News

Breaking barriers: Southold's first Black councilman reflects on his service

Feb
16
2023

A wall in a hallway of Southold Town Hall has photos of famous local African Americans who contributed to the community.

Councilman Brian Mealy said that one year into his historic tenure as the first Black member of the town's board, he still is humbled when he looks at the photos of those trailblazers who came before him.

Born and raised in Southold, Mealy, 46, a clerk at Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport, took an oath of office in January 2022 for a four-year term on the board.

Before his election, Mealy served on several local bodies, including the Mattituck-Cutchogue Board of Education. In 2018, the town’s Anti-Bias Task Force recognized him with the Helen Wright Prince Award for community service.| read more ››

Suffolk Correction Officer Who Survived 6-Month Battle with COVID-19 to be Presented with Retirement Shield

Jan
5
2023

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon, Jr. and immediate family will be in attendance as Retired Correction Officer Timothy Heaton receives his Retired Shield on Thursday, January 5 at 11:00 AM at the Yaphank Correctional Facility's Alan Croce Lineup Room.

Officer Heaton served the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years until a nearly six-month battle with COVID-19 which he miraculously recovered from last Spring.

Officer Heaton was hospitalized with severe COVID complications in September 2021 and spent over 160 days in the hospital, finally being released in March 2022.

During his battle with COVID he passed many milestones including his retirement from the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office and becoming a grandfather.

His family, including his granddaughter, will be in attendance for the shield presentation.| read more ››

Letitia A. James for New York's attorney general

Oct
22
2022

Letitia A. James is a talented politician. Her terrific interpersonal skills, keen eye for the camera and ear for messaging, and a preternatural instinct for navigating the state’s cutthroat politics have served her well. Leveraging her base in Brooklyn and her background as a public defender, she won a seat on the New York City Council, and then, as the city’s public advocate, springboarded herself to statewide office. In 2018, she became the first woman and Black attorney general.

Unfortunately, these instincts generally have not served her well in her first term. But overall, she has been capable and effective.

Only the naive would believe that politics can be scrubbed from one of the most powerful offices in the state....| read more ››

Bridget M. Fleming for New York's 1st Congressional District

Oct
20
2022

New York’s 1st Congressional District is perennially considered one of New York’s — and the nation’s — real swing regions. It is a place of contrasts, between hard right and deep blue, between Hamptons wealth and people striving at the poverty line. In its current configuration, it stretches from the easternmost forks of Long Island to the Nassau County line. It includes farmland, town and village centers desperately in need of housing, and miles and miles of pristine yet endangered coast.

With Rep. Lee Zeldin running for governor, CD1 this year is home to an open race and even more potential than usual for a competitive contest, featuring two qualified, experienced candidates.

They are Bridget M. Fleming, a former prosecutor...| read more ››

Kathy C. Hochul for New York governor

Oct
15
2022

Shortly after Kathy C. Hochul took office 14 months ago, it became clear that New York's first woman governor would have to face multiple state crises in short order. Continuing fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, declining revenue from a sprawling transit system, housing shortages, sharing the burden of migrants crossing faraway borders, and a disturbing uptick in violence of different kinds all greeted her.

Hochul rose to the office by succession after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, elected three times, resigned last year facing impeachment. She quickly moved to meet several political and governmental challenges in a credible way.

Now Hochul seeks a first elected term, and has moderate and pragmatic plans at the ready that encourage us to support her bid.| read more ››

Chuck Schumer for U.S. Senate

Oct
8
2022

Sen. Chuck Schumer's stature and power has grown with the majority leader title that now precedes his name.

But he hasn't forgotten the communities that brought him to that place, including those on Long Island, and the ones that depend upon him for resources. The state and the region are better off with him in the U.S. Senate's leadership, currently as majority leader and before that minority leader.

It's that mix, combined with a dynamic and engaged presence even after more than four decades in Washington, that has helped Schumer, 71, mostly successfully navigate the choppy waters of a divided U.S. Senate, while always looking for ways to get more for his home state.| read more ››

Law Enforcement Leaders Hear Stories, Share Experiences at Hempstead Conference

Oct
4
2022

The heartbreaking memories all came flooding back last week for Lisa Tuozzolo of Huntington, the widow of former NYPD Paul Tuozzolo, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in the Bronx in 2016.

When Tuozzolo learned that FDNY paramedic Alison Russo had been stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack in Astoria, Queens, she thought of the first responder's family and how the pain they must be experiencing was all too familiar.| read more ››

Suffolk, Paws of War kick off Pet Safety Initiative

Jul
29
2022

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. says he aims to protect all the county’s residents — including four-legged ones.

So on Friday, he launched a free microchip program that can help reunite owners with lost pets.

The program is being undertaken in conjunction with Paws of War, a Nesconset-based nonprofit that provides dogs and veterinarian services to veterans and first responders. They held the first of three free clinics as part of a “Dog Days of Summer” initiative.

Veterans and first responders get priority, but anyone can sign up.

“We see way too many heartbreak stories about animals that are not chipped and wind up being euthanized” at shelters after they get lost and are turned in, said Robert...| read more ››