It was always burning, since the world's been turning
An ambulance drives with its lights on through a patch of deep water. Credit: AP/Denise Cathey
Daily Point
Flashing lights on this Albany bill
The COVID-19 pandemic put an enormous spotlight on plenty of deficiencies — in health care, technology, education and more. Long-discussed issues suddenly are gaining attention — or even legislation — to address them.
Take the notion that fire department-run ambulances, and the emergency medical services that go with them, don’t charge a fee for those services.
State Sen. John Brooks, an active volunteer firefighter, has sponsored legislation that would allow fire department EMS operations to set such fees. They would be paid by private insurance, or Medicare or Medicaid, Brooks said, noting that Long Island residents in areas served by the departments, with 401 ambulances in all, would be affected. Fire departments are the only agencies currently barred from charging fees for their EMS work.
Brooks said the funds generated could go to paying paramedics or other personnel, or to better equipment.
The bill isn’t new — but it never got through the State Assembly. Now, Brooks said, he believes the legislation has a better shot.
"I think we just saw in the last year-and-a-half how quickly you can be dealing with a medical emergency," Brooks said. "These volunteers were getting on the ambulances, going to known COVID cases. They were literally putting their lives on the line. With this [legislation], we could’ve been in a better position."
And Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who joined Brooks this week for a news conference promoting the bill, told The Point the legislation goes beyond adding funds to fire department or EMS coffers.
"Let’s do something meaningful and pass legislation that will not only help ensure we have the resources needed moving forward, but also that we’re relieving taxpayers of a burden, too," Bellone said. "It should help restrain the growth of taxes."
The effort also points to a larger transition that’s underway, as more agencies pay some of their EMS personnel. Observers noted that a similar change could be in store at some point for firefighters as well.
— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall
Talking Point
Bellone is pouring shots
It’s something of a win-win for elected officials to dole out incentives for vaccines. Maybe you boost up your constituents’ vaccination rates, and either way you get nice press coverage.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo got in on the action this week with a "vax & scratch" program that could reward a winner with up to $5 million with the lottery tickets offered at the state’s mass vaccination sites.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has embraced the concept, offering "shots for shots" — free drink tickets for vaccinations, plus a special free drink promotion with Tiki Joe’s Beach Club in Smith Point.
"Similar to other states and localities across the nation, we are using every available tool and tactic to encourage people to get vaccinated at a time when there is a concern that shots are facing a slowdown," said Bellone spokesman Jason Elan. "Shots for shots and Tiki Bar are the ones thus far; we will be announcing more in the coming weeks."
Over in Nassau, the approach is a little more subdued. The county has a Youth Ambassador Vaccination Program in which students are trained to act as trusted peer messengers encouraging others to get the shot. These ambassadors get two days of community service hours, and students who get vaccinated get 6 hours of community service credits, helpful for honors society or confirmation requirements in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
County Executive Laura Curran, who is running for reelection, has so far avoided more direct financial incentive programs. Spokeswoman Christine Geed says "we talked about it," and the county is monitoring such programs while looking at other potential incentive efforts "that may be announced in the coming days."
In the meantime, term-limited-but-higher-office-interested Bellone seems committed to the concept. Asked if we could expect to see Bellone spinning up drinks at Tiki Joe’s this weekend, spokesman Elan said that Bellone "has to finish watching Tom Cruise bartend in 'Cocktail' before making his debut on 80s night."
— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano
Pencil Point
Portrait of America
Mike Luckovich
For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons
Final Point
Watch it burn
The Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act of 1993, signed into law by Gov. Mario Cuomo, was one of Suffolk County’s landmark conservation efforts. This year, that effort got an update: The Central Pine Barrens Commission is out with a hefty book-length fire management plan that has been years in the making.
The commission includes elected officials from towns and the county, but the report was written by staff.
At the core of the plan is the idea that fires in the pine barrens are crucial to the ecosystem’s health; without them, wildfire fuel can build up on forest floors, and pests like southern pine beetles can proliferate. The risk of out of control fires is real, given destructive incidents like the 1995 Sunrise fire and the 2012 Crescent Bow fire that covered hundreds of acres.
"Using fire to mitigate the risk of wildfire is an effective and encouraged tactic," the plan explains.
The report argues that fire management is both long-standing and beneficial. Fires purposefully set by Native Americans in the years before full European settlement actually helped nurture the environment: "In 1632, Thomas Morton described Native American customs of setting fire broadly on the landscape twice a year, in both the spring and the fall," a meaty historical section of the report explains.
The fire management plan is a blueprint for how prescribed fires can be used to promote healthy forests and public safety, and earlier this month, The Point tagged along to one such prescribed fire set in the Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest.
— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano
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