Same old song and dance

The Amtrak logo as seen on a train at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia on Feb. 6, 2014. Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
Daily Point
Expect delays for Amtrak
Amtrak won’t be able to follow in the tracks of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to repair its superstorm Sandy-damaged tunnels without shutting them down, an Amtrak official has told The Point.
Earlier this month, the MTA’s L train engineering team joined Amtrak officials for a tour through the East River tunnels so engineers could understand the complexities of Amtrak’s particular tunnel project. The hope was that perhaps Amtrak could take some of the new ideas the MTA is considering to avoid closing the L train tunnel to make the needed repairs.
But the Amtrak official said Amtrak’s tunnels have problems that go beyond the bench wall damage in the L train tunnel. Amtrak also has to tear its old track out of the tunnel and put new track in a new concrete floor where the tracks now rest on a natural rock floor, the official said. There’s no way to do that without closing the tunnel.
The rehab of the East River train tunnels is still being designed, and the tunnels’ closure is still a ways away.
“We are anxious to find any way to make the projects be shorter, less expensive and less disruptive, but right now we don’t see any alternative to shutting the tubes down for major rehab,” the official said. “They have one big problem they have to solve, but we have two.”
Randi F. Marshall
Talking Point
One race ends, another begins
Feb. 26 is turning into a busy day in New York City.
It’s the date of the nonpartisan special election for NYC public advocate, the position vacated by Tish James when she was sworn in as state attorney general.
It’s also the day that petitioning opens for the next public advocate primary.
That’s because of voting reform legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, part of which unifies federal, state and city primaries in June “to reduce the waste of administrative resources and ensure that voters only go to the polls once to choose their nominees,” a spokeswoman wrote in an email.
It just so happens that, this year, the June primary takes place not long after the special election in NYC. Savings and convenience won’t necessarily be seen right away.
The winner on Feb. 26 will serve through the end of 2019, and the June primary and November general election will settle the officeholder for the remainder of James’ term, through 2021.
This could play out in various ways. The February ballot may end up having more than 20 contenders eager to use the bully-pulpit role as a springboard, so the winner may end up getting a low percentage of an already low turnout vote. Will a noble loser or two immediately file petitions to try again in June, when his or her name will still be fresh and the new public advocate won’t have had time to do much?
Or will the turnaround for the primary be too quick and the Feb. 26 winner ends up staying until mayoral elections in 2021?
One thing’s certain: if Democrats split the special election vote and a Republican like Queens Council member Eric Ulrich ekes one out, expect that June Democratic primary to be a doozy.
Mark Chiusano
Pencil Point
Still can't get 'im

Gary Varvel
For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/opinion
Reference Point
Shades of #MeToo in 1943

The #MeToo movement began in earnest in 2017, but the debate over consent, male entitlement and other issues has raged for decades.
Newsday’s editorial page waded into the fray — on Jan. 25, 1943. The occasion was a trial in California that had captured the attention of the nation. Movie star Errol Flynn — well known for having said, “I like my whiskey old and my women young” — had been accused of statutory rape by two girls who were 17 years old at the time of the alleged incidents. During the trial, hundreds of admiring female fans outside the Hollywood courtroom would cheer Flynn, sometimes trying to kiss his hand.
To get a local angle, Newsday’s Opinion page sent its Inquiring Fotog into Nassau County to ask women: “If you were on the jury, would you convict Errol Flynn?”
It was a split decision.
Julia Dubinski of New Hyde Park said she’d let Flynn go. “Whether or not he is guilty doesn’t matter very much, in my eyes,” she said. “Those girls are trying to take him for a ride, and I wouldn’t let them get away with it ... As to whether he did what they claim, any girl that wanted to keep her honor could certainly put up a fight for it. I think she submitted willingly.”
Mae Dubinski of New Hyde Park, whose relation to Julia is unknown, agreed. “Those girls obviously lied to him,” she said, regarding their ages. “Let him go free. His only crime was being human. Those girls committed a crime against themselves in trying to do things they were a little too young for.”
Representing the convict-Flynn side was Mary Buettner of Floral Park, who said, “Those girls weren’t exactly nice, perhaps, and they certainly were crazy to go out with him the way they did, all alone, so it’s partly their fault. But Errol Flynn is still mostly to blame and I think he should get life.”
Backup came from Alice Dahlstrom of Floral Park. “He really did take advantage of the girl, that much anyone could admit,” she said. “The girls shouldn’t have submitted to him, but they did, and since they were underage at the time, no matter what they said or did or claimed, he is guilty ... ”
The jury of nine women and three men acquitted Flynn after the sensational trial.
Seventy-six years later, these issues still aren’t settled.
Michael Dobie