Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate two women who allegedly stole from a Commack store in June.
Two women allegedly stole assorted household items from Target, located at 98 Veterans Memorial Highway, at 3 p.m. on June 29. The merchandise was valued at approximately $380.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are investigating a robbery at a Huntington Station business in June.
A man entered 7-Eleven, located at 378 Oakwood Road, on June 18 at approximately 5 p.m. and asked for cigarettes. The man allegedly took the cigarettes without paying. An employee confronted the man outside and the suspect displayed a knife and made threats. He fled on a bike.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate two women who allegedly stole from a Commack store in June.
Two women allegedly stole assorted merchandise from Walmart, located at 85 Crooked Hill Road, on June 14.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police First Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man who allegedly assaulted a woman in East Farmingdale in June.
A man allegedly punched a bartender at Mirage Gentleman’s Lounge, located at 101 Route 109, on June 30 at approximately 11:45 a.m. The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect fled in a waiting vehicle, possibly a dark-colored Toyota Highlander.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Above, organizers outside the planned veterans museum in Rocky Point. From left, museum curator Rich Acritelli, VFW Post 6249 Cmdr. Joe Cognitore and museum committee member Frank Lombardi. Photo by Raymond Janis
Later this year, members of the Rocky Point Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6249 will launch a museum showcasing the lives and legacies of local vets.
Each of us has been touched by a veteran. Whether they are our family members, friends or remote acquaintances, American veterans have given much of themselves so that we may enjoy our freedoms.
After completing their military service at home and abroad, many have returned to Long Island to build up and enrich our community. Their examples of duty and sacrifice can offer powerful insight for civilian life. Now, our vets aspire to continue their service by educating us on the trials of war.
At TBR News Media, we uphold the adage that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. We also regret the anti-historical narrative sweeping our contemporary culture.
If we are to strive for peace, we must learn from war. If we are to endure as a community and nation, we must confront our history forthrightly.
Veterans can teach us — especially our youth — some of life’s most important lessons: How can the veteran experience inform our understanding of mental health and trauma? What can the confrontation with death teach us about life? What is the meaning of sacrifice?
Our service members are an untapped fountain of history and wisdom. They possess firsthand knowledge of some of our nation’s most important events. We must hear these stories. But to get there, we must first lend a hand.
The curators of the Rocky Point veterans museum are actively soliciting donations. Whether by contributing monetarily, sending military gear or books or volunteering our time to build out the facility, we can all do our part to assist in this noble endeavor.
Long Island’s veterans have served our nation courageously, and this museum will soon stand as the next iteration in their long line of service.
Let us channel and honor their example. May we, too, answer the call by showing our appreciation and sharing the stories of our local veterans.
To learn more or how to donate, please contact the museum’s curator, Rich Acritelli, at [email protected].
New research suggests inflammation is associated with early Parkinson's disease. METRO photo
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the U.S. after Alzheimer’s disease. Estimates put the number of people living with Parkinson’s disease at up to 1.2 million, with 90,000 new diagnoses each year (1).
Patients with PD suffer from a collection of symptoms caused by the breakdown of brain neurons. There’s a lot we still don’t know about the causes of PD; however, risk factors may include head trauma, genetics, exposure to toxins and heavy metals, and lifestyle issues, like lack of exercise.
The part of the brain most affected is the basal ganglia, and the prime culprit is dopamine deficiency that occurs in this brain region (2). Adding back dopamine has been the mainstay of medical treatment, but eventually the neurons themselves break down, and the medication becomes less effective.
Is there hope? Yes, in the form of medications and deep brain stimulatory surgery, but also by modifying lifestyle, considering factors like iron, vitamin D, inflammation, and CoQ10. While the research is not conclusive, it is intriguing and gives us more options.
What impact does iron have on the brain?
This heavy metal is potentially harmful for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis and, yes, Parkinson’s disease. The problem is that it can cause oxidative damage.
In a small, yet well-designed, randomized controlled trial (RCT), researchers used a chelator to remove iron from the substantia nigra, a specific part of the brain where iron breakdown may be dysfunctional. An iron chelator is a drug that removes the iron. Here, deferiprone (DFP) was used at a modest dose of 30 mg/kg/d (3).
The chelator reduced the risk of disease progression significantly on the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) during the 12-month study. Participants who were treated sooner had lower levels of iron compared to a group that used the chelator six months later. A specialized MRI was used to measure the brain’s iron levels.
The iron chelator does not affect, nor should it affect, systemic levels of iron, only those in the substantia nigra region of the brain. The chelator may work by preventing degradation of the dopamine-containing neurons. Your physician may also recommend that you consume foods that contain less iron.
What is the role of inflammation in PD?
In a recent study, researchers tested 58 newly diagnosed PD participants’ blood and compared their results to 62 healthy control participants (4). Some of the PD arm participants had additional testing done, including cerebrospinal fluid samples and brain imaging. All these tests were looking for specific inflammatory markers.
Researchers found that those with PD had significantly higher brain inflammation levels than those without PD in specific regions. Their blood and cerebrospinal fluid also had high inflammatory markers. These measures correlated with worse visuospatial and cognitive scores.
While this study provides hints of possible treatments, we need additional studies to identify whether the inflammation is a cause or an effect of PD.
Regardless, adopting a low-inflammatory foods diet might help mitigate some symptoms of PD or slow its advancement.
Does CoQ10 help slow PD progression?
There is evidence that CoQ10 may be beneficial in PD at high doses.
In an RCT, results showed that those given 1,200 mg of CoQ10 daily reduced the progression of the disease significantly based on UPDRS changes, compared to a placebo group (5). Other doses of 300 and 600 mg showed trends toward benefit, but were not significant. This was a 16-month trial in a small population of 80 patients. Unfortunately, results for other CoQ10 studies have been mixed.
In this study, CoQ10 was well-tolerated at even the highest dose. Thus, there may be no downside to trying CoQ10 in those with PD.
Does Vitamin D make a difference?
Vitamin D may play dual roles of both reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease and slowing its progression.
In a prospective study of over 3000 patients, results show that vitamin D levels measured in the highest quartile reduced the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 65 percent, compared to the lowest quartile (6). This is impressive, especially since the highest quartile patients had vitamin D levels that were what we qualify as insufficient, with blood levels of 20 ng/ml, while those in the lowest quartile had deficient blood levels of 10 ng/ml or less.
In an RCT with 121 patients, results showed that 1,200 IU of vitamin D taken daily may have reduced the progression of PD significantly on the UPDRS compared to a placebo over a 12-month duration (7). Also, this amount of vitamin D increased the blood levels by almost two times from 22.5 to 41.7 ng/ml.
In a 2019 study of 182 PD patients and 185 healthy control subjects, researchers found that higher serum vitamin D levels correlated to reduced falls and alleviation of other non-motor PD symptoms (8).
Vitamin D research is ongoing, as this all seems promising.
So, what are our takeaways? Though medication is the gold standard for Parkinson’s disease treatment, lifestyle modifications can have a significant impact on both its prevention and treatment. Each lifestyle change in isolation may have modest effects, but cumulatively their impact could be significant.
Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.
A problematic atmospheric greenhouse gases, methane comes from natural gas, agriculture, and swamps.
John Mak
Recently, John E. Mak, a Professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University worked with an international group of scientists to demonstrate a process that removes methane from the atmosphere.
A mixture of dust from the Sahara and sea spray reacts with methane to form carbon monoxide and a small amount of hydrochloric acid.
In a recent paper published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mak, corresponding author Matthew Johnson, who is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, and others showed how a novel process removes 5 percent, plus or minus 2 or 3 percent, of the methane from the atmosphere in specific areas.
“What we are showing is that some methane in the middle of the tropical Atlantic Ocean region may be removed” through this process, Mak said from the Gordon Research Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry in Sunday River, Maine.
The research validates a mechanism Mak had proposed in the late 1990’s, when he conducted studies funded by the National Science Foundation in Barbados. “When I first made the observations, I proposed that what we were seeing was a chlorine mediated removal of methane,” Mak explained.
At that time, he didn’t have the ability to make those measurements. The technology, however, has evolved over the years and researchers can now measure chlorine radical precursors such as Cl2 and other chlorine compounds.
Indeed, Maarten van Herpen, first author on the study and a member of Acacia Impact Innovation, approached Mak with a new theory and a new mechanism that he thought could explain Mak’s results from decades earlier.
“They were excited to hear that no one had solved the problem,” said Mak.
By working together through this international team, the group was able to take new measurements and utilize advances in their understanding of atmospheric processes.
‘New, but old’
Mak had conducted his studies towards the beginning of his time at Stony Brook University in the late 1990’s as a part of one of his first federally funded projects.
“It’s a little unusual for people to make use of observations so far in the past,” said Mak. “It opens up a new, but old avenue of research.”
Mak, who is conducting studies in other areas including a recent project in New York to investigate air quality and air chemistry mechanisms specific to the greater New York City region, believes the research on this PNAS paper takes him almost full circle back to this earlier work.
“There’s a feeling of satisfaction that good measurements are useful for a longer period of time,” he said.
In this study, Mak helped interpret some of the data his collaborators generated.
The reactions
The process of removing methane starts with sea spray, which is aerosolized by bubbles bursting at the contact point between the ocean and the air. The chlorine comes from that sea spray, while iron comes from the continental crust.
Saharan dust can traverse the globe, but scientists are not sure of the spatial extent of this process. They believe it could be throughout the tropical Atlantic, but it could be in other dust laden ocean regions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well.
That process creates what is described as a reactive chlorine species, which is on the hunt for a positively charged particle, such as one of the four hydrogen atoms attached to carbon in methane.
Once the chlorine removes a hydrogen, it creates a methyl group, or CH3, and an incredibly small amount of hydrochloric acid, or HCl, at about one part per quadrillion.
The acid, in fact, is so low that it doesn’t cause any acidification of the oceans. Ocean acidification primarily comes from the absorption of carbon dioxide gas, which reacts with seawater and eventually increases the amount of positively charged hydrogen atoms, decreasing the ocean’s pH.
Meanwhile in the atmosphere, the remaining methyl group is oxidized to carbon monoxide, which eventually becomes carbon dioxide. That is also a greenhouse gas, but is not as potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere as methane.
Now that the group has explored this process, Mak explained that the next step will involve proposing a field campaign in the tropical Atlantic with state of the art instruments.
Mak believes the journal PNAS likely found the subject matter compelling on a broader scale, particularly because this process affects weather and climate.
Outside work
When he’s not working, Mak enjoys boating and fishing. A native of Southern California, Mak is a commercial pilot, who also does some flying as a part of his research studies.
As for climate change, Mak suggested that the weather extremes from this year, which include record high temperatures in the ocean near the Florida Keys and high temperatures in areas in Arizona, are a part of a pattern that will continue.
“What we have been and will continue to observe are changes to the broad equilibrium of energy balance of the Earth ocean atmosphere system,” he explained. “There’s a lot of inertia in the system. But when you change the input by changing the forcing, you upset that equilibrium.” That, he explained, could alter the weather, which is generated as a response to differences in energy from one place to another.
Summer is the perfect time to entertain. If you’re a home chef, you know how fun and fulfilling it is to host friends and family.
Check out this addicting parmesan dip recipe courtesy of Signature Kitchen Suite’s executive chef Nick Ritchie that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. You can serve it as a topping for fresh bread, crostini (see recipe on left) or bruschetta, toss it with pasta, spoon it over fresh sliced tomatoes, add to a salad, dollop it on steak or chicken breast, or use it as a pizza base. The possibilities are endless!
Chef Nick’s Parmesan Dip
Parmesan Dip
YIELD: Makes 2 1/2 cups
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, broken into 1-inch chunks
8 ounces Asiago cheese, broken into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped basil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
1 tablespoon pepper flakes
1-1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
DIRECTIONS:
Place the cheese chunks in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for about 10 seconds to break the cheese into small granules. (Use a rubber spatula to scrape down and recombine between every couple of pulses.) Add the remaining ingredients except olive oil and pulse briefly.
Using a spatula, remove all to a mixing bowl. Fold the olive oil into the blended ingredients and mix well by hand. Transfer the dip to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.
*To make the dip more spicy, add 1 tablespoon of Calabrian chili paste.
Basic Crostini
Crostini
YIELD: Makes about 20 pieces
INGREDIENTS:
2 medium baguettes,
2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using a sharp bread knife slice the bread into neat, even, thin slices. If the baguette being used is on the narrow side you can slice on a diagonal so the crostini aren’t too small.
In a mixing bowl drizzle the olive oil over the bread slices while gently tossing to coat evenly. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and the grated parmesan and quickly toss again.
Arrange the seasoned and oiled crostini on a baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown on the outside, approx. 12 minutes. Make sure no moisture is left in the crostini or they will soften while in storage. Use immediately or allow to fully cool and store in an airtght container.
Sandra Swenk, former mayor of Port Jefferson, chronicles the causes and effects of the village’s incorporation movement. Photo by Raymond Janis
This year marks Port Jefferson’s 60th anniversary as an incorporated village.
On a snowy day in December, 1962, Port Jefferson residents voted to form their own local government, a maneuver that still has ramifications generations later.
Sandra Swenk was among those leading the cause for incorporation and later served as the third mayor of the village she fought to create.
In an exclusive interview, Swenk reflected on the village’s genesis story, outlining the contributing factors for incorporation and the lasting effects of this homegrown revolution.
Civic awakening
Before there was a village, Port Jeff was an unincorporated hamlet, subject to the local laws and rules of the Town of Brookhaven. At around the time of incorporation, Brookhaven had been exploring instituting a parking district, a proposal jeopardizing the area’s historic character.
“They wanted parking, but they were going to take down some of these old homes to do it,” Swenk said. “That spurred a lot of interest in having home rule.”
The Port Jefferson Property Owners Association was the central civic group of that period. Swenk considers herself among the few remaining surviving members of that civic effort.
“Our property owners association was very active at the time,” she said.
Road to self-determination
Swenk noted several contributing factors leading to the village’s incorporation. Paramount among them was the growing industrial activity surrounding Port Jefferson Harbor.
“We were very concerned about the industrial aspect of the harbor — the tankers, barges, oil and possible spillage,” she said. “We wanted more recreational use of the harbor.”
‘It’s about making our own decisions.’
— Sandra Swenk
The threat of a deeper harbor, and the precipitating industrial and commercial growth, had also loomed large at the time. Growing tensions had existed for some time between the town and the surrounding residents of the harbor, with a fear of possible dredging.
“We in Port Jefferson did not want to see the harbor dredged because that meant a deeper port for larger boats to come in,” Swenk noted. “That was something that really triggered our interest in incorporation. That was a turning point, I would say.”
When referendum day arrived, the outcome was “overwhelming,” according to Swenk. “We won by a 2-1 margin [689-361],” she said, adding, “It was overwhelmingly in favor of incorporating — having our own government, our own board of trustees and controlling what might happen.”
Home rule
Following the vote, locals then set out to guide their village board in a direction reflective of the popular will.
Swenk said historic preservation, beautification and adaptive reuse had been core tenets of her administration from 1971 through 1977.
“I wanted to see the village revitalized,” she said. “I felt that there was adaptive use of some of the older buildings throughout the business district.”
She referred to Upper Port as a “thriving business district” during those early years, with bookstores, retail spaces and other commercial opportunities uptown.
“We were always a busy community, and that was something I wanted to see continued,” she said.
Another essential feature of home rule, according to her, was the preservation of the area’s historic character. Swenk, a charter member of Port Jefferson Historical Society, said she continues this endeavor to this day.
Incorporation in context
Swenk suggested that on the whole, the incorporation achieved much of its aims, such as protecting the harbor from overcommercialization and preserving the village’s historic charm.
She noted that parking remains an unresolved issue even today and that the village’s municipal boards can sometimes skirt their own rules.
“They’re not adhering to the codes in many cases,” she said. “As an application comes in, what an applicant is required to do to meet the code and all, they should follow it.”
She added that various stakeholders within the community could have greater collaboration in remediating local issues. “There hasn’t been enough togetherness in planning,” she said.
Yet since incorporation, Swenk maintained that citizens have served as the drivers of their local democracy. With the recent reemergence of the Port Jefferson Civic Association, Swenk said some patterns of local history are playing out again today.
“It takes an issue to get people involved,” the incorporation leader and former village mayor said. PJCA members “seem to have the interest of the village” at heart.
Reflecting upon the legacy of the incorporation movement, she said locals could take away from the movement the power of civic engagement in contributing to tangible change in their community.
“It’s about making our own decisions,” she said. “It’s good being incorporated. I’m proud of my village. It means a lot to me.”
This story is part of a continuing series on the incorporation of Port Jefferson.
A townwide debate over accessory dwelling units came to a conclusion Tuesday, Aug. 8, with the Huntington Town Board opting not to advance Councilwoman Joan Cergol’s (D) proposed code amendment to sanction basement apartments and detached garages as secondary living spaces in single-family homes.
Lois Hayn, one of the attendees, added some context to the discussion. She told the Town Board that the code amendment was part of an ongoing local opposition effort to resist the “ever-increasing congestion that plagues this town and a Queens-like atmosphere that has taken a huge toll on our quality of life.”
Desiree Ben, a member of Harp the Alliance of the Responsible Civics, reflected upon the public effort to resist the code amendment.
“Huntington’s at a tipping point,” she said. “The people spoke, they were organized and you heard.”
She inquired about the overall planning of the town. She said the ADU reversal was a matter of the town overseeing and guiding the development of the area.
“I don’t think anyone here is against development, but development done thoughtlessly and without a master plan can really decrease the value in the single-family home areas and put that value right into the pockets of developers,” she added.
To see the video of the entire meeting, go to huntingtonny.gov/meetings.
That process creates what is described as a reactive chlorine species, which is on the hunt for a positively charged particle, such as one of the four hydrogen atoms attached to carbon in methane.
When he’s not working, Mak enjoys boating and fishing. A native of Southern California, Mak is a commercial pilot, who also does some flying as a part of his research studies.
Prev
