The Village of Great Neck Plaza has a new trustee, Sheldon M. Goodman. Dr. Goodman, who holds a Ph.D., was appointed by the mayor and sworn in at the Plaza's Dec. 20 board of trustees meeting. He fills the seat vacated by Trustee Jay Ferkin, who died on Aug. 29. FULL STORY

At another well-attended meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Great Neck that at times became boisterous, the mayor and the board voted to accept the application of a developer to rezone a three acre, landlocked parcel between Old Mill Road and Clover Drive from single family to multi-family. One board member, Edna Guilor Segal abstained. FULL STORY

Cliff Fishler, 14, a South High freshman, ranks 17th in the United States Epee 14-and-under category. Cliff achieved this by participating in the North Atlantic Cup, a national championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in November. His placement in that tournament, in one of the top 10 spots out of 68 competitors, earned Cliff an E rating and qualified him to return to the Summer Fencing Nationals in June 2007 in Miami. The Summer Nationals is the largest fencing match for the top-qualifying fencers in the country in all age groups. Cliff also competed in last year's Summer National in Atlanta. Only a small percentage of fencers distinguished themselves on a national level. The top 20 percent of Long Island fencers can qualify for the Summer Nationals, or one can qualify by performing at a high level at a national tournament, such as Cliff did in Albuquerque. FULL STORY

United States Merchant Marine Academy junior defender Chris Nitta earned honorable mention to the 2006 NSCAA/Adidas College Men Scholar Athlete All-East Region list for his excellence both on the field and in the classroom. FULL STORY