“What Every Long Islander Should Know”
This series of articles examines aspects of life on Long Island, written by Nancy Rauch Douzinas president of the Rauch Foundation are published monthly in the Anton Community Newspapers, the Times Beacon Record, and Long Island Business News. As of January 2007 the Long Islander was added as a partner and began publishing the “What Every Long Islander Should Know” column.
How to Improve Education and Make Money Doing It (December 2008)
If the roof was leaking, and rain was damaging the house and furnishings, what would you do? Read this article
Do Americans Hate Kids? (November 2008)
You know those comparisons you always see: how Americans students do on tests, versus kids in other countries? Shocking right? Read this article
If We Don’t Start Getting It Right, We Won’t Get It at All (October 2008)
The Town of North Hempstead has just given us a lesson on how NOT to bring affordable housing to Long Island. Read this article
Business Plan for Long Island (September 2008)
I have seen the future of economic growth. And it doesn’t look much like Long Island. I just got back from a trip to San Diego. I wanted to see up-close how they managed to morph from a Navy town staggering from post-cold war defense cuts to one of the world’s hottest high-tech economies. Read this article
Eight Things Long Island Should Do (August 2008)
I often hear people say that Long Island can’t get anything done, that we can’t get out of our own way. There may be some truth to that. Other regions have successfully addressed problems that all we do is talk about. We need to break that habit and start doing. Here are some concrete steps that would get us going in the right direction. Read this article.
Going Backwards (July 2008)
In the annals of Long Island folly, here’s a trend that stands out. We’re actually recycling less than we used to. Recycling rates peaked in 1997 and have declined ever since. From 2002 to 2004 they plummeted 27%. Read this article
Long Islanders are Serious about Energy and the Environment (June 2008)
If you hate your LIPA bill now, just wait. With oil prices soaring into the stratosphere, and natural gas prices in their wake, our electric costs are going nowhere but up. Read this article.
Fighting for Our Young (May 2008)
We know we are running low on oil. And now we are hearing that food is also running short. But the United States faces another key shortage as well: young people. Read this article
Building Success (April 2008)
Time was when the Long Island economy, led by a high-flying aerospace industry, was the envy of the nation. Read this article
Long Island Renaissance (March 2008)
Shabby. Seedy. A blight on the landscape. Pick your pejorative, and it fits the Patchogue Theater as it stood in 1997. Read this article
Seismic Shift (February 2008)
A quiet neighborhood, a nice backyard, a home of your own. For the past half-century, this has been the face of the American dream. But today, for hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders the dream has changed...Read this article
What We've Got and What We've Not (January 2008)
The turn of the new year is a time for taking stock: for counting our blessings, and addressing our need for improvement. Here, based on data from the Long Island Index, is a partial inventory of our regional strengths and weaknesses...Read this article
Help Wanted (December 2007)
America need leaders. A recent poll revealed that 79% of Americans believe that without better leaders...Read this article
Going Nowhere (November 2007)
A truck-rail freight facility in Brentwood, proposed by the State Depaartment of Transportation (DOT), would take more than 5,000 trucks off Long Island's roads each day, cutting travel delays, lowering emissions, improving air quality, and reducing shipping costs. Read this article
Tackling Taxes (October 2007)
It is said that most fights in a family are about money. Long Island has long needed not a fight but a serious discussion about money. Its time may have finally arrived. Read this article
About Education (September 2007)
As Long Island's children start back to school, it's a good time to consider what kind of educational experience they are in for. How are Long Island's school doing? Read this article
About Boston (August 2007)
A few years ago in Boston things got really ugly. It was all about a referendum to allow local governments to impose a property tax surcharge with the revenue earmarked for affordable housing. The debate moved from passionate to nasty and beyond...Read this article
About the Once and Future Village (July 2007)
I write this month in praise of a great rite of summer. No, not a day at one of Long Island's glorious beaches, or a community pool. I'm thinking of that...Read this article
About Firefighting Costs (June 2007)
Long Islanders owe an enormous debt to our volunteer firefighters. Not only are they brave, professional, and selfless. They also save us a great deal of money. Read this article
About School Cost (May 2007)
Everybody wants good schools. Nobody wants high taxes. That, in brief, is the dilemma Long Island is facing. Good schools are one of the Island's top attractions-and essential for building the kind of workforce a region needs to prosper. On the other hand, high taxes are helping drive talented young people away. Read this article
About Northern Virginia (April 2007)
One of the great unnatural wonders of the world...more complicated than any other that mankind has yet contrived or allowed to happen." That is how urban expert Robert Wood described the New York area's complex, multi-layered web of local governments. Read this article
About Health Care (March 2007)
Four-year old Corey was feverish, congested and having trouble breathing. He barely slept last night. In the morning, his worried mother took him to the emergency room. Read this article
About the Long Island Index (February 2007)
How is Long Island doing? Well, our economy continues to grow but show signs of weakness. Read this article
About Our High-Tech Future (January 2007)
This past month I saw an outstanding presentation concerning Long Island's future. It took place at a roundtable dinner attended by leaders of Long Island research institutions and high-tech industry. I wish every Long Islander had been there. Read this article
About Conservation (December 2006)
To get straight to the point, what Long Islanders should know about conservation is what a poor job of it we’re doing. I think most people would be shocked. Read this article
About Home Rule (October 2006)
Governmentally speaking, Long Island is a mess. We have 236 municipal corporations, which includes: two counties, 13 towns, two cities, 95 villages and 124 school districts. Read this article
About the Third Track (September 2006)
People have been fighting about trains ever since they were invented. So it is not surprising that Long Islanders are battling over an MTA plan to build an additional Long Island Rail Road track between Jamaica and Hicksville. Read this article
About “Open Spaces” (August 2006)
Long Island’s last remaining open space is vanishing almost daily. Meanwhile, tens of millions of dollars, set aside for preservation, are sitting in Town and County bank accounts. Read this article
About “Industry Clusters" (July 2006)
When you think of Silicon Valley, you think “high tech.” Think of Hartford, and you think “insurance.” These are examples of industry clusters, geographic concentrations of firms in related fields. Such clusters are the pillars of a region’s economy. Read this article
About Energy (June 2006)
As energy prices soar, the finger of blame has been pointed everywhere, from Katrina to oil companies to the booming economies of China and India. Long Islanders should be aware, however, that we ourselves are doing our part to keep demand, and prices, high. Read this article
About Our Schools (May 2006)
May arrives on Long Island. It’s the season for Moms…azaleas…and school budget votes. Last year, as you probably know, Long Islanders voted down more than one-third of first-round budgets. Read this article
Please Note: These reports are available here in PDF format. You must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to view the documents.
Click here to download the free Acrobat Reader