News

Huntington official hopes to offer free sunscreen at 14 town spots

Jul
28
2017

One Huntington Town official is determined to have residents covered when it comes to their skin.

Councilwoman Susan Berland (D) received support from her Huntington Town Board colleagues to expand her pilot program and provide sunscreen protection for Huntington residents at 14 new locations in addition to Crab Meadow Beach.

Last summer Berland launched a free sunscreen dispenser program at Crab Meadow Beach after working in conjunction with IMPACT Melanoma, formerly known as the Melanoma Foundation of New England, an organization that provides education, prevention and support for the most serious form of skin cancer.

“The [Crab Meadow Beach dispenser] was a success,” Berland said in a phone interview. “It got a lot of use last year and this year....| read more ››

DNC: Trump's promise to protect LGBTQ people 'another bald-faced lie'

Jul
26
2017

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) ripped President Trump on Wednesday for reinstating a ban on transgender troops in the U.S. military.

The DNC in a statement issued after Trump's announcement accused the president of "shoving real American patriots back in the closet."

"Right this moment, around the world, brave transgender service members are protecting the American people - including Donald Trump and [Vice President] Mike Pence," the DNC wrote. "While the White House claims to be celebrating ‘American Heroes’ week, the president and vice president are shoving real American patriots back in the closet and putting our nation’s security at risk."

The statement was released by three DNC members, including National Finance Chairman Henry Muñoz, LGBT Caucus Chairman Earl Fowlkes,...| read more ››

Legislator Anker Announces Permanent Advisory Panel to Address the Opiate Epidemic in Suffolk County

Jul
25
2017

NEW YORK – On Tuesday, July 25th, 2017, Legislator Sarah Anker and Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory were joined by their colleagues and drug awareness and substance abuse professionals to announce an initiative to address the opiate epidemic in Suffolk County. Legislator Anker has put forth legislation to form a permanent Heroin and Opiate Advisory Panel which will address the staggering number of opiate overdoses in Suffolk County,

The newly-formed panel, which will be established by Introductory Resolution 1664-2017, will include representatives from the Legislature, including Legislator Sarah Anker representing Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory, Chair of the Public Safety Committee Legislator Kate Browning, Chair of the Education and Human Services Committee Legislator Monica Martinez, and Chair of the Health Committee Legislator...| read more ››

Suffolk County Legislator Anker Announces Help for Our Seniors

Jul
17
2017

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker announces the Senior Advocates summer schedule. Senior Advocates will be visiting various locations across the county throughout July, August, and September to educate seniors on benefits they may be eligible for and assist them in applying for those benefits.

“Many seniors and their loved ones go unaware of the benefits and resources available to them at the county, state, and federal level,” says Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker. “Senior Advocates from the Suffolk County Office for the Aging provide essential information on how seniors in our community can maintain their personal independence and receive the care they need.”

Legislator Anker encourages senior residents to attend one of the scheduled Senior Advocates meetings to receive free...| read more ››

Protect picks Englebright as Legislator of the Year

Jul
17
2017

Protect the Adirondacks announced Thursday its Legislator of the Year Award for 2017 will go to state Assemblyman Steve Englebright, chairman of the Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation, for several conservation bills and amendments.

The Democrat from Setauket, Long Island, sponsored a bill to require conservation design for all major subdivisions in the Adirondacks and shepherded through a new constitutional amendment for health and safety land accounts in the Adirondacks.

Protect, an environmental advocacy group, will also award its Howard Zahniser Adirondack Award 2017 to Dick Booth, a former state Adirondack Park Agency board member and a professor in Cornell University’s Department of City and Regional Planning. This award recognizes Booth’s service on the APA board from 2007 to 2016,...| read more ››

Schumer asking Amtrak to discard the idea of shrinking seats

Jul
16
2017

NEW YORK - (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is asking Amtrak to discard the idea of creating new economy seating with reduced legroom aboard its trains.

Schumer says in a statement Sunday that Amtrak should find other ways to save money without burdening passengers.

Outgoing Amtrak co-chief executive Wick Moorman said last week that the company was looking at creating the "economy" seating that would add more rows of seats in an effort to make more money.

Schumer is calling the idea "right out of the airline's playbook." The senator from New York is urging Amtrak to "scrap the shrinking seats idea" and look at other ways of making money.

He said the government should invest in Amtrak every...| read more ››

370,000-plus LIers could be affected by GOP health bills

Jul
15
2017

Almost 370,000 Long Islanders could see their access to health coverage directly affected by the possible repeal and replacement of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known popularly as Obamacare.

In Nassau County, 162,079 people and in Suffolk County, 207,659 people, were covered by insurance obtained through the state’s ACA insurance exchange, NY State of Health, as of January 2017, according to the state Department of Health. While not all those insured on the exchange received subsidies or tax credits under Obamacare, most were in Medicaid or in plans that were funded or subsidized with money that faces cuts under GOP proposals.

In addition, 24,433 children in Nassau and 32,678 in Suffolk receive coverage on the exchange through Child Health Plus,...| read more ››

Clare Rose union workers accept new contract in vote, officials say

Jul
15
2017

Union delivery drivers and warehouse workers for beer distributor Clare Rose will return to work Sunday after approving a new contract overwhelmingly, union and company officials said.

Teamsters Local 812 workers voted 83-12 Saturday to ratify the contract. The union members, who went on strike against the East Yaphank distributor on April 23, reached a tentative agreement with the company through a private mediator on Thursday.

“We’re extremely happy that we will get our employees back to work,” Sean Rose, the company’s chief executive, said Saturday.

Workers and labor leaders gathered Saturday outside Clare Rose’s Melville distribution facility to celebrate what Roger Clayman, executive director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, called a “a great win for labor.”

“There...| read more ››

DuWayne Gregory proposes $127M Suffolk budget savings plan

Jul
12
2017

Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory proposes selling county land, consolidating office space and hiring a consultant to identify fraud as part of a $127 million budget savings plan he plans to bring before the Suffolk Legislature.

Gregory (D-Copiague) said in an interview this week that the county could get $47 million alone by auctioning off a county-owned 163-acre Cold War-era missile site in Westhampton, part of which is now used as a county impound yard.

The county could also save $29 million in fraud and inefficiencies by using “predictive analytics” to find anomalies in data, he said. Reviewing leases and consolidating office space could save the county an additional $8 million a year.

Suffolk faces a $163 million structural budget deficit...| read more ››

Democrats pick Joseph McDermott for Suffolk legislature

Jul
2
2017

Suffolk Democrats have named Brightwaters Mayor Joseph McDermott as their candidate to run for the seat being vacated by term-limited Suffolk Legis. Thomas Barraga (R-West Islip).

McDermott, 50, who is in his second term as mayor, was first elected to the post in 2014 after serving a year as a village trustee. McDermott made a losing bid for the Islip Town Board in 2015, garnering 13,138 votes in the townwide contest. He also is a member of Ironworkers Local 361.

McDermott does not yet know who his Republican opponent will be in November because Barraga’s son-in-law Michael McElwee, a Bay Shore restaurant owner, is challenging Islip Town Board member Steve Flotteron for the GOP nomination in a Sept. 12 primary....| read more ››