Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Incumbents Marion Blane and Brian Desmond were re-elected to the board.
Bellmore residents approved the 2012-13 school budget Tuesday night. The proposed budget of $31,943,890 passed with 766 residents voting for the fiscal plan and 347 voting aganist it. Incumbents Marion Blane and Brian Desmond were both re-elected to the board, with Desmond receiving 708 votes and Blane 236. Both ran unopposed. Receive updates to this story and other breaking news in your inbox or on your smartphone by signing up for our newsletter here. What do you think this year's school budget? Email a letter to the editor to Danielle.Desouza@patch.com Passionate about items in the budget? Blog about it! Email Danielle.Desouza@patch.com for more information.
Incumbent Grace Cramsie and Challenger Nina Lanci will serve three-year terms on the school board.
The 2012-13 proposed school budget of $47.9 million passed on Tuesday night, with 1,442 voting for the budget plan and 831 voting against it. The budget increase is at negative .27 percent, the lowest the district has have ever had, Superintendent Arnold Goldstein said. The closing of the Jacob Gunther Elementary School, the tightening of the budget and retirement incentives saved the district $1.2 million. There will be no cuts to school programs. Incumbent Grace Cramsie was re-elected to her seat on the board and Challenger Nina Lanci will join her for a three-year term. Receive updates to this story and other breaking news in your inbox or on your smartphone by signing up for our newsletter here. What do you think this year's school …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A weekly look-in at news from around the Town of Hempstead.
Seniors Present Works From The Creative Writers' Workshop Hempstead Town has announced that members of the Department of Senior Enrichment’s Creative Writers' Workshop are holding a reading of their original works on Wednesday, June 13. The presentation will be held at 1 p.m. at the Merrick Theatre and Center for the Arts, located at 2222 Hewlett Ave. in Merrick. The public is invited to attend the annual event and admission is free. The readings will be followed by an informal coffee hour. The short stories, poems and memoirs produced by seniors in workshop sessions will be published by the town this fall in an annual compilation entitled "Musings of Maturity XXIV." The Creative Writers' Workshop is partially funded through a grant from …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A weekly look-in at the news of Nassau County.
Republicans Rip Democrats Over Voting The following is a joint statement from County Executive Ed Mangano, Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt and the Republican Legislative Caucus: "During the decade in which the Democrats controlled the County Legislature, Republicans put politics aside and provided the responsible votes necessary to run county government. Unfortunately for Nassau's taxpayers, the Democrat minority on the legislature is now refusing to implement a plan that forever ends borrowing for tax refunds while cleaning up debt created over the past decade. If the Democrats do not provide the votes needed to pay residents their rightfully owed property tax refunds, judgments will be executed against the County’s bank accounts — …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
A letter to the editor from the President of the Long Island Federation of Labor.
The following is from John R. Durso, President of the Long Island Federation of Labor: It is the bedrock of American democracy that every citizen's vote carries equal importance. Whether or not one's vote truly finds expression in the final count is largely impacted by redistricting, a process we go through every 10 years. While the subject typically fails to garner much public attention, insiders know there's a lot at stake. The way that voters are segregated into districts has an enormous influence on who our representatives are, and can ultimately shape public policies for the next decade. Historically, the task of redrawing district lines has been left to the hands of the very politicians whose political futures will be impacted. Too …
Sunday, May 6, 2012
A weekly look-in at news from around the Town of Hempstead.
TOH Places Relocation of Bellmore Cat Colony on Hold Earlier this week, the Town of Hempstead placed the relocation of the Newbridge Road Park cat colony in Bellmore, originally scheduled for Tuesday, on hold. The town will work with the Humane Society to assess the colony at the park and to explore options concerning the habitat where the cats have settled. No action will be taken until the Humane Society looks at the situation, consults the town and offers its recommendations. Click here to read more on the postponed relocation. Town Receives US EPA Award At an April 27 ceremony, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented its 2012 Environmental Quality Award to Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray. The award was …
Saturday, May 5, 2012
A weekly look-in at the news of Nassau County.
On Thursday, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano announced a Debt Reduction and Sewer Stabilization Plan to eliminate $750 million -- 25 percent -- of the county's $3 billion debt. The plan also aims to stabilize Nassau County's Sewer Authority, which is set to face bankruptcy in 2014, as warned by the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority (NIFA) in its October 2009 report. The Debt Reduction and Sewer Stabilization Plan includes the implementation of a public-private partnership to operate and maintain Nassau's three wastewater treatment plants, which have fallen into a dangerous state of disrepair over the past decade, according to the county. The sewage treatment plants have racked up more than $1 million in Department of Environmental…
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
One year ago, Bellmore felt joyful and uneasy after a daring military raid took out the terror leader. How do you feel now?
Tuesday marks the first anniversary of the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The man who was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that the destroyed the World Trade Center was killed by Navy SEALS in Pakistan. At the time, Bellmore residents were jubliant that the world's most wanted man had been taken out, but there was also much apprehension over what would come next. Even a year later, there is still some concern. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security released a bulletin warning of possible terror attacks on the anniversary. Rep. Peter King, R-Seaford. told CBS, "There is chatter or talk among various terrorists, various Al-Qaeda supporters, about avenging the death of bin Laden. Basically with the first …
Sunday, April 29, 2012
A weekly look-in at news from around the Town of Hempstead.
Town Criticized for Handling of Feral Cat Colony The Hempstead Town Board was criticized at Tuesday's meeting by several animal advocates, including two banned animal shelter volunteers, for its plans to relocate the two feral cat colonies in Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore. Town officials want to move the cats, remove their makeshift shelters and relocate their feeding stations to the end of the park starting May 1. According to Newsday [paid link], the town has cited "health and safety of the cats and park users" as the reasons for relocating the cat community. One of the cats' caretakers, Joyce Christie, 71, of Bellmore, told Newsday [paid link] earlier this week that "moving the colonies put the lives of the cats in danger due to …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
A weekly look-in at the news of Nassau County.
County Attorney Ciampoli Accuses Dems of Extortion Nassau County Commissioner of Investigations and County Attorney John Ciampoli held a press conference Thursday where he accused Nassau Legislative Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, D-Hempstead, of bribery and extortion. According to the Long Island Press, the accusations stem from a Dec. 15 letter addressed to Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano in which the Democrats acknowledged "upcoming bond requests requiring the Democrats' cooperation for a supermajority in order for the borrowing to pass the county legislature." The letter goes on to state: "… we cannot in good conscience consider any borrowing requests for any purpose until we arrive at a satisfactory resolution of Legislative …
Jackie
2:28 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Unbelievable that the Board essentially takes a step back ward. The fools, the fools, the fools. more ›