Working with people with disabilities should be the norm 

It was wonderful to see that an East Northport school worked with the family of a disabled child to enable her to use more equipment on the school playground ["A schoolyard battle that wasn’t," Opinion, April 28].

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that all state activities, including public education, make "reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services" necessary to allow a disabled person the "receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity."

While it certainly is commendable that East Northport handled the situation so well, this should not stand out as out of the ordinary; it should be the norm. Federal law requires it to be so.

Stacey Tranchina, Farmingdale

Numbers tell the story of shootings

A reader was puzzled by the numbers of whites shot without media attention and pointed out that 2,886 whites had been killed by police and a lesser number (1,507) of Blacks ["Is this police officer a hero or a villain," Letters, May 2].

The media attention is deserved. America’s population is about 13.4% Blacks and 77% whites. The white population is therefore 5.75 times as large as the Black population. Were bias absent, the predictable number of white deaths based on the number of Blacks killed would be 8,660, much more than occurred. Or based on the number of white deaths, only 502 Blacks would have died at the hands of police.

The disparity is the news. Blacks are killed at rates more than three times higher than whites. We should all want that to change.

Bruce Madonna, Mount Sinai

A reader questioned why the media don’t relay the same kind of information about white people shot and killed by the police as they do the Black community. In my view, all lives matter — but many more white people than Black people live in our country. Some cable news outlets slant the news in only one direction, and we know which ones they are.

The mainstream media do everything in their power to deliver the "real news," not "fake news." The real reason why you heard about what happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Blacks killed by police is because more police actions are now videotaped by people watching these incidents, and the police’s own body cameras are released to the public. Just like DNA doesn’t lie, neither do videotapes. Watching a Black man die is not filtered to fit a certain narrative. You have to believe your own eyes because they don’t lie.

Carolyn Newson, Riverhead

Washington, D.C. deserves statehood

I must disagree with the reader who discussed granting statehood to Washington, D.C. ["Packing the court is just like Big Brother," Letters, May 3]. I see his logic as flawed.

Historically, the number of states has changed before. We have added many states since the original 13. And two since the long-standing 48. Washington residents have been denied their voice for far too long, and they want it now. They have a greater population than some states, and pay lots of taxes. Remember our origins about "taxation without representation"?

The reader doesn’t want to "politicize the Supreme Court," yet he feels adding Washington would be "legalized cheating" because it would add Democratic senators. Would it be right if it added Republican senators? This should not be a partisan issue, but a deserved addition.

Clare Worthing, Wantagh

Bar trans females from female sports

I could not disagree more with Barbara Barker’s defense of female transgender athletes competing against females ["Barring trans from girls sports is wrong," Sports, May 2].

Studies have shown what everyone already knew, that transgender women maintain an athletic edge over their female "peers" even after a year of hormone therapy. Sounds confusing? That’s because it is.

Caitlyn Jenner has spoken out against transgender women playing in women’s sports. How many more Olympic gold medals would Jenner have won, competing against women?

Again, this whole issue sounds confusing, because it’s difficult to make sense of it. But this is the world we live in.

Charles J. Brown, Levittown

Celebrities aren’t better than any of us

I was a little disturbed by the article about actor Adam Sandler not being allowed to jump the line at an IHOP ["Sandler unknowingly turned away at Manhasset IHOP," Flash!, April 30].

Is there a law that celebrities don’t have to wait in line like the rest of us?

I’m under the impression that we all are created equal. Or are some created more equal?

Gertrude Smith, Stewart Manor