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While most understand the value of investing in education, there’s more to learning than going to class and doing homework.

We must give all children an equal chance of receiving a proper education, and one way to do so is by ensuring that all students are adequately nourished, navigating the school day on a full stomach. 

Last Friday, New York state elected officials joined school administrators and advocates in Huntington to call upon Gov. Kathy Hocul (D) to include fully funded school meals for all students in the 2024 state budget. The call comes after federal waivers that enabled schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students during the COVID-19 pandemic ended before the start of the 2022-23 academic year.

The universal free school meals initiative may make some pause at first. While New Yorkers understand that there are countless people among us — many right here in our own towns — suffering from food insecurity, they are aware that some of our residents can easily afford to feed their children breakfast and lunch.

However, advocates for the Healthy School Meals for All program contend that many families are eligible for the supplement but do not apply because they are embarrassed to ask for help. Some make slightly more than the income requirements to receive nutrition assistance but could desperately use the help.

In an era when most families need both parents to work to make ends meet, and as salaries and wages increases have lagged behind inflation, ensuring free meals for all children can keep our students healthy while easing household budgets. In addition to helping households, the program would eliminate unpaid meal debt for school districts, which increased after the federal waivers expired.

According to the speakers at the March 24 press conference at Jefferson Primary School in Huntington, including the program in the state budget could help nearly a quarter million students on Long Island alone. The initiative is one that state legislators have gotten behind with $280 million in funding included in their budget proposals.

Now it’s time for Hochul to support it.

With states such as California, Colorado, Nevada, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut already implementing the Healthy School Meals for All program, it’s time for New York to embrace this initiative.

Research indicates that well-nourished students perform better on tests, are more present in school and retain information better. Advocates hope the program provides all children the opportunity to be fully prepared to take on a day of learning, something every student deserves.

We remind our readers that New York taxpayers are currently subsidizing a football stadium in Buffalo to the tune of $600 million — a deal brokered by the Hochul administration. Meanwhile, many of our school children here on Long Island are inadequately nourished.

The proposed school nutrition program is less than half the cost of the football stadium yet would go much further in advancing the interests of ordinary citizens. To our governor and state officials in Albany: The Buffalo Bills should never trump the health of our children.

Doing what’s right for our kids, and paving the way for a brighter future for all, starts with a solid breakfast and lunch. Our state officials are fighting for this. It is time for our governor to do the same.

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By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

They’ll win some, they’ll lose some, and it’ll rain, and they’ll have to play some other day.

No, I’m not going to predict anything about the on field action this year as the “boys of summer” take the field this week for the start of the 2023 baseball season.

Instead, I’m going to make some predictions about the action in the stands. After all, the number of people and stories from the stands far exceeds the paltry size of the teams, umpires, grounds crew and everyone else involved with “The Show.” So, without further delay, here are a few predictions for the upcoming season.

Someone will walk into one of the local stadiums and be too awestruck to speak. He may have been to other games, but returning to his favorite stadium and looking at the shimmering green grass, the bright foul lines, and the oversized baseball bag will take his breath away, even if only for a moment and even if no one notices the goose flesh on his arms despite the warm temperature.

Someone will share some of their favorite lines from baseball movies, suggesting that the team is a “bunch of lollygaggers,” or that, in as deep a James Earl Jones voice as they can muster, “the one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.”

During long day games, fans, clad in T-shirts, jerseys or tank tops, will forget sunscreen and will develop a sunburn. For some, that sunburn will be a reminder of the game. For others, it might provide sore or red skin.

Debates that border on arguments will occur in every part of the stadium. Some disagreements will arise over whether the umpire made the right call, while others will reach into history. Who was the best left fielder? Should Pete Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

Fans will celebrate birthdays, waiting for that fleeting moment when their name appears on the screen with best wishes from Joe, Mo, Mary and the rest of the crew.

People will propose marriage. Most will say “yes” and will cover their mouths in astonishment. Some will storm off, throw the ring back, or yell something, leaving others to wonder whether the scene was real or staged.

Some fans will offer unconditional support for their favorite players, urging them on even after they struck out four times. Others will reserve the right to suggest that they could do better or that the player is a “bum.”

Most fans will stand in salute to veterans, as the public address announcer shares details of a person’s service and awards, and his or her family beams nearby, blinking back tears in a strong sun.

Important people will take important calls, making it tough for them to focus on the game. Some of those people will have to leave the game and go back to the office, while others will talk through a document or deal amid a series of ongoing crises.

Awestruck people will realize their fantasy and will catch a foul ball. They will raise the ball as if it were a trophy, giving the strangers around them a chance to applaud. A generous fan will likely hand a ball over to a nearby child, knowing how valuable that souvenir will be for him or her.

Fans will high-five people sitting next to them during a key moment in a big game, sharing their joy with anyone and everyone.

Someone from an earlier generation will shout “Holy Cow” when a player hits a towering home run, sending his friends into fits of laughter.

Someone will believe that the next pitch will alter the course of the game and, perhaps, that person’s world, regardless of the score and the standings. Play Ball!

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

A recent article that I saw on the Internet claimed that nine out of 10 graduates had regrets about their college. Wow! That’s almost unanimous discontent. Most regretted the heavy debt they had incurred. Some said the college they chose wasn’t a good fit for them. Others expressed disappointment with their major. I, too, have a regret about college; although I am not one generally to harbor regrets, I will confess that regret now.

I regret that I didn’t study harder when I was lucky enough to be in college. Now, this has nothing to do with my particular college. It is a personal failing. I am sure I would have behaved much the same way wherever I had gone to school. But here is the thing about college. It’s much the same thing as is said about computers: garbage in, garbage out.

Had I applied myself a lot harder, I would have gained a lot more in the way of a splendid education from my college courses and years. After all, I went to a fine college. Instead, I was more interested, especially during the first two years, in dating.

Not to be too hard on myself, I had a lot of catching up to do on that front. The last time I was in a co-ed situation before college was in the sixth grade of my neighborhood elementary school. For junior high and high school, I attended one of the schools in New York City requiring an entrance exam, and it was for all girls.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I loved the school. Many of the teachers had PhDs. I knew I was getting a first-rate education, and I really applied myself to my studies. What else was there to do? I even thrived on the keen competition there, despite the fact that it was considered appropriate to bemoan such a barbaric value.

It was also appropriate to wish the school were co-ed, which we all did, and fervently at the time. Now it is co-ed, and as I look back, I am not so sure that was such a good idea.

But I digress.

My college was also one of what was then regarded as the prestigious Seven Sisters and technically all women, although we certainly didn’t refer to ourselves that way at the time. We were girls, and it was an all-girls college. On the other hand, right across the main avenue that ran in front of the campus was an all-boys undergraduate college.

Needless to say, I crossed the road, both to get to the other side, (as in the old joke, “Why did the chicken cross the road”?) and also to use the library at the all-male school. That library was larger, had more comfortable seats, better lighting, and besides, I rarely returned without having at least one date, sometimes two, and even occasionally three dates for the upcoming weekend. It took the first two years to come to something approaching equilibrium.

Life was good. But for my grades, not so much.

Furthermore, I thought that I didn’t really have an appropriate major. I was pre-med. That wasn’t considered a true major, but it did require many hours of science classes that came with many hours in many labs. I could have spaced out those labs — heavy courses — but thought I should get them out of the way sooner. I did have a faculty advisor those first two years, who was a lovely person, and a famous history professor. She knew little about science requirements, confessed as much, and then signed whatever assortment of subjects I put before her to approve.

“You must pick a major,” I was told. And so I picked English because it provided me with an antidote to all those heavy science classes. Reading was a merciful escape. So was writing. I was casual about that decision, though, because I was sure I was never going to use those skills.

Who knew?

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Purple signs like this may become commonplace on Long Island in the near future. Photo by Grendelkhan/Wikimedia Commons

By John L. Turner

John Turner

Like all islands, Long Island is defined by water. Lapped on all sides — the Great South Bay on its southern flank, the thick finger of the Long Island Sound to the north, the bowl of the Peconic Bay filling between the forks, and one of the planet’s great oceans embracing all of this.  

And beneath us, in the pore spaces between the sand that make up Long Island (Long Island is basically a million-acre leaky sandbox) is a prolific aquifer system made up of several trillion gallons of freshwater that we depend upon, made available by scores of public water supply wells, for drinking and making coffee, washing cars, showering and brushing teeth, and from which water oozes to fill our ponds and lakes and makes our rivers and streams run — a freshwater groundwater system made up of three aquifers like layers in a sandwich, all resting on a basement of bedrock. 

It is OUR water supply — there are no other realistic possibilities to turn to: no ability to connect to New York City’s impressive surface water reservoirs and no river from New England that upwells into our sand under Long Island Sound (as one Long Island elected official once assured me, in explaining why we didn’t need to be concerned with the impacts of development). We are, hydrologically speaking, captains of our own fate.  

We may be captains but we haven’t been such good stewards of our groundwater supply as it is under stress like never before. More than two and one-half million Long Islanders live, work, and play above the water supply, and with gravity always at work, water, and whatever contaminants are dissolved in it, is always carried downward. 

The Upper Glacial Aquifer, the aquifer closest to the surface, has been rendered unusable in many places due to contamination.  In some areas this pollution has moved down into the thicker Magothy Aquifer below, the main source for drinking water today. And below the Magothy lies the Lloyd Aquifer, resting on a basement of bedrock, which has begun to feel the stresses of  over pumping and fingers of contamination.  

Some freshwater lakes and ponds are suffering quality issues too, the victims of “HAB’s” — harmful algal blooms. 

And in parts of Long Island we have a quantity problem, illustrated by lowered water table levels causing streams and ponds to shrink or dry out and allowing saltwater intrusion from salty water pushing in from sides of the groundwater supply. Hundreds of acres of wetlands have disappeared or been diminished by lowered water table levels, adversely affecting wetland dependent wildlife species.  

Nor have we been the stewards of the shallow coastal waters surrounding us that we should be. Driven by excessive nitrogen from sewage treatment plants (STP’s), home cesspools and septic tanks, and hundreds of thousands of fertilized lawns, the island’s coastal ecosystems are  showing significant stress. This stress is illustrated by numerous algae blooms or colored “tides,” perhaps made most visible by the green sheets of Ulva or sea lettuce which blankets the bottom of much of our tidal creek and bays. 

Some of these blooms involve algae species that are toxic to wildlife or are species that shellfish cannot eat to sustain themselves. Moreover, coastal waters containing excess nitrogen can weaken tidal marshes, a dangerous trend given their wildlife habitat, pollution control, and storm buffering value.

Photo by John Turner

The good news is that we have the means to address these problems and one of them involves water recycling or reuse. As the name suggests, water recycling involves the use of highly treated wastewater discharged from sewage treatment plants for some other worthwhile purpose. And the Riverhead Sewage Treatment Plant water reuse project serves as an excellent example.  Here, during the warmer months (April to October), highly treated wastewater is diverted from discharge into the Peconic River/Bay and, instead, is pumped next door to Suffolk County Parks’ Indian Island Golf Course. The water, containing low levels of nitrogen, is used to irrigate the golf course, the nitrogen being taken up by the turf grass. The water is subject to UV disinfection which kills 99.9% of the viruses and bacteria that might remain in the wastewater from initial treatment. 

What’s the benefits you might ask of this water reuse project? The engineering consultants to the project estimate it will divert more than one ton of ecosystem-changing nitrogen annually from entering coastal waters with the nitrogen serving as fertilizer for the golf course grass. And it gets better — approximately 63 million gallons of water which used to be pumped out of the aquifer can stay in the ground, reducing stress on the groundwater system.  An added benefit is that it may also save taxpayer dollars due to decreased energy and fertilizer costs.

Given these dual quality and quantity benefits it is not surprising water recycling is commonplace in some states and in many other countries.  California, Florida, and Arizona are among the leaders as are countries like Israel in the Middle East. (You may have seen evidence of water reuse projects while traveling in these or other states since the pipes conveying the water are painted purple — the universal color for water recycling. I saw them a few years ago while traveling through Clearwater, Florida north of St. Petersburg). 

Today, more than 2.6 billion gallons of water are reused daily in the United States. And the potential on Long Island is great with several dozen golf courses being within two miles of a sewage treatment plant. 

There are other reuse applications besides irrigation of golf courses though… irrigation of agricultural crops and municipal ballfields, industrial cooling, wetland restoration, washdown water at sewage plants, even potable reuse which is now happening in California. Anyone want a beer brewed using highly treated wastewater? There are half a dozen brands now available, in Canada, Germany, and California, if you so desire!

To better understand and quantify this potential, and to provide a framework for prioritizing potential projects, the Seatuck Environmental Association, with funding kindly provided by the Greentree Foundation, hired Cameron Engineering to help develop a Long Island Water Reuse Road Map or Blueprint. This road map lists nearly 100 projects in which an STP is coupled with a target of the reclaimed wastewater — most typically a golf course or agricultural operation — situated within a two mile radius. They are listed in priority fashion based on the amount of water potentially saved, amount of nitrogen potentially reduced, and estimated cost for improvements needed to implement.        

Closer  to home, what might be some potential water recycling projects? One that jumps out (ranked #10 in the prioritized matrix) is using treated wastewater generated from the sewage treatment plant located on the SUNY Stony Brook campus to irrigate St. George’s Golf Course situated in close proximity on the east side of Nicolls Road. A successful project here would keep hundreds of pounds of nitrogen from entering Port Jefferson Harbor (the effluent from the SUNY SBU STP is piped to the Port Jefferson plant first before discharge into the harbor) and keep an estimated 34 million gallons of water in the aquifer.  

It is clear that with political support and adequate public funding, water reuse can significantly contribute to intelligent management of the water upon which we depend for drinking and water that we enjoy swimming in. As the LI Water Reuse Road Map has shown, water recycling, implemented comprehensively, can prevent tons of nitrogen from entering Long Island’s groundwater supply and adjacent coastal waters while keeping billions of gallons of freshwater in the ground. To borrow from an often used phrase: “That there’s a win-win situation” for all Long Islanders.

A resident of Setauket, John Turner is conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, author of “Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island” and president of Alula Birding & Natural History Tours.

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Cartoon by Kyle Horne: @kylehorneart kylehorneart.com

Port Jefferson has a parking problem. This problem is not the fault of any one administration but the natural consequence of maintaining a bustling downtown with limited parking capacity. 

It is a problem that has been with Port Jeff for decades and may soon affect various other municipalities throughout the area. As the towns of Brookhaven, Smithtown and Huntington look to expand sewer capacity and revitalize downtowns, local leaders should learn from Port Jeff’s parking struggles.

In Port Jeff, as in other communities, parking decisions matter. Parking administration is an expression of a community’s values and priorities. Managing parking requires a delicate balancing act between the various stakeholders seeking access to the community — residents, visitors, shoppers, employees and business owners, among others.

At root, parking decisions are about equitable land use. For other land-use decisions, we have planning departments and zoning boards whose members negotiate and compromise before rendering judgment. We also have committees for various other areas of local governance, such as parks and recreation, communications, conservation and architectural review.

However, municipalities often lack committees for an issue as central as parking. Without a parking committee, parking management seems estranged from the political process, the community stakeholders lacking the forum necessary to translate their interests into sound policy.

Moreover, the existing dynamic is inequitable to those who make parking decisions. Without a committee to channel the community’s wants and needs, the burden of policy falls upon a select few. In Port Jeff’s case, the parking administrator unfairly bears the responsibility of making representative decisions for the entire community, suffering alone the slings and arrows from all competing parties. We regard this arrangement as increasingly untenable and ineffective.

History informs us that uniformity of opinion is not possible. For this reason, a functioning democratic system works to channel the many interests of the people into the political process. Only through that process can a representative policy outcome arise. Parking is no different.

We are committed to the premise that fair policies emerge from an open, deliberative process. It is, therefore, necessary for municipalities throughout our coverage area to form parking committees, opening the decision-making process to all concerned parties. Let us democratize parking here on Long Island. It’s vitally needed.

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By focusing on developing heart-healthy habits, we can improve the likelihood that we will be around for a long time. METRO photo
Modest dietary changes can have a big impact

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

With all of the attention on infectious disease prevention these past two years, many have lost sight of the risks of heart disease. Despite improvements in the numbers in recent years, heart disease in the U.S., making it the leading cause of death (1).

I have good news: heart disease is on the decline in the U.S. due to a number of factors, including better awareness, improved medicines, earlier treatment of risk factors and lifestyle modifications. We are headed in the right direction, but we can do better. It still underpins one in four deaths, and it is preventable.

Manage your baseline risks

Significant risk factors for heart disease include high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking. In addition, diabetes, excess weight and excessive alcohol intake increase your risks. Unfortunately, both obesity and diabetes are on the rise. For patients with type 2 diabetes, 70 percent die of cardiovascular causes (2).

Inactivity and the standard American diet, rich in saturated fat and calories, also contribute to atherosclerosis, fatty streaks in the arteries, the underlying culprit in heart disease risk (3).

Another potential risk factor is a resting heart rate greater than 80 beats per minute (bpm). In one study, healthy men and women had 18 and 10 percent increased risks of dying from a heart attack, respectively, for every increase of 10 bpm over 80 (4). A normal resting heart rate is usually between 60 and 100 bpm. Thus, you don’t have to have a racing heart rate, just one that is high-normal. All of these risk factors can be overcome.

How does medication lower heart disease risk?

Cholesterol and blood pressure medications have been credited to some extent with reducing the risk of heart disease. Unfortunately, according to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, only 43.7 percent of those with hypertension have it controlled (5). While the projected reasons are complex, a significant issue among those who are aware they have hypertension is a failure to consistently take prescribed medications, or medication nonadherence.

Statins also have played a key role in primary prevention. They lower lipid levels, including total cholesterol and LDL (“bad” cholesterol) but they also lower inflammation levels that contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease. The JUPITER trial showed a 55 percent combined reduction in heart disease, stroke and mortality from cardiovascular disease in healthy patients — those with a slightly elevated level of inflammation and normal cholesterol profile — with statins.

The downside of statins is their side effects. Statins have been shown to increase the risk of diabetes in intensive dosing, when compared to moderate dosing (6).

Unfortunately, many on statins also suffer from myopathy (muscle pain). I have had a number of patients who have complained of muscle pain and cramps. Their goal is to reduce and ultimately discontinue their statins by following a lifestyle modification plan involving diet and exercise. Lifestyle modification is a powerful ally.

What lifestyle changes help minimize heart disease?

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, a prospective (forward-looking) study, investigated 501 healthy men and their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The authors concluded that those who consumed five servings or more of fruits and vegetables daily with <12 percent saturated fat had a 76 percent reduction in their risk of dying from heart disease compared to those who did not (7). 

The authors theorized that eating more fruits and vegetables helped to displace saturated fats from the diet. These results are impressive and, to achieve them, they only required a modest change in diet.

The Nurses’ Health Study shows that these results are also seen in women, with lifestyle modification reducing the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Many times, this is the first manifestation of heart disease in women. The authors looked at four parameters of lifestyle modification, including a Mediterranean-type diet, exercise, smoking and body mass index. The decrease in SCD that was dose-dependent, meaning the more factors incorporated, the greater the risk reduction. SCD risk was reduced up to 92 percent when all four parameters were followed (8). Thus, it is possible to almost eliminate the risk of SCD for women with lifestyle modifications.

How can you monitor your heart disease risk?

To monitor your progress, cardiac biomarkers are telling, including inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein, blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index. 

In a cohort study of high-risk participants and those with heart disease, patients implemented extensive lifestyle modifications: a plant-based, whole foods diet accompanied by exercise and stress management (9). The results showed an improvement in biomarkers, as well as in cognitive function and overall quality of life. Most exciting is that results occurred over a very short period to time — three months from the start of the trial. Many of my patients have experienced similar results.

Ideally, if a patient needs medications to treat risk factors for heart disease, it should be for the short term. For some patients, it may be appropriate to use medication and lifestyle changes together; for others, lifestyle modifications may be sufficient, as long as patient takes an active role.

By focusing on developing heart-healthy habits, we can improve the likelihood that we will be around for a long time.

References:

(1) cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts. (2) Diabetes Care. 2010 Feb; 33(2):442-449. (3) Lancet. 2004;364(9438):93. (4) J Epidemiol Community Health. 2010 Feb;64(2):175-181. (5) Hypertension. 2022;79:e1–e14. (6) JAMA. 2011;305(24):2556-2564. (7) J Nutr. March 1, 2005;135(3):556-561. (8) JAMA. 2011 Jul 6;306(1):62-69. (9) Am J Cardiol. 2011;108(4):498-507.

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.

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Tim Malloy in Saudia Arabia in 1995.
Tim Malloy in Saudia Arabia in 1995.
Tim Malloy (right) with another jumper (Ness) from 2019 reenactment of Normandy.
Tim Malloy in a poppy field after Normandy jump.
Tim Malloy in Kuwait right after 9/11.
Tim Malloy fast-roping down to the roof of a building.
Tim Malloy skydiving off the coast of Long Island in the mid 1990's.

By Daniel Dunaief

Tim Malloy worked behind the scenes at highly visible military operations between 1976 and 2003. The fast twitch Malloy, who grew up in Islip and currently lives in Baiting Hollow, was frequently on high alert with his team of US Air Force Combat Pararescuemen.

Part of an elite group of soldiers with extensive and demanding training, Malloy, who retired as a Chief Master Sergeant, waited 15 miles away aboard a C-130 plane during Space Shuttle launches, prepared to jump into the water to provide assistance to astronauts in the event of an emergency.

In addition to heading into violent and dangerous storms, Malloy traveled to countries including Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq as part of the Air Force’s efforts to protect and retrieve troops.

Malloy and his fellow pararescuemen recognized the dangers of their job. “Every time you get in an airplane, you don’t know if it’s going to come back,” he said. “It’s a humbling feeling.”

A friend from childhood who Malloy convinced to become a pararescueman, David Ruvola suggested that Malloy is the kind of partner in arms other members of the military hope to find.

“When you’re dealing with life and death situations, you want the guy next to you that’s going to put his life on the line for yours,” Ruvola said. “You have to have the mindset of ‘if I lose my life trying to save my brother next to me, guess what, I’m going.’ There’s no question that [Malloy] is that kind of guy.”

Malloy and Ruvola were a part of a unit that supported efforts in Iraq.

During a firefight outside Abu Ghraib prison 20 years ago, a Humvee with several soldiers aboard rolled into a waterway. Without a moment’s hesitation, another soldier, Andrew Baddick, dove into the water to try to rescue the crew. Ruvola, who was a squadron commander during a time when Malloy was a pararescueman, were called to the scene.

The pararescue squad was the only one in the country with scuba tanks, although those tanks didn’t have any air. Ruvola filled them up in a firehouse and sent two helicopters, including Malloy to the scene.

Malloy and his team entered the dirty water, where they traveled hand over hand to find the fallen soldiers, including Baddick. “It took us quite a while, but we recovered the bodies,” Malloy said.

Emotional meeting

About a decade after recovering the soldiers, Malloy was at a camper show in Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, where about 50,000 people attended. He noticed a man wearing a gold star hat, which meant he had lost a family member during a conflict. Malloy expressed his sympathies. When the father told his story, Malloy recognized the details. “I recovered your son’s body,” Malloy told Joseph Baddick, who was Andrew’s father. “I remember the whole thing.”

At lunch that day, Malloy shared details with Baddick about his son. “He didn’t know the nuts and bolts of the whole thing,” Malloy said. “It was, by far, one of the most emotional moments for me in the military.”

Sea rescues

In addition to high profile missions or rescue attempts, Malloy experienced some challenging and high risk efforts that were part of his Air Force responsibilities.

After a Portuguese ship sank, four fisherman were in a life raft designed for three people. Malloy and another rescue man jumped from a helicopter and swam to the raft in frigid waters in the middle of November. Suffering from hypothermia, the fishermen weren’t thinking clearly and had started taking off their clothing.

The Air Force crew raised the fisherman, who had pink skin from the cold, into the helicopter. One of Malloy’s crew got into a sleeping bag with a fisherman to help raise his body heat. In the cold helicopter, the crew administered intravenous fluids they had preheated.

“As the blood was getting back into their body, they started shivering violently,” Malloy said, which was a good sign that they were starting to warm up.

In a separate incident, the appendix of a man aboard a tanker in the middle of the ocean burst. Malloy and another rescuer jumped out of a C-130 in the middle of the night and swam to the ship, where they relied on their training as emergency medical technician at a paramedic level to treat the crew member.

A life changing article

When he was young, Malloy recalled how people stood when the flag went by during Flag Day and Veteran’s Day. He enjoyed the hot dogs and soda he consumed at the American Legion after attending parades.

After he graduated from Islip High School, Malloy wasn’t sure what he’d do with his life. “I ended up reading an article in the Daily News about guys who jumped out of planes and rescued people,” he said. “I mentioned in to my mom and she said, ‘it sounds like it’s right up your alley.’”

The training was more difficult than he thought, especially because, despite being playing lacrosse, basketball and football, he wasn’t much of a swimmer. Even with the Air Force’s effort to weed out people, he didn’t believe quitting was an option.

Sounding like Richard Gere in the movie An Officer and a Gentleman, Malloy said he had “nothing to go back to.” Being surrounded by like-minded men raised Malloy’s game, making him work harder. 

His military experience “fit my personality and lifestyle and worked for me,” Malloy said. He joined the Suffolk County Police Department after he retired, where he worked until 2018. The military “taught me how to treat people,” he said. Even some of the people he arrested thanked him for how he interacted with them.

Normandy

After he retired from the police force, Malloy heard about an effort to recreate the 75th anniversary of the Allied Forces’ attack at Normandy. He signed up to jump out of an airplane. The participants had to have 15 recent jumps to qualify, which he did by jumping out of planes in Oklahoma, Florida and Texas. Wearing original combat uniforms and jumping out of a restored airplane from the invasion, Malloy, who was the only New Yorker in the anniversary jump, was on the first plane from which soldiers parachuted into a poppy field in France. French residents came up to him and thanked him for coming.

In the United States, Malloy appreciates the treatment veterans receive from most civilians.“It’s a really good feeling,” he said. “I get treated with a lot of respect.”

This column is generously sponsored by Casper Contracting Inc.
631-605-5129/631-846-1537/caspercontractinginc.com

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METRO photo
A Column Promoting a More Earth-friendly Lifestyle

By John L. Turner

METRO photo

You have undoubtedly learned about the value of recycling as it has become commonplace on Long Island, with every town and village here operating recycling programs. Recycling helps to reduce impacts to landfills, reduces air and water pollution, and results in less energy use.

Especially important is recycling aluminum. Why? Because unlike other materials such as paper, aluminum is infinitely recyclable and requires much less energy to make a new aluminum product from recycled aluminum than from virgin ore (bauxite). For example, it takes 20 times the amount of energy to make a can from virgin ore as it does from recycled aluminum. Said another way, creating new aluminum cans from recycled cans uses 95 percent less energy than making new cans from ore. Or how about: Tossing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline!!

To put this in a broader perspective, using an example from around your home: recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for almost four hours or run your television for three hours. This adds up as last year 54 billion cans were recycled saving energy equivalent to 15 million barrels of crude oil — America’s entire gas consumption for one day. These examples make it clear that recycling aluminum is a sure-fire way for you to combat climate change. So, please recycle those aluminum pie tins, take-out containers, and cans!

A resident of Setauket, John Turner is conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, author of “Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island” and president of Alula Birding & Natural History Tours.

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Pixabay photo

By Bob Lipinski

Bob Lipinski

Lodi, the largest and most important Central Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) designated in 1986, is home to over 20 percent of California’s total wine grape production, with over 100,000 acres of vineyards. 

Located in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, just south of Sacramento, on the eastern edge of the Sacramento River Delta, Lodi is slightly cooler than much of the Central Valley because as temperatures rise, marine breezes are pulled from San Francisco Bay, creating a distinctly cooler climate than the rest of the valley. Lodi’s sub-AVAs are Alta Mesa, Borden Ranch, Clements Hills, Cosumnes River, Jahant, Mokelumne River, and Sloughhouse.

The city was originally called Mokelumne (Mokul is a corruption of the Miwok word for river, and umne means “people of”), and was established as a town in 1869 after a group of major landowners persuaded the Central Pacific Railroad to make it a stop between Stockton and Sacramento. The town of Mokelumne was often confused with the nearby communities of Mokelumne Hill and Mokelumne City, which often delayed mail and shipments of goods and supplies. For these reasons, the town’s name was changed to Lodi in 1874.

Lodi is home to both large brands, like Sutter Home and Robert Mondavi Woodbridge, and over 85 small boutique wineries, many of whom specialize in “old-vine” Zinfandel production. In addition, many leading California wineries buy Lodi grapes, including E. & J. Gallo, Constellation, Fetzer Vineyards, Delicato, Napa Ridge, Ravenswood, and Beringer, among others.

Lodi is considered the “Zinfandel Capital of the World,” producing over 30 percent of California’s premium Zinfandel. Many of the city’s most distinctive Zinfandel wines come from about 2,000 acres of Pre-Prohibition, “old vines,” some dating back to the 1880s. These vines are naturally low-yielding due to age, but consistently produce high-quality grapes. Besides Zinfandel, major grapes grown include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and over a hundred other varieties.

Some recommended wineries to try Zinfandel from are:

Berghold Vineyards

Borra Vineyards

Gnarly Head Wines

Harmony Wynelands

Harney Lane Winery and Vineyards

Ironstone Vineyards

Jeremy Wine Company

Klinker Brick Winery

Lange Twins Family Winery

Macchia Wines

McCay Cellars

Mettler Family Vineyards

Michael David Winery

Oak Farm Vineyards

St. Amant Winery

Van Ruiten Family Vineyards

“What is the best California wine?” Now it is impossible to answer that question as phrased. The range of wines is wide and the list of different types and their makers is long. (Lindley Bynum, Davis Bynum Winery Inc.)

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]

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Cheesy Asparagus Tart

By Heidi Sutton

You can almost feel spring in the air, and with the warmer weather comes delicious, delectable foods. From casseroles, tarts and omelets to fresh fruits and wholesome vegetables, a change of season offers something to look forward to for nearly every foodie. 

Two spring dishes that are sure to impress for brunch are a Cheesy Asparagus Tart and Herbed Spanish Omelet. The tart has melted cheese, cooked asparagus and an under layer of puff pastry baked to golden brown perfection while the omelet features potatoes, fresh spring herbs and red onions. 

Cheesy Asparagus Tart

Cheesy Asparagus Tart

YIELD:Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups water

1 pound asparagus

ice water

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus additional, to taste, divided

1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus additional, to taste, divided

flour, for dusting

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 cup grated fontina cheese

1 cup grated gruyere cheese

1 tablespoon shallot, minced

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 lemon, zest only

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 400 F. In large skillet, add water and asparagus. Cook 5-8 minutes until asparagus is bright green. Drain asparagus and soak in ice water. In large bowl, mix drained asparagus, vegetable oil, salt and pepper until combined. Flour surface area. Using rolling pin, roll out pastry to 10-by-16-inch rectangle. Transfer pastry to parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick pastry with fork. Bake about 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool slightly on baking sheet.

In large bowl, mix fontina cheese, gruyere cheese, shallot, egg yolks, milk, nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste, until combined. Spread cheese over pastry, leaving 1 inch around edges. Lay asparagus over cheese mixture. Bake 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Sprinkle lemon zest over tart and serve.

Herbed Spanish Omelet

Herbed Spanish Omelet

YIELD: Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced

water

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup diced red onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 large whole eggs, lightly beaten

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

salt, to taste (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Place potatoes in large pan. Cover with water. Bring to boil and cook, uncovered, 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain well. In deep, 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and garlic. Cook about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes and cook 5 minutes. Combine whole eggs and egg whites. Stir in parsley, basil and chives. Season with salt, to taste, if desired. Pour mixture over potatoes in hot skillet. Reduce heat and cook, uncovered, about 10 minutes, or until bottom of omelet is golden. If desired, brown top under toaster oven. 

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