Columnist

Robert A. Scott: National news and higher education on Long Island

Robert A. Scott

While national headlines have focused on federal funding cuts and demands for compliance of elite private research universities, we shouldn’t lose sight of local impacts. All institutions rely on federal support for research and student aid. Those demands were accompanied by unsupported claims or selective evidence of institutional wrongdoing that do not follow the federal government’s own guidelines for regulatory action.

Karl Grossman: Taking action against ‘forever chemical’ companies

Karl Grossman

Thousands of water suppliers across the United States, including the Suffolk County Water Authority, have filed lawsuits against companies involved with PFAS. Last year the 3M Company agreed to a settlement of $10.3 billion. SCWA expects to receive $170 million of that. It got an initial payment of $34 million last year.

Jerry Kremer: Tech companies must explain why we need data centers

Jerry Kremer

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.

Water safety demands our attention

As vacations wind down, backyard pool parties continue and families make the last couple of trips to the beach before school begins, it’s easy to become comfortable. That comfort can become complacency — and complacency around the water can be deadly.

There’s always someone downwind

We are accustomed to thinking of our lives as local, and with good reason. This newspaper exists because the things that shape a day here — the school calendar, the traffic on Sunrise Highway, whether the field will be playable Saturday morning — are decided close to home by people you might run into at the deli. That proximity is the texture of life in a place like ours. The distance between a thing and its cause is usually short enough to walk.

Giving blood: the gift that cannot wait

Every day, hospitals across Long Island and around the country rely on a steady supply of donated blood to care for trauma victims, cancer patients, premature infants, people undergoing surgery and those living with chronic blood disorders. When blood is needed, there is no time to wait for donors to come forward. The blood must already be on the shelves.

Karl Grossman: The president pretends there’s no freedom of the press

Karl Grossman

However, a U.S. District Court judge responding to a lawsuit brought by the three outlets — CNN, MS Now and Politico — issued a restraining order directing the White House to lift the prohibition. Judge Timothy Kelly, appointed by Trump in 2017, ruled that the media outlets had shown a “high likelihood of success” with their claim that their due-process rights had been violated.

Columnist

Elaine Gross: We’re limiting legal refugees to white South Africans

Elaine Gross

Afrikaners, it should be noted, have a long history of supporting and implementing white supremacy. It was Afrikaners who led the South African government after World War II, when it created a formal system of racial apartheid.

Jordan Vallone: The books that challenge us belong on shelves

Jordan Vallone

I share this with you because we’re approaching Banned Books Week, which will be observed Oct. 4-10. This year’s theme is “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” The annual event seeks to bring attention to the issue of censorship, uniting librarians, educators, authors and readers against organized attempts to restrict access to information.

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton: Staffing shortfalls endanger critical county services

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton

Those financial pressures were foremost in our minds in our analysis of the 2026 budget. We were faced with tough choices on how to protect taxpayers while ensuring fairness and respect for Nassau’s dedicated workforce.

Randi Kreiss: Donnie Kreiss, ‘I carry your heart with me’

Randi Kreiss

Donnie never felt sorry for himself. In his last days on earth he was reaching out to friends who had heartache, relationship woes, business setbacks or medical problems. He preached a gospel of positivity, insisting on finding threads of hope. He left a legacy of goodness and generosity, changing the lives of so many people along the way.

Michael Blitz: So you want to be a despot?

Michael Blitz

You might imagine that becoming a despot requires tanks, secret police and a balcony from which to wave at enormous, inflamed crowds. You might believe you need a special degree or a fake Nobel Prize. But the road to becoming a despot is surprisingly well-traveled.

Randi Kreiss: Bridging the gap as Emi turns 18

Randi Kreiss

Recently I’ve come to believe that the strongest influence on developing human beings is the times in which they live. Try as I might, summoning all the empathy I possess, I simply can’t know what it was like to endure the London Blitz during World War II. Or the Dust Bowl in America, or the Holocaust, all of which changed the way people lived and thought.

Celebrating newspapers and local reporting

National Newspaper Week, Oct. 4–10, is an opportunity to focus attention on something Long Islanders experience every day but can easily take for granted: the value of having journalists paying attention to your own community.

Karl Grossman: Learning about ticks from the experts

Karl Grossman

With ticks and tick-borne diseases now a national plague in the United States, SciLine, an educational program based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, recently organized an online “Media Briefing: Summer 2026 Tick Update.”

Jerry Kremer: Why is the U.S. picking a fight with its best friend?

Jerry Kremer

The Canadians have been our best friends for as long as I can remember. They were there for us during World War II, when they lost over 40,000 men in battle. They have contributed soldiers to many of our wars, and have stood up for us at the United Nations and around the world. One of the reasons behind the latest insanity is the president’s statement that he is mad at Canada because of the smoke that has drifted south to the United States.

John Scully & Samantha Park: Let’s stop student debt from killing the American dream

John Scully

Student debt makes the American dream unattainable, or, at best, greatly deferred. Gallup reports that 71 percent of student borrowers delay major life milestones — homeownership, parenthood, starting a business, retirement — because of their debt. On Long Island, those delays have a geographic consequence: 22 percent of residents between ages 25 and 34 have left the region over the past eight years. Student debt and housing costs are inseparable drivers of that exodus.

Are you ready for an emergency?

Preparedness is particularly important for Long Island residents. We know that severe weather can bring flooding, dangerous winds and extended power outages. A house fire or medical emergency can happen without warning. And while we can’t always be ready for anything, having a plan, and the right supplies, can make a significant difference.

Michael O'Neill: E-bikes and scooters: Safety is everyone’s responsibility

Michael O

Although much of the concern focuses on young riders, this isn’t just a young-person issue. There are adults operating e-bikes and scooters carelessly, riding against traffic or on sidewalks, and ignoring traffic controls. Everyone operating one of these vehicles must follow the rules of the road and respect those around them.

Jolie Silva: The resilience kids lose behind their screens

Jolie Silva

For two decades I have worked with children, parents and families. Whether in my office, giving a speech, leading a workshop or discussing parenting on social media, I hear remarkably consistent hopes. Parents want their children to become happy, successful and independent adults. I would argue that happiness and success depend, at least in part, on independence. And one quality runs through all three — resilience.

Tom Suozzi: The promise we owe America

Tom R. Suozzi

The Promise to America isn’t a complicated pledge. It’s a common-sense commitment to a fair economy, lower costs, secure borders, safe communities, fiscal responsibility, effective government, free speech, patriotism, and respect for people who may see things differently. It’s a declaration of values from common-sense Democrats.

Brendan Warner: Protecting our drinking water is a community effort

Brendan Warner

Long Island has no alternative water supply. We rely entirely on a vast but finite underground aquifer system that must meet all residential, commercial and public needs. That makes water conservation not just a seasonal suggestion, but a long-term necessity.

Jack Martins: America at 250: A republic, if we can keep it

Jack Martins

Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I remember a year-long excitement that captured the imagination of the entire country. The commercials on TV, the products in the stores, sports teams — even our local grocer was in on the action. And it wasn’t just the tall ships in the harbor or the red, white and blue decorations that adorned every inch of our neighborhoods. There was genuine excitement about our country and its story.

Michael Blitz: Under the shade of an attack-ad tree

Michael Blitz

Before becoming a photo of a scowling politician, paper has a complicated history. Somewhere there were trees — or recycled fibers that began as trees. There was harvesting, transportation, pulping, washing, processing and papermaking. There was lots of water. There was energy. There were chemicals involved in processing, bleaching and coating. There were huge vats of ink. There was printing and cutting and bundling.

Deer activity increases in Glen Cove and across the North Shore this fall

As autumn settles across Glen Cove and surrounding North Shore communities, motorists may notice more deer near residential neighborhoods, wooded areas and local roadways. October marks the beginning …

Glen Cove Beautification volunteers plant the seeds for a colorful spring

Members of the Glen Cove Beautification Commission and community volunteers gathered Saturday to plant tulip bulbs throughout the city as part of an effort to beautify public spaces and raise …

Orazio Petito named in Cornell sexual assault lawsuit involving fraternity

Orazio Petito, of Glen Cove, is among the defendants named in a civil lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student identified as Jane Doe, who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted …

Glen Cove attorney Nelson Melgar shares his immigrant journey at rally

More than 75 people gathered last Saturday in the parking lot of the Glen Street Long Island Rail Road station, where speakers called attention to the effects of federal immigration enforcement on …

Glen Cove faces fiscal stress designation and $3.1 million revenue shortfall

Glen Cove is back on the state’s fiscal stress list, as the city grapples with an operating deficit from 2025 and a separate, roughly $3.1 million, revenue shortfall in its current budget. The …

Glen Cove television production teacher Chris Barry honored by FAME GC

Alex Martinez was 15 when she first met Chris Barry as a student at Glen Cove High School. Nearly three decades later, her son is a junior at the school — and now takes Barry’s television …

October marks attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder awareness month

October is ADHD Awareness Month, an annual observance focused on increasing understanding of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and providing accurate information about a condition that affects …

Sponsored Content

Dawn Costello: How a smart seller navigates Long Island’s changing market

Real estate professional Dawn Costello advises sellers to have a proactive approach for success — especially as buyer behavior shifts.
Dawn Costello.

Dawn Costello: Spring curb appeal starts at the front door

Curb appeal is more than a seasonal checklist — it is the first visual statement a home makes and a reflection of how well it’s cared for year-round.