Over the decades, various public officials on the Island have pushed for public transit. In his 1980 annual report, Suffolk County Executive Peter Cohalan called for “development of an efficient and reliable mass transportation system,” and that year Suffolk Transit was created and bus routes set up. The presiding officer of the Suffolk Legislature, Lou Howard, sought to have a monorail built on the center median of the LIE.
The Board of Regents’ vote last month to eliminate Regents exams as a graduation requirement will further erode any standard of measuring student achievement, and eliminate the last remains of accountability in schools. What’s more, it threatens to destroy the very concept it purports to defend: equity.
Many factors determine our chances of getting Alzheimer’s. Some are impossible to alter. The likelihood of developing it increases as we age, but we can’t change our age. The same goes for genes and family history: Our genetic makeup and DNA are not modifiable.
I believe every high school student should be required to take a course in neuroscience — not because we need more neuroscientists, but because we need young people who better understand themselves.
Both projects address important needs in our community. One will strengthen our drinking water infrastructure, and the other will provide improved recreational opportunities for our children and families. Just as important, this funding represents a chance to make meaningful improvements while helping limit the financial burden on our taxpayers.