Huntington senior mid-fielder Theadora Carnesi pushes up-field for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game against Floyd. Credit: Bill Landon
Huntington senior mid-fielder Katie Browne presses up-field for the Blue Devils in a Div I matchup against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington mid-fielder Katie Browne maneuvers mid-field for the Blue Devils in a Div I matchup against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior Hanna Carlson settles the ball for the Blue Devils in a road game against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior Hanna Carlson on defense for the Blue Devils in a road game against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Photo by Bill Landon
Huntington senior mid-fielder Evelyn Henriquez clears the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game against Floyd. Credit: Bill Landon
Huntington senior mid-fielder Evelyn Henriquez clears the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game against Floyd. Credit: Bill Landon
Huntington senior mid-fielder Evelyn Henriquez turns up-field in a Div I road game against Floyd. Credit: Bill Landon
Senior defender Emily Plachta clears the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game Oct 5. Credit: Bill Landon
Senior defender Emily Plachta clears the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game Oct 5. Credit: Bill Landon
Senior defender Emily Plachta settles the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game Oct 5. Credit: Bill Landon
Senior forward Analisse Batista settles the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Bill Landon
Senior forward Analisse Batista traps the ball for the Blue Devils in a Div I road game against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Credit: Bill Landon
Huntington’s Adrianna LoScalzo shoots in a road game against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Bill Landon photo
Huntington senior forward Adrianna LoScalzo settles the ball in a Div I matchup against Wm Floyd Oct 5. Photo by Bill Landon
After a scoreless first half, it was Huntington senior Theadora Carnesi’s foot that did the talking in the second half when the midfielder stretched the net three times to win the game, 3-1, on the road against William Floyd.
Carnesi’s hat trick came courtesy of Gianna Forte who notched two assists in the Division I matchup Oct 5. Senior goalkeeper MaKaylah Frazier had six saves.
The win lifts the Blue Devils to 5-5 in their division as Floyd falls to 5-4.
Huntington retakes the field Oct. 7 where the Blue Devils host Smithtown West at 4 p.m.
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
Scene from Ward Melville's Oct. 2 homecoming game. Photo by Phil Armato
The Ward Melville Patriots homecoming game ended on a high note. While the score was close, when all was said and done, the team edged out Central Islip, 13-12, in a Division 1 game. The Patriots now are 3-1 in the league while Central Islip fell to 1-3.
Ward Melville will travel to Brentwood Oct. 9. Game starts at 1:30 p.m.
Walmart Inc. has agreed at its sustainability milestone summit to reduce total virgin plastic use by 15% throughout the company’s plastic packaging footprint by 2025 following engagement with As You Sow. It agreed to set an absolute plastic reduction target in May following the filing of a shareholder resolution by As You Sow, but needed time to assess the size of the cuts. The announcement was made in a press release on Oct. 6.
The company told As You Sow it will work to achieve the plastic reduction through increased use of recycled content, elimination of unnecessary material, redesign of packaging, and exploration of reuse models. The company’s plastic packaging footprint includes private‐brand packaging, shopping bags, operational packaging, and eCommerce packaging. The reduction will likely approximate a 180,000 ton reduction out of 1.4 million metric tons of plastic packaging it used in 2020, according to its most recent environment, social, and governance report.
“The company has set a significant initial goal to reduce the use of virgin plastic,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow. “We encourage other companies to step forward and make bolder, larger absolute cuts in overall plastic packaging. Reducing virgin plastic use is a good start, but cuts in total plastic use have a greater impact. We need hundreds of companies to make significant cuts in single-use plastic packaging if we are to make meaningful progress in reducing the flow of plastic wastes into oceans.”
Four other large companies — Keurig Dr Pepper, Mondelez International, PepsiCo, and Target Corp. — agreed to virgin plastic reductions earlier this year after the filing of shareholder proposals by As You Sow. Target and Keurig Dr. Pepper agreed to reduce virgin plastic in brand packaging 20% by 2025, Mondelez agreed to cut 5% by 2025, and PepsiCo agreed to a 20% cut by 2030.
Cumulatively, the reduction in use of virgin plastic announced by these five brands is likely to total more than 700,000 tons. As You Sow continues dialogue with Amazon.com and Kroger, among other large brands, seeking similar reductions. Forty-five percent of Kroger shareholders and 35% of Amazon shareholders supported proposals earlier this year asking the companies to study significant reductions in plastic use.
In a new report, “Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard 2021,”As You Sow analyzed the packaging practices of 50 large consumer goods companies, 18 companies — including Walmart — were identified as having announced, or planning to announce, a virgin plastic reduction goal by 2021. This was a notable nine-fold increase from 2019 when just two companies held these goals, demonstrating rapid corporate awareness of the importance of reducing overall plastic use. Walmart was among the second highest scoring companies in the report, preceded by top-scoring company Coca-Cola Co.
As You Sow’s efforts have been catalyzed by a 2020 landmark study by Pew Charitable Trusts, “Breaking the Plastic Wave,” which modeled actions needed to reduce 80% of the plastic pollution that flows into oceans by 2040. The report said immediate and sustained new commitments throughout the plastics value chain are needed, including actions by brand owners, consumer goods companies, and retailers to reduce at least one-third of plastic demand through elimination, reuse, and new delivery models.
Dark Night Halloween Trail. Photo courtesy of Aurora Interactive, LLC, and Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor
As emerging COVID-19 strains such as the Delta variant have families facing concerns over how they will enjoy Halloween fun this season, leading creators in the local Halloween scene, Aurora Interactive, LLC have teamed with Chambers of Horrors NY/Fear Manor to come up with a festive, safe solution through the development of the exclusive limited time pop-up event, “Dark Night: Halloween Trail,” which opened October 1 at Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater in Farmingville, is geared toward families and Halloween lovers of all ages.
Representing the first ever 1990s time travel mystery themed Halloween trail to come to Long Island, Dark Night: Halloween Trail is an outdoor extravaganza combining moderate scares with comedy that at the same time celebrates the nostalgia of vintage haunted trails through a post-modern twist on inspired characters from pop culture and horror movies of the 1990s.
Dark Night Halloween Trail. Photo courtesy of Aurora Interactive, LLC, and Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor
Promoting health, safety and social distancing, only 1,000 tickets will be sold per night with members of each reserved party staying within their group as they are staggered apart from one another throughout the experience. People will travel back in time to 1999 as they participate in a fictional radio show marathon hosted by 131.3 WDIE, where movies, characters and popular music of the 90s come to life while they venture through an approximate 25–30-minute darkened trail to uncover hidden alphabetical letters that form the name of the character who has cursed the property, using only one flashlight. To make this the most authentic nostalgic experience, adults and children attending are encouraged to wear 1990s attire.
“It’s the perfect time to do a 90s-themed Halloween event, especially with Generation Z’s sense of fashion, music and interest in 90s pop culture that reflects their love for the era’s books, film and TV adaptions of such properties as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz and R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps along with hit TV shows and movies like Barney, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and Jurassic Park,” says Eliana Puntarich of Aurora Interactive, LLC.
In contrast to Aurora Interactive, LLC’s past scarier and more intense Halloween events intended for teens and adults, this year’s Dark Night: Halloween Trail is scaled down in its thrills and chills to be inclusive for people of all ages. It has also added a special “Dark Night Trick-Я-Treat Adventure Trail” that is especially for younger children where little “boils” and “ghouls” will explore a fun, non-scary walk-through friendly meet and greet experience with Dark Night: Halloween Trail characters.
Dark Night Halloween Trail. Photo courtesy of Aurora Interactive, LLC, and Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor
“With everything going on and the real-life fear people are facing today, the opportunity to do an all-ages, safe Halloween event is very exciting,” said Martin Arominski, co-owner of Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor and co-producer of Dark Night: Halloween Trail. “We’ve gone retro to create a 90s style haunted trail, which to me is very inspiring. This theme is a breath of fresh air compared to other Halloween themes you see at other attractions that use overt and realistic violence or adult fear driven scenarios to scare people.”
Keeping in line with health and safety guidelines, all guests are encouraged to wear face masks. All actors portraying characters wear face masks under their costumes and are kept at a distance from guests participating.
Expected to be produced on a scale previously unseen in the New York area, Dark Night: Halloween Trail runs through Halloween, October 31. Its weekends of operation are October 8 – October 10, October 15 – October 17, October 22 – October 24, and October 28 – October 31. Hours are 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and are from 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. on Sundays (including Halloween) and on Thursday, October 28.
Tickets for adults (ages 13 and up) start at $35 per person. Admission for children between ages four and 12 are discounted to $15 per child. There is no charge for children three and under. Admission for adults and children is the same for the Dark Night Trick-Я-Treat Adventure Trail. At least one adult, parent or guardian must accompany children for the Dark Night Trick-Я-Treat Adventure Trail. Adult, parent or guardian tickets for this must be purchased online in advance; children’s tickets for this must be purchased in person by the adult, parent or guardian at the attraction with the adult/parent/guardian ticket(s) in-hand. To purchase tickets, please visit, www.DarkNightLI.com.
Proceeds from tickets sold will be donated by Aurora Interactive, LLC and Chamber of Horrors/Fear Manor to Literacy Inc., a national charity that is dedicated to fighting the growing rate of illiteracy among teens across the United States through the use of such tools as motivational speeches, free Ereaders or Etablets, and reminder bands.
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Photos attached are from Dark Night: Halloween Trail. Photo credit and permission for all pictures are courtesy of Aurora Interactive, LLC, and Chamber of Horrors NY/Fear Manor
RN Sandra Lindsay (center) with staff members. Photo from Northwell Health
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster shot available to frontline health care workers
More than nine months after she became the first American to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Sandra Lindsay, RN, director of nursing critical care at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ), today received a booster shot to increase her immunity against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
RN Sandra Lindsay gets her booster shot. Photo from Northwell Health
Ms. Lindsay enthusiastically held high three fingers moments after Michelle Chester, DNP, director of Northwell Health Employee Health Services, administered the booster shot in front of reporters. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an additional shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on September 22 for those 65 and older, individuals at high risk of severe disease and those whose work may lead to frequent exposure to the virus.
“I am delighted to receive the booster today as yet another chapter in the fight against COVID-19,” said Ms. Lindsay, who was honored by President Joe Biden in a White House ceremony and served as grand marshal of NYC’s Hometown Heroes Parade, both in July. “For me, personally, it’s been an incredible journey and a privilege. It’s my belief that if I can change one person’s mind who is hesitating to become vaccinated and help encourage them to follow the science, it’s been a good day.”
Ms. Lindsay became a household name on December 14, 2020, when she was shown receiving the first Pfizer dose in the United States as part of a video conference call with then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Items used as part of her vaccination were donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
On Wednesday, Ms. Lindsay was back in front of cameras, one of five frontline health care workers who publicly received their booster shot. The others were: Yves Duroseau, MD, chief of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and the second American vaccinated; Elyse Isopo, NP, North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset; Richard Schwarz, MD, medical director at LIJ; and Andrew Adesman, MD, chief of behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park.
“We are all so proud of each member of our Northwell family who agreed to participate in getting vaccinated to help us fight the battle of this pandemic,” said David Battinelli, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer. “During this year, we saw the true heroism of each member of our staff – doctors, nurses, therapists, dietary, environmental services – all doing their best to fight this unknown disease, at their own risk. During this last year-and-a-half, we truly saw fear morph into courage. And now, after this most difficult year, we are delighted to be able to offer our team members a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine. We urge everyone to follow the science and get their booster shot when they become eligible.”
Northwell Health, the largest health system and private employer in New York State, announced on Monday that its staff is now 100 percent vaccinated, in compliance with New York State Governor Kathy Hochul’s mandate that all health care workers be vaccinated.
A TRACER site similar to this one in Argentina is being constructed in Pearland, Texas. Photo courtesy of ARM
By Daniel Dunaief
Before they could look to the skies to figure out how aerosols affected rainclouds and storms around Houston, they had to be sure of the safety of the environment on the ground.
Researchers from several institutions, including Brookhaven National Laboratory, originally planned to begin collecting data that could one day improve weather and even climate models on April 15th of this year.
The pandemic, however, altered that plan twice, with the new start date for the one-year, intensive cloud, study called TRACER, for Tracking Aerosol Convection Interactions, beginning on Oct. 1st.
The delay meant that the “intensive observational period was moved from summer 2021 to summer 2022,” Michael Jensen, the Principal Investigator on Tracer and a meteorologist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, explained in an email.
Scientists and ARM staff pose during planning for TRACER (left to right): Iosif “Andrei” Lindenmaier, ARM’s radar systems engineering lead; James Flynn, University of Houston; Michael Jensen, TRACER’s principal investigator from Brookhaven National Laboratory; Stephen Springston, ARM’s Aerosol Observing System lead mentor (formerly Brookhaven Lab, now retired); Chongai Kuang, Brookhaven Lab; and Heath Powers, site manager for the ARM Mobile Facility that will collect measurements during TRACER. (Courtesy of ARM)
At the same time, the extension enabled a broader scientific scope, adding more measurements for the description of aerosol lifecycle and aerosol regional variability. It also allowed the researchers to include air quality data, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and urban meteorology, funded by the National Science Foundation.
The primary motivation for the project is to “understand how aerosols impact storms,” Jensen explained in a presentation designed to introduce the TRACER project to the public.
Some scientists believe aerosols, which are tiny particles that can occur naturally from trees, dust and other sources or from man-made activities like the burning of fossil fuels, can make storms stronger and larger, causing more rain.
“There’s a lot of debate in the literature” about the link between aerosols and storms, Jensen said.
Indeed, there may be a “sweet spot” in which a certain number or concentration of aerosols causes an invigoration of rainstorms, while a super abundance beyond that number reverses the trend, Jensen added.
“We don’t know the answers to those questions,” the BNL scientist said. “That’s why we need to go out there and take detailed measurements of what’s going on inside clouds, how precipitation particles are freezing or melting.”
Even though aerosols are invisible to the naked eye, they could have significant impacts on how mass and energy are distributed in clouds, as well as on broader atmospheric processes that affect weather patterns.
The TRACER study, which is a part of the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement, or ARM, user facility, could “help forecast heavy rains that can cause flash flooding,’ said Chongai Kuang, atmospheric scientist and TRACER co-investigator at BNL.
The TRACER study will explore the way sea and bay breeze circulations affect the evolution of deep convective storms as well as examining the influence of urban environments on clouds and precipitation.
Several additional funding agencies have stepped in to address basic scientific questions, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s efforts to address air quality issues in Houston and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which funded a study on ozone and low-level atmospheric mixing.
“Our original TRACER field campaign provided a seed for what is now a major, multi-agency field campaign with a significantly expanded scientific scope,” Jensen explained in an email.
A joint team from BNL and Stony Brook University is developing new software to scan the precipitation radar system to select and track storm clouds to observe the rapid development of these storms. Additionally, aerosol instrumentation will help provide updated information on the precursor gases and the smallest aerosol particles at the earliest stages of the aerosol cycle, Jensen explained.
Ultimately, the data that these scientists gather could improve the ability to forecast storms in a range of areas, including on Long Island.
“Understanding sea breezes and the coastal environment is a very important aspect of TRACER,” Jensen said. “Even though it’s not the preliminary focus, there’s an opportunity to learn new science, to improve weather forecasting and storm forecasting for those coastal environments.”
Researchers chose Houston because of their desire to study a more densely populated urban area and to understand the way numerous factors influence developing clouds, weather patterns and, ultimately, the climate.
“We know the urban environment is where most people live,” Jensen said. “This is taking us in new directions, with new opportunities to influence the science” in these cities.
Researchers plan to collect information about clouds, aerosols and storms everywhere from ground-based instruments stationed at four fixed sites, as well as through mobile facilities, to satellite images.
The program operates a tethered balloon which is “like a big blimp that goes up half a mile into the atmosphere,” said Heath Powers, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement facility site manager for Tracer from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The tethered balloon is located at Smith Point, Texas, on the eastern shore of Galveston Bay and will do low-level profiling of aerosols, winds, thermodynamics and ozone as it is influenced by bay breeze circulation, Jensen explained.
The National Science Foundation is planning to bring a C-130 plane to conduct overflights, while the group will also likely use drones, Powers added.
The TRACER study will launch around 1,500 weather balloons to gather information at different altitudes. The research will use over four dozen instruments to analyze meteorology, the amount of energy in the atmosphere and the air chemistry.
“Clouds are the big question,” Powers said. “Where they form, why they form … do they rain or not rain. We are well-positioned to get at the core of a lot of this” through the information these scientists gather.
Marsala is both the name of a city in northwest Sicily and the name of a fortified wine (around 18% alcohol) first made in 1773 by the English Port merchant, John Woodhouse. Marsala is made from a blend of local grapes and is fortified with alcohol either during or after fermentation, depending on the desired level of sweetness.
White grapes include Grillo, Catarratto, Inzolia, and Damaschino. Red grapes include Perricone, Nero d’Avola, and Nerello Mascalese.
All Marsala wines are available in three colors: ambra (amber), oro (golden), and rubino (ruby). Italian law has set production rules for three types of Marsala: Marsala Fine, Marsala Superiore, and Marsala Vergine. A 1984 law banned using the name Marsala for concoctions flavored with almonds, bananas, chocolate, coffee, eggs, mocha, strawberries, tangerine, and so forth.
Marsala Fine is made in a dry, semidry, and sweet version. This type must be aged for a minimum of one year in a barrel. It is the most consumed Marsala in the United States.
Marsala Superiore is made in a dry, semidry, and sweet version. This Marsala must be aged a minimum of two years in a barrel.
Marsala Vergine is made only in a dry version and is considered the finest Marsala. It is made from the best wines of the vintage and must be aged a minimum of five years in a barrel.
Dry Marsala is light amber with aromas and flavors of roasted nuts, cocoa, hints of tobacco, raisins, hazelnuts, and vanilla. Sweet Marsala is dark amber with aromas and flavors of nuts and honey, with cream, cocoa, tobacco, dates, hazelnuts, apricots, licorice, and vanilla and is an excellent apéritif served chilled from the refrigerator while sweet Marsala is excellent after dinner, served at room temperature.
Cheeses to pair with dry Marsala include Asiago, Camembert, Cheddar, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Provolone. Pair sweet Marsala with Blue Cheeses, Cantal, Gruyère, Havarti, and Monterey Jack.
Marsala usually comes in screw top bottles so they can be stored upright. There is no reason to age Marsala because it has been aged before bottling. Once opened it should be refrigerated, which will extend its shelf life to about six weeks.
When making recipes that call for Marsala, use imported brands for they are superior in quality. Dry Marsala is best to use for cooking, for it imparts a nutty-tangy flavor without a heavy sweetness. Cooking with equal parts of dry and sweet Marsala adds an extra dimension in taste. If using as an ingredient in desserts, then use the sweet style.
Bob Lipinski is the author of 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need To Know About Whiskey” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He consults and conducts training seminars on Wine, Spirits, and Food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com OR [email protected].
The architecture of the church was taken into consideration when the new organ was designed and the instrument and its pipes were installed. Photo from Setauket Presbyterian Church
Setauket Presbyterian Church has a new addition, and the congregation is inviting community members to share in their joy.
On Oct. 16 the church will host an organ dedication. This year a new Glück Pipe Organ was installed in the sanctuary incorporating pipes from the church’s old organ, and after playing the instrument the last six months to make sure it was hitting all the right notes, it is now ready to be formally dedicated with world-renowned organist David Enlow from New York playing at the dedication event.
Jean Hrbek, a longtime church member, said while some fundraising was done most of the money came from the Gillespie Trust. The fund was established in 2016 when the church, along with five other philanthropic entities, was named a beneficiary of a $100 million charitable trust from the estates of Kingsley Gillespie and his son, Kenyon Gillespie. Setauket Presbyterian receives 10% of the annual 5% distribution required by law of such trusts every year.
Hrbek said an organ was first installed in the 1812-dated church in 1919 and was replaced in 1968. She said the new full pipe organ, with 1,200 pipes and designed by company president Sebastian M. Glück, is a beautiful addition to the church and the sound is incredible.
“It just fills the whole sanctuary,” she said. “It’s really magnificent.”
Because an organ needs to be custom-built to the place it is going to be played in, it was constructed inside the church, Hrbek said. The designer also took into consideration the church’s architecture when designing the new organ so it blends in.
Interim Pastor Kate Jones Calone said watching the building and installation process was amazing and an interesting learning experience.
“I learned a lot from seeing how they built the instrument and also thought about what was the right kind of instrument for this particular worshipping community … the technical skills that went into it was incredible. It is really fascinating to watch, and despite the fact that I’ve been hearing organs play all my life, I had never really seen this process up close.”
The church’s director of music Noby Ishida said the 1968 organ was used every day until recently. He added that as an organ gets older, listeners can notice the difference in the sound. He said a lot of parts wear out over time. Leather is one of the significant parts and as it ages it gets looser. The material can even become porous and develop holes. Ishida said while it’s customary for organ pipes to be sent out to be cleaned, over time constant repairs can lead to costly mechanical issues.
The new organ has the latest equipment, too, with an electronic device where it can be prerecorded with presets, according to Ishida.
“Everything is modernized, so that you focus on playing the organ,” he said.
The musical director said every church has its own acoustical space, including the size of the sanctuary and things such as carpeting which absorbs sounds, and the Presbyterian church has carpeting, so some extra pipes were needed. Ishida said even the pedals add to the quality as they provide the bass underpinning that he said gives the “foundation of the harmony.”
Jones Calone said that music is a meaningful part of worship life and sacred music is written for the organ. She added that music even helps many people learn scripture. The pastor sees the new instrument as an investment that will enrich worship life for current as well as future congregants.
“I think a lot of people, myself included, find that music in worship lifts us up, it strengthens us, it challenges us,” she said.
The pastor said the congregation is looking forward to the community hearing the organ on Saturday, Oct. 16, at the church. There will be two dedication events at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Setauket Presbyterian Church is located at 5 Caroline Ave.
Chants like “My body, my choice” echoed through big cities like Washington, D.C., and Manhattan Saturday as part of the Rally for Abortion Justice, and that same passion made it to what is known as Resistance Corner at the junction of Route 347 and Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station.
The national Rally for Abortion Justice movement, according to the Women’s March Network, comes after comes after the Supreme Court’s rejection of an emergency request to block the Texas Heartbeat Act.
Coming into effect Sept. 1, the bill bans abortion at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat,” which could occur as early as six weeks into pregnancy — a point that many are just finding out they’re pregnant. At least 13 other states failed to attempt enacting similar bans after being blocked by courts.
“I believe in a women’s right to choose,” said protester Bryan Campbell, who was pushing a stroller occupied by his infant. “I think it’s ridiculous what’s going on in Texas and I’m here to support the women in my life: my partner, my friends, my daughter. This is for their future and for everyone’s future.”
Campbell was one of hundreds of men, women and children who gathered on the busy corner, holding signs in protest of such laws. Some even took to dressing up as characters from the “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a best-selling novel and TV series that depicts a totalitarian society that treats women as property.
Donna Reggio was among those dressed in red robes and white bonnet.
“It’s a dystopian fantasy that’s no longer a fantasy,” she said. “We’re going backward with women’s rights and we’re here to show that we don’t want to go there anymore.”
Before Roe v. Wade — a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 that protected a women’s right to have an abortion without excessive government restriction — only more affluent women had access to safe and legal abortions. However, it is estimated that between the 1950s and ’60s, the number of illegal abortions, either self-induced or done through often dangerous or even deadly procedures, ranged from 200,000 to 1.2 million a year.
Rally organizer Shoshana Hershkowitz, of Long Island Social Justice Action Network and Suffolk Progressives, was on Resistance Corner Saturday to make sure her daughter did not grow up with fewer rights than she was able to enjoy throughout her lifetime.
“Our own congressman [Lee Zeldin (R-NY1)] tried to overturn Roe in the past year,” she said. “We can’t just think of this as a somewhere-else situation. It was happening right here.”
That’s why the LISJAN and Suffolk Progressives joined with grassroot organizations like Long Island Progressive Coalition, Long Island Activists, New HOUR for Women & Children – LI, Show Up Long Island, NY02 Indivisible, Planned Parenthood, among others, to prevent impediments in a woman’s reproductive rights from happening anywhere — including here in New York.
“We just put out the word to the different Facebook groups and [other various groups] who are invested in keeping our rights and getting women in office,” said Kat Lahey of Long Island Rising, adding that several speakers including Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) were also in attendance. “You can see that there’s a high demand to keep women’s reproductive rights.”
But not all were in support of the movement. Along with some disapproving remarks made by drivers who were passing by, one woman stood on the other side of the highway holding a sign, with photos of babies, that read “Please love me, I love you.”
The woman would not disclose her name, however she did share that she goes to her local Planned Parenthood every Saturday morning to pray. She said she was especially upset about New York State’s allowance of late-term abortions.
Yet the 2019 law, passed on the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, only allows late-term abortions when the mother’s health is in danger.
When asked about the counterprotester, Hershkowitz said that she was more than welcome to cross the road and speak with herself and other organizers. “But I’m not changing my mind,” she said.
It was not the first time that groups like New HOUR and LISJAN gathered on the corner, as they also showed up for issues ranging from gun safety to the Trump-era ban on refugees from majority-Muslim countries.
“Our community has come quite accustomed to gathering in this space and standing up for what we believe in,” Hershkowitz said. “So really, it’s like we almost have muscle memory because of having to gather here for so many years.”
Mather Hospital’s annual month-long breast cancer awareness community outreach event, Paint Port Pink, kicked off this week in Port Jefferson village.
Pink lights were lit on Oct. 1 across the village and throughout surrounding communities to honor and raise awareness for breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Several dozen local businesses are participating, adding the sparkling lights to their storefronts, windows and doors.
Lamp posts along main street in Port Jefferson shine bright pink with the goal to raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of early detection, encourage annual mammograms and bring the community together to help fight this disease.
One in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, according to Mather Hospital. In 2021, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 49,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
About 2,650 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2021.
As of January 2021, there were more than 3.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment.
Oct. 15 is Wear Pink Day, and people are encouraged to dress themselves — and their pets — in pink and post their photos on social media with #paintportpink.
Then send those photos to [email protected] they will be included in a collage on the hospital’s Facebook page.
On Oct. 16 the church will host an organ dedication. This year a new Glück Pipe Organ was installed in the sanctuary incorporating pipes from the church’s old organ, and after playing the instrument the last six months to make sure it was hitting all the right notes, it is now ready to be formally dedicated with world-renowned organist David Enlow from New York playing at the dedication event.
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