Suffolk Closeup Civil rights on Long Island: Local history includes slavery, a strong and active KKK, legal discrimination against minorities
The history of the civil rights of blacks, Jews and Catholics on Long Island was examined in a talk by Prof. Christopher Verga at the Suffolk County Historical Society Jan. 21.
Suffolk Closeup Closing the aged, dangerous Indian Point nuclear plants will spur green energy
The agreement to close the Indian Point nuclear power plants less than 50 miles from western Suffolk and between 60 and 100 miles from the East End — as the crow flies and radioactivity spreads — “is a huge step forward in protecting the health and safety of all New Yorkers.”
Suffolk Closeup Tuition-free public colleges give working and middle class a much-needed leg up
Free tuition at New York's public colleges has a history going back nearly two centuries and has played a pivotal role in the upward mobility of middle and working class youth.
Suffolk Closeup Legislator lashes out at hikes in county’s ‘back-door taxes,’ calls for cap on fees
Legislator Rob Trotta of Fort Salonga, enraged by increases of more than 100 percent in fees charged by the county for various services, says he will introduce a bill that will cap increases in county fees at 2 percent per year.
Suffolk Closeup This year brought many changes in Suffolk’s higher education landscape
It’s good news that Stony Brook Southampton, after years of looking like a ghost campus and a waste of state resources, has increased activity.
Suffolk Closeup Shrinking the county legislature would mean bigger districts, less representation
A proposal to shrink the number of legislative districts from 18 to 13 would make the districts larger, make running for office harder and more impersonal and make legislators less accessible to constituents.
Suffolk Closeup Court decision on misguided farmland preservation lawsuit must be overturned
A court ruling against "structures" on preserved farmland threatens the very existence of the county's successful farmland preservation program.
Suffolk Closeup County should reverse wrongheaded move to cut already marginal public bus service
The move by the county to cut public bus routes to help ease it fiscal mess is a big step backwards.
Suffolk Closeup Is the horseshoe crab headed for extinction? Suffolk scientist believes days are numbered for these ‘living fossils’
Horseshoe crabs are facing possible extinction after 455 million years of life on Earth — largely because it's become an Asian delicacy.
Suffolk Closeup Bellone’s budget, which comptroller calls ‘fraught with peril,’ set for legislative vote Wednesday in Riverhead
Borrowing to fund police retirement payouts, over-reliance sales tax receipts and one-shot revenues sources: it's all a recipe for disaster, county comptroller says.
