Eye on the Island

Two Going to Albany

The state Assembly has often been the first elective office held by promising political newcomers so it is worth watching who prevails in the Tuesday, Feb. 9 special elections to fill two Assembly openings.

Nassau’s 15th Assembly District (AD) seat was vacated when state Assemblyman Robert Walker (R-Hicksville) resigned last month to become county executive Edward Mangano’s chief deputy county executive. In Suffolk, state Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington (D-Medford) stepped down from her Albany post after being elected last fall as Brookhaven’s town clerk. She represented the 3rd AD.

LI’s Places to Grow

A Regional Plan Association (RPA) report released last week, Places to Grow, outlined a way to reduce the number of cars on Nassau’s congested roadways while at the same time expanding the county’s tax base.

MTA Chief’s Challenge

Baseball Hall of Famer Casey Stengel said the key to managing is keeping the players who hate you away from the ones who are undecided.

Levy for New York Governor?

Having learned little from polls showing Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano trailing badly weeks before Election Day 2009, too many are examining the state’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign through the prism of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s current high standing in public opinion polls.

Stakes Held Hostage

The New York Racing Association’s (NYRA) president and CEO, Charles Hayward, hinted publicly last month that NYRA might not have the resources to host the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 5, 2010.

Martin Is in Fashion

Plainview native Jill Martin is a fashion expert and a three-time Emmy nominated television personality but Fashion for Dummies (Wiley, 2009), written with Pierre Lehu, could expand considerably the number of women who know her. 

MTA’s X-Mas Surprise

There’s a scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) where Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), despondent because his boss canceled everyone’s year-end bonus, celebrates as a messenger arrives at his door on Christmas Eve, carrying what appears to be a check.

GOP Tops Media Foe

Prior to Election Day 2009, I’d been developing this theory about the Nassau Republican committee and Newsday’s editorial board, bitter rivals for as long as I can remember.

Brooklyn Nets Win

Should the NBA’s New Jersey Nets relocate to Brooklyn, history will record their first victory of the 2009-2010 season came in a courtroom, rather than on a court.

Mass Transit Tips

This lifelong Mets fan rarely feels badly for Yankees fans. But there was a fleeting moment (it is gone now) last month when I did, and it occurred days after the Yankees won their first World Series in nine years.