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Dog
Days
To
the Editor:
Regarding
your article on Tom McTygue, Saratoga Springs’s incumbent
Public Works Commissioner [“The Heat is On,” Sept. 20], I’ve
noticed an interesting phenomenon around town in the form
of lawn signs grouped together as Keehn, Kim, and Scirocco
(that’s two Democrats and McTygue’s Republican opponent, respectively).
Not a good omen for the McTygue camp.
However, your writer seems to have missed the point of voter
unrest. While gadflys like David Bronner make interesting
copy, previous McTygue supporters, who are now fed up with
him, are mainly upset with his insulting behavior toward Mayor
Valerie Keehn. In Saratoga Springs, Bronner is barely a blip
on the political spectrum. What voters have yet to be apprised
of are the details of ongoing investigations of McTygue’s
alleged use of city personnel and equipment for personal gain.
For example, a reliable source told me that a DPW truck (allegedly)
goes to the Saratoga Raceway every morning to feed and water
McTygue’s horses at public expense. Don’t be surprised if
this hits the local papers after the election.
Actually, voting for DPW Commissioner is going to be a tough
choice. While McTygue has done a good job with his department
cleaning the streets and all that, his tantrums on the City
Council are a disgrace. A search for “McTygue” on YouTube
will bring up several examples. On the other hand, opponent
Skip Scirocco is just a puppet of his Republican Party masters,
Bill Dake and Jasper Nolan. His main professional achievement
(which your article did not mention) was his longtime stint
as the Saratoga city dog catcher—oops, I mean “animal control
officer.” As a member of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors,
he did nothing but rubber-stamp every proposal a developer
could shove in front of him, like the county’s needless Hudson
River water project and the mega-buck county landfill in the
town of Northumberland that’s been sitting empty for a dozen
years.
Where are the Green Party candidates, now that we need them?
Joseph
Levy, Saratoga Springs
Hard
to Ignore
To
the Editor:
I
always knew there was a reason I never looked at Metroland.
I
have just been handed a copy of your article titled “Investigation
Overload” [Newsfront, Aug. 30]. It is, in my opinion, an odious
example of yellow journalism. Without one shred of concrete
evidence or attributed sources [beyond ‘four sources” or “those
who wish to remain anonymous”] you pass on rumor and gossip.
It is surely the most scurrilous piece of writing on the circuit
now. Worse, it’s being bruted all over Saratoga as the truth.
While there is nothing I can do and while I am sure you don’t
care what I think, I could not let such nasty, mean-spiritedness
go unremarked. What you have done is contribute to smearing
a man’s reputation without citing any proof whatsoever. To
my mind, that’s rotten!
I shall continue ignoring Metroland.
Terry
Lowenthal, Saratoga Springs
Corn
Stalkers
To
the Editor:
Margaret
Black’s description of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as
an ingredient that “helps account for the explosion in worldwide
obesity” in her article “You Are What You Read” [Books, Aug.
9] is misleading.
Many parts of the world, including Australia, Mexico and Europe,
have rising rates of obesity and diabetes despite having limited
or no HFCS in their foods and beverages. According to
the World Health Organization, throughout the world there
are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million
of them obese.
There is no credible scientific evidence to suggest that HFCS
is a unique contributor to obesity. Dr. Walter Willett, Harvard
School of Public Health Nutrition Department Chairman, told
The New York Times, “There’s no substantial evidence
to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow
responsible for obesity.”
No single food or ingredient is the sole cause of obesity,
but rather too many calories and too little exercise is a
primary cause. HFCS is not higher in calories than any other
nutritive sweetener. Both sugar and HFCS contain four calories
per gram.
HFCS is a safe, natural, nutritive sweetener that can be enjoyed
as part of a balanced diet. Since 1983, the Food and Drug
Administration has listed HFCS as “Generally Recognized as
Safe” (known as GRAS status) for use in food. According to
the American Dietetic Association, “Consumers can safely enjoy
a range of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners when consumed
in a diet that is guided by current federal nutrition recommendations
. . . as well as individual health goals.”
Audrae
Erickson, President, Corn Refiners Association, Washington,
D.C.
Metroland
welcomes typed, double-spaced letters addressed to the editor.
Metroland reserves the right to edit letters for length
or clarity; 300 words is the preferred maximum. You must include
your name, address and day and evening telephone numbers.
We will not publish letters that cannot be verified, nor those
that are anonymous, illegible, irresponsible or factually
inaccurate.
Send
to:
Letters, Metroland
419 Madison Ave., Albany, NY 12210
e-mail:
metroland@metroland.net
fax:
463-3726
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