Julie Rapinat, a Baldwin High School alumna and an Adelphi University student whose family lives in Baldwin, was in Egypt just four days before demonstrators took to the streets of Cairo, beginning a period of upheaval that brought President Hosni Mubarak’s rule to an end and may well shape the future of the Middle East. In her essay on page 3, Rapinat shares her observations about Egypt and its people as well as photos of her trip from Cairo to Luxor, Alexandria and the small villages of the south. more

Budget meetings are rarely upbeat affairs, but the mood at the Baldwin Board of Education meeting Jan. 9 at the Plaza School was unusually somber. Despite the best efforts of a student orchestra that demonstrated the success of district music programs, the focus of the evening soon turned to crunching numbers. And the outlook was not rosy. more

The Baldwin lions hosted a Korean culture event on January 30th at the public library. Ms. Kyung Won Pak, director of the Korean Spirit and Culture Promotion Project, contacted Lions president Dianne Cattrano and suggested a get together. Intrigued by the idea, Cattrano contacted the library and the project began picking up steam. more

Most of the dogs discovered in the home of a still unnamed employee of a Baldwin Waldbaum’s last month have been deemed ready for adoption. more

“We thank all of our loyal customers for your support during our difficult time this month. Sincerely, Don, Annie, Kyle, Carol, Terry, Al, Tommy.” So reads the sign in the window of the Arnold Bakers Bread Outlet at 759 Foxhurst Road in Baldwin. The sign could have conveyed a very different message, however, because the shop came very close to standing vacant and abandoned, like far too many other storefronts downtown. more

There is good news and bad news. The good news is that Baldwin has been awarded nearly $110,000 in funding by the New York State Extended Day/Violence Prevention Program. The bad news is the district is the only one on Long Island that will receive any money. more

Baldwin District schools will be opening on a delayed schedule today due to inclement weather and unsafe road conditions. The schools will be open today, but students are asked to arrive two hours after their customary time. Parents and caregivers were asked to "please bring your children to the bus stop exactly two hours later," a phone message from the district's Blackboard Connect system said at 5:30 this morning. This same message instructed school employees to make their way to work as soon as safety allowed and contained the information that an elementary band rehearsal had been called off. more

Mounting financial responsibilities apparently drove postal worker Thomas Tang, a Baldwin resident, to devise a unique — and illegal — side business selling coupons on Internet auction sites. Tang, who lives on Wesley St. in Baldwin and worked for the U.S. Postal Service in the Corona section of Queens, was charged with stealing more than 7,000 coupons for the retail store JCPenney and selling them through his wife’s eBay account. According to investigators, Tang said his wife was unaware of his activities. more

The walls of the Baldwin Public Library atrium are a highly desirable place for up-and-coming artists to display their work. Applications for showings pour into the BPL and, according to Sharon Bernard, the librarian who evaluates the submissions, the exhibit area is booked into 2013. more

A simple phone call, placed from the Waldbaums at 905 Atlantic Ave. in Baldwin, may have saved the life of a Rockville Centre woman and numerous animals trapped in her home. more