With this week’s column, the Principal’s Office begins its sixth year. It’s time to look backward as well as forward. But first, a few thank yous are in order. Scott Brinton has not only been my editor, but has also become a friend and sounding board for new ideas. Executive Editor John O’Connell has always been a prime supporter and booster. And my gratitude to publishers Cliff and Stuart Richner who gave me the opportunity to join the Herald family. more

What you're holding in your hands right now is extremely important. It's your local newspaper, and I'm not being hyperbolic when I tell you that it's extremely important. A local newspaper … more

Q. What can you tell me about solar on my house? Do I need a permit and will it really make sense for me? I am near retirement and if I downsize in about 10 years, I don't know if it's really worth it. more

Scott Brinton, senior editor of the Merrick and Bellmore Heralds, and an adjunct journalism professor at Hofstra University, took home a first place for Editorial Writing and a second place for Business News in the Press Club of Long Island’s annual Media Awards competition. more

Heroin addicts describe their first high as the ultimate escape, a 20-hour fix starting with a pleasure rush that races from the tip of the tongue throughout the body and steadily progresses toward hallucinations that transfix a user in a state of semiconscious euphoria. more

“This is what newspapers do best,” the judges of the New York Press Association’s Sharon R. Fulmer Award for Community Leadership said in conferring on the Merrick Herald the … more

The Oceanside/Island Park Herald will provide an intern with a valuable opportunity to learn — first hand — the challenges and rewards of reporting and publishing community news, writing feature … more

Although the Herald Community Newspapers have had an online presence since 1999, an expanded, more comprehensive Web site has recently been launched to help readers keep in closer touch with their communities. The new LIHerald.com has more news, sports, local business and arts coverage and event listings than ever before. more

Each year, drunken drivers cause deadly accidents and claim innocent lives. Their stories often become local and sometimes national lore, cautioning others about the potentially deadly consequences of a crime that some see as socially acceptable. But there is another type of loss that goes with drinking and driving, I recently learned. One that may be considered insensitive or politically incorrect to discuss. Three defense attorneys I interviewed saw the possible loss of one's reputation and even future employment as an unfair fate that befalls many of their clients. I contacted the lawyers after the Nassau County Police Department and the district attorney's office gave me a firsthand look at what a DWI arrest entails. Police simulated my arrest for DWI, including everything from handcuffing me to locking me up. Later, the district attorney's office brought me to District Court, where I took a tour of holding cells, courtrooms and assistant district attorneys' offices. I wrote about the experience for Herald readers. But as I spoke with defense lawyers, expecting to hear mainly about the financial burden of a DWI conviction, I learned that some of the most serious consequences for the convicted are harder to quantify. more