Chaz Murray, 54, grew up in Merrick bounding through the woods near his home. He became a Boy Scout and went on to camp in the wild. He moved away when he turned 24 and returned seven years ago. On Sunday, he said he was horrified to see the derelict state into which Merrick’s forests off the Meadowbrook Parkway have fallen. Murray, a New York City paramedic, was one of 52 volunteers who came to the woods between Sunrise Highway and Meadowbrook Road in Merrick to clean up debris that had washed from farther north into the forest via the Meadow Brook or had been strewn there by vandals. He said he learned about the cleanup by reading the Merrick Herald Life. more

Kendall and Ciro Frulio and daughters Olivia and Emma were living in a quaint home on Franklin Street in East Rockaway, within the village limits but blocks from the Bay Park border, when Hurricane … more

Adventure abounds when a mysterious nanny magically appears in Plaza Theatrical Productions staging of the family musical. more

It has been a little more than two months since Erin King Sweeney was appointed the new councilwoman in the Town of Hempstead’s 5th District, following the retirement of Angie Cullin. more

One of Long Island’s largest nonprofit substance-abuse treatment agencies received three grants this winter that officials said will help them teach young people about the dire consequences of … more

The irrepressible redhead heroine is ready to charm young theatergoers in an adaptation of the popular musical. more

It's harvest time at Long Island Children's Museum as it honors Native American traditions at a Cranberry Festival. more

A company’s plans to build “Port Ambrose,” a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Atlantic Ocean 19 miles southeast of Jones Beach, have stalled for months in a federal review process, but that is likely to change next month. A U.S. Coast Guard official estimated that the government will release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Port Ambrose in December. more

The zany musical shares its Roaring Twenties vibe with those frisky flappers and a whole lot fun. more

Patients should stop thinking of powerful pain medications like Oxycontin and Vycodin as slightly stronger versions of Tylenol and Advil. Rather, they should think of them as “heroin pills.” That’s according to Dr. Andrew Kolodny, president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing and chief medical officer for Phoenix House, a national, nonprofit drug treatment agency. more