Even in a year with no Democratic incumbents on the ballot, the Southold town committee has assembled a slate of candidates with familiar names.
Of the party’s six nominees for town office, three have run in the past, including a recent candidate for town supervisor and two prior Town Board hopefuls.
“I’m elated,” said town Democratic committee chairman Art Tillman. “I think this is the strongest ticket that we’ve had in the three decades I’ve been involved.”
Perhaps most notable, however, is that the Democrats have opted to leave nearly half their side of the ballot empty, including not nominating a candidate for the town justice seat being vacated by retiring Judge Bill Price.
The Democrats will also not...| read more ››
Federal authorities should create a national database of MS-13 members and boost funding for more prosecutors, police enforcement, and community outreach to combat the rise on Long Island of the vicious street gang, Suffolk Police Commissioner Timothy Sini told a congressional panel Wednesday.
Sini, in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said MS-13 was responsible for 27 killings in Suffolk since 2013 with 17 of those committed since January 2016. As proof that members of the gang are “savages,” Sini said they recently attempted to recruit a 10-year-old.
“This database is mission-critical to facilitating effective collaboration,” Sini told the committee.
The police commissioner later said he envisioned collaboration that would eventually include international law enforcement from...| read more ››
Since being sworn in for a second term in January, Congressman Lee Zeldin has faced mounting pressure to hold a town hall meeting for constituents in New York’s First District. Winter temperatures did not stop protesters, sometimes a dozen or so and sometimes nearing 200, from calling on their congressman to hold a town hall.
These rallies, organized by the creators of the Let’s Visit Lee Zeldin Facebook page, were meant to bring attention to Zeldin’s refusal to hold a town hall. A canceled meeting scheduled for April at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton only fueled their fire. “Unfortunately, this meeting was co-opted, renamed and rebranded by a group of liberal obstructionists, who were already holding strategy meetings...| read more ››
In an effort to inspire people to get involved in local politics and to educate them on how to go about doing so, the Southold Town Democratic Club is hosting a free crash course in town politics.| read more ››
New York will be the only state in the country to cover four-year college tuition for residents after the program was included in the budget package approved Sunday night.
The state's Excelsior Scholarship program will be rolled out in tiers over the next three years, starting with full coverage of four-year college tuition this fall for students whose families make less than $100,000.
The income cap will increase to $110,000 in 2018 and $125,000 in 2019.
"With this budget, New York has the nation's first accessible college program. It's a different model," said Governor Andrew Cuomo Saturday in a statement. "Today, college is what high school was—it should always be an option even if you can't afford it."
According to...| read more ››
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer took to the Senate floor Thursday morning to announce his widely expected opposition to Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court -- and to say that Democrats will try to block his nomination.
“After careful deliberation, I have concluded that I cannot support Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “His nomination will have a cloture vote. He will have to earn 60 votes for confirmation. My vote will be no, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.”
By saying Gorsuch’s nomination will have a cloture vote, Schumer indicated that Democrats will try to block Gorsuch’s nomination through a filibuster -- which they can do unless Gorsuch...| read more ››
A children’s advocacy organization contends the American Health Care Act — the proposed replacement for Obamacare — would be devastating for youngsters in New York who are covered through Medicaid and the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.
House Republicans are seeking support for a bill some have dubbed Trumpcare, which calls for deep cuts in public forms of insurance as the GOP attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s signature legislation.
“What we’re saying is that currently there are slightly more than 2 million kids covered by Medicaid and CHIP in New York, and both of these programs receive a significant amount of federal money,” said Benjamin Anderson, director of health policy for the Children’s Defense...| read more ››
Brookhaven National Laboratory would lose critical funding under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, endangering nearly 3,000 jobs at the Upton lab, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Friday.
Standing inside one of BNL’s research centers, the National Synchrotron Light Source II, the senator decried a proposed $3 billion in cuts to the federal Department of Energy, saying critical research would be undermined and the local economy harmed.
BNL received more than $537 million last year from the department offices that have been targeted for reduced funding, Schumer and lab executives said.
“It’s a cut to knowledge, it’s a cut to research, and it’s a cut to good-paying jobs here on Long Island,” said Schumer, the Senate’s top Democrat. “It’s a cut to...| read more ››
Crime in Suffolk County, already at historic lows in 2016, is down 7.2 percent so far this year, Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said Wednesday.
Violent crime — categorized as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — dropped by nearly 25 percent through March 11 compared to the same period last year, Sini said during a news conference at Suffolk police headquarters in Yaphank.
“We’re targeting the right people, we’re targeting the right spots and we are collaborating with the community to solve problems,” he said. “That is why you see reductions in crime across the board.”
Sini said the opiate epidemic remains the biggest challenge facing Suffolk police. His cops have executed 54 drug-related search warrants this year compared to...| read more ››