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HERALD NOVEMBER 23, 2023
HOLIDAY DINING uide Gi f t G and
Ideas to INSPIRE
VOL. 34 NO. 48
V.S. battles spate of fires
Get ready to shop local
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NOVEMBER 23 - 29, 2023
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Liberty Water pitches ways to reduce rate hike
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Since more than 30 percent of what customers are charged relates to the utility’s property As the South Nassau Water tax obligations from its land Authority inches closer toward use and buildings, the company’s government affairs team is a potential public takeover of Liberty Water, one dominating currently lobbying lawmakers pain point for existing custom- in Albany “to repeal, or at least mitigate the imers lingers — a pact of these proposed rate hike taxes.” that averages more “This way we than 34 percent can remove them across Nassau f ro m r at e s a n d County and would thereby lower the affect some 120,000 r a t e s t h a t yo u customers. pay,” Franco said. The hike is just Her staff is also a proposal, and the looking to acquire Public Service state funding proCommission, the g rams that can state’s regulatory pump enough cash body, has the final to offset the capital say on greenlightexpenses required ing it. by law to maintain Deborah Fran- BARBARA HAFNER “safe and reliable co, president of Former president, service,” costs that L i b e r t y ’ s N e w West Hempstead otherwise are York Water Divi- Education Association passed on to Libersion, stood in front of a sparse crowd at a public ty’s customers. Liberty has justified the rate meeting last week at Valley Stream’s Veteran of Foreign hike as necessary to pay for its massive infrastructure investWars Post 1790. “Many of you tonight are ments and forecast expenses, but critics also argued that concerned about the level of rates that you all pay,” she told such investments aren’t worth roughly a dozen attendees and the dramatic climb in rate a phalanx of Liberty employ- charges. “It’s the ratepayer that ultiees. “We are taking two initiatives to mitig ate the rate mately ends up paying for these impact.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
By JUAN LASSO
jlasso@liherald.com
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Herald file photo
Superintendent Judith LaRocca reassured parents of the district’s commitment to protecting students from threats to their safety following separate gun scares that were alleged to have not been swiftly reported to parents.
Two gun scares pose no threat but raise questions By JUAN LASSO jlasso@liherald.com
While Valley Stream District 13 has focused intently on school safety in recent years, two instances, less than four weeks apart, occurred in which individuals were spotted in or around school grounds carrying guns. For parents in the village and across the country, the thought of guns anywhere near their children has been an enormous source of anxiety and dread. While the gun-wielders were deemed by police to be non-threatening, parents were reportedly kept in the dark about what went on during both gun scares and in the days
immediate following them, something Board of Education Tustee Anthony Bonelli says never should have happened. “It’s shocking that parents weren’t notified,” he said. “It’s unconscionable.” In a written statement, Superintendent Judith LaRocca projected an image of competence in handling the situations, tacitly warning against overreaction and reassuring the community of the district’s unwavering seriousness about protecting students from threats to their safety. “The security and safety of our students and staff are always our first priority,” LaRocca said. “The district strictly followed its safety and security protocols in both situCONTINUED ON PAGE 10
y neighbor across the street has public water. What I pay for one month, they pay a third of it in three months.