From the Desk of Mineola Mayor Jack Martins - April 9, 2010

2010-2011 Village Budget Features No Tax Increase

The Village of Mineola budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year is a solid financial document.  It represents not a crisis budget, like many municipalities are forced to consider in this economy, but instead is the result of five years of careful planning and management.

Around the Town with Lou - April 9, 2010

Washington’s Smithsonian is the latest stop for the exhibit telling the history of America’s nuns and is called “Women and Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America.” Our daughter, Sister Annmarie and six other sisters raised the $4 million required to create this exhibit that tells of the works of America’s Women Religious throughout our history. Over 100,000 people have visited the exhibit in Washington so far, including the Papal Nuncio. It all started at the Cincinnati Museum where 67,000 visited and then moved to the Dallas Women’s Museum. From DC it will travel to Cleveland, Boston and Ellis Island and then the seventh stop will be the Mississippi River Museum in Iowa. In pictures and words, the display tells of the work of the Women Religious since the founding of our country and the first French Nuns to arrive at New Orleans in 1770. It tells of the Sisters’ services on the battlefields of the Civil War with the Union and the Confederate armies, the work in hospitals, schools, with unwed mothers and their everlasting aid to the poor and desperate.

Letter: How the Museum Receives Funding

I’d like to thank The Roslyn News for the excellent March 18 article (“World Class Art Comes to Roslyn”) exploring the growth of Nassau County Museum of Art (NCMA) during the years in which I was the museum’s director. This report really pointed to the singular place NCMA has come to hold in our community for lovers of fine art, gardens and the outdoors. Under the guidance of the museum’s board of trustees and with the support of a fine staff, an extraordinary institution has been established that rivals the best of art museums across the country.

From the Desk of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy

McCarthy Votes in Favor of Heath Care Insurance Reform

I was proud to vote with a majority of my colleagues in favor of historic legislation that gives 32 million more Americans health insurance, stops insurance companies from denying coverage for individuals with a pre-existing condition, closes the prescription drug doughnut hole and brings down health care costs for all Americans.

Comptroller’s Report - April 2, 2010

Special Districts and Villages Should Be Judged on Merit By Local Communities

The Government Reorganization and Citizens Empowerment Act took effect on March 21, 2010. The new state law is meant to help reduce the layers of numerous local governments and special districts by simplifying the process to consolidate or dissolve them. The ultimate goal is to help reduce the cost of local government for the taxpayers.

Inside Town of North Hempstead History

On the Way to the Easter Parade

The first Easter Parade, attended by Ellin Mackay, was undoubtedly at his $6 million  “Harbor Hill” estate in Roslyn. Little did she know that the most important one would be in a musical comedy written by her husband. 

Around the Town with Lou - March 26, 2010

God gave the Irish a beautiful day, March 7, for the local St. Patrick’s Day parade sponsored by the Irish American Society. Led by the lovely Grand Marshal Mary O’Boyle-Deegan and watched by thousands, it was a great success. The Star Spangled Banner and the green, white and gold of Ireland were ubiquitous. The schools, the Knights, the mounted riders and the bagpipers made it all something grand.

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Letter: Never Underestimate The Power of Denial

Though I should have expected it, given the Fox News Channel’s constant perpetuation of the same asinine talking point over the past few weeks, I was still astonished to read the insane commentary regarding the reality of global climate change and questioning the credibility of Al Gore, simply because of the recent snow storms that slammed the Northeast coast of the United States. Robert McMillan’s opinion piece in the March 10 issue of the Mineola American, “Where is Al Gore?” touts scores of serious errors, both in content and context, regarding what should be recognized as an irrefutable scientific reality.

Letter: Congresswoman McCarthy Not Interested in Residents’ Views On Healthcare

As President Obama’s Healthcare Legacy Tour continues on, we are told over and over that healthcare is front and center as an issue for most Americans. It’s a “kitchen table issue,” according to White House Press Secretary and chief propagandist Robert Gibbs, unelected policy maker David Axelrod, and White House arm-twister-in-chief Rahm Immanuel.

Letter: Do Not Grant Amnesty

(The following letter is written in response to the column “From Long Island Wins,” which ran in the Feb. 17 issue of the Mineola American on page 15.)

Most Americans share good feelings about immigrants and are proud of their own immigrant ancestry. However, most Americans also have concerns about mass immigration, which has doubled U.S. population growth and radically changed the future we will bequeath to future generations.