Pete Hamill, best-selling author and renowned journalist, came to Long Island's Farmingdale School District to help kickoff the community's second annual literacy project "Farmingdale Reads." Hamill spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in the 400-seat Lecture Hall at Farmingdale High School, all of whom had come to hear him discuss his work Snow In August, the core novel of this year's "Reads." The turnout was impressive not simply for its sheer number, but also because of the diversity of the crowd. Middle schoolers who know of Jackie Robinson only through PowerPoint presentations in their English classes sat next to senior citizens who still haven't gotten over the Brooklyn Dodgers' move. FULL STORY

The Farmingdale Beautification Committee is once again hosting their Adopt-A-Tree-Well program throughout the village. Residents' commitment would be to design a miniature flower garden, purchase the flowers of their choice to fill an approximate 3x3 area and plant and nurture this little garden from May through October. FULL STORY

The Greater Long Island Running Club is launching a new "ultramarathon," the inaugural Caumsett State Historic Park 50 Kilometer Race on Sunday, March 2, and everyone is invited to participate. FULL STORY