_________________ WANTAGH ________________
HERALD Junior ecologists at Jones Beach
SCoPE’s annual dinner meeting
levittown’s new facilities director
Page 3
Page 5
Page 19
Vol. 70 No. 35
AUGUST 25 - 31, 2022
$1.00
Gillen set to face off against D’Esposito By kYlE ChIN kchin@liherald.com
Courtesy Jimmy Sensale
ThE WANTAGh hAWkS won the age-7 championship of the Long Island Hot Stove Federated Summer League, with a record of 9-2-1.
Hawks are division champions
Wantagh and Seaford teams both capture titles By MIChAEl MAlASZCZYk mmalaszczyk@liherald.com
The next generation of great baseball players could be coming out of Wantagh and Seaford. Teams from the communities both brought home championships this season, with the Seaford Vikings winning the 10-and-under title in the Federated Summer League, and the Wantagh Hawks emerging victorious in the 7-year-old division. “There’s winners, there’s losers — it’s important to teach the kids that they’re not going to win every game,” Jimmy Sensale, coach of the Hawks, said. “And most impor-
tantly, we teach them that when they do win, it’s all about sportsmanship.” Long Island Hot Stove Baseball is an independent organization in which children ages 7 to 16 can play baseball almost year-round — fall, spring and summer. The players do additional training in the winter to make sure they are fit ahead of the spring season. The program incorporates each town’s Little League teams, and unlike the typical youth club programs, where volunteering fathers pitch, score isn’t kept, and the tee is always an option, this program sees kids playing real, competitive baseball from the start. The divisions are created based on age, and Continued on page 6
Laura Gillen is a step closer to claiming the open U.S. House seat left vacant by Kathleen Rice. The former Hempstead town supervisor was projected to win the Democratic primary for the 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, with nearly 67 percent of the vote in early returns. “Tonight, voters spoke loud and clear that they want a representative who will fight tooth and nail against GOP politicians in Washington,” Gillen said in a statement following the win. She also decried Re publicans “who want to pass a national a b o r t i o n b a n lAUrA without excep- GIllEN tions to rape, WoN the incest, or even if Democratic the woman’s life primary for is in danger.” “Health care the 4th d e c i s i o n s — Congressional including basic District. birth control — are between a woman and her doctor, not by Washington politicians trying to score political points with their extremist base.” The 52-year-old Rockville Centre resident had been a favorite to win, endorsed by Rice as well as a number of major Democratic Party figures, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
and House Democratic Caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries. She now faces Hempstead town councilman Anthony D’Esposito in the Nov. 8 general election. He ran unopposed on the Republican ticket. Gillen has stated that repealing restrictions to state and local tax deductions passed in 2017 is one of her immediate priorities. She also voiced support for universal background checks on gun purchases to help curb crime and violence, while calling for expanded voting rights. Early results showed Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages in second with 16 percent of votes. Solages advocated for an aggressive foreign policy, tax incentives for small businesses, and expanding protections for women. Keith Corbett had 14 percent of the vote. The Malverne mayor called for expansions to reproductive and voting rights while touting his experience in village planning and infrastructure. Finally, physician Muzib Huq from Elmont captured a little more than 1 percent of the vote. He had campaigned on improving the American health care system, championing racial and religious tolerance, and investing in anemic local and national infrastructure. While the fourth district is forecasted to safely lean Democrat by some, other pollsters — like McLaughlin & Associates — say D’Esposito had the best chance of claiming the seat if Gillen was his opponent.