"Nassau County has too many layers of government. In addition to the county, three towns, two cities and 64 villages, there are more than 200 other districts with taxing authority, not including school and library districts. They have wildly varying tax rates, and, unfortunately, many of them have little or no public accountability," said Comptroller Howard Weitzman at a Dec. 19 press conference in Mineola. FULL STORY

The Hicksville Fire District Board of Commissioners announced this week a 2.7 percent reduction in its 2006 budget, bringing the average residential cost for highly-rated fire protection and EMS services in Hicksville to below $234 for the coming year. Additionally, with the pending Length of Service Awards Program claim expected to be resolved in 2006, district officials are already predicting a more drastic reduction in the 2007 budget. This comes at a time when nearly 70 percent of fire districts across Long Island have raised their tax rates in the double-digit numbers. Hicksville is one of only 13 of the 132 fire districts in Nassau-Suffolk reporting a decrease. FULL STORY

The Hicksville High School Boys Varsity and Junior Varsity Basketball Teams will play the following upcoming games: FULL STORY