Readers sound off on community news, Bill Belichick and guns in NYC

Local news outlets are our Fourth Estate heroes

Bradford, Ontario: Big media is big business, and big business is not democratic. It reaches for one thing: profitable popularity. Public media and local media operations live and work in the communities they serve. In a world where the large absorb the small, where the speculative is held above the power of the truth, your local media is the most valuable tool democracy has to survive in a world of tyrants, abusers and users of fake news.

Small-town media has been the historical backbone of democracies planet-wide. Who gives a hoot about little Albert hitting a home run in the finals or somebody’s packaging business being in the dumper? How can you get information on where to get a vaccination, discuss the need for new local infrastructure or find out when the local fair is happening? Local media appreciates your needs. What do your fellow citizens think about this issue or that? The alphabet media don’t care, in fact, they see media as a form of entertainment these days. Local media struggles to pay its mostly part-time employees, often forcing labor discussions and strikes. Who reports on the needs of those on strike, those who have not received pay raises for many years and who endure, like you, the increasing costs of our marketplace? Local media gives the little person a voice!

Oscar Wilde said, “In America, the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs forever and ever.” Technology has begun changing the way you get your news, but that news leads you on a sacred quest to view, consume, think about and then exercise your right to express yourself. Steven Kaszab

Shut ’em down

Highland Falls, N.Y.: These feces-throwing children in Congress who want to shut down the government need a taste of the real world — a whole government shutdown. President Biden should direct federal agencies to stop all funding to the districts of Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert et al. No Social Security payments, no Medicare, no federal law enforcement funds. When the screaming starts, direct all calls to their congressperson’s office. Bystanders could get hurt as the flipping starts. Federal employees (I was one for more than 30 years) are tired of being pawns for posturing idiots and those who vote for them. They need to know just how many places federal hands are in. A dose of reality is needed. Joseph Cyr

Grope guffaw

Brooklyn: I’ll say this much for Republican House Rep. Lauren Boebert: She sure is a hands-on legislator! Dennis Middlebrooks

Disrespected drivers

Liberty, N.Y.: I take offense at Voicer Meesha Adjodha’s depiction of MTA bus drivers. I am married to a retired bus driver and he gave respect and got respect back from all his riders. He did everything to make their journeys pleasant, as most bus drivers do. A different wavelength, I think not. Loretta Guido

Still short

Manhattan: Spectrum customers lost service to WABC, ESPN, the Disney Channel, etc. for 12 days recently. Spectrum pulled the plug during a dispute with Disney, the owner of the channels. The rumor was that we would be compensated $15 for that loss of service. Yesterday, we received formal notification that we are being credited $6 on next month’s bill. Do the math — that is 50 cents per day for each day of no service. Missed: “The View,” one Yankees game, the opening night of the Jets/Bills game, “Eyewitness News,” etc. This is not fair reimbursement. A fair amount would be about $100 per person. Anita Forgash

Fair play?

Hewlett, L.I.: Bill Belichick is certain to become the NFL’s all-time winningest head coach before he retires. But did he have an advantage with the replay rule that Don Shula never had? Shula lost the 1965 playoff game with the Colts against the Packers on a controversial ending. Don Chandler’s field goal that was wide right by 10 feet sent the game into overtime. The league was prompted to extend the goal posts’ height by 20 feet. No replay rule. Shula, then with Miami, loses the 1974 “Sea of Hands” playoff game to the Raiders and Cliff Branch was rewarded with a 75-yard touchdown near the end of the game on a catch that was clearly trapped. Miami could have gone on to four straight Super Bowls. Shula clearly would have had numerous additional wins before his career ended. Belichick’s career took off because of the replay and tuck rules. Michael A. Franza Sr.

Injection skeptic

Edison, N.J.: It seems Aaron Rodgers’ season is over before it even started. I was wondering if he had the procedure to repair his tendon done sans anesthesia. You know he doesn’t like putting anything he doesn’t know into his body. That being said, I’m sure he absolutely knows every ingredient used to produce the anesthesia. Thomas Morrison

Distinction

Flushing: What is the difference between a windmill and a wind turbine? They are different in structure and purpose, even though many people use the terms interchangeably. A windmill is a very old technology that uses the wind to either mill grains into flour, drive machines or move water. A wind turbine converts wind energy into electricity by turning a turbine. Saul Grossman

Reserve capacity

Manhattan: The attacks on Mayor Adams in connection with the closure of Rikers Island in Sunday’s issue of the Daily News (“Setbacks in plan to shut down Rikers,” Sept. 17) are maliciously misguided. Inmates are lodged there because judges ordered them there. New Chief State Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas must craft an effective case processing plan to move these cases toward proper adjudication (by plea or trial). Detention facilities hold pre-trial detainees. The COVID-19 pandemic’s halt of trials contributed to case backlogs and longer Rikers stays. Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina has done the best he can to safely house detainees sent to him by the court system. We need safe and humane local detention facilities close to the criminal courts. Releasing predators to commit more crimes only endangers New Yorkers and tourists and is a dangerous agenda. Like a spare tire, Rikers is there if and when needed. Roger B. Adler

Damage control

Somerset, N.J.: Almost every week, we read about innocent victims of gun violence. One solution, radical as it may seem, would be for the police to invite all gang members to their firing ranges, where they can be taught how to hold, aim and shoot their guns. They are going to be using their guns anyway, but at least with some training, they will hit their intended targets instead of unintended, innocent victims. Barry Vann

Personal protection

Brooklyn: In Sunday’s New York Post, there was an article about more people acquiring concealed carry permits. It is good that some people can acquire one, but it’s very hard to get them the way the mayor and governor set up the guidelines, not counting where one can go in the city. None on mass transit or in supposedly gun-free zones in Manhattan. Meanwhile, statistics saying crime is down are misleading. Elderly people are assaulted and robbed, sometimes assaulted for no reason. The same goes for many people in the city, whether on mass transit or in the streets, day or night. Hopefully, the Supreme Court can review the concealed carry law closely because normal, law-abiding citizens need to protect themselves from criminals. Joseph Comperchio

Raise the bar

Bronx: Re “Fentanyl suspected as tot dies, others hurt at Bronx day care center” (Sept. 16): Does the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene require that day care license-holders report other rental arrangements within the premises, any compensation received from such arrangements and from whom? If not, it is time to place that question in the license application. Virgilio Carballo

Who decides?

Brooklyn: I’m confused — shouldn’t such important things like declaring NYC a sanctuary city be something the public votes on, like electing a mayor? Or did I miss something? Joe Many