News

With helicopter noise over the North Fork only getting worse, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell has suggested a helicopter forum, meant to bring together South Fork representatives with an eye toward a unified solution.

The supervisor would also like to organize a community-based action group in town.

Russell said although the federal rule requiring Hamptons-bound helicopters to fly over the L.I. Sound along the north shore was extended for two years in a decision last month, a key component that would have required helicopters to say off-shore and fly around Orient Point and Shelter Island to the South Fork, as requested by New York State Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressman Tim Bishop, did not fly.

As a result, Russell said...| read more ››

Senator Chuck Schumer is pushing to restore $9.9 million in Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act grant funding, which was zeroed out in President Obama’s 2015 budget.

Some of that money would have been used by Nassau and Suffolk counties to monitor water quality and pollution to ensure waters are safe for swimming, particularly at the more than 130 Long Island beaches that have recently been reported by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to have high bacteria levels.

Mr. Schumer, who on July 10 announced his intention to fight for the funding, said that Nassau and Suffolk Counties received about $150,000 of the national grant funding in 2013.

Thirty-five beaches in Nassau County and 103 beaches in...| read more ››

Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman is proposing a bill to change how gas stations post prices for credit and debit card purchases.

To be introduced later this month, the bill will call for gas stations to display prices for credit and debit card purchases in addition to prices for 
cash purchases. That way, 
he said, consumers won’t be caught off-guard at the pump when the price of gas suddenly increases when they pay with their cards.

“People will be lured into a gas station by the street sign,” said Mr. Schneiderman, whose bill would require stations 
to replace their old street signs with new ones. “The least these places could do is post a warning.”

Co-sponsored by Legislators Kara Hahn...| read more ››

(Long Island, NY) County Executive Steve Bellone, in partnership with the Rocky Point School District, announced the launch of a groundbreaking effort to alert parents to the dangers of substance abuse through a compelling public service announcement. Rocky Point School District is serving as the pilot school district, posting the PSA on its parents portal and requiring parents to view it before they can access their children’s final report card.

“The launch of this groundbreaking campaign to raise awareness is a critical step toward reducing the alarming rates of prescription drug and opiate abuse we have experienced in Suffolk County and across our Nation,” said County Executive Steve Bellone. “I want to thank our parent advocates and the Rocky Point...| read more ››