Nassau County police have arrested 70 burglars in the first seven weeks of 2012, a marked increase from recent years, said Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano at a press conference last Thursday. more

An epidemic of abuse has gripped the U.S., blurring the lines between prescription and recreational drugs. more

They’re called “pharm parties,” short for pharmacy parties. A group of teenagers –– perhaps as young as 12 and 13 years old –– methodically swipe opiate-based pain killers like Oxycontin and Oxycodone from their parents’ and grandparents’ medicine cabinets, dump the pills into a big bowl when no adult is looking and take turns rolling a die. Whatever number comes up, that’s the number of pills a teen must ingest. more

Concerned parents are reserving their seats for “Dangers in Your Medicine Cabinet: What You Need to Know to Protect Your Children,” a parent-targeted substance-abuse awareness program that will be hosted by the Bellmore-Merrick Community Parent Center, in partnership with the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, the Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick elementary school districts, Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg and the Bellmore-Merrick Coalition Against Substance Abuse. The talk will be held at the Brookside School, 1260 Meadowbrook Road in North Merrick, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11. more

For decades, public health officials have hammered home a message –– smoking kills. They have done so in splashy advertising campaigns and in the halls of government. Any number of laws and ordinances prohibiting smoking in public venues have been passed as a result. These efforts, officials say, have paid dividends. more

Last week, I took part in an insightful panel on Fox Business News on which we focused the debate on government waste. Although I went postal after one of my fellow panelists made rather ignorant remarks, some of the issues we discussed will really blow your mind. more

Each spring the men poured out of rickety trucks and lived in a barn that smelled of pesticides for the next six months. They seemed always to be joking, but their weatherworn faces told a different story about their lives — one of hardship. more

Final part in a series. Why does anyone -- let alone a young person full of life -- start snorting or shooting heroin, an opiate known to cause near-instant addiction and possibly a lifetime of suffering? more

Nassau County Police arrested and charged two men –– one the owner of a North Bellmore Citgo and the other an attendant at the station –– with criminal use of drug paraphernalia on Aug. 5. more

Part six in a series. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice made a name for herself with her tough-as-nails prosecution of drunken drivers. Now, as the use of heroin has spread on Long Island, it's little surprise that the headstrong D.A. is taking a hard line. more