Bernard Madoff’s sentencing had readers talking about the length of the term, with most saying it was more than fair considering how many lives he had ruined. A few people thought it was excessive and that the judge let emotions rule the court.

He got what he deserved,

one reader wrote, while another added:

Makes everyone feel better, but doesn’t get anyone their money back any faster. Twenty years would be the same as a death sentence in reality. He will be wearing an orange jumpsuit and eating bologna sandwiches for the rest of his life either way.

Another countered:

I understand the anger being felt, which is dwarfed by the pain felt by crushed investors. That being said, I have a problem with giving out sentences based on the demands of the masses and not based in law. … Judges need to be able to leave emotion out of their decisions.

More than a few readers are convinced that Madoff’s wife and sons should also face the legal system.
Here’s one reader’s comments:

They need to go after the family and employees. This was no one-man scam.

Another wrote:

Until everyone is paid back his wife and children should have nothing. They are living on other people’s stolen money. Maybe a little dumpster diving would be good for them.

A few are also laying blame on the Securities and Exchange Commission for not investigating warnings about Madoff earlier or more thoroughly.

The government’s hands are dirty in this also. The SEC was warned about Madoff for years and never acted on it. This sad saga is by no means over today.

Based on the machinations in the state Senate over the past several weeks, and increasing frustration over “politics as usual” in Albany, some in the state are calling for a constitutional convention to try and make changes in how state government runs. Specific areas that would be addressed include campaign finance reform, term limits and budget issues.
While many readers would welcome reform in the state, most have little faith that anything will be done. They also think there is plenty of blame to be shared among elected officials and voters for letting things get so out of hand.
Here’s one reader’s take on the situation:

Reform? How about criminal charges. This cesspool of politicians has turned Albany into one big bank for themselves. This latest episode should be the straw that breaks the bank so to speak. These times call for leaders to step up now more than ever, and do right by the people.

Another reader countered:

Since we have a representative government, it is WE, the voters, who created the problem. Now we want to blame the very people we put in office.

And another said:

Maybe it’s politicians are too busy protecting special interests. … Maybe it’s being spendthrifts who have only passed one or two budgets on time since the days of Cuomo. Maybe it’s the state has been deficit spending for 3+ decades. Maybe it’s the fault of Majority leaders who wield too much power over rank & file members.

Several readers think that reform will only come if all incumbents are voted out.

Now is the time to pratice what we preach. Clean house from top to bottom, locally and in Washington. Look at the mess our country is in.

Another had a much more cynical outlook:

That’s all we need is a bunch of corrupt incumbents changing the constitution. If you look closely, you’ll probably see that New York’s government is already violating the constitution. What we need is some enforcement.

A Yorktown woman who police said left a 4-month-old infant alone in a vehicle while she went into a store has revived the age-old debate about the dangers of children being left alone in vehicles, especially in the summer.
Most readers said that leaving a child alone in a vehicle for any length of time is unacceptable.

Are you kidding me? This was a 4-month-old child left in a closed-up car. Anybody could have broken into that car and taken this baby, the car could have caught fire, the baby could have gotten too hot and stopped breathing,

one reader wrote. Another added:

I don’t understand how a mother can forget her baby in the car.

Several readers sympathized with the mother, but still noted her actions were not right:

Don’t get me wrong I know how difficult it is to run into the store for just one or two things but you have to take them with you. They are yours for life.

Another person wrote:

It’s a very dumb move – and something I work hard to make sure I never do with my kids. It is amazing how distracting a young child, or three, can be, in case you don’t have any of your own.

However, a few posters took a different view.

Why don’t people mind their own business?

one reader questioned, while another continued:

Why was this a common occurrance that no one thought twice about back in the 70’s & 80’s when I was a kid and today it’s considered such a horrible crime? I can see if it were sunny and 85 degrees out, but it’s been 65 and raining every day this month. The kid was not in any danger. People need to stop being so uptight and mind their own business.

A psychedelic storefront in Nyack has the usually liberal, artsy community divided over the definitio of “art.” The newest renter of the space on North Broadway that was the former home of the Ben Franklin Bookshop is Carol McIlmurray, who has been painting and repainting the facade.
Some are defending McIlmurray and her artistic creations, like this reader:

People have to stop being so uptight. Leave the hippie chick alone. Let her paint all day long!

While another wrote:

Jeeez, it’s Nyack; whaddya expect — haven for the artsy crowd and their culture of ….well, culture, I guess. If you don’t find it all so amusing, stick to the Starbuck’s at the mall.

Others think that McIlmurray is painting the store to draw attention to her new business:

Talk about free advertising!

one person said of the story in the paper, while another added:

Obviously this woman did this to bring attention to the new store she is opening, creating controversy is a great way for free publicity.

Another reader wrote:

Personally I think it looks dumpy and sloppy, bordering on childish with perhaps a tweak of mental queerness. I can see how upsetting it could be to some. Then again, Nyack could use a little odd attention.

Someone else turned to poetry:

Since we’re talking about artful expression I’ve decided to offer a haiku to describe how I feel:
Broadway in summer
Pointless eyesore masked as art
Annoying person

Finally, one reader summed up the controversy this way:

What one considers art, others consider graffitti. Personally, in a year no one will remember the store or her.

Who says people don’t like a positive story? Not our readers who couldn’t post their well wishes and kudos fast enough after The Journal News wrote about Mount Vernon’s salutatorian. Cinnamon Lewis has overcome a hard family life and other obstacles to rise to the top of her graduating class before heading off to Columbia University this fall.
Response from readers has been overwhelmingly supportive, such as this post:

This is a GREAT story! Maybe the Journal News can continue to report on people like CInnamon who, despite obstacles thrown at them, rise above and succeed. Well done, young lady, you’re just getting started!

Many others cheered her on:

You go girl!! Keep reaching for those stars and show everyone what you’re made of!! Congratulations and all the best for your future.

Readers also were thanking the paper for showcasing the extraordinary young woman and asking for more positive stories.

Thank you, Journal News; it’s stories like this that give me faith in the world.

Several readers were happy to see some good news written about Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon just doesn’t have negative stories! It shows once you put your mind to something, you can do it! Ms. Lewis, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! God bless and follow you in your studies!

wrote one reader, while another added:

The city has to develop programs that promote protective factors and help reduce the risk factors that lead to juvenile crime. Such programs become the best investment our community can make to lower our rates of delinqency. Ms. Lewis could not have done this alone. Her mentors should be complimented for the fine job they did in encouraging her success.

I frequently gripe here about all the form letters and letter-writing campaigns that clog up our letters e-mailbox. Today, I’ll demonstrate step-by-step how this works, and hopefully show why it’s such a nuisance (and why such letters are generally ignored by editors).

This morning in the e-mailbox, I discovered 30 or so letters, nearly all from outside The Journal News readership area, regarding Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier being held captive by Hamas. These letters are being generated by visitors to the Web site of The Israel Project, a Washington, D.C. – based think tank. It’s a fairly easy process: From the homepage, go to “Take Action” and click “Send a letter to your editor” in the drop-down menu. There you will find a list of recent form letters ready to send (the Gilad Shalit one is the third one down). When you click on “Gilad Shalit – Three Years in Captivity,” you will then be asked to provide your ZIP code. Whether you enter a ZIP code from White Plains, Brooklyn or elsewhere in the tri-state area, the site will provide you with a list of 78 newspapers, including Spanish-language papers, stretching from central Connecticut up to Kingston, NY, and down through most of New Jersey. It is then up to the writer to choose which of these to submit his/her letter to. Problem is, all of them are “pre-checked,” so if the writer does nothing, the letter will go to all 78 newspapers! The writer is then required to fill out his/her name, address, etc., and, most important, their e-mail address, so that the letter appearing in the newspapers’ e-mailboxes will look as if they came directly from the writer.

The sample letter, 672 words long, begins “Now is an important anniversary that we must not forget. Iran-backed Hamas has held Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit for 3 years after wounding and kidnapping him from Israel in an unprovoked cross-border attack near the Gaza border.” Underneath are the following “Message Tips”:
* Include a phone number where you can be reached in case the newspaper needs to verify your information.

• Do not cut/paste the talking points above. Put them in your own words to increase the chance that they will be published. (Let’s see: About two-thirds of the letters we received did at least shorten the given material into something resembling a 250-word letter to the editor; the rest merely cut-and-pasted the entire thing.)

  So how did this letter-writing campaign work out? Well, you’re not going to see any of these in the pages of The Journal News – the “writers” are not local, and few of them took the time to write about the issue in their own words. I imagine that the other 77 newspapers on the list will treat them similarly. Again, makes you wonder why such organizations, no matter what they advocate, waste their time and that of their supporters in setting up these transparent camapigns that aren’t going to get past any semi-observant editor.

The Journal News’ ongoing investigative series examining the top 50 wage earners in each municipality continues to generate controversy depending upon which town finds itself in the spotlight.
This time, it’s Stony Point, and the list is dominated by police officers.
Weighing in in support of full disclosure of the salaries information, most readers expressed displeasure with the high salaries at the top of the list. Here’s one reader’s take on the information:

Everyone out there comfy with cops making $200,000 a year? … Give me a break. Now we all know why taxpayers in this area are ready to pull their hair out.

Another had this to say:

These salaries are too high. But the towns are at fault, too. They are agreeing to pay these high salaries and pensions.

And a third added:

Towns must come to face the fact that taxpayers just cannot afford these salaries and benefits. … The unions are out of hand and must be stopped or there will be a taxpayer revolt.

Others are saying that they have no problem with what the police are making. Here’s what one reader thinks:

If anyone deserves high pay it is the police. They are the real heroes.

While another chimed in a little more forcefully:

Enough cop and teacher bashing! These people are working hard to protect us and educate our children. They deserve to get paid well to deal with a whiney ungreatful public.

Readers also had a few suggestions for how to change the pay structure of municipal employees:

If civil service employees makes more then the people paying their salaries (taxespayers) then you end up with a very unstable and negative result. Their pay should be based on the average salary in town,

one reader offered.

Today’s editorial sets the stage for the LIVE Editorial Spotlight at noon on the double-fatality drunken driving accident in  Brewster. It begins:

Today the Editorial Board hosts a community conversation about the issues arising from the horrific accident in Brewster last week that claimed the lives of a mother and her young daughter, allegedly by the destructive hand of a motorist who was drunk, driving without a license and in the country illegally. You can watch the LIVE Webcast at noon at www.LoHud.com/editorialspotlight. We don’t expect it to be an easy conversation; we are certain it is a necessary one.

Read the rest off the setup at LoHud.com and we hope you’ll join in the conversation as well.

I was off last week but hardly oblivious to the heat and anguish coming out of Brewster, where the lives of Lori and Kayla Donohue — 37-year-old mother and 8-year-old daughter, respectively — were snuffed out in the most violent, preventable and gut-wrenching fashion; they were struck and killed by a vehicle driven by a man who police said was drunk, unlicensed to drive, and shouldn’t even have been in the country. Any one of those facts would be damning; the combination of all three has many people seething.

As staff writer Theresa Juva reported in a Sunday article about the Donohue funeral, the Rev. Kathleen Koran, pastor of Trinity Lutheran, acknowledged the community’s anger and the sorrow. Koran said, “We have to figure out what to do next. Who are we? How do we go on being? There are times when words fail us.”

We certainly couldn’t put it any better, but we’re going to try as best we can — with the words — in a community discussion noon Thursday that you can watch LIVE at LoHud.com/editorialspotlight. The Editorial Board has invited community leaders to talk about the issues raised by the tragedy, including drunken driving, illegal immigration and community healing. We’ll let you know more tomorrow (Wednesday) about who is participating. You’ll also be able to ask questions using our interactive blogging feature.

Also these Editorial Spotlight conversations are on tap for Wednesday — also available via  www.LoHud.com/editorialspotlight:

• At 11 a.m.: COLLEGE LIFE — With more than 427,000 students, the State University of New York is the largest university system, under a single board, in the nation. Nancy L. Zimpher, SUNY’s new chancellor, will share her vision for its future and the challenges ahead. Former president of the University of Cincinnati, Zimpher became SUNY’s ninth chancellor and its first woman chancellor June 1. Joining her will be Purchase College President Thomas Schwarz.

• At 3 p.m.: YOUR TAX BILL — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has huge responsibilities, including managing the state’s pension fund, auditing all state agencies and local governments, and overseeing the state and local retirement system, which serves more than 1 million members and retirees. He recently shared the gloomy news that the state pension fund lost 26 percent of its assets as of March 31. The implications: By 2011, state and local governments will have to greatly increase their contribution rate to the fund to make up the difference.

This coming Wednesday, our Editorial Board will be sitting down in two separate meetings with some of the most influential people in the state. The interviews will be streamed LIVE on LoHud.com.

First, at 11 a.m. the new SUNY Chancellorm Nancy L. Zimpher, and Purchase College President Tom Schwarz will join us. Zimpher, formerly president of the University of Cincinnati, became the State University of New York’s ninth chancellor, and its first woman chancellor. She took the position effective June 1 and has made an ambitious start, pledging to visit all 64 SUNY campuses, including Purchase College, where Schwarz presides.

SUNY, with more than 427,000 students, is the largest university system in the nation under a single governing board. Zimpher’s leadership will have enormous impact on higher education in the state—and on the communities where these campuses are located and in themselves are economic engines for employment and research.

In the afternoon, at 3 p.m., state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will be here in our White Plains offices. He is the  chief fiscal officer for the state, with huge responsibilities, including managing the state’s pension fund; auditing the spending practices of all state agencies and local governments; and overseeing the New York State and Local Retirement System, which serves more than 1 million members and retirees.

DiNapoli, who holds an elected position, recently shared the gloomy news that the state pension fund lost 26 percent of its assets as of March 31, falling to $109.9 billion. The implications? State and local governments will need to make up the difference. Their contribution rate to the fund will need to jump to about 11 percent, up from 7.5 percent, by 2011, according to his office.

And who is on tap for that? Taxpayers, who here in New York have the highest combined state and local tax burden is highest in the nation. We’re sure that will be the main topic of interest for us, and viewers and readers.

Join us.