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Partly Cloudy East Meadow Chamber welcomes community ‘forward’ with paint night
The East Meadow Chamber of Commerce held its second in-person event since the pandemic on April 8 at Pinot’s Palette of East Meadow. It’s first in-person event was the Easter-egg hunt. The events serve as a welcome “forward” as the community inches towards a post-pandemic world.
Meaning of legalization of recreational marijuana
What is means for East Meadow residents
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders came to an agreement on March 28 to allow people over the age of 21 to possess, display, purchase, obtain or transport up to three ounces of cannabis and up to 24 grams of concentrated cannabis. New York is the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana. The legislation comes almost two years after marijuana was decriminalized in New York.
E.M. educators want more books reflecting diversity
Plans for diverse content, sources, viewpoints
Jim Mendonis, the East Meadow School District’s director of social studies and 21st century learning, and Frank Lukasik, the director of literacy and funded programs, stood before the Board of Education on April 7 to stress the importance of having more books with diverse characters and storylines available in classrooms and school libraries.
Push to add veterans’ services at medical center
‘Step in the right direction,’ commander says
For years, the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency’s more than 90 volunteers drove veterans to facilities like the Veterans Affairs hospital in Northport to receive specialized care, because services for veterans are limited in Nassau County. But agency officials hope that President Biden’s proposed $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan will allow veterans to access expanded services in their own county.
Herald Community Newspapers seek 2021 summer interns
Herald Community Newspapers is seeking 2021 summer interns for our 18 community-based publications that stretch across Nassau County’s South Shore, from Valley Stream to Seaford, and Long Beach …
District adopted budget within tax cap and preserves programs
It has been a difficult year, said Dr. Patrick Pizzo, the superintendent of business and finance for the East Meadow School District on Jan. 13, as the district drafted its 2021-2022 budget. The …
Protest at correctional center calls for state jail, prison reform
Cynthia Manuel, wearing a Release Aging People in Prison T-shirt, stood outside the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, where a member of her family is currently being held. A coronavirus policy is preventing her from going inside to visit her relative.
Island Harvest to increase services
Island Harvest Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief organization on Long Island, purchased an industrial property in Melville in March for $8.1 million. The 43,560-square-foot building, on three acres of property, is twice the size of its former headquarters in Hauppauge.
Increased capacity is big help for restaurants
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on March 19 that the maximum capacity for indoor dining could increase to 75 percent in Nassau County and 50 percent in Manhattan. The announcement was good news for the restaurant owners and managers across East Meadow because they will no longer have to turn away as many potential diners because of capacity guidelines.
Salisbury pharmacy makes it easier to get a Covid vaccine
When the Covid-19 vaccine first became available, Salisbury residents, like so many people everywhere, had a tough time booking appointments. Tom Vassel, who owns Carman Drugs with Robert Galli, said he wanted to help his customers who called often, inquiring about whether his pharmacy would offer the vaccine.
East Meadow trainer helps save a life
East Meadow athletic trainer Dan DeSimone and Farmingdale trainer Phil Fandale were at the right place at the right time at a varsity football game at Farmingdale High School on March 20 when Nassau County football official Phil LoNigro suddenly collapsed.
Editorial
Support the Mother Nature Bond Act
At the turn of the 20th century, environmental protection meant preserving wilderness so future generations might know nature as the great environmentalists Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir knew it — bountiful and largely pristine. Some 120 years later . . .
Op-Ed
Racial inequities and the Biden infrastructure plan
President Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan is remarkable for its ambition and breadth and for taking significant steps to address historic racial inequities. The president deserves great credit . . .
Op-Ed
Nassau’s budget surplus isn’t good news
Nassau County recently announced that it finished 2020 with a surplus of $75 million (subject to some adjustment, but it’s a reasonable number to work with). Sounds like good news, right? Not so fast.
Randi Kreiss
The pandemic of 1918 was pushed off the front pages
My husband’s father was 14 and living in New York during the pandemic of 1918, sometimes known as the Spanish flu. He must have had memories of the time; surely he knew people who died in Brooklyn, where he lived.
Jerry Kremer
Some of us are killing our friends without bullets
We Americans have experienced a horrible year since the coronavirus invaded out shores. We’ve been confined to our homes, prohibited from traveling . . .