Town Of Oyster Bay Passes 2013 Budget

3.8 percent property tax increase

The Town of Oyster Bay Town Board unanimously approved the town’s $265 million budget for 2013 on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The budget includes a 3.8 percent property tax-levy increase, within the state-mandated cap.

Local Officials Ask Feds To Help LIPA

Power authority blasted for delays in restoring power, lack of communication with customers

“LIPA has failed and has failed miserably.”

That is what Congressman Peter King said at a press conference in which elected officials called on the federal government to send resources to get the job done in turning power back on for all Long Island residents. On Friday, Nov. 8, 11 days after super storm Sandy devastated Long Island, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) reported that more than 81,000 Nassau County customers remained without power and more than 162,000 throughout Nassau and Suffolk. That was enough for King, County Executive Ed Mangano, Congressman Steve Israel, New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, to hold a press conference and ask the federal government to send the resources to do the job which LIPA has not been able to.

JHS Graduate Helps Kids With Terp Thon

Student-run philanthropy organization at the University of Maryland raises money for Children’s National Medical Center

Jordana Zwerling, a 2009 graduate of Jericho High School, is a very busy college senior at the University of Maryland. In addition to double-majoring in psychology and biology (pre-med), she also spends a lot of time volunteering for a 100 percent student-run philanthropy organization called Terp Thon, which raises money for Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. When her friends ask her how she can take time out from her already-packed schedule to serve as hospital relations chair for the organization, Zwerling has a concise answer: FTK, or “for the kids.”

Zwerling is no stranger to philanthropy; at Jericho High School, she was a member of Jr. Scope, a group that raises money for disadvantaged children on Long Island. Now, in her capacity as hospital relations chair, she works with “miracle children”—children who have been treated successfully at the medical center. Many of the children are cancer survivors, but there are also children with genetic disorders and other critical health issues.

Hurricane Sandy Brings Devastation To Long Island

Destroyed homes, power outages, and long gas lines are left in the storm’s wake

The storm crippled Long Island and left thousands without power and some are still fighting to pick up the pieces that Hurricane Sandy littered throughout Elmont, Franklin Square and West Hempstead. Just two months after being smashed by a storm on Aug. 15, which showcased similar events of downed trees, wires and heavy winds, the area was dealt another blow.

It is a scene that is devastatingly similar throughout Long Island, and particularly in waterfront areas on the north and south shores. Homeowners desperately tried to remove the water that had flooded homes by opening doors, windows, garage doors, and by using generator-powered vacuums, designed to capture water. Along curbsides, carpets, furniture, clothing, toys, and other treasured belongings were left for sanitation crews to take away. Literally, lifetimes of memories had been washed away.

Syosset’s Safe Haven After Sandy

After the record-breaking hurricane, residents flocked to Syosset Public Library

If anyone were to ask if public libraries are relevant now, ask the thousands of people who came to Syosset Public Library after Hurricane Sandy.

By Wednesday morning, Oct. 31, the library was open and people began streaming in, grateful for heat, light and electricity. Besides the need for power, the library brought together hundreds of people who were reeling from the destruction of the hurricane. By 10 a.m., most of the hundreds of outlets in the library were being used to charge electronic devices and even for emergency medical equipment such as nebulizers.

Election Results

(Unofficial Results)
* winner

U.S. President:
* Barack Obama (D)
Mitt Romney (R)

Four JHS Students Honored By Siemens

Jericho students Ken Aizawa, Kevin Huang, Brendan Liu, and Michael Shen were named semifinalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, the nation’s premier research competition for high school students.

The students were four of only 322 semifinalists nationally. “We are really proud of these students and all of the hard work that they have done,” said Brian Cummings, curriculum associate for science and technology. “This accomplishment is a result of support from the district as well as the research department and science research coordinator Serena McCalla.”

MercyFirst Unveils New Life Skills Classroom

New kitchen at Syosset service agency teaches young people important skills

On Friday, Oct. 5, MercyFirst celebrated the grand opening of the new Life Skills Classroom on its Syosset campus with a breakfast made by the students. This classroom has been recently expanded and renovated by a group of volunteers from the Interior Design Society, Long Island Chapter.

These individuals approached MercyFirst with this renovation back in the spring and spent the summer turning this room into a state-of-the-art kitchen facility and gathering place. This room is housed on the Syosset campus where 122 young men and woman reside.

Election Candidates Discuss Redistricting, Taxes

Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce hosts 3rd Annual Meet the Candidates Breakfast

A large group of local business owners and other professionals converged on the Plainview Residence Inn on Wednesday, Oct. 17 for the 3rd Annual Plainview-Old Bethpage Chamber of Commerce Meet the Candidates Breakfast. While the event featured many of the same candidates as the League of Women Voters candidates forum held at the POB Library on Oct. 2 and covered many of the same topics, candidate Stephen Labate (R), challenger for the third Congressional District against Democrat Steve Israel (not present), made sure to bring federal issues to the table.

Like Labate, Democratic challenger for the 6th State Senate District Ryan Cronin was also without his opponent; this is the second event in Plainview this month where Cronin has appeared in the absence of Republican incumbent Kemp Hannon. In fact, the only race where both candidates were present at the breakfast was that of 13th Assembly District, where Republican challenger Louis Imbroto and incumbent Charles Lavine (D) faced off.

Sparks Fly In The Debate Arena

Town hall format and Obama’s performance finds president rebounding in the polls

On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Hofstra University was the site for the second of three debates between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney. Hofstra had also hosted a debate between then-Democratic nominee Obama and GOP nominee Sen. John McCain back in 2008, making the school just the second university to host consecutive presidential debates. (St. Louis’ Washington University was the other.)

With Romney scoring what many considered an upset victory over Obama’s decidedly lackluster performance in the first debate, this follow-up was going to be a “deal maker or breaker in this campaign,” according to political pundit Chris Matthews, who spoke at Hofstra the prior week. Shortly after moderator Candy Crowley took the stage at 9 p.m., it was clear both candidates were prepared to come out swinging, making for a lively hour and a half that found roughly 65 million viewers tuning in to the town hall-style debate, according to the Nielsen Ratings.