______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
CoMMuNITy uPDATE Infections as of April 11
8,014
Infections as of April 4 7,809
$1.00
When Property Taxes Go High We Go Low
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Vol. 32 No. 16
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Locals ponder pot’s future With opt-out uncertain, some look to move into cannabis business take advantage of the combination of low-interest loans, grants and a business incubator proWith the passage on March 31 gram that it makes available for of the landmark Marihuana Reg- those looking to get into the marulation and Taxation Act, New ijuana business. Targeted at York became the 16th state in the communities of color that have union to legalize recreational been disproportionately impactcannabis use. While ed by the unequal the expansive law enforcement of drug covers everything laws, it was a crucial from parameters of component to the the drug’s use to MRTA, Ali said. enforcement and tax “This is about revenue, it also lays rectifying so many the groundwork for wrongs that have entrepreneurs in been happening, New York to take especially in Nassau advantage of the County,” she said. nascent industry. Black and HisState lawmakers ChARlENE AlI panic people make have said they do not up 25 percent of the expect marijuana Prospective county’s population, businesses in the cannabis business but account for 55 state to receive their owner percent of marijuafirst licenses until na arrests, accord2022, as regulatory ing to a 2018 report and taxation infrastructure by the New York Civil Liberties comes online, but business own- Union. A Black or Hispanic perers in Valley Stream are already son is four times more likely to looking to get in on the ground be arrested for marijuana posfloor of the state’s cannabis session than a white one, the industry. report read. Charlene Ali, a longtime recWhile Ali said that discusreational marijuana advocate sions with local governments and cannabis entrepreneur, said grappling with developing zonshe has been combing through the 128-page law, and plans to Continued on page 11
By PETER BElFIoRE pbelfiore@liherald.com
T
Peter Belfiore/Herald
DISTRICT 13 PARENT Jessica Ramirez with her sons Antonio, 8, Luca, 6, and Ryan 2. She said she looked forward to sending Ryan to the district’s universal pre-K program if it is implemented within the next two years.
School districts weigh pre-K State funding seeks to start free programs By PETER BElFIoRE pbelfiore@liherald.com
Flush with federal relief funding, and factoring in a potential windfall from a tax hike on New York’s millionaires, state lawmakers passed a $212 billion budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year last week, and included more than $1.1 million for universal pre-kindergarten programs in Valley Stream’s three elementary school districts. Local re presentatives cheered the funding as a win
for local working parents, who might otherwise have to pay for tuition at private preschools. “I’m proud to have helped secure more funding for Valley Stream schools so that our students — and now those at the pre-K level — can get the first-rate education they deserve,” State Sen. Todd Kaminsky said in a statement. “The pandemic has presented many challenges to our schools,” Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages stated. “Covid-19 has revealed many
of the injustices facing students, from inadequate internet access to housing instability and food insecurity.” Solages has long advocated for universal pre-kindergarten on Long Island, and had previously said the pandemic highlighted the need for the program. Local parents also lauded the funding. Jessica Ramirez, a District 13 parent who has three sons, ages 8, 6 and 2, said she had sent the oldest two boys to private pre-kinContinued on page 4
his is about rectifying so many wrongs that have been happening.