We welcome your opinion on any subject of interest to Hudson Valley residents.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of www.MidHudsonNews.com or anyone associated with this website.

Except for possible editing for excessive length, letters are printed as they are received. We do NOT correct spelling, grammatical or syntax errors.

Please read our GUIDELINES

9/11 trials and Mayor Valentine

Let me preface this letter by saying that in no way do I support the idea of trying the accused 9/11 terrorist scumbags in a Civilian Court.

This has to be far and away one of President Obama’s more stupid notions. Justice should be delivered through the military courts, as the attack on the twin towers was an Act of War, not civilian mass murder. The argument should end there.

However, it looks like there may be no escape from holding the terror trials in civil court unless Congress can be effective in cutting the funding for such a travesty. The only question is in what city will the trials take place.

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has made it clear the trials are not welcome in Manhattan given the cost of security, hype and potential danger to the citizens of the Big Apple. He estimated the cost of security alone to be upwards of $200 million. Great use of our tax dough, huh? Providing security for terrorists. Lovely.

As one would imagine there aren’t a lot of Mayors jumping up and down to host the trials in their cities. To the average thinking American it would seem a foolhardy enterprise to actively seek such a thing.

Enter Nick Valentine, part-time Mayor of Newburgh, NY.

Newburgh, NY is one of those charming Hudson River Valley towns forgotten by time and society. It is rich with history not forgotten, but neglected, as so many historical Hudson River towns are. There is no real industry left in the town and it has suffered the effects for quite a few decades. This is a polite way to say that in essence the place is very poor and run down.

Most people from the Northeast know Newburgh only as a highway sign they see on their way either west to Pennsylvania, or East to New England. The town’s main landmark which isn’t really in the town at all, is the I-84 Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, a formidable span which on a clear day allows you a slight view of Manhattan 60 miles to the South.

One thing Newburgh has is a shiny new state-of-the-art courthouse that is super secure, and being only 60 miles from Manhattan, convenient to any and all players in say, a terror trial! Newburgh also falls into the jurisdictional requirements of a civilian murder trial. Add in a close proximity to West Point and a Federal Prison a mere 27 miles away and you have a great recipe for a terror trial venue!

Hizzoner Valentine knows this better than anyone and has taken his case to bring the trials to Newburgh public; hitting as many news shows and media outlets as he can.  

This is a leader.

Now, I have no idea how the Mayor really feels about the core subject; whether or not the trials should take place in Civilian Court or not, but I do know one thing, he is definitely looking out for his town and that is admirable. Valentine did say at first he wasn’t very keen to the idea of the trials being held in Newburgh, but upon reflection changed his mind. To me, the Mayor is taking advantage of a shitty situation in order to give Newburgh an economic jump-start.

Nick Valentine is a businessman in addition to being the part-time Mayor. He owns a tailoring business right across the street from the courthouse and understands the nuances of simple economics. That is something most government officials lack, in addition to morality and ethics. Most politicians get ethical bypasses at birth!

Newburgh would benefit large financially from the terror trials through a wide variety of income streams. There is the obvious onslaught of media types who will bunk down for as long as the trials take, pumping their dollars directly into the local economy, there is the Federal money that will go into ramping up security and then there is the International attention that could spike tourism both during and after the trials.

Are there risks? Of course there are, the very same ones that would apply to Manhattan as the trial venue. Terrorist attacks could ensue, violence from protestors and any of the other sundry items that lay the foundation of the argument for not having these trials in civil forums could occur.

No doubt the good Mayor has taken these risks into account and as a small businessman realized the reward in the long term is well worth the risk. Anything worth doing always involves some kind of risk.

I haven’t the foggiest clue whether Mayor Valentine is a Republican or Democrat, and I don’t care. I do know that Mayor Nick Valentine is a breath of fresh air in this climate of bad government. He is doing the right thing for the people who voted him in by trying to draw attention to their plight. Even if they don’t get the trials, which they probably won’t given the inability of the Obama Administration to give in to common sense, at least he hung it out there for everyone to see.

Surely, there are lots of folks out there who think this Mayor is crazy including some of his constituents, but those are people who fail to take in the big picture and they are part of the problem not the solution.

Good Luck Mayor Valentine, and citizens of Newburgh.

Jason Vincent
San Diego CA
(February 6)

The great stakes at Glenmere Lake

What to do about the Northern Cricket Frog and Glenmere Lake?  An endangered frog has jumped in the way of real estate projects and manipulation of a public water supply in Orange County.  To eliminate this obstacle, a bill has recently been drafted to remove the Northern Cricket Frog from New York State’s list of endangered species, despite the fact that cricket frogs, like many other amphibians around the world, are in decline.

We should consider what is at stake for every person that is affected by this issue.  A vocal few have money, pride, reputation, ethical convictions, and/or preferred lifestyle on the line.  Many more drink the water from Glenmere Lake and will be affected by any economic development that occurs nearby.  A far greater number of people have a stake in what happens to cricket frogs and Glenmere Lake in the next few years: every person on earth.  This is no exaggeration, but it requires an explanation.

It was only about 25 years ago that scientists began to recognize a pattern of amphibian decline in supposedly pristine areas like cloud forests in Central America and mountain lakes in California.  It is only recently that we have realized that amphibians are dying out everywhere, whether they live in national parks or in backyards.  Of the more than 6000 known amphibian species, at least 42% are in decline and at least 32% are threatened with extinction or are already gone forever.  Amphibians are especially sensitive to human disturbance and most receive a double-dose of it by living in water and on land.  These factors make it difficult to point to a single cause for the decline or extinction of even one species.  Habitat loss and a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis (“kit-trid” for short) are major killers.  Climate change is also implicated in amphibian declines, as is a long list of other manmade problems.

A major concern for people that study amphibians is that some probable causes of amphibian declines can also affect humans.  Perhaps the most insidious among these is pollution.  Banned chemicals like DDT and PCBs and wildly popular herbicides like Roundup and atrazine can be toxic, but even if they do not kill, they persist in the environment and their effects may be terrible.  One reason is that, like the substance BPA that was recently removed from plastic bottles, they are endocrine disruptors.  Endocrine disruptors emulate hormones found in frogs and people and they have been linked to such human health problems as cancer, brain disorders, miscarriages, and other reproductive maladies.  Children appear to be particularly vulnerable to endocrine disruption. 

The precautionary principle holds that in the absence of information showing that some action will not harm the environment or human health, it is better to act with caution than to assume that no ill effects will occur.  With connections between amphibian and human well-being becoming clear, opportunities to study amphibian declines in areas where many people live are increasingly important.  Because cricket frogs have declined over large and diverse areas (the upper Midwest, the Southeast, and New York), multiple causes are probably responsible.  By comparing Glenmere Lake and the area around it with places in New York where the Northern Cricket Frog no longer occurs, we could begin to determine the causes of the decline of the species, which in turn could indicate potential threats to human health.  Such work would inform amphibian biology and public health far beyond Orange County.  Because the Northern Cricket Frog is already endangered in New York, it is safe to expect that any substantial changes to the habitat of cricket frogs around Glenmere Lake will reduce their numbers and diminish the opportunity to learn from them.  This is why every person on earth has a stake in Glenmere Lake.

I was born in the Hudson Valley and as a boy I explored its rivers, lakes, and ponds.  Catching amphibians became one of my favorite pastimes, but I never saw or heard a cricket frog.  I have since earned a Ph.D in Biology by studying two species of cricket frogs in North Carolina.  Safely removed from the controversy that surrounds them back home in New York, I see that it is good news for the people that depend on Glenmere Lake for water that cricket frogs can thrive there.  The presence of the Northern Cricket Frog suggests that Glenmere Lake is relatively clean and protected.  To our peril, few things in nature stay that way for long.

Jonathan P. Micancin
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA
(February 6)

Say NO to Mayor Valentine

After an initial story suggesting 9/11 trials could come to Orange County appeared, I received more than a dozen phone calls of concern from constituents, but was able to assure them that county officials would not let that happen.

I agreed with my concerned constituents that any such trials, which could last 3-5 years, would produce a prolonged media circus, create terrorism safety concerns, and inflict a high financial tax burden to insure safety, none of which would be welcomed by residents of our county.

Then, along comes City of Newburgh Mayor Valentine going out on his own to the New York City media and offering up his own city as a possible location for the trial.

Mayor Valentine, I knew people who died in the North Tower. Mayor Valentine, forty-four Orange County residents lost their lives that day. Shame on you, Mayor Valentine, for trying to gain tourist dollars on the back of this horrid event! Mayor Valentine, there are a number of actions the County Executive and the County Legislature can take to prevent this travesty from occurring, and you can bet every avenue will be explored.

I stand by my original statement on this matter -- I will fight vigorously, with any power I have as a Legislator, to prevent the trial from coming here. Personally, I think it's outrageous that these terrorists will be given a civil trial platform at great taxpayer cost. A military tribunal should have been used to serve out swift and harsh justice.

Mike Anagnostakis
Newburgh
Orange County Legislator Town Newburgh & Town Montgomery
(February 2)

NY needs a new Governor in 2010

It is an understatement to say New York State government was dysfunctional in 2009.  It had a Senate with no rules; an Assembly ruled by a single person and Governor who had no idea what he was doing or how to rule.  The result was out of control spending, budget deficits, increasing taxes and whole lot of other failures too numerous to list.  To say we need new leadership in Albany is as obvious as saying the sun will rise in the morning.  

Given 2010 is an election year; it’s time to seriously consider how we, the voters, should deal with this mess. I am most interested in the Governor’s race because the lack of competent leadership in that position had the most damaging impact on NY the last year and one half.  To put it simply; instead of some political hack running for election because he knows somebody, we need a Governor who understands what he is doing and has the credibility, intelligence and strength to lead NY. 
 
Specifically, anyone running for Governor should have record of experience in an elected executive position who has balanced budgets; held the line on taxes; controlled spending and has a demonstrated history of leadership.  I also want a Governor who understands upstate NY instead of treating it like it’s a third world country.  Lastly, we should elect someone who represents the people of NY over the special interest groups that control and run Albany.  In short; the Governor needs to be an S.O.B; but he needs to be our S.O.B..

Clearly, Albany needs to be cleaned up.  That the best person to do it would be from outside the current statewide political establishment is simple reasoning.  That our Governor should not be “owned” by NY State political leadership is critical because that is one of the core sources of the corruption that infests the Albany.  In addition, a higher degree of moral integrity than demonstrated by our elected officials the last few years wouldn’t hurt. Competence and integrity are what we need in the Governor of NY; not political favoritism, criminal complaints and handouts. 

Believe it or not, there is a person who fits this description from around here; a local to the Hudson Valley.  He is fiscally conservative and tight with OUR money.  His last County budget was balanced; there were no employee layoffs used when the budget was balanced; taxes were not raised; the budget was passed by a County Legislature that had Democrats in partial control.  He just won reelection by a dominant margin and is not a slave to political social agendas.  He gets things done, which is what NY needs.   

The problem is that if he is to run for Governor of NY, he needs to start running now.  There is no time to waste, he can’t wait.  That means someone needs to tell him to run, or we need to draft him, because I am not sure he has even thought of running or, for that matter, would want to.   

So someone do us all a favor and please tell Eddy Diana, County Executive of Orange County to run for Governor of NY State.  The truth is we need him, or we need a guy like him, as Governor.  It is that simple because NY can’t afford, or long survive, the dysfunctional mess we had in Albany in 2009 for the next 4 years.                                         

Drew Kartiganer
Newburgh
(January 27)

Watch out for the Orange County Water Authority Plan

In the midst of a terrible economy, the tragic event in Haiti, and every day stresses, many people are not focused on something as ordinary as what is happening with the Orange County Water Authority. But it is going to cost everyone money if residents of the county do not wake up and pay attention to what is quietly happening in Goshen. When the Orange County Water Authority (OCWA) law was written by the county, it included the creation of a county-wide water district. Having a county-wide district is unusual and creates a taxpayer’s problem. By being county-wide, it gives power to the county to tax everyone in the boundaries of the district. The county may choose to help areas identified as ‘priority growth areas’ from its Comprehensive plan. But people all over the county will pay taxes for those growth areas while not having access to any of the water themselves.

To repeat, in Orange, the county will be able to tax everyone, including residents with wells, users of community water and municipal water. 

The OCWA sounds like the MTA, where taxes can be levied on all residents whether they benefit or not, and with no oversight by elected officials.

Get in touch with your legislators, and get them to stop the current version of the water plan.

Sonia Ayala
Blooming Grove
(January 26)

Lt. Lou Allen

In its report "American Fallen Soldiers Project honors Lt. Lou Allen," midhudsonnews.com states that 1LT Louis Allen and Capt. Phillip Esposito were "killed" in Iraq in 2005 by "an explosive device" while in Tikrit, Iraq. Such reporting whitewashes the reality of these men's deaths; in truth, these men were murdered by their fellow solider, Staff Sergeant Alberto Martinez, who in turn was acquitted by a military court martial in 2008 of his responsibility for their deaths.

To date, there has been zero accountability from the Army for Allen and Esposito's murder; Martinez lives free and none of the scores of officers and senior enlisted leaders who heard Martinez issue his death threats prior to the murders has received even the slightest punishment for failing to uphold the law that prohibits such gestures of contempt. Worse, disasters such as the Fort Hood massacre might have been prevented had Army leaders learned from Allen and Esposito's murder and corrected their procedures.

In short, Allen and Esposito's murder is nightmare where American heroes are brutally struck down, their killer goes free and no one in authority learns from it. Justice demands that we precisely name the unmitigated failure that has taken place here and not whitewash it with euphemisms that might leave readers to believe that their quiet mourning for these men and their families is enough.

Louis Allen and Phillip Esposito deserve more than they have been given by this country. A good start in correcting that error would be to plainly state just how they died.

Nicholas Provenzo
Alexandria, VA
(January 26)

Editors note:  MidHudsonNews.Com has published many stories fully detailing Lt. Allen’s murder, and the failure to bring the prime suspect to justice.  We will continue to do so, when events warrant.  We perceived this particular event to be a commemoration of Lt. Allen’s life, not his death.

Guidelines

We encourage submission of diverse opinions, but reserve the right to reject any content that we deem to be potentially libelous or slanderous, or in our opinion, clearly in violation of prevailing community standards of good taste.

Letters should:

• Address an issue of local ( Hudson Valley) interest
• Be limited to a single topic
• Be limited to about 250 words or less (we are very flexible on this). Very long letters may be edited for excessive length.

We do NOT accept:

• Anything that in our judgment violates prevailing standards of decency
• Anything that appears, in our judgment, to advocate, explicitly or implicitly, acts of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, domestic relationships, or physical or mental limitations
• Attacks on personal integrity
• Anything that appears, in our judgment, to be libelous or slanderous
• “Form” or “seminar” letters (or letters that appears to be)
• Letters, or content, that appears intended to promote a business, product or service
• More than one letter per contributor, per 30-day period.

Letters to the editor of midhudsonnews.com are accepted by e-mail only (please, NO faxes) to: media@statewidenews.com .

We prefer MS Word docs in plain text, but will accept any unformatted text, including e-mail text. Please do NOT send PDFs (Adobe Acrobat).

You must include your name, address and phone number. We will list your name and municipality of residence, only.  Street address and phone number are for verification and will not be published, unless you request they be published. 

Letters will include your name and home town on the signature line.

We will NOT publish "anonymous" letters.