Jon Cooper Joins Business Roundtable Discussion

Jon Cooper, former Suffolk County Legislature majority leader and a resident of Lloyd Harbor, recently joined with several other business leaders from across the country at a closed-door meeting of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee.

Cooper said, "The business roundtable provided an opportunity to discuss strategies to empower the American middle class. All of the business leaders agreed that their successes were largely attributed to policies that provide good benefits and above-minimum wage pay for their employees."

 About 20 senators participated in the roundtable discussion, including Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Mark Begich, Maria Cantwell, Richard Durbin, Chris Coons, Kay Hagan, Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.

Street Closings for Sunday's St. Patrick's Parade

Suffolk Police have issued the following advisory for Sunday in Huntington: The 80th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and 5K run in Huntington will be held Sunday and the Suffolk County Second Precinct is advising motorists of road closures in Huntington between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. The Townwide Fund of Huntington St. Patrick’s Day 5K run will start at 12:45 p.m. at Main Street and Prospect Street in Huntington Village. Participants will travel east on Main Street and turn south on New York Avenue to Lowndes Avenue and then back to New York Avenue. The parade will kick off at 2p.m. The parade will travel north on New York Avenue from Church Street to Main Street and will then head west on Main Street to St. Patrick’s Church, located at 400 W. Main Street. No parking will be allowed on New York Avenue or Main Street to allow for a clear and safe route. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes.

Olympian to Join St. Patrick's Parade

Huntington Station's Matt Mortensen, who recently competed in the Winter Olympics, will join the St. Patrick's Day parade in Huntington on Sunday.

There's no word on whether he'll be required to perform the same heroics as he did during the Olympics, stopping an out of control sled carrying NBC's Al Roker and Matt Lauer as it slid, backyards, down a luge run.

Arts Council Named Finalist

The Huntington Arts Council has been named a finalist in the Pilot Benefits Innovation Award category in The Second Annual Long Island Imagine Awards. Launching in spring 2013, the Huntington Arts Council's SPARKBOOM™ initiative was designed as a collective initiative to create vibrant events and opportunities to foster Long Island's emerging creative talent. Winners will be named at a gala at Crest Hollow Country Club on May 6. More than 120 entries were submitted for consideration in 5 categories, including Innovation, Leadership Excellence, Social Entrepreneurism, Rising Star, and Social Impact. The Huntington Arts Council is one of four finalists in the Innovation category for its SPARKBOOM™ initiative. "Long Island is rich with both creative talent and creative opportunities. The SPARKBOOM™ mission is to connect young emerging artists with the establishments and professionals in creative careers. When that happens, there's a wonderful, mutually beneficial exchange that happens as both sides bring unique perspectives and talents to the table. We're thrilled to be an Imagine Awards Finalist as a result of our efforts." said Diana Cherryholmes, Executive Director of the Huntington Arts Council. Finalists were chosen by Long Island business professionals during preliminary judging. Members of the Awards' Distinguished Judging Panel selected the Imagine Awards winners from among the Finalists during final judging. “Being named a Finalist in The Long Island Imagine Awards is an important achievement,” said Ken Cerini, Founder of the Long Island Imagine Awards. “It means that independent business executives have agreed that the nominee is worthy of recognition for their innovation, leadership, entrepreneurism, and sustainability. Congratulations to all of the Finalists on their achievement.” Details about Long Island Imagine Awards and the list of finalists in all categories are available at http://www.ceriniandassociates.com/imagine-awards.

Rajdeep Paulus to Speak at Book Revue

Author Rajdeep Paulus to speak and sign her new novel, Seeing Through Stones at the Book Revue.

Her appearance is scheduled March 12 at 7 p.m. 

The sequel to Swiming Through Clouds, the novel is "a powerful reminder that life is a battle you don’t fight alone. Praise for Seeing Through Stones: “Tough and touching, resilient and raw—Rajdeep Paulus has crafted a story of love and abuse with the deft touch of a master," according to the publishing house.

Huntington Raising Village Parking Fees

Huntington Town Board voted Tuesday to tackle the village parking problems by significantly raising fees.

Among the changes approved unanimously was an increase to  $1-per-hour multimeter fee for parking slots on New York Avenue and Main Street, 50-cent per hour meter fees on side streets  and increases on coin meters at the East Northport train station lot.

Free parking for hybrid vehicles has been eliminated.

Man Accused of Fleeing Scene of Crash

Suffolk County Police have arrested a Dix Hills man on charges of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash that occurred on Grand Boulevard on Feb. 24.

First Squad detectives charged William Koster, 31, of 4 Dix Circle, with leaving the scene of an accident on March 2. Koster, whose passenger was seriously injured in the crash, was arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Daniel Garcia and Jani Martinez were passengers in a 2002 Hyundai Sonata that was traveling east on Grand Boulevard when the vehicle struck a Volvo 18-wheel tractor trailer, driven by Christopher Bertovich at 11:43 p.m.

Garcia, 20, and Martinez, 33, were transported to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip. Garcia, of North Babylon, is listed in serious condition and Martinez, of Bay Shore, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Bertovich, 49, of Pennsylvania, was not injured in the crash.   

Police say Koster was the driver of the 2002 Hyundai fled the scene on foot prior to the arrival of police.

Huntington's Coraor Headed for the Top

A week from Tuesday, Aron Coraor of Huntington High School will learn whether he's won the Intel science talent search.

The poised young scientist picked moon rocks as a topic, entitling the project: "Pressure Dependent Azeotropic Melting Relations in the Mg₂SiO₄-Fe₂SiO₄-NaAlSi₃O₈-CaAl₂Si₂O₈ System: a Critical Role in Lunar Highlands Formation?"

Coraor will be in Washington next week, along with 39 other finalists from around the country, where winners will be announced. Finalists compete for $630,000 in awards, including a top prize of $100,000.

He described the project this way: "“My Intel project aimed to help explain the formation of the Moon. The current accepted model for how the Moon formed was largely developed in the 1970s when the bulk of the Apollo samples from the Moon’s surface were analyzed. However, while this traditional model has been improved slightly over time, an increasing number of inconsistencies between this model and data on samples from the Moon are being found. My project aimed to solve some of these inconsistencies by proposing alternate mechanisms by which the crust of the Moon may have formed. I justified the conclusions of my project by creating in a lab a magma [that is] similar to what likely would have been found billions of years ago as the Moon was solidifying and by measuring the composition of the crystals that formed from this synthetic magma.”


He is not only the second Huntington High School student to reach the finals since 1950, he's also only the second in his family. His sister Juliana reached the finals in 2012.

"I am thrilled for Aron on his incredible and very exciting accomplishment,” Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky said. “When listening to him to speak of his project, it is easy to determine not only how much pride he has taken in his work, but also how much he has enjoyed the research and the competition process. There is no question that this has factored into his reaching this level. There is really nothing out of reach for this young man!”

Poetry Workshop Saturday at Whitman Birthplace

A workshop at the Walt Whitman Birthplace on Saturday will tackle the art of poetry writing by encouraging participants to facilitate emotional healing through creative expression. Participants will be asked to create poetry that reflects evocative and powerful experiences (i.e., challenges, love, death, personal transformation) faced in their lives. Attendees are asked to bring in some memento that encapsulates such an experience (i.e., letter, souvenir, photograph, journal entry, song lyrics) and asked to create a poem or several poems that capture their emotional landscape. Workshop will include mindfulness and breathing exercises, and members will be encouraged to share their work, or reflect on the process of writing.  Hala Alyan is an Arab-American poet who has lived in different regions of the world, spanning from Oklahoma to Beirut. Hala Alyan is pursuing her doctoral degree in the field of clinical psychology and currently resides in Brooklyn. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and her poems have appeared in journals such as Third Coast, Copper Nickel, andThe Journal. Hala's first full-length collection of poetry, entitledAtrium and published by Three Rooms Press in New York City, was recently awarded the 2013 Arab America Book Award in Poetry. The workshop is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. Saturday. ART IMITATES LIFE Poetry Writing Workshop with Hala Alyan     $20 workshop fee       workshop fee includes admission to evening reading

Spencer Takes Up Smoking Age

Suffolk County Legis. William "Doc" Spencer will hold a hearing Tuesday on raising the smoking age to 21.

The hearing is set for Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Evans K. Griffing Building, 300 Center Drive, Riverhead.

 The Centerport Democrat, who is a physician, has led a number of initiatives to tackle health issues.

S. Huntington Offers Brochure on District

The South Huntington school district has published a brochure loaded with information about schools and aimed at would-be homebuyers in the district.

Programs such as Caught Being Good, Faces in the Crowd, dual language are highlighted by school, as  is such information as Whitman graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores and more.

The brochure is here.

From Saturday Night's Fire on New York Avenue

Photos by Steve Silverman.  See more photos here.

The fire broke out in the building housing the Village Artist, Red restaurant, a law firm and other businesses. It was brought under control within three hours, with crews remaining on the scene dousing hot spots through the night until about noon on Sunday. 

Multiple fire departments--Huntington, Huntington Manor, Halesite, Cold Spring Harbor, Centerport, Greenlawn, East Northport, Syosset, Huntington Community First Aid Squad with Melville, Commack and Oyster Bay on standby --responded Saturday night. About 70 patrons of Red were evacuated, leaving meals on the tables that were still there on Sunday afternoon as fire officials nailed condemnation signs on several storefronts. 

Suffolk County Legis. William "Doc" Spencer was on the scene, as were Town Councilwoman Tracey Edwards and  Suffolk County Water Authority Chairman Jim Gaughran to assist the firefighters with water issues.

Huntington Fire Chief Robert Berry was in command, with Operations Chiefs Jesse Cukro, Robert Conroy and Brian Keane.  Approximately 150 firefighters on the scene with 20 trucks.  The Suffolk Police Arson Squad and Huntington Fire Marshal are investigating. Suffolk Fire-Rescue Coordinators were also on the scene providing assistance. 

Help at the Hydrants

As more snow heads for Huntington, here's a reminder from the Huntington Manor Fire Department about keeping hydrants clear.

A drive around a few business parking lots Saturday made clear that plenty of snow remains stacked at corners, making navigation and sightlines difficult.

So, too, the edges of many properties remain covered by snow.

Let's give the guys a hand.

Aviva Drescher Coming to the Book Revue

Book Revue will host Real Housewives of New York star Aviva Drescher Tuesday.


She'll be speaking about and signing her new memoir, Leggy Blonde.  Aviva tells the story of how she lost her foot in a barn accident at the age of six and the numerous—sometimes bizarre— attempts to reattach it. 

After a trip to India to be “cured” by a famous mystic, young Aviva learned to use fashion and style to draw attention away from her prosthesis. She fled to Paris in her early twenties, where she transformed herself into a wild club chick and danced on tables with the crème de la crème of the big-hair supermodel era.

The event is set for 7 p.m.

Blaze Destroys Businesses on New York Avenue

Photo by Steve Silverman

A big fire broke out Saturday night at a building housing an art store and other businesses on New York Avenue.

Andre Sorrentino, owner of PAS Auto Body and Sorrentino Trucking, said the fire broke out first in the art store next door to Red Restaurant. 

Sorrentino, who helped the Tilden Brakes owners stay in business after their fire in July, shared photos posted by Rookies. 

No injuries have been reported. Sirens could be heard around town as departments responded to the blaze.

About three hours before the fire was reported, the restaurant posted  "Whether it's dinner and dancing you're after or just a few cocktails with friends, Red has everything you need this Saturday night!!"

Snow? Yes, More on the Way

Are we ready for this? More snow is on the way. We advise using weather.gov, not the storm-naming folks at The Weather Channel, to keep on top of things.

Also, Newsday's weather reporting is pretty good, too.

UPDATE 4:24 p.m. Saturday:

• Snow likely, mainly after 3pm. Cloudy, with a high near 34. West wind 5 to 8 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
• Sunday NightSnow. Low around 21. North wind 7 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
• MondaySnow, mainly before 3pm. High near 23. North wind 13 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

St. Pat's Parade Set for March 9

The 80th annual Huntington St. Patrick's Day Parade will kick off at 2 p.m. Sunday March 9. 

Marchers will head go from just north of the LIRR station to Main Street, turn west and end at St. Patrick's Church.

Grand marshall is Dominick Feeney, the fourth member of his family to lead the huge Ancient Order of Hibernians parade. 

AOH Treasurer, Rich McGrath adds, "many residents mistakenly think the Town sponsors the parade each year, but in truth it's actually the Hibernians who organize, promote, run and raise the money needed to pay for all the expenses associated with putting on this spectacular parade. Each year, the Hibernians go door to door soliciting donations from local businesses for advertisements which appear in this special St. Patrick's Day Parade edition of the Long Islander and Record. It is these generous ad sponsors that enable us to run the parade, so we hope folks support their businesses."

Civil War Roundtable to Meet

Dr. Timothy Sedore will discuss his book, An Illustrated Guide to Virginia's Confederate Monuments, which enumerates the more than 350 memorials marking the bloody battles in Virginia, at the March 6 meeting of the North Shore Civil War Roundtable.

The group meets at 7 p.m. at the South Huntington Library and is open to all with an interest in the Civil War.