Letters to the Editor

Opinon: Carlucci Should Treat Disease, Not Symptom

Reader calls for government to keep doctors in New York

To the editor: We applaud Senator Carlucci’s call for greater efficiency in multimillion dollar Doctors Across New York program, a program designed to lure doctors back to New York (“Carlucci Calls for Reform of Medical Program,” May 17). However, the Senator’s reform fails to tackle the major underlying issue, namely, why are doctors leaving New York and why are millions of dollars earmarked to lure them here left unspent? The answer is largely the medical liability climate in New York. In 2010, New York doctors spent $1.65 billion in liability insurance premiums, more than in any other state in the country. The next highest was California, where doctors spent $820m – far less, even in a state with a far greater population.  These …

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Somebody's Mom

Somebody's Mom: Bellas Restaurant Breakfast Review

Bellas Homemade Toast

Searching for places to have breakfast in Tarrytown, Bellas Restaurant came up first in my search. It could have been because it is in the beginning of the alphabet or it could be because it is the No. 1 place for breakfast in Tarrytown.  I made my decision after researching a few places to visit for breakfast, because when I called Bellas to confirm that indeed they were open, and yes, they had a full breakfast menu. The lady on the other line sounded so peppy and happy early on a Sunday morning. Plus she told me that everything is wonderful. So confident in her statement, I had to find out if it was true. Mela—my breakfast companion—and I arrived at Bellas Restaurant in Tarrytown, which was easy to find by the way, at 9:40 a.m. on a …

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Go Green Before Selling

Going green can often help sell a home more quickly.

Many households still tend to shy away from adopting green living habits for fear they’ll be too hard, time-consuming, or expensive. In reality, there are many green habits that are easy, inexpensive, and will help you sell your home faster. Cutting down on energy usage is often a great way to save money. Do you know that many buyers today will ask a seller how much they pay each month on their utilities? Some might even go so far as to ask for copies of the homeowners utility bills. In order to make this often large amount of money seem more reasonable, going green can help. Consider “greening” up your appliances. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, getting rid of old and outdated appliances can save thousands of dollars per…

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There's No Such Thing As a Bully

There's No Such Thing as a Bully: Confessions

The author emphasizes the power of the apology.

I confess. As a child, I was bullied on a fairly regular basis—sometimes physically, but usually a verbal attack—because I was always the “new kid.” My dad was a salesman and we relocated to where the work was. It wasn’t unusual for us to move on a yearly, sometimes bi-yearly, basis. Clearly, I was an easy target. But thanks to my family, and a few loyal friends, I survived pretty well. Personally, I try to use my life experiences as character builders, but I must admit that if I had the choice I would have skipped more than a few of them. They were quite painful, emotionally if not always physically, and I’d be just as happy if they’d never happened. So when my son came home with stories of being bullied, it really hit home. And if you've…

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Taryn Grimes-Herbert

6:49 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012

Raymond, You're taking the title a tad too literally. Go to http://patch.com/A-pSJh for the explanation.   more ›

Safety Tips For Proms And Graduations

CANDLE recommends parents discuss safety with their teens prior to these special events.

  Candle (Community Awareness Network For A Drug-Free Life And Environment, Inc.) shared this letter with Patch.  Dear Parent/Guardian:  As prom and graduation celebrations approach, we at CANDLE (Community Awareness Network for a Drug-free Life and Environment) want to share a few thoughts about this exciting time.  We want teens to have fun, but like their parents, we also want them to be safe.  So often by the teen years parents feel like they have lost control because there are so many other influences.  Yet research shows that parents and guardians are the #1 INFLUENCE IN A TEEN’S LIFE. When teens were asked to draw the major influences in their lives, they placed their parents first before peers and activities.  Nevertheless, parents…

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Nyack's John Shields on Gay Marriage, Obama

Former mayor talks about the president's new stance on same-sex marriage

When president Barack Obama announced last week that his views on same-sex marriage had "evolved," and that he now supports gay marriage, people across the nation speculated on the possible political impact. But John Shields' primary emotion was happiness—and relief. "I think it's amazing, and great that he did it," Shields said. Shields, who served as Nyack's mayor between 2000 and 2008, was one of New York State's first openly gay mayors. Prior, Shields served as a village trustee. In 2004, Shields and a group of other like-minded residents sued New York State for its policy of not allowing gays to marry. In 2011, the state passed legislation that reversed its standing—the Marriage Equality Act, signed by governor Andrew Cuomo, legalized…

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Stay-at-Home Dad: Everything Counts

A child's report card makes me evaluate my own existence.

My oldest son’s report card came in the mail the other day. He is 13 (going on 10) and in his final months of Middle School. His grades were good for the most part, with his traditional spattering of A’s and B’s, but way down at the bottom of his progress report was a brand new letter of the alphabet to add to his transcript–a “D." When pressed about the mark he did a familiar song and dance, and ended up telling me that he just didn’t take the subject too seriously and even worse, didn’t feel like making much of an effort during the semester. Granted it would have been nice to have received a “heads up” from the teacher before his grades were etched in stone, but my wife and I chose to use this experience as an opportunity to convey the …

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