Again, No Star
East Hampton
June 4, 2023
To the Editor,
The Star may “Shine for All” but the light doesn’t reach their subscription department.
When we did not receive our May 11 copy of The Star in the mail we checked and realized that our subscription had expired so we quickly renewed it on May 12. (We never received a renewal notice, and when we called to inquire about not getting a renewal we were told that “a lot of people” had called to complain about not getting a renewal notice but they didn’t know why this was happening.)
The following Thursday, May 18, we again did not receive our Star. We called the office; they checked our subscription and said we should have received it.
Thursday, May 25 — Memorial Day Weekend — again, no Star! This time we were told the printing house was using an old subscriber list. According to our subscription management page on the Star website, the paper was mailed to us on May 25.
Finally, this past Thursday, still no Star in our mailbox. When we stopped by The Star’s office to pick up a copy of the paper and inquired again about the situation, the only “explanation” was “We don’t know.” The solution communicated to us was to duplicate our data into the system and hopefully we will receive the paper on June 8 with a promise that if we do not receive a copy one will be hand-delivered to our house. Again, according to our subscription management page on the Star website, the paper was mailed to us on June 1. Really? And on all occasions, we had to ask that our account be credited with the “missed” copy or copies; no proactive offer on any of the occasions was made.
It has now been four weeks since we have received the paper as a subscriber. And still begs the question as to why and what real analysis and remedies have been made?.
I don’t know about you, but if I ran a business with such poor performance I would look at operations very closely to determine the systematic problem and fix it as soon as possible. There seems to be a very lackadaisical attitude, hoping the problem is fixed by bubblegum and tape.
The last question that remains — will The Star even publish this letter? And since the receipt of the paper is nebulous at best will we ever know?
PAM KEEN
RICH MOREY
—
We believe the mailing list issue has been resolved this week. Ed.
Montauk Lions
Montauk
June 5, 2023
To the Editor,
The Montauk Point Lions Club is conducting its first annual fund-raiser. We are a service organization whose primary mission is to help those with visual impairment. We provide guide dogs, eye exams, and glasses to the qualified. Among other things, we award scholarships and support the food pantry.
If you would like to help, more information along with mailing instructions can be found in the vestibule of the Montauk Library.
JOE DRYER
A Fair Shake
Sag Harbor
June 5, 2023
Dear Mr. Rattray,
I write today to thank the voters in Sag Harbor Village who nominated me to run for village justice and to thank Deputy Mayor Tom Gardella, who asked me to step up and campaign for the position.
I live in Sag Harbor with my wife and two sons, who go to school in Sag Harbor. I appreciate the confidence that the people of Sag Harbor (and beyond) have in my experience, both professionally and in our community, to have the balanced temperament to preside in our village justice court.
As a seasoned former prosecutor and, now, as a federal criminal defense attorney, I understand both sides. I know that the legal system touches people up close, and I can make sure that everyone gets a fair shake under the law.
I look forward to the opportunity to earn the voters’ support on village Election Day, June 20.
Yours very truly,
CARL IRACE
Has No Idea
Springs
May 31, 2023
Dear David,
The new owner for the Springs General Store, which The Star featured last week, apparently has no idea of what is needed or wanted by the people who live in Springs. “Wine, cheese, and pâté at sunset” is not what the locals need or want. We want the same early morning coffee with breakfast and lunch items to take out or eat at the picnic tables or take to the local beach.
It’s as if the new owner wants to cater to the south of the highway crowd, which has lately been driving up to Springs for a “rural” experience (or, as Jerry Seinfeld calls East Hampton, “fake country”).
While it is laudable that the new owner wants to renovate the building, such dramatic changes to the character of the store is not. The owner needs to read the letters of opposition sent to the East Hampton Town Planning Department and Planning Board members about the proposed change, which includes eliminating the kayak rentals so that the shed (which used to sell vegetables) is converted to a wine store.
The Springs General Store, because it opened early in the morning, closed by 4 p.m. Nighttime parking lot lighting to accommodate the wine crowd is not needed nor is it wanted. To eliminate the kayak rentals so that a wine shop is open in the evening is out of character for Springs and the store’s history.
Let’s hope the town (or common sense) can convince this new owner that the property should be left to its historical use. What is being proposed is best left to the south of the highway venues. Not here.
SUSAN HARDER
Good Neighbors
Noyac
June 5, 2023
Dear Editor,
At the town board Meeting of May 16, a group chaired by Jim Brundige, the East Hampton Airport manager, discussed airport operations and voluntary aircraft transition routes for 2023. That group included the chief of the 2023 East Hampton air traffic control tower and several spokespersons for Blade, a company representing helicopter and charter operators and pilots. Toward the end of the “on-air” discussion, a spokesperson for Blade, Autumn Cabaniss, stated the objective of the voluntary routes for 2023, a goal obviously agreed to by all before the group came on air. She said: “We alleviate noise from East Hampton as much as possible. That’s, you know, the goal we all have.”
A short time later, a comment was made about protecting the South Shore, and a suggestion was made to place all helicopters, and apparently as many fixed-wings as possible, on approach to and departure from the airport over the November route, a route entirely over Southampton hamlets. The November route is the longest transition by far over land, and with more homes than either Sierra (over water, Georgica Pond from the South Shore) or Echo (over Northwest, from the North Shore route). This transition route was selected obviously to alleviate the helicopter noise over Sierra and Wainscott, despite the fact that the very worst in air safety issues (the near-misses that we know of; likely there have been many more) have occurred over November, not over Sierra, the shortest transition by far to the airport and over the fewest homes, or Echo, also a shorter transition over land with fewer homes than November.
So, the Town of East Hampton continues its decades-long legacy of shame, its blatant and well-documented abuse of its nearest neighbors, directing, with these “voluntary” routes, the brunt of all traffic over Southampton and the North Fork. Few in other East End towns question why East Hampton is referred to as the pariah of the East End — we know.
The airport is in Wainscott, part of East Hampton. Southampton has its own airport, and the North Fork is wise enough not to want such a dangerous, polluting public facility. Airports are dirty and dangerous. And it’s high time East Hampton took responsibility for the dangers and toxic pollution its airport creates and deals with all of it, within its own territory or over the water. Better still, shutter the dangerous facility as soon as possible so we can all live in safety and in peace and perhaps be good neighbors once more.
Thank you,
PATRICIA CURRIE
No ‘Lake’
East Hampton
June 1, 2023
Dear David,
Thank you for the article on the sand mine on Middle Highway. Maybe now the rest of the people will understand the gravity of this situation. It is about one thing and one thing only: the groundwater, our sole-source aquifer, not a few people’s wells, no. We’re most of us on town water, and this travesty of continuous digging affects all of us in town who drink water. The time has come to do the right thing. The mine exists in a special groundwater protection area. That should be the end of the argument.
No “lake.” No more digging into the groundwater, period. Just say, no!
Sincerely,
NANCI LAGARENNE
Road Stolen
Amagansett
June 4, 2023
To the Editor,
June 4 is significant for a few reasons. We get to celebrate my children’s birth. I am also reminded that they have had their road and beach stolen from them since birth. On that date in 2019 I didn’t get to celebrate their first birthday.
We went to the zoning board of appeals meeting at Town Hall, even though it was after the Town of East Hampton sent letters to open the road “immediately” in March of 2019 and resending the letter that April. At the meeting I closed my time with this:
“Ultimately, its immediate removal, and they can come up with any other solution they want to have. It needs to go. It should be gone. I won’t waste anyone else’s time. The road just really needs to be opened up.”
John Whelan, the then-chairman of the Z.B.A., stated, “We got to get this road open. Summer is upon us.”
Jon Tarbet later stated, “Not only do we have a 5-year permit (he turned and stared at all the owners who came and aren’t his client Stella McCartney), we’re going to get another one.”
I love threats, Mr. Tarbet, especially for permits that seem to have been obtained fraudulently. You should look at Town Code 232 come July 7 — by our count that’s now six years in prison. July 9, that “valid” permit runs out. Monday, July 10, we find out if the town has any intestinal fortitude. I know I’ll be off that day, certainly, skeptical justice of any kind will exist. None so far, though we can’t wait for the Prison Blues line of clothing.
Still waiting, still here,
JOE KARPINSKI
Charge the Producers
Sag Harbor
June 4, 2023
To the Editor,
Don’t be afraid of climate change — do something about it.
There are three questions to ask about climate: Is it changing? Are humans causing it? And is it bad? The answers are yes, yes, and yes.
The science is settled. There are uncertainties, but these are not about whether climate change is real, but only about whether, if left unchecked, it will be bad, very bad, or catastrophic.
What can we do? We can ignore it, but that won’t change the truth of the matter. We can adjust our own lifestyles to reduce our carbon footprints. That’s a good start, but it’s unlikely that more than a fraction of us will do that without incentives. We need something that will get everyone involved.
That something is known as carbon pricing. Here’s how it works: Charge the producers and importers of coal, oil, and natural gas a fee proportional to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted when these fuels are burned. The fee should start off small and increase year by year until our carbon emissions are brought under control.
The second component of carbon pricing is to return the money collected to the American people in equal shares. For most of us, the rebates will cover the increase in energy prices that will result from the fee.
There’s a third component known as the border adjustment, which will eliminate any incentive for American businesses to move operations elsewhere to escape the fee.
If enacted into federal law, carbon pricing would move our economy toward greater energy efficiency and greater use of carbon-free sources of energy. Some people call carbon pricing a job-killer. In fact, carbon pricing will create far more jobs than it will eliminate.
Conservatives should like this because it relies on market forces rather than regulations. Because the money collected is returned to the people, it won’t increase the size of government. Progressives should like it because the rebates will allow low-income people to come out ahead — and the middle class, too, if they make wise purchasing decisions. Everyone should like it because it will provide the economic incentives for American industry to develop the climate-friendly technologies that we can use ourselves and sell to the rest of the world.
To learn more, please visit the website of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (cclusa.org). Then contact our congressman, Nick LaLota, at 202-225-3826, and let him know that you support carbon pricing.
For a greener and more prosperous future,
JOHN ANDREWS
Wokers Resist
Montauk
June 2, 2023
Dear David,
I am happy to report that woke is still alive and well in the U.S.A. Wokers will continue to resist the attempts of the anti-woker wankers to have state governments control teaching methods and free discussions in classrooms and to create an alternate American history that eliminates discussions of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, segregation, the Ku Klux Klan, nativist ideology, the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, the gay rights movement, and antisemitism.
These anti-woke wankers claim to be proponents of smaller government. In reality, they would prefer an Orwellian Big Brother society where government regulates every detail of daily life, including access to truthful information. They would love to create a society based on Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” where pigs, after a power struggle between two powerful porkers, ruled all other animals and convinced them that “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
Cheers,
BRIAN POPE
By His Remarks
Montauk
June 5, 2023
Dear David,
Well, congratulations to Donald Trump for becoming a political d—k. He has shown by his remarks regarding Kayleigh McEnany he cares about no one except himself. Regardless of the fantastic job she did for him, the loyalty she had for him, he turned on her over a minor error in reporting the wrong poll numbers.
Kayleigh is well respected. She was an outstanding White House press secretary. She took on a very hostile media and held her own.
For all she accomplished, Donald Trump owes her a sincere apology. I’ll hold my breath.
In God and country,
BEA DERRICO
Contrived Affair
East Hampton
June 5, 2023
David,
So, the debt limit crisis is over, yet we are still confused by the crisis and its solution. Congress, however, has moved on, which it should. The affair was so pathetically contrived and exaggerated that Washington will reek for at least another week.
So, two obvious issues: The only way to deal with the debt is with the distribution of wealth in the country. We will need to rework 43 years of political dysfunction and thievery. No way.
Issue number two is that Joe Biden has apparently lost it. Some of us think he didn’t have much to lose, which could be true.
Somehow, age has humanized, cleansed his fossilized brain, and brought out all of his experience and knowledge to improve the lives of working-class Americans. He genuinely believes he’s on a mission, maybe from God, to improve people’s lives. Bravo, Joe.
The damage from the crisis however will be substantial and painful. If we are to lead the world, we need to recognize our debt obligations and avoid self-flagellation, mental masturbation, and political creepiness at all costs. The largest economy in the world deciding to screw everyone doesn’t work. We lead by example?
NEIL HAUSIG