical school

I agree with the letter writer who said it’s misguided to rename the Stony Brook University School of Medicine the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University [“Renaissance name and Mercer politics,” Dec. 14]. The writer stated that renaming the school would sully and cheapen the value of any educational degree awarded to students.

I have an idea: Rename a landfill in honor of the Mercer family associated with the Renaissance Technologies hedge fund. After all, it’s their right-wing conservative financial support, along with that of other billionaires, that’s threatening to turn our country into a land with diminished Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Paul Lozowsky, Patchogue

State should fund mandated school costs

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo remains tone-deaf to the needs of New Yorkers [“School aid veto decried,” News, Dec. 22]. In an unbelievable move, he vetoed a bill passed almost unanimously by the State Legislature to reimburse nonpublic schools for costs associated with state-mandated programs and functions.

This estimated $10 million in reimbursement is almost a rounding error when you look at the entirety of the $152 billion state budget. From 1974 until 2002, nonpublic schools received this reimbursement. The governor claims that these costs weren’t in the state budget, and it would be “irresponsible” to add costs, given possible federal aid reductions.

Glenn Tyranski, Huntington