HARBOR SUNSET
Bill Pollack of East Setauket snapped this photo at sunset on May 31 while sitting on his boat on LIttle Bay, Setauket Harbor. He writes it was “a moment of calm in this turbulent world.
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By Nancy Marr
Long Island is the largest community in New York State without comprehensive, professional water management and oversight. But there is good news! The New York State budget in 2023 has authorized the creation of a water management agency by Suffolk County; it must be approved by the voters in November.
Long Island’s water supply, the groundwater stored beneath Long Island in three aquifers, is limited. Moreover, unlike oil or natural gas deposits, water is the only resource we extract from nature for which there is no substitute.
Today, while water use in many parts of the US is decreasing due to higher prices and the shortage of available water, water use on Long Island continues to grow due to an increasing population, larger homes, in-ground lawn watering systems, and more water-using features in our homes, allowing our water supply to become depleted. It is also polluted by nitrogen; improper waste management from our sewers and septic systems is responsible for 75% of the nitrogen in the water.
Unfortunately, the polluted groundwater harms aquatic life, especially shellfish. High levels of nitrogen increase aquatic plant growth, producing dead zones where the levels of oxygen are so low that aquatic life cannot survive (known as hypoxia). It has reduced our quality of life by closing our beaches, and affects the businesses dependent on fishing, boating, and recreation.
Widespread concern about our waterways and our drinking water has led to action. In 2017, New York State appropriated funds to develop the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan that assembled data to address common issues and management strategies, relying on local input and involving the many environmental, agricultural, tribal, and academic organizations concerned.
Stony Brook University established the Center for Clean Water Technology, and the NYS DEC initiated the Climate Smart Communities program to encourage municipalities to demonstrate various levels of commitment to climate-smart activities. Suffolk County has worked to transition homes and businesses from conventional septic systems to the new advanced wastewater treatment systems which are designed to remove nitrogen from wastewater before it is discharged to groundwater.
The new legislation will allow Suffolk County to consolidate its 27 sewer districts into one district. (This will not affect sewer districts owned and operated by towns, such as Riverhead and Calverton, or those owned by villages.) There are no county sewer districts in the five East End towns. It is now up to the County Legislature to establish the new countywide wastewater management district by local law and authorize the new district to collect charges, rates, and taxes. The state legislation also approved an additional 1/8 of a cent addition to the county sales tax, which must be approved by the voters in the November elections. The funds can be used for the maintenance of the systems and can make it easier to purchase the new advanced treatment systems.
We need to stop using fertilizer on our lawns, and replace the cesspools and old septic systems responsible for dispersing nitrogen and medical waste into the waters around Long Island. It is recommended that the sewering of homes be increased, but with ways to discharge the effluent on land rather than in the ocean or bays.
A most important corrective action has been seeding the shellfish and oysters that clean the water by filtering the organic particulates. This natural method of restoring the bays and waterways also supports training, the creation of small businesses, and employment.
We know that voluntary actions by Suffolk residents and businesses are important to restore our waters and maintain them, but they are not sufficient. See Governor Hochul’s plan for listening sessions on the Bond Act at https://www.ny.gov/programs/clean-water-clean-air-and-green-jobs-environmental-bond-act and attend the Suffolk County session this summer on Thursday August 24 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Suffolk Federal Credit Union Arena at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood to make sure the plans for the water management agency are transparent, detailed, and fair.
Nancy Marr is first vice president of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.lwv-suffolkcounty.org or call 631-862-6860.
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Our assumptions about alcohol and health are complicated and often wrong. Many of you may have heard that Europeans who drink wine regularly live longer because of this. Or that only heavy drinkers need to be concerned about long-term health impacts. Would it surprise you to hear that both assumptions have been studied extensively?
Alcohol is one of the most widely used over-the-counter drugs, and yet there is still confusion over whether it benefits or harms to your health. The short answer: it depends on your circumstances, including your family history and consideration of diseases you are at high risk of developing, including cancers, heart disease and stroke.
Alcohol and cancer risk
The National Cancer Institute notes that alcohol is listed as a known carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services (1). Among the research it details, it lists head and neck, esophageal, breast, liver and colorectal cancers as key cancer risks that are increased by alcohol consumption. Of these, esophageal and breast cancer risks are increased with even light drinking. Let’s look more closely at some of the research on breast cancer risk that supports this.
A meta-analysis of 113 studies found there was an increased risk of breast cancer with daily alcohol consumption (2). The increase was a modest, but statistically significant, four percent, and the effect was seen at one drink or fewer a day. The authors warned that women who are at high risk of breast cancer should not drink alcohol or should drink it only occasionally.
It was also shown in the Nurses’ Health Study that drinking three to six glasses a week increased the risk of breast cancer modestly over a 28-year period (3). This study involved over 100,000 women. Even a half-glass of alcohol was associated with a 15 percent elevated risk of invasive breast cancer. The risk was dose-dependent, meaning the more participants drank in a day, the greater their risk increase. In this study, there was no difference in risk by type of alcohol consumed, whether wine, beer or liquor.
Based on what we think we know, if you are going to drink, a drink a few times a week may have the least impact on breast cancer. According to an accompanying editorial, alcohol may work by increasing the levels of sex hormones, including estrogen, and we don’t know if stopping diminishes this effect (4).
Alcohol and stroke risk
On the positive side, the Nurses’ Health Study demonstrated a decrease in the risk of both ischemic (caused by clots) and hemorrhagic (caused by bleeding) strokes with low to moderate amounts of alcohol (5). This analysis involved over 83,000 women. Those who drank less than a half-glass of alcohol daily were 17 percent less likely than nondrinkers to experience a stroke. Those who consumed one-half to one-and-a-half glasses a day had a 23 percent decreased risk of stroke, compared to nondrinkers.
However, women who consumed more experienced a decline in benefits, and drinking three or more glasses daily resulted in a non-significant increased risk of stroke. The reasons for alcohol’s benefits in stroke have been postulated to involve an anti-platelet effect (preventing clots) and increasing HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Patients should not drink alcohol solely to get stroke protection benefits.
If you’re looking for another option to achieve the same benefits, an analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study recently showed that those who consumed more citrus fruits had approximately a 19 percent reduction in stroke risk (6). The citrus fruits used most often in this study were oranges and grapefruits. Note that grapefruit may interfere with medications such as Plavix (clopidogrel), a commonly used antiplatelet medication used to prevent strokes (7).
Alcohol and heart attack risk
In the Health Professionals follow-up study, there was a substantial decrease in the risk of death after a heart attack from any cause, including heart disease, in men who drank moderate amounts of alcohol compared to those who drank more and those who were non-drinkers (8). Those who drank less than one glass daily experienced a 22 percent risk reduction, while those who drank one-to-two glasses saw a 34 percent risk reduction. The authors mention that binge drinking negates any benefits.
What’s the conclusion?
Moderation is the key. It is important to remember that alcohol is a drug, and it does have side effects, including insomnia. The American Heart Association recommends that women drink up to one glass a day of alcohol. I would say that less is more. To achieve the stroke benefits and avoid increased breast cancer risk, half a glass of alcohol per day may work for women. For men, up to two glasses daily counts as moderate, though one glass showed significant general health benefits.
If you choose to forgo alcohol, the good news is that there is a growing variety of non-alcoholic beverages entering the market and increasing in popularity.
References:
(1) cancer.gov. (2) Alc and Alcoholism. 2012;47(3)3:204–212. (3) JAMA. 2011;306:1884-1890. (4) JAMA. 2011;306(17):1920-1921. (5) Stroke. 2012;43:939–945. (6) Stroke. 2012;43:946–951. (7) Medscape.com. (8) Eur Heart J. Published online March 28, 2012.
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.
By Daniel Dunaief
This is part two of a two-part series.
As Erin Brockovich (the real life version and the one played by Julia Roberts in the eponymous movie) discovered, some metals, such as hexavalent chromium can cause cancer in humans.
Environmental exposure to a range of chemicals, such as hexavalent chromium, benzo(a)pyrene, arsenic, and others, individually and in combination, can lead to health problems, including cancer.
In March, Stony Brook University hired Chengfeng Yang and Zhishan Wang, a husband and wife team to join the Cancer Center and the Pathology Departments from Case Western Reserve University.
The duo, who have their own labs and share equipment, resources and sometimes researchers, are seeking to understand the epigenetic effect exposure to chemicals has on the body. Yang focuses primarily on hexavalent chromium, while Wang works on the mechanism of mixed exposures.
Last week, the TBR News Media highlighted the work of Wang. This week, we feature the work of Yang.
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When he was young, Chengfeng Yang was using a knife to make a toy for his younger brother. He slipped, cutting his finger so dramatically that he almost lost it. Doctors saved his finger, impressing him with their heroic talent and inspiring him to follow in their footsteps.
Indeed, Yang, who earned an MD and a PhD from Tongji Medical University, is focused not only on answering questions related to cancer, which claimed the life of his mother and other relatives, but also in searching for ways to develop new treatments.
A Professor in the Department of Pathology at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University and a member of the Stony Brook Cancer Center, Yang has his sights set on combatting cancer.
“Our research always has a significant clinical element,” said Yang. “This is related to our medical background.”
He is interested in studying the mechanism of cancer initiation and progression and would like to develop new strategies for treatment.
Yang and his wife Zhishan Wang recently joined the university from Case Western after a career that included research posts at the University of Pennsylvania, Michigan State University, and the University of Kentucky.
The tandem, who share lab resources and whose research staffs collaborate but also work independently, are focused specifically on the ways exposures to carcinogens in the environment cause epigenetic changes that lead to cancer.
Specifically, Yang is studying how hexavalent chromium, a metal commonly found in the environment in welding, electroplating and even on the double yellow lines in the middle of roads, triggers cancer. It is also commonly used as a pigment to stain animal leather products.
Yang is focused mainly on how long cancer develops after exposure to hexavalent chromium.
People can become exposed to hexavalent chromium, which is also known as chromium 6, through contaminated drinking water, cigarette smoking, car emissions, living near superfund sites and through occupational exposure.
Yang has made important findings in the epigenetic effect of metal exposure. His studies showed that chronic low-level chromium six exposure changed long non-coding RNA expression levels, which contributed to carcinogenesis. Moreover, his studies also showed that chronic low level exposure increased methylation, in which a CH3 group is added to RNA, which also contributed significantly to chromium 6 carcinogenesis.
“It is now clear that metal carcinogens not only modify DNA, but also modify RNA,” Yang explained. Metal carcinogen modification of RNAs is an “exciting and new mechanism” for understanding metal carcinogenesis.
By studying modifications in RNA, researchers may be able to find a biomarker for the disease before cancer develops.
Yang is trying to find some specific epigenetic changes that might occur in response to different pollutants.
Stony Brook attraction
Yang was impressed with the dedication of Stony Brook Pathology Chair Ken Shroyer, whom he described as a “really great physician scientist. His passion in research and leadership in supporting research” helped distinguish Stony Brook, Yang said.
Yang is confident that Stony Brook has the resources he and Wang need to be successful, including core facilities and collaborative opportunities. “This is a very great opportunity for us, with strong support at the university level,” he said.“We plan to be here and stay forever.”
Yang is in the process of setting up his lab, which includes purchasing new equipment and actively recruiting scientists to join his effort.
“We need to reestablish our team,” he said. “Right now, we are trying to finish our current research project.”
He hopes to get new funding for the university in the next two to three years as well. After he establishes his lab at Stony Brook, Yang also plans to seek out collaborative opportunities at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which is “very strong in RNA biology,” he added.
A return home
Returning to the Empire State brings Yang full circle, back to where his research experience in the United States started. About 23 years ago, his first professional position in the United States was at New York University.
Outside of work, Yang likes to hike and jog. He is looking forward to going to some of Long Island’s many beaches.
He and Wang live in an apartment in South Setauket and are hoping to buy a house in the area. The couple discusses science regularly, including during their jogs.
Working in the same area provides a “huge opportunity” for personal and professional growth, he said.
Yang suggested that his wife usually spends more time training new personnel and solving lab members’ technical issues. He spends more time in the lab with general administrative management and support. Wang has “much stronger molecular biology skills than I have,” Yang explained in an email, whereas he has a solid background in toxicology.
Growing up, Yang said he had an aptitude in math and had dreamed of becoming a software engineer. When he applied to college, he received admission to medical school, which changed his original career path.
Once he started running his own experiments as a researcher, he felt he wanted to improve human health.“Once humans develop disease, in many cases, it’s very expensive to treat and [help] people recover,” he said. “Prevention could be a more cost effective way to improve health.”
Without intervention, the current youth exodus from Long Island will have crippling effects generations from now.
Here on Long Island, we excel at educating children. New and aspiring parents enter our communities for top-notch schools. This public education system offers a necessary springboard for prosperous lives.
Getting our youth to stay put and prosper on this Island is a puzzle. The cost of living is higher than in many other places around the U.S. Long Islanders have some of the country’s highest taxes, rents and utility costs. For too many young people, the costs outweigh the benefits, and they flee.
Consequently, we are losing generations of educated, homegrown Long Islanders. The investments we make into public schools are going unrewarded.
Without a new generation of workers powering our local economy, municipalities will miss out on a sizable tax base. With fewer customers patronizing local businesses, our downtowns will suffer. With fewer new families, our first-rate school districts will shutter. And the loss of youth will deprive our communities of continual cultural enrichment.
For all these reasons, our leaders must take a close look at why young people are leaving, then do something about it. Given the multitude of factors and variables, a multiyear study on the conditions of youth flight may be in order.
Some measures can be taken now. Investments in new, affordable housing options are beneficial, creating competition in our often-inflated rental market that squeezes those just entering the workforce. Offering below-market rents can encourage young people to stay and live here.
We also ask our public officials to respect their taxpayers, taking a close forensic accounting of their budgets. Amid this inflationary period and uncertain economic times, they should practice greater fiscal responsibility, exploring ways to limit needless spending.
While acknowledging this need, we do not endorse excessive cuts to school, library and fire district budgets. These vital public institutions remain major draws to our Island.
With common-sense reforms and proper budgetary management, Long Island can retain and build upon our current population of young people. Through our efforts today, generations of Long Islanders could soon spring forth.
By Heidi Sutton
The sun is shining and the weather is finally warm — a perfect week to kick off al fresco dining season.
Inspired by the Mediterranean tradition of “eating in the open air,” al fresco meals typically take advantage of in-season produce. They offer easy preparation, so you can focus on entertaining, and they are simple enough to eat outdoors. Skip complicated cooking steps and turn to a delicious option like Yellowfin Tuna and Artichoke Pasta, which can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or on its own as a light main course.
Yellowfin Tuna and Artichoke Pasta
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray
YIELD: Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
Artichokes:
Cold water
12 small, fresh artichokes or 2 cans artichoke hearts in water
2 lemons
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper or red pepper, to taste
Pasta:
Water
2 cans (5 ounces each) Genova Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons butter, cut into tabs
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
salt, to taste
1/2 cup white wine, chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 pound spaghetti or linguine
1 lemon, juice only
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
1 small handful fresh mint, chopped, divided
1/4 cup toasted pistachios or pine nuts, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
To make artichokes: Preheat oven to 425 F. Fill bowl with cold water and juice of one lemon. If using fresh artichokes, trim tops of artichokes and tougher outer leaves. Using vegetable peeler or small paring knife, trim stems. Once prepped, cut fresh artichokes in half. If using canned artichokes, drain well and quarter lengthwise.
Place artichokes in lemon water. Let soak 2-3 minutes, drain and pat dry with kitchen towel. In casserole or baking dish, arrange artichokes and add juice of remaining lemon, quarter lemon and add lemon wedges to dish. Add olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Roast 25-30 minutes, or until tender.
To make pasta: Bring large pot of water to boil. While water is coming to boil, place large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Add garlic; red pepper, if desired; and salt, to taste, and swirl 1 minute. Add white wine or stock and let reduce by half. When water comes to boil, salt water, add pasta and cook 1 minute less than directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
Add artichokes to large skillet with tuna with its oil and gently break up with back of wooden spoon or paddle. Add lemon juice and reserved pasta water to skillet along with drained pasta, cheese and half the parsley, mint and pistachios. Toss to combine, top with remaining parsley, mint and pistachios and serve.
By Michael E. Russell
As we start off summer with a beautiful Memorial Day weekend I think back to the many sacrifices of the men and women who served in our Armed Forces. They fought to defend our freedom and defeat tyranny all over the globe. I especially think about my father-in-law, Dr. Sherman Mills, who served in Europe during WWII.
Dr. Mills was a D-Day surgeon who survived Normandy and the march into Germany. Upon discharge he came home to Long Island and worked as a physician in Port Jefferson, attending to patients in his office, at their homes and at St. Charles and J.T. Mather Memorial Hospital; a man of the greatest generation. Papa, you are missed.
Well, how is your money doing? For those of you who have followed my articles over the past year, I repeatedly spoke of the company NVIDIA. Ring a bell? NVIDIA invents the GPU and advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), HPC, gaming, creative design, autonomous vehicles and robotics. Their stock was trading at $122 on October 14, 2022. It closed this past Friday at $389.46. This past Wednesday the stock surged by $81, an increase of 29% in one day.
NVIDIA’s remarkable increase in value represents the emergence of a new American corporate giant. Its market value is now more than $1 trillion. It now joins the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. Over the last ten years, NVIDIA’s shares have risen more than ten thousand percent, the best performance of any company in the S & P 500 over that period. Incredible numbers, but here are some other numbers to look at.
Tesla, at its peak in November 2021, was up 19,000 percent over the prior 10 years. However, ten thousand percentage points of that gain have disappeared as reality has hit home. NVIDIA, as well as other semi-conductor companies, are in a remarkably lucrative spot in our technology ecosystem. Their silicon chips are in high demand, whether it be cloud-computing, crypto, or, God help us, AI.
Is the horse out of the barn or is it still a place to invest? Just remember, pigs get slaughtered. For those of you who own this stock, it may be wise to take some money off the table or put in some stop–losses.
As I write this it appears that house speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden may have a debt ceiling deal after we had to worry about a potential U.S. Treasury default for the first time in history. McCarthy still has to convince the hard-liners in his caucus that this is a viable budget. We will know by June 5th. The American people have been tolerant of the shenanigans of our elected officials in Washington, but a default would be political suicide for many of these clowns!
Back to AI: the more I learn, the more concern I have. Two weeks ago, Sam Altman, the chief executive of the San Francisco startup OpenAI, testified before members of a Senate sub-committee and spoke to the need for regulating the increasingly powerful AI technology being created by others like Google and Microsoft. In addition, Geoffrey Hinton, who is considered the Artificial Intelligence pioneer, spoke to the inherent dangers of AI. He made many bold statements, including his regrets for his life’s work. Wow! Major concerns include generative AI, which is already a tool for misinformation. He also considers AI a potential risk to all mankind. Stay tuned.
On a positive note, it appears that the banking fiasco has abated for now. The major money center banks have stabilized the markets by buying up assets of smaller banks. In the meantime, Janet Yellen and Jerome Powell appear to be lost in the forest without a compass.
Once again readers, if you are looking for stability, Treasury yields on the 2-year bill are approaching 5%. With inflation slowing somewhat, not a bad place to put some money. Until next time.
Michael E. Russell retired after 40 years working for various Wall Street firms. All recommendations being made here are not guaranteed and may incur a loss of principal. The opinions and investment recommendations expressed in the column are the author’s own. TBR News Media does not endorse any specific investment advice and urges investors to consult with their financial advisor.
By Daniel Dunaief
Shhh. Listen. If what you hear is nothing, then maybe you’re onto something.
Noise envelops us. Some of it, like the sound of a Broadway musical, the waterfall laughter of a giggling child, or the deep resonant breath of a humpback whale surfacing amid floating cubes of ice in Alaska can give us peace, pleasure and joy.
Many noises, however, are irritants or worse. We step out of a loud airplane onto a jetway, where loudspeakers announce the boarding in group four of a flight awaiting takeoff. We walk through a crowded airport, as fathers shout to their children, a woman calls to ask Breanne if she “wants fries with her burger,” and a man informs his wife that he “has to pee so badly that he’s not sure he’s going to make it.”
We step outside of the airport, where whistles from people directing traffic echo in our ears and where officials in orange vests bark orders at drivers to “vacate this spot immediately!”
We try to ignore many of the harsher and more abrasive sounds, even though our nervous system tracks noises as a way to protect us in case someone yells something we need to hear.
And then there are those wonderful moments when we hear nothing, not even the buzzing of a lightbulb, a dog drinking in the next room, or a cat cleaning himself on a nearby chair.
Silence.
If it lasts long enough, it’s the pause that refreshes, giving our ears a rest and our brains a chance to hear an inner voice that might otherwise get lost.
We can find those moments when we’re on our own. When we’re surrounded by others, the silence is harder to discover, as we either speak or hear the noises they make as they unwrap a newspaper, chew their gum, or shake their leg up and down so rapidly that the material from their pants makes a repetitive rubbing sound.
But then, we can go to a meditation or yoga class or a religious or memorial service and reflect with others who sit still like a slope of shaded stones in an Ansel Adams photo.
During those moments, we can slow our breathing, think beyond the constant fast twitch need to act and react to our phones, and can allow our minds to make unexpected connections.
During one of those recent times, I pondered symmetry in nature, where you can draw a line down the middle of something like our faces, and see that the image on one side, excluding freckles, beauty marks, and that scar from the time we tripped and got stitches, is incredibly similar to the one on the other.
With so much chaos in nature, I wouldn’t expect such symmetry. At a distance, most leaves have remarkable symmetry, as do the shape of most animals. Human designs often have a pleasing symmetry, with windows, flying buttresses and A-frame houses looking remarkably similar on the left and right. Almost every field or arena for a sporting event has some symmetry, except for those with irregular outfield fences.
During a recent service, I enjoyed time when I couldn’t look at my phone and when I could read religious text. I haven’t considered these texts in a while and was drawn in by their drama and story value, as opposed to the spiritual and life guidance I often imagine. Basic struggles for power, sibling rivalries, and the search for food and stability dominate these narratives, which makes it clear why religion (and mythology) continue to offer connections for people whose lives, at least on the surface, are considerably different from the ones people lived lo those many years ago.
Ultimately, silence can be refreshing, giving us auditory time and space to reflect and to clean a cognitive filter cluttered with chaos and cacophony.
By Leah S. Dunaief
Suddenly it’s June. Didn’t we recently put our holiday decorations away? Wasn’t it mid-winter break just a couple of weeks ago? Time warps, especially if we have busy lives. We look up and five months of the year have already passed.
But of course, June is most welcome. It is the month of high school graduations, of weddings, of the official turning to summer with the summertime solstice and the most daylight hours of the year. For those readers interested in random data, June is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days and the third of five months to have fewer than 31 days. Take that to “Jeopardy!”
June is also the month when all the trees are dressed in their finest, lushest leaves, when the weather beckons us outdoors because it is neither too cold or too hot quite yet. June is when the swimming pools in the neighborhood shed their covers and offer to the eye patches of refreshing blue as we drive along the local roads. June is when allergy season begins to recede with the gradual lessening of tree and grass pollens.
Early June is when I like to travel because each day is longer, and I feel I am really getting my money’s worth on a tour. That’s also when most families are still home, their young ones not yet finished with school, and therefore all services, from palaces to restaurants are less crowded. Unless I am in the southern hemisphere, where it is technically the start of winter, the weather in June tends to be perfect, not much rain, the temperature ideal.
June was probably named after the Roman goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity, Jupiter, There are also other suggestions for how the month got its name, but we really don’t have to list them all because no one I know is actually preparing to appear on “Jeopardy!”
That said, you still might like to know a few of the month-long observances for June. There is:
African American Music Appreciation Month
ALS Awareness Month in Canada
Caribbean American Heritage Month
LGBTQ+ Awareness and Pride Month
National Oceans Month
PTSD Awareness Month
Great Outdoors Month
And my personal favorite, National Smile Month, which is celebrated in the United Kingdom and should migrate across the globe.
There is also:
International Children’s Day on the first Tuesday
World Bicycle Day on the first Wednesday
National Donut Day on the first Friday
Father’s Day on the third Sunday
Here is one to ponder: Seersucker Day on the second Thursday
And on the third Friday, National Flip Flop Day.
Hmmm. Maybe with all that said, we should give a second thought to “Jeopardy!”
When our children were in elementary school, I always welcomed June with enthusiasm. It meant that July and the end of the academic year were not far away, which in turn meant sleeping in and not having to prepare for the early bus to school, long, lazy days at the beach, family baseball games on the empty school fields on weekends and frequent outdoor barbecues. This year, June means, among more hedonistic pursuits, a month with five Thursdays, and therefore five issues of the papers and website to fill with local news that we will report to you.
Happy reading!
Boating can be one of the most joyous parts of summer, especially on Long Island.
There is truly nothing like the breeze running through our hair as we relax with family and friends, soaking up the natural beauty and the overwhelming landscape.
But it’s important to remember that boating is a privilege, not a right. Despite the fact that a night on the water could create lifelong memories, you don’t need a boat to get to work, the doctor or the grocery store.
This makes it even more imperative to be safe and considerate while on the water. It also makes it even more senseless when tragedies occur. Even the most experienced of boaters, like James Jaronczyk, of Massapequa, who died in the Great South Bay earlier this month, clearly can succumb to the dangers of the water. Sadly, these stories are not unique.
According to the United States Coast Guard, there were 636 boating fatalities nationwide in 2022, a 3.3% decrease from the 658 deaths in 2021. The most devastating aspect of the statistics is that several of the deaths were preventable.
Of the total fatalities 88 deaths, or 16%, involved alcohol. “Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, excessive speed and machinery failure,” were other contributing factors, according to the Coast Guard report. Of the victims 75% drowned, and of those drowning victims, 85% were not wearing a life jacket.
As the Coast Guard advises, boaters must stay sober, check the weather, carry an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon — which signals if you get into trouble — and have VHF-FM radio on hand in case cell service drops.
Also always let someone who is staying onshore know your float plan, which breaks down where you are going, how long you will be gone, a description of your boat and the safety equipment you have on board. Boating is not a time to take risks or explore coves and inlets you have not been to before, if you do not know what you are doing.
Most importantly, boaters should register for a boating safety course as they can never be too experienced to refresh their knowledge or learn something new. They have an obligation to themselves and those on board to practice responsible boating habits and return home safely.
We at TBR News Media wish you a happy, fun and safe summer on the water with your families and friends.
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