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Beach erosion control levies to go before Southampton voters
Photo credit: Newsday / David L. Pokress
Special elections will be held Saturday in two newly created special erosion districts in Southampton Town where voters will be asked to approve spending on beach erosion control measures over the next 10 years.
Polling in both districts will be held in Southampton Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Southampton Town Clerk Sundy A. Schermeyer is sending notices to eligible voters in each...
Read more »Suffolk Social Services commissioner retires
Photo credit: Handout
Suffolk Social Services Commissioner Gregory J. Blass capped off a six-year tenure with a retirement ceremony Wednesday in which legislators, employees and community activists lauded him for boosting morale and steering the department through the challenges of the recession.
“He brought humanity to the office,” said Tom Sartain, bureau chief of family services for the Legal Aid Society of...
Read more »Vanderbilt Museum planetarium to repoen
Photo credit: Handout
Suffolk’s Vanderbilt Museum will reopen its planetarium March 15 after 20 months of construction on a state-of-the-art $4 million renovation.
“We’ve had a preview and it’s jaw-dropping stuff,” Ron Beattie, Vanderbilt board chairman, told county lawmakers Wednesday.
“We’re going to have a world-class planetarium — it’s been a long time coming,” added acting museum executive director Lance...
Read more »New Hyde Park native finds career, purpose in hometown
Photo credit: Brittany Wait
Deepika Thadhani, 23, who has lived in New Hyde Park all her life, is public relations and marketing coordinator for the Ronald McDonald House. She graduated from Towson University in Maryland in May 2011 with a degree in public relations and advertising with a minor in business administration.
What do you remember growing up in New Hyde Park?
The greatest part about living here is that...
Read more »Mom: New Hyde Park Ronald McDonald House a ‘godsend’
Photo credit: Brittany Wait
Ines Martin, 44, of Far Rockaway, and her 3-year-old daughter Jacquline, have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park since Dec. 9 while Jacquline, who was diagnosed with lymphoma on Dec. 15, have been undergoing chemotherapy treatment at Cohen Children's Medical Center.
Tell me your story.
I’m a single mother of two. [Her son, Luis, is 5 years old]. When Jacquline...
Read more »Town Focus: Day 4 in New Hyde Park
Photo credit: Amra Radoncic
It’s the second to last day I’ll be spending in New Hyde Park, so I’m going to make it count. I’ll be visiting a former “Top Chef” contestant, a mixed martial arts facility manager and a local fire chief. Does it get any better than that?
On Wednesday, I met with Ines Martin, of Far Rockaway, a single mother of two, who has been staying at The Ronald McDonald House, to stay close to her...
Read more »Tougher penalties for drunken boating OKd
Photo credit: Albany Times Union, 2011
Legislation that would require boaters to pass a safety course and raise penalties for driving a boat while intoxicated have been approved by the State Senate Transportation Committee.
The bills have been sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. (R-Merrick) in the wake of several fatal boating accidents last summer.
The BWI bill would make it a felony to drive a boat...
Read more »Group hails Islip’s plan for affordable housing
A proposed town code amendment that would encourage builders to develop affordable and environmentally friendly housing in exchange for higher density received a positive reception at a public hearing Tuesday.
Two representatives from the Long Island Builders Institute hailed Islip as a leader in affordable housing development but added that the language of the code change should be tweaked.
Mitch...
Read more »Building height rule in Patchogue revised in flood zones
Photo credit: Carl Corry
The Patchogue Village board of trustees on Monday night amended village code to change the definition of the maximum height of a building in Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zones.
Single-family homes in the flood zones currently are limited to 35 feet and commercial buildings to 45 feet.
The change in code chapter 435 allows residential and commercial building owners to raise...
Read more »Jury deliberations continue in Long Beach councilman Michael Fagen's trial
Photo credit: Howard Schnapp
A Nassau County jury deliberated for a full day Wednesday without reaching a verdict in the larceny case of Long Beach city councilman Michael Fagen.
The jury, which began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, will reconvene Thursday morning at Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola.
Prosecutors say Fagen, who is a Democrat, collected more than $15,000 in unemployment benefits between January...
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