A winter northeaster brought 13 inches of snow to Manhasset on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2000. It inconvenienced travelers throughout the area, but the three-day weekend gave children an opportunity for fun with the snow.

St. Francis Hospital completed the construction of a five-level underground parking garage, creating more than 500 additional spaces for hospital staff and volunteers. The new structure is located at the front of the hospital complex and was designed to ease parking demands and improve patient visitor convenience.

On January 8 Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli announced his plans to run for Nassau County Executive. DiNapoli had been leader of the Nassau Democratic Party and stepped down in order to run for office. Larry Aaronson, former mayor of East Hills, succeeded him. Five days later, Glen Cove Mayor Tom Suozzi announced his candidacy for the same position. The two popular Democrats thus set us a September primary election.

As the two Nassau County Democrats announced their intention to vie for the position of county executive, the nine Republican legislators made it clear, at a press conference, that they would not support Thomas Gulotta if he chose to run for a fifth term as leader of the county. Minority Leader Peter Schmitt, speaking for his delegation, said it was "time for a change" and urged the county executive not to seek re-election.

For the ninth consecutive year, Manhasset High School students received national attention on being named semifinalists in the Intel (formerly Westinghouse) Science Talent Search. These students were five of only 300 students selected nationwide to move on in the highly prestigious competition.

The entire Manhasset community was shocked, the last week in January at the violent deaths, one a few days after the other, of two young women who had grown up here and graduated from Manhasset High School. Marjorie Clayton Cordero, 41, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver at 9:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, as she crossed Glen Cove Road a few blocks from her home in Greenvale. Police said there were no known witnesses.

A few days later an even more violent death rocked the Manhasset community. Diane Whipple, lacrosse star and graduate of the Manhasset High School class of 1986, was mauled to death in her California apartment house by two dogs. According to San Francisco police, on Jan. 26, Ms. Whipple returned from marketing just as her neighbor arrived home with her two dogs on a leash. The dogs attacked Ms. Whipple and their owner was unable to control them. By the time the police arrived the dogs had finished their attack and gone into the apartment of the owner. Ms. Whipple was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where she was pronounced dead at about 9 p.m.

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor May Newburger gave her annual State of the Town address before the League of Women Voters. She pointed with pride to such accomplishment as the passing of a $15 million Environmental Legacy Fund and the capping of the L-5 Landfill. On the debit side was the $28 million judgment against the town in a suit brought by Sumitomo on behalf of its investors. As a result, the taxpayers will have to pay approximately $25 a year for 15 years.

The Manhasset Board of Education announced the appointment of William J. Stark, interim principal of the Bronx High School of Science, as principal of Manhasset High School. Mr. Stark replaces Mr. Michael Keany, who retired from the district after serving 34 years as teacher and administrator.

A snow and sleet storm made driving a nightmare in Manhasset on Feb. 5. The snow measured four inches and caused cancellation of many classes and meetings.

More than 100 Manhasset residents came to the Manhasset Public Library on Feb. 4 to share the memories of Manhasset with friends and neighbors. With the Our Town History and Heritage exhibit as the backdrop, everyone enjoyed nostalgic conversation of the past as well as the pleasures of living in Manhasset today.

As speculation ran wild as to who would be the Republican candidate for Nassau County Executive in November, Plandome resident and financial genius Bruce Bent announced that he was interested in the job. Bent, who had not been nominated by either major political party, offered to do the job for a dollar a year, to run for only one term and to expect no post-county executive prizes, "such as a judgeship or an ambassadorship."

Plandome Mayor Brian Vincent announced that he would not seek re-election. After a career of 12 years serving Plandome as a village trustee and mayor, Brian said that it was time to pass the baton to someone new, who would bring new ideas to the job.

In other villages, Munsey Park Mayor Harry Nicolaides announced that he would run for re-election, as did Plandome Manor Mayor Carlo Manganillo. Both ran unopposed. In Plandome, Scott Wilson ran to succeed Mayor Vincent.

After months of speculation on whether Nassau County Executive Thomas Gulotta would run for another term this November, Gulotta announced that he would not seek re-election. Despite Gulotta's plummeting approval ratings due to the county's fiscal dilemma and the lack of support from several members of the Republican Party, including Nassau Republican Party Chairman Joseph Mondello, Gulotta said his decision was personal.

Nassau County began its monumental task of reassessing its real estate. As Ben L. Nadola, spokesman for Cole, Layer, Trumble, the company that is charged with the reassessment of Nassau County, told the CLC, "The $64,000 question everyone wants the answer to, is what impact will reassessment have on my taxes when it is completed. The answer is, I don't know." The cost to the county of reassessment is $23 million, money that is expected to be well spent if it saves the annual costs of successful grievance suits.