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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is dangerous for New Yorkers, U.S. citizens, and the global health community. Confirming RFK Jr, a known science and vaccine skeptic, to lead the critically important $1.7 trillion U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will undoubtedly make us all more vulnerable to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies.

As a seasoned public health nurse educator, I am appalled at the lack of qualifications or expertise of this candidate who has leveraged his famous name in a bid for this key position. A group of no less than 75 Nobel prize winners have collectively called his candidacy “disastrous.”

Kennedy has a history of promoting misinformation and fear with his anti-vaccine views and filing of dozens of lawsuits against vaccines along with his encouragement of unscientific therapies. Nurses and other health care professionals see the consequences, including unnecessary deaths, that these uninformed views may have on our patients who rely on evidence-based care to protect their health.

Millions of Americans deserve a leader of Health and Human Services who will support evidence-based care, credible public health policy, and an effective and equitable healthcare system. I was in Washington, D.C., to join with many of my nursing professional colleagues at the Finance and HELP Committee hearings with Nurses for America, colleagues in opposition to this spectacularly incompetent candidate. We urge the Senate to block this reckless bid.

The writer is an Associate Professor at Mercy University.

Published Feb. 3, 2025

In November, Proposition One approved by the voters amended the New York Constitution by adding new equal rights. One right prevents laws that discriminate against people with disabilities. This makes the pending bill on Medical Aid in Dying, S138/A136, unconstitutional.

Under the bill, dying people must make an oral and written request within six months of death for such aid and, if granted, must self-administer. People who are unable to talk, unable to write, or who lack mental capacity are denied the intended mercy. These so-called “safe guards” leave out people with neurodegenerative disease such as ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s and others. Also excluded are people who lost his or her voice by a stroke and are dying of cancer.

The bill must be amended to add a reasonable accommodation. We cannot rely on the court to add such a provision to save its constitutionality. I suggest that people be allowed to use a health care proxy and also direct that the medicine be administered by a health professional. Administration by a health professional is an allowed method under the MAID program by our neighbor Canada. The Canadian MAID program reaches many more dying people than the Oregon model. The Oregon model is the law in several states. Even better would be to drop the Oregon model and use the Canadian model. Let us not leave the Lou Gehrigs and Woody Guthries behind.

The writer is a retired attorney and Past Advocacy Chair for the Albany Chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America.

Published Feb. 3, 2025

The Times Union Editorial Board’s opposition to cryptocurrency mining in New York overlooks its benefits to the grid and renewable energy goals ("Green money? Hardly," Dec. 22). Properly managed crypto mining can enhance grid reliability and drive economic progress while supporting renewable energy integration.

Crypto mining data centers offer a unique advantage: large flexible demand response. Unlike other industries, miners can scale energy use up or down in real time, reducing grid strain during peak demand. In New York, miners already collaborate with the Independent System Operator’s programs, throttling energy use during grid stress to ensure reliability, especially during extreme weather events.

Miners also facilitate renewable energy adoption by consuming excess power from solar or wind resources during off-peak times. This flexible demand ensures renewable projects remain economically viable, encouraging further investment in clean energy, key to achieving New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act targets.

Economically, the claim that mining offers “few jobs” dismisses its growing role in revitalizing communities. Miners repurpose old industrial sites, boost local tax revenue, create jobs in trades and energy management, and provide workforce training for transferable skills in data center operations. Many mining companies are also adopting carbon-neutral practices, aligning with state climate goals.

New York’s delay in studying the industry is a missed opportunity for collaboration. Policymakers should engage with miners as partners in modern grid management and climate resilience strategies. Rather........

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