To the Editor: First, I congratulate your newspaper on the new design of your Web site. It is intuitive, well-designed, and much improved over the previous version. more

Kathleen Rice ascended to the district attorney’s post four years ago as a virtual unknown -- a former federal prosecutor and Brooklyn assistant district attorney who had never run for political office before. Back then, she appeared a tad unsure of herself, slightly nervous in her interviews with the Herald. And why not? She was opposing the legendary Denis Dillon, who had served as Nassau County district attorney for 31 years. Despite being a political neophyte, Rice ran a strong campaign, and was elected with 51 percent of the vote to Dillon’s 49 percent. Four years later, we’re happy that Rice was elected. She has proven herself to be a consummate professional who only improved an already well-run D.A.’s office. Cases are processed nearly twice as fast as they once were. Conviction rates are up. And Rice has garnered a national reputation for her aggressive stance against driving while intoxicated. Many now call her the toughest DWI prosecutor in the country. more

It’s hard to argue with a track record like that of Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove. Over the past eight years, he took a fiscally mismanaged, virtually insolvent county and turned it around, consistently balancing a budget that seemingly could not be balanced. Suozzi saved money by cutting the county work force by 1,000 employees and instituting tried-and-true management practices that were previously nonexistent. At the same time, he has put in place a host of programs to improve residents’ quality of life, from smoking-cessation regimens to energy-efficiency incentives. more

In November 2008, the Empire Center For New York State Policy published a policy paper entitled “Lifting the Shroud of Secrecy From Public Employee Contracts.” The article started with the sentence “The ‘people’s right to know’ is a hollow concept when government can withhold vital information until it is too late for the people’s voice to be heard.” Unfortunately, it seems that the new Long Beach Board of Education’s philosophy about the “people’s right to know” is that the less the people know, the better off the board is. more

Who’re the honest candidates?To the Editor: When I was first approached to run for City Council, I was very reticent, as I have been a registered Democrat since 1973. The Long Beach Democratic … more

While it might be easy to overlook the office of county clerk, the office plays an important role in keeping Nassau County’s court cases and real estate humming. They hum now, at least, and that’s in large part the work of County Clerk Maureen O’Connell, who has earned the Herald’s endorsement. more

In the race for Town of Hempstead clerk, the choice is clear: Republican incumbent Mark Bonilla of Bellmore. more

I’d like to devote my 750 words this week to shamelessly promoting two books by a former colleague and good friend, Michael Otterman. They are “American Torture” (Melbourne University Publishing, 2007) and “Erasing Iraq: The Human Cost of Carnage,” to be published in 2010. more

Shall we begin with the Nobel Peace Prize? I was as surprised as any American when the Nobel Committee announced its decision two weeks ago, and I was delighted. more

Much to the surprise of most Americans, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama. Their decision was based on Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” They also noted his “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” more