Week in Review

After months of preparation, Bellmore Patch launched on Dec. 30, rounding out the Patch family of 30 local news sites. We stocked our site full of local news, features, events, announcements, directory information, photos and local facts, making your one stop shop for all things Bellmore.

We welcomed you with a letter and video from the editor. Also included on the site that day was a video report about a yard fire in North Bellmore that damaged an adjacent home, a crime report from local police precincts, a school news item about Mepham students donating toys to children at Winthrop Hospital, a sports story on the tough loss for the Kennedy basketball team, another sports story on the Mepham girls basketball team grabbing their first conference win, a restaurant review on Shang Hai Pavilion II and their juicy dumplings, a government story on the feasibility of a public takeover of Aqua-NY Water and an opinion piece on the Bellmore Kiwanis.

And the news rolled on! The next day we reported on the tough wresting match between the Cougars and MacArthur and the last victory of 2009 for Kennedy boys' basketball. We also offered New Year's Eve fashion tips and trends from local boutiques to help you ring in the new year in style. On a serious note, we reported on the testimony of Bellmore and Merrick parents, which prompted the Nassau County Legislature to ban the sale of dropside cribs. We also highlighted Rosemary Segerdahl's Educator of the Year Award and finished with a real estate round up for 2009.

Patch readers awoke Jan. 1 to read our winter weather story. Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray also helped Bellmore Patch ring in the new year with an opinion piece on "Keeping New Year's Resolutions." Our school news section featured a story on a statue dedicated to former Superintendent Sheldon Dumain. Closing out the first day of 2010, we featured a story, photos and video on the swearing in of Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano.

Oh, did I mention we work weekends, too! We started off Saturday morning with a feature piece on the Long Island Crisis Center, highlighted a school news piece on history coming to life at Winthrop and capped off the day with Mangano's Plans for Nassau County. Then, this morning we featured a story on a recent North Bellmore Civic Association meeting.

Thank you to freelancers Rick Karas, Megan Baldwin, Ron Beigel, Kevin Pickering, Steven Nicastro, Debora Toth and Patrick Holohan and Patch staff editors Josh Stewart, Ryan Bonner and Carisa Giardino for making this inaugural week a special one for Bellmore Patch.