The Town of Huntington board repealed an old code, Chapter 155, at its Oct. 19 meeting that limited pregnancy terminations to hospitals.
The law was adopted Dec. 8, 1970, and the regulation required “justifiable abortion acts, as defined in the Penal Law of New York State, shall be performed only in a hospital duly licensed and accredited under the New York State Department of Health and having equipment and facilities acceptable to the State Hospital Review and Planning Council.”
Chapter 155 allowed the town to order a cease and desist to a facility that was not authorized and permitted by the town to perform the procedure. The misdemeanor also carried a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 15 days. However, due to the practice of medicine being within the authority of the NYSDOH, the law was never enforced.
At the Oct. 19 board meeting, Councilwoman Joan Cergol (D), who sponsored the measure, said she had the support of her colleagues.
“This is a violation of New York State law,” she said.
She added similar laws had been struck down in Hempstead [in 1972] as the law is unenforceable due to towns and villages not having police power to regulate police procedures.
“This has been a moot law on the books that is 52 years overdue to be removed because it has no effect at all, no matter what the laws of the land are, this law has no powers,” Cergol said. “It’s a paper tiger.”
The board held a public hearing on the motion. While some speakers gave their opinions as to why the code should remain on the books or not, a few used the opportunity to share their beliefs on abortion.
Among the speakers were representatives from the League of Women Voters who were on hand to support the repeal of the code.
Michael Lobasso asked the council members to remember “the spirit and intent” of the Town Board when the law was established. He said the board in 1970 had the foresight to choose a hospital as the safest place to have an abortion. Lobasso asked the current Town Board to ask themselves what is their intent and if they want to promote abortion procedures in any part of the town, and what precautionary procedures will they request of facilities. He asked the members to reconsider.
A mother carrying her baby was the last to come up to the microphone. She said it was great to repeal the “archaic” law, while it may not have a direct impact now due to state laws but could in the future. She said a few years ago when she had pregnancy complications, she was unable to access care in Huntington. She was told to go to Stony Brook University Hospital or Manhasset, which she said was costly and emotionally difficult.
The board voted unanimously to repeal the law.
In a statement released after the board meeting, Cergol said, “I am proud to join other local municipalities on Long Island to repeal outdated regulations on where a woman can choose to terminate her pregnancy. The state judiciary and Legislature have made it clear: The Town of Huntington does not have the authority to regulate this issue.”
Turning 70, Vladimir Putin has little to celebrate. Within months, he has tarnished his legacy permanently, encouraged domestic opposition to his authority, and isolated Russia from the rest of the world. Pixabay photo
Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, turned 70 on Oct. 7. He was showered with presents and praise as his soldiers continued to fight an ill-fated and illegal war in Ukraine. The Belarusian leader got him a new tractor. The ruler of Turkmenistan gave him celebratory watermelons. Countries such as Cuba, Turkey, South Africa and Kazakhstan called to wish him a happy birthday.
Yet, as Putin celebrated this milestone year, the septuagenarian dictator received reports that a strategic bridge connecting Russia to Crimea was severely damaged.
This bad news came amid a string of military and strategic blunders, the declining morale of his army and signs of growing internal unrest in Russia. Putin retaliated with missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets.
An invasion gone awry
Widely considered a poorly planned military operation, the once-vaunted Russian military has consistently demonstrated tactical weakness in supply, logistics and communications. Putin is deploying his army with massive shortages in weapons and food after his men chaotically abandoned much of their equipment on the battlefield.
Reports suggest that Putin has asked North Korea and China for military hardware to recover its loss of tanks and trucks, which have been destroyed, deserted or captured.
While President Joe Biden (D) has pledged to keep American ground forces out of Ukraine, the United States has continually aided the Ukrainian army. So much American weaponry has been sent to Eastern Europe that America is entering new multibillion-dollar contracts with defense companies to replenish its own national arsenal.
The American military has mentored the Ukrainian officer corps with special warfare and tactical training. The U.S. Department of Defense has given the Ukrainians sensitive intelligence, helping them locate enemy forces and target them through conventional or guerrilla operations.
Currently, the Russian military is bleeding out. Part-time soldiers want no part in this war. Making matters worse for Putin, his call-up of 300,000 reservists has met stark opposition from the Russian populace.
Putin has even lowered standards for recruitment, allowing the homeless, criminals, wounded soldiers and the middle-aged to enlist. The Russian military has become merely a debasement of the once-fierce Red Army, slowly reduced to second and third-rate personnel.
Outfoxed by the Ukrainian president
In the face of overwhelming Ukrainian resistance, many of Putin’s citizen-soldiers have surrendered. Meanwhile, Russian conscripts, with little training, have gone into battle with obsolete weapons and limited food against a motivated enemy gaining momentum.
At every turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has outwitted and outmaneuvered his Russian counterpart. Zelenskyy has sent online messages to the Russian soldiers, declaring they will be treated well in defeat. Some Russians were even offered to be sent to another nation, where they could save their lives by sitting out the war.
Whereas the Ukrainians have proven themselves capable of deterring the Russians, Putin has employed desperate means. Given his nuclear options, we are now hearing about a possible escalation in a conflict that could get much worse.
Domestic unrest
On the home front, the invasion of Ukraine is unpopular; its effects felt the worst by Putin’s own people. Prominent Western businesses pulled out of Russia months ago, initiated by a global economic boycott designed to cripple the Russian economy.
In the name of wrecking Ukraine, Putin has incited demonstrations against his authority. He has tried to suppress these demonstrations and censor news of the conflict. Still, the stories of many Russian losses on every front are too difficult to hide.
Russian citizens have followed the fighting in Ukraine, the heavy losses incurred by their fellow countrymen and the lack of supplies for their soldiers. In Russia, mass border crossings have taken place. Cars, many carrying young men, have been seen deserting conscription to the Russian army.
It is estimated that almost 200,000 reservists have fled Russia. Putin needs soldiers but has not yet resorted to calling upon his massive citizen population for a full-scale draft.
There is much fighting left and additional sacrifices to be made. The Ukrainians, however, have proven that there is no safe place for the Russian military within their territory.
While Putin plays with his new tractor and enjoys his watermelons, he has little else to celebrate on his birthday. He has waged an unjust war against a sovereign nation. His actions have greatly diminished Russia’s power and legitimacy worldwide.
If any of this forecasts a difficult road ahead, Putin’s 70th year will surely be a bad one for him.
Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College. Written in conjunction with members of the high school’s History Honor Society.
The last few days marked National School Bus Safety and National Teen Driver Safety weeks. The lessons and tips organizations shared during these respective periods are vital to remember all year.
School bus laws seem easy for drivers to understand when they are behind the easy-to-spot, yellow vehicle. However, confusion seems to ensue when it is situated elsewhere on the road. If a driver is in the vicinity of a school bus with its red lights flashing and its “stop” sign extended, it means to stop and wait. This applies not only when a driver is behind the school bus but also when it’s on the opposite side of the road, whether it be on a two-way street, divided highway or multiple-lane roadway. The rules also apply in parking lots and school grounds.
In New York, respecting the law can mean saving anywhere from $250 to $1,000 in fines, avoiding jail time, having points on a license or its being revoked. Most important of all, stopping when seeing a school bus saves children’s lives.
When those children grow up and are ready to learn how to drive, there is a lot to take in, and safe driving behaviors should be of the utmost importance. Parents need to have meaningful conversations with their children about making sure seat belts are used and traffic laws are followed.
The repercussions of distracted driving, such as loud music, goofing around with friends and checking text messages, must also be brought up. Parents can lead by example by ensuring when their teens are behind the wheel, they avoid bad driving habits, especially when other young people are in the car.
One of the most important conversations parents can have with their children is that if using alcohol or drugs at a party, make sure to have a designated driver, sleep over or use Uber or Lyft. While the use of these apps has increased, providing rides when needed, some still insist on getting behind the wheel after drinking. With the holidays around the corner, incidents of people too impaired to drive will inevitably increase. A car can always be retrieved from where it was left the night before, but a life can never be replaced.
With the cooler weather here, there is another traffic safety reminder for people of all ages to heed. It’s the beginning of mating season for deer, also known as rutting season. The animals can run out on the road without warning. Usually when a driver sees one, there may be another or a few right behind the first, especially around dusk. When one is spotted, proceed with caution — and respect deer-crossing warning signs.
Dangers on our roadways seem to be increasing every day, but with a little bit of education and care, we can make our roads safer for all.
The spookiest month of the year signals the return of the Huntington Arts Council’s annual student exhibit, Nightmare on Main Street, a Halloween-inspired juried art exhibit for Nassau and Suffolk County students in grades 6 to 12. This year’s show runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 15.
‘The Hollow’ by Bennett Vitagliano
“Our Nightmare on Main Street student exhibit is now in its 11th year! This exhibit continues to be one of our most popular, both for the students and the overall community,” said HAC’s Executive Director Kieran Johnson. “The submissions spanned across Long Island with both public and private school students from 21 districts participating in the call. Congratulations to all of the students who submitted to this show.”
Guest juror Lauren LaBella, co-owner of The Gallery @ in Huntington, invited participants to broaden their artistic interpretation of the Halloween inspired exhibition by referencing the Plague Doctor during the Bubonic Plague “which became a momento mori, a symbol for one’s last earthly moments, as this was usually the last thing a person would see before meeting their death. The long beak of the mask was filled with herbs and spices that were believed to filter out the ‘bad spirit,’ protecting the wearer from those he was visiting; the long, waxy coat and hat protecting their skin and clothes underneath. A long staff was used to make contact with the bodies without having to touch them directly. … Similarly, Halloween is a once-a-year opportunity to disguise yourself or be unknown, and to celebrate the darker parts of life. In the medium of your choice, show us how you interpret these concepts.”
“Just under 200 pieces from 145 artists were submitted this year to Nightmare on Main Street,” said Sarah J. McCann, HAC’s Gallery & Operations Director.
‘The Hidden Place’ by Gianna Purpura
“One of the highest submissions in the history of the show, the work does not disappoint. Our juror has chosen 41 pieces to be featured in the Main Street Gallery and on our website. In recognition of the dedication and enthusiasm the students have shown for this call to artists, we have decided to expand the online gallery to include a special section so that all of the artists’ work that was submitted can be shared with the community,” she said.
Exhibiting artists include Maya Almaliah, Meggie Baxter, Lilah Black, Colby Burns, JoselineCanales-lazo, Scout Chen, Elaine Ching, JazminCorrujedo, Victoria Czoch, Sophia Dolinsky, Madeline Dombrow, Gilana Etame, Sally Feliciano, DJ Fusco, Michael Gallagher, Mary Getzoni, Emma Gutierrez, KellyHalversen, Alexandra Hugel, Molly Lebolt, Sophia Lin, Isabella Mascetti, Liza McPherson, SamanthaMedley, Finn Monte, Natalie Parrott, Gianna Purpura, Sivan Pyle, Elliot Rosenblatt, Zayed Sattaur, Grace Schoonmaker, Nicole Schrock, Jasmine Sedra, Jack Semelsberger, Alexa Shafy, Juliana Silva, Peyton Silvestri, Charlotte Tsekerides, Bennett Vitagliano, Warren Wei and Kerry Yeung.
“We pride ourselves in working hard to be inclusive with our call to artists and all of our programs. Our gallery is open to all and we certainly encourage you to stop in to see the exhibit and visit our website regularly to learn more about the work that we are doing for the community,” added Johnson.
The Huntington Arts Council’s Main Street Galley, 213 Main Street, Huntington is open Tuesdays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 631-271-8423 or visit www.huntingtonarts.org.
Even she, however, would have had a hard time worrying about other major challenges, problems and threats during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That, it turns out, was also true for the world during COVID when it came to discussions about the threat from climate change.
In a recent study published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oleg Smirnov, associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University, examined the level of concern on Twitter about climate change during 2020 and 2021 and compared those numbers to 2019, the last year before COVID.
According to the pool of finite worry, which Princeton professor of Psychology Elke Weber developed, environmental and climate concerns decline amid worries about other major threats.
Smirnov found that the total number of tweets that mention climate change dropped to 5.6 million in 2020 and 5.3 million in 2021, from 8 million in 2019. This, Smirnov points out, occurred despite an increase in Twitter users, more climate disasters and more climate news in 2021.
“The psychological foundation tell us that people may only really respond to one threat at a time,” Smirnov said in an interview. The anxiety and the reaction to that threat may be limited because it requires major energy.
“Maybe, for biological reasons, [people] put all their energy into responding to the most immediate threat,” Smirnov added.
By tracking daily tweets and various measures of COVID cases, Smirnov found on a finer scale as well that discussions of climate change diminished amid higher infections and mortality.
For every thousand new COVID-19 cases in the United States, climate change tweets decreased by about 40.5 tweets per day. Every thousand new deaths resulted in 3,308 fewer climate tweets.
While Smirnov understood the need to focus on the pandemic, he suggested a lack of concern about climate change could disrupt efforts to protect the planet
“This has profound implications,” Smirnov said. “Without a focus on climate change, without an emphasis on its importance, there is less urgency and less pressure on politicians to do something about it.”
Even in better times, climate change efforts are “fragile,” he said, which adds to the uncertainty about the ability to address the challenge adequately.
Indeed, even the sentiment analysis, in which Smirnov reviewed the emotional content of words used to describe climate change and the threat to the planet and humanity, became less negative during the worst of the pandemic.
When asked about the possibility that climate change concerns might have declined during COVID in part because the carbon footprint declined amid travel restrictions and slowdowns in industrial production, Smirnov likened such an approach to short-term fasting or extreme dieting.
While spending a few days on these extreme diets can reduce a person’s weight over the course of days, such an approach provides “no substantial improvement in your health” longer term, he said.
So, what about now, as concerns about the pandemic abate, people have stopped wearing masks and schools and stadiums are full?
Smirnov plans to continue to collect Twitter data for the remainder of this year, to see whether a return to normalcy brings the focus back to the threat from climate change.
As for his own experience, Smirnov recognized that climate change took a back burner amid the worst of the pandemic.
“My attention certainly was hijacked by COVID-19, despite the fact that climate change is part of my work,” Smirnov said. In April of 2020, Smirnov recalled worrying about where his family would find food instead of thinking about greenhouse gases and rising sea levels.
In the present, Smirnov remains concerned about the kind of tipping points and climate inertia that threatens the future.
Ever the worrier, my grandmother might be relieved enough by the less virulent form of the virus and the availability of vaccines and treatment to return to worrying about the threat climate change poses.
It was time to get away, even for a day, and when better than on foliage weekend! So Saturday, we took the ferry to Connecticut and started up Route 8 to get to the Berkshires and the seasonal colors. Were we too late in the fall? Shortly after we left Bridgeport, our choice of time and place were confirmed. It was a perfect autumn day, sunny, bright, soft breeze, balmy even, and the colors burst upon us, the reds, oranges, yellows mixed with a still significant amount of green as we began to drive through the hills. No, we were not too late.
We had been concerned, too, about the effects of the summer’s drought on the leaves. We needn’t have worried. Perhaps, it wasn’t the most dramatic foliage we had ever witnessed, some trees were already bare, but it was brilliant enough to excite our eyes. We whooped around every bend in the road that presented us with a new palette of hills and color.
The timing of foliage season has altered somewhat over the past few years. Climate change has impacted peak leaf peeping by extending the warmer weather that keeps trees green. Hence the optimal viewing time has also been delayed. This year, according to records, seems like it will clock in as the fifth warmest. So it turned out that our urge for an outing was right on.
Where to go?
The Store
While it was possible just to drive slowly, drinking in the scenery, it was also fun to have a destination in mind. We left the highway, or rather it left us as it ended in Winsted, incidentally, my dad’s birthplace, and we started on a local road that eventually led us to Southfield, the home of a long-ago college roommate with whom we had lost contact. She, and her family, as we discovered, no longer lived there, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the tiny town. Yes, it was one of those “blink and you will miss it” villages, but we didn’t blink. We parked and had lunch at The Store, a delightful coffee, pastry and sandwich shop with tables inside as well as out front. Happily installed in one corner of the patio with a turkey and avocado sandwich and a generous slice of chocolate-banana bread, to be washed down with ambrosial coffee, we chatted up the couple at the adjoining table, who were smiling at us.
In fact, it was the kind of day that prompted everyone to smile. There we were, amid glorious leafage, basking in ideal temperature and bright sunlight in the peaceful countryside. They told us their names, Paul and Julia, and that they were from Westchester County and celebrating their anniversary. For the first time, they were at leisure to do that because their two children, a son and a daughter, were at college. She was a psychologist, he worked in finance, and they had left their responsibilities behind to stay at the historic inn in the next village for the weekend.
They were fun to talk to, as was every other person who went by, walking their dogs. We asked each one if they knew the roommate’s family, but just about each one apologized and explained that they had only moved there 20 years ago. What a coincidence, we thought. They had all come more or less at the same time. It wasn’t until the next day that we realized what had happened those two decades ago: 9/11 happened. If one wanted to escape from a city to a safe and bucolic place, here was one such location. Perhaps that was what brought them there.
We stayed in the area, driving around, enjoying the typical New England white clapboard church with its distinctive steeple, the inn and the village common along with glorious Nature. Then, as night fell, we had dinner at the inn before returning home.
Halloween is such a fun time of year and celebrations have come early, with many fun and spooky events happening this weekend in addition to next weekend. Here are 31 Halloween events on the North Shore to enjoy.
Centerport
Storytime Under the Stars
See your favorite Halloween storybooks come to life during Storytime Under the Stars at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport on Oct. 30 from 6 to 7 p.m. Children are invited to wear their Halloween costumes and bring their favorite stuffed animal. $8 per person. www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.
Spooky Science Lab
The Vanderbilt Museum Education Department, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport will offer Mr. Vanderbilt’s Spooky Science Lab, a program for children in grades 2 to 5 on Oct. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. Take part in a scavenger hunt in the collections galleries and then create jars that can be used in any spooky Halloween display. Cost is $20 per child. Register at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org. 631-854-5552.
Cold Spring Harbor
Harbor Haunts Walking Tour
Explore Cold Spring Harbor’s ghostly side with fascinating tales of mishaps and historic hauntings on Main Street, courtesy of the Whaling Museum, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor, on Oct. 21 and 28 at 6 p.m., Oct. 22 and 29 at 4:30 and 6 p.m. and Oct. 23 at 4:30 p.m. Recommended for ages 8 and older. Held rain or shine. Tickets are $12 adults, $8 children. 631-367-3418, www.cshwhalingmuseum.org.
Haunted Hatchery
Calling all ghosts and goblins, spiders and bones … Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, 1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor will host a Halloween event on Oct. 29 from 2 to 5 p.m. Families are welcome to join them for a not-so-scary Haunted Hatchery. Trick-or-Treat your way through their outdoor grounds. Admission fee is $7 adults, $6 seniors, $5 children ages 3 to 12. 516-692-6768, www.cshfishhatchery.org
Haunted Boo-Museum Festival
Join the Whaling Museum, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor for its spookiest event of the year, with fun activities for all ages, on Oct. 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Go on a spooky-not-scary walk through as museum exhibit coming to life; have your fortune read; listen to ghost stories; and visit Dr. Gellerman’s Spooktacular Zoo with live native spooky wildlife found on Long Island. Enjoy tons of Halloween crafts and activities in the workshop including mixing up your own potion, creating a spider hat, wrapping a mummy whale, designing a mask, and candle-dipping to create a homemade candle and see what’s sticky and gooey at a Spooky Touch Table. Tickets in advance are $10 children, $5 adults; $15 children, $10 adults at the door. 631-367-3418, www.cshwhalingmuseum.org
Farmingville
Trick or Treat Trail
Join the Farmingville Historical Society on Oct. 29 for a Trick or Treat Trail at Farmingville Hills County Park, 503 Horseblock Road, Farmingville from noon to 3 p.m. Come in costume and trick or treat along a trail while learning about the history of candy. Fill your bag with real, full-size candy treats. The entry fee is $12 per trick or treater. Parents are welcome to escort their children without paying. Please note this is not a haunted trail. Rain date is Oct. 30. All Trick or Treaters must pre-register at www.farmingvillehistoricalsociety.org.
Dark Night Halloween World
Long Island Community Hospital Amphitheater, 1 Ski Run Lane, Farmingville hosts the 2nd annual Dark Night Halloween World, an outdoor extravaganza combining moderate scares with comedy that at the same time celebrates the nostalgia of vintage haunted trails through a post-modern twist on inspired characters from pop culture and horror movies of the 1990s, on Oct. 21, 22, 23, 27 to 31 from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person, $10 children 12 and under, $35 VIP front of the line. www.DarkNightLI.com
Huntington
All Hallows Tour
Huntington Town Hall, 100 Main St., Huntington hosts an All Hallows tour at the Town Clerk’s archives October 24 to 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Halloween event will featurea guided tour exploring Huntington’s haunted history with live interpretations of stories taken out of the archives vault. Free. 631-351-3035.
Trick or Treat at the Heckscher
Families are invited to celebrate Halloween at the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington on Oct. 27 to Oct. 30 from noon to 5 p.m. Create a spooktacular art activity, make a haunted Digital Action painting, and take home a festive treat! 631-380-3230, www.heckscher.org
Halloween Costume Parade
The annual Downtown “Hauntington” Village Halloween Costume Parade returns to the Town of Huntington on Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. Sponsored by Town of Huntington, Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Dr. Dave Bennardo, and the Huntington Village BID. Line-up at the Huntington Post Office, 55 Gerard St., Huntington for a parade through Huntington followed by trick or treating at designated village merchants. Call 631-351-3173 or 631-351-3085.
Lake Grove
Halloween at Smith Haven Mall
Join the Smith Haven Mall, Moriches Road, Lake Grove for a spooktacular, fun trick-or-treating for all the little ghouls and goblins on Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (while supplies last*) If you want to know what retailers and restaurants may have tricks or treats for the little ones on Halloween, keep and eye out for the pumpkin in their windows. 631-724-1433
Miller Place
Spooky Lantern Walking Tour
The Miller Place Mount Sinai Historical Society presents its annual Spooky Lantern Tour, a not-too-scary walking tour of the haunted history of Miller Place, onOct. 21, 22, 28 & 29 at 5:30 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. Walk the Miller Place Historic District with a guide from the MPMS Historical Society who will regale you with all the spooky stories surrounding this pre-Revolutionary War town. Bring a lantern or flashlight and wear comfortable shoes. For ages 10 and up. Tickets are $15 per person. www.mpmshistoricalsociety.eventbrite.com.
Mount Sinai
Heritage Halloween Fest
The North Shore Youth Council presents a Halloween Fest at the Heritage Center, 633 Mount Sinai Coram Road, Mt. Sinai on Oct. 29 from noon to 3 p.m. Enjoy pumpkin picking and decorating, a spooky walk scavenger hunt, costume parade, a goodie bag, dance party and more! Registration is $15 per child 12 and under. Parents and guardians are not required to register. Advance registration only at www.eventbrite.com.
Nesconset
Halloween Pet Parade
The Nesconset Chamber of Commerce and Jennifer O’Brien of State Farm hosts a Halloween Pet Parade fundraiser for the Smithtown Children’s Foundation at the Nesconset Gazebo, across from Nesconset Plaza, 127 Smithtown Boulevard, Nesconset on Oct.29 at 11 a.m. Come in costume and trick-or-treat, enjoy ice cream, raffles, music, pet costume contest, vendors and more. 631-724-2543, www.nesconsetchamber.com.
Northport
Halloween Hayride
The Village of Northport will host its annual Halloween Hayride in Northport Village Park on Oct. 30 from noon to 4 p.m. with hayrides, pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, live music, petting zoo, costume contest & refreshments. Fun for the whole family! $5 per person. Call 631-754-3905.
Halloween Magic Show
Join the Northport Historical Society, 215 Main St., Northport for a dazzling Halloween Magic Show for all ages with magician Todd Harris on Oct. 30 from 5 to 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per person. Register at www.northporthistorical.org.
Port Jefferson
FADE TO BLACK Catch the final performance of Theatre Three’s ‘A Kooky Spooky Halloween’ on Oct. 22. Photo by Peter Lanscombe/Theatre Three Productions, Inc.
‘A Kooky Spooky Halloween’
Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson presents A Kooky Spooky Halloween, a merry musical about a ghost who’s afraid of the dark, on Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. Recently graduated spirit Abner Perkins is assigned to the Aberdeen Boarding House — known for its spectral sightings and terrific toast. Here, Abner finds himself cast into a company of its wacky residents. When his secret is revealed, he is forced to leave his haunted home and set-off on a quest with his newly found friends. All tickets are $10. To order, call 928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com.
Harvest Fest
The Village of Port Jefferson hosts its annual Harvest Fest throughout the village on Oct. 22 from noon to 5 p.m. with live music, children’s activities, costumed dog parade, pumpkin carving, chowder crawl (fee) and much more. Rain date is Oct. 23. 631-473-4724, portjeff.com
Port Jefferson Station
Halloween Spooktacular
In coordination with The School of Rock, the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce hosts a Halloween Spooktacular event at the chamber train car, corner of Nesconset Highway and Route 112, Port Jefferson Station on Oct. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. (Enter on Rose Ave off Canal Road). Enjoy live music, trick or treating, pumpkin painting, vendors and a game of cornhole. Free. 631-821-1313
St. James
Deepwells Haunted Mansion
Just in time for Halloween, the Deepwells Farm Historical Society transforms the historic Deepwells Mansion, 2 Taylor Lane, St. James into Deepwells Sanitarium, Home for the Criminally Insane on Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29 from 7 to 10 p.m. Featuring 16 rooms of horror, wooded trail of terror, food vendors, photo-ops and more. Advance tickets are $20 per person, $30 at the door. 631-862-2808, www.deepwellshauntedmansion.com
Setauket
Spirits Cemetery Tour
Join the Three Village Historical Society for its annual Spirits Cemetery Tour at the Setauket Presbyterian and Caroline of Brookhaven churches on Oct. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. Tours, which last 1 1/2 hours, leave from the Setauket Presbyterian Church, 5 Caroline Ave., Setauket every 15 minutes. Guests will visit 10 locations to walk-in on conversations between Spies of the American Revolution, Known and Unknown. Rain date is Oct. 29. Call for prices. 631-751-3730, www.tvhs.org
Smithtown
Tails, Trails and Treats – This event has been postponed to Oct. 30.
Celebrate Halloween at Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown withTales, Trails, and Treats on Oct. 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m. Kids can enjoy close encounters with animals, a ghostly garden, games, and a special puppet enchanted trail. For families wtih children ages 2 to 7 years old. $15 per child,$5 adults. www.sweetbriarnc.org, 631-974-6344
Ghosts and Goblins event
Ghosts and goblins will invade Smithtown all in the name of good fun when the Smithtown Recreation Department hosts its annual Ghosts and Goblins event on Oct. 22 at Browns Road Park, 72 Browns Road, Nesconset from 10 a.m. to noon. Enjoy games and prizes, pony rides, a balloon artist, and more. Free. Call 631-360-7644.
Stony Brook
Halloween Family Fun Day
Family Fun Day is back at the Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook just in time for Halloween! Join them on Oct. 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. forpumpkin painting, trick-or-treating, crafts and more. Wear your Halloween costume if you wish. Free admission. 631-751-0066, www.longislandmuseum.org
Secrets and Spirits Walking Tour
Ward Melville Heritage Organization hosts a Secrets and Spirits of Stony Brook Village walking tours on Oct. 30 at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Participants of the tour will hear new stories of local hauntings along Stony Brook’s coastal community including the story of the Long Island witch trials, the apparitions of Annette Williamson at the Country House Restaurant (c.1710), the mysterious woman in white seen at the Stony Brook Grist Mill, William Sidney Mount and Spirit Photography; the ghost ships of shipbuilder Jonas Smith, and the role women mediums played in the Suffrage Movement.$12 per person. To reserve your spot, call 631-751-2244.
Halloween Festival
The Ward Melville Heritage Organization hosts its 32nd annual Halloween Festival at the Stony Brook Village Center, 111 Main St., Stony Brook on Oct. 31 from 2 to 5 p.m. with music from WALK 97.5, trick-or-treating throughout Stony Brook Village Center, dancing and games for children, Scarecrow Competition announcements at 4 p.m. and a Halloween parade, led by Monster Merlin! Free. 631-751-2244, www.wmho.org
Yaphank
Haunted History
The Suffolk County Farm, 350 Yaphank Ave., Yaphank presents Haunted History: Night at the Farm on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. What’s the farm like after dark? Learn all about the haunted history of the farm’s 150+ year old barn. Hear a spooky story and then take a wagon ride to the corn maze. Hopefully, you can find your way out before the headless horseman finds you! Bring a flashlight. $15 per person. Recommended for ages 8+. Call 631-852-4600 or visit www.ccesuffolk.org for further information
Commack
Commack United Methodist Church, 486 Townline Road, Commack presents its 5th annualTrunk-N-Treat event on Oct. 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. Children can trick or treat for candy at festively decorated car trunks and truck beds and enjoy games, crafts and activities. Free. 631-499-7310, www.commack-umc.org
Hauppauge
Hauppauge Public Library, 1373 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge invites the community to trick or treat in their parking lot on Oct. 28 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Community members will be decorating their trunks in fun and spooky themes and will pass out candy to trick or treaters. The library will also have snacks, games, crafts, and other activities. This event is free and open to all. 631-979-1600.
Riverhead
Join Hallockville Museum Farm, 6038 Sound Ave., Riverhead dressed in costume for a festive Trunk or Treat on Oct. 29 from 3 to 6 p.m. The event will feature Mike the Silly Magician, a fabulous silent auction and raffle, pumpkin decorating and other Halloween crafts, games on the lawn, a costume parade and contest, all culminating in an amazing Trunk or Treat! Admission is $15 per person, $50 family of 4. 631-298-5292, www.hallockville.org
Rocky Point
The North Shore Youth Council and the Rocky Point PTA present a Trunk Or Treat! event at the Joseph A. Edgar School, 525 Route 25A, Rocky Point on Oct. 30 from 2 to 5 p.m. with decorated cars and trunks, candy and non-edible treats, face painting, crafts and photo prop. Costumes encouraged. Join them for a scary good time! Register for this free event at www.eventbrite.com.
Yaphank
Suffolk County Farm, 350 Yaphank Ave., Yaphank hosts a Truck or Treat event on Oct. 29from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Enjoy truck or treating, trick or treating around the farm, crafts, wagon rides, games, farm animal visits, corn maze and more. Costumes encouraged. $15 children ages 1 to 17, $5 adults. Register at www.eventbrite.com. 631-852-4600.
From left, K. Barry Sharpless and John Moses. Photo from CSHL
By Daniel Dunaief
K. Barry Sharpless changed John Moses’s life. And that’s before Moses even started working as a postdoctoral researcher in Sharpless’s lab.
When Moses, who is the first chemist to work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in its 132-year history, was earning his PhD in chemistry at Oxford, he read an article that Sharpless co-authored that rocked his world.
Nicknamed the “click manifesto” for introducing a new kind of chemistry, the article, which was published in Angewandte Chemie in 2001, was “one of the greatest I’ve ever read,” Moses said, and led him to alter the direction of his research.
Moses walked into the office of the late chemist Sir Jack Baldwin at Oxford, who was Moses’s PhD advisor, and announced that Sharpless, a colleague of Baldwin’s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the only chemist he wanted to work with in the next phase of his career.
Baldwin looked at Moses and said, in a “very old-fashioned gangster English, ‘That shows you’ve got some brains,’” recalled Moses.
Sharpless was important not only to Moses’s career, but also to the world.
Recently, Sharpless, who is the W.M. Kepp Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research, became only the fifth two-time recipient of the Nobel Prize.
Sharpless will share the most recent award, which includes a $900,000 prize, with Carolyn R. Bertozzi, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, and Morten P. Meldal, professor at the University of Copenhagen, for the invention of a type of chemistry that has implications and applications from drug discovery and delivery, to making polymers, to developing anti cancer treatments.
The way click chemistry works is that chemists bring together catalysts and reagents, often attached to sulfur or carbon, that have a high level of specific attraction for each other. The click is like the sound a seat belt makes when secured, or the click a bike helmet lock makes when the two units are connected.
Scientists have often described the click reaction as being akin to LEGO blocks coming together, with an exact and durable chemical fit.
Natural product synthesis is generally challenging and often requires complex chemistries that are not always selective. This type of chemistry can produce side reactions that create unwanted byproducts and require purification.
Click reactions, by contrast, are selective and reliable and the products are generally easy to purify. Sometimes, purification is as simple as a water wash.
“It’s a democratization of synthetic chemistry,” Moses said.
Moses said biologists have performed click reactions. Chemists have developed click tablets that can be added to a reaction to create a plug and play system.
Moses described the reactions in click chemistry as “unstoppable” and suggested that they are part of a “domino rally” in which a latent build up of reactivity can create desired products with beneficial properties.
Moses, who arrived at CSHL in 2020, has collaborated with several researchers at the famed lab. He is submitting his first collaborative paper soon with Dr. Michael Lukey, who also started in 2020 and performed his PhD at Oxford, and Dr. Scott Lyons. He is also working on a New York State Biodefense funded project to create shape shifting antibiotics that can keep up with drug resistance pathogens.
He has collaborated with Cancer Center Director David Tuveson to develop a new ligand to target a protein important in pancreatic cancer. Moses said they have a “very exciting” lead compound.
Early resistance
While the Nobel Prize committee recognized the important contribution of this approach, the concept met with some resistance when Sharpless introduced it.
“When [Sharpless] submitted this, the editor called colleagues and asked, ‘Has Barry gone crazy?’” Moses said.
Some others in the field urged the editor to publish the paper by Sharpless, who had already won a Nobel Prize for his work with chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions.
Still, despite his bona fides and a distinguished career, Sharpless encountered “significant resistance” from some researchers. “People were almost offended by it” with some calling it “old wine in new bottles,” Moses said.
In 2007, Moses attended a faculty interview at a “reasonably good” university in England,. where one of his hosts told him that click chemistry is “just bulls$#t!”
Moses recognized that he was taking a risk when he joined Sharpless’s lab. Some senior faculty advised him to continue to work with natural product synthesis.
In the ensuing years, as click chemistry produced more products, “everyone was using it and the risks diminished quickly,” Moses added.
Unique thought process
So, what is it about Sharpless that distinguishes him?
Moses said Sharpless’s wife Janet Dueser described her husband as someone who “thinks like a molecule,” Moses said.
For Moses, Sharpless developed his understanding of chemistry in a “way that I’ve never seen anyone else” do.
Moses credits Dueser, who he described as “super smart,” with coining the term “click chemistry” and suggested that their partnership has brought together his depth of knowledge with her ability to provide context.
Moses believes Sharpless “would admit that without [Dueser], his career would have been very different! In my opinion, [Dueser] contributed immeasurably to click chemistry in so many ways.”
Indeed, click chemistry won a team prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry last year in which Dueser was a co-recipient.
As for what he learned from working with a now two-time Nobel Prize winner, Moses said “relinquishing control is very powerful.”
Moses tells his research team that he will never say “no” to an innovative idea because, as with click chemistry, “you never know what’s around the corner.”
Moses said Sharpless is a fan of the book “Out of Control” by Kevin Kelly, the co-founder of Wired Magazine. The book is about the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world. Sharpless calls Kelly “Saint Kevin.”
On a personal level, Sharpless is “humble and a nice person to talk to” and is someone he would “want to go to a pub with.”
Moses believes Sharpless isn’t done contributing to chemistry and the world and anticipates that Sharpless, who is currently 81 years old, could win another Nobel Prize in another 20 years.
An inspirational scientist, Sharpless ” is “that kind of person,” Moses said.
WTC responders at Ground Zero, working on the pile in the aftermath of 911. Photo by John Bombace
As the medical challenges to first responders at the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 attacks increase, Stony Brook University’s treatment program has increased the number of people it helps and, recently, also the federal funds to support efforts to treat people.
Dr. Benjamin Luft at the Stony Brook WTC Wellness Program, where he serves as director. File photo
Recently, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, awarded the Stony Brook World Trade Center Health and Wellness Program $147 million over an eight-year period to expand patient care and support infrastructure needs.
The SB World Trade Center Health and Wellness program now sees up to 13,000 patients, which is more than double the 6,000 patients it used to see.
“Patients are getting sicker and their diseases are much more complex with a variety of different systems being involved, both psychologically as well as physically,” said Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the WTC Wellness Program.
Through the work the SB WTC group has conducted, doctors and researchers have demonstrated that diseases and physical and cognitive challenges associated with aging have occurred more rapidly in the WTC population.
At the same time, COVID-19 has also exacerbated conditions related to exposure to the site, with over 20% of this population experiencing lingering symptoms due to the pandemic.
The WTC first responders have developed chronic sinusitis and a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD).
While these diseases occur in the general population, “the chronicity is unique,” Luft added.
The SB WTC Wellness program will use the funds to hire additional staff with specialties in pulmonology and psychiatry, among other areas, Luft said.
The majority of the work occurs at the Wellness Center’s main facility and clinic in Commack. SB also runs a site in Mineola. The funds will help revamp the Mineola site as well.
The two sites will use updated technologies and will deploy emerging capabilities in telehealth and artificial intelligence to communicate, diagnose and monitor cases.
Federal funds have supported the effort for 18 years, as NIOSH has funded clinical services for WTC patients treated at Stony Brook.
Medical conditions for this population have included post-traumatic stress disorder and respiratory illnesses.
The funding more than doubles the $60 million, five-year award the WTC Wellness Program received in 2017 from NIOSH that had provided support until the end of March of this year. NIOSH had extended the grant for six months until the current funding started at the end of September, Luft said.
Patients have developed a range of cancers, as well as lung issues such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
Additionally, patients are struggling with a variety of mental processing challenges.
“We see a lot of patients who have a variety of cognitive and memory problems,” Luft said.
Luft emphasized that many of the thousands of patients he treats have several health issues simultaneously. By using new technologies, these efforts will enhance the quality of life for people who were on site after the attack.
Luft added that the connection and support from NIOSH have helped support health care for this population.
“The various people at NIOSH are really involved in the program,” he said. “It’s been very satisfying.”
Stony Brook University faculty in public health, psychiatry, pulmonary care, cardiovascular care and neuroscience all take part in ongoing research related to the health issues of WTC responders.
Luft emphasized that the care first responders at the WTC receive tries to be “proactive” with an extensive effort to screen for various diseases, including cancer.
The research and treatment efforts for the WTC population extends to other health care initiatives for people exposed to carcinogens in wars or from other unintentional exposures.
The exposure from 911 is similar to those from burn pits, Camp Lejuene and other hazards.
Portraits of Mrs. Nancy Williamson Smith and her husband Captain Jonas Smith by William Sidney Mount,1836
By Tara Mae
An opportunity to own priceless art is a chance to be part of living history. It does not come without a cost, but it can be worth the expenditure. On Saturday, Oct. 22, starting at noon, South Bay Auctions of East Moriches will offer such a possibility when it auctions off portraits of Captain Jonas Smith and his wife Nancy Williamson Smith of Stony Brook by local 19th century artist William Sidney Mount.
Portrait of Captain Jonas Smith
“Mount is significant to both art and local history. It is not often that his paintings come up for auction,” said Joshua Ruff, Co-Executive Director of the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook which has the largest collection of Mount’s paintings, drawings, correspondence, and archives.
Primarily known for his genre paintings, Mount was born in Setauket in 1807 and spent many years living in Stony Brook in between and after brief periods in New York City. He painted the places and people he knew, frequently of the Three Villages. Initially drawn to history painting, which he greatly admired, Mount’s portraiture was not born of his inherent interest in the material but rather a timeless dilemma for so many artists: his other work was not selling and Mount needed to earn a living.
Mount’s first portrait subjects were easily acquired; he initially painted himself and close relatives before offering his services to a better paying public. Among his early patrons were members of the Weeks, Mills, Strong, and Smith families, all of whom have prominent ties to the Three Villages.
Captain Jonas Smith and his wife Nancy Williamson Smith were particularly lucrative commissions. Captain Smith, who owned and operated a fleet of merchant ships that sailed internationally, is considered to be Long Island’s first self-made millionaire.
Their oil portraits were most likely done in Mount’s studio, according to Jean-Paul Napoli, Co-Owner and President of South Bay Auctions. Mount apparently charged Captain Smith $70 for the pair in 1836, the equivalent of about $2000 today, when adjusted for inflation.
Portrait of Mrs. Nancy Williamson Smith
Privately owned, the portraits were obtained by the auction house from a collector who had moved from Long Island to Boston. “The owner felt they should be offered on Long Island where they originated,” said Napoli.
Also up for auction is two portraits by Mount’s brother Shepard Alonzo Mount; a painting of Port Jefferson Harbor by William Moore Davis; two lithographs by Stow Wengenroth; a recently uncovered oil painting by Robert Motherwell; and works by Whitney M. Hubbard, Caroline Bell, Julia Wickham, William Steeple Davis and Joseph Hartranft.
The artwork is available for viewing at no charge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Oct. 21 and by appointment. “I think this auction has a nice collection of fine art from Long Island and New York artists. Even if you are not interested in acquiring anything, it is an opportunity to see works that will in most cases not be in the public eye after the sale,” Napoli added.
South Bay Auctions is located at 485 Montauk Highway, East Moriches. Participants in the auction may bid in person or live online at www.Invaluable.com and www.LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone and absentee bidding is also available. For more information, call 631-878-2909.
Commack
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