Good Tuesday morning. Here’s a glance at opinion content published over the holiday weekend in The Journal News:
Saturday, May 28
Westchester County government: Commentary
May Krukiel and Carlla Horton of the Westchester Women’s Agenda are strongly critical of County Executive Rob Astorino’s proposal to merge the county’s Office for Women with the Youth Bureau in a Community View.
Sunday, May 29
Marriage equality: Editorial
We call on the Legislature to make marriage equality a reality in New York. Such an effort failed in the state Senate in 2009 — we conclude public opinion merits is success in 2011. We write:
… Proponents of same-sex marriage are hoping for better in 2011, inasmuch as public opinion, along with the political and legal landscape, have changed since lawmakers last considered the issue. Public support for gay marriage in New York has shown a steady creep in the direction of fairness: a recent Siena Poll had proponents leading opponents, 58 percent to 36 percent; supporters led 56 percent to 37 percent in a recent Quinnipiac Poll. About the time the Senate came up short two years ago, the margin was 51 percent to 42 percent favoring gay marriage, according to a Marist survey.
Nationwide, Americans have expanded their notion of what’s fair. In a Gallup Poll out earlier this month, more than half of Americans surveyed said they favored legalizing gay marriage, the first time proponents ever outdistanced foes. Fifty-three percent answered that they think same-sex marriage “should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages”; 45 percent rejected that proposition. National tracking polls by Gallup over the past 15 years reveal a steady rise in support: in 1996, opponents outnumbered proponents 68 percent to 27 percent. The data make plain that the American people are capable of making room for more fairness and new traditions. Our Legislature should be as fair-minded. …
Memorial Day: Reisman
Phil Reisman weaves a tale of Davids Island in New Rochelle and the role the site played as a hospital during the Civil War in his column.
Medicare reform: Commentaries
We carried a package of commentary pieces that assessed the conversation in Washington on Medicare reform:
Ryan Plan would save Medicare: Grace-Marie Turner, Galen Institute
Sensisble strategies availbe to lower Medicare costs: Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Monday, May 30
Memorial Day: Commentary
George Rath, a Congers resident and past commandant and chief of staff, Rockland County Marine Corps League, offers a Community View on the meaning and importance of Memorial Day.
Arts education: Commentary
Mark Judelson, executive director of the Arts Council of Rockland, argues in favor of sustained funding for arts education in public schools in a Community View.
Tuesday, May 31
Marriage equality: Commentary
Stephen P. Younger, president of the New York State Bar Association, argues in favor of legislation that would allow same-sex couples to marry in New York.
Cost savings and care for the developmentally disabled: Commentary
Arnold Birenbaum, a Larchmont resident and professor at Alfred Einstein College of Medicine who contributes on health issues, argues in favor of continued funding for outpatient-based care for the developmentally disabled.
