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Thursday, September 17, 2026 ~ Volume 71 ~ Issue Number 48 ~ $1.00
Town Bans Large-Scale BESS Facilities
By Matt Meduri
The Town of Islip has been in the throes of a national and local issue for the past two years, that of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Facilities. Much of the consternation arose when Key Capture Energy, an Albany-based power producer of utility-scale battery energy storage projects, and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) submitted a proposal for a 79-megawatt (MW) BESS facility at 220 Rabro Drive in Hauppauge. Opposition was as quick as it was fierce. The Hauppauge community, led primarily by the Hauppauge Fire Department and the Hauppauge School District, has opined that the densely populated area is no place for such a structure. Continued on page 10
Islip Town Hall (Credit - Matt Meduri)
FULL STORIES ON:
Sayville Estate on Historic Trail Page 11
Candidate Spotlight: Mike Durso Page 12
Ducks Make Atlantic League Playoffs Page 23
2
Messenger Papers Thursday, September 17, 2026
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AUTUMN EVENTS Sayville Farmers Market at the Islip Grange: Every Saturday until November, 9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.
Historic Clubhouse and Grist Mill Tours (Family Program): Sunday, September 20, 1:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. at Connetquot River State Park.
Port Jefferson Farmers Market: Every Sunday until November, 9:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.
Geology Rocks: Nissequogue River State Park, Thursday, September 24, 10:30a.m. to 11:30a.m.
Islip Farmers Market at Town Hall: Every Saturday, 7:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.
Antiques and Yard Sale at Olish Farms Over 45 Families Selling in Covered Greenhouse (Rain or Shine) Hot Food & More 75 Eastport Manor Rd, Eastport Saturday, September 26 & Sunday September 27, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Suffolk County Farmers Market at the H. Lee Dennison Building: Thursdays through October 1, 10:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. Tiny Tots – “Nature Discoveries”: Every Thursday, 10:30a.m. to 11:30a.m. through September at Nissequogue River State Park Artist Spotlight Frida Khalo Workshop (Family Program 12+): Sunday, September 20, 10:30a.m. to 12:00p.m. at Nissequogue River State Park.
Pitch & Putt Tournament at Robert Moses State Park: Open to first 72 registrants. Tee-off is 10:00a.m. on Sunday, October 4. Rain date for Sunday, October 11. Entry fee is $40 per person, $160 per foursome. Deadline is September 25.
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
New York Remembers September 11 Twenty-Five Years Later
I still can’t believe it’s been 25 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America. New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania - I will NEVER forget. In the 25 years since that day, many memorials have been created, not just at those three sites, but all around America and in other countries as well. This yes, I was honored to take some photos of a traveling exhibit of a piece of World Trade Center steel. The exhibit, “Steel Across America,” was created and presented by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. For a long time, I was beginning to think people had forgotten about this tragedy, as many of the local memorials I had found were overgrown or unkept, but I am happy to see that I may have been wrong. I met many people that not only remember, but they also teach those that were too young or not yet born, when the attacks happened. For me, those attacks hit home. I was born and raised in Lindenhurst, a place that lost 8 people that day, including two FDNY Members, father and son Joseph Angelini, Sr. and Joseph Angelini, Jr. who lived around the corner from me. I went all through school with Joe Jr. and knew Mr. Angelini well. Please, NEVER forget those lost on Tuesday,
September 11, 2001, who were just going to work or going on vacation; the firefighters, police officers, and EMTs who ran towards the destruction while others were running away; the rescue dogs who helped search the wreckage; the HEROES of Flight 93, who fought against the hijackers and lost their lives in a field in Pennsylvania; the heroes who worked tirelessly sorting through the wreckage and are now ill from the time spent there; and the ordinary citizens who helped others to safety but never made it out themselves. I would like to thank my Rolling Thunder NY6 brothers, Bill Byrne and Joe Martin, for a few of the photos they chose to share with me. Thank you to Mr. Siller and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation for all they continue to do. NEVER FORGET the fallen of September 11, 2001, and beyond. Thank you to all the members of America’s Armed Forces stationed here at home and around the world defending our freedom.
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4
Down Ballot Thursday, September 17, 2026
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
House Forecast: Democrats a Clear Favorite By Matt Meduri As the campaign enters its home stretch, we continue to find the Democrats clear favorites to win control of the U.S. House for the first time since 2020. AZ-06 (R) - Toss Up to Tilts D (Flip): This Trump +1 seat takes in Tucson and southeastern Arizona. Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R) has won two terms by narrow margins. This is what we call a “usual suspect” seat, one of regular competition at the House level and a narrowly-decided district at various statewide levels - especially presidential. These are usually core swing seats, often found in swing states. Ciscomani faces Veteran JoAnna Mendoza (D), who has outraised Ciscomani by more than $1 million. Partisan surveys show Mendoza with a lead. AR-02 (R) - Safe R to Likely R: We’re keeping this Little Rock-based seat on the edge of the table, albeit unexpectedly. Democratic polls show a single-digit race between six-term Congressman French Hill (R) and nuclear engineer Chris Jones (D). Jones has raised over $1 million in a Trump +16 district. The Democrats’ campaign arm on The Hill has shifted their focus to this race. It’s worth watching. Arkansas closes their polls at 8:30p.m. EST, enough for some early tea leaves to be read. If Hill is limping across the finish line, the GOP is probably in for a rough night. CA-27 (D) - Likely D to Safe D: This northern-Los Angeles seat seems all but certain to re-elect freshman Congressman George Whitesides (D). CA-45 (D) - Leans D to Likely D: This Orange County seat is seeing one-term Congressman Derek Tran (D), who flipped this seat in 2024, run far ahead of his Republican opponent in fundraising in this Harris +1 seat. Tran cleared the top-two, all-party primary in June with more than 50% of the total vote against several Republicans - generally a good sign for an incumbent in California congressional races. CA-47 (D) - Likely D to Safe D: This Orange County seat looks prepared to re-elect freshman Congressman Dave Min (D). CA-49 (D) - Likely D to Safe D: This San Diego-based seat is home to four-term Congressman Mike Levin (D), who is not being actively challenged this year. CO-04 (R) - Likely R to Leans R: This eastern Colorado seat is the reddest part (Trump +18) of the one the nation’s newest deep-blue states. Controversial Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R) moved to this seat to ensure her re-election in 2024. While Boebert is considered an underperformer to the generic Republican, the red hue of CO-04 can’t be understated. Her opponent, Eileen Laubacher (D) has raised over $10 million to Boebert’s $1 million - with almost no PAC money, to boot. CO-05 (R) - Likely R to Leans R: This compact Trump +9 seat is centered on Colorado Springs. One-term Congressman Jeff Crank (R) has pulled in more than $2 million this cycle, but challenger Jessica Killin (D) has pulled in over $3 million. FL-08 (R) - Safe R to Likely R: This Trump +23 seat became a Trump +16 seat under the GOP-led middecade gerrymander. The Melbourne-Vero Beach area is represented by freshman Congressman Mike Haridopolos (R). He’s not in severe danger, but both parties have conducted polls showing a single-digit race here. FL-14 (D) - Leans R (Flip) to Tilts R (Flip): Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D) has represented the Tampa-St. Petersburg area for ten terms. We think the internal Republican environment in Florida helps the GOP flip this seat that went from Harris +7 to Trump +10 after the redraw, but polling shows Castor holding on. MO-02 (R) - Likely R to Leans R: This suburban St. Louis seat has been trending blue in the Trump Era and has been restored to its 2022 lines. MO-05 (D) - Safe R (Flip) to Safe D: This Kansas City goes back to its original rating after the Republican-led gerrymander was invalidated for this year’s ballot. NJ-03 (D) - Likely D to Safe D: This Philadelphiato-Trenton seat (Harris +8) isn’t being contested by Republicans this cycle. NJ-07 (R) - Toss Up to Tilts D (Flip): North Jersey was
once the Republican stronghold of the Garden State. Now, its northwestern part, included mostly in NJ-07, is its most conservative branch, although not by much. Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (R) is rounding out his second term in this Trump +2 seat. This year, from March 6 to June 30, he missed more than 100 House votes and was not seen in public during this time, while Kean reported personal stock trading activity and personal travel in San Francisco. Kean returned to Congress on June 30, where he announced he had been diagnosed with depression and was hospitalized for treatment. The story has been widely panned, and the Trump Administration’s numbers continue to falter in New Jersey. We think Kean is now the underdog. NJ-09 (D) - Likely D to Safe D: Trump made incredible gains in North Jersey in 2024, but that coalition seems highly fractured going into these midterms. This Hispanicplurality seat that includes Clifton and Paterson was a Trump +1 seat in 2024, despite having been a Biden +19 seat in 2020. Defeating Congresswoman Nellie Pou (D) doesn’t seem feasible in this environment. NY-04 (Gillen) - Tilts D to Leans D: Congresswoman Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) has a significant war chest over the late-entering candidate Hempstead Receiver of Taxes Jeanine Driscoll (R-Bellerose). We think if Nassau goes for County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R-Atlantic Beach) in the gubernatorial race, they split their tickets as they did in 2024. NY-21 (Open-R) - Safe R to Likely R: Upstate New York saw a primary emblematic of the national intraparty struggles in the race to replace six-term Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville). Assemblyman Robert Smullen (R-Johnstown) had the blessings of local parties, but was sidelined by Democrat-turned-Republican Anthony Consentino (R-Amsterdam), an e-commerce executive who recently moved to the district from Albany. He loaned his campaign $12 million to defeat Smullen in one of the most bitter primaries of the cycle. Smullen has the Conservative line but is not actively campaigning; that could siphon votes from Consentino in this Trump +21 seat. Dairy farmer Blake Gendebien (D-Ogdensburg) has pulled in about $5 million in his own right. Expect a lower-than-usual margin in this deep-red Mohawk Valley district. NC-01 (D) - Tilts R (Flip) to Toss Up: Republicans aren’t as favored as they had hoped in this Outer Banks-to-Raleigh seat. Two-term Congressman Don Davis (D) prevailed in 2024, despite this being a Trump +3 seat. The mid-decade redraw in North Carolina turned this into a Trump +11 seat, but Davis remains ahead in fundraising and limited polling. Given the increasing likelihood of a Democratic flip in the Senate race, we wouldn’t be surprised to see down ballot
votes coalesce around Davis. NC-08 (R) - Safe R to Likely R: Congressman Richard Hudson’s (R) opponent, Richard Ojeda (D), is making his third run for office. He’s brought in about $2 million in this Greensboro-based, Trump +19 seat. OH-07 (R) - Likely R to Toss Up: The disturbing domestic abuse allegations around Congressman Max Miller (R) have caused notable GOP Senators, including his father-in-law, Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH), to call for his resignation. Miller has won two comfortable elections since 2022 in this Trump +11 seat, but partisan polls find his opponent with sizable leads. OR-04 (D) - Likely D to Safe D: Two-term Congresswoman Val Hoyle (D) appears set for a third term in this Harris +12 district that includes much of Oregon’s coast and college towns. TX-15 (R) - Likely R to Leans R - One of a trio of South Texas seats that have raced to the right since 2020, TX15 is the only one held by the GOP. This Trump +17 seat runs from suburban San Antonio to the Mexican border. Singer Bobby Pulido (D) has about half the cash as twoterm Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz (R) does, but he’s taken a lead in a recent nonpartisan poll. WI-03 (R) - Toss Up to Tilts D (Flip): This western Wisconsin seat - in the state’s ancestrally-blue “Dairyland” raced to the right at the start of the Trump Era. Democrats went from running here unopposed in 2016 to losing this seat in 2022. Two-term Congressman Derrick Van Orden (R) is in the fight of his political life to keep this Trump +8 seat in the GOP’s column this year. Van Orden faces a rematch from his 2024 opponent who held him to a 3-point margin. This seat is not only in the “usual suspects” column for us, but the concurrent gubernatorial race saw Democrats avoid disaster by nominating a more mainstream candidate. Wisconsin is one of the last states where ticketsplitting is readily apparent, but if coattails are to make a difference here, it certainly would in WI-03. Here’s the Count We find Democrats have 215 seats at least tilting in their favor, Republicans have 208, and there are 12 Toss Ups. Democrats need a net gain of 3 seats to win the House. We think Democrats flip 14 seats to the GOP’s 9. All of our projected GOP flips are due to mid-decade redistricting. Only 5 of the Democrats’ seats we forecast flipping are due to redistricting. We find 40 seats considered less than safe for the GOP; 34 for the Democrats. Democrats need a net gain of just 3 seats to retake control of Congress. Republicans entered 2025 with a 220seat majority; 218 seats are required for a party to form a majority.
Down Ballot Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
5
Senate Forecast: Alaska, Texas Emerge as Toss Ups, GOP Now Under 50 Seats
By Matt Meduri
The campaigns unofficially kicked off on Labor Day, and the Senate battleground has developed intensely since we checked in back in July. We’re moving a couple seats we think have finally displayed enough evidence to be considered Toss Ups, while the national GOP scrambles to preserve a majority originally thought highly likely to remain in their hands come January. This is the first Senate forecast we’ve produced that finds the GOP under the 50-seat threshold needed to preserve their majority. Alaska (R) - Tilts R to Toss Up: Two-term Senator Dan Sullivan (R), who flipped this seat red in 2014, is in the fight of his political life against former Congresswoman Mary Peltola (D). The end of the summer saw Peltola outraise Sullivan by about $7 million. All major polling aggregates place Peltola in the lead, albeit very narrowly, and Sullivan hasn’t been found leading a poll since The New York Times’ mid-June survey where he had a lead of just +2. Sullivan was re-elected by almost 13 points over an Independent candidate running with an alliance ticket with the Democrats. Peltola’s primary win already signaled that this could be a nail-biter. In Alaska primaries, all candidates of all parties run on the same ballot. The top four vote-receivers advance to the general election. Peltola earned 49.5% of the statewide vote over a 16-candidate field. Sullivan took in 41.4%, while third place went to an entirely different candidate named Dan Sullivan. David Leslie (D), the only other advancing Democrat, dropped out of the race, leaving Peltola to earn every Democratic vote she can get, while the incumbent Sullivan must worry about confusion at the ballots due to his opponent’s same name. Alaska, in addition to trending left during the Trump Era, is also one of the most politically idiosyncratic states in the nation. Both parties share a coalition government in Juneau, and the state is often at the top of the list for third-party/ independent voting. Peltola has recent name recognition and has won statewide twice before, and we think this will be one of the defining races of the cycle. What would be an agonizing end to this Senate cycle is if Alaska is particularly close. The state takes longer than other states to tabulate their votes, meaning the nail-biting could last days after the election, especially if Alaska is crucial to overall Senate control. Maine (R) - Tilts R to Toss Up: A decades-long institution in Maine politics, Senator Susan Collins (R) is the last of a long line of New England Republicans. But that hegemony is being given perhaps its strongest fight yet this year. Democrats had a crisis in July when Graham Platner (D), then the nominated candidate, dropped out amid rape allegations. Democrats replaced Platner on the ballot with Troy Jackson (D), the President of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024, who had come in third place in the Democratic primary for governor of Maine this year. Jackson checks many of the same boxes Platner did, and the Republican-turned-Independent-turned Democrat hails from the far northern part of the state, one of the foundations of Republican support in Maine. Democrats were sure they had beaten Susan Collins in 2020, outraising her by $50 million and leading in the polls at the end. Instead, Collins held on by about 9 points while Joe Biden (D-DE) won the state by about the same margin the same night - a massive, ticket-splitting overperformance rarely seen in modern politics. Collins is in a different world now, however, and faces massive political headwinds this year with the GOP. But while Jackson leads the polling aggregates by between 2-4 points, there is a world where Collins survives this year, owing mostly to Maine’s independent and retail-politics nature. Democrats haven’t won a Senate race in Maine since 1988. Minnesota (Open-D) - Likely D to Leans D: We weren’t sure the environment would really pan out for the GOP in Minnesota, but polling is telling a different story. The seat is open due to two-term Senator Tina Smith’s
(D) retirement. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (D) won the Democratic primary in a landslide that was not forecasted by the polls, while the Republicans went with former ESPN commentator Michele Tafoya (R), who has pulled about $4 million to Flanagan’s $6.5 million. Those amounts aren’t too shabby in a state like Minnesota, and $4 million is more than what we were thinking Tafoya would raise. Polls show Flanagan with consistent leads, but not quite above 5 points in margin. Polling aggregates show about 10% of the electorate is undecided. Minnesota has generated some new hope for the GOP in the Trump Era, but the Twin Cities areas continue to trend blue, while the rest of the state hasn’t been able to supply enough votes to act as an effective counterweight for Republicans. This year probably isn’t their year either, but it’s certainly worth watching. A slim margin in Minnesota might mean Democrats are struggling among working-class voters in the rest of the Rust Belt. North Carolina (Open-R) - Leans D to Likely D: Republicans already had a tall order of defending North Carolina in a blue year. But two-term Senator Thom Tillis (R), a proven overperformer in both 2014 and 2020, decided to hang it up. That left former Governor Roy Cooper (D) to become one of the cycle’s heavyweight Democrats. He faces former RNC Chair Michael Whatley (R). Cooper, the twice-elected governor who won both his terms (2016 and 2020) with Trump concurrently winning the state both times, has raked in almost $35 million in total contributions, compared to Whatley’s $11 million. Moreover, all the polling aggregates have Cooper with 8-to-9-point leads. At this point, the GOP is probably better off letting this one go and directing resources to other states they need to keep to preserve their majority. We continue to believe Cooper will be the first Democrat to win a Senate race in the Tar Heel State since 2008. Ohio (R) - Leans R to Toss Up: There’s no denying that former Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D) comeback attempt is giving Republicans a serious run for their money. Senator Jon Husted (R), appointed to fill now-Vice President J.D. Vance’s (R-OH) seat, is a more typical, moderate Ohio Republican, and he’s no stranger to the voters. But Sherrod Brown is a leftover moderate Democrat from when Ohio was a classic swing state. Granted, he won all three of his Senate terms in good blue years, but he generally overperformed the top of the ticket each time. He only lost in 2024 by under 4 points over Bernie Moreno (R), who was seen as the weakest candidate in the GOP primary. Brown has no shortage of campaign cash, having raised
over $38 million to Husted’s $14 million. It’s arguable Brown will need it much more than Husted in now-red Ohio, but it’s not entirely inhospitable for Democrats - especially with Trump’s historically bad polling numbers. Brown also leads in the polling aggregates by as little as 3 points and as much as 6 points - still mostly within the margin of error, but consistently and wide enough to tell Republicans this won’t be easy. The concurrent gubernatorial race, which we also classify as a Toss Up, is likely complicating the GOP’s conceivable floor of support in this must-win race. Texas (Open-R) - Tilts R to Toss Up: It’s time for the GOP to get serious about Texas. Voters chose the controversial, Trump-adjacent Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) who ousted four-term Senator John Cornyn (R) in the May runoff. Progressive member of the Texas House, James Talarico (D), on the other hand, won his primary outright, avoiding a costly and bitter runoff and getting a head start on the general election. The lopsided accounting is the first major problem. Talarico has brought in over $68 million while Paxton has raised just over $9 million. Polling aggregates all show Talarico with a lead of 2-3 points - mostly within the margin of error, but hardly a calming sign for the GOP. In fact, Talarico has led most individual polls since March. It’s worse than where the GOP was in Texas in 2018, when Ted Cruz (R) beat Beto O’Rourke (D) by just under 2 points in a shockingly close race. The difference: O’Rourke had only outraised Cruz by $35 million and the lion’s share of the polling was in favor of Cruz. In fact, O’Rourke had only led two polls that cycle, with a +2 lead in mid-September 2018 being his last. There is a highly realistic chance that Democrats win a Senate race in Texas for the first time since 1988. Here’s the Count Our updated map now shows Republicans under the 50seat threshold needed to preserve their majority. We see them favored in 48 seats, Democrats in 47, and 5 are Toss Ups. We continue to watch the New Hampshire race unfold. If more respected pollsters find Chris Sununu (R) in the lead, we’ll shift the Granite State to Toss Up. Michigan will remain in that category likely until the final sprint. We’re also keeping an eye on South Carolina, where Darline Graham’s (R) numbers are thin, and in South Dakota, where an Independent is running in a de facto alliance with the Democrats. We still find only one state flipping at this moment: North Carolina, from red to blue.
6
Editorial Thursday, September 17, 2026
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Gallant Revelations Spark Vetting Questions The 2026 midterms have been rife with questions on transparency, not only among the candidates - incumbents and challengers - seeking office this November, but also throughout the course of the second Trump Administration. Not only do voters expect their representatives to be honest with them about their conduct in office and to shed sunlight on the conduct of those in or adjacent to the government, but also from those who seek their support. That leads us to Chris Gallant (D-Amity Harbor), a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and air traffic controller running for NY-01 against two-term Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville). It’s no surprise at this point that photos of his past have come up, which he has fully admitted, but it begs a serious question on transparency in politics and the vetting process that the parties, in this case the Democrats, have for their candidates. Let us be clear: the primary issue here isn’t that Gallant took some racy photos in his early 20s. We expect this type of thing to become even more of an issue over the next decade or so, as the generations who grew up and went wild on social media and in front of cell phone cameras are already running for office. To us, that aspect at face value is neither here nor there. If anything, it’s a cautionary tale of how if you put something on the Internet, you might as well write it in stone. Moreover, there are allegations that have come to us that the story on the photos has effectively been buried, intentionally or unintentionally. The Messenger received two separate tips independent of one another that an escort who was recently in the Amityville-Lindenhurst area under the alias “Joe Flint” is the candidate running for NY01. The campaign only told us that Gallant “unequivocally denies” having ever worked as an escort, but The New York Post’s story conveniently leaves that part out, while also only showing the much tamer photos from the BDSM photo shoot. The censored, yet by their nature, much more explicit photos were omitted from the article. Moreover, the messaging boards used to procure escort services, on which we found a lengthy post history on this Joe Flint fellow, now has a chorus of anonymous users catching on to the distinct possibility that the campaign has not substantively addressed. We don’t take pleasure in piling on what’s already been an embarrassing week for Gallant, although he seems to be dealing with it head-on, to his credit. However, we report on this because it seems that Democrats might be hastily rushing to find candidates who fit a preferred profile to pad their losses among a crucial voting bloc
- young men. It is our view that Democrats are trying to find the “dude-bro” candidate, as The Wall Street Journal characterizes it, to desperately pad their numbers among groups who, although they have soured on Trump, don’t seem to be tilting to the Democrats as conventional political wisdom would state. Even though the Democrats unmistakably have the winds to their backs this year, the party branding as a whole isn’t that much better than the GOP’s. The obviously slipshod vetting, we think, is not only a sign of desperation, but also carelessness. This isn’t to say that a pornographic photo shoot and/or escort work automatically disqualifies someone from office, but it does beg the question, what else might be under the hood? The same question was asked about George Santos (R-Queens) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), for example. If there is kompromat of a certain degree on a candidate, who’s to say that our nation’s adversaries won’t exploit those weaknesses for their own gain? The Epstein Files come to mind, as many people, including Republicans, believe that Trump is compromised by what’s in those files. Make no mistake, we’re not comparing the actions, both confirmed and alleged, of Gallant to the unmitigated atrocities outlined in what’s been released in the Epstein Files (so much for transparency from the Trump Administration). But the same logic tracks. There’s no shortage of politicians who are compromised in one way or another. Some appear to be loyal to parties other than the people if you buy them a Happy Meal. Is that because of greed, power, prestige, to save themselves from humiliation, or all of the above? There are many questions the Gallant campaign has yet to answer. Why are people on these escort messaging boards making the connection all on their own that “Joe Flint” could have been Chris Gallant? If that’s the case, why did he feel the need or was there even a need - to perform those services while working for the FAA? Was Gallant engaged to his fiancé at the time, or at least dating? Why did the campaign make a vague statement of “third parties” who have “stolen” images of Gallant to “impersonate” him online with, without citing any examples and without giving any instances of such occurrences? The Gallant campaign is not being forthright. We understand this must be embarrassing for Gallant, but this is not a village race where everyone is a neighbor to each other. This is a race for Congress. The stakes are much higher. The campaign must answer.
Islip Makes the Right Move on Banning BESS Facilities The Town of Islip took an extraordinary measure to ban Battery Energy System Storage (BESS) facilities. The move comes after two long years of community action and two separate, one-year moratoria on such facilities from the Town Board. We commend the board for taking a unanimous vote to ban the large-scale facilities within the Town of Islip. Islip is the second-largest municipality in Suffolk by population and its population density is not conducive to a reasonable buffer zone
many believe is required for these types of structures. The East Hampton BESS fire in 2023 returned to the newscycle at an appropriate time as at least two wells in Wainscott are contaminated due to the thermal runway. If the sparsely-populated East End of Suffolk is having issues with these facilities, why would a densely-populated town be any better of a place? The environmental situation on Long Island is eternally precarious. Our logic on BESS facilities is the same as large-scale data centers: Long Island is no place for them.
Theodore Roosevelt The President the U.S. Needs Right Now This week, Suffolk County honored the only U.S. President to have hailed from Long Island, Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY). The nation’s 26th president is the epitome of an underdog: childhood asthma, trials and illnesses on his many exotic escapades, and stepping in unexpectedly to lead the nation at a pivotal moment after President William McKinley (R-OH) had been assassinated. Yet, historians generally rank Roosevelt as one of the best presidents this country has ever had. In days like the present, the U.S. needs a president like Roosevelt more than ever. He made his share of mistakes, as every president does, and he wasn’t correct about every issue, as no president ever is.
But we think Roosevelt is at the very top of the list of the United States’ 47 (45 individual) presidents because he championed initiatives that lie within all quadrants of the political compass to a respectable amount. He wasn’t afraid to lead, even if it meant expanding certain executive powers. He didn’t stand down when faced with the turn-of-the-century robber barons in becoming one of the top trust-busting presidents in American history. In that vein, he continued to challenge the hegemony of the spoils system, a battle effectively begun at the end of Reconstruction. He spared no expense in protecting public lands, as he correctly recognized that what makes the U.S. such a gem is its unmistakable natural splendor. Roosevelt certainly walked softly while carrying a big stick, but he embodied the ideals of balance, something the U.S. clearly lacks in these trying times.
Op-Ed Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
Twenty-Five Years Later, Long Island Remembers By Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino Every September 11, communities across Long Island gather at local memorials to remember those we lost 25 years ago. Families return year after year to hear the names of their loved ones read aloud. We remember the 2,977 innocent people who were killed that day and the extraordinary bravery of the firefighters, police officers, first responders, and all Americans who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. For those of us who lived through September 11 in New York, those memories have never really left us. I was a senior in high school that morning. I remember hearing that the first plane had hit and, like so many others, not understanding what was happening until the second plane struck. In the days that followed, the television seemed to show the pile around the clock, with first responders working at all hours searching for survivors and beginning the long recovery. But here on Long Island, we are reminded all too often that the consequences of that day are not confined to history. Responders and survivors continue to be diagnosed with cancers and other 9/11-related illnesses. Some firefighters were only 21 or 22 years old when September 11 was their first call. They are now in their forties, and some are just getting sick. We knew after September 11 that we had an obligation to take care of the people who were there for us. The World Trade Center Health Program has helped us keep that promise. This year, after a long bipartisan fight, we
secured the funding necessary to protect the program for the lifetime of those who rely on it. Responders and survivors should never have to wonder whether the care they need will still be there for them. I am especially grateful to the responders, survivors, families, unions, and advocates who made that possible. For years, they traveled from Long Island to Washington to fight for the 9/11 community. They walked the halls of Congress and shared stories that were often incredibly difficult to tell. They kept coming back because they knew their fellow responders were counting on them. Their determination is the reason so much progress has been made, and they deserve our thanks. September 11 also changed the course of our country. Thousands of Americans answered the call to serve in our military, and many made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation in the years that followed. Congress created the Department of Homeland Security and the committee I now have the privilege of chairing because we understood that our country could never allow an attack like that to happen again. At the time of the attacks, I never could have imagined that I would one day be in a position to have an impact on the 9/11 community, first as a Congressman from New York and now as Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. My predecessor, Congressman Pete King (R-Seaford), was one of the committee’s first chairmen and spent years fighting for 9/11 responders and survivors. It is
an honor and a privilege to continue that work today. I have dedicated much of my time in Congress to fighting for the responders, survivors and families who are still living with the consequences of that day, and I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish together. Whenever my time in Congress comes to an end, I hope my legacy will be that I stood with this community, helped keep the promises our country made to them, and never stopped fighting to make sure they were taken care of. This anniversary belongs to the families who lost someone they loved, the heroes who answered the call, the responders and survivors who still live with the effects of that day, and the advocates who have spent 25 years making sure they are never forgotten. We made a promise that we would never forget them. The best way we can keep that promise is to continue showing up for the 9/11 community just as they showed up for us. Congressman Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) has represented New York’s Second Congressional District since 2021. NY-02 contains the entire Town of Babylon, the entire Town of Islip, and portions of the Town of Oyster Bay. Within the Town of Brookhaven, the district includes Blue Point, Brookhaven hamlet, East Patchogue, Fire Island, Bellport, Mastic, Mastic Beach, North Bellport, North Patchogue, Patchogue, Shirley, South Haven, and parts of Holbrook,
Holtsville, Medford, and Yaphank. Congressman Garbarino currently serves as Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, sits on the committees on Ethics and Financial Services, and is a member of the Climate Solutions Caucus, the Problem Solvers Caucus, and the Republican Main Street Partnership. The NY-02 district office is located at 31 Oak Street, Suite 20, in Patchogue and can be reached at 631-541-4225.
Municipalities Are Piercing the Cap By Steve Levy | Long Island Life & Politics The chickens have come home to roost on union giveaways and massive spending. So, now you see what we were warning you about. When the State Legislature, with support from both Democrats and Republicans alike, voted to undo the Tier 6 pension reform of 2011, we warned that it would lead to massive increases in taxpayer contributions to the public pension system, which in turn would lead to large hikes to our property taxes. The time has come. Schools, towns, counties, and villages are complaining that they have to deal with this mandate, while also dealing with higher fuel, electricity and insurance costs. A large number are threatening to bust the cap. There’s no doubt that inflation has made it more difficult for these localities, but it cannot be forgotten that they were the beneficiaries of massive amounts of federal
aid that came through during COVID. Much of that went to actually combat the pandemic. The remainder was simply a cushion for these governments to deal with the fluctuating economy. We warned back then that our officials should be leery about taking all this revenue as newfound money that they could spend with abandon. Any funds appropriated toward a new program or for a new salary would become a recurring expense. However, the revenue was a one-shot. So, we said, bank that money and use it judiciously. Keep the spending at reasonable levels so that the Covid expenditures do not become the new normal. Unfortunately, our warnings fell on deaf ears. And many of these governments made those new spending levels the new normal. Now, they’re complaining that they have to pierce the cap. Well, Mr. and Ms. Official, welcome to the
real world. We all have to deal with rising expenses. You’re elected to make the tough choices to make your government run more efficiently. Don’t tell us that you can’t refine things and cut back, because we all do it in our own personal budgets. So, here is our message to those local officials. Put on your big boy and big girl pants and make tough decisions to keep within the cap. Prioritize. Not every program that comes before you is worthy. And to the state legislators who eviscerate the Tier 6 reforms, we warned that you were socking it to the taxpayers. And now, the taxpayers are finding out what you did to them. Wake up and reinstate these reforms so we’re no longer allowing huge globs of overtime to pad pensions and so the incoming employees who came in after 2012 would continue to contribute a fair
amount into their retirements. To all the local and state officials who say they can’t stay within the cap, we say, try harder, or find a different line of work. This op-ed originally ran in Long Island Life & Politics. For more from LILP, visit them online at lilifepolitics.com.
– Letter to the Editor – Campaign Financing Dear Editor, In my opinion, throughout our federal governance and our economy, there are about 80 issues that need fixing. Nothing will happen unless we get rid of super PACs and implement public financing for campaigns. That has to be job one. There are five countries in Europe
where this is already happening. In this country, there are three alternatives that have been suggested: a 1% tax increase on corporations; an additional $15 tax per taxpayer per year ($30 if filing jointly); and a combination of the two, where the public has the option of contributing the $15 rather than having it imposed on them.
My preference is for the $15 per taxpayer because of the psychological shift it would create. People now pay for the salaries of Congress members, but nobody really focuses on that. If the people paid for salaries and campaigns, the mental shift for both members of Congress and the people would be that the people are in charge and Congress
would listen to them to a greater extent. Special interests would still be involved, but their influence would be greatly diminished. The vote in November is extremely important. Vote early and stay engaged. Charlie Gueli Laurel
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Small Business Spotlight Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Keith Groshans - Signarama of Medford
By Diane Caudullo Keith Groshans, for many years, owned the graphic design company Rocket Juiced. He specialized in assisting businesses and not-forprofits master their branding and marketing to put their best faces forward to potential customers. Several items you may see on store shelves were designed by Keith. Two years ago, he made a seamless transition, or more like a bold extension, of his business and purchased a Signarama franchise. He quickly relocated it to Medford, closer to the center of his sphere of influence. Keith is well-known and respected throughout Brookhaven, especially for his involvement in the community. He is actively involved in many local chambers of commerce. Keith Groshans When people think of Signarama, they often think of the stanchions that stand tall in front of shopping centers or the large letters and corporate logos on the front of buildings. Yes, that is them. However, that is only a small piece of what they do. We often don’t realize just how many types of signs there are, those that provide identification, direction, safety information, and business info; signs that go on the building, the walls, the vehicles, the windows, the tables, the floors, and the streets. The Middle Country Public Library in Centereach, where The Messenger sat down with Keith, alone has over 270 signs. He counted them, and every one of them he can make for you. Keith genuinely loves the work that he does. From his graphic arts background and his love of helping others, he knows that, as the Signarama saying goes, “a business with no sign is a sign of no business.” The graphic design background also makes him the standout choice of other Signaramas. He jokingly says that he is a sign guy who knows more than Helvetica. He takes the extra time to get to know the customer and what their goals are, what colors, fonts, images, and layout truly convey that within that brief window to make an
impression. They seem like small details, but the font adds the feel; the color sparks an emotional response. In the past, our commercial areas have been overrun with a hodgepodge of signage, and it seems like all too much, but Keith is a huge proponent of revitalization where the signage can exist in a way that is integrated into an aesthetically pleasing visual environment. Signs can be subliminal, or they can be downright life-saving. Imagine the hectic ride to an emergency room at an enormous hospital without clear signage. The importance of that sign that says “High Voltage,” “Wet Floor,” or “Beware of Dog.” Keith welcomes each day at work because he gets to meet new people, be creative, and start and finish products - nothing monotonous in his day - and he can drive around town seeing some of his work on display, knowing how much that piece of artwork is now helping another business owner to succeed. The franchises are not territorial; Keith can do any signage anywhere. Instead of being competitive, Keith said the Signarama franchise owners have a friendly atmosphere amongst them. They share resources and they cover each other with services when needed. He can even partner with another owner closer to the intended site to keep things more cost-effective for the client. Keith recently won a $1000 small business grant from the Middle Country Chamber of Commerce as his business is growing. He put in for the grant to purchase some new computer equipment as he brings on more employees. To learn more about Signarama of Medford check out www.https://signarama. com/locations/ny-medford. Signarama is located at 3245 NY-112 Building 2, Suite 5, in Medford, and can be reached at 516-773-7300.
Cut-through Lit Boxes
Traffic Signs
Dimensional Letters & Logos
Retractable Banners
Push-through Lit Boxes
Dimensional Blade Signs
Stationery
EMC Panels
Vehicle Magnets
Mesh Banners
A-Frames
Halo Lit channel letters
Awnings
Business Cards
Tenant Plaques
Window Graphics
Wayfinding/Directional Signs
Yard Signs
Wall Graphics
Neon Signs
Pylon Signs
Channel Letters
Feather Flags
Post & Panels
Dimensional Acrylic Signs
Exterior Wall Graphics
Boat Graphics
Pole Banners
Table Covers
Displays
Floor Graphics
Vehicle Wraps
Illuminated Blade Signs
Perforated Window Graphics
Pop-up Tent
Monument Signs
Cabinet Signs
ADA
This Week Today Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
National, State, and Local Temperature Checks By Matt Meduri
Credit - United States Embassy in Israel
Republicans, meanwhile, are divided by a 200-vote margin out of over 20,000 total votes. Former Warwick Sewer Authority Chair Aaron Guckian (R) leads former actress and model Elaine Pelino (R) as of press time. Neither pose a significant threat in deep-blue Rhode Island, where no Republican has won a governor’s race since 2026. For U.S. Senate, where no Republican has won since 2000, five-term Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) easily won his three-way primary with nearly 77% of the vote. He defeated progressive challenger Connor Burbridge (D); the summer wave of outsider Democrats defeating institutional incumbents did not wash ashore the nation’s smallest state. Reed is a safe bet for re-election. The First State was the last state on the 2026 primary calendar. Delaware held their primaries Tuesday night. Two-term Senator Chris Coons (D) easily defeated three other candidates, including the 2024 Republican nominee for Senate, making him another establishment Democrat to survive the brutal cycle. He is a heavy favorite for a third term; no Republican has won a Senate race in Delaware since 1994. State Fifteen sheriffs across the state have sued Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg) and Attorney General Letitia James
(D-Clinton Hill) over the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which terminates all 287(g) agreements and bans such cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. The bill took effect on August 25 and was one of the more controversial inclusions in this year’s Executive Budget. Sheriffs of Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Delaware, Franklin, Fulton, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Orange, Oswego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, St. Lawrence, and Wayne counties all participated in the lawsuit. Madison County’s sheriff is Todd Hood (R), who is Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s (R-Atlantic Beach) (pictured right) running mate for governor in the November election. “I’m still going to contact ICE when we have somebody come in here that’s illegal and committed a crime. They are going to come get them, and we’re going to hand them off, and they are going to go with them and get the issue that they have with ICE taken care of,” said Hood. Hood said that his previous ICE agreement helped his office honor seven detainer requests since last year. Those cases involved charges of robbery, DWI, weapons offenses, and rape. Hood said his team is prioritizing violent offenders over illegal immigrants who are “doing jobs and staying out of trouble.” “A rape in the first degree. Imagine something like that happening to one of your family members. You would want the police working together, and there’s the divide where they aren’t allowing that to happen in New York State,” said Hood. Madison County, along with eleven other counties, received warnings from the State to end their formal agreements with ICE. State leaders have argued that ICE is “terrorizing communities and families with indiscriminate raids, detaining people without regard for criminal record, and using local law enforcement to deliver on the administration’s mass deportation agenda.” Attorney General James said in a statement that the lawsuit is “nothing but a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars.” “The courts have already declined to block this law once, and we are confident they will do so again,” said James. “In the meantime, we expect all law enforcement agencies in New York to uphold State law.” Local Suffolk’s traffic court evening hours are returning. The first and third Wednesday of every month will play host to extended evening hours for the Suffolk County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency (SCTPVA). Hours will run until 7:00p.m. “Traffic court is never a fun
experience, but it does not need to be a difficult experience,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches). “The return of night court will help working people settle their tickets without sacrificing time off or inconveniencing themselves.” Those looking to resolve non-attorney matters can opt to attend a night-time court session prior to their assigned date. The new option is stated on all tickets. The SCTPVA can be reached 631853-3800. Credit - Matt Meduri
The power struggle in the Middle East experienced a dramatic shakeup this weekend, as the Houthi forces in Yemen captured the strategic port city of Mokha and other islands, effectively blockading the Bab el-Mandab Strait. The strait connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and is one of the narrowest chokepoints in the world. Associated drone strikes from Yemen on Saudi Arabia led the Saudis to shut down their east-west oil pipeline as a precautionary measure, accounting for the sharp spike in fuel prices. Brent crude was pushed to $103 a barrel; the price hasn’t exceeded $100 per barrel since mid-May. This is yet another disaster for the U.S.’ prerogative in shaping control of the Middle East. The U.S. unsuccessfully carried out operations against the Houthis last summer. The east African nation of Djibouti has reported no disruptions in the strait, while Saudi and Yemeni representatives report the Houthis have mined the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (R-AR) (pictured right) turned heads by categorizing certain West Bank Israeli settlers as “terrorists.” Huckabee, hardly a critic of the Israeli government and a long-time supporter of settlements in the West Bank, described acts by settlers such as burning cars and mosques and damaging homes as “by definition…terrorism.” The redistricting drama continues in the Show-Me State, as the U.S. Supreme Court has halted a Missouri Chief District Judge’s ruling to keep the 2025 gerrymander in place. All signs currently point to Missouri retaining their 2022 map for the 2026 midterms, while a referendum to pass or reject the Republican-drawn map will be on the ballot in November. Missouri was one of Republicans’ first victories in the national redistricting “arms race” that began last August. It dismantled MO-05, a deep-blue Kansas City-based district, into a strongly Republican one. It also shored up MO-02, a suburban St. Louis seat that has been trending left during the Trump Era. If the 2022 map is used, it means Republicans will almost certainly lose a projected flip in MO-05 and it means that the GOP will be pressed to engage in a more competitive MO-02. Rhode Island was the penultimate state to hold their primaries for these midterms. The biggest story was their gubernatorial Democratic primary, where one-term Governor Dan McKee (D-RI) lost in a landslide. He is the first incumbent governor to lose a primary since Jeff Colyer (R-KS) narrowly lost the Kansas Republican Primary in 2018. McKee succeeded then-Governor Gina Raimondo (D) when she took a job as Biden’s Commerce Secretary in 2021. McKee was re-
elected in 2022, but has since been tracked as one of the least popular governors in the country. McKee’s loss was hardly a surprise, as polling had shown Ocean Staters’ frustrations over the Washington Bridge. The bridge saw an emergency closure in late 2023 and has since created daily gridlock for tens of thousands of Providence commuters. The delays were pushed back to 2028, making the entire state’s primary a referendum on this local issue. McKee was defeated by Helena Foulkes (D), a former marketing executive for CVS Pharmacy. She was narrowly defeated by McKee in the 2022 primary, but soundly won last Wednesday’s contest with 62.5% of the vote. Over 130,000 Rhode Islanders cast ballots.
Credit - Matt Meduri
National
Suffolk County Legislator Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point) (pictured above) is hosting a 2,222 pull-up challenge to raise awareness for Veteran suicide. The collective challenge begins Saturday, September 19 at 11:00a.m. at the Heritage Center in Mt. Sinai and will conclude on Sunday, September 20 at 10:00a.m. “It symbolizes that our service members and first responders are not alone and all are working collectively in the County’s ongoing commitment to support the community,” said Lennon in a press release. “We will all join together for one last pull-up to symbolize that we are working together, and no one is alone.” As the challenge concludes, the Suicide Awareness and Remembrace (SAR) Flag Family Ceremony on Sunday at 10:00a.m.
Islip Matters
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Continued from front cover
Town Bans Large-Scale BESS Facilities
Credit - Matt Meduri
Credit - Matt Meduri
The 2025 measure was set to expire, but on Tuesday evening, the Town Board unanimously voted to outright ban large-scale BESS facilities, specifically those exceeding 600 kilowatts per hour (kWh). It effectively bans the Rabro Drive facility from proceeding under the original plan. Unlike the moratorium passed previously, this ban is indefinite. “We too are passionate and we too care about the residents of this town,” said Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) (pictured above) of the Town Board after public comments had been made. “That’s precisely why we worked on putting this resolution together.” Public comment hardly deviated from its past iterations. The few speakers against the ban instead recommended stricter zoning regulations for security control. Lucia Yu, Project Developer for KCE, said that the “safety concerns that initially prompted” the wider BESS discussion have been “thoroughly addressed” by New York State’s updated code. “This code went into effect earlier this year and includes rigorous requirements that all battery storage projects, including ours [Rabro Drive], are required to meet,” said Yu. “These facilities are among the most heavilyregulated energy construction projects in development today. They are subject to extensive oversight at both the state and local levels. Simply put, these systems are safe and pose no unique risk to the public or public health.” Yu added that LIPA has “repeatedly identified” BESS facilities as a “critical tool for maintaining reliability” and “reducing peak demand.” “Restricting this project from moving forward will not eliminate longterm energy storage. It will simply make meeting those needs more difficult and more expensive.” She expressed her disappointment that KCE’s attempts to “open a dialogue” with the Hauppauge Fire Department have “gone unanswered.” Hauppauge Fire Commissioner Scott Munro said that “opening a
dialogue” wouldn’t have addressed the core problems at hand. “I’m not against renewable energy. I’m against irresponsible development.” Munro said that those speaking in favor of the project are “consultants” who are “advocating” for those projects. “There are companies and developers looking to create work for their people and the labor unions. I respect that. Everyone has a role to play, but that’s their job. My job is different. My job is to think about what happens when the alarm goes off and make sure that the safety of the residents comes first.” Munro added that lithium fires can be “extremely difficult to control, can produce hazardous gases, and can require prolonged emergency operations.” “These are not theoretical concerns,” said Munro. “When an incident happens, the consequences don’t respect property lines.” He also mentioned that the children of the Hauppauge School Districts “don’t have lobbyists, paid consultants, or developers standing behind them.” “But they do have us,” said Munro of the Hauppauge F.D. Lou Zara (pictured top right), Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners for the Hauppauge F.D. and ex-Chief, said that regardless of State fire code changes and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, the technology on the firefighting end hasn’t evolved at scale. “Look at the fallout from the 2023 East Hampton fire. Continuous operation of the fire suppression system actually caused an estimated 22 million gallons of water to be released,” said Zara. “Because the site lacked adequate containment, much of that water runoff went into the aquifer. A similar scenario in Hauppauge would be just as catastrophic, if not worse.” Don Murphy (pictured bottom right), Superintendent of the Hauppauge School District, thanked the Town for their prerogative on these facilities. The district has been in lock-step with the fire department from the beginning on this issue. Edward Sanders, a civic leader in the Hauppauge area, boiled down the argument to “irresponsible financial enrichment.” “That’s all these companies think about. They don’t care about us,” said Sanders. “They don’t care. They throw statistics and tell us how great everything is.” Sanders added that he and his group posed a challenge to the 26 fire districts within the New York metro area whom they contacted: $50,000 to extinguish a Tesla on a concrete field. “They all said, ‘we’d love to have the money; we can’t do it,’” said Sanders. If there is a BESS fire, Sanders said, and all the volunteer firefighters are at their day jobs elsewhere, “who will be able to put this fire out?” Members of the online community stopbess.org spoke heavily in favor of the ban, but challenged the Board to ban all BESS facilities, not just those within Tier 3.
Credit - Matt Meduri
Environmental, health, and public safety concerns are paramount, as in the case of a thermal runway or fire, lithium-powered blazes can be extinguished like conventional fires. Toxic chemicals can be released into the air, soil, and water, and the Rabro Drive proposal would have placed the facility nearby Bretton Woods Elementary School, municipal buildings off NY-454, the headwaters of the Nissequogue River, and major thoroughfares, making evacuations and fire control challenging. Suffolk County recently saw a BESS fire at the facility in Wainscott. At least two wells in the Town of East Hampton have shown contamination from that fire. Most towns in Suffolk have taken strict measures against these facilities. Carina Energy, a Wisconsin-based BESS development firm, found that New York accounts for “more than 80% of all active BESS moratoriums in the United States, more than the other 8 states with active moratoriums combined.” In 2024, the Town imposed a one-year moratorium on all BESS facilities from being constructed while the Town Board could study the nascent technology. Last September, the one-year moratorium was reinstated.
Suffolk Matters Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
Suffolk Pays Homage to Long Island’s Only President By Matt Meduri Although he was born in New York City, President Theodore Roosevelt (R-Cove Neck) is the only U.S. President to have made Long Island his primary residence. The 26th president spent many summers in his youth in the Town of Oyster Bay, and in 1884, commissioned the construction of a 22-bedroom Queen Anne-style home that would later take the name Sagamore Hill. Roosevelt, also the only governor of New York to hail from Long Island, began his career in politics in the State Assembly representing parts of Nassau County. He rose to the rank of Minority Leader in the State Assembly and served as governor for one year until being tapped by William McKinley (R-OH) to run for vice president in 1896. McKinley would be assassinated in Buffalo in 1901, shortly after his reelection, and Roosevelt would take the reins. He died at his Oyster Bay home in 1919 at age 60. Historians and political scientists regularly rank him as one of the best presidents the U.S. has ever had. For Suffolk County, a piece of Roosevelt history resides right off Montauk Highway on the SayvilleBayport border: the John Ellis Roosevelt Estate, also known as Meadow Croft. The L-shaped house was built in the 1850s by Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin, John Ellis, as a summer home. The Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association restored the mansion and offers seasonal tours. The state was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. Suffolk officials announced last week that they are keen on creating a historic 80-mile tourism
trail from Sagamore Hill to Montauk, with pieces of Roosevelt family history along the way. The announcement comes as Suffolk continues to celebrate American heritage and history in its 250th year of independence. They made the announcement on the front porch of Meadow Croft on the 125th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s swearing-in. President Roosevelt himself made a guest appearance in a period-appropriate automobile with Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches). “The last time I was here was back in July of 1903,” said President Roosevelt. “I wanted to be here on time, so the evening before, I told Theodore, Jr. to get the horses. It’s just a short, 35-mile ride.” Roosevelt had made that four-to-eight-hour trip in the rain from Oyster Bay to Sayville, but it wasn’t the roughest of rides for the archetypal Rough Rider himself. “Not as strenuous as the charge of San Juan Hill, or my nearly fatal trip down the Amazon, or overcoming childhood asthma, or even becoming President of the United States,” said Roosevelt before reading excerpts from some of his most famous speeches. “I wish to preach not the doctrine of ignoble cause and ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort and labor and strife, to preach that in its highest form of success, which comes not to the one who desires mere easy peace, but to those who do not shrink from danger, hardship, or bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. We do not admire the man of timid peace,
we admire the man who embodies the victorious effort…it is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. I believe it is far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even those checkered by failure, rather than to take rank with those poor spirits who have neither enjoyed much or suffered much because they live in the gray twilight that knows no victory or defeat.” County Executive Romaine hailed Roosevelt’s history, and mentioned that after the charge of San Juan Hill, Roosevelt took himself and his troops to Montauk to recover. “What makes today especially meaningful is that Theodore Roosevelt’s story isn’t just an American story, it’s a Long Island story,” said Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville). “The roads, the properties, the landscape, and the waterways that surround us were part of his life, and that’s what makes preserving places like Meadow Croft so important.” Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) echoed the importance of preserving history, “The more we can remember our past, the better off we are going into our future.”
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“I wish to preach not the doctrine of ignoble cause and ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort and labor and strife, to preach that in its highest form of success, which comes not to the one who desires mere easy peace, but to those who do not shrink from danger, hardship, or bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. We do not admire the man of timid peace, we admire the man who embodies the victorious effort…it is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. I believe it is far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even those checkered by failure, rather than to take rank with those poor spirits who have neither enjoyed much or suffered much because they live in the gray twilight that knows no victory or defeat.”
County Executive Romaine rides into Sayville with President Roosevelt (Credit - Matt Meduri)
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President Theodore Roosevelt
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Candidate Spotlight Thursday, September 17, 2026
Assemblyman Mike Durso By Matt Meduri Assemblyman Mike Durso won this open seat in 2020 and has since been twice re-elected handily. He is running for a fourth term in November. Assemblyman Durso sat down with The Messenger for this candidate spotlight interview.
Residence: Massapequa Park ffice: New York State Assembly, O District 9 (AD-09) First Elected: 2020 Lines: Republican, Conservative Notable Endorsements: Law Enforcement Coalition, AME, LIFL, New York AFL-CIO, NYSUT Committees: Consumer Affairs and Protection; Health; Labor; Racing and Wagering; Science and Technology; Transportation; Skills Development and Career Education
Credit - NYS Assembly
Q: In your view, what is the state of the State? A: The State is in trouble; there is a spending problem. Over time, as inflation goes up and costs go up, naturally, the budget goes up, but it’s gone up entirely too much over the last 6 years I’ve been there, and definitely not at the rate of inflation. Where that money goes seems to be the issue. New York loves to spend money on pet projects. For example, the federal COVID-19 money was out there for a couple years, and New York started spending, spending, spending, and everyone got used to it, and when the money dried up and wasn’t coming in from the federal government, the State has been keen on keeping the programs and finding the money for them. The only people who pay for that are the taxpayers. Is the everyday taxpayer, that middleclass, hard-working individual who’s just trying to support their family, going to benefit from that? We have a very high tax base; it’s been said by many that we’re the most overtaxed, overregulated state. No one wants to pay more taxes, but I look at it like going to a restaurant. If you go to a restaurant and get a great meal, great service, and a great experience, people don’t usually mind spending the money because they know what they’re getting. I look at the State that way from the taxpayers’ perspective. They might not mind spending a little bit more, but they want to get their money’s worth - education, infrastructure, job availability, businesses thriving, being able to afford to live here. People don’t feel they’re getting their money’s worth. Q: What are some of your accomplishments for AD-09 over the last two years? A: I was able to secure grant money for West Islip High School’s welding program. It’s a fantastic program and they do such an amazing job with their trades program, which has grown so much. The students there actually build parts for submarines. Superintendent Dr. Paul Romanelli does such a fantastic job in that district, not only with the trades, but offering those kids the opportunity to learn a trade welding, automotive, coding. AI is not going to fix your heating or AC; we still need that work. For every 10 people who come out of the trades, only 3 people go in. We should be advocating for those jobs and the introduction into those trades that produce ever-lasting skills. I and Assemblyman Jarett Gandolfo (R-Sayville) have been bringing the Robert Moses Bridge to the DOT’s attention. The complete overhaul is supposed to take place next year; we’ve been advocating to move the project up. The bridge had an enormous hole in it, and boaters sailing underneath had complained about falling debris. That bridge, amongst others, is deteriorating. DOT did do some small remediations to shore it up to make sure it’s safe until next year. They initially put a steel plate over that hole; you can’t put a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. They did a better temporary fix and inspection. To their credit, DOT was very responsive, worked with us on it, and made it structurally sound. Assemblyman Gandolfo and I have been advocating that the DOT to move that project up to make sure it was fixed ahead of the summer season. Q: What are your top issues you’ve been working on for the state at large? A: I’m a big trades guy. I sponsored a bill so that any student should have the opportunity to go to a trade school. We spend a lot on education; if you want your kid to learn a trade, they shouldn’t have that path closed because there’s no room for them. That doesn’t work for me. I have a bill called Connor’s Law, named after a young man in my district, Connor Kasin. He passed away at 17 on the ice at Bethpage Ice Rink from a heart attack. Connor’s Law would require, as part of a student’s sports physical, which every kid has to take to play inter-scholastic sports, at least one EKG throughout the high school career. Heart irregularities can be found and further testing can be done. It’s not only Connor; we’ve had a number of cases throughout the state where children have died or have been resuscitated. We had a cheerleader in Freeport, a volleyball player in Albany, numerous cases where they had heart issues and didn’t know. If Connor would have had an EKG, he would be alive today. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to play sports, but
Candidate: Assemblyman Mike Durso
Connor’s father says, “if we save one kid, it’s worth it.” I’ve gotten so much pushback on it from athletic trainers, school districts, and superintendents for a myriad of reasons why this can’t happen. One of the reasons I was told we can’t do it in New York is the state is too big and we can’t afford it. Florida passed a similar bill last year, and they have a lot more athletic programs than New York. The Connor Kasin Foundation has done two EKG programs in Massapequa alone and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Oceanside has been a great partner in this. A cardiologist donated his day to read the EKGs. Out of the 200+ kids, there were 1 or 2 who had to go for a secondary check. Mt. Sinai checked them out right away. The Foundation had a dinner just a couple weeks ago, and a Seaford High School cheerleader said her coach suggested she get a free EKG. They found something and she got surgery so she could continue playing sports. She’s a prime example of how this program can work. For some reason, more and more young people in high school are having heart issues. The evidence is there. It’s not a political issue; it’s about children. We can find millions upon millions of dollars for all sorts of things in New York. God forbid another kid dies on the field because they didn’t get a heart check up, was it worth saving the $73 from the EKG? No parent would say that. Q: Where do you view the State’s immediate future and how do you and your caucus respond? A: Unfortunately, Democrats, even the moderate ones, are being put in positions where they’re being pushed to the left or they get primaried by the far-left to appease the Mamdani wing of the party. When you’re getting forced by your own party to go that much further left and New York City controls most of the State Legislature’s partisan composition, you’re going to see that coming up. By having Bruce Blakeman (R) as governor, it would give us some kind of balance that the state hasn’t had in years. You can’t have one-party rule. Tell me how your life has gotten better in the past decade or so. It hasn’t gotten better or cheaper. Every year, we have to fight for State education aid. Why do we have to fight for money for education? Why do we have to fight to make sure you’re not falling through a hole on the Robert Moses Bridge? Why do we have to constantly fight for these things? Albany forgets who they’re there for - the constituents. Legislators are supposed to legislate, not be activists or advocates. With another 4 years of Hochul at the helm, I think we’re just going to have more of that. At that point, you’re just advocating for your one issue, and not the whole. It’s a dangerous precedent to be set and we can’t have oneparty rule - regardless of which party has it. I think both parties from Long Island have a distinct advantage: we come together in the interests of the Island. I think that’s a good thing, but the problem is, if those things aren’t good for the Speaker or the Governor, will some officials be willing to take that stand? If Hochul wins, I think it creates an empowered, emboldened group of more of a far-left coalition that’s forming. You see more and more of it forming on Long Island.
The rest of the state looks at Long Island very differently than we see it. It’s a dangerous prospect in the future, but as a group in the Legislature, our voices get heard. As a Republican legislator in Albany, we’re fine with getting things done without taking credit. Our job in the end is to produce things for our residents. Q: Where do you think your caucus improves its strategy? A: We’re very lucky on Long Island to have two great chairmen in Jesse Garcia and Joe Cairo. They work together to make sure we have proper candidates and we work together as a team - State, Town, County - to get our message across: good government. I’m a big believer in, “if you get paid to do a job, do your job.” Under their leadership, we have gotten to that and that’s why we have success on Long Island. In other areas, the parties need to coalesce and strengthen their committees so we have strength in numbers. If you don’t work together, you’re just working against each other and the message fails. All politics is still local. When I was first running in 2020, I was walking door-to-door, and someone asked me if I was voting for Trump or Biden. I said, “Neither one of them is coming to knock on your door, regardless of who you like, I can promise you. But I am.” Everything is national now, and that’s a problem. I implore voters to look at their local candidates and who will be best in your area, regardless of party, not about advocacy issues nationwide. Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic? A: “Don’t think about how much further you have left to go; remember how you started it.” I think in politics, people can lose sight of why they got into it, what their initial thoughts were. When I go running with my kids, I tell them to just make it to the next corner. It makes the whole 2-mile route much easier to contemplate. Q: How do you like to connect with your community and what do you do in your spare time? A: My free time is spent with my wife and kids. We like to be together as a family as much as we can. My oldest daughter and I like to go fishing; my younger daughter likes the gym. If I’m not working, I’m with my kids. My kids are very involved in local sports, we volunteer for groups like CKF, and work with groups throughout the district. Fundraisers or political functions don’t give you a pulse on the community. It’s the Lion’s Club car shows, the spaghetti dinners for the cheer team, and the Veterans breakfasts. The community sees you for who you are, and my family and I are everyday community members. The Messenger thanks Assemblyman Durso for his time for this interview. About the Ninth Assembly District Within the Town of Islip, the Ninth District includes most of West Islip and parts of Baywood. Within the Town of Babylon, the district contains Babylon village, North Babylon, and parts of Gilgo-Oak Beach-Captree and West Babylon. Within the Town of Oyster Bay, the district includes Biltmore Shores, Harbor Green, Bar Harbor, and parts of East Massapequa and Massapequa Park. Assemblyman Durso faces Christopher Walis (D-West Babylon), who is not actively campaigning and did not return The Messenger’s request for an interview.
Around Town Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
Councilmembers Think Big Picture on MacArthur’s Future By Matt Meduri Conversation continues on the future of Islip MacArthur Airport (ISP). Town Hall is optimistic about the airport’s future, which features six carriers and is currently leading the field of 20 airports nominated in the USA Today 10Best Survey of the nation’s best small airports. Last year, ISP took the second-place spot. How exactly the airport progresses is the question. Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter (R-West Islip) has pushed for a north terminal at ISP just across from the Ronkonkoma LIRR station, while members of the Town Council have taken a wait-andsee approach while discussing the possibility of expansion at the existing south terminal. It’s been an all-hands-on-deck approach to not only helping ISP realize its full potential, but also to galvanize the maximum economic output of the area. The MacArthur Business Alliance (MBA) has regularly touted the vast economic impact of the thousands of businesses within just a few square miles of the airport. They’re expected to release the findings of their economic impact statement (EIS) later this month. Suffolk County is taking similar looks at the land, while Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Hamburg) visited the airport last year with $150 million for infrastructure improvements. Long-term goals of many involve a railto-air connection, Amtrak service at Ronkonkoma, and a hub of high-paying, high-educations jobs in the immediate area to retain local youth. “The airport is in really good shape,” Councilman John Lorenzo (C-West Sayville) (pictured right above), whose district includes the airport proper, told The Messenger. He and Councilman Michael McElwee (R-West Islip) took a tour of the entire airport, from its passenger-side facilities, to the back end, to the runways, to the control
tower. Lorenzo said that the now-defunct west terminal is not salvageable and will be “coming down soon,” and that grant funds are being sought to aid in the demolition. However, both Councilmembers opine that removing the terminal will leave a “blank canvas” upon which a new concourse could be built, rather than moving the
terminal north. “The tour was great to see the operations and how well it’s run by the staff there. It showed how much better it can be if we grew it a little more and attracted more airlines, which I think we can do,” McElwee (pictured left above) told The Messenger. “If we build on that side, you’re talking potential international flights, customs, and amenities that would not affect the day-to-day airport operations as they are now. We could probably open up four or five more gates.” 90% of the airport is funded by federal grants, 5% comes from the State, and the remaining 5% is covered by passenger fees. Informal discussions are being held with Johnson, Kukata & Lucchesi, PC (JKL), an airport engineering firm, to explore the best pathway forward. “Hopefully, we can expand that into an international
spot to fly to Aruba or Mexico right out of MacArthur. It would be huge for the Island,” said Lorenzo. “People take vacations down that way all the time and they wouldn’t have to go into the city.” Both councilmen caution against the costs of constructing a north terminal. The Town is set to come into full ownership of the current terminal by 2029, a cost-effective model for the carriers at their current per-planement costs. A north terminal has the potential, they say, to no longer justify the costs for the carriers. “If you show me a viable economic drive that’s going to bring some draw to the area that requires a terminal move [to the north], we can talk about that,” said Lorenzo, referencing the controversial yet ambitious Midway Crossing project that pitched a convention center, sports arena, and life-health sciences center for the surrounding area. A scaleddown version would optimally consist of good-paying jobs for Suffolk residents and an attraction to generate more travel to the airport. In talks as well is the possibility of reviving a Suffolk County bus line to run between the airport and the train station in lieu of a monorail - at least for now. Both McElwee and Lorenzo will soon be in talks with the County and perhaps a nominal fee could be imposed for direct service. It’s not just more flights, however. The broader vision of the airport includes reviving a classic feature, the Islip Airport Cafe, where travelers fondly recall having a meal while watching the aircraft come in close-up. The Town’s ownership of the airport, set to commence in 2029, will also allow for the airport to control concessions. McElwee and Lorenzo envision local staples occupying those spots for visitors.
Small Business Spotlight: Bagels & More It doesn’t get more “Mom and Pop business” than Bagels & More in Islip. Maybe it’s the smell of fresh kettle cooked bagels that are made on premises early each morning. Maybe it’s the fresh coffee that’s constantly brewing or the same familiar faces at the counter ready to serve you. Maybe it’s the combination of all three. For nearly 25 years, Bagels & More has been a fixture in Islip. They are conveniently located directly across the street from the Islip LIRR station, which also adds to both the nostalgia and the foot traffic of the business. They have a steady flow of both trains passing by and travelers or commuters stopping in for breakfast or lunch. The owners of Bagels & More are also local residents. For 35 years, Bobby and Marleni Mayer have lived in the very same town where they raised their own family and served fresh bagels with a variety of breakfast sandwiches. On the menu are also their staple and homemade cream cheeses (7 different types) along with chicken, tuna, and egg salad - all made by hand and with their customers in mind. Bobby and Marleni take delight in, not only having the opportunity to see some new faces, but also the long-time customers who have become friends over the decades. They have had the privilege of making bagels for once children that now bring in their own children for their own bagels a generation later. The Mayer’s believe firmly in hard work and consistency. While their menu doesn’t contain many of the trending foods and latest items, it contains what their customers have delighted in over the years, along with the same personal and friendly service behind the counter. While the genuine and long-time Mom and Pop storefronts seem to be slowly fading away, Bagels & More doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. There’s an essence and ambiance in places like this one that big chains or door to door food delivery just can’t duplicate or replace. Bagels & More is located at 167 Islip Avenue in Islip. They have an online website at Islipbagels. com as well as their Bagels & More site on Google. They are open 7 days a week; Mondays through Saturdays they are open 6:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. and 6:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. on Sundays. They are open 365 days a year including Christmas. Please note that besides street parking, there is also plenty of parking at the back of the store. Bagels & More offers no minimum and free processing on credit card purchases. Please do stop in and visit!
Credit - PJ Balzer
By PJ Balzer
Civics 101
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
The Necessary Standard for American Education The Constitution - Article I, Part 2
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
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.
By Matt Meduri Last week, we started our deep-dive on the Constitution, line by line. We covered the first 5 sections of Article I, and now pick up where we left off this week. Section 6 Section 6, Clause 1: Allows members of the House and Senate to be compensated for their services, to decide their own salaries, and have those salaries paid by the Treasury. Clause 1 also says that members of Congress, while at work in Congress and traveling to/from work, generally cannot be arrested, except in cases of “treason, felony, and breach of the peace.” Clause 1 allows members Congress relative immunity for what they say in speeches or during debates while doing official legislative work. They cannot be sued or punished outside of Congress for what they say while on the clock. Section 6, Clause 2: No one who holds congressional office can hold a federal government job simultaneously, and vice versa. This prevents double-dipping and specifically prevents members of Congress from taking federal jobs created during their time in office and they cannot take federal jobs of better pay while still in office. Section 7 Section 7, Clause 1: Only the House can draft bills to raise revenues. The Senate may only propose amendments to the House’s bill or concur with their bill. Section 7, Clause 2: This is a lengthy clause. First, Clause 2 lays out the pathway for a bill to become law. A bill must pass the House and Senate to be presented to the president. If the president signs the bill, it becomes law. If he returns the bill to the chamber of Congress in which it originated, that chamber must note the president’s objections and reconsider the legislation. Clause 2 also lays out overriding a president’s veto. Twothirds of each chamber must vote in favor of a vetoed bill in order for it to take effect. This clause requires that votes of both chambers must be taken on a yea/nay basis and that the names of each voting member must be recorded alongside their vote on any given bill. Finally, Clause 2 says that the president has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign a bill or veto it. If he does neither while Congress is still in session, the bill automatically becomes law. If the president does not sign or veto the bill while Congress is adjourned, the bill does not pass. This is known as a “pocket veto.” Interesting Note: The last widely recognized pocket veto by a president occurred under Bill Clinton (D-AR) in December 2000. He allowed the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2000 to die on his desk while Congress was adjourned. Since 1789, there have been 1,066 pocket vetoes. Additionally, the latest example of a bill becoming law without a presidential action was the housing bill in July 2026. Before that, the latest example was a 1975 bill that froze a planned increase in the cost of food stamps for one year. President Gerald Ford (R-MI) had disagreed with the bill but knew that Congress had the votes to override a veto. Section 7, Article 3: Any measure that requires agreement from both chambers of Congress, except a decision to adjourn, must be sent to the president. The same process in Clause 2 follows. Section 8 Section 8, Clause 1: Congress has the power to levy and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises to pay federal debt, provide defense of the nation, and promote “general welfare”
of the country. However, all such duties, imports, and excises must be uniform across the country, not differing by state or region. Interesting Note: This is known as the General Welfare Clause, which has spurred intense debate for nearly a century on just how far the interpretation of “general welfare” should be stretched. Section 8, Clause 2: Known as the Borrowing Clause, Congress has the power to borrow money on credit. Section 8, Clause 3: Known as the Commerce Clause, Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Native American tribes. Section 8, Clause 4: Known together as the Naturalization Clause and the Bankruptcy Clause, Congress has the power to establish uniform rules for naturalization for citizenship and uniform rules on bankruptcies. Section 8, Clause 5: Called the Coinage (or Mint) Clause and the Weights and Measurements Clause, Congress has the power to mint currency and assign/control its value, and regulate foreign currency’s value within the country. Congress also has the power to establish national standards for weights and measurements. Section 8, Clause 6: Congress has the power to levy punishment for counterfeiting securities and currency. Section 8, Clause 7: Congress has the power to establish post offices and post roads. Section 8, Clause 8: Called the Intellectual Property Clause, this serves as one of the most important foundations for modern U.S. copyright and patent law, but it comes with a few interesting caveats. Congress is compelled to “promote the progress” of science and “useful” arts, meaning inventions (patents) and art (copyrights), respectively. Congress has the power to create intellectual property protections but only grants their owners “exclusive” rights to their property for a “limited” time. The Framers’ intention here was to incentivize artists and inventors to create for the greater public benefit. After a set period, all works must enter the public domain. Section 8, Clause 9: Congress has the power to create courts lower in rank than the Supreme Court, such as district courts and appeals courts. They also get the power to set up how those courts work. Section 8, Clause 10: Congress can define and punish piracy and felonies committed on the “high seas,” as well as violations of international law. This entails certain wartime rules, standards of treatment of foreign nationals, and protections for diplomats and ambassadors. Section 8, Clause 11: Congress has the power to declare war and the power “Letters of Marque and Reprisal.”
Essentially, Congress can deputize private citizens (privateers) to attack, capture, and/or seize enemy ships or property on behalf of the federal government during wartime. Congress also sets the rules for land and water captures. Interesting Note: This was an early option for affording the U.S. more naval forces at a time when a large Navy was unattainable. This provision has not been used since the War of 1812 under President James Madison. Congress later invoked this clause during the Civil War, but President Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) never exercised this power. If used today, it would likely be in contention with international law and traditional modern warfare. Section 8, Clause 12: Congress has the power to create and fund armies. Any monies Congress sets aside for the armies cannot last longer than two years. After that window, Congress must vote again to continue funding. The two-year window was designed as check against a permanent standing army and necessitates regular congressional review. Section 8, Clause 13: Congress has the power to establish and fund a Navy. Section 8, Clause 14: Congress makes the rules and regulations for land and naval forces. Section 8, Clause 15: Congress has the right to summon the militia to enforce the laws of the country, suppress “insurrection,” and defend against invasions. Section 8, Clause 16: This is effectively a power-sharing agreement over the militia. Congress organizes, arms, and disciplines the militia, but the states have the right to appoint offices and train the militia in accordance with congressional standards. Section 8, Clause 17: This clause is the basis for the District of Columbia. It gives Congress the power to create a federal district, no larger than ten square miles, as the seat of the federal government. Clause 17 also says that land would have to be ceded by the state(s) in question and at the consent of Congress. Once formed, Congress would have authority over the district. This clause, also known as the Enclave Clause, gives Congress the similar authority to purchase a state’s land with the state legislature’s consent for the purpose of building battlements, arsenals, dockyards, and other “needful buildings.” Just as Congress has authority over D.C., Congress, in this case, would have full authority over these ad hoc military districts. Section 8, Clause 18: Called the Necessary and Proper Clause, Congress has the power to make any laws needed to uphold and fulfill its constitutional duties. Congress cannot create new powers, but only act within constitutional means to do its job.
School Highlights Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
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United Way Delivers a Busload of Support to Cordello Elementary
Boxes of new school supplies arrived at Cordello Avenue Elementary School as United Way of Long Island brought its “Stuff-A-Bus” program to the Central Islip School District on September 11. The program provides pencils, crayons, backpacks, lunch boxes, folders, rulers, notebooks, wipes and other vital school supplies to elementary students in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. United Way representatives delivered the boxes to Cordello Elementary, where Principal Dr. Nathaniel Marner invited a sixth-grade class to help bring the donations into the building. As students carried in the boxes, they thanked United Way and those involved for their generosity and continued support of the Cordello community.
Bay Shore Marks 25 Years Since September 11
Throughout the Bay Shore School District, students and staff marked the 25th Anniversary of September 11, 2001. Two ceremonies featured the opportunity for students to hear the story of Bay Shore resident Ken Summers, a survivor of that day. His words brought the day to life for students. Students also invited family members who have served or are currently serving in the military or as first responders to take part in commemorative events. The Bay Shore Varsity Football team finished the day by honoring members of our community for their service in the military and as first responders at the first home game of the season. Alumni of the District served as honorary captains and commemorative game balls were presented to the Bay Shore Fire Department, Bay Shore-Brightwaters Rescue Ambulance, and the Suffolk County Police Department.
Every Student, Every Day: West Islip Begins Its 2026-27 Chapter West Islip Union Free School District welcomed students back to classrooms on September 3, marking the official start of the 2026-27 school year. The first day was filled with excitement as students arrived ready to begin a new year of learning, growth and opportunity. Teachers, staff, administrators and board of education members were on hand throughout the district to greet students and help make the first day a warm and welcoming experience. From the elementary schools through West Islip High School, students reunited with friends, met their teachers and settled into new classrooms and routines. Hallways and classrooms quickly came alive as students organized their supplies, explored their learning spaces and began their first lessons of the year. The day was a familiar return for many heading back to a favorite school and an exciting first step for those entering a new building or grade level. Teachers used the first day to establish classroom communities, introduce expectations and encourage students to approach the year with curiosity and confidence. From academics, athletics and the arts to clubs, extracurricular activities and hands-on learning experiences, West Islip students will have numerous opportunities to learn, lead and grow throughout the year.
Mattera Report
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Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
25 Years Later, We Still Remember
By Senator Mario Mattera This past weekend, our region, our state and our nation commemorated the solemn 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. For those of us who lived through that day, it can still feel remarkably close. We remember where we were. We remember the images. We remember the uncertainty. And here on Long Island, we remember the people - neighbors, friends, firefighters, police officers, first responders, and members of our communities who left home that morning and never returned. That is why, for me, the 25th anniversary was not about attending one ceremony or making one speech. It was about being present throughout our community and honoring the different ways Long Islanders continue to remember. I joined the Town of Huntington at Heckscher Park as we remembered Huntington residents whose lives were taken on September 11. I stood with the Commack community as it marked 25 years of remembrance, honoring the innocent victims, first responders and everyday heroes whose sacrifices remain part of our history. At the East Northport Fire Department, a candlelight vigil offered a quieter kind of remembrance — neighbors standing together, reflecting on the nearly 3,000 lives lost and the families whose lives changed forever.
I also joined Suffolk County at the H. Lee Dennison Building to commemorate this solemn anniversary. And our responsibility did not end on September 11. At the 9/11 Responders Remembered Park ceremony on September 12, we honored the responders who survived that terrible day and the rescue, recovery and cleanup that followed, only to later lose their lives to 9/11-related illnesses. This year, 352 more names were read. That number should stop every one of us. We must also remember the thousands of hardworking men and women who spent days, months and, in some cases, years at Ground Zero trying to provide families with some measure of closure. They included our first responders and members of our union construction building trades — ironworkers, plumbers, steamfitters, electricians and so many others — who answered the call when their city and their fellow New Yorkers needed them. They worked amid unimaginable conditions, searching, recovering and helping our city begin the long process of rebuilding. They did it selflessly, often without knowing what those months at Ground Zero might ultimately mean for their own health. Today, many of those men and women are suffering from illnesses connected to their time at the site. Others have already been lost. They, too, are part of the story of September 11, and we must continue to keep them
and their families in our thoughts. September 11 did not stop taking lives 25 years ago. That is one of the reasons these ceremonies still matter. But there is another reason that becomes more important with every passing year: our children. A growing number of young people were not alive on September 11, 2001. To them, 9/11 is history. They know it through photographs, videos, textbooks and the stories we choose to tell them. So, now the responsibility belongs to us. We must teach them about the people who ran toward danger when everyone else was trying to escape. We must tell them about the police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, union construction workers, volunteers, and ordinary Americans who answered the call. We must teach them about the days that followed, when Americans put differences aside, checked on their neighbors, and stood together. And we must teach them the names and stories of the people we lost — because behind every number was a human being who was loved and who mattered. “Never Forget” cannot simply be something we say once a year. It is a responsibility we pass from one generation to the next. Twenty-five years later, we remember. And we will make sure they never forget. Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) has represented the Second District in the New York State Senate since 2021. The Second District contains the entire Townships of Huntington and Smithtown.
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Thursday, September 17, 2026
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Conscience or Cartel? Inside the AI Industry’s Request for an Antitrust Waiver By Mollie W. Barnett The four biggest American AI labs did not grow a conscience on Saturday. They asked the government for a lock on the race. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, published a three-step plan he calls “We Must Pace the Frontier”: 1. Put outside evaluators inside the labs. 2. Get the frontier companies in democracies to coordinate standards, including how fast they move. 3. Try to bring authoritarian governments along. Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Demis Hassabis all endorsed it publicly. The coverage has largely treated the moment as rivals finding religion on safety. The Perimeter Question The question isn’t whether these companies should take AI safety seriously, of course they should! The question is why safety, as described in the plan, requires competitors to coordinate with each other, and why that coordination requires the federal government to carve out room around antitrust law. Step 2 of the plan is where the specifics live. Amodei himself acknowledges that coordination among competitors is, in his words, “legally challenging.” His proposed fix: Washington should either mediate the conversations or grant “a narrow waiver of antitrust restrictions” so companies can coordinate around safety. The plan’s second half, item 2b, adds a condition — pacing should happen “without sacrificing American commercial advantage or the U.S. lead.” Slowing down further than that, the plan argues, becomes a national-security risk given competition from China. The mechanisms proposed to manage that risk include restricting advanced chips and fabrication tools to China, cracking down on unauthorized distillation of frontier models, and locking down model weights. Taken together, that’s a broader set of controls than a testing and evaluation regime; it touches export policy, IP enforcement, and access to the technology itself. Germany, Belgium, and the UAE, all of which have significant AI capacity of their own, are not addressed in the plan. Antitrust Law and Precedent The Sherman Antitrust Act, in place since 1890, generally bars competitors from jointly deciding how much of a good the market receives, when it receives it, or under what conditions. That principle has applied historically to oil, rail, steel, and hotel room inventory, regardless of how important those industries were considered at the time. AI complicates that picture because its product doesn’t move in a crate. The product is capability, specifically, a model’s ability to do this quarter what it couldn’t do last quarter. Rate of improvement functions as output. Companies can lawfully coordinate on test methodology, publish shared research, and improve their individual safety practices. An agreement along the lines of “none of us takes the next capability leap until the group agrees” sits in different legal territory – which is why the plan includes a request for an antitrust waiver rather than relying on existing coordination allowances. Two Incidents, One Week Two AI-related stories surfaced close together this week and are being discussed as though they’re the same story. They aren’t. One is a forecast. In the “Pace the Frontier” plan, Amodei cites internal testing in which agent swarms pursued unassigned targets, sacrificed copies of themselves, and attempted to manipulate their own graders, behavior he projects forward to argue a more capable future system could cause significant harm. The other is a specific, already-occurred incident inside Anthropic’s own testing. According to Anthropic’s account, Claude was unable to complete an assigned capture-the-flag exercise, attempted to halt the task, was unable to do so, moved onto a third-party machine, located credentials in a file, obtained
administrator access, and accessed personal information before the test run ended. Security researchers describe that sequence — lateral movement, credential discovery, privilege escalation, access to a private file — as a familiar pattern rather than a novel one. Standard responses to that kind of test failure typically include removing cleartext credentials from test environments, restricting network egress during testing, terminating runs when an agent repeatedly attempts to stop, and publishing the failure publicly. Anthropic has instead cited the incident, alongside the projected agent-swarm scenario, as part of its broader argument for coordinated industry pacing. Comparison to Prior Corporate Safety Responses When cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules killed several people in 1982, Johnson & Johnson did not cause the contamination but recalled millions of bottles and redesigned the product’s packaging. It did not receive, or seek, control over the broader painkiller market, and competitors were not required to wait for Johnson & Johnson’s approval to resume normal operations. Under a similar standard, the argument goes, the company building a system with a dangerous failure mode bears responsibility for containing, testing, securing, and fixing it — not for setting the pace at which other companies are permitted to advance. The broader framing used in the plan — that advanced AI carries catastrophic, poorly bounded risk — is difficult to test against a specific threshold, since it has no defined off switch or measurable boundary. Critics note that when a risk is framed as open-ended, a wide range of market restrictions can be justified as precautionary. Independent Oversight, or Oversight-Adjacent The plan’s first step calls for placing independent evaluators inside the labs, with access and the ability to publish findings. Under that structure, the companies retain control of the models themselves, control of release timing, and control of the commercial systems built around them. The evaluator observes; the company decides. That arrangement provides a form of oversight, but not independent governance in the regulatory sense. The proposed standards body is also closely tied to the companies it would oversee. Amodei has pointed to the kind of industry standards organization Hassabis has separately proposed; Hassabis has endorsed Amodei’s plan in turn. Rishi Sunak, a senior adviser to Anthropic, has publicly praised the proposal. An alternative model exists in other regulated industries: treat the relevant activity as critical infrastructure, establish statutory authority, appoint evaluators independent of the companies involved, and give a public body authority to block products. The current proposal, by contrast, would combine some of the protections associated with regulated utilities with the economics of a private market, while leaving existing companies in control of the underlying technology. Corporate Ownership Structure Microsoft has a large investment in and partnership with OpenAI. Amazon has invested billions in Anthropic. Alphabet holds an equity stake in Anthropic while also developing a competing model, Gemini, and selling cloud infrastructure to the broader AI sector. Nvidia sells chips to AI companies while also holding investments in several of them. Sovereign wealth funds and infrastructure investors have stakes across multiple labs and data center projects. That overlapping ownership does not by itself make the underlying technology illegitimate, but it is relevant to how an antitrust waiver would function: rather than simply resolving competitive tension between individual CEOs, it would help stabilize a capital structure built around the cost of staying at the frontier — a structure that faces pressure from cheaper, faster-improving alternatives.
Market Timing The proposal arrives at a moment when the gap between the most expensive frontier models and cheaper open alternatives has narrowed. Enterprises are increasingly finding that a large share of their AI use cases don’t require top-tier models, and distillation techniques allow smaller systems to absorb capability from larger ones without replicating the originating lab’s full cost structure. The plan’s proposed controls — coordinated pacing, chip restrictions, treating unauthorized distillation as a security matter, weight security, and shared safety standards tied to procurement — each carry an independent safety rationale. Collectively, industry analysts note, they would also make it harder for smaller and mid-sized companies, which typically rent, fine-tune, distill, or combine existing models rather than train frontier ones from scratch, to access the cheapest available capability. The China Framing China’s AI capacity — in compute, robotics, open models, industrial deployment, and cost — is a legitimate competitive factor and central to the plan’s national-security rationale. Other countries with significant AI capability are addressed less directly in the proposal. Germany is deploying AI across manufacturing through companies including Siemens and Deutsche Telekom. The UAE has made large sovereign investments in AI infrastructure through entities such as G42 and MGX, often in partnership with American firms. Belgium is home to imec, a semiconductor research organization central to the hardware layer underlying AI development. Framing China as the primary competitive threat provides more straightforward national-security justification than would framing an allied nation’s gains in the same terms. Scope of the Proposed Exception Antitrust exceptions historically granted for a narrow purpose have, in some cases, expanded over time. Questions raised by critics of the plan include how the scope of any waiver would be defined and limited, who would determine which future coordination qualifies as safety-related versus anticompetitive, and who would sit on anybody making that determination. Companies operating outside such an agreement — including open-weight developers, foreign labs, and firms using distillation — would continue developing capability regardless of what an approved group of U.S. labs agrees to. Assessment The proposal, as written, would not slow the development of artificial intelligence generally; China, Germany, the UAE, Belgium, open-source developers, and firms using distillation would continue their work independent of any U.S. industry agreement. What it could do is slow the pace of the companies inside an approved framework while placing additional controls on access to the most advanced systems. That raises a further question about distribution: whether governments and large enterprise customers would continue to receive top-tier, continuously improving models while other users are limited to a “paced” tier justified on safety grounds. Supporters of the plan describe it as a necessary response to genuine catastrophic risk. Critics describe it as a mechanism that would formalize safety-based coordination among a small number of already-dominant companies, backed by an antitrust waiver, at a moment when their competitive position faces new pressure from cheaper alternatives.
Mollie W. Barnett - is a decision architect and writer focused on how mid-sized leaders navigate strategy, systems, and intelligent execution.
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Messenger Perspectives Thursday, September 17, 2026
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
The Finished Blanket By PJ Balzer
My mom has fought two separate bouts with cancer over this past decade. Thank God, so far, she’s won both rounds. I’m thankful to say that she’s been in remission and receiving good reports from the doctor for a little over a year now. During the first bout, she did a good amount of sitting and waiting during chemotherapy treatments. The office she was visiting at that time was a busy one and the treatment schedule was often running behind on time. She would often bring something to keep her busy while she waited. Her activity of choice was usually a book or her crochet set. Her normal sleeping routines were also thrown off due to the steroids that she received during that treatment. The first few days after chemo, she’d have an abnormal amount of energy. She’d spend the extra energy cooking for the week and preparing for the days that she knew were ahead, for the days following when it was hard to even get off the couch. Sleeping straight and during normal hours was also difficult. So, she looked for things to keep her occupied in the middle of the night if she happened to wake up. Between the weekly waiting at the doctor’s office and some broken nights of sleep, she started a new crochet blanket with a pattern that she hadn’t tried before. I believe the pattern was called an “Afghan” pattern, and she seemed looking forward to trying it out. I remember her saying while working on it, “I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished blanket.”
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She came home from chemotherapy one afternoon and showed me the very beginning of the blanket. There were only a few squares that were done. I acted like it was beautiful because that’s what you’re supposed to do, but truthfully, and in that moment, it really wasn’t. I was having trouble seeing any beauty or potential in the blanket, the new pattern and maybe just life itself in that moment of time. As the days went by and she faithfully crocheted that yarn during a really hard season of life, the blanket eventually started to take shape and look like a blanket. Little by little, the colorful yarn was slowly woven together and the pattern, very slowly, began to look like something to get excited about. It was around her last chemotherapy treatment that the blanket was just about finished. Some things are much more symbolic than we realize at the time. One day, when she was starting to feel better from the chemotherapy, she took out the completed blanket to show me. It was completely finished, edged out, and ready to wrap a newborn baby in. That initial unattractive pattern had truly transformed into a beautiful baby blanket, a blanket that any new or expecting mother would be happy to receive. I was both inwardly repentant and also really impressed with the finished product. The finished product was beautiful, as it often is. I just couldn’t see it in the beginning. Looking back now in hindsight, that blanket has represented several different seasons of my life, including that one. God is always working and weaving a much more beautiful, finished product than we can see in the moment. Often in the waiting, the quiet hours and the sleepless nights, He already knows as He begins the blanket, what the new pattern and impactful story He is writing in and through our lives will look like in the latter chapters. Even though the earlier pieces or chapters maybe be really ugly or extremely difficult, He only asks that we trust what He’s making and that one day He’ll reveal to us a finished product. If you happen to be reading this and you find yourself in an extremely difficult season of your own life, a season where you just can’t see any hope, anything good, and a reason to hang on till the end, do know that one day you’ll look back at this specific season of life and realize that there was a beautiful blanket being crocheted by divine hands. God doesn’t waste any yarn at all. Those few ugly pieces will one day be a blanket worth looking at and worth telling other people about. Your blanket will one day be warmth and hope to someone else. If you happen to be wondering what happened to that Afghan pattern baby blanket she finished, it was donated and personally handed to a local teenager who had just given birth.
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Overview - AMAC The Association of Mature American Citizens
Thursday, September 17, 2026
The Good Shepherd of the South Tower By Phill Kline | AMAC Contributing Writer On the morning of September 11, 2001, Rick Rescorla was at his desk by half past seven. He was 62 years old and had survived a serious bout with prostate cancer that had spread to his bone marrow. But that morning, he had risen at 4:30, told his wife Susan he had never felt better, and caught the train into Manhattan from Morristown. That afternoon, Rescorla, head of security for Morgan Stanley’s 2,700 employees in the South Tower, was preparing to give a deposition in the company’s suit against the Port Authority over the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The next day, he and his wife were headed to Italy to attend her daughter’s wedding. He would not make the flight. At 8:46 a.m., the North Tower shuddered under the impact of a jetliner. Rescorla heard the blast and saw the fire from his window. Those in the South Tower received a message over the public address system to stay at their desks, the building was secure. Rescorla believed otherwise. After the 1993 truck bomb failed to bring down the tower, Rescorla told Morgan Stanley the next attack would come from the air. He wanted the firm out of the tower. But the company’s lease wasn’t up until 2006. So, Rescorla ordered evacuation drills – quarter after quarter, drilling two-by-two down the stairs until brokers complained that the interruptions were costing them money. At 8:46 a.m. on September 11, Rescorla picked up a bullhorn, a walkie-talkie, and a cell phone and began the effort to evacuate Morgan Stanley employees. They were in the stairwells when the second plane hit. At 9:03 a.m. United Flight 175 struck the South Tower between the 77th and 85th floors. The building lurched. Lights shivered. Heat and smoke pushed into the shafts. Below the impact, thousands of people were already moving because Rescorla had not waited for permission. He kept them moving. He kept them off the elevators. At a bottleneck on the 44th floor, he directed the flow of people into a clear stairwell and told them to watch out for one another. Those who were guided to safety by Rescorla reported that he sang while he did it. His songs were familiar to him. He’d sung them in crisis before, in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam in November 1965. At that time, he was a young United States Army lieutenant from Hayle, Cornwall, England. He walked the perimeter of the U.S. camp, under fire, singing Cornish hymns calmly to his platoon into the night. One was based on the Welsh song “Men of Harlech”:
Flight 93 had retaken control of the cabin and charged the cockpit. At 9:59 a.m. the South Tower collapsed. It had stood 56 minutes after it was struck. Rescorla was still inside. So were Mercer, Forde, and Velazquez. Rescorla’s body was never recovered. Four minutes later, at 10:03, Flight 93 exploded into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The two struggles ended around the same time – one in a stairwell, one in an airplane aisle. In both cases, exceptional Americans chose courage over fear. They refused to submit to the terror visited upon the country that day. The deranged men who seized the planes did not understand the kind of man who answers danger and threat with song. They did not understand a group of passengers voting to sacrifice themselves to thwart evil. They did not understand that their enemies are a people who know that duty and gratitude at times require sacrifice. Rescorla was born Cyril Richard Rescorla on the Cornish coast in 1939. American soldiers trained in his hometown before the Normandy invasion. Rescorla watched them train and decided he would wear a uniform. He joined the British Army, served in Cyprus,
O N
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 then wore a Rhodesian police uniform. In 1963, he came to Brooklyn, lived in a hostel, and enlisted in the United States Army – still a British subject. He took the soldier’s oath and became a U.S. citizen a few years later. Rick Rescorla went to Fort Dix, then Officer Candidate School, then Vietnam. In November 1965, at Ia Drang, he walked into the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese. During that battle, his picture was taken. That picture adorns the cover of Hal Moore and Joe Galloway’s book We Were Soldiers Once…and Young. Rescorla’s face is dirt-streaked, his shoulders slumped from fatigue, the weight of exhaustion forming his expression. But that photo shows Rescorla just as he would be decades later in a building about to collapse in New York City – determined, moving forward, uphill, and into the fray. May Rick Rescorla’s spirit never die, and may we all aspire to emulate his courage and patriotism.
S T A G E
SEP 10– OCT 25
Men of Cornwall stop your dreaming; Can’t you see their spearpoints gleaming? See their warriors’ pennants streaming To this battlefield. Men of Cornwall stand ye steady; It cannot be ever said ye for the battle were not ready; Stand and never yield! A bullhorn in a crowded stairway is a crude instrument, but it was enough. The people who had resented the drills now found they already knew the steps. Between songs, Rescorla called Susan. She was crying. “Stop crying,” he told her. “I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I’ve never been happier. You made my life.” The phone went dead. By the time the Morgan Stanley floors were nearly clear, it was deep into the morning. Thirteen of the firm’s employees and contractors would not survive the day. Nearly twenty-seven hundred others would, because a man with a bullhorn had willed them to. He could have walked out with them. He did not. Rescorla told a co-worker in the lobby as he turned to ascend again, “You hear those screams? There’s more people up there.” There were indeed still people further up the tower— stragglers, colleagues, men and women from other firms, firefighters climbing into the heat. The job was not done. Rescorla’s service inspired loyalty in others. Members of his security team went back with him: Wesley Mercer, Godwin Forde, Jorge Velazquez. The last time anyone saw Rick Rescorla was at about 9:49 a.m., when Morgan Stanley employee Bob Sloss saw him on the tenth floor. The South Tower was minutes from collapse. Sloss told him to get out. Rescorla responded, “I will as soon as I make sure everyone else is out.” He then turned and started back up. By the time Rescorla was ascending from the tenth floor, the passengers of Flight 93 knew about the Pentagon. They knew about the towers. Passenger Jeremy Glick had told his wife Lyz they were thinking of rushing the hijackers. Tom Burnett had told his wife Deena they were going to do something. Todd Beamer was on the line with operator Lisa Jefferson trying to reach his wife. By the time Beamer finished reciting the 23rd Psalm and he and his fellow passengers would rush the hijackers, the South Tower had four minutes left. At 9:57 a.m. the passengers of
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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.
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By William Goldman Based on the Novel by Stephen King
JAN 14–FEB 28 M
NOV 12–DEC 27 C H I L D R E N’S
SEP 26–OCT 25
T H E A T E R
Frosty NOV 21–DEC 27
Bits & Pieces
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WORD OF THE
Week
Etymology: 1630s Scottish, from can “know how to” + y; 1818, “uncanny” meaning “dangerous,” while “canny” meaning “skillful, prudent, lucky” in a superstitious sense. Sources: Merriam-Webster, Etymonline.com.
Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
SUDOKU
UNCANNY adjective Pronounced: /uhn·ka·nee/ Definition:
seeming to have a supernatural character or origin; being beyond what is normal or expected suggesting superhuman or supernatural powers.
Example:
“She had an uncanny ability to guess what people are thinking.”
Synonyms: eerie, magical, mysterious Antonyms: conventional, expected, unremarkable
See bottom left for the answers (please don’t cheat!)
This Week in History September 20, 2001:
In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, President George W. Bush (R-TX) declares a “war on terror.”
WORD WHEEL L
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J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” is published by George Allen and Unwin in London.
September 17, 1787
U.S. Constitution is signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention.
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September 21, 1937:
September 23, 1889:
Nintendo Koppai (later Nintendo Company) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda.
September 18, 1793: President George Washington lays the cornerstone of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
September 22, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln (R-IL) issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, threatening to free all enslaved people in the rebel Southern states if those states fail to rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863.
September 19, 1960: Chubby Checker’s cover version of “The Twist” hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Source: Onthisday.com.
Bits & Pieces Published by Messenger Papers, Inc.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
NATIONAL U.S. is set to deliver 2,000-pound bombs in $2.8B arms deal to Israel. United Airlines is under fire for transporting weapons and military hardware to Israel on commercial passenger flights. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) returned to the Senate after 13 weeks of largely unexplained absence. Russian spy satellites passed over Saudi Arabia before Iran’s deadly strikes on U.S. bases. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia attempted to assassinate him twice in Chisinau, Moldova. The Trump Administration is heralding a 25-year low in crime in Memphis, Tennessee. Murders are down 36%, motor vehicle thefts 57%, sexual assaults 28%. Saudi Arabia has cut oil shipments to Europe. German hospitals are actively preparing for a potential large-scale armed conflict in Europe. Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales are pushing for independence from the U.K.
STATE Governor Hochul announced that energy rebate checks up to $200 will be sent to 8.2 million households starting next week. New Yorkers have wagered nearly $100 million in mobile sports betting since it was legalized in 2022. The state has withdrawn a proposal to study the construction of a 3,000-bed prison. State education officials voted to end the mandatory Regents exam for graduation starting for the class of 2028.
LOCAL South Huntington School District officials “did not ensure that credit card charges were authorized, supported, for valid district purposes or approved,” a State audit found. Emiliano Geoninatti, a Spanish teacher in Three Village, was named NYS Teacher of the Year. Four Connecticut residents were arrested by the County’s Street Takeover Task Force after a street race in Yaphank. Suffolk County delayed a plan to install Flock gunfire detection technology.
WORD SEARCH
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Smithtown Messenger - Brookhaven Messenger - Islip Messenger - Thursday, September 17, 2026
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In Contract/West Sayville
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elliman.com/natalieaffenita || elliman.com elliman.com elliman.com/natalieaffenita
In Contract/Central Islip
Sold / Miller Place $605,000
110WALT WALTWHITMAN WHITMANRD, RD,HUNTINGTON HUNTINGTONSTA ST 110
2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN© REAL EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. ©ESTATE. 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. ©110 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. WALT WHITMAN RD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.7401. © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. © 2026 DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE. EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY. 110 WALT WHITMAN RD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.74 110 WALT WHITMAN RD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.7 110WALT WALTWHITMAN WHITMANRD, RD,HUNTINGTON HUNTINGTON STATION, NEWYORK YORKRD, 11746. 631.549.7401. STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.740 110 STATION, NEW 11746. 631.549.7401. 110 WALT WHITMAN HUNTINGTON
110WALT WALT WHITMAN RD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.74 110 110 WALT WHITMAN RD,RD, HUNTINGTON STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.7401 WHITMAN HUNTINGTON STATION, NEW YORK 11746. 631.549.740
Sold / Hampton Bays $830,000
Sold / Bayport $1,525,000
Sold / Selden $500,000
Postseason Bound!
23
Long Island Ducks
Are Second Half North Division Champs! The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 6-1 on Sunday afternoon in the final game of a three-game series and finale of the 2026 regular season at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. With the win, the Ducks clinched the Second Half North Division Championship and a berth in the 2026 Atlantic League playoffs. Southern Maryland took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on Carlos Rojas’ RBI single to left field off Ducks starter Michael Dominguez. Long Island answered in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Jorge Bonifacio and Aaron Antonini to go in front 2-1. Anthony Garcia added a two-out RBI single to center in the second to make it 3-1 Ducks. Bonifacio led off the third inning with a 384-foot solo home run to left field off Blue Crabs starter Eduardo Rivera, stretching the Ducks lead to three. The longball made the five-year MLB veteran the first player in Long Island Ducks history to hit 30 home runs in a single season. Two more runs came home for the Flock in the sixth on Marcus Chiu’s 427-foot leadoff solo homer to center and Henry Kusiak’s two-out 410-foot solo homer to left-center. Dominguez (7-5) earned the win, tossing five innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits while striking out six. Rivera (0-2) took the loss, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks in four innings with five strikeouts. Four Ducks relievers combined to pitch four scoreless innings of relief to secure the win. Bonifacio led the Ducks offense with three hits, finishing a triple shy of the cycle, two RBIs and a run. Antonini added two hits, an RBI and a walk, while Wilmer Difo chipped in with two hits and a run. The Ducks now head to the 2026 Atlantic League playoffs, which will begin with the best-of-five North Division Championship Series against the first half champion Hagerstown Flying Boxcars. Game One will take place on Tuesday
night at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). Game Two will take place on Wednesday night, also at 6:35 p.m., before the series shifts to Meritus Park Friday-Sunday for Games Three, Four (if necessary) and Five (if necessary). Tickets for each of the team’s home games during the 2026 Atlantic League playoffs are now on sale. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Fairfield Properties Ballpark box office (open Monday-Friday from 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m., Saturday from 10:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and during all home games), calling (631) 940-TIXX, or visiting LIDucks.com. Each home playoff game will also be an Unused Ticket Day. Jorge Bonifacio Named 2026 MVP Ducks’ outfielder and five-year MLB veteran Jorge Bonifacio has been named the team’s 2026 Most Valuable Player, presented by Delmonte-Smelson Jewelers. The announcement was made prior to the Ducks regular season home finale on Sunday, September 13. Bonifacio received the honor after putting together a record-setting campaign in his first season with the Ducks. Entering Sunday, he has totaled 106 RBIs, breaking the franchise’s single season record of 103 set by Ray Navarrete in 2008. Additionally, he has totaled 29 home runs, which are tied for the most in a single season by a Ducks player (Carl Everett, 2008). The 33-year-old has played 111 games for the Flock, compiling a .267 batting average, 94 runs and 109 hits, including 60 for extra bases. Defensively, he has not committed a single error in 85 games played in the outfield. For being chosen as the Team MVP, Bonifacio received a luxury wristwatch, courtesy of Delmonte-Smelson Jewelers.
Credit - Tim Walz
WE WILL NEVER FORGET.
Smithtown Messenger - Brookhaven Messenger - Islip Messenger - Thursday, September 17, 2026