A scene of terror erupted in a central Illinois high school last week when a male student began firing a gun before a teacher managed to subdue him, preventing any casualties. A week earlier in Washington, a student opened fire in a high school hallway, killing a classmate and wounding three others.
Town halls are often fiery forums where members of the public express concerns to their elected officials, who find themselves having to defend policy positions that are unpopular with many in the room.
Anyone who’s attended such an event in the 1st Congressional District — whether it be Sunday’s community forum with Congressman Lee Zeldin in Northampton or one of the 2009 town hall events featuring his predecessor, Tim Bishop — would expect it to be confrontational.
A feud between Suffolk County officials and a local environmentalist over farmland development rights is reaching a fever pitch. Essentially at stake is whether farmers have the right to build on properties where development rights have been sold.