Apply covid rules to all business equally
I went to Walmart on Altamont Avenue Sunday, May 31, because I promised my grandson a toy for making his bed two weeks straight. I get there and the carts are all sitting there with no cleaner or paper towels to clean them. I’m going through the store and there are literally dozens of people without masks.
I called the manager and asked why there is no disinfectant for the carts, and he said he didn’t know. I asked why people are allowed to shop with no masks, and his response was my employees can’t tell people to put a mask on. I said you have a greeter, so put a “No Mask No Entry” sign on the door and have your greeter enforce it. He said they would be risking violence. Really? Everyone else does it.
I could care less about the masks or the carts. My issue is thousands of businesses who would follow the rules will close permanently while Walmart can do as it pleases. If I were a reporter, I would see whose campaign Walmart is supporting in New York and ask them why Walmart doesn’t have to follow the rules. This is why people like me believe this whole thing is political. If the virus is as bad as Comrade Cuomo says, then Walmart should be following the rules, or the state should open up completely.
William Marincic
Schenectady
Add an educator to Niskayuna board
I urge you to vote for Sarah Rogerson for Niskayuna Board of Education. Sarah is a first-time candidate. She has lived in Niskayuna for 10 years and her children attend Craig Elementary School. I got to know and admire Sarah through our mutual association with Schenectady Youth Hockey.
In addition to being a great hockey mom, Sarah is very level headed, and I trust her to help guide decisions about the school budget and our tax burden. My family moved to Niskayuna in part for the great schools. Sarah understands that smart investments in our schools preserve property values, provide local jobs, help us retain the best faculty, staff and administrators in the region, and prepare our children for the future.
Sarah is a professor at Albany Law School, a public interest lawyer, and frequent guest on WAMC’s The Roundtable. It gives me great comfort that Sarah has first-hand experience teaching in the time of COVID-19. Adding the voice of an educator to the school board is so important at this time of great change and uncertainty.
Please join me in voting (by mail) for Sarah Rogerson.
Alexandra Stafford
Niskayuna
President should be OK with fact checks
If I were looking forward to becoming the next president of the United States, I’d promise not to lie on my Twitter account. I’d welcome anyone to fact check my words and I’d honor our Constitution, “We the people….”
But, I’m not running.
Curt Alheim
Ballston Lake
Vote in new board members in Sch’dy
Why am I voting for all new three candidates for Schenectady City School Board of Education? Because the others all failed us and let us down for signing a non-disclosure statement regarding their dirty secret regarding sexual harassment of female district employees by the former superintendent. That’s why. It’s even more abhorrent that all the females on the board never said ‘boo’ regarding this egregious act. Vote for Rose, Etienne, Leary. It’s the only way really.
Gerald Plante
Schenectady
Rivera has been a leader on board
School board elections don’t generally generate much excitement. But that’s not the case this year when we get the opportunity to elect three members to the Schenectady Board of Education against the backdrop of an unexpected superintendent search and an international health crisis that will surely affect how the city’s schools operate for the foreseeable future.
It’s for these reasons and others that I urge voters to re-elect Bernice Rivera. Bernice, a former teacher and longtime advocate for public education, has been a strong voice for accountability and transparency on the board and throughout the district. It is no coincidence that it was during her first term that district leadership has been increasingly held accountable, resulting in much-needed changes that are finally taking place
Bernice has been and will continue to be aggressive in demanding that all community stakeholders are heard; that school culture, climate and diversity issues are satisfactorily addressed; and that trust and integrity are restored.
Running as part of a formidable slate that includes Dharam Hitall and Princella Leary, Bernice Rivera deserves re-election so that she can continue to lead during these difficult times.
Frank Maurizio
Schenectady
Another way to look at Times story
Regarding the May 16 article “President pumps up the volume in his attacks” from which these quotes are taken.
With New York Times articles, the more authors, the greater the spin. This article had four authors. My comments in the space permitted:
“Over the last week, the Trump campaign has spent at least $800,000 on Facebook ads attacking Biden.” How much does Biden benefit when 90% of the press attacks Trump daily?
“Others paint the presumptive Democratic nominee as “China’s puppet.” In 2013, Biden’s son closed a billion-dollar deal with the Bank of China right after returning from China with his father; China owns Biden.
“… a barrage of digital ads from Trump’s campaign mocking Biden for verbal miscues and implying that he is in mental decline.” Biden has trouble speaking; the press ignores this.
“[Trump] railed against…Barack Obama, linking him to a conspiracy theory and demanding he answer questions before the Senate about the federal investigation of Michael Flynn.” Not a theory; people behind the Russia investigation knew Flynn would see through it. They illegally spied on him and leaked to the press. The Justice Department has dismissed the charges against him. What did Obama know about this?
Daniel Nosek
Glenville
Brennan is a true leader in Niskayuna
If I have learned one thing from the COVID-19 crisis, it is that leadership ability matters. My daughter participates in the Nisky NOW program that offers meals to students who need them. Due to an immunodeficiency, I cannot go out and shop. This program is our lifeline. I understand Tim Brennan has volunteered with the program for years. This kind of leadership is making a real difference in the lives of Niskayuna families. That is why I will proudly vote for Tim Brennan for Niskayuna Board of Education and encourage everyone to join me.
Michele Dollar
Niskayuna
Criminal acts don’t honor George Floyd
Protestors should be told that stealing money, TVs, cigarettes, drugs and burning cars and buildings down, etc. is a crime not a protest. We all know that some of these people aren’t legit, but are pretending to be protestors to destroy and steal anything they can get their hands on with no consequences and then using and disgracing George Floyd’s name to get away with their crimes. It was wrong first what happened to George Floyd and a second wrong is being done to him with these criminal actions.
Beverly Borgeest
Clifton Park
School vote letters
Our deadline for accepting school vote letters has passed.
Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion
