A crash or a death. When caused by a drunk driver, the media is often all over it. But last week I went behind bars at Nassau County Police Headquarters to get an inside look at the less-publicized side of a DWI arrest. more

When the H1N1 virus, commonly referred to as the "swine flu," dominated headlines in April and May, it appeared to be business as usual at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, says the hospital's lead doctor. Dr. Steven J. Walerstein, senior vice president for medical affairs and the medical director at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, said there was not as much of a rush as was expected. "We were actually surprised we didn't have the surge and influx of patients we thought we were going to have," Walerstein said. However, the NUMC medical staff continues to prepare itself for what experts are projecting to be a rise in H1N1 cases this fall. One report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology said up to half of the nation's population could potentially contract the H1N1 virus this fall. "It is a concern now," Walerstein said. "The problem is that obviously no one has a crystal ball." more

"Four DWIs [is what] it took before that woman killed my child," said Deena Cohen, president of the Long Island chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Cohen was speaking before an assembly of about 50 students at Seaford High School, arranged by State Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican, and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democrat who is up for re-election. Cohen’s 21-year-old daughter, Jodi, was killed by a drunk driver 20 years ago. "I need you to understand the importance of [not] drinking and driving and drugging and driving," Cohen told the students. "The pain never goes away, ever ... The pain is still here. The 20-year number did something to my head. Jodi is gone almost as long" as she was alive. Tears were welling up in students' eyes as Cohen spoke. more

Months of negotiations between community liaisons and NextG Networks, the company that installed 35 cellular antennas on telephone poles in Merrick, were recently halted by a lawsuit filed against NextG, the Town of Hempstead and Metro PCS. Patrick Ryan, an attorney for NextG, abruptly postponed a Sept. 1 meeting with civic leaders and government representatives after members of the Merrick Gables Association filed the $100 million suit in New York State Supreme Court, according to Joe Baker, president of the South Merrick Community Civic Association. NextG spokesman Robert Delsman said, "NextG does not offer public comment on matters in litigation." The meeting was to be one of several held since June to potentially look at relocating certain antennas based on suggestions of community members who were disturbed to find the metal boxes affixed to poles about 10 to 20 feet from the ground. The antennas began appearing in the summer on town rights of way, often close to schools and people's front yards. By many accounts, the antennas were often installed late at night or early in the morning, with little or no notice to homeowners. more

As a sign of solidarity in their effort to settle a contract dispute after more than a year of negotiation, members of the North Merrick Faculty Association have attended Board of Education meetings clad in black from head to toe for months. But when teachers donned their dark garb on the first day of school Sept. 8, and left classrooms undecorated to make a point, some parents said they thought the educators went too far. "The teachers have to understand, if they were making a statement, they were making it to the parents because the school board wasn't at the school," Lynda Bekore, a Camp Avenue parent, said at the Sept. 8 Board of Education meeting. "And for the many parents who supported them up until now, we just looked at each other and said, 'They just crossed a line,' and they crossed a line that's going be very, very difficult to erase in our memory." more

Eight years ago to the day, hundreds of people had gathered at Lido Beach Park and watched the clear, sunny sky in the distance fill with black clouds of dark smoke from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. more

Pat Maher edged out Stephanie Ovadia in the primary election last week for the Democratic nomination in Nassau County’s 13th Legislative District. According to results released by the Board … more

An ad hoc group of students and high school parents converged on the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Board of Education meeting Sept. 2 to call on district officials to reconsider their 2007 stance against synthetic-turf football fields at Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham high schools. Roughly 250 parents and their children attended, with young people donning Merrick Police Activity League, Merrick-North Merrick Little League, Bellmore Braves and Calhoun football jerseys. In response to recent calls for artificial turf, Board of Education President Diane Seaman announced at the meeting that the district was forming a committee to explore ways to improve the high schools' football fields. She noted that the committee would look not only at synthetic turf, but also at ways to upgrade maintenance of the current grass fields. more

On Sept. 11, 2001, an estimated 3,000 men and women perished at the World Trade Center in the worst terrorist attack on American soil. Twenty-five of the victims were from the Bellmore-Merrick area. Eight years later, we fondly remember them and their contributions to the community. To this day, our heartfelt condolences go out to the families. At the Bellmore and Merrick Heralds, we're creating a wall of remembrance on our recently rebuilt Web site at www.liherald.com. If any local 9/11 families would like to add photographs to the wall, please e-mail them to Scott Brinton, senior editor, at sbrinton@liherald.com. more

In response to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's and Department of Health's May report on synthetic turf, Environment and Human Health Inc., a nonprofit group based in North Haven, Conn., issued a rebuttal listing its concerns with the state's findings. Environment and Human Health describes itself as "an organization dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms through research, education and the promotion of sound public policy." The group comprises "doctors, public health professionals and policy experts committed to the reduction of environmental health risks to individuals." more