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Ed McMahon

was a class act

The nation mourns the passing of Ed McMahon. He was a fixture in our consciousness for more than 50 years. What many do not know is his quiet kindness and largess.

Aside from his media enterprises, McMahon was involved in real estate development. In the mid 1960s, Bobby Walters and Ed, with the support and encouragement of the then-mayor of Cape May, Frank Gauvry, embarked on the construction of the mall across from Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church. Gauvry approached Ed and Bobby and suggested allowing my father to build a bike shop on the corner of the property to attract people and provide another recreational assest to the community. Ed and Bobby readily agreed and gave the go-ahead to my dad.

After the construction of the Village Bicycle Shop, Ed was on site and complimented my dad on the structure. They talked a bit and then my dad asked Ed how much rent he wanted. Ed smiled and said, "Joe, if you provide bikes for my children, Claudia, Michael, Linda and Jeffrey, that will cover the rent."

Years later, while I was working in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to master an album for Ed. It won the Grammy in the category of Best Spoken Word Album. I remember being invited to the Tonight Show sitting in the "family and friends" section, sitting in Johnny's chair and playing with his double headed eraser pencils on his desk.

Having spent close to 30 years in the entertainment industry, I was afforded the opportunity to witness first-hand the nonpublic side of many performers. In the case of Ed McMahon, I can say with absolute certainty that he was a class act both on and off the stage.

GREGORY FULGINITI

Cape May Court House

Obama health plan

isn't very healthy

The best way I see to sum up President Barack Obama's health care plan is to describe it as soup. In order to accommodate numerous new guests, just keep adding water to the main soup meal. We all know how nutritious that is.

Also, Denmark is being cited as a guiding example for us, but I learned from my Danish sister-in-law that as you enter into your 70s, procedures are denied and wait times lengthen, primarily due to servicing the new residents from Somalia, Turkey, etc., attracted like a magnet to Denmark's socialist medical system.

My sister-in-law, who paid into the system all her life, feels like she is being treated like a piece of meat and has been short-changed. Is this the system that we really want?

TONY De ANGELIS

Villas

Galloway board

too free with raises

The Galloway Township Board of Education has not done right by Galloway taxpayers this year. While people are losing their jobs, homes and businesses in one of the worst recessions in the history of our nation and state, the board raised its budget $3 million and increased taxes. They recently awarded two administrators with salaries well over $100,000 a 4 percent raise. These administrators have been given nearly 10 percent raises over the past two years.

The school board took this action while state, county and township employees are taking furloughs, forgoing or losing raises and giving back some benefits in an effort to hold down property-tax increases, which probably will be a serious problem in Galloway this year due to the revaluation.

These school administrators most likely are well-qualified employees, but the school board could have used better judgment in awarding these raises at this time, and it certainly should have felt some empathy towards Galloway taxpayers.

JOSEPH PICARDI SR.

Galloway Township

Higbee case

will live in infamy

I am surprised that there have been so few letters about the case of State Trooper Robert Higbee since the verdict. Now he's he's back on the State Police payroll after his guilty plea to two motor-vehicle violations from the crash that killed sisters Jacqueline and Christina Becker.

This guy didn't have the intent to kill, but under the circumstances, he did break the law and killed two teenagers. He should never be allowed back into uniform.

The Higbee case will forever live in infamy in southern New Jersey.

ROBERT FRIEDENBERG

Galloway Township

Greedy unions

can kill businesses

Cheers to the Atlantic City casinos for standing up to the greedy unions. They should send them over to Pennsylvania and unionize those casinos.

I am a senior citizen, and I've worked all my life. At two places where I put 20 or more years in, the union put them out of business. My last job was with a nonunion company, and the working conditions were better than the union jobs. The owner gave us raises every year, and we didn't have to pay union dues to the greedy fat cats, plus no strikes.

AL CIRCOLLY

Gloucester

Harsher sentences

for killing a baby

Regarding the June 24 story, "Mom accused of killing waives hearing charges":

I don't get it. How can a mother allegedly kill her own newborn baby? My son turned 1 year old on June 25. I have always been saddened by stories like this, but now that I am a parent, it hits me a little harder.

I refuse to care or wonder what could bring a person to do something like this. There are resources out there to prevent this type of tragedy from ever happening. You can go to any firehouse, police station or hospital and drop off your unwanted child, no questions asked.

Tougher laws are needed. Mandatory life in prison, no parole, throw away the key. Babies need protecting. If knowing that there are options out there to help doesn't persuade someone from committing this vile act, maybe harsher punishment will.

ART AXELSON

Vineland

4 comments:

• nimrod (9) posts 4:12 pm

  How can a sane rational person not see that national healthcare will mean financial ruin for this country. We already have two healthcare programs that cover the most vunerable of our society. That is Medicare and Medicaid they have been funded thru primarily payroll taxes from Americans and legal taxpaying immigrants. It is imposible to sustain these programs at there expenditure growth rate let alone a new direct gov health insurance plan. The goverment has borrow from the Social Security Trust fund which is almost bankrupt. Even if Defense spending were cut 50% it still would be a shortfall for funding for just Medicare and Medicaid. Look at the outlays on the pie graph of a Federal Tax form. You can see clearly where the bulk of your money is going. The solution is a combination of revaluating peoples willful non preventive health lifestlye practices and not covering iresponsible behaviour. Forcing those who recieve medical welfare to perform some type of commnty service. Tort reform and allowing people to purchase US medication from third party countries. A tax credit for those who purchase insurance on the private market. The fact is the country broke and insidously we are becoming a third world nation unless we say no to socialism.

• marian (42) posts 10:26 am

  Love Notes I watched a movie, "Love Notes", from 2007. The story was about two professional people who had a one night stand, resulting in pregnancy. (tastfully done movie) I was attracted to the movie because it was certainly about love. From the start, the focus of the pregnancy was the mother's concern for the unborn child. She had to reconnect with the father because of legal issues regarding the adoption choice. When she reconnected with the father character, his primary concern was also the welfare of the child. As a result of their primary concern for the unborn child, they reconnected in love. Some may call it just a silly love story, but it was a story about what the love of a child can do for two people. Joseph and Mary had a primary concern- Jesus. That wasn't just a silly love story either. marian

• blacknwhite (260) posts 10:16 am

  A Ooooooo

• marian (42) posts 9:30 am

  regarding harsher sentence for young mother: The death of a child to a mother is a heart wrenching event. The heartache comes whether your child is an infant or aged adult. The young woman who killed her newborn will suffer and hopefully will receive some sort of help. The irony in all of these cases which involved the death by a mother of a newborn is that if she had made the same choice when the child was in utero (even late term) this nation would not demonize her. She would be considered as exercising her Constitutional right to privacy. The doctor and or medical personnel assisting her in the procedure called abortion would be called "heroes." And the people who would fight against the woman's right to choose death would be demonized in this culture- some even called extremists. I sincerely hope that the person who wrote the editorial will continue to see the value of life. Harsher sentences will not help, but change of hearts regarding the value of life will. marian

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