The long-simmering battle between All Island Cab and Checker Cab has carried over through the pages of this newspaper and the courts. The village has authority over two types of businesses. They can regulate food-related establishments and the operation of cab companies. Mineola has granted 36 taxi franchises. Thirty-five are held by All Island and one by Checker. Checker wants to get permission to have 14 more cabs in the village, but the village authorities say Mineola has enough cabs already. Some residents have said that they have long waits for cabs from All Island. Others say that All Island service is excellent. How this struggle will eventually play out remains to be seen.

Linda Doerrbecker of the chamber of commerce and Luisa Filipe lunched at the Jericho Diner. Luisa was born in Portugal but has lived most of her life in Mineola on Nassau Boulevard.

Joe Reis is a gardener and during the winter months does snow removal. Joe and his wife Christine live on Washington Avenue. He is also a good customer of Memories Pub.

Betty Conlon, mother of Trustee Elizabeth Conlon, will be living shortly in the Dominican Retirement Village in Amityville. Elizabeth as reported will be moving out to Ridge to be near her son.

State Senator Mike Balboni and his chief aide Jim Sherry had breakfast at our favorite diner.

When you stop into our library on a cold winter day it sure is great sitting around their cozy fireplace while browsing through a good book.

While Sheila Johnson was leaving a neighbor's front stoop she missed the last small step and had a bad fall injuring her head and knee. Sheila who is Irish and spunky was back on her feet the very next day.

Sorry to hear of the death of Marion McCormack of Lincoln Avenue. Marion was the past grand regent of the Catholic Daughters and held the important position as a trustee of Corpus Christi Church which meant she was one of three persons who oversee parish expenditures. She also served the church in many other ways.

Good exchanging New Year's greeting with friends like Deacons Reinhart and Mannix, Theresa Irace, Dan Browne, Bill DeLuca and Ruth Delventhal.

Tim Warnecke is Corpus Christi's new sexton. Tim is the son of former Village Trustee Maryanne and Tom Warnecke.

Our next door neighbor Blanche Paris, we are pleased to note, is home from the hospital. Blanche is 98 years old and reads the Mineola American every week.

US Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy was the guest speaker at last night's chamber of commerce meeting. Carolyn spoke about her battle for gun control and her work in health and education. She is a resident of Mineola.

People who have lived in our village a long time may remember when our library consisted of a little wooden house located on the corner of Mineola Boulevard and Banbury Road. When the present library was built in 1956 Richard Newhouse was president of the library board. The other members were Alma Clendenny, Rose Hicks, Gertrude Gagliano and Ada Drury. Charlotte Schmidt was the chief librarian.

A frequent patron of the library is Joe Shortis, a retired schoolteacher who now serves on the board of elections. He and his wife Carolyn live on Lewis Place.

O'Donnell's popular Irish pub was hopping New Year's Eve with live entertainment according to our favorite bartender Laura Blake of Arlington Street. Martin and Mary O'Donnell own the oldest Irish bar in Nassau County.

Richard Ueland is in charge of production at The New York Times. He and his wife Joanne live on Foch Boulevard.

Ed and Gerry Solosky, along with their children Donna and Bill and grandchildren, celebrated New Year's Eve at the Davenport restaurant.