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SBU Sports: Men’s basketball makes it four wins with Bryant triumph

by Press Release - December 16, 2021

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SBU Sports 1 — Anthony Roberts. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Leading by as much as 18, the Stony Brook men’s basketball team earned its fourth win in five tries on Dec. 11, knocking off NEC foe Bryant 86-78 in front of 1,930 fans at Island Federal Arena.

Anthony Roberts led five Seawolves in double figures with 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting, including hitting a trio of triples. Tykei Greene was one off the Roberts team-high, sitting with 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting. He finished with the same ratio at the free throw line.

After Bryant cut the lead to six with 8:57 left, the Seawolves rattled off a 16-4 run to build its largest lead at 18 with 3:41 to go in the half. The hosts made six of their eight shots during that span, including two of its three attempts from 3-point land and were able to force four Bryant turnovers.

In the second half, the Seawolves survived multiple attempts at a Bryant comeback, as the visitors brought the Stony Brook lead to three on multiple occasions but were never able to bring it even. Stony Brook used an 8-0 spurt over 88 seconds to extend its lead back to double digits at the midway mark of the half and held the distance the rest of the way.

“It was a really tough ball game. Bryant plays super fast, they race it down your throat, they play really hard… it’s a very good program. Our prep wasn’t great going into it with some of the same issues but give Bryant a bunch of credit with the guys they lost. They hung around the whole time and had a chance to steal the game. Great job for them and it was a great win for us,” said head coach Geno Ford.

“Every game is hard. Even when we have a lead, someone can cut it so we are showing we can be mentally tough and pull through these close, tough games and that’s definitely a positive going forward. Getting back in transition tonight was key for us because that was one thing that never stopped and I think we did a good job,” said Roberts.

Editorial: The mask returns

by TBR Staff - December 16, 2021

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editorial-masks_stock-photo — METRO photo

It’s no surprise that face mask use is mandated once again when visiting or working in a store or venue in the state of New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said earlier this year if the COVID-19 infection rate kept climbing, the mandatory health protocol would be needed again.

Until Jan. 15, 2022, when the state will reassess, unless an establishment has a vaccine requirement, a mask must be worn by everyone 2 years old and up. The governor announced the statewide mandate that began Monday, Dec. 13, during a press conference last Friday. In addition, businesses that do not comply can face fines up
to $1,000.

According to a recent article in The New York Times, the state’s infection rate last Saturday reflected a 51% jump over 14 days. With more than a 7% seven-day infection rate in Suffolk County, Hochul’s new mandate seems more than appropriate for our communities.

While some people still have been wearing masks either because they aren’t vaccinated or as an extra precaution, many have not since former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) lifted the initial mask mandate in the state.

The news can be frustrating for those who are vaccinated and even received the booster shot. However, Americans have known since the virus first reached our shores that it would take a while to figure out how to lessen transmission, especially since a virus can mutate. With no practice 100% effective — and some people resisting not only wearing masks but getting the vaccine — the virus has continued infecting people and new variants have developed, such as Delta and Omicron. While medical researchers are still trying to understand the virus, why not take extra precautions? Even if they are not guaranteed to stop transmission, they can lessen the chances of spreading the virus.

While face masks can be uncomfortable at times, the protective gear acts as a barrier to protect the wearer from droplets released in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. It also traps the wearer’s respiratory droplets. If someone is sick and they are wearing a mask, they are less likely to give someone else the virus.

When Cuomo issued mandatory business shutdowns in the early days of the pandemic, New Yorkers debated if this was the right approach. A good percentage of people thought it would be the demise of many businesses. Fortunately, many business owners were able to swim with the tide and come up with innovative solutions such as curbside service and selling merchandise on social media if they didn’t have a website.

Now more than ever, local businesses need our support as many of them cannot make it through another round of shutdowns. So, let’s mask up before stepping inside a favorite store, restaurant or theater so that we can keep these places not only open but give them a chance to thrive.

After all, this is the season of goodwill.

D. None of the Above: Walks to remember on cold nights in December

by Daniel Dunaief - December 16, 2021

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By Daniel Dunaief

Dogs need to go outside, regardless of the temperature. My dog, who has a thick coat of hair, loves the winter and is perfectly happy to linger outside, especially when it’s close to freezing. When the grass is covered with frost, he slowly lowers his right cheek and does a lawn dive, bringing the rest of his body piece by piece down onto the cold, wet surface.

Once he’s completely on the ground, he rolls onto his back, using the blades of grass and the water and ice to scratch his back, while snorting with delight. With the eye that isn’t pressed into the ground, he stares at me, waiting for me to give up the ghost on getting some exercise or coming back inside quickly. When I reach down to pet him, I can almost see him smirk as he wags his tail triumphantly.

This month, he and I have seen some unusual sights. When I see something unusual, I try to take out my phone, but my reaction time, and all the extra material in my pocket, makes that a largely ineffective effort.

Even when I do manage to take out the camera and point it in the general direction of something interesting, the pictures typically disappoint, because my dog who hates to move suddenly gets the urge to pull just as I’m snapping the photo, leaving me with a blurry image of the road.

A few days ago, we were at the top of our street at dusk, near one of my dog’s favorite places to poop. In fact, I can take him on a four-mile walk and, within a tenth of a mile of our home, he finds his favorite blades of grass, takes his usual tentative steps, turns away from me — he needs privacy — and does his business.

This time, though, just as he was approaching his familiar spot, a hawk passed by only a few feet from my head, giving me a chance to look him, and the object he was carrying, squarely in the eyes.

The hawk was holding a squirrel, which seemed especially odd to me given the relative size of the two animals. The squirrel wasn’t moving but was clearly alive. When I told my family about it, they were sympathetic to the squirrel.

A few days later, walking toward the other end of the block, my dog and I observed a blow-up Frosty on one end of a lawn and a blow-up Santa on the other rise slowly from the ground as air flowed slowly into them.

My dog, whose fear of unusual inanimate objects builds around Halloween and the December holidays, stood at attention and considered announcing his presence with authority to objects that can’t, and don’t, react to his deep bark.

Fortunately, he only pulled his lips back slightly and lifted his tail, allowing the neighbors to enjoy their dark, quiet evening without the sound of a panicked pooch on a poop walk.

A few minutes later, I studied the stars at a distance when a light appeared in the sky, flashed toward the horizon and disappeared. Never having seen a shooting star before, I was mesmerized.

When I returned and shared the story, my son, who doesn’t seem too keen on superstition but is clearly aware of pop culture, asked if I made a wish. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity for help from anywhere, I did. Maybe by next December, I’ll let you know if it came true!

Losquadro discusses local roadways at civic meeting

by Rita J. Egan - December 16, 2021

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Herb-Mones_Dan-Losquadro_120621_3V-Civic-meeting — Herb Mones, of the Three Village Civic Association, presents Superintendent of Highways Dan Losquadro with a certificate of community appreciation. Photo from George Hoffman

Attendees of the Dec. 6 Three Village Civic Association had local roads on their minds.

Town of Brookhaven Superintendent of Highways Dan Losquadro (R) was on hand for the meeting at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library to talk about what was going on with Brookhaven roads and answered a few questions from attendees and those who sent in inquiries before the meeting.

The job is one that he described as “the best job I’ve ever had” as well as the hardest. Regarding making decisions about what gets done, he said it’s all about funding availability and prioritizing.

“I steal Supervisor [Ed] Romaine’s [R] line every chance that I get when he says every issue of government is an issue of budget,” he said. “It’s just that simple. If I had unlimited funds, I would do all the work. This year, we all know that’s not the case.”

Losquadro said deciding what needs to be done is a mixture of listening to the community and balancing it against engineering assessments and needs.

“What may not seem obvious to the average resident, when we select a road or a neighborhood or a project to complete, it usually serves a greater purpose,” he said. “If we don’t do that, we may suffer deterioration … that might cause us to have to spend more money if we waited another couple of years to do it.”

Streetlights

Losquadro said recently he has worked with The Ward Melville Heritage Organization in Stony Brook which has brought a lot of concerns to his attention, including problems with streetlights. WMHO is currently working with state-elected representatives to see if there is funding to restore the sidewalks that need to be disrupted to fix underground wiring.

He said one thing residents need to know is that when post top streetlights go out, it’s not as simple as changing a bulb.

“In a lot of older communities, we get a lot of underground breaks,” he said. “When these areas were put in, they just did direct burial cables. They didn’t put any conduit in the ground. This wire is aging out.”

He said with supply chain disruptions this year, the department has not been able to get enough poles and streetlights needed to accelerate the town’s LED replacement program. However, because money wasn’t spent in that area, he was able to repurpose the money to replace a lot of underground wiring next year.

“I’d more than double our budget from $150,000 to $300,000 for next year to replace underground wiring,” he said, adding the wiring problem is significant and townwide.

Stony Brook Road and 347

Nelson + Pope, a Melville engineering firm, has been brought “on board to begin the engineering process for the improvements at Stony Brook Road and 347,” Losquadro said.

“It’s a very important project,” he added. “One that obviously we’re going to have to coordinate with New York State, because we’re just talking about the improvements on the Stony Brook Road side, but with the businesses there, especially the expansion of the medical park to the west side of the road there, you get a lot of cross traffic.”

The highway superintendent said there have been a large number of collisions at the intersection and the goal is to make it safer and more efficient. He added there will be traffic studies conducted in the area.

“We’re going to measure all the turning movements, in and out, of those businesses and see how we can best improve again the efficiency and the safety of moving vehicles through that confined and heavily traveled space,” he said.

Losquadro added that a physical barrier between the north and southbound traffic on Stony Brook Road could also be possible, hopefully something stone stamped like the barriers on 347 which are more aesthetically pleasing.

Sidewalks

Losquadro said there isn’t room in the budget for new sidewalks in the town. He said when sidewalks are added, it’s usually due to federal, county or state grants.

“We’ll certainly work with the councilman [Jonathan Kornreich (D)] to identify them and find funding sources,” he said. “I assure you, whenever I get the money for something, I build it.”

Between You and Me: ‘Why does coffee make me poop?’ asks The New York Times. Here is my gut reaction

by Leah Dunaief - December 16, 2021

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

All of you devoted coffee drinkers, and that includes me, might like to know the information in an article in The New York Times headlined, “Why does coffee make me poop?” Written by Alice Callahan and published on Dec. 7, the story explains cause-and-effect, providing some understanding of what is happening in our bodies when we drink java. (That’s where it originally came from, hence the name.)

Not much is known about the precise mechanism of how coffee affects the gastrointestinal tract, but we do know that it can be a laxative.

“Coffee is a complex beverage containing more than 1000 chemical compounds, many of which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties,” according to The Times. This is also why drinking coffee is generally encouraged since it is considered to be a healthy beverage in moderation.

A gut reaction to the intake of coffee can surprisingly happen in a matter of minutes. How does drinking coffee on one end stimulate the other end of the GI tract so quickly? The answer is that a signal probably goes through the gut-brain axis, meaning that the arrival of coffee in the stomach, which happens in 4 minutes, stimulates the brain to send a signal to the colon to empty itself. The coffee actually takes an hour to travel through the small intestine and reach the far end of the colon.

“This communication between the stomach, brain and colon [is] called the gastrocolic reflex [and] is a normal response to eating,” according to The Times.

But coffee has an outsized effect, stimulating colonic contractions as if a full meal had been consumed. The messaging is thought to be caused by one or more of the chemicals in coffee, and may be aided by some of our own hormones. Examples of such hormones are gastrin and cholecystokinin, which can spike after coffee drinking.

It is not the caffeine that is the stimulant, however, because those who drink decaffeinated coffee can experience the same stimulatory effect on the colon. This makes coffee a useful tool in dealing with chronic constipation, along with eating more fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber, drinking more fluids and getting more exercise. Incidentally, a brewed cup of coffee contains a small amount of fiber, one gram for an 8-ounce cup. Fiber is necessary for good gastrointestinal activity.

I have always been a coffee drinker, although my parents wouldn’t let me have some, saying it wasn’t good for children. But I found the smell of it irresistible and began drinking it in college, especially to facilitate those late-night assignments. But right around the time my second child was born, I started getting migraines that were triggered by the caffeine in coffee. This would suggest that a heightened state of hormones plus coffee with caffeine were upsetting my colon and causing trouble along my gut-brain axis. I have satisfied my coffee desires with decaf, but I will tell you what many of you decaf drinkers know: the taste and the effect are not the same. I do miss that lovely surge of energy to start off the morning.

It’s surprising how little we know about how coffee affects us. The most valuable study of digestion, in general, was done between 1822 and 1833 by William Beaumont, an American Army surgeon, on the French Canadian, Alexis St. Martin, a boatman employed by a fur company. St. Martin was shot in the abdomen on Mackinac Island in a near-fatal accident, and the wound did not heal properly, leaving a hole in his stomach. This provided a window of sorts for Beaumont to watch the digestive process. He learned much about the stomach, gastric juices and how digestion works, and he published those observations. But he doesn’t seem to have advanced our understanding about coffee’s effects. Perhaps neither man drank coffee.

To this day, I still say that the best part of coffee, regular or decaffeinated, is its smell.

Three Village holiday parade returns to Main Street

by Rita J. Egan - December 16, 2021

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The Three Village Holiday Electric Parade returned to Main Street in East Setauket Sunday, Dec. 12. Last year a drive-thru version of the annual tradition was held at Ward Melville High School to comply with COVID-19 health protocols.

This year, David Prestia, owner of Bagel Express in Setauket, led the 25th annual parade presented by the Rotary Club of Stony Brook. Hundreds lined the street to catch a glimpse of lighted cars and floats, while Ward Melville and Stony Brook University students marched down the street along with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and members of local organizations and businesses.

Musical and dance performances at the Setauket Firehouse kicked off the early evening festivities, and the parade ended with a visit from Santa escorted by the fire department’s vehicles.

PSEG Long Island President and COO Daniel Eichhorn to retire in 2022

by Press Release - December 16, 2021

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Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) announced on Dec. 13 that PSEG Long Island President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Daniel Eichhorn will retire in 2022. Eichhorn will continue in his current role until a successor is named to ensure a smooth transition and a continued utmost commitment to customer service on Long Island.

Concurrent with Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) board consideration for approval of the proposed revised operations services agreement, Eichhorn has chosen this time to retire, giving a new leader the opportunity to make their mark on the future of the PSEG Long Island organization and its commitment to customers across Long Island and the Rockaways. A search for PSEG Long Island’s next president and COO is now underway.

“During his 32 years of dedicated service, Dan has focused on significant operational improvements and an unwavering commitment to our customers and employees on Long Island and in New Jersey,” PSEG COO Ralph LaRossa said. “Dan’s leadership has helped place the PSEG Long Island workforce in a position to move into its next chapter with the right tools, team and dedication to serving every customer. We thank Dan for his considerable contributions across both Long Island and New Jersey over more than three decades of service.”

Eichhorn was named president and COO of PSEG Long Island in October 2017. Previously, Eichhorn served as PSEG Long Island’s vice president for Customer Service. As vice president, Eichhorn was responsible for customer satisfaction, marketing and marketing strategy, customer contact, meter-tocash functions, and solar and energy efficiency programs. Prior to that role, Eichhorn served as director of Customer Contact and Technology for Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G). Eichhorn retires with a broad background in electric and gas operations, customer operations and appliance service.

“As I announce my intent to retire in the coming months, I must reflect on the devotion of PSEG Long Island’s 2,500 employees, their achievements and the strategic improvements we have made since 2014,” Eichhorn said. “Over the past eight years, we have created a legacy of performance for customers across Long Island and the Rockaways, and I am proud of what we have accomplished together. I am confident that, as the company transitions to its next chapter, we are well-positioned for new leadership to build on these accomplishments – putting customers at the heart of everything we do, while further improving system reliability, enhancing customer service and supporting the state’s clean energy goals, and being an engaged and responsive community partner.”

Seiskaya’s Nutcracker returns for the holidays

by Press Release - December 15, 2021

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The Seiskaya Ballet’s The Nutcracker, a perennial holiday favorite on Long Island, returns to Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook for a six-performance run from Dec. 16 to 19. This classical ballet rendition has earned praise from critics and audiences alike.

Hailed as Long Island’s most lavish “Nutcracker,” the Seiskaya Ballet production of the classic holiday ballet is a truly international collaboration beginning with Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s most famous score. Sets and several costumes were designed by Poland’s Margaret Piotrowska whose highly respected work in Polish television and stage productions has garnered wide praise.

Directed by founder Joseph Forbes, scenery was executed by Scenic Art Studios which has been credited with painting over 300 Broadway shows. The imaginative and unusual sculptures utilized in the Seiskaya Ballet’s production were the brainchild of creative artist Matt Targon. Choreographed by celebrated Russian-born Valia Seiskaya, this acclaimed production is imbued with bravura dancing, energy and endearing charisma.

The cast will be led by BalletX standout, guest artist, Blake Krapels (Cavalier) plus Seiskaya Ballet’s award winning Principal Dancers Lara Caraiani, Kyra Allgaier, Rachel Bland and Maya Butkevich.

Performances will be held on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Tickets are $40 for adults, $34 children and seniors and $30 for groups of 20 or more at the Staller Center Box Office at 631-632-ARTS and at www.nutcrackerballet.com. (Attended box office hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and two hours prior to all performances. Online seat selection is available for all shows.)

Bellone announces nomination for next Suffolk County police commissioner

by Rita J. Egan - December 15, 2021

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Bellone-and-Harris — Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Suffolk police commissioner Rodney Harrison. File photo

At a press conference Dec. 14 in Hauppauge, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) named Rodney Harrison as his nominee for county police commissioner. Harrison is the outgoing New York Police Department chief of department.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, Harrison is a 30-year veteran of the NYPD. His appointment will go before the county Legislature Dec. 21.

Stuart Cameron has served as acting commissioner since former police commissioner, Geraldine Hart, stepped down in May.

Ward Melville Patriots pummel T-Birds

by Bill Landon - December 15, 2021

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It was all Julia Greek for the Patriots in a League II matchup at home against Connetquot where the junior point guard hit four out of five three-pointers in the first eight minutes of play to put Ward Melville up 21 points. With a 30-point lead to open the fourth quarter, Ward Melville head coach Jamie Edson spelled his starters and flushed the Patriot bench, where 12 different plays scored in the 61-22 rout.

Greek tallied six treys, four field goals and a free throw for a team high 27 points in the Patriots’ league opener Dec 13. Ward Melville junior Gianna Hogan netted seven points, and seniore Siena Hart and freshman Emma Bradshaw banked four points apiece. The win lifts the Patriots to 1-0 in league 4-1 overall in this early season.

Ward Melville retakes the court with a road game against Lindenhurst Dec. 17 with a 5 p.m. start.

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