22 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JANUARY 2018 22 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 22 LONGISLANDPRESS.CO M • SEPTEMBER 201-----------TUTU111
POINT OF VIEW
Turning the page on 2017
BY STEVE ISRAEL
I left Congress
to write books,
but while there
I spent as
much time
as possible
reading.
Most of what
I needed to
know as a national leader I learned
not from newspapers or television,
but from books.
I asked some local leaders about
what books they are reading for
insight, knowledge and plain old
entertainment in the new year. The
answers were as varied as the people I
questioned.
Nassau District Attorney Madeline
Singas: The Boys in the Boat – Nine
Americans and Their Epic Quest for
Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by
Daniel James Brown. It’s a true story
about the resilience of the human
spirit.
Nelson DeMille, bestselling
author: I’m reading two advance
reading copies. The first is Chicago, a
novel by Broadway playwright David
Mamet. The other is Big Guns, a political
parody by a guy named Steve Israel.
Brookville Mayor Dan Serota: Pat
Buchanan’s The Greatest Comeback,
the story of Richard Nixon’s 1968
campaign. I like the story of an
underdog and at that time, Nixon
was an underdog.
Long Island University President
Kimberly Cline: Nelson
DeMille’s The Cuban Affair. He has
been one of my favorite authors for
over 20 years. The plots are complex,
with unexpected twists.
Laurie Segal Scheinman,
owner of wit & whim in
Port Washington: Paul
Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes
Air, and just finished re-reading
Shawn Achor’s The Happiness
Advantage. Both reads are to ground
me as to what’s important.
SterlingRisk Insurance CEO
David Sterling: How Language
Began by Daniel Everett, because
understanding how we began to
speak will aid understanding how to
communicate better.
Chartwell Hotels CEO George
Tsunis: The Emperor’s Handbook by
Marcus Aurelius, which is a
translation of meditations, because
it speaks to a more high-minded
time of national leaders.
North Hempstead Supervisor Judi
Bosworth: I just completed Our
Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. This
was our North Hempstead’s Project
Independence Book Club selection
for this month.
New York State Assemb.
Chuck Lavine: I’m reading two
books: Shattered by Amie Parnes
and Jonathan Allen and A Single
Spy by William Christie. I also
recommend anything by Alan
Furst.
Old Brookville Mayor Bernie
Ryba: I would like to make time
to read Bobby Kennedy: A Raging
Spirit by Chris Matthews. Besides
his ability to inspire, I feel he
accomplished so much in a
relatively short period of time.
State Sen. Todd Kaminsky: FDR: A
Political Life. I like reading about real
leadership in Washington since I see
so little of it today.
Huntington Councilman Mark
Cuthbertson: The Political Brain by
Drew Westen. It explores something
I think many politicians take for
granted, which is the role that
emotions play in voter decisionmaking.
And my list? Ron Chernow’s
excellent biography of Ulysses Grant,
which portrays the essential human
qualities of a complex and largely
misunderstood historic figure.
Steve Israel’s next novel, Big Guns, can
be pre-ordered at repsteveisrael.com.
Heroin crisis affects us all
Everyone is
separated from
actor Kevin
Bacon by six
degrees, so
the joke goes,
but sadly, the
heroin and
opioid crisis
does not have
as many levels
before it touches us all.
Everyone I speak with knows
someone or has loved ones who
suffered a tragic fatal overdose.
Be they celebrities, executives,
politicians, skilled or unskilled
workers, parents, grandparents,
brothers, sisters or cousins, none
are immune from being affected by
the disease of addiction, especially
heroin.
So many stories tear at the hearts
of individuals and families. A
grandparent loses a 20-something
grandchild, a father finds his son
dead of an overdose from his very
first use of heroin. Best friends are
burying each other. Each story is
unique, yet founded in a crisis of epic
proportions.
Nassau and Suffolk counties – a bit
more in Suffolk – are leading the
list of geographic areas suffering the
most. In 2016, Long Island reportedly
suffered 539 deaths due to opioids,
primarily heroin laced with the
powerful painkiller fentanyl. Total
opioid deaths have increased by two
and one-half times since 2010.
The problem has been building, but
now that we have public awareness
of the crisis, we need to advance the
strategy to combat it. Long Island
cannot afford to become complacent
and lose so many of our young
people, jeopardizing our future.
The long list of those I’ve discussed
the issue with, from law enforcement
leaders to anti-drug advocates, just
scratches the surface of those trying
to stem the tide of these preventable
deaths.
Our actions must reach across all
social, economic, political, ethnic and
religious groups, organizations and
individuals so that we act in a unified
effort that will be greater than the
sum of the parts. If we can create a
realistic plan and execute it according
to our expertise, financial ability and
energy, many lives can be saved.
Lawmakers and law eenforcement
officials need to step up prosecution
of those who divert prescription
fentanyl, which is often illicitly
acquired from overseas and makes
today’s heroin weak by comparison
to the old days. We also need to
recognize that despite widespread
efforts to legalize marijuana, it may
still be a gateway to heroin.
All business sectors are impacted
by this epidemic every day in lost
employees, workplace disruption
when one of the team dies, revenue
lost while workers grieve, theft
by addicts, violent robberies and
murders at the hands of addicts.
There is no escaping, we are all
affected and it will take all of us
working together to eradicate the
crisis and save our neighbors from
anguish and loss of their loved
ones.
Greg Demetriou is president
and CEO of Lorraine Gregory
Communications.
BY GREG DEMETRIOU
“Long Island cannot afford to
become complacent and lose
so many of our young people,
jeopardizing our future.”