How can I afford this?

These past months prices have been sky rocketing whether it is gas or even the tolls to get over the bridges. Staten Islander’s are finding it difficult to afford and are wondering what they can do to lower the cost, and if there even is anything that they could do. Although the gas prices will continue to stand there is something they can do to lower the cost of the toll every time they cross the bridge. It is called the Port Authority Carpool plan. This plan drops the price of the bridges to $2.00 E-ZPass tolls. This is almost at 66 to 75 percent discount. You can’t get better than that! This works for bridges and tunnels including the Goethals Bridge, Outerbridge Crossing, and the Bayonne Bridge. However, there is one catch- drivers who use this plan must have three people in the car or else it won’t work. Numbers show that this plan is used by only 1.6 percent of people during weekdays and 2.3 percent on weekends. Looking into the matter a little deeper it is easy to weight its benefits and its losses.

The obvious benefit of this plan is that it saves the driver money. If you are a frequent user of the bridge this money could definitely add up. For example, if you go over the Outerbridge five times and use the Port Authority Carpool plan it will cost you $10.00 as opposed to $40.00. That is and $30.00 difference. Also, by having people carpool it puts fewer cars on the bridge. This makes less traffic which can save drivers time when trying to get places.

What could be better than saving time and money? Why wouldn’t everyone want to sign up for this plan? Well, the plan does have some disadvantages as well. It will only work when the driver goes through a cash lane. The reason for this is because when you get up to the toll window the person collecting the tolls has to count the number of occupants in the car to make sure it is three or more. Some people find it a hassle to wait on these lines and feel it defeats the whole purpose of even having E-ZPass. Also it is hard for some people to travel with three or more. For example, when going to work in the morning most people travel by themselves, making the plan invalid. It can sometimes be a pain to travel with coworkers especially if they live in all different directions. One of the reasons this plan has not been used so highly yet is because most people are unaware of it. Those that do currently have it were probably informed by word of mouth because this plan has not been highly advertised. It is a tough sell. When people are in their own car they feel comfortable, for them to give up the freedom of controlling their destiny in their car is a hard thing to do.

I think this is a great idea. I feel this is very considerate to drivers knowing their expenses and trying to help. bit of patience this plan could definitely be successful. I know I personally have this plan and although it gets Even if you go over the bridge once a month and use the plan it is still money that is being saved. With a little annoying at times waiting in the cash lane, with a good song and good conversation you don’t even realize it took ten minutes or so! From experience, it definitely pays off at the end of the month when the E-ZPass bill arrives in the mail.

Innocent or guilty?

Most people are familiar with the Sean Bell case; however, for those of you who are not I will give you a little background. Sean Bell was an unarmed 25 year old African American who was shot and killed by the NYPD. He and his two friends were fired upon leaving his two friends wounded and Sean dead. The police, three of them being of African American dissent, that fired the 50 bullets were in “plainclothes,” meaning they were not in uniform and were in disguise. This usually occurs when someone is trying to conceal their identity and avoid detection. The three men were returning from Mr. Bell’s bachelor party that evening when the unarmed men were fired at in Jamaica, Queens.

The occurrence has been compared to that of Amadou Diallo who was also an unarmed African America man, shot at 41 times by police. This incident is disturbing to read about and seems like the police officers who took this young man, Sean Bell’s, life would have a lot to pay for. Unfortunately, when it was taken to the grand jury in Queens the three police officers indicted were acquitted on all accounts. They were found not guilty on charges varying from manslaughter to reckless endangerment. As if what happened wasn’t enough for people to state their opinions the public now has even more to say knowing that the men that took the life of Sean Bell and wounded two of his friends are now released and acquitted of charges. Looking at those understanding of the police officers say they were just doing their job. When a situation seems “fishy” or a police officer feels that something is not right and is about to happen they take action. Although in this case it wasn’t the proper action to be taken they still did what they so called “had to do.” Some believe you had to have been at the scene to judge the circumstances and since there were no witnesses it is hard the charge these officers with something. Being part of the NYPD is a stressful thing. While everyone depends on you to ensure their protection they also look to go against you when you are wrong. Even though some understand what happened most people strongly protest the situation and have a lot to say about it.

Many community members protest the amount of force that was used in the case of Sean Bell. Even Mayor Bloomberg quotes “It sounds to me like excessive force was used. The shooting was inexplicable and unacceptable.” People are not comfortable with the idea of the grand jury issuing the sentence of saying Mr. Bell was reckless and that’s why they pulled the trigger and not doing anything else about it. They also believe that black males will now start feeling like targets especially after Mr. Diallo and now Mr. Bell. In Mr. Diallo’s case the bullets that were fired were 41 and in Mr. Bell’s case it was 50. People now wonder, will the number of bullets continuously fired persist on going up? Many people just cannot get over the fact that these officers were acquitted from all charges. They feel like something should have been done and to sit back and not do anything is just unacceptable. Citizens are starting to feel like they can’t trust the police anymore not knowing what they will do in stressful situations. If one was to reach into their pocket in front of a cop should they feel like they will get shot at?

Losing a loved one is never easy, and when it happens answers always want to be heard and the person or people that took the life are expected to suffer. What happened was terrible and I do believe these officers should not walk away without any charges in their hand however, I do not believe they were totally wrong. These policemen had to feel threatened in some way for them to take out their weapon and fire it. Even though the men were unarmed it was hard for the officers to tell that. As a police officer there is one main motive in mind- to ensure the safety of the public. Thinking on impulse, they thought shooting this man was the best option because if they had not he could have perhaps killed the officers and went on harming other people in the neighborhood. Although the judgment of the police was not accurate I don’t think they did this with the motive of death in their mind.

Catholic schools are strict, but are they a little too strict?

As a former Catholic school student, I clearly remember the first day of class each year. Together as a grade we were all asked to assemble to the auditorium where the dean of that grade would give a speech and talk to us as a whole. Each year they would go over each and every rule and the list would be endless. Girls were not allowed to have highlighted hair, boys could not have shorter than a certain number buzz cut, only one hole was allowed in each ear, only diamond studs were allowed as opposed to hoops, etc. The list goes on and on, but is all of these rules really that necessary?

Some people feel every rule that is offered is definitely a necessity. Having so many rules keeps the students in order and on the right track. By not allowing girls to highlight their hair it avoids the issue of some people having blue, pink or green highlights, a common thing in our world today. Giving the same rules to every student this allows them to be similar in how they look leaving little room for students to make fun of other students. It isn’t uncommon for students to get teased for not wearing name brand clothes or having the newest sneaker out, etc. By controlling these things with uniforms and similar hairstyles it tends to avoid this situation. Not only does it avoid this situation but it teaches students that in life you have to follow rules whether you like them or not and if you obey those rules everything will be fine. If you choose to break the rules there will be consequences, so indirectly there is a lesson to be learned from these rules.

On the other end is everyone who believes that there are too many rules in Catholic schools. For some it is bad enough that they have to wear a uniform, so they express themselves through their hair, jewelry, nails, etc. Once this is taken away from them they feel helpless and no one is unique. Rather, everyone looks the same and the only thing that’s different is peoples’ personality. By having so many rules students tend to feel like they are in a “prison” making them not want to go to school. It gives them the feeling that school is almost like a job and it becomes something they dread doing everyday. By dreading going to school they are less likely to focus causing them to fall behind and not do well on their exams.

I believe having certain rules are good to an extent. Students need guidelines and they need guidance to keep them on the right track moving in the right direction. However, they do not need to have their “individualness” taken away from them. If students are all wearing the same outfits they want to express themselves in different ways. I do feel that students should be able to wear their hair however they want or where whatever jewelry they please. While guidelines are still good you cannot take the “child” out of the children. They still need to enjoy themselves and be able to express themselves how they please to find out who they really are.

Will the postcard-perfect backdrop soon be taken away?

With the thought of the celebrity life in Los Angeles one landmark that comes to everyone’s mind is the giant “King Kong” letters H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D. For as long as I can remember I have seen this sign in countless amounts of movies and films. The sign was first constructed in 1923 to encourage real estate in the area. Ironically, eight-five years later people are afraid that the sign is currently threatened by a real estate deal. The land was put up for sale last month for the high cost of $22 million. It was put up by an investment group who owns 138 acres above and to the left of the 45 foot-high “H.” Filling you in on a little history of the sign, it was once owned by Howard Hughes. He bought it in 1940 with the intentions of building an estate for him and the love of his life Ginger Rogers. Unfortunately she was not too fond of the idea of living on an isolated hilltop and the two deserted the land. It was purchased by Fox River Financial Resources in 2002 for $1.7 million. It is quite clear that Hughes estate’s trustees were either not aware of the value of this land or too busy managing the billionaire’s enormous fortune to care.

The whole idea of selling this land brought much controversy to the public. People were very opinionated on this subject and expressed their great disappointment. One issue that the residents of Los Angeles were fearful of was that if the land was sold mansions would be built on the land. This would ruin the beautiful scenery and take away from the landmark. It would become too cluttered and the quiet, tranquil, peaceful setting it once gave off would not be there anymore. Roads would have to be built on this area of land for people to get to their homes, making it more attractable to homeowners. Also, the concern was that this land would no longer be available and easily reached by hikers, sightseers and those looking for some romantic time. If the area became too cluttered it would give this sign less of an impact on people and tourists would not want to come see it anymore. This brings less attraction to Hollywood effecting businesses, hotels, etc.

On the bright side, the landmark will always remain. No matter how much is added to the land people will always remember the amazing sign that once solely existed. It may even interest tourists to see how much this piece of land has changed over the years. It will also make those who may buy a house on the land, if they are built, very happy one day.

I feel the residents of this area should have expected the day to come when this land would be bought and houses or other things would have been added to it. We live in a world where everything has a price no matter how valuable and people are willing to pay crazy amounts of money for the things they want. Although this landmark may start to look different then what everyone is used to I feel the true meaning and feeling you get when you walk by the sign will always remain to those who have been there before.

A day off from school; but for what reason?

Last week, April 4th, three Staten Island Catholic schools were affected by the decision of the Federation of Catholic Teachers to protest. They were protesting against unfair labor practices and were looking for an alternative medical plan in which their teachers would be able to meet the expenses of. The three schools included St. Charles School, St. Clare’s School and Our Lady Star of the Sea. This protest had more than 50 teachers picketing outside of each of these schools. The union had previously filed a notice of unfair labor practices with the New York State Employees Relation Board but nothing was ever done about it. While the picketers did say their goal was not to be disruptive but rather send a message that what the Archdiocese is doing was not fair, it caused a big commotion.

Due to this strike, students of each of the schools missed out on a whole day’s worth of work. Instead of learning and participating in academic activities they were left with no choice but to spend the rest of the day coloring, watching movies, etc. Technically that Friday was a wasted day of school with hardly any academic learning but mostly fun, pastime activities in replacement. Parents and school board members were asked to put their busy day aside for a couple of hours to help control the classrooms, making sure the students were supervised. This also puts a strain on parents who look forward to bringing their children to school so they have time to do everything they need to do on their own. This protest disrupted their schedule and instead caused several parents to help out in the school buildings, something they would not ordinarily expect. With more than 50 protesting teachers outside each of the three schools much attention was brought to each, however, it was not the kind of attention a principal would want brought upon them. Cars slowed down to read the signs causing traffic jams, honking, and something to talk about at dinner that night. Little kids are always following in the footsteps of their elders. Seeing this, it gives students the thought that if they don’t like something that is going on inside of school they can protest it by taking the day off and standing outside with signs. This is not setting a very good example for those students.

You may ask yourself, what exactly is the positive of this strike then? Well, the teachers that were protesting were able to get a point across. They were able to show the Archdiocese that they did not agree with what was going on and that they are working in unfair labor practices. By doing what they were doing, and halting a day of schoolwork, it was thought that this would give the Archdiocese of New York’s Association of Catholic Schools a chance to consider revising the contract seeing the consequences occurring due to this strike.

I do not believe any strike is technically “the right thing to do.” While it was something the teachers felt they had to do, it was completely not fair to the students. Students go to school and look forward to learning. They do not expect to get off of the school bus and see their teachers standing outside with signs and the parents of classmates in front of the classroom trying to keep everything under control. I feel that when you take the position of a teacher you become a role model for students. Your main interest is to help the students in your classroom and share the knowledge you have gained throughout the years. I felt this strike showed that the teachers picketing cared more about themselves then they did the benefit of the students. I felt a strike like this let the students down and makes me wonder, would the teachers I currently have abandon me, my fellow classmates and our education to get a higher salary or better medical benefits?

Are video games really just for children and teens?

With this item constantly flying off the shelves Nintendo Wii is in high demand. It was at the top of most peoples’ Christmas list and continues to sell worldwide. However, what makes the Wii so unique and incredibly popular? Aside from its straightforward graphics and uncomplicated controllers, it is the first system to appeal to senior citizens. Recently seven systems have been installed with one in each of the Friendship Clubs on Staten Island. A $10,000 grant allowed Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio to stand behind this project.

Besides bringing hours of entertainment does this system also benefit these seniors in other ways? The answer to this question is, of course. Nintendo Wii gives these seniors an opportunity to get up and move in a stress free environment with fun and entertainment at its roots. The Wii compels its players to arouse movements in each of the games. Games include bowling, tennis, boxing, swimming, etc. It provides its players with the physical activity one would get from playing a sport but eliminates the tension put on joints and muscles. This game system is also another way for seniors to stay occupied and keep them busy. It keeps them going throughout the day and has people lining up, eager to play, in each of these Friendship Clubs. One particular fan of the system is 76-year-old Nancy Beshara. She admits to having the time of her life when playing Wii at the Mount Loretto Friendship Club where she is currently enrolled as a member.

There really isn’t anything negative that comes out of having these systems in each of these clubs. While some players may be better then others each will have enough time to practice and improve their “Wii skills.” Seniors get caught up in the games they are playing and lose track of time. They will all refer to the quote “time flies when your having fun,” especially when your are playing Nintendo Wii.

I think the whole idea of installing these game systems is terrific. It gives these seniors something fun to do with the hours of the day and at the same time works as an exercise, forcing them to move, stimulating the joints and muscles. It is a good way for them to stay in shape and not make it feel like it’s a chore, such as lifting weights, walking around outside, etc. Not only does the Wii bring entertainment to the player but to all those watching as well. It is just as entertaining for seniors to watch their peers play as it is to play themselves. It brings smiles to each of their faces and allows for the opportunity to meet new people and formulate new bonds. I feel this game goes beyond the idea of something fun to play with but rather gives these seniors a chance to forget about their age and feel like a child again. While it is usually unheard of for adults, especially senior citizens, to play video games and like it, Wii gives them a chance to be able to play and be good at the game they are playing. Children should be wise when choosing their competitors because it seems like age is not a factor to succeed at playing Nintendo Wii.