Dan’s Papers February 18, 2011 danspapers.com Page 20
Hold It
(continued from page 17)
there are as many arrests against women for this as there are for men. I’ll be watching. The second thought I had was about the alertness of our local police force. Two hundred and fifty of these crimes—figure about 200 of them happen in the summertime—is about two a day. Or two a night. When you think about it, this is quite a high number, considering the brevity of the period when it can be observed and attended to. I think this illegal activity—and most perpetrators make at least some effort to obscure their activities—is usually reported by a nearby public citizen. Alarmed, he uses 911. He gives the time and place. And Boom. The police are there in an instant to make the arrest.
There are some who say that the police are overpaid. But this is the sort of Rapid Response to an infraction that proves that the more you pay them the faster the service. My last thought about all this is a more complicated one. In recent years, all our towns and villages have attempted to find a way to increase the monies that flow into their coffers. I recall one of the first things done along these lines was in the Villages of East and Southampton where moviemakers and fashion photographers suddenly learned they were required to buy a permit to make a film or shoot a commercial here. It was our scenery after all. It seemed to me a little odd at first. Would
See Us At The Suffolk Boatt Show
Booth #4A
2011 Dockage Available! Marina Events Include Spring Launch Cocktail Party, Wine Tasting, Fishing Tournament, Clam Bake and Block Island Rendezvous. Make your plans now, Only $110 per ft.
Award Winning Marina & Service Department • 160 Slips to 70’ (All Floating Docks) • 55/35 Ton Wireless Travelifts™ • Solar Heated Pool - 4,000 sq.ft. Deck • Gas/Diesel • Deli • Restaurant with Dockside Dining & Tiki Bar • Climate Controlled Showers & Laundry • Heated Indoor & Outdoor Winter Storage
Suffolk County Boat Show February 26-27, 2011 15’ to 38’ Center Consoles, Express and Crossovers
BREAKING NEWS
245CX Voted Editor’s Choice “Boat of the Year”
1214
Authorized Parts Center
Service • Sales • Rentals
this soon extend to just a tourist wishing to take a picture of a windmill? It didn’t. Then, about 10 years ago, the Town of Southampton, and then East Hampton, made a requirement that people holding large parties—50 or more guests—should have to get a permit to do such a thing. When this was proposed, I wrote a scathing article against it in the paper. The law referred to both public and private places. And it limited the number of 50plus assemblies of personages to a certain number a year. Wasn’t Freedom of Assembly guaranteed in our Constitution? It is, a town attorney replied, but we just want to know where the events would be held so the police could provide traffic control near them. There would be no charge for the permits. Well, there weren’t then, but there are now. And there are even charges for the police on the job to go to the extra trouble providing traffic control where your party or wedding or commercial shoot is taking place. Earlier this year, the Town of East Hampton began considering a law that would not only require a permit and a charge for people holding events in this community, but require that the charities they raise money for be the LOCAL charities and not the out-of-area charities. There was even talk of turning away certain events if certain requirements were not met. This newspaper is in favor of charging as much money as possible for profit-making organizations that hold events out here. Our towns should cut themselves in. Get a percentage. We are also in favor of transferring the location for the receiving coffers for peeing offenses. If Albany insists on receiving the peeing money, then it should be the State Police who get called in when a perpetration such as this occurs. When the alarm sounds, it should be Albany who sends the officers down the fire poles and out east to surround the perpetrator with a steel cordon of cars and loudspeakers. Of course the crime might be all zipped up and over by then. So it would be too late.
Meetinghouse Creek Road, Aquebogue, NY 11931 LighthouseMarina.com 631-722-3400
Last Memorial Day weekend, East End Radio, WEER, 88.7 FM, had its debut. Based in Montauk, the community-based nonprofit was founded by Barbara Barri, who envisioned a format featuring classic rock, soul, and R&B, along with public advocacy and local news. This week, the station has announced that they have “not yet gotten the financial support needed to pay out basic costs for our February tower payment of $3,000 and our March tower cost of $4,000. Unless something changes in the next week, WEER will no longer exist.” The station is seeking a “last minute reprieve” in the form of donations, or they “must say goodbye” by the end of this month. Donations can be made at hamptonscommunityradio.org.