Over 60 ... And Getting Younger: May 17, 2012

The Future?

“What am I going to do with my life?”

This question is being asked all over our country as college graduations take place. The caps and gowns will soon be discarded and the job search will begin. The celebrity speakers have disappeared and their vague statements are all in the past.

Editorial: Transparency: You’re Doing It Wrong

I would have liked to provide a cover story on the Syosset CSD Meet the Candidates Night held at South Woods Middle School on May 10, however due to our printing schedule, the earliest an article covering that meeting could have appeared would have been this issue. Considering it is now after the vote that the event was meant to inform, covering that meeting in great detail would be of questionable use. However, one important issue dominated the discussion last Thursday night, and I wanted to at least touch on it here: Transparency, or lack thereof.

In response to questions about increasing the transparency of the workings of the school district, both incumbents insisted the board has spirited, lively discussions and debates—only they have them behind the scenes, during executive session. Now, for all we know, they might. But how are we supposed to know—because they said so?

Over 60 ... And Getting Younger: May 10, 2012

Viva Las Vegas

Did you realize that you have to be in perfect physical and mental health to travel on the airlines? From waiting in myriad lines at the airport to removing your belt and shoes, it can make you lose your patience and your inner vitality.

Once you get to your destination, things brighten up. Our final spot was Las Vegas, Nevada. We had been to McCarran Airport 40 years ago: then, it was a lazy little airspot in the desert with only one or two landing strips. It has now grown into a huge metropolitan complex with trains and buses taking you to your awaiting plane.

Editorial: Is This Year’s Syosset School Board Campaign Too Contentious?

Around the neighborhood and online, there’s been a fair amount of talk that this year’s Syosset School Board election has involved a lot of name-calling, mudslinging, and other less-than-perfectly-civil behavior. Personally, I’ve seen more complaining about alleged name-calling than actual name-calling, but I can’t be everywhere: for all I know, the campaign is triggering energetic brawls behind Mario’s Pizza. I highly doubt it, but one never knows.

Editorial: Still Neutral On School Board Elections

Traditionally, the Syosset-Jericho Tribune has not endorsed school board candidates. We still don’t, but I can understand why a front-page story on Josh Lafazan a few weeks before the election might seem like an unofficial endorsement. I wanted to take a moment to clarify our position: we did not profile Mr. Lafazan because we are supporting him over the other candidates. We did a story on him because the Syosset High School 2012 senior class president immediately throwing himself into the race for school board trustee before even seeing his diploma is newsworthy in and of itself, and our primary goal is to report on the news in our community.

Letter: TOB Councilman And SHS Grad Remembers Jeffrey Rozran

Over the past decade that I have served the residents of Syosset as a Town of Oyster Bay Councilman I have seen, along with the community, the untimely passing of so many fine individuals. Unfortunately, on April 7, Jeffrey Rozran, a longtime English teacher at Syosset High School and president of the Syosset Teacher’s Association, died as a result of a battle with lung cancer.

Growing up in Syosset, I was fortunate to have many fine teachers in the Syosset School District and several deserve credit for influencing my professional and personal life. Approximately 31 years ago I was especially privileged to have Jeffrey Rozran as my English teacher. From the day I met him, he had a positive influence on my life.

Editorial: Hidden Gems Right In The Backyard

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking to Justin Abrams about his quest to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. While it was an interesting story on many levels, one thing I realized when preparing to interview him was that I had never heard of his home gym, Island Rock, despite the fact that it’s located right nearby in Plainview. For many years, a huge gym devoted to rock climbing had been located in my neighborhood, and I had no idea it was there; it just never came up.

To me, rock climbing always seemed exotic and dangerous—something fashion models and professional stunt doubles did to keep fit in Hollywood. Maybe if I knew I could try it out any time I wanted after a 10-minute drive, my assumptions might have been more in line with reality.

Parenthood Plus: April 26, 2012

A Cinematic Take On Bully Culture

Like many film-goers I have my list of favorites. Some are hilarious (Airplane), some are gripping (Wages of Fear), some are masterpieces (Godfather) and some are timeless classics (Wizard of Oz). And, then there are those that are so haunting that I cannot seem to shake loose of them. The darkly disturbing 2009 Austrian-German film, The White Ribbon, is one of the more haunting ones.

Filmed beautifully in black and white with subtitles, The White Ribbon portrays the residents of a northern German village, dominated by a baron, sometime before World War I. Inhabitants of this village appear to be sliding down a slippery slope of moral depravity. Men in positions of power - a doctor and a clergyman, for example – routinely mistreat women and children.

Over 60 ... And Getting Younger: April 19, 2012

The Columnist

The Columnist is not my life story, even though I have written a column for Anton Newspapers for the last 14 years. It is the story of Joseph Alsop, of the famed Alsop brothers Joseph and Stewart. During the ’60s they were quite influential in American politics.

To make the 8 p.m. theater opening, we left on the LIRR about 5:30 p.m. to allow time for a nice Manhattan supper before the play. What a surprise it was to see the train filled with Ranger hockey fans of all ages, all wearing blue and red shirts with the names and numbers of players on their backs. Callahan and Lundqvist were two of the popular names adorning the jerseys. These fans were boisterous and gregarious, quite hopeful of a Rangers victory at Madison Square Garden.

From the desk of Assemblyman Charles Lavine: April 19, 2012

New Legislation Will Stop Predatory Gas Pricing

With the cost of oil on the rise, serious competition between gas distributors has caused many stations to charge outrageous amounts for a gallon of gasoline. In fact, some gas merchants have been known to continuously raise their prices over the course of a 24-hour period, often dramatically increasing consumer costs without the actual price of gas going up. This predatory practice, known as price-gouging, allows a deceitful gas distributor to make unreasonable profits at a time when many families are struggling to make ends meet.

As gas prices constantly fluctuate, we must make sure local families don’t fall victim to price-gouging at the pumps. That’s why I helped the assembly pass legislation that would ban gas stations from adjusting their prices multiple times daily (A.1970). Distributors usually purchase their gas wholesale and at a fixed rate, allowing many stations to unfairly take advantage of consumers at a time when gas prices are at the highest levels in months.