This is about the good, the bad and the ugly. It isn’t fiction, as we get enough fiction from politicians these days. It deals with the New York State Legislature, the ethical crises it currently faces and the need to deal with them. more

A proposed cell tower on state land in North Bellmore will no longer be pursued. The news came in a letter from Jacqueline Murray, the lawyer representing Crown Communications, the company that has held a contract with New York state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to develop cell towers on state land since 1997. more

Shaped like a footprint, Mullener Pond abuts the Meadowbrook Parkway amid a stand of oaks and maples just south of Jerusalem Avenue in North Merrick. It is a quiet place, hemmed in by a six-foot … more

At the New York State Grand Lodge Foundation’s annual winter charity ball, Thomas and Claudette Valenti, owners of Piccolo Restaurant in Bellmore, were honored with the Special Humanitarian Award. The duo was recognized for their generosity and dedication to philanthropic organizations. They are pictured above with their children, from left, Tommy, Biance and Nicholas. more

I have to admit, I’m having a problem understanding how, in just 33 working days, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team was able to recommend 79 cost cutting measures to save $2.3 billion in the upcoming budget. I’ll address this concern from three viewpoints. 
 more

My last column, “Stop playing games with the budget deficit” (Feb. 3) was written one week before New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued his analysis of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget draft. The irrationality I outlined fell short of anticipating the following mea-culpa expressed in the comptroller’s analysis. “The SFY 2010-2011 enacted budget relied on $16.7 billion in non-recurring or temporary budget resources; and overly optimistic tax revenue projections, causing a dramatically worsened state structural deficit.” How dramatic? These tenuous entries constituted 30 percent of all the monies in the state’s operating fund. more

New York State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. recently visited Chatterton Elementary School in Merrick to thank students for taking part in his annual Extend the Holidays toy drive, which provides toys for children who are undergoing treatment at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola. Above, Fuschillo, back right, is pictured with Chatterton Student Council representatives and students who took part in the driv more

County officials have confirmed that the long-awaited renovation of the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow is expected to begin in July.  According to county officials and … more

The Nassau County Legislature approved more than $3 million in contracts on Jan. 10 for new equipment and upgrades at the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant, in an effort to end months of illegal sewage discharge into Reynolds Channel, which many residents and local officials have called a serious environmental health hazard. more

New York state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr. recently delivered more than 1,500 toys to children in Winthrop-University Hospital’s Hagedorn Pediatric Inpatient Center in Mineola. more