Thursday, October 1, 2026
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The consequences of this governance breakdown are now painfully visible:
The library has been without a director since January 2026, despite more than five months of notice prior to her departure. The assistant director position is also vacant. Without professional leadership, book ordering and essential operations have stalled. I have heard from constituents about empty shelves, long waits for materials and overburdened staff. My own family, heavy library users, increasingly find ourselves relying on neighboring libraries.
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By Howard Kopel
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8/28/26
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Most of us want to recycle correctly. Yet how many of us have stood over a recycling bin holding a plastic takeout container or a bottle cap, wondering, does this actually go in here?
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By Michaelle Solages
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8/28/26
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Even today, when I walk outside on a morning with that same crisp air and brilliant blue sky, I’m immediately brought back to that day when tragedy struck literally out of the blue. The disbelief and the emotions return in a way that reminds me that while 25 years have passed, some moments in our lives never become distant.
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By Michael O'Neill
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8/28/26
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But this loss is different. I discovered that I’m not myself anymore; more challenging, I’m not sure who I am. When you’re a partner in a 58-year-long marriage, identity becomes somewhat fluid. We were a “we” and now I’m an “I.”
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Randi Kreiss
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8/28/26
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The problem with the White House chart is that it fails to point out the fact that the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan were total failures, and the Korean War is considered a draw and not any kind of victory. Many of us who were alive during the 20 years of strife in Vietnam still remember the photo of desperate evacuees reaching for a helicopter ladder as the U.S. Army left the capital.
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By Jerry Kremer
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8/28/26
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Each year, as Sept. 11 approaches, I think back to that day, and how it began so beautifully and uneventfully. I was in Washington, in a car with my chief of staff, Rob O’Connor, heading toward the Capitol. The sky was exceptionally clear — great for flying, I thought. I figured my wife, Rosemary’s, plane would be right on time.
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By Peter King
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8/28/26
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Often, the problem isn’t that people disagree. It’s that they’re working with different information.
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8/28/26
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Under the county charter, a 13-vote supermajority is necessary to approve the bond authorization that funds the projects, and because of the current political configuration of the Legislature, a willingness to negotiate and collaborate was essential in order to reach that benchmark. Additional benefits will be on the way for our communities because of how my Democratic colleagues and I utilized that leverage.
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By Olena Nicks
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8/21/26
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As a mother of four children, I know that mental health is pivotal to a healthy society of people that can work and be financially independent. The pressures our young people face today are immense — the high cost of living, trouble finding employment, student loans. The increased pressures of schoolwork and outside influence of social media don’t help, either. We must ensure that they have the resources they need to navigate life.
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By Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
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8/21/26
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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.
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By Siela Bynoe
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8/21/26
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