Activists attend a rally for police reform in Hauppauge March 15. File photo by Julianne Mosher
This week, dozens of groups across Long Island stood together, calling on lawmakers to adopt “The People’s Plan” for police reform, including one outside county offices in Hauppauge on March 15.
Created by community task force and advocacy groups, the plan is in response to a separate version Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) submitted to lawmakers last week.
And it’s needed, especially since the plan has taken into consideration feedback from retired law enforcement, civil rights attorneys, advocates and activists.
Earlier this month, Bellone held an urgent press conference, alleging the assault from police on a man who stole a car and ran from the cops, in Port Jefferson Station — our backyard.
Of course, there are two sides to every story.
The county’s current police reform proposal directs the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission to review complaints of police misconduct. That being said, the police department would still have the power to investigate and discipline their own.
The plan created by advocacy groups would create a community council to review and hold the police accountable for misconduct.
What’s wrong with that?
By allowing the community to deliberate on what was wrong, it would alleviate some of the stresses that police officers constantly deal with. It might even prevent the “bad apples” from doing bad things.
A year after Breonna Taylor’s death and nearing 365 days since the George Floyd killing, 2020 was a mess filled with protests, anger, fear and arguments.
We’re three months into 2021. Let’s start anew, afresh and let open conversations prevent the beatings of innocent people, prevent unlawful deaths and make the communities we live in a better place for everyone — no matter their gender, race, income level or role in society.
Transparency is a good thing in all walks of public life.
On that day, the Mars Perseverance rover descended through the atmosphere with considerable fanfare back on Earth. Using some of the 23 cameras on Perseverance, engineers took pictures and videos of the landing.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration not only shared the video of the rover descending into the Jezero crater which held water and, perhaps, life three billion years ago, but also offered a view of the elated engineers who had spent years planning this mission.
In a calm, but excited voice, a female narrator counted down the height and speed of the rover, which weighs about a ton on Earth and closer to 800 pounds in the lower gravity of Mars. The NASA video showed staff jumping out of their seats, cheering for the achievement.
Launched from Cape Canaveral, the rover took 233 days to reach Mars, which is about the gestation period for a chimpanzee.
Some of the engineers “who got us there have reached the end of their marathon,” said Joel Hurowitz, Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University and Deputy Principal Investigator for one of the seven scientific instruments aboard the Perseverance.
With ongoing support from other engineers who helped design and build the rover, the scientists “get the keys to the vehicle and we get to start using these things.”
Indeed, Hurowitz and Scott McLennan, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Stony Brook University are part of teams of scientists who will gather information to answer basic questions about Mars, from whether life existed, to searching for evidence of ancient habitable environments, to seeking evidence about the changing environment.
Both Stony Brook scientists were riveted by the recordings of the landing.
Scott McLennan
Hurowitz marveled at the cloud of dust that formed as the rover approached the surface.“You could see these chunks of rock flying back up at the sky crane cameras,” he said. “I was amazed at the amount of debris that was kicked up in the landing process.”
Hurowitz had seen pieces of rock on top of the Curiosity rover after it landed, but he felt he understood more about the process from the new video. “To see it happening, I realized how violent that final stage of the landing is,” he said.
McLennan said this has been his sixth Mars mission and he “never tires of it. It’s always exciting, especially when there is a landing involved.”
Like Hurowitz, who earned his PhD in McLennan’s lab at Stony Brook, McLennan was impressed by the dust cloud. “I understood that a lot of dust and surface debris was displaced, but it was quite remarkable to see the rover disappear into the dust for a short while,” he wrote in an email.
While previous missions and orbiting satellites have provided plenty of information about Mars, the Perseverance has the potential to beam pictures and detailed analysis of the elements inside rocks.
Hurowitz, who helped build the Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry, or PIXL, said the team, led by Abigail Allwood at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has conducted its first successful instrument check, which involves turning everything on and making sure it works. Around April, the PIXL team will start collecting its first scientific data.
In addition to searching for evidence of previous life on Mars, Hurowitz will test a model for climate variation.
The SuperCam on the Perseverance Rover. Photo by Gregory M. Waigand
From measurements of the chemistry and mineralogy of sedimentary rock, the scientists can deduce whether the rocks formed in an environment that was oxygen-rich or oxygen-poor. Additionally, they can make inferences about temperature conditions based on their chemical compositions.
Looking at variations in each layer, they can see whether Mars cycled back and forth between cold and warm climates.
Warmer periods could have lasted for hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of years, depending on how much greenhouse gas was injected at any time, Hurowitz explained. “Whether this is long enough to enable biological development is probably one of the great questions in the field of pre-biotic chemistry,” he said.
The Martian atmosphere could have had dramatic swings between warm and oxygen-poor conditions and cold and oxygen-rich conditions. “This has not really been predicted before and provides a hypothesis we can test with the rover payload for how climate might have varied on Mars,” he added.
Tempering the expectation of confirming the existence of life, Hurowitz said he would be “shocked if we woke one morning and a picture in the rover image downlink [included] a fossil,” he said. “It’s going to take time for us to build up our understanding of the geology of the site well enough.” The process could take months or even years.
Using information from orbiters, scientists have seen minerals in the Jezero crater that are only found when water and rock interact.
With the 11-minute time lag between when a signal from Earth reaches Perseverance, Hurowitz said scientific teams send daily codes up to the rover and its instrument. Hurowitz will be involved in uploading the signals for PIXL.
A Martian day is 40 minutes longer than the Earth day, which is why the Matt Damon movie “The Martian” used the word “sol,” which represents the time between sunrises on Mars.
McLennan, who works on three teams, said PIXL and the SuperCam provide complementary skill sets. With its laser, the SuperCam can measure the chemical composition of rocks at under seven meters away. Up close, PIXL can measure sub millimeter spot sizes for chemistry.
SuperCam will then find areas of interest, enabling PIXL to focus on a postage-stamp sized area.
As a member of the Returned Sample Science Working Group, McLennan, who is a specialist in studying the chemical composition of sedimentary rocks, helps choose which rocks to collect and set aside to bring back to Earth. The rocks could return on a mission some time in the 2030s.
The scientists will collect up to 43 samples, including some that are completely empty. The empty tubes will monitor the history of contamination that the other rock samples experienced.
For McLennan, the involvement of his former student is especially rewarding. Hurowitz “didn’t just help build the instrument, he’s one of the leaders,” McLennan said. “That’s really fabulous.”
For Hurowitz, any data that supports or refutes the idea about the potential presence of life on Mars is encouraging.
He is “cautiously optimistic” about finding evidence of past life on Mars. “We’ve done everything we can as a scientific community to maximize the chance that we’ve landed some place that might preserve signs of life.”
Patricia Conway came upon a practice session of the Stony Brook University Sailing Team while taking a walk along Centennial Park in her hometown of Port Jefferson last week and snapped this photo. She writes, ‘It was just one of those glorious days that signify spring forward.
This month, we completed our first pandemic year. As we prepare for a hopeful future, please find below the words that reflected the realities of our past year.
— “We were behind the eight ball on testing for a while now,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) on a conference call with members of the National Association of Counties and the press, March 18, 2020.
– “These are not helpful hints. These are legal provisions. They will be enforced.” Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) on a conference call with reporters, describing his decision to shut down businesses not considered essential, March 20, 2020.
– “A lot of us are thinking about staff on the hospital side who are really being tested in an unprecedented way.” Cathrine Duffy, director of HealthierU, an employee wellness program at Stony Brook University, March 25, 2020.
— “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Joan Dickinson, community relations director at Stony Brook University, in response to the over 100 emails she received each night from people eager to donate to the university, March 27, 2020
— “For the N95 masks to come in without a charge helps all those local entities laying out a lot of cash at the moment.” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) in response to the announcement that President Donald Trump (R) would ship 200,000 masks to Suffolk County, April 6, 2020.
— “I never imagined being in the position of reporting the numbers on a daily basis of people who have died in our county from anything like this.” Bellone on his daily conference call with reporters, April 12, 2020.
— “We feel that science will solve this problem, and hopefully soon.” John Hill, director of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, who was part of a team coordinating Brookhaven National Laboratory’s COVID-19 research across all the Department of Energy labs, April 19, 2020.
— “We have a hard winter ahead of us.” Bettina Fries, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, regarding projected increases in viral cases, April 23, 2020.
— “I always felt an urgency about cancer, but this has an urgency on steroids.” Mikala Egeblad, associate professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in describing her efforts to apply her scientific expertise to COVID, April 26, 2020.
— “Coming to the hospital is still safer than going to the supermarket.” Todd Griffin, the president of Medical Staff and chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, April 30, 2020.
— “We love you, but you can’t come anywhere near us.” Malcolm Bowman, distinguished service professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, recalls his extended family in New Zealand telling him and his wife Waveney as they left an old car with food at the airport so the couple could live in a camper in New Zealand , May 1, 2020.
— “At a certain point, it’s not just about the patient. It’s about the whole support system. You’re pulling not just for them, but for their whole family.” Amanda Groveman, Stony Brook quality management practitioner, describing the My Story effort to personalize patient stays at the hospital, May 7, 2020.
— “I always knew you were smart, but now I know you are brilliant.” Marna said to her daughter Tamara Rosen, who defended her graduate thesis at Stony Brook University through a Zoom call, May 24, 2020.
— The death of Minnesota resident George Floyd at the hands of police officers was “an outrage” and was “unacceptable.” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart in a statement on a media call, May 30, 2020.
— Army veteran Gary Degrijze has “truly made a remarkable recovery.” Jerry Rubano, a doctor in Trauma/ Acute Care/ Surgical Critical Care in the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine, said after he spent seven weeks on a ventilator and twice lost his pulse , June 9, 2020.
— “You couldn’t have found a happier group of people.” Dr. Frank Darras, clinical professor of Urology and Clinical / Medical Director of the Renal Transplantation Program at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, about a transplant at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, June 12, 2020.
— “My whole career has brought me to be who I am in this moment.” Risco Mention-Lewis, deputy police commissioner, in the wake of protests over policing, July 3, 2020.
— “When you have untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders, the county will pay for that one way or the other.” Children’s Association Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Reynolds amid an increase in demand for mental health during the pandemic, July 31, 2020.
— “People sent really moving and emotional notes. We saw a lot of good in people” [during a difficult time.] Colby Rowe, Trauma Center Education & Prehospital outreach coordinator who helped coordinate donations to Stony Brook, Aug. 7, 2020.
— “Long Islanders deserve better.” Thomas Falcone, CEO of LIPA, in response to a letter from Senator James Gaughran (D-Northport) questioning LIPA’s oversight of PSEG after extensive power outages and communication failures following Tropical Storm Isaias, Aug. 28, 2020.
— “I tell my patients, I take their hands, I say, ‘Listen, I was in there, too. I know what you’re feeling. I know you’re scared. I know you’re feeling you can die.” Feliciano Lucuix, a patient care assistant at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, describing her hospitalization with COVID and then her return to her work in the same hospital, Dec. 14, 2020.
— “As hard and as difficult and sad and heart wrenching [as it was], so many other parts, you just saw such humanity. It was amazing.” Patricia Coffey, nurse manager at the Critical Care Unit at Huntington Hospital reflecting on the challenges and responses of the health care field amid the pandemic, Dec. 31, 2020.
— “When we reach our number, we make an announcement inside.” Michael Connell, who runs the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington Station, said about alerting people about crowds awaiting a chance to visit with family during a funeral service, Feb. 26, 2021.
There are some funny stories I could share with you about being a woman in business this Women’s History Month. Like any storyteller, I may be repeating myself with a couple, so please indulge me with your patience. I hope they will give you a chuckle even if you’ve already heard them.
First though, I would call your attention elsewhere in the newspaper and on our website to a section in which local businesswomen are participating in this month’s spotlight. They have sent in headshots of themselves and have answered one of three questions that we posed: how do you balance work-life duties; who inspired you; what words would you offer younger women interested in following in your footsteps? Please look for them and enjoy their responses. We hope you will also shop in their stores and use their services, thus supporting both the local economy and minority-owned enterprise.
We started the first newspaper, The Village Times, on April 8, 1976. After some wildly chaotic and exciting first months, just before Christmas, I was waiting in line at the deli across from the office when I was greeted by the ad director of a local competitor newspaper. We had met several times before, and he was filled with the good cheer of the season.
“Congratulations on your new venture,” he said. “The paper looks very good every week.”
“Thank you,” I replied, thinking it was a generous thing for him to say to another publisher.
“You tell the fellow up there that he’s doing a great job,” he added, pointing upward to my office building on the hill.
“What fellow?” I asked, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ crossing my mind.
“Aw, c’mon,” he said with a laugh. “We all know you have some guy up there running the show.”
“Merry Christmas,” I replied and took the encounter back to the staff of half a dozen wives and mothers, who howled.
Then there was the time I was seated on the dais next to the New York Press Association’s keynote speaker, Mike Wallace. It was the Spring Convention, 1984. On his other side was the association’s president finishing his meal, and I was the president-elect. Wallace, good journalist that he was, chatted with us throughout the dinner, sincerely asking about the names and locations of our newspapers. After it was my turn, and I answered his queries, he looked at me and asked, “And where is your husband?”
I could hear the president choking on his food as he feared my response. “He’s at home watching the children,” I answered with a smile. At this point, the president was able to get out, “No, she is the owner and publisher of her paper.”
Wallace turned back to me, patted my arm, and after a long pause, offered, “Forgive me, my dear. I’m an old dinosaur.”
Here’s another. It was 1978 and I had arrived the night before the NYPA convention was to start. I was already checked into the hotel and was eating dinner in the dining room with a book for company. “May I join you?”
I looked up and saw a pleasant-looking man smiling down at me. “Yes,” I answered, returning the smile and assuming he was another early arrival for the convention. We exchanged names and hometowns, chatted briefly about the weather in Albany, and then he slid his room key across the tablecloth. “Come up about 9:00,” he instructed.
I stared at him puzzled, then realized what he was saying. “Why would you think I would be coming to your room?” I asked astonished.
“Well,” he said, “you are down here in the hotel eating by yourself.” He withdrew the key and quickly left. I looked around, realized I was the only woman eating alone, skipped dessert, paid the check, rode the elevator up to my room, and once inside, double-locked the door.
That was life in the fast lane for a woman in business in the 1970s.
Sadly, identity theft happens throughout the year – but some identity thieves are particularly active during tax-filing season. How can you protect yourself?
One of the most important moves you can make is to be suspicious of requests by people or entities claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. You may receive phone calls, texts and emails, but these types of communication are often just “phishing” scams with one goal in mind: to capture your personal information. These phishers can be quite clever, sending emails that appear to contain the IRS logo or making calls that may even seem to be coming from the IRS.
Don’t open any links or attachments to the emails and don’t answer the calls – and don’t be alarmed if the caller leaves a vaguely threatening voicemail, either asking for personal information, such as your Social Security number, or informing you of some debts you supposedly owe to the IRS that must be taken care of “immediately.”
In reality, the IRS will not initiate contact with you by phone, email, text message or social media to request personal or financial information, or to inquire about issues pertaining to your tax returns. Instead, the agency will first send you a letter. And if you’re unsure of the legitimacy of such a letter, contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040.
Of course, not all scam artists are fake IRS representatives – some will pass themselves off as tax preparers. Fortunately, most tax preparers are honest, but it’s not too hard to find the dishonest ones who might ask you to sign a blank return, promise you a big refund before looking at your records or try to charge a fee based on the percentage of your return. Legitimate tax preparers will make no grand promises and will explain their fees upfront. Before hiring someone to do your taxes, find out their qualifications. The IRS provides some valuable tips for choosing a reputable tax preparer, but you can also ask your friends and relatives for referrals.
Another tax scam to watch out for is the fraudulent tax return – that is, someone filing a return in your name. To do so, a scammer would need your name, birthdate and Social Security number. If you’re already providing two of these pieces of information – your name and birthdate on social media, and you also include your birthplace – you could be making it easier for scam artists to somehow get the third. It’s a good idea to check your privacy settings and limit what you’re sharing publicly. You might also want to use a nickname and omit your last name, birthday and birthplace.
To learn more about tax scams, visit the IRS website (irs.gov) and search for the “Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft.” This document describes some signs of identity theft and provides tips for what to do if you are victimized.
It’s unfortunate that identity theft exists, but by taking the proper precautions, you can help insulate yourself from this threat, even when tax season is over.
Michael Christodoulou, ChFC®, AAMS®, CRPC®, CRPS®
Financial Advisor from the STONY BROOK EDWARD JONES
Michael A. Colamussi of Rocky Point took photos of discarded helium balloons found along a five mile stretch of beach between Rocky Point and Shoreham the weekend after Valentine’s Day and created this collage.
His wife Nancy writes, ‘Some of these balloons had beautiful messages of love, no doubt written and released for someone lost this year.I doubt people are thinking about how harmful balloons are to our beaches and marine life during such a difficult time. Perhaps with Earth Day coming up next month, the newspaper could print a reminder to people to discard of balloons properly and even search for biodegradable products.Perhaps, releasing a lantern instead? It would be nice to see the stores that sell these balloons post such a statement in their stores as well.
I know it’s somewhat of a thematic stretch between the wearin’ of the green and the cookin’ and eatin’ of the green, but frankly, I’ve run out of things to say about corned beef and cabbage. So please bear with me as I share with you some of my favorite greens dishes that are chock full of goodness and that important color for St. Patrick’s Day. When I think of greens, I think mostly of leafy green veggies … things like spinach and collard greens, broccoli and escarole, and Swiss chard that lend exciting taste dimensions and texture. And … they are also nice accompaniments to left-over corned beef.
Sautéed Greens
YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds thoroughly washed spinach, kale, Swiss chard or escarole
4 quarts water
Salt to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
Dried hot red pepper flakes to taste
Freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
DIRECTIONS:
In large pot bring water to a boil; add salt, then drop greens into water and boil until tender, but bright green, about 5 minutes. Drain but reserve 1/3 cup of cooking water. Press or squeeze all excess moisture out of greens. Drizzle half the oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat; add garlic and hot pepper and stir until garlic releases its aroma, about one minute. Immediately add greens and reserved cooking water; stir-fry just long enough to combine flavors and heat through; toss with remaining oil and lemon juice. Serve with corned beef or any meat, poultry or fish.
Not Quite Caesar Salad
YIELD: Makes 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
1 head romaine lettuce, leaves separated and torn into bite-size pieces
1 head Boston or butter lettuce, leaves separated and torn into bite-size pieces
DIRECTIONS:
In a large salad bowl whisk together the garlic, mayonnaise, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chives, anchovies, pepper and parsley; let stand at room temperature at least an hour. Just before serving add the lettuces and toss thoroughly to combine. Serve immediately at room temperature with cold sliced corned beef, turkey or chicken.
Collard Greens with Corned Beef
YIELD: Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon corn or vegetable oil
4 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 to 3 cups chopped cooked corned beef
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound collard greens, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Generous dash Tabasco sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat; add bacon and fry until crisp, then remove, crumble and set aside. Add onion and cook till it starts to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add corned beef and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic releases its aroma, about one minute. Add greens and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to wilt. Add broth and salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until greens are tender, about 40 to 50 minutes; splash with Tabasco sauce, toss and serve with mashed potatoes.
Climate change is the most important threat we face, as one of the three greatest threats imperiling the Earth, in addition to the loss of biodiversity and global pollution. Reducing the carbon dioxide that we release into the atmosphere into the atmosphere is critical. The mantra — reduce, reuse, recycle — has become more important as incomes rise and consumption increases, particularly in urbanizing communities where local government must find ways to deal with the waste stream.
Leftover food is a major component of landfill waste. It has been estimated that only 40% of the food that is produced is consumed, due partly to overproduction on farms and poor distribution methods. The EPA estimates that food waste comprises about 22% of our entire waste stream.
In 2022 the Food Donation and Food Scraps/Recycling Law will take effect in New York State. It will require businesses that generate an average of two tons of excess edible food per week to donate it to food banks and charities. All remaining food scraps, if the business is within 25 miles of an organics recycler, must be recycled instead of ending up in a landfill.
One method is feeding it to an anaerobic digester, in which microorganisms break down organic materials in a closed space where there is no air (or oxygen). The material that is left over following the anaerobic digestion process, called digestate, can be made into soil amendments and fertilizers, improving soil characteristics and facilitating plant growth.
Biogas, which is produced throughout the anaerobic digestion process, is a renewable energy source that can be used in a variety of ways, depending on its quality. Biogas treated to meet pipeline quality standards can be distributed through the natural gas pipeline and used in homes and businesses.However, on the controversial side of this positive energy gain, remains the fact that anaerobic digesters generate an inordinate amount of methane (CH4), an enemy in our effort to combat climate change.
Our waste stream includes packaging materials and paper goods. Bill S1185 has been introduced by Senator Todd Kaminski and it will be followed by A5801, to be introduced by Assemblyman Steve Englebright. They require producers and manufacturers to finance the recycling of their packaging materials and plastics, with incentives for finding ways of making recycling easier. Within three years of the bill’s implementation, producers will have to comply with the provisions of the bill or work with a producer responsibility organization.
Very good news is that agronomists have found that improved soil management can reduce the carbon that is released into the atmosphere and can increase the amount of carbon that is drawn down into the soil through photosynthesis. Led by Suffolk County Cooperative Extension, many farmers are using the methods of no-till farming, cover crops, and natural fertilizers, recognizing the importance of the biodiversity of the soil. Farming can transition from a net carbon emitter to a carbon sink.
In order to reduce the amount of methane coming from landfills, New York State passed a law in 1990 that prohibited municipalities from retaining household waste in their landfills.(Construction and yard waste and recyclables can remain.)
In the case of Brookhaven Town, which built a landfill in 1974 in Yaphank, the waste is currently transported to a waste-to-energy facility in Hempstead for incineration. The ash by-product is then returned to Brookhaven (along with the ash from four othermunicipalities) to be deposited in the Brookhaven landfill, which will be closed in 2024.There is a question of how that ash will be stored, recycled, or disposed of. Until we can get to zero waste that question will remain. Can we do so in a timely way? Can we do so at all?
The League of Women Voters of New York State supports policies that protect food production and distribution while diverting food waste from landfills, incinerators and other waste treatment facilities.
One thing we already know: we will only achieve zero waste conditions when everyone participates. Look for ways to make easy changes at home – using imperfect fruits and vegetables and organizing your pantry can help reduce waste. Plan to re-use and repair your goods, recycle, and compost your food waste.Regenerative farming methods will improve the soil in suburban gardens and lawns as well as farms.Let your state legislators know that you support the EPR bill to require end-of-life recycling by producers.
Nancy Marr is 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. Visit www.lwv-suffolkcounty.org or call 631-862-6860.
This week’s shelter pet is Birdie, a gorgeous dark grey tabby female that was found as a stray. She has been at the Smithtown Animal Shelter for 2 weeks and no one has claimed her. Birdie is outgoing and looks for love from every new person she meets. She is estimated to be 2 years old, she’s healthy and looking for a home that shower her with the love she’s been missing. She is spayed, microchipped and is up to date on her vaccines.
If you are interested in meeting Birdie, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with her in the shelter’s Meet and Greet Room.
The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Shelter operating hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the weekend. Call 631-360-7575 or visit www.smithtownanimalshelter.com for more info.
Using information from orbiters, scientists have seen minerals in the Jezero crater that are only found when water and rock interact.
As a member of the Returned Sample Science Working Group, McLennan, who is a specialist in studying the chemical composition of sedimentary rocks, helps choose which rocks to collect and set aside to bring back to Earth. The rocks could return on a mission some time in the 2030s.
Our waste stream includes packaging materials and paper goods. Bill S1185 has been introduced by Senator Todd Kaminski and it will be followed by A5801, to be introduced by Assemblyman Steve Englebright. They require producers and manufacturers to finance the recycling of their packaging materials and plastics, with incentives for finding ways of making recycling easier. Within three years of the bill’s implementation, producers will have to comply with the provisions of the bill or work with a producer responsibility organization.
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