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Sex offender legislation gains bipartisan support

Feb
23
2017

Last month, as the first NYS Assembly legislative session began, Dean Murray (R,C,I-East Patchogue) was eager to reintroduce a bill tackling sex offender restrictions, or the lack thereof. Since the start of 2016, some Level 1 sex offenders began to come off of the registry, when a state appeals court decision removed all local restrictions on where convicted sex offenders may reside.

According to the ruling, the laws in place were becoming “too restrictive” and were therefore wiped clean. As is stands today, the only restrictions in place prohibit high-level offenders who are on parole or probation from living within 1,000 feet of a school.

Murray’s bill, A.1651, is a revamped version of a bill he introduced in response...| read more ››

Bellone urges state to uphold strict law against sex offenders

Feb
21
2017

In light of recent court rulings and pending lawsuits in favor of sex offenders, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) is urging the New York State Legislature to follow in the county’s footsteps and get tough on sex criminals by passing legislation that gives the county authorization to uphold its strict laws against them.

On Feb. 11, Bellone and Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) spoke with parents and residents in Miller Place about supporting and protecting the rules within the Suffolk County Community Protection Act — a private-public partnership law developed by Bellone, victims’ rights advocates like Parents for Megan’s Law and law enforcement agencies. It ensures sex offender registration and compliance, and protects residents and their children against sexual...| read more ››

Valentines for Zeldin

Feb
15
2017

By noon on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at least two-dozen people had already gathered at Congressman Lee Zeldin’s (R-NY-1) main district office at 30 Oak Street in Patchogue. The demonstration is the latest in a string of similar events that have taken place across the first congressional district in recent weeks. The demonstrators carried “Missing Congressman” signs and said that they still desired a town hall meeting with Zeldin. The demonstrations became larger when a town hall meeting originally scheduled for April was canceled. Flyers that read, “Have a Heart” were also distributed, urging the public to tell their leaders in congress that they demand a real plan for affordable healthcare. Across the street, three demonstrators were spotted carrying signs that...| read more ››

Susan Berland to run for Suffolk County Legislature

Feb
5
2017

Democratic Huntington Town board member Susan Berland will run this fall for the 16th district seat now held by term-limited Legis. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills).

Democrats Tom Donnelly, a Babylon Town Board member, and legislative aide Josh Slaughter also are seeking to replace two other term-limited lawmakers, Louis D’Amaro (D-Deer Park) and Kate Browning (WF-Shirley.

Berland, who has $24,966 in her coffers, will not have to give up her seat to make the run because she has another year on her term. If she wins, the town board could appoint a successor or wait for the November election.

Toni Tepe, Huntington GOP chair, said she will begin screening candidates Feb. 16. “Susan will do nicely as a candidate in the...| read more ››

Listen up, Lee

Feb
2
2017

As the Rotary Club of Shirley and the Mastics honored Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) as Man of the Year Saturday night, a protest was brewing.

Nearly 150 local residents gathered outside of Sunset Harbour in East Patchogue to make their voices heard, holding signs promoting peace, truth and humanity. Their main cause of coming out was to call for Zeldin to address their concerns in the form of a public town hall meeting.

The Listen Up event was coordinated by a Stony Brook organization, Project Free Knowledge, with help from Patchogue Indivisible, a grassroots community organization formed to keep Zeldin aware that he has many constituents who reject President Donald Trump’s agenda. According to their Facebook page,...| read more ››

Letter to the Editor: Immigration order opposes American values

Feb
2
2017

Jonathan “Jack” Harrington is a former adjunct professor at SBU’s MBA program and is currently an attorney. He is also a fellow at the Truman National Security Project and the former editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal of International Law.

On Friday, Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order barring Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocking entry into the United States for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. This ill-conceived and rashly executed directive stands in stark opposition to the values of pluralism, equality and opportunity etched in the American experience. The devastating consequences reverberated immediately within the United States and around the globe.

Within hours, protests erupted at airports nationwide — JFK, Dulles, LAX and O’Hare...| read more ››

Democrats will fight Trump’s ‘unconstitutional’ refugee ban, Chuck Schumer says

Jan
29
2017

Democrats will fight President Donald Trump’s “unconstitutional” refugee ban, pledged a teary-eyed Sen. Charles Schumer on Sunday.

Surround by refugees from Iraq and Syria, the Senate minority leader said he and his colleagues would draft legislation to overturn the president’s executive order, signed on Friday. He demanded the president reverse course.

“I, as your senator from New York, will claw, scrap and fight with every fiber of my being until these orders are overturned,” said Schumer, who almost broke down as he quoted the poet Emma Lazarus: “ Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Trump’s executive order suspended the entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days while barring Syrian...| read more ››

Officials push Suffolk park survey for illegal dumping

Jan
24
2017

Suffolk authorities are pushing to survey county parkland in search of illegal dumping while they establish a network of residents to watch for suspicious activity in their parks.

The announcement came in Hauppauge Tuesday after the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Brookhaven Town confirmed Monday an investigation into who dumped vinyl siding, crushed concrete, pulverized glass, a monster truck tire, household furniture and other items in several spots at Tanglewood Park in Coram, which is owned by Brookhaven Town.

The site was discovered after a resident called Legis. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), prompting her to go to the park late last year and notify the town, state and Suffolk County district attorney about the debris she found. The DA investigated...| read more ››

Open Mike: The real legacy of Barack Obama

Jan
20
2017

This piece is not an evaluation of the president’s legislative accomplishments or failures. or even his politics — but rather a reflection of the very personal impact the 44th president had on one 15-year-old boy from Port Jefferson.

It was 2008 and I was just coming of age. Then I saw him on television, delivering his iconic “Yes We Can” speech. In that moment Barack Obama instilled in me a genuine sense of hope, a firm belief that in the course of human history it is possible to make a lasting difference. His words transformed my perception of our Constitution. No longer was it a thing of antiquity, but rather something tangible, something alive, and worthy of any sacrifice to...| read more ››

Gov. Cuomo announces series of voting reform proposals

Jan
8
2017

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is once again urging state lawmakers to allow early voting access in New York as part of a series of voting reform measures his office unveiled on Sunday.

Cuomo, who last year proposed early voting and automatic voter registration at state licensing offices, is also calling for same-day voter registration, saying in a news release the measures would “remove unnecessary barriers that prevent participation in elections and increase accuracy within the voting process.”

“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. This past election shined a bright light on the deficiencies of New York’s antiquated election laws and the artificial barriers they create that prevent and discourage voters from exercising this sacred right,” Cuomo said. “These proposals...| read more ››

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