PBA has another vacancy

Daily Point

McDermott’s not the only Nassau PBA exit

When Nassau County PBA president James McDermott recently announced he’d be retiring Sept. 1, that was not the only departure he’d instigated, nor the only one that will shape the union’s November election.

About a week before McDermott’s announcement, he orchestrated the union’s separation from its lawyer, Steven Losquadro. That might not be such a big deal were it not for the attorney’s family connections, and his central role in the PBA’s ongoing drama.

Steven Losquadro is the cousin of PBA 2nd vice president Dean Losquadro. Steven is also the brother of Republican Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro, who has a guest-star turn in this saga.

Steven and Dean Losquadro were both allies of McDermott during and, for a time, after his 2017 election win. But the desire of the Losquadros to aggressively support Republican causes inside and outside the county, even when those causes had no bearing on Nassau cops, eventually drove a wedge between McDermott and the Losquadros.

And the Nassau PBA political action committee’s $30,250 in contributions to the "Friends of Dan Losquadro" political committee from 2017 to 2019 left plenty of members wondering why their payroll deductions were going to further the political career of a town highway supervisor in another county with the right last name.

But the biggest split between McDermott and the Losquadros came when Steven and Dean went rogue on the new contract McDermott had negotiated with Nassau County, launching a successful attempt to get the deal voted down.

Their argument was that the cops would do better in mandatory arbitration, a theory with which no one involved in the negotiations or knowledgeable about them seems to agree: Mandatory arbitration, they say, would only apply to 2018 and 2019 for the PBA, and the pattern of recently inked detective and superior officers union contracts makes it highly likely the arbitrated awards for those two years would have been zeroes.

With McDermott gone and Steven Losquadro’s deal ended, the union is interviewing for a new lawyer. But the November union election could change that, too, as the Losquadro and McDermott factions are expected to field competing slates.

They’ll have plenty to debate about, as the county election for an executive and legislators looms and the membership prepares to potentially enter its fifth calendar year without a deal.

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Talking Point

The letter’s in the mail

Long Island’s county executives and school district superintendents shouldn’t be surprised if they start getting some bright yellow envelopes in the mail.

Inside those envelopes will be a form letter.

"I am writing today regarding the impending possibility of the Governor mandating the Covid vaccine for all children attending public schools," the form letter reads. "Should the state mandate the vaccine I intend to remove my child from public education and choose to home school."

That might seem to come out of nowhere since there’s no plan, as of now, to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for students — and it’s not yet approved for anyone under the age of 12.

But the form letters, which don’t discuss a remote learning option, are found on a new website — vexxitny.com. The website recommends sending the letter to the superintendents, the county executive, the state Department of Education, the district’s union representative and… Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has about 11 days left in his tenure.

While the new site seems geared toward the entire state, the list of sample letters includes only Long Island school districts — and a few earmarked for New York City.

The new site outlines its mission as "to stand up to medical mandates and religious discrimination at school, work and in life." Among the organizations it lists as behind its cause are My Kids, My Choice and Teachers for Choice, along with attorneys Jim Mermigis and Giulia Miller.

The ramped-up effort from those opposing vaccine requirements comes as the state Education Department released its own "health and safety guide," which mostly reiterated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The Education Department’s information came as the state Health Department has refused, so far, to provide its own guidance leading up to the start of the school year.

While the site primarily focuses on vaccine requirements, it suggests that similar thinking applies to other COVID-19 related requirements.

"The message is clear — if we want the government to listen, understand our conviction, and respond appropriately, we need to pull our kids out of school, have them take off the masks, or walk out of the public school system entirely. There needs to be a GRAND EXIT," the site says, adding that its work also "applies to employees in any workplace."

While homeschooling doesn’t usually utilize public funds, the site suggests that if parents pull their children out of school, it would translate into a loss of funding for the district, since the number of pupils would fall.

But, of course, those same parents still would be paying property taxes, unless the "vexxit" means they leave the state altogether.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

Looking out for you

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Final Point

In the news

Welcome to this week’s news quiz, based on events that took place this week. As usual, provide the answer for each clue, one letter per blank. The first letter of each answer, taken in order, spells the name of an American politician who this week suffered a COVID-related loss in court and in the court of public opinion. Answers will appear in Monday’s edition of The Point.

• _ _ _ _ _ _ Grammy-winning R&B star whose trial on sex trafficking charges began with jury selection in Brooklyn.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ Lingering pandemic concerns forced the cancellation of this iconic annual North Shore festival scheduled for October.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The number of Republican senators who joined with Democrats to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ The first county in Texas to defy Gov. Greg Abbott’s order banning mask mandates in the state’s schools. (The county is the second-largest in Texas, and all of the top four now are defying Abbott’s ban.)
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ China led a runaway herd of these animals back to within 125 miles of their nature reserve after they had spent a year lumbering as far as 300 miles from home.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ The lead Democratic Party negotiator on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. Senate.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The FAA urged airports to stop serving this in to-go containers, to try to cut down on incidents of unruly passengers.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ Big-state governor who announced a vaccination mandate for all of his state’s teachers and school staff.
• _ _ _ _ _ Incoming Gov. Kathy Hochul said that under her leadership the work environment in state government would not be this.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ This Asian country of more than 17,000 islands saw new eruptions from the most active of its 120-plus active volcanoes, on the island of Java.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ This three-word metropolis had some of the worst air quality in the world thanks to smoke drifting eastward from California’s wildfires.

— Michael Dobie @mwdobie

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