'Eel Spearing in Setauket' by William Sidney Mount
Jennie Melville. Photo from WMHODorothy Melville. Photo from WMHO
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) in Stony Brook will host a walking tour titled “Against the Grain” on Thursday, March 16 at 10:30 a.m. session and again at 2:30 p.m.
While participants stroll, their guide will share stories recognizing the women who helped shape Stony Brook Village into what it is today: the hidden roles of the Melville women; Alida Emmet and the Center for Twilight Sleep; Rachel Brewster and the women of color in famed artist William Sidney Mount’s paintings; the scandalous will of the Smiths and Edward Kane; and the role of Stony Brook’s women in forming the environmental conservation movement.
Tours will leave from the Stony Brook Grist Mill, 100 Harbor Road, Stony Brook. Rain date is Friday, March 17 at the same time. $12 per person and includes a complimentary dessert with the purchase of an entrée at Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern at the Three Village Inn and the Country House Restaurant. Advance reservations required by calling 631-751-2244.
This year, March 5-11 marks National Consumer Protection Week, and PSEG Long Island urges customers to understand scammers’ tactics and do the right thing if confronted with a demand for payment and a threat of imminent shutoff: Get the truth from the real PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0025.
“Consumer Protection Week is a time to help people understand their consumer rights and avoid frauds and scams. PSEG Long Island wants customers to remember one simple thing: If someone threatens to immediately shut off your power, call the number that’s printed on your bill to verify before acting,” said Lou DeBrino, PSEG Long Island’s vice president of Customer Services. “Scammers do everything they can to create the impression of an urgent problem in the hopes that you panic and miss all the clues that they’re not who they appear to be. Please be alert to the possibility of a scam, take a moment to think, and then contact us directly using the phone number on your bill if you’re still not sure.”
More than 2,500 scam calls were reported to PSEG Long Island in 2022. Many of these scammers are demanding immediate payment via web-based electronic payment services. PSEG Long Island does not accept external, web-based electronic payment services (outside of payments through MyAccount) as a method of payment.
What customers should know about payment scams
Scammers impersonating PSEG Long Island most frequently threaten to shut off power immediately unless payment is made.
Many scammers use phone “spoofing” technology to make their number display on your phone as “PSEG Long Island.”
PSEG Long Island will never request that customers use one specific method of payment.
Scammers typically want their victims to transfer money via a web-based electronic payment service, a prepaid debit card, or even Bitcoin, sometimes asking people to buy a prepaid card at the nearest convenience store and then to read them the PIN over the phone.
PSEG Long Island does not accept web-based electronic payment services, prepaid debit cards or Bitcoin as payment.
Sometimes phone scammers will demand a deposit for a priority meter installation. PSEG Long Island does not require a deposit for meter installations.
If a customer has doubts about the legitimacy of a call or an email — especially one in which payment is requested — they should call the company directly at 1-800-490-0025.
In-person visits
Occasionally, scammers may go door to door impersonating PSEG Long Island employees, flashing a fake ID and/or claiming to be a utility collection representative. The impostors may wear “uniforms” or affix false company signs to their vehicles. The scammers generally ask for personal information, which real utility representatives do not do, or offer bogus discounts. Again, if customers have any doubts, they should not let the person in, and should call 1-800-490-0025 to verify.
PSEG Long Island employees must carry a company ID and present it when requested. If customers have doubts, do not let the person into the house and call 1-800-490-0025 to have a customer service representative verify that an employee has been dispatched to the location. An actual PSEG Long Island employee will respect the customer’s decision and remain outside. If the person escalates their efforts to enter the home, customers should consider calling 911.
Fake websites
Some scammers purchase web domains that closely resemble the actual URL of a utility and create a fraudulent replica of the legitimate website. Their plan is to dupe users who click on these fake sites via search results, or type in an inaccurate web address. Once on the spoofed site, a visitor is presented a number of bill payment options, all pointing back to an outside bill pay site.
PSEG Long Island always uses the “.com” domain. Its real website can be found at www.psegliny.com.
How actual PSEG Long Island reps handle phone calls
Customers should also know what PSEG Long Island will and won’t discuss over the phone. A genuine PSEG Long Island representative will ask to speak to the Customer of Record. If that person is available, the representative will explain why they are calling and provide the account name, address and current balance. If the person on the phone does not provide the correct information, it is likely the customer is not speaking with a PSEG Long Island representative.
If the Customer of Record is not available, the PSEG Long Island representative will not discuss the account at all and ask that a message be left for the Customer of Record to call 1-800-490-0025.
PSEG Long Island is a member of the Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) collaborative. UUAS, a consortium of more than 145 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, has helped to create awareness of common and new scam tactics and to cease operations of nearly 5,000 toll-free numbers used against utility customers by scammers.
Are you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes? Mather Hospital, 75 North Country Road, Port Jefferson will host a FREE year-long diabetes prevention program designed to help you modify your lifestyle to prevent the disease.
The National Diabetes Prevention Program, led by a trained lifestyle coach from the Suffolk County Department of Health, will be held at Mather Hospital beginning Monday, March 20 from 6 to 7:15 p.m. The program meets weekly until July 24, then bi-monthly through Sept. 25, then monthly from October 2023 through March 2024.
Participants are identified through their health care provider by either their fasting glucose 100-124 or their A1c 5.7-6.4. In addition, they must have a BMI of 25 or more and be over the age of 18. Participants cannot have diabetes or be pregnant. Participants may also qualify by taking either the CDC or ADA risk test at https://www.cdc.gov/prediabetes/takethetest/ or https://diabetes.org/diabetes/risk-test
“We want to have them change behaviors to get these numbers back into the normal range,’ said Senior Public Health Educator Debora Rippel. “We do that by having them lose 5-7 percent of their body weight and increase their physical activity to 150 minutes per week. In addition, they develop new behaviors (weighing and measuring food, reading food labels, choosing low-fat, low-calorie options/substitutions, among other behaviors). We look at the environmental, psychological, and social aspects of their behaviors and help them identify ways to change them.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control 96 million Americans – or one in three adults – have prediabetes. Of those, more than eight in 10 are unaware that they have it. Without taking any action, 15-30 percentof people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within five years. For every 2.2 pounds of weight an individual loses, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes is lowered by 13 percent, according to the national program.
Senator Mario R. Mattera (2nd Senate District), in conjunction with The Salvation Army, is hosting the Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Mobile Mammography Van in East Northport. The free breast cancer-screening event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, March 10, at 319 Clay Pitts Road in East Northport.
Stony Brook University Cancer Center operates and staffs the mobile van, which was made possible through more than $3 million from the New York State Department of Health. The van provides convenient access to all women in our area to ensure that women on Long Island get the information they need to protect themselves from breast cancer.
This event is for women forty and older who have not had a mammogram in the past year. An appointment is necessary so all who are interested should call 631-638-4135 to schedule an appointment. For more information on the Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Mobile Mammography Van, residents can visit cancer.stonybrookmedicine.edu/Patients/MammoVan.
According to information provided by Stony Brook Cancer Center, most screenings are no cost since the cost of mammograms are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and almost all insurance companies. Any resident who has no insurance will be referred to the New York State Cancer Services Program, which may cover the cost of an exam.
In New York State, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among women. Mammograms and breast cancer screenings can detect cancer at early stages, when it is often the most treatable.
“Early detection is the best way to combat and beat breast cancer and that makes access to no-cost screenings so critical. I thank Stony Brook University and the Salvation Army for partnering with us to provide this helpful preventive care and urge all in our community who can benefit to attend this event,” said Senator Mattera.
For more information on this important event, including eligibility requirements, information for day of visit and directions to the event, please visit Senator Mattera’s website at mattera.nysenate.gov.
The Jazz Loft, 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook welcomes back Jazz trumpet player Warren Vaché and his Quartet on Thursday, March 9 at 7 p.m. Joining Vaché will be Dean Johnson (bass), Dan Pugach (drums), and Wayne Sabella (piano).
Vaché is known to span across multiple styles of Jazz and has played in polka bands, Dixieland bands, big dance bands, Broadway pit bands, small Jazz groups and more. He studied with trumpeter Pee Wee Erwin and has a degree in music education from Montclair State College. Absorbing all types of music, Vaché’s inspirations and heroes include Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Bobby Hackett, Fats Navarro, Tom Harrell, and others.
Vaché commonly dueted with saxophonist Houston Person, who has been a frequent performer at the Jazz Loft. His career has been filled with countless performances such as with Benny Goodman’s band, making film appearances, composing soundtracks, and presently has a busy schedule of recording, worldwide festival appearances, club dates, Broadway shows, and is a dedicated educator and author. In his 40-year career, he has released over 35 albums as a band leader and appeared in many other musician’s recordings as a sideman.
“We are thrilled to have Warren Vaché once again perform again at the Jazz Loft,” says President and Founder Tom Manuel. “It’s a unique opportunity for Jazz Loft fans to hear a true legend.”
Displayed in the museum is a Warren Vaché exhibit that guests can view.
Tickets are available for purchase ($15, $20, $25, $30) at www.thejazzloft.org
New York Blood Center (NYBC) declared the first blood emergency of 2023 on March 6. The blood emergency is due to several evolving factors, including recent poor weather, school breaks and cold and flu season. Last month, NYBC and its divisions across the nation received 6,000 fewer blood donations than the year prior and blood donations are 12% below hospital and patient needs.
The number of blood donations still are not back to pre-pandemic levels. Compounding the problem is a continued lag in first-time and youth donors, which remain about half of pre-pandemic levels. And while New Yorkers are returning to in-person work, office and community blood drives and visits to NYBC Donor Centers are significantly down. People working from home had an easier time donating in our donor centers, but we’re seeing a dramatic decrease at our centers.
“Each winter, we struggle to get folks to donate blood and this year is no exception. We need more New Yorkers to make blood donations, host blood drives and spread the word about the need for donations,” said Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Vice President at New York Blood Center.“Last year, we expanded our reach with a new donor center, and we recently announced new donor guidelines from the FDA; we are expanding in every way we can in order to reach new donors. This March, make a blood donation and tell a friend!”
In addition to whole blood donors, platelet donors are urgently needed. With a shelf life of just 7 days, NYBC relies on dedicated platelet donors to help patients undergoing chemotherapy, those with bleeding disorders, new mothers, and more.
Why is pound cake called pound cake? Recognized as one of the dessert world’s most versatile cakes, it is believed to have originated in England in the first half of the 18th century and initially weighed four pounds — a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. These days the recipe has been modified to be a lighter, richer dessert with a prominent butter flavor.
In honor of National Pound Cake Day on March 4, try the following recipes in celebration of the pound cake’s long history. They actually taste better the next day, so you can make it ahead. They also freeze beautifully. Whether you like lemon, orange or chocolate, here are three pound cakes worth their weight.
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Recipe courtesy of The Pampered Chef
YIELD:Makes 1 cake or 6 mini pound cakes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 cup (11⁄2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (do not substitute margarine)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flour, granulated sugar, lemon zest, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese on high speed of handheld mixer for 1 minute, or until blended (mixture will form a stiff paste).
In a small batter bowl, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla until blended. Add egg mixture to cream cheese mixture in four additions, beating 2 minutes after each addition. (Do not undermix). Pour batter into pan. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan; carefully invert onto a stackable cooking rack, keeping pan over cake. Cool completely. Place cake on serving platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or prepare glaze, if desired.
For glaze: Combine 11⁄2 cups powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick frosting. Spread glaze over top of cake. Garnish with lemon zest.
Orange Juice Pound Cake
YIELD:Makes 1 cake
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh orange juice
Powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add orange peel and vanilla extract. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with orange juice. Beat 2 more minutes. Spoon batter into pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan onto rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Mahogany Pound Cake
YIELD:Makes 1 cake
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sour cream
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars and vanilla extract until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in sour cream alternately with dry ingredients.In a medium bowl beat egg whites until stiff. Carefully fold into batter until no whites show. Pour batter into a 10-inch greased Bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan onto rack. Let cool completely before serving.
The world is so polarized. Our nation is so divided; hatred is so infectious these days. So, when one comes upon compassion and kindness, it causes you to stop and think!
Being an avid downhill skier, I never fall and I am always careful but last ski season on my last run I took a terrible fall and slid down half the mountain with both skis on. I finally stopped was able to get up and maneuver down. When I got to the back of the mountain my right knee hurt but I didn’tpay any attention to it.
The week before Thanksgiving as I was walking down the staircase of the cottage I live in at Little Portion Friary in Mount Sinai, my right leg gave out and I took a tumble. I was told that my meniscus was shot probably because of the fall last season and I now tore a tendon in my right knee. I had emergency surgery and was placed in a brace.
Since that surgery, I’ve been wearing a brace on my right knee. I’ve taken 75 people to Israel and teach at two universities every week. I’m not always dressed as a priest when I go into New York City to teach. Most recently, I was so taken with people’s kindness. Someone offered me a seat on the crowded subway, another held the door and wanted to assist me. Pretty amazing since when I don’t dress like a priest, I look like a homeless man!
Over the last year many of you have reached out to me about a homeless young man who is usually found begging on Route 347. He’s a heroin addict; for more than a year he has been living on the streets and in the woods. A number of times I’ve reached out to him to offer food, clothing, shelter and treatment; each time he politely told me he was not ready.
Unbeknown to me, a recovering heroin addict who is in my employ has been helping him every day for more than a year by bringing him food and water. He found out where he was living and also brought him a sleeping bag and blankets when it was cold. Every day he checked on this young man for a year, always encouraging him to get treatment.
Finally, after a year of compassion on the part of my employee the young man finally agreed to go to St. Charles detox and entered long-term treatment after that. Two months ago, he entered Hope Academy and has committed himself to 18 months of long-term treatment. Compassion and kindness made all the difference!
Father Francis Pizzarelli, SMM, LCSW-R, ACSW, DCSW, is the director of Hope House Ministries in Port Jefferson.
The microbiome may have an impact on susceptibility to autoimmune diseases
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
Every human carries in its body a microbiome, consisting of bacteria, viruses and single-cell eukaryotes. Our relationship to these organisms is complex, and much of it is still only loosely understood. What we do know, however, is that these trillions of microorganisms have key roles in our healthy functioning.
The microbiome is found throughout our bodies, including the skin, the eyes and the gut. Here, we’re going to focus on the gut, where the majority of our microbiome resides. The microbiome has been getting a lot of attention of late, because of its possible role in preventing and promoting diseases. Among these are obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s, and infectious diseases, such as colitis.
The Human Microbiome Project
Like the Human Genome Project, which mapped our genes, the Human Microbiome Project, funded by the National Institutes of Health from 2007 to 2016, sought to map and sequence the composition and diversity of these gut organisms and to prompt future research. Already, there have been some enlightening preliminary studies.
What affects the microbiome?
Drugs, such as antibiotics, can wipe out microbial diversity, at least in the short term. Also, lifestyle modifications, such as diet, can have a positive or negative impact. Microbiome diversity also may be significantly different in distinct geographic locations throughout the world.
The microbiome and obesity
Many obese patients continually struggle to lose weight. Obese and overweight patients now outnumber malnourished individuals worldwide (1).
For a long time, the paradigm for weight loss had been to cut calories. However, extreme low-calorie diets were not having a long-term impact. It turns out that our guts, dominated by bacteria, may play important roles in obesity and weight loss, determining whether we gain or lose weight.
The results from a study involving human twins and mice are fascinating (2). In each pair of human twins, one was obese and the other was lean. Gut bacteria from obese twins was transplanted into thin mice. The result: the thin mice became obese. However, when the lean human twins’ gut bacteria were transplanted to thin mice, the mice remained thin.
By pairing sets of human twins, one obese and one thin in each set, with mice that were identical to each other and raised in a sterile setting, researchers limited the confounding effects of environment and genetics on weight.
The most intriguing part of the study compared the effects of diet and gut bacteria. When the mice who had received gut transplants from obese twins were provided gut bacteria from thin twins and given fruit- and vegetable-rich, low-fat diet tablets, they lost significant weight. Interestingly, they only lost weight when on a good diet. The authors believe this suggests that an effective diet may alter the microbiome of obese patients, helping them lose weight. These are exciting, but preliminary, results. It is not clear yet which bacteria may be contributing these effects.
This suggests that gut bacteria diversity may be a crucial piece of the weight-loss puzzle.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that can be disabling, with patients typically suffering from significant morning stiffness, joint soreness and joint breakdown. What if gut bacteria influenced RA risk? In a study, the gut bacteria in mice that were made susceptible to RA by deletion of certain genes (HLA-DR genes) were compared to those who were more resistant to developing RA (3). Researchers found that the RA-susceptible mice had a predominance of Clostridium bacteria and that those resistant to RA were dominated by bacteria such as bifidobacteria and Porphyromonadaceae species. The significance is that the bacteria in the RA-resistant mice are known for their anti-inflammatory effects.
Can you counteract antibiotics’ negative effects?
Many have gastrointestinal upset while taking antibiotics, because antibiotics don’t differentiate between good and bad bacteria when they go to work.
One way to counteract these negative effects is to take a probiotic during and after your course of antibiotics. I recommend Renew Life’s 30-50 billion units once a day, two hours after an antibiotic dose and continuing once a day for 14 days after you have finished your prescription. If you really want to ratchet up the protection, you can take one dose of probiotics two hours after every antibiotic dose.
Although nobody can say what the ideal gut bacteria should consist of, we do know a few things that can help you. Diet and other lifestyle considerations, such as eating and sleeping patterns or their disruptions, seem to be important to the composition and diversity of gut bacteria (4). Studies have already demonstrated prebiotic effects of fiber and significant short-term changes to the microbiome when eating fruits, vegetables, and plant fiber. The research is continuing, but we’ve learned a lot already that may help us tackle obesity and autoimmune disorders.
References:
(1) “The Evolution of Obesity”; Johns Hopkins University Press; 2009. (2) Science. 2013;341:1241214. (3) PLoS One. 2012;7:e36095. (4) Nutrients. 2019 Dec;11(12):2862.
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.
When you’re working, you may spend decades contributing to retirement accounts such as your 401(k) and IRA. Once you’re retired, though, you’ll likely need to begin withdrawing from these accounts to help pay for your living expenses. In fact, you’ll be required to take money from them at a certain age — but that age requirement is changing, and it could lead to changes in your financial strategy.
Let’s look at some background behind this development. You put in pre-tax dollars to a traditional IRA and 401(k), so your contributions can lower your taxable income and your earnings can grow on a tax-deferred basis. Eventually, though, you must take withdrawals from these accounts or face tax penalties. (A Roth IRA does not have the withdrawal requirement; you can essentially keep the money intact as long as you choose.)
As part of the SECURE Act 2.0 of 2022, the age at which you must take these withdrawals — technically called required minimum distributions, or RMDs — has increased from 72 to 73. So, if you turn 72 in 2023, you now have another year before you’re required to take RMDs.
The SECURE Act 2.0 also mandates that, in 2033, the RMD age will increase again — to 75 — so, depending on your current age, you may have even more time to plan for the effects of RMDs. Of course, you may need to start taking withdrawals from your retirement accounts before you reach either RMD age — 73 or 75 — so the additional time may not mean much to you. But if you can afford to wait until you must start taking RMDs, what issues should you consider?
Perhaps the most important one is taxes. Your RMDs, which are based on your life expectancy and account balances, are considered taxable income in the year in which you accept the money. If you have sizable amounts in your traditional IRA and 401(k), these RMDs could be large enough to bump you into a higher tax bracket, leading to greater taxation of Social Security benefits and a Medicare surcharge. So, the ability to delay taking RMDs can be beneficial from a tax standpoint, at least for a time. On the other hand, by delaying RMDs, you might eventually have to take bigger taxable withdrawals from your accounts that may have larger balances because they’ve had more time to potentially grow.
You could address the issue of taxable withdrawals by converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA before you’re faced with RMDs — and now, you have more time to do so. Roth IRAs have no RMDs, and since a Roth IRA is funded with after-tax dollars, your withdrawals are tax free, provided you don’t begin taking them until you’re at least 59½ and you’ve had your account at least five years. Again, though, taxes are the issue — any pre-tax dollars you convert from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA will be taxable in the year of the conversion. To reduce this tax hit, you could space out the conversion over several years.
When thinking about delaying RMDs or doing a Roth IRA conversion to avoid RMDs, you’ll need to consult with your tax advisor. But the new RMD age limits do give you more flexibility in these areas, so think carefully about how you might benefit from the added time.
Michael Christodoulou, ChFC®, AAMS®, CRPC®, CRPS® is a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones in Stony Brook. Member SIPC.
When you’re working, you may spend decades contributing to retirement accounts such as your 401(k) and IRA. Once you’re retired, though, you’ll likely need to begin withdrawing from these accounts to help pay for your living expenses. In fact, you’ll be required to take money from them at a certain age — but that age requirement is changing, and it could lead to changes in your financial strategy.
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