The first tax "hit" using the new Nassau County reassessment will be reflected in the school district tax bill coming in October. The most relevant information for homeowners is how to compute the new school tax for their property. To do this, the taxpayer should take his/her new assessed valuation and times it by 107.228 percent. According to Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary Callahan, the average assessed valuation for a home in Port Washington is now $6,537. (Note: this figure used to be $10,000). The school tax on a home using the $6,537 figure would be $7,009 ($6,537 X 107.228). Bear in mind that this amount does not include town, village, police, and other taxes, on one hand; and it does not include any tax reductions (i.e. STAR program), on the other hand. FULL STORY

September 11, 2001, a date deeply imprinted in our memory. Each one of us recalls the very moment when we learned about the tragedy that befell us that day. Our sorrow lingers. FULL STORY

Try to imagine over 200 Laser, Laser Radials and Laser 4.7s sailing on Manhasset Bay. Sails would probably fill the horizon - it would be a beautiful sight. That's just what happened recently at the Sayville YC on the south shore of Long Island, when 203 juniors sailed in the United States Laser, Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 Championships. The event drew 114 Lasers, 80 Radials and, for their first US Champs, 9 Laser 4.7s, making it the largest US Champs in recent memory. Conditions on the Great South Bay gave the competitors a range of challenging conditions - a southwesterly sea breeze on the first day, with up to about 20 knots of wind, to puffy winds on the second day, to a final two days of shifty, northwesterly breeze. The competition was fierce in all the fleets, particularly in the Laser fleet with many North American Olympic hopefuls present as well as top talent from Australia and New Zealand. At the end of the day, Andrew Childs, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, sailing a consistent series came in first, Clay Johnson took second for top US finish, Brendan Casey from Australia rounded out the top three. Todd Hawkins took first in the Radial Fleet, followed by Patrick Curran and Ryan Minth. John Moulthrop took the first ever Laser 4.7 US Championship. Local juniors who competed included Tedd Himler (Laser 4.7), Tommy Matesich, Marissa Diaz and Laura Browning (Laser Radials). Ryan Eric Minth, president of the International Laser Class Association from the North American Region had this to say about the Laser 4.7 Class, and the regatta in general, "These youth are the future of our Class and sport. Their exposure to top-level Laser events is critical as they see and experience firsthand what sailing a Laser regatta is all about." FULL STORY

The Port Washington Pal will be offering the following activities during the Fall 2003 season. The schedule is as follows: FULL STORY