Soccer it to us
Our property taxes continue to soar, but Mayor Bloomberg feels the need to build a $300 million soccer stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park (“Soccer Stadium a Big Kick: Mike,” Aug. 14).
Are you kidding? Please lower my taxes by 10% and install one seat less.
John Scarpa, Howard Beach
Keeping kids safe
Naomi Schaefer Riley’s “School Reform Gets Cool” distorts the facts about America’s teachers and their unions (PostOpinion, Aug. 8).
Throughout America, we are finding ways to strengthen public schools — from overhauling teacher development and evaluation in New Haven to transforming schools into community learning centers in Cincinnati to improving instruction at unionized public charter schools, like New York’s Green Dot, where 93% of students graduated this year and all were accepted to college.
It’s troubling that Riley would scare parents by publishing false and egregious accusations about our children’s safety. The United Federation of Teachers contract is unequivocally clear and goes beyond many state laws: Any teacher convicted of sexual misconduct must be fired.
Likewise, the American Federation of Teachers worked with Kenneth Feinberg to develop fair, transparent and quick procedures for addressing accusations of teacher wrongdoing to protect children and guard against false accusations.
Opinion is one thing, but facts matter.
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers, Washington DC
Taliban truths
Finally, a member of the media connects the murder of GIs to religious motivation (“Pentagon Cover-Up,” Paul Sperry, PostOpinon, Aug. 12).
Sperry quotes a man named Ghazi Mahmood, while he is hailed as a hero by his co-religionists, as saying, “They [Americans] are enemies of our religion.”
Mahmood later admits that many uniformed Afghans are “looking for the opportunity to kill infidels.”
Thank you, Mr. Sperry, for your courage.
I look forward to reading more news articles where correspondents are not afraid of telling the truth in these matters.
Billy Mac, New Britain, Conn.
It’ll suit them well
Fred Dicker’s recent article highlighting proposals for the creation of a “super control board” to take over the finances of struggling local governments is a timely reminder that New York’s fiscal woes are far from over (“$tate Takeover, Aug. 6).
But lawmakers haven’t been looking at the whole picture.
Until recently, one major cost driver has remained largely unaddressed: the cost of lawsuits.
Preliminary data from a study by the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy has revealed that local governments spend at least $1 billion annually on lawsuits and related costs.
Frequently, municipalities are roped into lawsuits because of their deep pockets and willingness to settle rather than fight.
Ultimately, we are all paying for lawsuits through higher taxes or cuts to services. If our elected officials are serious about tackling the fiscal crisis, they must enact a comprehensive mandate-relief solution that includes rational boundaries on liability.
Scott Hobson, Legislative Analyst, Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, Albany