Think about what actually touches your week. The state legislators you elect decide how much aid flows to your school district, which shapes your property tax bill. They write the laws on housing, transportation and public safety. Your town officials decide whether that pothole gets fixed, how your parks are maintained and what gets built on the empty lot down the street. Judges on your ballot will rule on cases involving your neighbors, and maybe one day, you. These races are often decided by a few hundred votes, sometimes fewer. In a local contest, your single ballot carries real weight.
So much of what Jefferson wrote was in conflict with what he did. Clearly he was an enigmatic figure. How do we praise him for writing the Declaration of Independence, serving as governor of Virginia and ambassador to France, and becoming the third president of the United States? Yet he was an owner of 600 enslaved people, presumably fathering as many as six children with one of them, Sally Hemings, who was believed to be the half-sister of his deceased wife.
These products are packaged in bright colors, sold in sweet flavors, are easy to conceal and use and are quite difficult to quit. What begins as curiosity quickly becomes full-blown nicotine addiction.
Every legislative session reveals what Albany truly values. With families across New York struggling with rising expenses, public safety concerns and a state that continues to become less affordable, they deserve a Legislature focused on the issues affecting their daily lives. Instead, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislative majorities used another year of one-party control to advance the same misplaced priorities that have made it harder for families, seniors and small businesses to stay in New York.
Learn who's on the ballot in Valley Stream for the 2026 Elections.
Valley Stream native JC Mendoza draws on his upbringing, family and relationships for his comedy. Known on Instagram and TikTok as peachfuzzpapi, Mendoza co-hosts the podcast Soft Launch with his wife, fellow comedian Samantha Santos, and continues to develop new comedy projects while embracing his Long Island roots.
A flurry of bubbles floated through the room as toddlers at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library in Valley Stream took part in a new interactive story time program introducing them to English and Spanish through books, songs and play.
The sound of drums and familiar songs filled Firemen’s Memorial Field on Monday night as Valley Stream’s high school marching bands took the field for their annual festival, showcasing weeks of practice through performances that blended music and school spirit.
