Residents Criticize Proposed Charter School

Speakers at Jericho School District’s forum on proposed Doshi STEM Charter School largely disapprove of the project

Most of the residents who attended the Jericho School District public forum on a proposed STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) charter school on the SUNY Old Westbury Campus on Tuesday, Aug. 14 voiced strong opposition to the proposed school. They were on the same page as the Jericho Board of Education, which had voted unanimously at the regular meeting before the forum to oppose the creation of the school.

Superintendent Henry Grishman noted that his main concern with what is being called the Doshi STEM Charter School, and charter schools in general, is how the schools are funded under state law.

Retired Plainview Teacher Continues To Support His Students

Joel Rauch to donate percentage of tutoring earnings to P.S. 19 in Corona, Queens

Joel Rauch of Plainview may have retired from teaching elementary school in Corona, Queens this past June, but he’s not quite done looking out for the kids of Corona. In addition to seeing to it that many of the programs started at the school during his tenure are continued, he also plans to donate 18 percent (or the lucky number chai in Hebrew) of the money he makes from private tutoring to the school. The money will go to special education programs and a Children of Corona scholarship fund.

“I have this emotional attachment to this school, and that’s not going to leave, so I’m desperately trying to find ways to support the community and the kids— especially the special ed kids,” said Rauch.

Islanders Hold Tryouts For 2012-13 Ice Girls

A blazingly hot August day is a great time to head to Iceworks just to cool off, but the dozens of young women who showed up to the Syosset ice rink on Sunday, Aug. 12 had something more ambitious in mind: showing off their skating skills to win one of just 10 spots on the New York Islanders 2012-13 Ice Girls Team.

With the exception of one lockout season (2004-05), the Ice Girls have been part of the show at Islanders’ games since the 2001-02 season. In addition to presenting the Islanders flag at every game, Ice Girls keep the ice clean during games, and perform an additional routine when the team wins. They also play games with the fans in the stands during time outs and distribute T-shirts. The girls must be over 18 with strong skating skills, capable of skating backwards as well as doing lunges, spirals, t-stops and power crossovers.

Board Discusses Assessment Results, Lunch Changes

On Monday night, Aug. 13 the Plainview-Old Bethpage Board of Education continued to move forward with the assistance of new Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lorna Lewis, who graciously began the meeting with a warm thank you to community members for welcoming her with open arms. The theme of this academic year will be “Moving Forward Together,” a concept inspired by the high school graduation ceremony, said Lewis.

Jill Gierasch, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, led the analysis of the New York State Grades 3-8 Assessments. District average grades can be found on the district website. One area of concern for parents at the meeting was the difference in grades between Mattlin Middle School and Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School. The percentage of passing students at Mattlin exceeded the percentages at POB in almost all categories. Parents stated that they hoped to see some sort of unification of curriculum and opportunities so that the percentage of students passing the ELA and state math examinations at POB will be closer to that of Mattlin. 

LI Veterans Honor Purple Heart Recipients

War memorial ceremony

On Wednesday, Aug. 2 dozens of Vietnam War veterans and local officials gathered at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow during the construction of the Traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall to honor Purple Heart veterans.

It’s A Nice Day For A … Free Wedding

Viana Hotel & Spa offering ceremony, honeymoon for veteran on Nov. 11

This Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, Westbury’s Viana Hotel & Spa is giving back to one lucky veteran in love.

In collaboration with the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, the Village of Westbury and the Westbury-Carle Place Chamber of Commerce, Viana, a recently constructed small luxury hotel featuring a number of green initiatives located at 3998 Brush Hollow Road, will host a complimentary wedding ceremony – and provide accommodations for a honeymoon – to one active duty or retired service member (who has been honorably discharged) living here in Nassau County.

New Legislation To Combat Medicaid Fraud

‘At least 50 percent of recovered funds would go to counties and localities’

On Friday, July 27, Congressman Steve Israel joined Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano to announce federal legislation to make it easier for counties to prosecute Medicaid fraud, potentially saving taxpayers billions of dollars in wasted funds. Israel’s legislation would allow states to apply for grant money to support the local expenses associated with Medicaid fraud investigations and would require at least 50 percent of the funds recovered go to counties and localities.

Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for people below a certain income level, jointly funded by the state and federal governments. Due to the program’s complexity and size, it is susceptible to fraud. In 2010 alone, the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimated $22 billion was lost to Medicaid waste, fraud, abuse, and improper payments nationally. Medicaid currently costs Nassau County $248 million a year.

County Democrats Hold Redistricting Forum

Redistricting commission members allege that the public is being left out of the process once again

On Wednesday, July 25, prominent county Democrats gathered at the Mid-Island Y JCC in Plainview to discuss what they view as the Republican majority’s inability to fairly and successfully redraw district lines. The meeting was set up by the Democratic members of the Nassau County Temporary Districting Advisory Commission in response to the June 28 commission meeting. Commission members said that Republican chairman Francis Moroney would not allow the public to influence the commission’s decisions, whereas their party welcomes public input.

Republican members of the 11-person panel were invited to this town-wide meeting, but chose to not participate. The purpose of the meeting, according to Democratic commission member Bonnie Garone, was to educate the public. Garone stated that “[redistricting] is a public process, and frankly the public is not being treated fairly.”

County Executive Edward Mangano Outlines Budget Reductions

Claims to balance budget without property tax increase

Recently, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos announced that the county’s unaudited 2011 budget deficit would reach $50.4 million. Maragos blamed the gap on failures to approve pending bonding legislation.

Maragos also said that County Executive Edward P. Mangano would be announcing a fresh round of budget reductions. And that is what happened at a press conference on Monday, July 23. There, Mangano, along with Maragos and Presiding Officer Peter J. Schmitt (R – Massapequa) outlined a $45 million deficit reduction plan, one that the county executive said would balance the budget without raising property taxes.

Nassau County Museum Of Art Celebrates The Opening Of ‘Marc Chagall’

“World class” exhibition features the largest collection of the artist’s works ever assembled on LI

On a rainy Friday evening at the Nassau County Museum of Art, Ambassador Arnold Saltzman, founding president of the museum, spoke of a very different time. A time when people lived in tents, or perhaps even caves, and though life was hard, they could always look up at the stars and find beauty and serenity. Nowadays, many are too busy to look up at the sky, and with the city lights blocking our view, the stars don’t seem to shine quite as brightly.

 “I thought, how could we resurrect some of that peace and quiet, and bring man back to nature?” remembered Saltzman. “And there is one man, one artist, who I knew could do that, and his name was Marc Chagall.”