Thursday, October 1, 2026
This year’s crowd at John Burns Park was the largest ever. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joe Saladino and Firefighter Ken Haskell, Tom and Tim’s brother, spoke. There was mournful violin music, stirring patriotic songs sung aloud and prayers from local clergy. I was privileged to be asked to speak. The ceremony concluded with a helicopter dropping white roses on the crowd. It was particularly moving afterward to talk with family members and friends of 9/11 victims who were once again reliving the horrors of that fateful day, but had never lost their faith in America.
The problem, however, is that data centers are a legitimate challenge to elected officials who aren’t always capable of understanding what the centers do and how the public may react. It’s a balancing act that isn’t working well, and the public has now become fired up, because people are afraid of rising electricity rates and don’t want their water supply depleted.
But being innocent doesn’t prevent the government from suspecting you of wrongdoing, or even arresting you. The government may target people not because they have committed a crime, but to make examples of them, intimidate others, or silence those they regard as troublesome or subversive.
The nor’easter sweeping across Long Island brought heavy rain, strong winds and flooding to Wantagh and Seaford on Saturday, with a downed tree on Homestead Avenue leading to a small fire and several facilities closed for the weekend.
The Seaford Broncos celebrated 60 years of football, cheerleading and community with generations of players, coaches and families at Bronco Day.
Seaford High School honored Steve Bongiovi for 50 years as a sports announcer during a surprise halftime ceremony on Sept. 10.
