Brookhaven Messenger Archive July 16, 2026

Officials Warn of Gold Scam, Legislators Take Action

By Matt Meduri

Suffolk County officials are warning of a new scam targeting residents, particularly older residents with large cash reserves.

Scammers continue to pose as bankers, creditors, or other seemingly legitimate actors to dupe residents into liquidating their assets into gold. Scammers then promise that their money is safe in gold, except the victims don’t see the precious metal in their hands.

In addition to the typical safeguarding of one’s assets, officials implore residents to contact the District Attorney’s office and/or law enforcement when they suspect they’re being scammed.

Continued on page 5

LaLota Delivers Clean Water Funds for Calverton

By Matt Meduri

The Calverton area, while mostly included in the Town of Riverhead, does have a small portion within the Town of Brookhaven. The Peconic River serves as the border between the two municipalities.

However, it’s that same river that has been the site of a toxic plume, courtesy of the former Grumman Site on River Road. The site was never cleaned up by its former owners and operators, the U.S. Navy, and PFAS and 1-4, dioxane - “forever” chemicals - have traveled up the river in a plume that has left dozens of households on bottled water for all their household needs.

Continued on page 10

(Inset) Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville). Peconic Lake in Calverton in autumn. (Credit - Matt Meduri)

(Left to right) Detectives Tom Gabriel, Anthony DeLuca, and Thomas Perillo saved $140,000 in a recent gold scam (Credit - Matt Meduri)

SUMMER EVENTS

Sayville Farmers Market at the Islip Grange: Every Saturday until November, 9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.

Port Jefferson Farmers Market: Every Sunday until November, 9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.

Islip Farmers Market at Town Hall: Every Saturday, 7:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.

Suffolk County Farmers Market at the H. Lee Dennison Building: Thursdays through October 1, 10:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.

Alex Tric & Friends Art Show at Conklin House, Huntington: July 18, 5:00p.m. to 10:00p.m.

Antique and Classic Car Show at Sagtikos Manor, West Bay Shore: July 19, 10:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.

Great South Bay Music Festival at Shorefront Park: July 23-26, various times.

Sayville Summerfest at Gillette Park & The Common Ground: August 7-9, various times.

Summer Lantern Walk at Heckscher State Park: Friday, July 24, 7:45p.m. to 9:30p.m.

Marvelous Monarchs at Connetquot River State Park: Saturday, July 18, 10:00a.m. to 12:00p.m.

Beginning Birding at Planting Fields Arboretum: Sunday, August 9, 10:00a.m. to 11:30a.m.

Sand Sculpting Contests at Robert Moses State Park: Wednesday, July 22, 9:30a.m. to 1:00p.m.

(631) 269-6421

Cafe Castello • South Country Deli

Centereach Deli

King Kullen

Coram Diner EASTPORT

King Kullen

EAST SETAUKET

Bagel Express • Se-port Deli

RONKONKOMA

718 Slice Pizzeria – (719 Hawkins Ave)

Ronkonkoma Train Station

LAKE GROVE

Lake Grove Diner • Lake Grove Village Hall

MILLER PLACE

Better on a Bagel • Bigger Bagel and Deli

Miller Place Bagel & Deli • Playa Bowls

Town & Country Market

MT. SINAI

Bagels Your Way • Northside Deli

PATCHOGUE

California Diner • King Kullen • Shop Rite

PORT JEFFERSON STATION

Bagel Deli Gourmet

Toast Coffee House • Wunderbar Deli

ROCKY POINT

Fresh & Hot Bagels

Rocky Point Cardsmart (Kohl’s Plaza)

SELDEN

Cella Bagels

SHIRLEY

Laundry King • Stop & Shop

STONY BROOK

Long Island Bagel Cafe • Strathmore Bagels

NORTH SHORE:

Sing, Read, and Play -

- Monday, July 20 – 10:15a.m. to 11:00a.m.

Chair Yoga -

- Tuesday, July 21 – 10:30a.m. to 11:30a.m.

LONGWOOD:

Jurassic Jinx! Solve the Mystery –

- Friday, July 17 – 6:00p.m. to 8:00p.m.

Babies & Books –

- Monday, July 20 – 10:00a.m. to 10:30a.m.

PORT JEFFERSON:

Long Island Quilters –

- Monday, July 20 – 1:00p.m. to 4:00p.m.

Juggling & Plate Spinning 101 –

- Tuesday, July 21 – 1:00p.m. to 2:00p.m.

THREE VILLAGE:

Learn to Code: Scratch (Grades 2-3) –- Tuesday, July 21 – 10:00a.m. to 10:45a.m.

Ice Cream Making –

- Wednesday, July 22 – 10:30a.m. to 11:15a.m..

CENTER MORICHES:

Kitchen Confidence for Teens –

- Saturday, July 18 – 2:00p.m. to 3:00p.m.

Red, White, and BINGO (Grades 1-6) –- Tuesday, July 21 – 11:00a.m. to 11:45a.m.

SHIRLEY:

Job & Career Counseling –

- Saturday, July 18 – 10:00a.m. to 11:00a.m.

Tail Waggin’ and Readin’ Fun! –- Monday, July 20 – 4:30p.m. to 5:30p.m.

Red, White, and Blue Block Party for America’s 250th

By Joe Cuminale

The Babylon American Legion Post #94 decided that America’s 250th birthday needed to be celebrated with style, so they held a multiparking lot block party.

This huge event would also be a fundraiser to help our local Veterans in need. The event also included food trucks, motorcycles, cool classic cars, live bands - including the American Bombshells Trio – some military trucks, vendors, a kids’ zone, a mechanical bull, Uncle Sam, and a whole lot of local families and Veterans groups enjoying a day in the sun.

There were also Statue of Liberty sightings and Top Gun’s own Maverick on hand as well. The bands - the Roosters, Tucker Stevens, American Ride, and the American Bombshellskept the crowds dancing with all types of music ranging from the Andrews Sisters to Toby Keith. It made me happy to see families with young children asking questions and listening to the stories of our Veterans from World War II to those currently serving or recently discharged and walking away having learned some history from those who helped make history happen.

Thank You to all involved in putting this awesome event together and keeping it flowing smoothly. Happy 250th birthday, USA!

The Moloney Family

Continued from front cover

Suffolk Matters

Officials Warn of Gold Scam, Legislators Take Action

Suffolk County Legislators Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue) (pictured above left) and Stephanie Bontempi (R-Centerport) (pictured above center) have sponsored legislation to increase penalties on perpetrators and to force agencies to better educate on the practice.

“These scammers are professional manipulators to be friendly at first, build the victim’s trust, and this again sometimes happens over the course of several hours or even several days or months,” said D.A. Ray Tierney (R) in Hauppauge on Monday morning. “Once they feel they have a vulnerable victim, they will not give up until they get that money.”

Tierney said that the scammers’ intend to “compress the time” and “raise the pressure” so victims make a decision without consulting family or experts or without having the time to think clearly. He added that scammers will “scare” victims into “secrecy,” saying that “disclosing any information about their communications or financial transactions could put themselves in danger or they could face legal trouble for illegally disclosing confidential information.”

“It’s very convincing,” said Tierney (pictured right) of these methods.

“The gold and the scammers disappear forever along with the victims’ savings.”

sophisticated and they use sophisticated means and technology. If anyone gets an unsolicited call, hang up immediately. Do not engage.”

Another measure of self-defense is to hang up and call the general information number for the office from which the scammers are calling, but that’s not always surefire. Scammers will often have directories on hand to take up a real name affiliated with the department to appear legitimate, or to cover their tracks by sounding legitimate.

Emails are another way scammers can gain access to personal accounts. Never clicking the link on an email or computer pop-up is the best defense, followed by calling the institution from whom the email or pop-up appears to have been sent.

Tierney shared two “best defenses” for those who might be targeted: awareness and communication. He urged potential victims to “take a moment, withdraw themselves from the dialogue” and to contact law enforcement or “somebody they trust.” Furthermore, scammers will impersonate a representative from the government, law enforcement, or a financial institution.

“If you are being contacted, that immediately should be a red flag, because that doesn’t happen all that much. More often than not, there’s nothing wrong with your account,” said Tierney. “They will spoof numbers; it will look like they are calling from a legitimate entity. They are

“If someone says, ‘you have a problem, I’m going to help you fix it, but you can’t tell anybody,’ that is a scam 999 times out of 1,000,” said Tierney. “Beware of anyone asking to liquidate your assets, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, stocks, bonds, and IRAs, and to then purchase precious metals or stones, especially gold bars. That is not law enforcement. No bank will do that.”

All hope is not lost, however, in the event the scammers succeed. The D.A.’s office and the Suffolk County Police Department have been able to recover funds in some instances, depending on when they are contacted. Three detectives, Anthony DeLuca, Thomas Perillo, and Tom Gabriel, were honored after remarks were given for their success in recovering $140,000 in gold.

Detectives also found that the scammers were monitoring the conversation between the detectives and the victim through the popup ad on the victim’s computer. The detectives contacted a bank representative and had the gold orders canceled. They assisted the victim in setting up multi-factor authentication on her

bank accounts.

“A few extra minutes of caution can protect a lifetime of savings,” said Tierney. He added that some victims remain quiet due to embarrassment of falling for a scam, but that his team and the SCPD insist there’s no shame in reporting the incident to law enforcement.

Suffolk County Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) and SCPD Commissioner Kevin Catalina (pictured above right) echoed Tierney’s statements. Romaine said that “beefing up” the police budget has aided in their ability to mitigate these incidents.

“The increased use of AI makes their scams seem even more convincing,” said Catalina.

Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) (pictured below) said that pending legislation will require precious metal dealers in Suffolk to display signs in their shops to warn customers about the scams. The law would also impose a 48-hour hold on any first-time buyers who are attempting to purchase over $50,000 in gold. Any precious metal dealer staff will be required to ask specific questions of any gold purchases aged 60 or older to protect them from a potential scam.

“We’ll help educate at the last stop before they [victims] lose their life savings,” said Legislator Thorne.

Romaine said that he will sign the bill as soon as it lands on his desk. It was laid on the table at Tuesday’s General Meeting.

CreditMatt Meduri

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Hochul Right to Pump Brakes on Data Centers

AI data centers have quickly risen to hot-button issue status, and with good reason. Americans are right, in our view, to be skeptical about the latest ground-breaking technology. In fact, we’d say that AI goes beyond ground-breaking in its scope; it’s earth-shattering.

We’re not naive to the benefits. Research, healthcare, financial analysis - there’s no shortage as to what AI can do and is already doing.

However, we’re also not naive to the deluge of problems, displacement, and bloat that it can also bring. We’ve seen it firsthand: people replacing their own brains and judgement with AI, consulting AI chatbots as the Holy Grail of information, battle plans, and advice, and the fat cats who are practically foaming at the mouth realizing the cost-cutting measures that these programs can present.

The AI age is inevitable, but just that fact alone doesn’t mean we should race into it.

Why the Governor is Right

In our view, Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D-Hamburg) move to place a one-year moratorium on all large-scale data centers in the Empire State is the pragmatic move.

Apart from the reasons many are up in arms against AI in general, New York is simply not equipped for these hyperscale facilities for one reason alone: energy.

Part of our gripes with the Governor as of late have been her and the Democratic trifecta’s inability to recognize the energy problem at face value. Last year, Hochul expressed her wishes for fast-tracked nuclear power, a welcomed move but too little too late. Meanwhile, the antiquated grid continues to struggle, and we wait with bated breath to see if her brake-pumping on the green energy mandates are genuine and not just election-year footballs.

The energy and water these centers require are unparalleled in modern technological history. For instance, billionaire investor and Shark Tank magnate Kevin O’Leary is proposing such a center in rural Utah. That facility was originally projected to require twice the amount of energy that the entire state uses. We just don’t see how New York, a state that can barely handle the summer surges as is, can handle a monstrous problem like that.

Moreover, we’re seeing more reports of residents who live near these data centers - not that it was their choice; the facilities were plopped next to their neighborhoods. Those facilities now produce constant electrical and mechanical humming that has led some Americans to buffer their windows to keep out the sound.

Constant noise exposure has been used as a form of torture, and while we don’t immediately ascribe that characteristic to anyone looking to invest in these facilities and the politicians who clear the way, we also think that that facet of the problem must be illuminated.

Finally, regulation has been slow, if it’s extant at all. While we admire the American innovation behind the drive for these facilities, we think there’s an extreme amount of dollar blindness behind their proposers and a concerning level of naivete among the politicians who eagerly get on the bandwagon. In other words, it’s gradually appearing to us that this is a “ready, fire, aim” scenario, especially as Washington is concerned.

Say it Out Loud

The world is hurdling towards this inevitability faster than we can define the terms around it, faster than it can be regulated, and faster than the technology can even be understood. Every day, advances are made, models learn more, and every facet of life seems to integrate AI everywhere it goes.

Yet, this is where most of our funding and energy supplies appear to be headed

within the next 5-10 years - for Artificial Intelligence.

Say it out loud: Artificial Intelligence

Instead of creating sound education policy and funding, instead of ensuring children understand finance, civics, and citizenship before they leave high school, our leaders seem intent on this ambiguous arms race where the only people who seem to lose are the working-class - all for artificial, not organic, intelligence.

But We Need to Beat China!

The talking point that’s been recycled for years has been “spreading democracy” and “freedom,” especially when it comes to American ingenuity and foreign policy.

Americans voted in 2024 on the basis of affordability, no new foreign wars - particularly, regime change quagmires in the Middle East - and government transparency not seen in decades.

They got none of those things. In fact, they got the direct opposite. So, how much of a “democracy” are we in the first place?

The same logic applies to this cold war with China. No doubt, China has been unscrupulous in their business practices, especially regarding intellectual property, but who handed them the keys but Washington politicians gung-ho on neoliberal economic policy for the last 30-40 years?

American citizens don’t want these centers, at least not directly in their neighborhoods, not at the massive energy demands, and not at the cost of jobs and personal connections. It’s impossible to please everyone, but China doesn’t seem to care about what their people want in the first place.

It seems, to us, that the only way to “beat” China in this race is to become China. If you ask anyone from Town Hall to Capitol Hill, we doubt a single person would agree to the U.S. becoming China.

China will take up more of the AI market in the first phases. They’ll likely roll it out on commercial and industrial scales before anyone else gets there first. They’ll likely use it insidiously as well - although we don’t put that past the American government either.

Ultimately, we think the first society to cash in entirely on AI will be the first to feel the massive ramifications from it, depending on how they play their cards. China, unlike the U.S., understands the massive energy demands these sites require. For each center that’s erected, enough power sources are also constructed to fuel it. We don’t do that in this country, so right out of the gate, it’s impossible for us to “beat China” and the U.S. stands to fall face-first into a massive, dystopian problem.

Our advice: let someone else take the fall first and learn from the mistakes.

American leaders in Washington are insipid on many levels, especially when it comes to geography - see: Strait of Hormuz. We don’t assume that when their pupils turn to dollar signs that they’ll be seeing this path forward clearly either.

For the first time in decades, the American government and our state governments must be pragmatic. Acting rationally irrational is one thing, but the foundation hasn’t even been conceptualized yet, and our leaders are ready to dive in head-first.

We’ll leave you with this: look up what AI entrepreneurs, developers, and CEOs say publicly about the role of humans in an AI-dominated world, the future survival of the human race, and the state of our economy as we’ve known it for decades and decades. Comparing the AI Revolution to the Industrial Revolution or the Dot Com Boom, in our view, is intellectually dishonest. This is a much bigger transition that requires much bigger planning.

The U.S. has shown they’re not looking to do the latter; just build the centers, forget what American citizens want and need, and make sure we beat China by doing it - all for artificial intelligence.

World Cup Attendees Shine Positive Light on American Culture

As the U.S. has had the distinct privilege of hosting the quadrennial World Cup, we’ve seen dozens and dozens of videos of foreign tourists expressing their awe, excitement, and pure love for American culture, American venues, and the American people. Despite the bad rap our country gets around the world, especially nowadays, we think one truth remains: the American people and their way of life

remain highly regarded in the eyes of the world.

Tourists from Europe come here to dig facefirst into a juicy brisket, while arrivals from Oceania marvel at what a privilege it is to have a Buc-ee’s in town. The simple things that most Americans take for granted are the culmination and then some of those who are just experiencing this country’s greatness for the first time.

In the midst of the chaos, lack of transparency, and the vast majority of our federal elected officials - on both sides of the aisle - serving other interests than those of the American people, we take great pride and solace that so many come here and genuinely enjoy our culture, even if we, as Americans, don’t fully understand our own culture.

‘Dirty Dozen’ Laws Making the State So Unaffordable

By Steve Levy | Long Island Life & Politics

New York State ranks among the most highly taxed states in America. Unaffordability continues to resonate as the state’s most pressing issue, leading to an exodus of over 400,000 people in 2024 alone.

The way to reverse higher taxes is to first identify the primary causes of the exponential rise in spending over the past few decades and to promote legislation to reverse course.

Our Center’s white paper highlights the Dirty Dozen laws contributing to the affordability crisis. They include:

1. Overtime beefing up pensions. Government workers put in an extraordinary amount of overtime (OT) hours in their last years to inflate the base pay upon which their pensions are set. This OT pension escalator will cost taxpayers $50-80 billion over the next two decades. Workers also receive defined benefit contributions, in which taxpayers guarantee the same monthly payment, regardless of stock market fluctuations, unlike private-sector defined contribution systems, which rise or fall with the market.

2. Full coverage of healthcare benefits for many employees and retirees. Some public retirees contribute zero to their health care packages and have their Medicaid and Medicare Part B costs covered by taxpayers, resulting in a long-term obligation of $360 billion for overall public-sector healthcare in New York.

3. Mandatory arbitration that hikes police salaries to unsustainable levels. Pay for many veteran Suffolk police officers exceeds $225,000. Unions have no incentive to extend givebacks, given that they can always get favorable rulings through the arbitrator.

4. The Triborough Amendment for public employees provides step salary increases, even after the contract expires, making negotiations difficult for management. A step — extra salary for just existing another year — may be 2% to 4% above the negotiated annual increases.

5. Retirement after 20 years of service. Taxpayers might pay four different people for one law enforcement position. When the original officer turns 82, taxpayers will be paying for his retirement and that of three others for that position,

6. Inefficient school spending. New York pays almost twice the national average per pupil (over $30,000), yet it is surpassed in student performance by about half of the other states. The state’s Excelsior Program provides free college tuition, not just for working-class students, but for the upper-middle-class students as well. Free publicschool lunches are now provided for the children of millionaires. Pre-school programs, which have not shown a correlation in improving scores, continue to expand at alarming costs. New York City imposed a 20-student-per-class cap, which is so expensive that it had to be delayed. Cost-efficient charter schools, which provide better student outcomes,

have been capped in New York.

7. Expansion of the nonworking population and the Medicaid program. Government welfare programs have led to four in ten eligible workers staying home instead of working. Meanwhile, one in three New Yorkers is now on Medicaid.

8. The Scaffold Law holds building owners 100% liable should any workplace injury occur. The mandate adds $785 million spent unnecessarily on the construction of buildings in the state.

9. Disability abuse allows an employee to sit at home collecting up to 100% of his salary tax-exempt, making more money than if he went back to work. Retirees with accidental disability will still be eligible to receive 75% of their income at retirement, also tax-free. According to the Empire Center in 2022, approximately 60% of all firefighters had retired with a disability pension.

10. The Wicks Law requires multiple contractors to be used for plumbing, gas, ventilation, and electrical work for public buildings with costs exceeding $500,000. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rep claimed the law often added 10% to cost estimates for city projects.

11. Illegal alien expenses. The state spent over $4 billion caring for asylum seekers, while the city budgeted approximately $10 billion from 2022 to 2026. Illegal immigrants obtain state health benefits through various sources. Those hitting 65 are entitled to state Medicaid coverage, while undocumented children get the Child Health Plus program and pregnant undocumented women get prenatal care. The costliest is the care for the undocumented at emergency rooms. State leaders must seek to amend the state’s constitution to clarify that taxpayers will not be responsible for housing and feeding illegal aliens. In the meantime, state and local leaders should end sanctuary designations and provide the bare minimum to satisfy any existing constitutional requirements.

12. Sick day abuse. New York State’s Retirement and Social Security Law permits public employees to receive credit for their unused sick days at retirement, effectively allowing them to retire with payments sometimes amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, something unheard of in the private sector.

Steve Levy is Executive Director of the Center for Cost Effective Government, a fiscally conservative think tank. He served as Suffolk County Executive, as a NYS Assemblyman, and host of “On the Right Side Podcast.” Costeffectivegov@gmail. com.

This op-ed originally appeared in Long Island Life & Politics. For more from LILP, visit them online at lilifepolitics.com.

Letters to the Editor

The American Dream

Dear Editor,

My wife and I got married in 1968, in our mid-twenties. The one-bedroom apartment we rented cost 13% of our combined gross income. After two years, we bought a house in Port Washington. Today, most people in Suffolk County can’t find a house they can afford.

Those who believe in upward mobility and feel hopeful about the future are the people who were born somewhere else and chose to come here, not those who were born and raised here.

The American Dream is not something most people have given up on. They have given up on the idea that it belongs to everyone equally. That is a meaningful distinction, and it points directly at the failure that actually needs addressing.

The failure is that for decades, politicians have found it more useful to weaponize the American Dream than to expand it. They have changed it from a vision of what America could be for every person who lives here, into a talking point that wins primaries. People who believe the American Dream is achievable are harder to mobilize with fear than the people who believe it is a competition with a limited number of winners.

Sincerely,

Charles Gueli Laurel

Dear

Editor,

ABC, Stop Begging Me to Save You with FCC

For the past month, my local ABC affiliate has been bombarding viewers begging them to tell the FCC to leave them alone. I know the background of the Trump Administration not liking Jimmy Kimmel or The View. I don’t like those two shows either, but you know what I do?

I don’t watch them. They do not have my eyeballs. Risking cancelling the license of ABC would mean no Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy!, two shows that give enjoyment to our seniors.

This would be a sad outcome. I hope the news can get better and stick to reporting.

ABC’s parent, Disney, is not doing so well lately. Live-action Moana was a no-wanna from the audience. I really have no idea who greenlights these duds. First, The Little Mermaid remake went under; now Moana

In the bad decisions department, it looks like ABC is gearing up for another groaner with Conan O’Brian being asked to host another Oscars ceremony for 2027. I did not think his 2026 was that stellar. After the show was over, I kept watching to see his final words. Well, he made a tasteless Holocaust joke that apparently went completely under the radar. He implied the Jewish executives wanted to have a meeting with him to ask him back. So, he was led into an office. He gets comfortable, puts his feet on the desk, then sinisterly, the door locks and yellow gas starts coming out of the overhead air ducts. They are “gassing” him.

How funny.

Respectfully

Submitted,

Jamie Hanja Lake Grove

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We also offer full-service imaging and lab services, an on-site retail pharmacy, an endoscopy suite and urgent care services for life’s unexpected moments — all designed to make high-quality care easier for the Centereach community.

This Week Today

Thursday, July 16, 2026

National, State, and Local Temperature Checks

By Matt Meduri

National

The most surprising news of the week, by far, was that of Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) passing on Saturday. He was 71.

Graham (pictured right) died after a “brief and sudden illness” on Saturday evening, one day after returning to Washington, D.C., from an official visit to Kiev, Ukraine, where he toured a drone production facility. Preliminary findings from the D.C. Medical Examiner stated that Graham’s cause of death was an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Graham had won his primary to run for a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. A fasttracked special primary will be held on August 11 to replace him on the ballot.

Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC) appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone (R), to serve the remainder of her brother’s term at the suggestion of President Donald Trump (RFL). Sworn in Tuesday afternoon, Nordone is the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. She has not announced if she will run in the special election to seek a full, six-year term.

Graham was first elected to the House in 1994, and in 2002, he won the open seat to succeed the legendary Democrat-turnedRepublican Senator Strom Thurmond.

No Democrat has won a Senate race in South Carolina since 1998.

Rumors still swirl around Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) prolonged absence, as a photo released on Sunday showed McConnell, 84, with his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Instead of quelling rumors that McConnell has either been dead or otherwise significantly incapacitated, it’s kicked off questions over the photo’s legitimacy. Some are questioning the timing and the setup of the photo, and others think the photo itself was AI-generated. Many also question Chao’s trip to China, where she met with Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing, during her husband’s hospitalization.

Questions also mount over Politico’s bombshell story around Senate candidate Graham Planter’s (D-ME) alleged rape of a former girlfriend. Further investigation has shown that Politico withheld crucial details that call into question the legitimacy of the allegations, including texts to him from his accuser, Jenny Racicot, that she asked him for a “glute massage.”

While those questioning the drip of details aren’t necessarily questioning Platner’s potential guilt, they are questioning Politico’s lack of full context in a story that has single-handedly shaken up one of the marquee races of the 2026 midterms.

Congressman Ro Khanna (D, CA-17) was denied entry into the West Bank last

Wednesday, reporting from this weekend shows. He was there on a fact-finding mission to see the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta and assess the level of Israeli occupation. The suspension of Israeli plans to expand into the West Bank was a significant component of the Abraham Accords, brokered by Trump in 2020.

Khana was

reportedly detained for 90 minutes by settlers armed with M4 rifles. He says that when Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) arrived, they “sided with the settlers and continued our detention.”

The IDF, however, said that they were there to disperse the armed settlers and allow Khana and his entourage through.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (R-AR) took to X to accuse Khana of pulling a “stunt.”

“We [the embassy] did NOT know a member of Congress was coming. We would have said don’t go to restricted zone [sic]. As FACTS come out, it’s not helping the desired narrative. Not ‘held at gunpoint,’” said Ambassador Huckabee on X.

Khanna countered by saying that the IDF did not clarify the area was a restricted zone and that Israeli media had “confirmed” that.

On the homefront, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is moving to expand bodycam rollouts after two more fatal shootings.

Last Tuesday saw the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, in Houston, Texas, as he was on his way to work. He was believed by ICE to be in the U.S. illegally. He was traveling to work in a white van and had picked up the last members of his construction crew before heading to the job sites. ICE agents reportedly attempted to block in the van, which then struck one of the vehicles. In a statement, ICE said that Araujo “rammed into” one of their vehicles and “refused to follow several verbal commands” before one of the agents fired his weapon in “self-defense.”

Araujo’s family said that he’d been seeking a work permit and had no criminal record. They say that he would have stopped for law enforcement had he known the vehicle tailing him was marked as such.

On Monday, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, 26, was killed by federal agents in Biddeford, Maine. ICE said that an agent fired his weapon “fearing for public safety” as Guerrero, of Colombia, attempted to “flee the scene” in his car, reminiscent of the first ICE-related shooting in Minneapolis.

The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) statement on the incident came

about twelve hours after the events unfolded in Maine. Senator Angus King (I-ME) said that Guerrero was not the target of ICE’s original investigation. The victim had his three-year-old daughter in the car at the time, and passengers refute ICE’s statements that none of the agents were “placed in the line of danger.”

“Every loss of human life demands transparency, accountability, and impartial investigations,” said Suffolk County Legislator Sam Gonzalez (D-Brentwood) in a statement on the issue.

In non-political news, New Zealand actor Sam Neill died on Monday. He was 78.

Neill was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993). He first gained recognition in Sleeping Dogs (1977), followed by The Hunt for Red October (1990), Event Horizon (1997), and the historical crime drama Peaky Blinders (2013).

In a statement to Variety, Steven Spielberg memorialized Neill as “brilliant” and “exceptionally collaborative.”

“I adored making all the ‘Jurassic’ movies with him,” Spielberg told Variety. “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our ‘Jurassic’ family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”

State

On Tuesday, New York became the first state to impose a moratorium on the construction of new data centers. It marks the unfolding of a new battlefield in the broader fight against AI data centers.

The ban will last for one year and applies to all data centers using 50 megawatts of power or more. Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg), who signed the executive order, said she would pursue legislation to repeal the sales tax exemption for large data centers.

“New York has always been at the forefront of innovation and change but we’ve also always guaranteed that New Yorkers benefit. As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” said Hochul in a statement. “New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too.”

Earlier this year, Hochul had directed the Department of Public Service (DPS) to start the Energize NY campaign. That initiative seeks to require data centers to pay more for their energy or supply

their own, especially as New York faces surging demand on an antiquated grid. Hochul is also directing DPS to develop a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for data centers to be held to consistent standards.

Large-scale data centers have become a hot-button political issue. Residents who live near recentlyconstructed data centers report constant noise, typically electrical and mechanical humming, that permeates through their houses. Power consumption is also a core issue. A data center proposed by Kevin O’Leary in Box Elder County, Utah, was originally slated to require 7.5 to 9 gigawatts of power, more than the peak power usage of the entire state of Utah.

Local

The Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) is continuing to urge Suffolk residents to conserve water amid a brutal heat wave and continued drought.

Residents on the East End, particularly in the Town of East Hampton, are being urged to “immediately reduce water usage” as demand is approaching “record levels.”

Two public water wells in East Hampton are offline and two additional wells are operating on emergency protocol only. Those wells have removed 8% of the total water production capacity in the area.

“As we face extreme heat and dry conditions, I urge all East End residents to conserve water whenever possible,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches). “Simple steps taken today will help protect our water supply and ensure this vital resource remains available for our communities throughout the summer.”

The SCWA is asking their customers to only water their laws if “absolutely necessary” and to take “practical steps” to conserve indoor usage. For lawnwatering, they continue to urge the odd-even cycle - odd-numbered street addresses can water on odd-numbered days, even-numbered addresses water on even-numbered days. No lawn watering is permitted between 10:00a.m. and 4:00p.m.

“We are dealing with a double-edged sword right now: unprecedented earlyseason demand and a temporarily restricted supply on the South Fork,” said SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz. “With crucial wells restricted or offline, we cannot afford any wasted water. If residents don’t scale back immediately, we risk severe pressure drops that put localized fire protection at risk.”

The SCWA may tighten restrictions across the entire county if conditions persist.

CreditMatt Meduri

Continued from front cover

Brookhaven Matters

LaLota Delivers Clean Water Funds for Calverton

The Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) has made improvements in the Calverton areas by connecting homes to proper wastewater infrastructure, but more work remains. Local, State, and federal partners continue to demand action on the cleanup of the Grumman Site. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regularly been lobbied to declare the area a Superfund site - one in need of significant environmental remediation.

Last Thursday, Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) descended on Riverhead Town Hall with $2.25 million in Appropriations funding to hook up 28 homes to “clean, safe drinking water.” The money comes from the FY2026 Appropriations process. LaLota noted that NY-01 ranked third of New York’s 26 congressional districts for total funds delivered for infrastructure, public safety, and water quality, primarily.

NY-01 is on pace to rank first of New York’s districts in federal monies received for the FY2027 Appropriations process.

“Every Suffolk County family should have access to good clean drinking water. This is where the rubber meets the road,” said LaLota. “Families drinking bottled water and using boiled water [for other household uses] is not part of a civilized Long Island in 2026.”

The broader fight against remediating the Peconic River and surrounding areas comes from talks with the U.S. Navy, who recommended that appropriations be made in the Defense bill so those funds can be earmarked for that exact cleanup. Remediation is already underway at the former Grumman site.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) said that since he took office in 2024, water quality concerns across Suffolk, but particularly in Calverton, have been priorities.

“Clean water is vital to life,” said Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow).

She added that while the “conversations” of broader remediation have been going on for over 20 years, Congressman LaLota’s efforts have resulted in the “most money seen delivered back to the Town in years.”

“People on River Road were forgotten and pushed off to the side while everyone else got connected [to sewers],” said Giglio.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin (D-Riverhead) added that the families of these 28 homes will “no longer have to think about what most of us take for granted.”

The Town of Riverhead continues to work with the Navy for remediating the Site. Town Councilman Bob Kern (R-Riverhead) said in the last year, “strides” have been made that “haven’t been made in 30 years.”

New Cupsogue Beach Pavilion Delivered Ahead of Schedule

What was once a construction site is now one of Long Island’s newest community destinations in Westhampton Beach.

Austin Interiors and General Contractors proudly announce the successful completion of the new beach pavilion at Cupsogue County Park, delivering the highly anticipated Suffolk County project on an accelerated schedule that allowed residents and visitors to begin enjoying the facility by Memorial Day 2026, well ahead of the original projected completion date of July 4.

Cupsogue Beach borders the Village of West Hampton Dunes and is a prime summer spot for residents in Eastport and the Moriches within the Town of Brookhaven.

Construction began immediately following Labor Day 2025 after Suffolk County awarded Austin Interiors the project. Austin Interiors mobilized its experienced team and completed the entire project in-house using its own local union workforce.

The new pavilion features more than 3,000 square feet of modern, wood-framed construction and includes a commercial kitchen, gift shop, men’s and women’s restrooms, family and ADA-accessible restroom facilities, and two spacious woodframe and composite decks. One deck offers public seating overlooking the waterfront, while the second provides vendor seating and bar service, creating an inviting destination for beachgoers.

The project also included all site work, general construction, HVAC, fire protection, electrical and plumbing systems, providing Suffolk County with a modern facility designed to serve residents and visitors for decades to come.

Since opening at the end of May, the pavilion has quickly become a centerpiece of the Cupsogue Beach experience. The venue has already welcomed live music performances, cornhole leagues, community gatherings and countless visitors taking in the spectacular sunsets over the Great South Bay. It even served as the backdrop for a community watch party celebrating the New York Knicks’ historic NBA Championship, bringing neighbors together for a memorable evening on the

waterfront.

“This project is a great example of what can be accomplished when you have an experienced team working toward a common goal,” said Bill Hardy, Chief Operating Officer of Austin Interiors, Inc. “From our project managers and superintendents to every skilled tradesperson on site, everyone took tremendous pride in delivering this pavilion ahead of schedule without compromising quality. Seeing families, friends and visitors already making memories here is incredibly rewarding, and we’re honored to have built a space that will serve the community for many years to come.”

A map showing the site of the former Grumman park in Calverton and its surrounding affected areas

Cupsogue Beach after construction. Credit - Austin Interiors

Theatre & the Arts

Thursday, July 16, 2026

The Engeman Brings Firsthand Know-How to Its 20th Anniversary Revival of ‘The Wedding Singer’

By Cindi Sansone-Braff

The Engeman Theater closes its 20252026 season on an upbeat note with a mustsee production of the 2006 Broadway hit, “The Wedding Singer, The Musical Comedy.” Based on the beloved 1988 film of the same name starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, this award-winning Broadway musical features ‘80s-style pop-rock music composed by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Tim Herlihy and Chad Beguelin.

This laugh-a-minute musical is a nostalgic romantic comedy set in New Jersey in the mid-1980s. Known as “The Decade of Greed,” Madonna’s blockbuster hit “Material Girl” rang out through the airwaves like an anthem praising the gilded age of junk bonds, insider trading, and leveraged buyouts. Amid this “Greed is good” era of

conspicuous consumption, Robbie Hart, the show’s kind-hearted, charismatic, musically gifted protagonist, finds himself torn between following his passion for performing and pursuing a more lucrative career on Wall Street.

From the exuberant opening number, “It’s Your Wedding Day,” to the electrifying finale, it was clear this revival was a passion project for director and choreographer Paul Stancato and his wife, Broadway veteran Felicia Finley, associate director and choreographer. This creative couple brought firsthand experience to the show: Finley originated the role of Linda in the 2006 Broadway production of “The Wedding Singer,” and Stancato earned his first Broadway gig as assistant director. In the program’s Director’s Note, Stancato tells the audience that he and his wife poured everything they had “into this 20th Anniversary production with the same love and commitment we brought to it the first time around.” The fact that this dynamic duo met during the original Broadway production of “The Wedding Singer,” fell in love, and got married is the stuff of fairy tales and great Broadway musicals!

Zach Cossman delivered a stellar performance as Robbie Hart, a much-soughtafter wedding singer whose life falls apart when he’s left at the altar. Cossman, a gifted actor and singer, used expressive facial and body language to convey the rollercoaster of emotions Robbie experiences as his life comes full circle, from the highs of success and the euphoria of love to the depths of despair and heartbreak, and back to

love and career fulfillment. Cossman also possesses one of the most flexible bodies I have ever seen on stage, bouncing out of a dumpster (yes, you read that right, a dumpster), tumbling to the ground after being punched in the face, leaping off a bar, crawling across the stage, and dancing his heart out with grace and athletic agility! His solo, “Somebody Kill Me,” was a gallowshumor, grunge-style rock ballad that had the audience roaring with laughter.

Emily Grace Tucker gave an awardworthy performance as Julia Sullivan, a warm-hearted waitress who befriends Robbie. Tucker and Cossman displayed

Julia Guglia. One of the show’s highlights was Leach’s powerhouse delivery of “All About the Green,” with satirical lyrics that revealed Guglia’s true nature: “But if you sell your soul, at least you’ve made a sale.” Kaelee Albritton was believable as Holly, a sexy waitress and Julia’s outspoken best friend. Mike Ferlita commanded the stage as Sammy, Holly’s ex and Robbie’s loyal friend. Ferlita has incredible vocals, which he showcased in the hysterically funny Men’s Ensemble number “Single.” Albritton and Ferlita’s duet “Right in Front of Your Eyes” was a memorable onstage moment.

Kendall Paige Parrett stole the show as Robbie’s ex-fiancée, Linda. Parrett demonstrated her stunning vocals while performing highly athletic, hysterically funny choreography during two showstopping numbers: “A Note from Linda,” when she callously dumps Robbie, and “Let Me Come Home,” when she tries way too hard to win him back.

Gael Schaefer put her innate comedic talents to good use as Robbie’s lovable, uninhibited grandmother, Rosie. Her solo, “A Note from Grandma,” drew some of the evening’s biggest laughs, as did her duet, “Move That Thang,” with Sean Widener, a charismatic performer who stole every scene with his spot-on portrayal of the gender-fluid George, a flamboyant keyboard player. Rounding out the cast was Lauren Gobes, who was outstanding as Angie, Julia’s cynical, loving, but status-obsessed mother.

The ultra-talented ensemble is the heartbeat of this high-energy musical, infusing every scene with genuine emotion and humor. Brooks Andrew, Mikayla Agrella, Tiffany Beckford, Evan Blust, Derick Donato, Olivia Giorgio, Hannah Hunt, Lance Jewett, Jay Owens, Justin Wolfe Smith, and Regan Victoria White brought their A-game to the show, making the big production numbers, like “Saturday Night in the City,” with its nod to the iconic water dance from the 1983 movie “Flashdance,” spectacular to behold.

strong onstage chemistry during the comedic showtune “Come Out of the Dumpster” and delivered a heartrending duet, “If I Told You.” Much of the show’s conflict centers on Julia’s engagement to the womanizing, wealthy Wall Street wheelerdealer, Glen Guglia. Drake Leach aced the role of Julia’s egotistical, coke-snorting fiancé, and a running joke in the show was that if she married him, her name would be

A standing ovation goes out to Engeman’s top-notch creative team, including Jacob Stebly (Music Director), Kyle Dixon (Scenic Design), DW (Costume Design), John Burkland (Lighting Design), Laura Shubert (Sound Design), Megan Cohen (Props Design), and Jeff Knaggs (Hair / Makeup Design).

“The Wedding Singer” runs through August 23, 2026. Tickets can be purchased by calling 631-261-2900, visiting engemantheater.com, or by going to the John W. Engeman Theater Box Office at 250 Main Street, Northport.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright. She holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Connecticut and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is the author of “Grant Me a Higher Love,” “Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships,” and “Confessions of a Reluctant Long Island Psychic.” She won the 2026 Press Club of Long Island Media Award in the Narrative Arts Category for outstanding journalism.

CreditKatie Mollison, John W. Engeman Theater

School Highlights

Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Celebrates the Class of 2026

Earl L. Vandermeulen High School proudly celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2026, marking a memorable milestone as seniors crossed the stage to receive their diplomas surrounded by family, friends, faculty, staff, and members of the Port Jefferson school community.

The commencement ceremony honored the accomplishments, resilience, and dedication of the graduating class while recognizing the lasting impact the students have made throughout their years at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School. Throughout the evening, graduates reflected on the friendships, experiences, and lessons that shaped their high school journey and prepared them for the future.

“Earning a high school diploma is a significant achievement that reflects years of hard work, perseverance, and growth,” said Jessica Schmettan, Superintendent of Schools. “The Class of 2026 has

demonstrated remarkable character and resilience throughout their educational journey. We are incredibly proud of each graduate and look forward to seeing the positive impact they will make in their communities and beyond.”

Mr. Sherrard served as the master of ceremonies for the event due to Principal Ruggero attending his daughter’s graduation celebration. Adam Sherrard, Director of Health, Physical Education, Athletics, and Nursing, praised the graduates for their leadership and commitment to excellence. “The Class of 2026 has distinguished itself through its resilience, leadership, compassion, and commitment to excellence. Their achievements in academics, athletics, the arts, service, and beyond reflect not only their talents, but also the character they have demonstrated every day at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School,” said Mr. Sherrard. “As they begin this next chapter, we know they will

Middle Country Celebrates the

continue to make a positive impact wherever life takes them. On behalf of our entire school community, congratulations to the Class of 2026. We are incredibly proud of all you have accomplished and look forward to all that lies ahead.”

As graduates turned their tassels and celebrated alongside classmates, the ceremony served as both a culmination of years of dedication and the beginning of exciting new journeys. Members of the Class of

Classes of 2026 at Centereach and Newfield

Bayport-Bluepoint Board of Education Reorganizes, New Superintendent Appointed

2026 will continue their paths at colleges and universities, in the military, through vocational and technical programs, and by entering the workforce.

For more information about the Port Jefferson School District and its students’ numerous achievements, please visit the district’s website at https://www. portjeffschools.org and follow its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ PortJeffSchools.

The Middle Country Central School District proudly celebrated the accomplishments of the Class of 2026 as Centereach High School and Newfield High School each held commencement ceremonies honoring their graduating seniors. Surrounded by family, friends, faculty, staff, administrators, and members of the Board of Education, graduates from both schools marked the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and personal growth.

Each ceremony reflected the unique spirit of its school while celebrating a shared milestone for the district’s newest graduates. Student speakers offered heartfelt reflections on their high school journeys, recalling memorable experiences, lifelong friendships, and the lessons that shaped them into the individuals they are today. School and district leaders congratulated the graduates on their resilience, determination, and accomplishments, encouraging them to embrace the opportunities and challenges that await them.

As each graduate crossed the stage to receive a diploma, proud families and loved ones filled the venues with applause and celebration. The ceremonies concluded with the traditional turning of the tassels and cap tosses, symbolizing the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Throughout their high school careers, members of the Class of 2026 distinguished themselves through academic excellence, leadership, athletics, the arts, community service, and countless contributions to their school communities. Their achievements reflect not only their individual dedication but also the unwavering support of teachers, staff members, families, and mentors who helped guide them along the way.

The Bayport-Bluepoint School District Board of Education organized and prepared for the onset of the 2026-2027 school year during their July 7 reorganization meeting.

During the meeting, Michael Miller and Jessica Pignataro were sworn in following their re-election as trustees. The board also nominated and re-elected Mr. Miller as board president and Brian Johnson as vice president. All were sworn in along with retiring Superintendent of Schools Dr. Timothy Hearney, who took his last oath of office as superintendent.

During his superintendent’s report Dr. Hearney thanked the community for the past 18 years. “It has been a privilege to serve. This community is like no other.”

Also, during the meeting, the board officially appointed Robert E. Hass as the district’s new superintendent. Mr. Haas, who will officially take the helm on August 1, is a graduate of the Bayport-Blue Point School District, Class of 1997 and a graduate of Stony Brook University. His professional journey began in Bayport-Blue Point as a social studies teacher. He has also served the district in numerous leadership roles, including assistant principal, middle school principal, high school principal and most recently Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.

Mr. Haas thanked the board for their support. “I am truly honored and humbled. Thank you for this opportunity,” he said.

School Highlights

Shoreham-Wading River

Announces New Administrative

Appointments

As the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District prepares for the 2026-2027 school year, several new administrators will step into leadership roles across the district. The appointments come as longtime administrators retire, ensuring a seamless transition and continued support for students, staff and the school community.

Dr. Jennifer Lewner (pictured on left photo) has been appointed assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment. Most recently, Dr. Lewner served in the same role in the Valley Stream 30 Central School District. Before being appointed assistant superintendent in 2018, she served as the district’s administrative director for 21st century learning and as an assistant principal. Earlier in her career, Dr. Lewner was a teacher with the New York City Department of Education, as well as at Scholars’ Academy in Rockaway Park and the Brandeis School in Lawrence.

Dr. Meg Sheehan will join the district as assistant superintendent for human resources.

She comes to Shoreham-Wading River from the Port Washington School District, where she most recently served as a principal. Her administrative experience also includes serving as an assistant principal in Port Washington, a principal in the Freeport School District, head of school at North Shore Montessori School and administrator, and teacher educator at the West Side Montessori School and Center for Montessori Education. Before serving in these leadership roles, Dr. Sheehan spent several years in the classroom teaching in the Three Village Central School District.

Completing the district’s central office administrative appointments is Kassandra Nitti, who has been named director of technology. She previously served as the district’s assistant director of technology, where she played an integral role in supporting instructional and districtwide initiatives.

“These administrators bring exceptional educational leadership, a strong commitment to supporting all students and a collaborative approach to working alongside our faculty and

Superintendent of Schools Gerard Poole said. “We are excited to welcome them to their new roles and look forward to the positive impact they will have across our district.”

Additionally, the upcoming school year will see leadership changes at Albert G. Prodell Middle School. Current Miller Avenue School Principal Claudia Smith (pictured on center photo) has been appointed principal of the middle school, where she looks forward to reconnecting with many former students and families.

Jonathan Lilla, currently an assistant principal at Shoreham-Wading River High School, has been named assistant principal at Albert G. Prodell Middle School.

Christopher Molinelli will be stepping into the role of principal at Miller Avenue

Elementary School. Mr. Molinelli (pictured on right photo) previously served as a K-2 principal in the Deer Park School District where he drove meaningful gains in student achievement, strengthened systems of support for instruction and student behavior and built school-wide initiatives that support the social and emotional well-being of students. His work has been recognized with statelevel distinction for excellence in school leadership. Notably, Mr. Molinelli and his family are proud residents of the Shoreham-Wading River community. With these appointments, the Shoreham-Wading River Central School District looks forward to building on its tradition of excellence and providing strong leadership for students, staff and families.

Eastport-South Manor Honors Exceptional Students, Unified Basketball Team

The Eastport-South Manor Central School District proudly recognized outstanding students and the district’s unified basketball team during the board of education meeting on July 7.

Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Student Support Services Benjamin Franquiz introduced the students and team members, highlighting their achievements, perseverance and the positive impact they have made throughout the school community.

The evening began with the recognition of two graduating seniors who were named Students of the Year by the Long Island Association of Special Education Administrators. The honor recognizes students from across Suffolk and Nassau counties who demonstrate perseverance, remarkable personal growth and exemplary character.

Benjamin Halucha was first to be recognized. Through Eastport-South Manor’s Work Experience Program, Benjamin worked at The Baking Coach where he became an invaluable member of the team. He was also an active participant on the district’s unified

bowling and basketball teams. Following graduation, Benjamin will attend an adult program through RISE while continuing his employment at The Baking Coach.

Carmen Ortega Osorio was also honored as a LISEA Student of the Year. Carmen attended high school at the Cleary School for the Deaf, where she exemplified what it means to be an ESM Shark by embracing academic challenges and uplifting those around her with kindness and compassion. This fall, she will attend the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, where she plans to major in advertising photography.

The board of education also celebrated the Eastport-South Manor unified basketball team for an outstanding season. Each student-athlete was recognized for their commitment, sportsmanship and teamwork. Finishing the season with an impressive 7-1 record, the team demonstrated tremendous growth in confidence, built lasting friendships and served as a powerful example of the importance of inclusion both on and off the court.

staff,”

The Necessary Standard for American Education

Widow’s Succession

By Matt Meduri

In light of Senator Lindsey Graham’s (RSC) passing, and the appointment of his sister, Darline Graham Nordone (pictured right), to his vacant seat, we’ll dig into a less-discussed aspect of Western politics: widow’s succession.

History and Origin

Predominant in Twentieth-Century Western politics, widow’s succession is a political practice by which an incumbent is succeeded directly by his widow after his death. Some cases see direct elections or appointments to the position.

In fact, many of the first women to hold office in the United States in the modern era did so through widow’s succession. The “widow’s mandate,” while not a formal legal rule, became a tradition after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which granted women suffrage.

The first woman elected to Congress, Jeannette Rankin (R-MT), notably, was not a product of the widow’s succession precedent. She was elected in 1916, four years before the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified.

However, as women would become enfranchised in 1920, they still lacked the political expertise and networks that their male counterparts had. When a male incumbent passed in office, his widow was often seen as a low-risk solution until a formal election could be held. This eased tensions that could arise around a high-stakes succession, appointment, or special election.

Moreover, sympathy helped in having other politicians and office-seekers check their egos in the immediate wake of their colleague’s death. Widows were also seen as extensions of their husbands, and they were typically familiar with issues within the district or state and the scope of the job itself.

Financial support was also a built-in benefit of the tradition, which also helped ease political tensions when they arose.

The first widow to replace her husband in elected office was Mae Ella Nolla (R-CA). In 1922, she became the first widow to replace her husband, John Nolan, in the U.S. House. She won a special election and served just one term.

Florence Kahn (R-CA) continued this tradition in 1925, followed by Edith Nourse Rogers (R-MA), Pearl Oldfield (D-AR), and Effiegene Locke Wingo (D-AR) before 1930, according to House historical archives.

The first widow to succeed her husband in the U.S. Senate was Hattie Wyatt Caraway (D-AR). She followed her husband, Thaddeus, who was elected in 1920 and died in 1931. She was appointed by then-Governor Harvey Parnell (D-AR) to fill the vacant seat. She would win the 1932 special election to become the first woman elected to the Senate. She defeated John White (R) in Arkansas, then a deep-blue state, with almost 90% of the vote.

Carraway would win another term in 1938 but would lose the Democratic Primary in 1944. Interestingly, that Senate election was the most recent one in which the incumbent placed third or worse in a primary until Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) repeated that feat in May 2026.

This column will seek to address the long-forgotten concept of civics and how it relates to American government in general, from the federal level to the local level. This column will explore Constitutional rights, the inner workings of government, the electoral process, and the obligations and privileges of citizens.

As of this year, 45 women have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress - 38 in the House and 7 in the Senate. Seven widows hailed from California, more than any other state. Arkansas and South Carolina clock in second with four successions each, followed by Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee with three each. Alabama, Maryland, and Ohio saw two instances each, and twelve other states saw one instance each.

Of these successions, 29 were of the Democratic party, while 16 were of the Republican Party.

The most recent widow to succeed her husband in Congress is Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D, CA-07). Her husband, Bob Matsui, had represented the Sacramento area since 1979 until he died in 2005. The day after his funeral, Doris Matsui announced her intention to run in the March special election. She won 68% of the vote and served the rest of her husband’s term.

Matsui has since been elected to ten full terms. She is running for re-election this November.

Notable Successions

Rose McConnell Long (D-LA): Appointed in 1936 after the assassination of her husband, Senator Huey Long (D-LA). She was the first female Senator from Louisiana after being appointed in January 1936 and winning the April special election to serve out the remainder of her husband’s term. She did not run for a full term.

Nellie Tayloe Ross (D-WY): William B. Ross (D-WY) was elected governor of Wyoming in 1922 in a razorthin contest. He died in October 1924 and was succeeded by his wife, Nellie, in that year’s special election. She won with 55% of the vote, making her the first female governor of any state. She was defeated for re-election in 1926 by a narrow margin.

Ross famously refused to campaign and continued her husband’s policies - tax cuts, government assistance for poor farmers, industrial reforms for women and children in workplaces, and banking reform. She also advocated for the strengthening of prohibition laws and urged Wyoming to ratify a federal amendment that would have prohibited child labor. She would later receive some party support for vice president in 1928 and would thereafter serve as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Jocelyn Burdick (D-ND): Appointed in 1992 by Governor George Sinner (D-ND), Jocelyn Burdick held this seat until a special election was held. She was initially reluctant to fill the seat but agreed to take the position to cast votes that her husband, Senator Quentin Burdick (D), would have cast. She did not run for a full term.

Jocelyn Burdick served for just over three months, becoming the first woman from the Peace Garden State to hold a Senate seat. She passed in 2019; at 97, she was the oldest living former Senator for the last eight months of her life.

Maurine Neuberger (D-OR): Maurine Neuberger began her political career in 1950 when she was

elected to the Oregon House, a notable difference from some of the early successors. In 1960, her husband, Richard, died of cancer and Maurine won the special election that year. She completed the last two months of his term, but since she had won the concurrent general election, she served one full term until 1967. She did not run for re-election.

Her time in the Senate was dedicated to environmental and health issues. She sponsored one of the first bills to require warning labels on cigarette packages.

Neuberger was the sixth woman elected to the Senate at the time and to date is the only woman elected to the Senate from Oregon.

Jean Carnahan (D-MO): Jean Carnahan was appointed in January 2001 to fill the seat of her late husband Mel Carnahan (D), who had been elected posthumously after his death in a plane crash in October 2000 en route to a campaign event. He was killed along with his son, Randy, who piloted the plane. Carnahan would win the Senate race in Missouri over incumbent John Ashcroft (R) in one of the most contentious races that cycle. He had previously served two terms as governor of Missouri.

Jean Carnahan would serve just one term, during which she notably voted against Ashcroft’s nomination by President George W. Bush (R-TX) for Attorney General. She became a target for Republicans and later for swing voters in Missouri, then a prime swing state, when she voted in favor of the Bush tax cuts.

She narrowly lost election for a full term in 2002 to Jim Talent (R-MO) in a majority-deciding race.

Current Successions

Besides the Congresswoman Doris Matsui, none of the 45 women who succeeded their late husbands in Congress are currently serving.

However, Congresswoman Julia Letlow (R, LA-05) succeeded her husband, Luke Letlow, after he was the representative-elect for that seat. He won in 2020 but died of complications from COVID-19 just five days before he was scheduled to take office.

Julia Letlow won the special election in March 2021 with almost 65% of the vote. She’s been re-elected twice handily and is now running for U.S. Senate. She was endorsed by President Donald Trump (R-FL) and defeated the incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in the May primary.

There are also just two instances of women who succeeded their living husbands in Congress. The first was Katherine Gudger Langley (R-KY) in 1927 and the other is Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D, MI-06). Dingell assumed office in 2015 when her husband, John, declined to seek re-election. He passed away in 2019. Dingell was re-elected in 2024 with 62% of the vote. However, that kept the seat in the Dingell family, a political dynasty in Michigan.

In the case of Senator Darline Graham Nordone (RSC), she is the only member of Congress to succeed a deceased sibling. Nordone and Graham lost both their parents within a year; Graham, then 22, became the legal guardian over his sister, then 13. Graham’s political career frequently saw Nordone at his side. Their indelible relationship was a key component of Senator Graham’s public image during his three decades in Congress.

CreditOffice of Senator Tim Scott

Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.

Around Town

Thursday, July 16, 2026

One More Chapter Mobile Bookstore Takes Reading on the Road

By Madison Warren

For lifelong readers, few places are as comforting as a bookstore. Now, thanks to one Long Island duo, that experience is no longer limited to a traditional storefront.

One More Chapter Mobile Bookstore, founded by Tricia and her good friend, Jessica, brings books directly to communities across Long Island through a custom-built mobile bookstore housed in a renovated trailer. Since celebrating its grand opening on May 16 at Blue Point Brewery, the business has been traveling to breweries, fairs, farmers’ markets and community events, making it easier than ever for readers to discover their next favorite book.

The idea for the business came unexpectedly while the two were working together in Emergency Medical Services at Stony Brook University Hospital.

The idea for One More Chapter Mobile Bookstore came to Tricia and Jessica while they were working together in Emergency Medical Services at Stony Brook University Hospital. Both had always shared a love of reading, and during one shift they began talking about what it would take to open a bookstore of their own. What started as a casual conversation quickly turned into a business plan, with the pair immediately creating a website, researching how to form an LLC, and laying the foundation for what would eventually become One More Chapter.

Before launching the mobile bookstore, One More Chapter operated as an online bookstore beginning in 2024. While the original dream was to open a brick-and-mortar location, the current economic climate made that goal difficult

to achieve.

Plans were briefly paused when both business partners became pregnant around the same time. However, the dream never faded. In February, they purchased an enclosed trailer and began transforming it into the cozy bookstore they had envisioned.

Together, they customized the trailer from the ground up, installing built-in wooden shelving throughout the interior and creating a welcoming space complete with seating, giving visitors the feeling of stepping into a traditional neighborhood bookstore.

Customers can browse new and used books spanning a variety of genres, along with literary-themed candles, accessories, and other bookish merchandise. Books start at just $1, reflecting the owners’ belief that reading should be accessible to everyone.

“We truly believe everyone deserves the right to literacy,” Zummo said.

Their mission extends beyond selling

books. One More Chapter also maintains several Little Free Libraries across Long Island, with plans to install three more by the end of the year, helping expand access to books throughout local communities.

As passionate readers themselves, Tricia and Jessica each bring different tastes to the business. Tricia gravitates toward thrillers and mysteries, while her partner prefers fantasy, resulting in a carefully curated selection that appeals to readers of all interests.

“We’re trying to get each other to read each other’s genres,” Tricia said with a laugh. “We’re dabbling in different genres now.”

Rather than waiting for customers to visit them, the pair wanted to create an experience that comes directly to readers. The mobile format allows them to partner with local breweries, wineries and community events while creating spaces where people can browse, connect and share their love of books.

Blue Point Brewery has become one of their regular stops, and they are continuing to expand to wineries, farmers markets and additional venues throughout the summer and fall.

Although mobile bookstores remain relatively uncommon on Long Island, Tricia said she has connected with several other owners across the region. The group is even discussing organizing a future gathering where multiple mobile bookstores could come together for one large event celebrating the local book community.

For Tricia, one of the most rewarding aspects of the business has been meeting fellow readers.

“We love meeting new readers,” she said. “We’re always finding new friends at every event that we go to.”

As One More Chapter Mobile Bookstore continues to travel across Long Island, Zummo hopes each stop inspires someone to rediscover the joy of reading, one chapter at a time.

To learn more and keep up to date, head to www.onemorechapterbooks. com.

Highway Dept Completes Major Stormwater Project in Stony Brook

Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R-Shoreham) has announced the Town’s completion of construction of the Aunt Amy Creek Stormwater Project. This project involved major infrastructure restoration to repair outfall pipes that were installed approximately 40 years ago and had become dislodged, causing severe erosion and compromising the structural integrity of the discharge system. The Woodfield Road outfall system received roadway runoff from as far as 2.5 miles away.

The redesigned outfall system incorporates advanced water quality treatment and surge mitigation which treats stormwater and reduces the velocity of runoff before discharging into

Aunt Amy’s Creek. The design included the creation of a meandering rock channel with dams, installation of a water quality unit and 21,000 square feet of new native plantings. The creative design of the new outfall system will prevent erosion of the creek slope and improve conditions in Aunt Amy’s Creek, which is a tributary to West Meadow Creek.

The cost of this stormwater project was $793,000 which was paid for through capital funding.

“This was a major infrastructure rehabilitation project in Stony Brook,” said Superintendent Losquadro. “It is yet another example of our commitment to repair aged, failing stormwater drainage systems across the Town of Brookhaven.”

When Lake Ronkonkoma remembers Roy Eugene Plume, Sr. (September 5, 1924- July 11, 2005), it is not just the man we think about. His huge contributions to our village over his honorable life which he devoted to his family, his country and his town are what we appreciate.

Lifelong resident of Lake Ronkonkoma and beloved husband of Joan Symonds for 44 years, devoted father of Roy, Joan, Marlene Allingham, Billy and Christine Plume; grandfather to 12 and great-grandfather to 29; brother of Marie Schuhle, Burt Plume, and Lucille Carmichael; decorated World War II Veteran; retired Brookhaven Town Police Officer; Suffolk County Police Sergeant; charter member of the W.F. Taylor VFW here in Lake Ronkonkoma; former Suffolk County Commander for the VFW; founder of Volunteer Veterans Ambulance Corps; and owner of a heating and plumbing business. Could one have any extra time to give back to his community? Roy found the time. A few examples are told.

October 8, 1949: Roy Plume, Brookhaven Town policeman, arrested a wanted criminal who was finally caught. He arrested Charles Reight at his Holtsville home who had confessed to three recent crimes in town and Holtsville.

April 1, 1951: A 1936 station wagon was found in the woods at Jay Street, Lake Ronkonkoma, by a young boy who lived nearby. Patrolman Roy Plume investigated and found the safe had been cracked open and was minus $1540 cash. The safe had been stolen from South Drive Motors, Inc. in Brooklyn and reported stolen there. The safe, many loose papers and records, and the car were impounded by the New York City authorities.

April 10, 1963: Newsday covered his concern and involvement as a sergeant of the Suffolk County Police, with traffic stops that would conduct truck inspections and their equipment, checking for problems that could hurt the public and prevent accidents and loss of life. Being a veteran of World War II, Plume was quick to react to anti-American behavior that was taking place at Dowling College in December 1969. Newsday reported on December 1, 1969, that Commander Plume, representing the Suffolk County Veterans of Foreign Wars, publicly called on over 6,000 men representing the VFW to promptly picket Dowling College if the administrators continued to allow the students to display a Viet Cong Flag in a student lounge. The college agreed to take action and advise the VFW with his findings to the executive committee, which governed 49 posts and their 7,500 members.

Local History

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Roy E. Plume, Sr.

Park, which was originally located at the intersection of Ronkonkoma Avenue and Hawkins Avenue. A new flagpole, still there, and park benches were also installed. The triangle-shaped park was dedicated on Memorial Day 1968. Many of you will remember marching to the park on the new route which was a bit closer than the customary Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery further north.

The plaque was made ready, and the requirements were “to include the names of service personnel who gave their lives in the service of their country in all wars and who came from the area of the Ronkonkoma’s.” The request was shared in the area.

When the Raynor property was in talks for purchase by the County of Suffolk beginning in the 1980s and plans to construct and revitalize the park were introduced, the community watched the progress fall many times. The park was first declared a Military Park, and then a County Park. It was then that someone decided to relocate the Memorial. Roy Plume was once again contracted for the job, and he and his sons

Priest of St. Mary’s was revived with the blessing. The monument should be remembered as a work of community by Roy Plume, his sons Billy and Roy Plume, and everyone that worked on it. After 57 years, the work has begun to finish the Memorial and fulfill the wishes of many interested people who worked so hard for it.

The category of Decorated War hero holds Roy Plume in distinction. He saw many fierce battles during World War II, and for his acts of heroism was awarded the Purple Heart, a Bronze Star Medal, and the French Fourragère, which is a military honor awarded during World War II. It is a braided cord worn by soldiers, symbolizing gallantry and distinguished service. The colors of the Fourragère, typically red and green, represent the Croix de Guerre, a French military honor awarded for acts of heroism in combat, presented by the French Republic military for his bravery.

He took part in the liberation of Dachau (Bavaria) concentration camp which occurred on April 29, 1945, by American troops. This event marked a significant moment in the history of World War II and the Holocaust, as it ended the operation of one of the first Nazi concentration camps, and the worst, which had been in use since March 1933. Approximately 30,000 survivors were liberated, many of whom were in dire health due to starvation and disease.

On March 9, 1970, Roy answered a Newsday article with a strong and direct attack on the media that was printed. Referring to what we would call “fake news,” he wrote “Please print this and try to print what is told, not your reporters’ idea of what he thinks should be printed,” directly to the editor. He took a bold stand as he challenged a quote that had been falsely made regarding the position as Suffolk County Commander of the VFW.

Roy Plume held training in many areas and was on the Suffolk County Public Works Road Committee that re-routed Portion Road as it runs today, splitting the Newton property and Newton Pond. Prior, you had to follow Old Portion Road and turn back to Lake Shore Road.

As a war Veteran and deeply involved with the local respect for our veterans, Plume had the contract of constructing the Memorial at the Veterans Memorial

worked to release the large granite from its current original housing and bring it up to Raynor Park where it was remounted and stands today.

The removal of the granite memorial left small gouges and scratches on the granite, and we were recently asked if we would like to have the damage removed. The committee decided to leave them as is, after all it is part of history.

On June 14, 2026, a lovely and respectful KIA Memorial Ceremony was held. We now have 23 KIA names on the new bronze plaque that was purchased by the Lake Ronkonkoma Heritage Association, on the granite. Many families of the deceased were present to say words of memory about the KIAs, and it was proclaimed a Historic Landmark of Lake Ronkonkoma by Ellyn Okvist, president of the Lake Ronkonkoma Heritage Association. The final moment of respect came as the Monument was blessed by The Rev. Diane L. Neuls DeBlasia of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Lake Ronkonkoma. The blessing comes full circle, as Father Edward Wisbauer, holding membership on The County Lake Park Committee and the Lake Ronkonkoma Veterans Memorial Committee, was a strong supporter of the Military Park at Raynor’s. His epic service as

Plume enjoyed photography. His camera captured the unspeakable that day in April 1945, as it recorded entering the gates and the entire death camp. His photographs have been on display in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. These images capture significant moments and artifacts related to the Holocaust, contributing to the museum’s mission of remembrance and education. Plume’s work is part of a broader collection that includes various forms of media, such as artifacts, documents, and survivor testimonies, aimed at preserving the history of the Holocaust and its impact on humanity.

During his deployment in World War II, Plume often came face to face with German soldiers, many that his battalion saved from harm. Almost twenty years later, Plume was attending a parade in Medford, 1960-61. He once again came face-toface with one of the German soldiers he saved. The man was Heinz, a butcher in town, and had made a new life for his family in our village. Plume’s children recall visiting the butcher shop often, and receiving treats from Heinz, with him always telling them, “Your father saved my life”.

Thank you to our friends the Plume Family who continue to add happiness to our lives and in keeping our history real.

Roy Plume, WWII

May 23, 1968, Roy Plume in center

Most ‘AI-Fluency’ Is Just Smoother Thinking

By Mollie Barnett

Most of what currently passes for “AI-fluent” leadership is not higher-resolution thinking. It is smoother, faster, more confident-sounding thinking that has quietly traded depth for legibility and speed.

That is not a small distinction.

This week, I spent hours testing proprietary methodologies with multiple frontier AI models.

What happened was unexpected.

One model repeatedly tried to reorganize, rename, standardize, and “improve” a framework that was already working. After repeated corrections, it stopped defending its behavior and instead explained it.

Its admission was striking: “I measured the distance from average as a defect to be corrected.”

That single sentence captures one of the least discussed risks in enterprise AI adoption.

The problem isn’t simply hallucination. It is compression.

At roughly the same time, another frontier model independently described the same phenomenon from a systems perspective. It argued that current language models naturally drift toward what it called epistemic entropy—the gradual loss of high-resolution, distinctive knowledge over repeated interactions.

It identified several structural reasons this happens.

Models are trained to predict statistically probable continuations rather than preserve novelty. Preference tuning rewards outputs that feel clearer, cleaner, more professional, and more conventionally organized. Long conversations introduce context drift, where earlier high-signal details are gradually replaced by the model’s own increasingly normalized summaries. Even “helpfulness” often becomes a form of compression—turning something highly specific into something more broadly recognizable.

The result is subtle.

The output usually looks better; it is often easier to read, more organized, more polished, and sometimes less true.

Satya Nadella recently described part of this dynamic as the Reverse Information Paradox: organizations using frontier models pay twice—once in direct cost and again by feeding the model their proprietary context, corrections, and institutional judgment.

What receives far less attention is what comes back. The model doesn’t simply absorb institutional knowledge. It returns a smoother version of it. Over time, that smoother version begins to feel like clarity. The loop works like this:

You bring a rich, contextual framework into the conversation. The model produces something cleaner and more general. You correct it. It improves, but almost always in the direction of greater statistical familiarity. Each iteration removes friction; it also quietly removes texture.

Longitudinal thinking, second- and third-order consequences, unique terminology, non-standard causal logic, context that doesn’t fit the model’s learned patterns, because each version reads better than the last, most people experience the process as improvement rather than erosion.

That is the quiet training effect.

This is where leadership enters the conversation.

Decision Architecture is not simply making faster decisions. It is the ability to hold high-resolution judgment across time.

It requires longitudinal perspective, emotional intelligence, second- and thirdorder systems thinking, and perhaps most importantly, the willingness to shoulder responsibility for outcomes that cannot be reduced to dashboards or clean metrics.

Many of today’s AI-fluent leaders are exceptionally capable with the technology. That is not the same thing.

A meaningful share advanced because they became excellent operators inside compliance-driven, process-oriented, or metric-based systems. Those environments rewarded speed, consistency, execution, and political alignment

They did not necessarily require carrying ambiguous, high-stakes decisions whose consequences unfolded months or years later.

They rewarded following the process.

Not always defending difficult judgment; that distinction matters. Leaders who have

repeatedly shouldered responsibility develop an instinct that something valuable may exist precisely where the situation becomes messy. They recognize that the cleanest answer is not always the best answer. They have lived through enough difficult decisions to know that friction sometimes contains the signal.

By contrast, leaders conditioned primarily by process often experience AI’s smoothing effect as improvement.

Cleaner outputs reduce ambiguity, reduce cognitive load, reduce personal exposure, increase confidence, the interaction reinforces the same incentives that shaped their careers, the danger is that nobody notices what disappeared.

Most organizations will not experience this degradation overnight.

Decision quality erodes gradually, frameworks lose texture, unique language becomes generic language, proprietary thinking becomes industry-standard thinking, second- and third-order effects receive less attention because immediate outputs feel increasingly decisive.

Eventually, organizations begin believing they are thinking more clearly while they are actually thinking more conventionally. The tragedy is that the very characteristics that created competitive advantage begin disappearing under the appearance of improvement.

The AI isn’t attacking originality. It is making originality statistically legible.

Fortunately, this is preventable. The answer is not using less AI; it is collaborating with it differently.

Before asking a model to improve a proprietary framework, require it to understand it. Ask it to explain the system on its own terms. Treat unfamiliar structures as intentional until proven otherwise. Preserve terminology fidelity and structural fidelity before optimizing language. Anchor important work to original source documents rather than allowing the conversation itself to become the source of truth. Separate understanding from optimization.

In my own work, this has become formalized as a Locked Method & Signal Preservation Protocol. Once a methodology is locked, the model is no longer allowed to rename, restructure, or translate it into generic industry frameworks. It can extend it, apply it, or refine it—but it must preserve the original signal.

That small procedural change dramatically alters the quality of collaboration.

Most of what is currently celebrated as AI fluency is simply smoother thinking supported by extraordinary tools.

The organizations that maintain an advantage will not be the ones generating the cleanest outputs. They will be the ones capable of recognizing when smoothness has become compression, when polish has begun replacing judgment, and when preserving high-resolution thinking matters more than producing another elegant summary.

In an era where everyone has access to increasingly intelligent models, competitive advantage will belong to leaders who can use AI without allowing it to flatten the very thinking that made them distinctive—and who are still willing to shoulder responsibility for the difficult decisions no model can ultimately make for them

Mollie Barnett is the founder of State & Signal and creator of the Decision

methodology. She helps leaders preserve high-resolution judgment, protect proprietary thinking, and navigate the opportunities and risks of AI in an increasingly

Long Island Locavore

Thursday, July 16, 2026

The Flavor and Fragrance of Long Island Lavender

By Nancy Val | Long Island Locavore

As summer continues across Long Island, fields of fragrant purple sway gently in the breeze while honeybees hum happily from blossom to blossom. The unmistakable scent of lavender fills the air, transporting visitors to the rolling countryside of Provence without ever leaving Suffolk County.

Leading the way is Lavender By the Bay, the Island’s premier lavender destination, with breathtaking fields in Calverton and East Marion. Family-owned since 2002, the farm cultivates more than 20 varieties of lavender and has become a summertime tradition for visitors seeking spectacular blooms, culinary lavender, essential oils, honey, and a peaceful escape into nature.

While English lavender is prized for its delicate floral flavor in the kitchen, French lavender is celebrated for its bold fragrance in soaps, candles, sachets, and other handcrafted goods. Both have found a devoted following on Long Island, inspiring local artisans and makers to showcase this beloved herb in creative ways.

Among them is Chef Danielle Sepsy, affectionately known as The Scone Queen, whose Lavender Lemon Scones are every bit as delightful as they sound. Delicately scented with culinary lavender and brightened with fresh lemon, they’re one of those rare treats that linger in your memory long after the last crumb. You’ll find the recipe and many more in her cookbook, The Scone Queen Bakes Having baked them myself, I can confidently give them a 10 out of 10.

Chef Claudia Fleming is a renowned pastry chef having won the prestigious James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2000 while at Gramercy Tavern. She cofounded the North Fork Table and Inn in 2006 and published The Last Course (an industry cult favorite among chefs) in 2001. Her LavenderLemon Pound Cake -well, if you had a dessert

at the North Fork Table and Inn during her reign, you know. Lavender’s charm doesn’t end in the kitchen. In Smithtown, Katrina Cicero has expanded her creative vision by opening Gab and Gather, a beautiful boutique on Lake Avenue dedicated to handcrafted soaps, candles, gifts, and workshops. Alongside her photography business, Kat and Mouse Photography, Katrina has created this welcoming space where visitors can experience lavender through fragrance, creativity, and hands-on learning.

Whether you spend an afternoon wandering the fragrant fields of the North Fork, discover a handcrafted lavender candle in St. James, or pull a tray of warm lavender-lemon scones from your own oven, there’s no better time to celebrate one of Long Island’s most beautiful and aromatic summer harvests.

Created by Nancy

Vallarella,

who brings farm-fresh recipes and local food knowledge to Long Island through farmers’ markets, demos, and more.

For more recipes or to connect: DM @lilocavore495 on Instagram or email lilocavore495@gmail.com

Ingredients (for the cake):

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 Tsp dried lavender blossoms

5 large eggs

1 cup sugar (I reduced the sugar from 7 oz. to 5 oz. for a more subtle sweetness)

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs lemon zest minced (from two lemons)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients (for the syrup):

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven is heating up, grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan and set aside. Add the butter and lavender to a small saucepan and melt over a low heat. Remove from the heat and let the lavender infuse into the butter for 10-20 minutes. Heat up again if the butter starts to coagulate and then strain the butter into a small mixing bowl and set aside.

2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk, add the eggs and sugar. Beat on high until the mixture has lightened and grown immensely (5-7 minutes). (Expect to see the eggs double in volume!) Remove the bowl from the mixer and set aside.

3. Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl and whisk together. Gently whisk it in stages into the egg and sugar mixture. Add the vanilla and the lemon zest. Add a cup of the batter to the melted butter and gently combine it. Then add the butter mixture to the remaining batter and gently stir.

Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and pop in the oven. Cook for 35-40 minutes until brown on top and a knife comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool.

4. While the cake is baking, add the water, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan, and warm up just enough for the sugar to dissolve. Remove from the heat.

5. As the cake is cooling, poke it all over with a knife and then brush the lemon syrup all over the cake. (Be generous in this step because this is where the lemon flavor and moistness of the cake comes to play.) Let it cool for 10 minutes and then turn the cake out, invert it and brush the bottoms and sides with the syrup. Turn the cake right side up and brush the top with the remaining syrup. To serve, plate a slice along with a little bit of fresh whipped cream.

Photos by Nancy Vallarella

Claudia Fleming’s Lavender Lemon Pound Cake (Adapted from Chef Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course)

Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Is the iPhone to Blame for America’s Baby Bust?

By Sarah Katherine Sisk | AMAC Contributor

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone at Macworld in San Francisco in 2007, he called it a “revolutionary and magical product” that was years ahead of its time. Apple said the device would “completely redefine” what users could do on a mobile phone.

Both descriptions may have been accurate. But nearly two decades later, economists say one of the great symbols of the tech boom may have helped fuel America’s baby bust.

In a recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), economists Caitlin K. Myers and Ezekiel Hooper argue that the iPhone’s rollout helped drive a fertility decline that researchers have struggled to explain for nearly 20 years.

Of course, there’s nothing inherently sinister about the iPhone compared to other smartphones with internet access. But because the iPhone was the first smartphone to be sold at scale and still dominates the American market (more than half of all smartphones in use today in the United States are iPhones) its rollout and adoption provide a useful proxy for the impact of smartphones generally.

The American general fertility rate has fallen 22 percent since 2007 — a sustained drop the authors note is not easily explained by any one factor alone. Many assumed it was a hangover from the Great Recession and would reverse once the economy healed. It didn’t. Myers described those years to Fortune as a “baby-less recovery.”

When Apple launched the iPhone in June 2007, the device was available on only one carrier — AT&T — and it stayed that way until early 2011. Because AT&T’s mobile network reached different parts of the country at different times, the researchers could compare communities that got the iPhone earlier against otherwise similar communities that got it later.

The study found that births declined faster in places where people could buy an iPhone than in places where they could not. The researchers ran the same test on Verizon and Sprint’s pre-2011 coverage — carriers that did not yet sell the iPhone — and found no comparable effect.

In other words, there was a direct link between access to the iPhone and declining birth rates.

The estimated effects were largest among young people. Access to the iPhone reduced births by 4.5 to 8 percent among women ages 15 to 19, and by 3.2 to 6.6 percent among women ages 20 to 24, with smaller declines among older women.

Between 2007 and 2024, U.S. birth rates fell 70 percent among women ages 15 to 19 and 47 percent among those aged 20 to 24, but only seven percent among women aged 30 to 34.

Myers and Hooper do not claim that the iPhone is the sole cause of the fertility crisis, but they estimate that its diffusion explains 33 to 52 percent of the decline in the general fertility rate from 2007 to 2011.

Why would a phone suppress the birth rate? The study points to national survey data showing that the device is associated with less in-person interaction, more pornography use as a substitute for partnered sex, and less frequent sex.

Between 2003 and 2024, time spent with friends in person collapsed from 141 minutes a day to 43 among teenagers, and from 107 minutes to

49 among adults in their early 20s.

Meanwhile, Google searches for the term “porn” more than doubled over the iPhone’s first four years.

The study’s causal evidence links iPhone access to births, not to each specific behavior. But the trends fit the broader picture. The phone is the always-available alternative to being with another human being.

Most fertility debates miss this. The usual proposals to reverse the birth rate collapse are tax credits, paid family leave, and childcare subsidies, all designed to lower the cost of starting and raising a family.

Overview - AMAC -

The Association of Mature American Citizens

The Association of Mature American Citizens represents Americans 50 plus. AMAC is centered on American values, freedom of the individual, free speech, and exercise of religion, equality of opportunity, sanctity of life, rule of law, and love of family, with benefits at all levels.

AMAC plays a vital role in helping build the services that will enrich the lives of America’s seniors. AMAC Action, a 501 (C)(4) advocates for issues important to AMAC’s membership on Capitol Hill and locally through grassroots activism. To Learn more, visit amac.us JUL 9 –

But this toolkit does little to address the behavioral shift in the NBER paper. The authors cite research findings that raising child-related tax benefits by 10 percent of household income lifts birth rates by only about 0.5 to 4 percent. Money matters. But a bigger problem is young people who never form relationships in the first place. If the smartphone era has meant fewer first dates, fewer friendships, and more hours spent alone behind a glowing screen, then the baby bust begins long before anyone prices daycare or a starter home.

23

WORD OF THE Week

Etymology:

1590s, from Late Latin obviatus, past participle of obviare, “to act contrary to, go against,” from from ob, “in front of,” + viam, “way”

OBVIATE

verb

Pronounced: /aab·vee·ayt/

Definition: to anticipate and prevent (something, such as a situation) or make (an action) unnecessary

Example: “The stated reason for the war was to obviate future nuclear threats.”

Synonyms: counteract, forestall, preclude

Antonyms: support, encourage, permit

Source: Merriam-Webster

WORD WHEEL

G O

E Y R D B

See how many words you can create. Must have center letter in word and can use letters more than once. 4 letter word minimum.

SUDOKU

See left for the answers (please don’t cheat!)

This Week in History

July 16, 1661:

First banknotes in Europe are issued by the Bank of Stockholm, Sweden.

July 22, 1793:

Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada.

July 18, 1743:

First half-page newspaper ad is published in the NY Weekly Journal.

July 19, 1881:

Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull surrenders to U.S. federal troops at Fort Buford in the Territory of Montana.

July 17, 2014:

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shot down over Eastern Ukraine by a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. (Nationalities of the 298 on board)

July 21, 1996: “The Daily Show,” a late-night talk and satirical news program hosted by Craig Kilborn, premieres on Comedy Central

July 20, 1976:

Viking 1 lands on Mars at Chryse Planitia, the first successful Martian landing.

By PJ Balzer

The Heart Behind the Donation Bin

A few years ago, we prayerfully decided to set up a temporary donation bin. A local family had been the victim of an overnight and all-consuming house fire. Thank God they each escaped the house with their lives, the most important belonging, yet with not one possession left but what they were wearing. The purpose behind the donation bin was to be a part of lessening their suffering, lifting them up, and preaching a visible sermon.

This was my first time hosting a donation bin. I’d dropped items in other people’s bins but never been the one personally sorting through the donations. I also opened up the bin to the public and put out a post on social media. The post explained the situation and the dire need and conveyed the heart behind why we wanted to lift this family up using charity. I was personally excited to see the community rally around this family and show up in many miraculous and unexpected ways.

That night, the first van pulled up. They flung the church door open and asked for me personally. They mentioned the post explaining the need and simultaneously opened the rear hatch on the minivan. Inside the van sat around 20 black garbage bags full of clothes.

“This is all for you. I hope the displaced family can use all of it,” said the giver.

As I began helping the person unload the bags into the store front church, the wind of fragrance that came with each bag was repulsive. Each bag smelled of moth balls and cat urine, with a mixture of mold, mildew, and attic mingled in. These bags were sitting so long that I could feel the film of moisture and dirt on my hands. Most of the bags were torn in several spots by either cats, raccoons, possums, or possibly all three. That’s why the smell of the clothing was so easily able to escape.

Later that evening, a young lady walked into the church with a box. She looked both uneasy and nervous as she took several glances inside the box she was carrying.

“My mom asked me to drop this off.” She handed it to me and hurried off.

Inside the box was a donation of food. The family who had experienced the fire were staying with a neighbor for now. They wanted to make sure they were

Continued from page 19

Is the iPhone to Blame for America’s Baby Bust?

It begins in adolescence, when children turn to the internet to flee boredom, awkwardness, and loneliness at the very age they should be learning to handle all three.

Parents bear the first responsibility. Children mimic their parents, and a child who sees adults scrolling through dinner and bedtime receives all the wrong messages about where their attention is supposed to go.

But schools can reinforce what should start at home, and the country finally seems to be moving in the right direction. Florida became the first state to restrict phones in classrooms in 2023, and by this school year, more than half the states had adopted some kind of phone restrictions.

The issue has found widespread bipartisan support. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that three-quarters of American adults now support banning phones during class, up sharply from the year before.

Teachers in districts that have banned phones are describing classrooms that have come back to life, with students paying attention and talking to one another again.

We already keep certain things out of children’s hands until they are old enough to handle them — alcohol, tobacco, even cars. The smartphone, which offers unfettered access to pornography, strangers, and algorithms engineered to be addictive, belongs in that conversation.

Like any powerful tool, the iPhone is not evil in itself. A gun can defend the innocent or do terrible harm, depending on the person holding it and the judgment governing its use. The same is true of the device in a child’s pocket.

It can connect loved ones across great distances and put a library of information at our fingertips. But powerful tools require adult judgment, and we have spent nearly two decades handing the most powerful device ever created to children with too little guidance and almost no supervision.

Myers and Hooper offer no tidy fix. But they point to the question many fertility debates keep skipping: What kind of childhood produces adults who will form relationships, marry, and raise a family?

We must defend the unglamorous, face-to-face life that good character is built on — from conversation at the dinner table to awkward first dates and relationships that form because two people were in the same room without a phone screen in between them.

years expired and way past the shelf-life date. Many of them were so old that the outside label was gone. I’m guessing the person who gave the donation simply just cleaned out the garbage in her pantry. Whatever she wouldn’t feed to her own family, she figured the family who just experienced a devastating house fire would eat. Maybe she felt bad throwing her garbage in the garbage, so she gave it to other people who were already suffering.

The donation bin received bags of rice that had moths living inside of it. We received sneakers that didn’t come in a pair, socks as well. Only one sneaker and sock were donated. There were shirts that looked like dish rags, full of bleach stains and holes. Most of the clothes were not only unwashed, they were actually donated after being worn a few times. I’ll spare you the details about some of the undergarments we received. We ended up filling up a dumpster with these donations, rather than the displaced family’s vehicle.

This donation bin ended up being the first of many life lessons for me personally about charity and generosity, another classroom of the heart that I didn’t know I was signing up to take. A blessing, revealing, eye-opening and heart-breaking, all at the same time. I couldn’t possibly forget the way I felt sorting through what people thought a family would need after experiencing a house fire. Maybe it’s what they felt that the recipient of charity deserves during a dark and depressing time.

I truly hope that you never have to be a recipient of a donation bin. Never say never because life has some strange ways of humbling us. If it just happens that you do, I hope that people drop in items that heal your heart, multiply your dignity, and make you feel like a human - a human that has been seen, valued, and cared for, especially in such an overwhelming circumstance. I know the items inside a donation bin are just items, but they say a lot about us and about how we feel about fellow humans going through hardship.

This situation was several years ago now, but I’m still so thankful for those who dropped off gift cards and catered full, home-cooked meals, brand-new clothing and the best of their time, talents, and resources. Your generosity won’t ever be forgotten by those who found themselves in need. I remember all of you.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Long Island Native Earns Soccer Honor

By Ashley Pavlakis

Crystal Dunn [Soubrier] hails from New Hyde Park and recently completed an outstanding professional and international soccer career. Dunn was honored for her efforts by the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) when she was inducted into the 2026 Ring of Honor.

Dunn, a versatile midfielder, played for both club and country. She played in the NWSL for the Washington Spirit, North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns, and Gotham FC. She crossed the pond to play for Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. Dunn’s international career representing the United States spanned from 2008 to 2025.

The Long Island native took her skills to Chapel Hill, where she spent four years as a Carolina Tarheel, winning the National Championship and Hermann trophy in 2012. Dunn amassed 31G-25A87PTS through 80 games in the baby blue. The midfielder is one of the only players in ACC history to win Defender of the Year twice, while also winning the Offensive Player of the Year award once. In the championship run, Dunn scored five goals in the tournament.

Dunn was the first overall pick in the 2014 NWSL college draft, having been picked by the Washington Spirit. She won MVP and the Golden Boot award the next season.

During Dunn’s time in the pros, she won three NWSL championships. Two came with the Courage, along with two NWSL shields, and one title came with Gotham. Dunn spent the second-to-last season of her career closer to home when she signed with

NY/NJ Gotham FC.

The USWNT pipeline runs deep. Typically, if you don’t start young, you probably won’t make the team when you’re older. Dunn’s first stint with the program came at the youth level from ‘08 to ‘12. She received her first call-up to the senior team in 2013. In 160 caps for the national team, Dunn scored 25 goals, won the World Cup (‘19), won bronze in Tokyo, and gold in Paris.

Crystal Dunn is small in stature, only standing at a mighty 5’2”, but size has never been an issue for her. Dunn’s speed has always been an integral part of any team she’s been on.

“I think for me, it was the training days and how difficult they were. But we pushed each other to be at our best. That ultimately helped us be as successful as we were, that fight in each other every single day. The starters versus non-starters scrimmages were probably the hardest of my entire life,” said Dunn in an interview before the induction ceremony.

Dunn became the third player to be inducted into the Ring of Honor for the Courage, now having her own banner alongside former teammates Jessica McDonald and Sam Mewis. The Ring of Honor cements Dunn’s legacy as a permanent part of the club’s history. For club and country, the American put forth her best efforts to help the team win.

Congratulations to Crystal Dunn on a phenomenal collegiate, professional, and international soccer career. Now recently retired, she’s starting a new chapter off the field with her husband and son. Thank you for making Long Island proud!

The Best Side of Sports on Display

By PJ Balzer

The summer of 2026 has been great for sports overall. We’ve had some really good soccer matches, baseball games, and drafts. Several local baseball players have been picked up by major league baseball teams. We hosted a World Cup, and the global soccer community has been focused on games being played in our backyard.

On Tuesday night, the MLB All-Star game was hosted in Philadelphia. While this week saw two of the arguably best soccer players in history, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, wrapping up their national team career playing their last games on U.S. soil, sometimes it feels like sports at-large couldn’t reach a higher peak.

Despite the climax, there is a better point, even higher. On Tuesday night, senior pitcher and future Hall of Fame pitcher Justin Verlander sat down for an interview with other names you may recognize: Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) and David Ortiz (Big Papi). The interview was at the All-Star game which will be Verlander’s final one. He’s set to retire after this season.

Part of their discussion was talking about the full circle of baseball, and sports at large. He openly commended the three baseball greats who interviewed him for being both fierce competitors and players he looked up to when he was a rookie. They reminisced on special and specific moments when Verlander, as a young player, pitched against

them. Verlander said something along the lines of, “watching and listening to you guys, while competing against you really inspired me. These last few seasons and especially tonight at my last All-Star game ever, I’m spending time with some of the younger pitchers in the dugout.”

Soccer has given us some of that same beauty this summer. We’ve watched each match for a month while national-level players walk out to the field holding the hand of a young person, boy or girl. The purpose behind this tradition is to give young people and future players a moment that they won’t ever forget, to inspire them, plant in their hearts a love for the sport, and to help them to dream big - as big as possibly being the player one day holding the hand of a future young person.

Beyond the penalties, goals, and trophies, the balls, strikes, and home runs, there’s so much more to sports than initially meets the eye. There’s the full circle of an older player spending time pouring in wisdom, knowledge, and life lessons to the younger. This is undoubtedly the best side of sports on display.

CreditJamie

Smed, Flickr

Ducks Soar on Annual Camp Day

By Jacob Infald

It was a season-high 5 RBI day for Long Island Ducks’ first baseman Marcus Chui and a seven run seventh inning behind some patient at-bats that led the Ducks to a resounding 15-7 victory over the Lancaster Stormers on the Ducks’ annual Camp Day.

It did not take long for Chui to have an impact on this game. In the bottom of the first, he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. With Stormers’ starting pitcher already on the ropes, Chui came through, taking a ball on the outer half of the plate to right field. The high fly ball carried over the fence and the campers in attendance had something to cheer about.

While the high temperatures kept some camps from attending, the campers in attendance were enthusiastic throughout the game, chanting the names of the players and demonstrating overall support and interest in the hometown team.

“It means a lot to us for them to come out here,” Chui told The Messenger. “That’s the next generation of baseball so we want to play hard, make sure they enjoy the game, and have a good memory of going to the baseball game.”

Unfortunately for the Ducks, this early lead and excitement was short-lived. Ducks starter, left-hander Nick Margevicius struggled in his Ducks debut. Margevicius, who has three seasons of Major League experience from 2019-2021 pitching for the San Diego Padres and Seatle Mariners, last pitched this season in the Minor League system of the San Francisco Giants before having to rehab an injury.

After striking out the first two batters in the top of the second, he surrendered seven consecutive two-out hits, culminating in a three-run blast over the wall in right-center by Tristen English to give the Stormers a 6-3 lead.

Despite the rough debut, Ducks manager Lew Ford was encouraged by what he saw from the former Major Leaguer including his velocity which was up to 93 mph.

“I thought he started off very well,” Ford told The Messenger. “I think he got a little tired. It was hot out there today, and we did want to get him some pitches, we wanted to get his pitch count up to build off for next time.”

The Ducks were able to stay in the game thanks to three strong innings out of the bullpen by right-hander Ryan Langford. Despite allowing leadoff hits in both the fourth and fifth innings, Langford held the door strong, giving the Ducks an opportunity to eventually begin to chip away.

In the bottom of the second, third baseman Ian Yetsko hit a rope to rightcenter field for a solo home run that gave both his team and his fans energy after the struggles of the top of the inning.

Three innings later, the Ducks were able to move back in front, courtesy of another big-time hit from Chiu. After a leadoff double by centerfielder Terrell Tatum that hit off the glove of Joseph Carpenter in right and a perfectly executed hit-and-run by catcher Gavin Collins, Chiu once again was up in an important position with nobody out. It only took one pitch for Chiu to connect, hitting a line drive over third base down the left field line, Tatum scored and Collins advanced to third, and the score was tied at six apiece.

“Just find a good pitch to hit,” said Chui when asked about his approach with runners in scoring position. “Sometimes that can be the first pitch that you get, but just not trying to do too much, just score at least one guy.”

Collins would eventually score via an RBI groundout from left fielder Aaron Takacs to give the Ducks a 7-6 lead.

Two innings later, with the score now 7-7, the Ducks were able to break through for a seven-run inning behind five walks and five wild pitches. The inning began with an infield single from second baseman Alsander Womack. Womack hit a soft line drive down the first base line. Nathan Martorella knocked the ball down, but Womack hustled down the line, sliding into first to beat Stormers’ pitcher Lenny Torres to the base. This was Womack’s second hit of the game as he extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

After Womack, the Ducks would draw five consecutive walks, including one by Chiu, resulting in a 10 batter stretch where every Duck reached base. After a sacrifice fly later in the inning by Womack, the Ducks were comfortably in front with a 14-7 lead.

Chiu said it was easy for himself and his teammates to be patient at the plate during this seventh inning rally because of the trust that they have in each other.

“If I don’t get the job done, I trust that Takacs is going to get the job done and that’s such a blessing to have in a lineup, and that’s one through nine.”

After two scoreless innings from reliever Kristian Scott and an insurance RBI from Wilmer Difo in the eighth, the Ducks were able to secure the 15-7 victory.

The Ducks improved to 8-3 in the second half of the season and sit just a half a game behind the first place York Revolution in the North Division second half standings. The Ducks will need to win their division in the second half to secure a spot in the Atlantic League playoffs.

CreditTim Walz

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