At a special meeting of the BOE on Jan. 4, the Board of Education approved a facilities plan that will renovate and expand all of the facilities in the district. As of now, the estimated cost is $86 million. In early April, after the architect draws more detailed plans, an exact cost will be determined. FULL STORY

Intel Science Services held a national press conference at Schreiber High School last Monday to announce the 40 finalists for its prestigious award, formerly known as the Westinghouse. The district announced last week that it had nine semifinalists in the contest, the largest number on Long Island. On Monday, it was announced that three, out of the 40 finalists chosen, were Schreiber students. This means that Schreiber has the distinction of having the highest number of finalists of any school in the United States. FULL STORY

With the temperatures in the single digits and no frostbiting on the bay, your reporters, Louise Haney, with the help of Andrea Watson, thought it might be fun to investigate ice boating activities, which have a long, but not recent, history on Manhasset Bay. From A Centennial History of Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, written by George N. Graf, Jr., a timely article titled "Ice Boating and Regatta Activities in 1920: "Ice boating continued to be popular during the winter of 1919-1920 with James O'Brien in Snow Flake again leading the fleet. In fact, that winter an ice boating association was formed between the Manhasset Bay Ice Yacht Club, the Port Washington Ice Yacht Club and the Knickerbocker Ice Yacht Club." One Hundred Years of Knickerbocker History also mentions iceboaters. Because of the warm weather we have enjoyed over the past few years, our bay has not supported ice boating. But this sport is alive and doing well in the northern regions of NY, Connecticut and New England. Many readers may recall Warren Darress, a local iceboater, who has been a reliable source for this column over the years. FULL STORY

Congratulations are in order for both Weber's B1 and B2 Girls volleyball teams for accomplishing perfect 10 wins and no losses at Port's Middle School! Coached by Rick Buonpane and Joe Caruso, Weber's seventh- and eighth-grade girls demonstrated high levels of skill ability in serving, passing, setting and spiking. FULL STORY