Kathleen Rice ascended to the district attorney’s post four years ago as a virtual unknown -- a former federal prosecutor and Brooklyn assistant district attorney who had never run for political office before. Back then, she appeared a tad unsure of herself, slightly nervous in her interviews with the Herald. And why not? She was opposing the legendary Denis Dillon, who had served as Nassau County district attorney for 31 years. Despite being a political neophyte, Rice ran a strong campaign, and was elected with 51 percent of the vote to Dillon’s 49 percent. Four years later, we’re happy that Rice was elected. She has proven herself to be a consummate professional who only improved an already well-run D.A.’s office. Cases are processed nearly twice as fast as they once were. Conviction rates are up. And Rice has garnered a national reputation for her aggressive stance against driving while intoxicated. Many now call her the toughest DWI prosecutor in the country. more

State Assemblyman David McDonough, a Republican from North Merrick, is reminding his constituents that the law banning texting while driving will take effect Nov. 1. The law was passed by the state to supplement the current law banning the use of a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving. more

Only 6 months old, Sophia Gaynor of Bellmore is bringing out the best in hundreds of local high school students. Around 300 people turned out at Mepham High School's track on Oct. 22 to take a part in a walk-a-thon to benefit the charitable organization, Sophia's Cure. The organization is named for a local newborn who was diagnosed with fatal spinal muscular atrophy, a group of diseases that affect the motor neurons of the spinal cord and brain stem. more

It’s hard to argue with a track record like that of Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat from Glen Cove. Over the past eight years, he took a fiscally mismanaged, virtually insolvent county and turned it around, consistently balancing a budget that seemingly could not be balanced. Suozzi saved money by cutting the county work force by 1,000 employees and instituting tried-and-true management practices that were previously nonexistent. At the same time, he has put in place a host of programs to improve residents’ quality of life, from smoking-cessation regimens to energy-efficiency incentives. more

Calhoun High School students got a small taste of what it's like to drive drunk last Friday, the final day of National Teen Driver Safety Week. The students suited up with bicycle helmets and special glasses that obscure users’ vision, hopped aboard one of two pedal carts and attempted to negotiate an obstacle course of orange highway cones. The students, who were not drinking, smiled and laughed as they maneuvered slowly -- and quite awkwardly -- through the course. But the message was serious: Drinking makes you lose your sense of control, and that can lead to dire consequences if you drive. more

When Gina Capone of Valley Stream was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2000, she began scouring the Internet to find someone with diabetes whom she could talk with; someone who knew what she was going through. Capone’s aunt was the only person she knew with diabetes, and her aunt’s case was filled with complications. more

The race for Nassau County district attorney pits one-term Democratic incumbent Kathleen Rice, a former federal prosecutor and Brooklyn assistant district attorney, against Republican Joy Watson, a former assistant Nassau County district attorney who is now a law clerk for a county Supreme Court justice. more

From the day she took office in 1997, Norma Gonsalves has been in the political game for all the right reasons. Time and again, she has put her community before politics.Twelve years later, we are … more

Essential services and property taxes are often in the forefront of the issues in the Town of Hempstead, but in this year’s race for supervisor, the rhetoric has shifted toward the proposed … more

In what is becoming an increasingly bitter, partisan battle, Nassau County Legislator Ed Mangano, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Democrat Thomas Suozzi for the county executive’s seat. The race appears to boil down to three key issues: property taxes, a recently imposed 2.5 percent energy tax and the county’s troubled property-tax assessment system. Mangano is challenging Suozzi’s handling of all three issues, while Suozzi fires back that the county has consistently balanced its budget while improving its bond rating, which reduces the interest the county must pay when it bonds money for any number of projects. more