Thursday, October 1, 2026
This year’s crowd at John Burns Park was the largest ever. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joe Saladino and Firefighter Ken Haskell, Tom and Tim’s brother, spoke. There was mournful violin music, stirring patriotic songs sung aloud and prayers from local clergy. I was privileged to be asked to speak. The ceremony concluded with a helicopter dropping white roses on the crowd. It was particularly moving afterward to talk with family members and friends of 9/11 victims who were once again reliving the horrors of that fateful day, but had never lost their faith in America.
The problem, however, is that data centers are a legitimate challenge to elected officials who aren’t always capable of understanding what the centers do and how the public may react. It’s a balancing act that isn’t working well, and the public has now become fired up, because people are afraid of rising electricity rates and don’t want their water supply depleted.
Handling water scarcity is critical, because we need clean water for drinking, food production and our overall survival. This summer, Nassau and Suffolk counties have seen state drought warnings due to below-normal precipitation. Last month, the Suffolk County Water Authority asked residents to stop watering their lawns, warning that its infrastructure was reaching maximum capacity under the current combination of drought and heat. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Long Islanders use an average of 140 gallons of water a day per person, about 55 percent more than the national average.
The nor'easter forecasted for Long Island has struck bringing heavy rain that is causing flooding and high winds resulting in scattered power outages. While East Meadow and Salisbury will not deal with any direct coastal impacts, sporadic power outages are affecting the area, according to PSEG-Long Island's power map.
School is back in session, and the East Meadow board of education welcomed parents back for a new year of learning with its first meeting of the year since classes resumed during the first week of September.
As the nation marked the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, students, teachers and administrators throughout the East Meadow School District came together to remember the lives lost, honor the heroes who responded and reflect on the lasting impact of that day.
