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Rich Schaffer, chairman of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, said he has long seen Suffolk as “a purple district,” despite Republican wins within the county.

This, he said, was made evident by the final polling results that were released at last after weeks of absentee vote counting. President Donald Trump (R) won Suffolk County by just a little over 200 ballots, a far cry from just four years ago when Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton with 46,619 more votes in 2016.

Rich Schaffer, the Suffolk Democratic chairman, said current polling numbers prove the area is more purple than people realize. Photo from Suffolk Democrats

Suffolk “is more of a get-even county in terms of both the registration numbers as well as the enthusiasm, so most races are competitive,” Schaffer said during a phone interview postelection. “And that was just proven by the results that came out.”

Still, Democrats suffered several defeats for both state offices and for congressional seats.  

The Republicans also flipped the 3rd state Senatorial District seat held by Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood). Northport Democrat Michael Marcantonio lost the 12th District Assembly race against Republican Keith Brown by a little over 2,000 votes.

Yet there were some victories in there as well. State Sen. Jim Gaughran (D-Northport) held onto his seat against a strong challenge from current Town of Huntington board member Ed Smyth (R). Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), a 28-year member of the Assembly, held out over the long weeks of absentee-vote counting for a 6,825-vote win over Republican Michael Ross.

Schaffer said the much greater turnout not just in Suffolk but nationwide also expressed people’s interest in candidates. He said though some candidates have yet to confirm they will be running again in 2022, people such as Laura Ahearn, who ran against Republican Anthony Palumbo for SD1, and Jackie Gordon, who lost her race for Congressional District 2 while winning Suffolk, have good shots if they continue their political careers. He added Gordon has an especially good shot if CD2 becomes redistricted to become exclusively Suffolk-based based on census results.

Though Biden has already been certified as the winner of the election, Trump supporters and the president himself continue to call the results fraudulent. Schaffer said such a thing is ludicrous.

“I mean, I’m the first guy to say, if you can show us widespread fraud, then I’m on board with making sure that it’s not the case,” he said. “But, again, it’s just been this flailing and throwing things against the wall to see what sticks at it.” 

Schaffer sees Democrats in Suffolk as a kind of coalition that is trying to support suburban values. Republicans, he said, have spent the past year painting their opposing party as such things like anti-police. As Republicans pushed the bail reform bill passed in the 2019 budget as a major part of their campaigns, Schaffer said Democrats in the city hurt their suburban or rural colleagues by not having discussions about it prior to its passing.

“The trick for us is to continue to push our agenda out here and make sure people understand that we’re not in lockstep with New York City Democrats,” he said. “The approach needs to be that we’re talking about what it means to the quality of life in the suburbs, and whether or not it’s something that people out here support, as opposed to what the party is advancing.”

He said that Long Island Democrats need to join up and form a kind of “suburban working group,” not as a rebuff to the party, but as a way of making their thoughts and voices heard.

“Just as the city representatives flex their muscles, the suburban representatives do the same. They need to all stick together,” he said.

At the heart of Suffolk Democrats’ woes is trying to create a coalition between the moderate and more progressive ends of the left. Some progressives have expressed their displeasure with the greater party over what they feel is their views being stifled.

Schaffer said just like any other part of the party, their views are accounted for, but what’s also required is compromise. He added that progressives need to stop demonizing people who don’t fully support their policy positions.

“They present their opinions, they can present their views, they can talk about legislation, but they also have to understand that politics is compromise,” he said. “Those that want to say all our views aren’t being listened to, so we’re going to just take our ball and go home, need to rethink that strategy.”

For 2021, Schaffer said there are multiple important local races, including a special election for Town of Brookhaven as well as Suffolk Legislature seats. 

Schaffer said the committee is going forward with Setauket community advocate Jonathan Kornreich as their nominee for Brookhaven Council District 1, as long as nothing changes in the time between now and election.

Otherwise, with races such as county Legislators Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) up for election this year, it will be about maintaining incumbent seats.

“We’re excited about our incumbents — we think they’ve done a good job locally,” he said. “We’re looking forward to put them out there again for reelection.”

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Despite the loss of the presidential election, and with just 18 months on the job, Suffolk County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Garcia is instead looking at big local wins.

Suffolk Republican Committee Chairman Jesse Garcia, center, said the party had big wins in Suffolk despite losses on the federal level. Photo from Suffolk Republicans

The party held onto longtime Republican state Senate seats previously held by Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), who’s retiring this year, and Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport), who vacated his seat earlier in 2020. Despite a blue wave in 2018 that saw the GOP hold over the state Senate wane, this year Republican Alexis Weik, of Sayville, defeated state Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood), making Suffolk County a solid wall of red against a mostly blue Nassau County and New York City.

People “responded to our message of taking back New York State from one-party rule, and raised the voices of Long Island in Albany,” Garcia said in a phone interview a few days after the majority of absentee ballots were counted. All races in Suffolk have now been officially called.

Garcia came into the position in April 2019 from his previous post as chairman of the Brookhaven Town Republican Committee. The Suffolk post was previously held by John Jay LaValle, who had been ardent in his support for President Donald Trump (R) in 2016.

The retirement of multiple high-level Republicans in Suffolk, including LaValle and Flanagan as well as U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-NY2), brought a new urgency to this election beyond the politicking of a presidential election year, even if 2020 wasn’t one of the most divisive elections in recent memory.

Trump squeaked out a win in Suffolk County by just a little over 200 ballots, with 49.40% of the vote compared to Democrat Joe Biden’s 49.37%. This is compared to 2016 when Trump carried Suffolk by close to 47,000 votes. 

Still, Garcia praised the county’s steadfast support of Republicans. Assemblyman Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk) defeated Democrat Laura Ahearn for LaValle’s seat, and St. James Republican Mario Mattera defeated Democrat Mike Siderakis to pick up where Flanagan left off. 

As for Congress,, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY1) held an over-36,000 vote lead against Democrat Nancy Goroff by the time all absentee votes were counted. Republican Andrew Garbarino, of Sayville, defeated Democrat Jackie Gordon for King’s seat, though more votes went blue on the Suffolk side of the district.

Garcia also cited a victory when voters rejected Suffolk County’s proposition 1, which would have increased the terms of legislators from two years to four, something he called “an incumbency protection program.”

Despite Biden’s win on the national stage having been upstaged by Trump’s continued unverified claims that the election was stolen in key states, the campaign has presented little to no evidence of widespread voter fraud — although a Nov. 18 Reuters/Ipsos poll reported nearly half of Republicans nationally say the election was stolen because of voter fraud. 

The Republican chairman said changes to this year’s election process due to the pandemic were as a result of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) “weaponizing a pandemic for his political purposes,” and that the governor used COVID-19 as a way to “scare voters away from the polling places.”  Garcia blamed the governor for moving back the dates of primaries, though Republicans only hosted one primary this year, that being for the 2nd Congressional District held in June.

The chairman also brought up his share of claims of impropriety in the past election, though he did not cite any specific examples of widespread fraud. He said there was a lack of checking to confirm who people were when requesting an absentee ballot and cited the example of a Water Mill man who was indicted by District Attorney Tim Sini (D) for allegedly requesting two mail-in ballots for his deceased mother.

“I know that there are a number of other questionable applications that we hope are under investigation, because that’s what fair and transparent elections are all about,” he said.

Despite their wins, the Republicans still remain a minority in both houses of the state Legislature. Garcia said the Democrats who hold seats in the suburban parts of New York are going to need to “deal with choosing to vote for Long Island taxpayers, against their party and against the governor … or they’re going to join with our delegation to fight for more school aid, the repeal of the catch-and-release bail reform act.” 

As for the near future, the Suffolk County Republican head is looking forward to 2021. Early next year, the Town of Brookhaven will be holding a special election to replace Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station), who is leaving to become a state Supreme Court judge. Garcia said they have been doing interviews for candidates and will be announcing their pick as soon as the town supervisor announces a date for that vote.

On the Suffolk side, a large number of seats are coming up for vote once again. Democrats in the county Legislature hold a single-member majority against their GOP counterparts.

“We’re going to look to flip the Suffolk County Legislature into the government into the Republican column the first time since 2005,” Garcia said.

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Nicholas Caracappa is still set to be sworn into the Suffolk Legislature Jan. 4, 2021. Photo from Caracappa campaign Facebook

The man who is set to replace Tom Muratore on the Suffolk County Legislature, Nicholas Caracappa, was arrested Tuesday for alleged domestic violence-related charges. 

Suffolk County Police confirmed Caracappa was arrested at a little after 3 p.m. Dec. 8 for criminal contempt 1st degree and criminal obstruction of breathing related to a domestic incident. He was held overnight and released from First District Court in Central Islip on his own recognizance Wednesday. He is next due to be back in court Jan. 21, 2021. 

Caracappa was elected to the 4th district legislator seat this year with 60.7% of the vote compared to his Democratic opponent Joseph Turdik’s 39.3%. He is set to be sworn into office Jan. 4 next year.

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Robert Calarco (D-Patchogue) said in a statement that the arrest does not impact Caracappa’s ability to take up his seat.

“The arrest of and the allegations against Legislator-elect Nicholas Caracappa are very serious. I do not know the specifics of the case and cannot comment further,” he said. “He was not to be sworn in until January, but these events do not undo the election. He has a right to his day in court. At this time my prayers are with his family.”

Caracappa’s attorney, Thomas K. Campagna, of Hauppauge-based Campagna Johnson Mady, P.C, said Thursday that the allegations are “100% false” and that his client is looking forward to his day in court “so he can be fully exonerated.”

“The allegations by Mr. Caracappa’s wife are purely retaliatory against an order of protection that Mr. Caracappa obtained by court a week or so before,” the attorney said over the phone. “The order was against his wife protecting his children against the violent act of his wife … He is looking forward to continuing his passions as a dedicated father and dedicated public servant.”

Caracappa’s family has legacy within the legislature. His mother, Rose, held the seat until her death in 1995. The Rose Caracappa Senior Center in Mount Sinai was named after her. Nicholas’ brother, Joseph, held the seat until 2007. Muratore took up the seat in 2010, and passed away while still in office Sept 8. 

Once he is sworn in January, he will join two other legislators who are facing criminal charges. Legislator Rudy Sunderman (R-Shirley) was indicted in 2019 for alleged perjury, ethics violations and other offenses in connection with his work as the former district manager of the Centereach Fire District that continued after he became legislator in 2018. Legislator William Spencer (D-Centerport) was indicted in October over allegedly seeking sex from a sex worker using drugs such as oxycodone as collateral.

 

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PSEG trucks remove a downed tree in Mount Sinai Aug. 7. For several days, cars had to swerve around the tree that split the intersection of North Country Road and Crystal Brook Hollow Road. Photo by Kyle Barr

LIPA filed a $70 million lawsuit against PSEG-Long Island in State Supreme Court in Mineola against the New Jersey-based power company for breach of contract in response to Tropical Storm Isaias, which hit Aug. 4 and knocked out power for some Long Islanders for over eight days.

The Department of Public Service recommended a lawsuit to the LIPA Board of Trustees.

“Utility companies are beholden to ratepayers, and when that service is inadequate — or as in this case, a complete failure — those utilities need to be held accountable,” Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) said in a statement. PSEG “failed to hold up their end. It’s inexcusable, and we’re going to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

The complaint, filed by attorneys at the law firm Rivkin Radler, alleges breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, based on PSEG’s “failure to prepare for and manage restoration effort during and following Tropical Storm Isaias. LIPA also brings this action for specific performance to compel PSEG LI to comply with its obligations” under the operations service agreement.

The suit also alleges “corporate mismanagement, misfeasance, incompetence, and indifference, rising well beyond the level of simple negligence.”

Immediate Fix Demanded
State Sen. James Gaughran (D-Northport), an outspoken critic of LIPA and PSEG LI’s response to the storm, welcomed the legal action.

“It’s about time LIPA start acting to protect the best interests of Long Island ratepayers,” Gaughran said in a statement. Gaughran urged LIPA to make sure the $70 million is paid by PSEG shareholders and not ratepayers.

“An independent receiver should be appointed to refund this $70 million to hardworking Long Islanders and not dumped into the blackhole of LIPA’s budget,” Gaughran added.

In a statement, LIPA CEO Tom Falcone said PSEG LI must “immediately fix these failed information technology systems and abide by its contract” as LIPA continues to review its legal, contractual and termination options.

“PSEG Long Island has collected nearly half a billion dollars from Long Island customers over the past seven years while failing to meet its basic obligations,” Falcone added.

John Rhodes, Special Counsel for statewide ratepayer protection for the New York State Department of Public Service, asked if LIPA should “find a new service provider?”

In a statement, PSEG Long Island said it was “hard at work addressing recommendations in LIPA’s 30- and 90-day reports. We believe that the current public-private partnership is the best option for Long Island customers and we have remained committed to being the service provider of choice for LIPA.”

PSEG LI is “aware that this lawsuit has been filed and we are reviewing it.”

Lawsuit Claims

In the lawsuit, LIPA describes PSEG LI as demonstrating willful, bad faith and grossly negligent failures.

One of a litany of complaints during and after the storm was the inability for customers to connect with PSEG and to receive a reliable estimate of the time to restore power.

Ratepayers were “left without critical information as adequate telephone lines were overwhelmed with calls and an Outage Management System, selected by PSEG LI as able to withstand a major storm and paid for by LIPA, failed.”

About a million customer calls and 300,000 text messages did not reach PSEG LI, according to the suit.

Calls to outage and billing lines “became overloaded and failed,” the suit alleges, with 75% of customer calls to PSEG LI’s Outage Line not going through on the first day of the storm.

PSEG LI “did not properly monitor whether the calls on the Outage Line were connecting. Calls were dropped without PSEG LI’s knowledge,” according to the suit.

LIPA asserted that PSEG should have known about the inadequacy of the voice telephony system.

PSEG did not perform sufficient tests to determine whether the system would function during a major storm event before or in the 100 days after Isaias, the suit further claimed.

The problems with the telecommunications system predated the storm, as the suit indicated that the “OMS did not crash due to Isaias. It was already failing.”

PSEG LI “must develop a comprehensive integrated set of business continuity plans for every critical IT and communication system on Long Island, plus all repair and recovery activities,” according to the suit.

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File photo

Suffolk County Police are investigating a three-vehicle crash that killed a man in Selden Monday, Dec. 7.

Police said John Swanson, 75, of Riverhead, was driving westbound on Route 25 in Selden when his 2019 Chevrolet van jumped the curb and struck a 1997 Dodge pickup truck and a parked vehicle on North Bicycle Path at around 11:25 a.m.

Detectives believe Swanson may have suffered a medical event while driving. He was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The two male occupants of the Dodge were not injured. The Chevrolet and Dodge were impounded for safety checks.

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Sergeant William Madden and Officer Paul Altmann were honored by SCSPCA Chief Roy Gross in front of the 6th precinct Dec. 4. Photo by Julianne Mosher

It was a ruff rescue last month when Piper the Yorkshire terrier fell down a storm drain outside his home in Coram.

A Suffolk County emergency police officer rescues a 4-month-old Yorkie Piper from a storm drain around 11:45 a.m. in front of 87 Argyle Avenue in Coram on Nov. 7. The owner of the dog Freddy Wnoa, said his wife and his two daughters were inside the home when the dog ran out of their front door and fell into the storm drain in front of their house. The dog was not injured, but the police suggested to the family that Piper needed a bath.
James Carbone/Newsday

Four officers from the Suffolk County Police Department Sixth Precinct responded to a call on Nov. 7 and began the task of climbing into the drain to save him.

“Officers safely extracted the frightened puppy and reunited it with his family,” Roy Gross, chief of Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said. Piper was, luckily, uninjured.

On Friday, Dec. 4, Gross presented certificates to Sergeant William Madden and Officer Paul Altmann outside the Selden precinct. Emergency Service Section Officer Carmine Pellegrino and Sixth Precinct Police Officer Lynn Volpe, who were not in attendance, will also be receiving certificates.

“In the 37 years that I’ve been with the Suffolk County SPCA, it’s such a great partnership because when they need us, we also need them,” Gross said. “It goes both ways, and we really appreciate the comradery we have with them.”

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Stock photo

Journalism is under attack.

It’s a sentiment shared by Laura Lindenfeld, the dean of the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University after years of. Efforts to undermine the press “remind me why journalism is so critical to democracy,” she said. “We have our work cut out for us.”

SBU J-School Dean Laura Lindenfeld took over in March after serving as interim dean for several months. Previous dean Howard Schneider officially left the position at the end of 2018 to focus on bringing SBU’s news litearcy course to public schools. Photo from SBU

Lindenfeld, who came into the position in March this year after serving as interim dean, said she is encouraged by what she sees at the journalism school, where she lauded students for their engagement, motivation and passion.

“That gives me an incredible sense of hope about our ability to overcome,” she said.

Data from Gallup shows that, as of September this year, trust in media is higher than it was in 2016, but not by a sizable amount. In that survey, 40% said they trust the media a great deal or fair amount. 33% trust the media “none at all.” The difference is most expressed when looking at political party, with only 10% of republicans trusting the media to any real degree, while 73% of Democrats share more trust.

Meanwhile, the journalism school has taken several steps to prepare its students for a challenging world.

In addition to providing the same kind of ethical training other schools offer, Stony Brook is immersing them in a digital program in which they can tell factually based, compelling stories. The school is also urging students to become part of local communities.

Professors encourage students to “listen beneath the surface” and to hear stories and gather information “they might not have heard otherwise.”

Lindenfeld is a strong believer in the school’s DEI program, which stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“We need to be thinking about how important difference is” and how important it is to “listen beyond what we think we are saying,” Lindenfeld said.

Additionally, the journalism program at Stony Brook is inextricably intertwined with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, which the dean used to head up. Named after the famed TV and movie actor who brought an improv-driven effort to Stony Brook to encourage researchers to share their work and their passion for science with the public, the center also serves as a resource for journalism students.

While students at the journalism school aren’t all training to become science journalists, they do have a “unique opportunity to understand and think beyond what they imagined” to appreciate what audiences might be feeling. Journalism students “get a dose of improv” in their education.

The school is planning a new class that will start this spring that teaches data and statistics through storytelling, combining the kinds of data that inform economic, demographic, and epidemiological information with an underlying narrative that engages the readers, driving them through the story. Elizabeth Bojsza and Julia Hathaway of the Alan Alda Center are teaching the class.

The journalism school has long promoted its news literacy class, which guides students to discern between fact and fiction and addresses how to understand thoughtful, effective, ethical journalistic practices. The class is made available to non-journalism students as well.

This spring, the school is also offering a class for graduate students in which scientists engage with journalists. Stony Brook invites journalists to attend, where they practice interviews and get to redo them, enabling them to ask questions in a compelling way. Taught by journalism professor, Pablo Calvi, the class is titled Engaging with Journalists.

Lindenfeld said she believes “great story telling will prevail” in journalism. She also believes that people will pay for editorial products they value.

The journalism school also provides its students with an education in business. A year ago, the school hired Sree Sreenivasan, who is the Marshall R. Loeb Visiting professor of Digital Innovation and Audience Engagement. He will help students understand how to build a digital audience.

Lindenfeld would also like to see the school add other degree programs. The university is a “knowledge production machine” and has the opportunity to create programs in communication and mass communication that draw on some of the journalistic principles.

As for the nuts and bolts of writing, including grammar, word choice and punctuation, The J-school dean said she is committed to great writing.

“Rules are there for the sake of clarity, flow and engagement,” she said.

Passionate about food culture, Lindenfeld looks at the recipe of the day in the New York Times. She has observed how the cost of ingredients has decreased during the pandemic.

Not to mention, people are experiencing a resurgence in home cooking.

“I do fear for restaurant culture,” Lindenfeld said.

Lindenfeld urges students to listen and hear people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including to those whose ideas or ideologies might conflict with their own.

“Hearing involves a willingness to be changed by the other,” Lindenfeld said. She urges students to respect those with whom they are speaking “with dignity.”

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The Town of Brookhaven Town Hall. File photo

Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) announced the town has issued a request for proposal for a natural gas supplier for the town’s new Community Choice Aggregation program, an energy program that allows local governments to buy electricity and gas on behalf of its residents.

Brookhaven officials outlined such a program to the town board back in October, 2019. CCA is a municipal energy procurement model that replaces the utility as the default supplier for virtually all homes and small businesses with your jurisdiction. The utility remains responsible for energy delivery and billing. By pooling demand, communities build clout necessary to negotiate lower rates with private suppliers and are able to choose cleaner energy. CCA allows for the bulk purchasing of electricity and/or gas and, if all goes according to plan, provides the ability to obtain more competitive rates from energy suppliers, ultimately saving money for residents and commercial properties.

“Community Choice Aggregation could result in cheaper, cleaner energy use for all of our residents and businesses in Brookhaven and would give them the opportunity to seek an alternative utility provider for the first time,” Romaine said in a release.  “Issuing this RFP for a natural gas provider brings us one step closer to putting in place the first CCA on Long Island.”

After receiving bids for potential CCA electrical/gas rates, officials said the town will examine if there is a cost savings benefit to residents and small businesses and choose whether to sign the contract to begin CCA.  If approved, residents and businesses currently served by the local utility company do not need to do anything in order to be included within the CCA — they will automatically be included, unless they affirmatively opt-out. There is no contract for the resident or small business to sign or enter into. If a resident or business wishes to leave the CCA program, they may terminate at any time with no early termination or exit fee. No taxpayer or public funding is used to run a CCA Program.

The CCA program was created by the New York State Public Service Commission in April 2016. Westchester was the first New York county, through the Sustainable Westchester consortium, to launch the CCA program under Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). 

Other municipalities on Long Island that are in the process of establishing CCA programs include Hempstead, Southampton, and East Hampton Towns. More than 80 municipalities across New York State have enacted legislation to begin the process to adopt CCA.

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From left, Private First Class Alex Vroman of the New York Army National Guard and Josh Miller, MD, MPH, Assistant Dean for Clinical Integration and Medical Director of Diabetes Care for Stony Brook Medicine, at the coronavirus testing site on Stony Brook University’s campus, where more 48,000 people were tested from March through July. Photo from SBU

The Thanksgiving COVID-19 numbers are here and they are skyrocketing.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) was joined by health and emergency response officials in a media call Dec. 3 to brief the public on the increase in positive coronavirus tests since the holiday last week.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Photo by Julianne Mosher

“We are expecting to see more than 1,100 positive cases in Suffolk County, with a positivity rate of about 6%,” he said. “We have not seen a number of 1,000 cases a day since last April.”

To put it in perspective, Bellone said, Suffolk County was averaging below 200 new cases per day last month. The number has now jumped to nearly 500 positive cases on average per day.

The spike in hospitalizations is also drastic, jumping to 57%. Bellone said that 287 people have been hospitalized — an increase of 21 people. He said 50 of those people are in ICUs.

“That is the highest number since the end of May,” he said. “If we continue with this current pace by Christmas, we’ll have over 1,000 people in the hospitals with COVID-19.”

Bellone noted that at Suffolk County’s peak in the spring, when the region was the epicenter of the virus, there were 1,658 hospitalizations.

Kenneth Kaushansky, Dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, said the number of COVID patients or suspected COVID patients was up to 85.

“Every day for the last week or so, we’ve seen 10 more patients in our hospital,” Kaushansky said on a conference call about vaccinations on Thursday. “It’s coming back at us.”

Kaushansky urged residents to stay away from parties, wash their hands, and to continue wearing masks.

Marilin Dilone, an Emergency Department Nurse at Stony Brook, said the second wave is “slowly happening. We’re seeing it again.”

She anticipates a smooth transition if the numbers continue to rise.

“We know what to expect,” Dilone said.

Dr. Eric Morley, Associate Professor and Clinical Director of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook, described the staff as “battle tested.”

The hospital planned to open the forward triage unit, which the hospital used to separate suspected COVID patients during the first wave of the virus, next week.

On Monday, Mather Hospital President Kenneth Roberts said the hospital was at 64 percent occupancy, so it is “nowhere near capacity.” The hospital also has surge plans in place so that it can accommodate many more than 248 patients.

Robert Collins, a nurse at Mather for the last seven years, said the staff has learned from the difficult experiences through the spring.

“The benefit this go-round is that we’ve done it once,” Collins said. “We’re more familiar with treating it.”

St. Catherine Hospital has 30 COVID positive patients, which is 15% of their inpatient volume, while St. Charles has 11 COVID patients, which is 6.5% of the inpatient volume. Mather is still at 64% occupancy, which is the figure from earlier this week.

“The second wave and the post-Thanksgiving surge we talked about, we warned about, is here,” he said. “Luckily, we’ve taken a proactive approach.”

But Bellone said that although maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask outside is essential to staying safe, small gatherings are becoming the new super spreader.

“Now we know that small gatherings among families and friends have the highest transmission rate of all the events that we’ve seen,” he said. “So I cannot stress enough the concern about small indoor gatherings, where individuals and almost naturally let their guard down a little bit.”

Bellone said that Long Islanders must remain vigilant throughout the upcoming holiday season, while a vaccine is on the horizon.

“It is our actions over the next 30-plus days, that will be critical to our continued recovery,” he said. “That will be key to making sure that we keep our kids in school, keep our schools open, and keep our businesses open.”

He added that two new community-testing sites were launched in Huntington and Patchogue. So far, 349 people have been tested at the Huntington site.

Additional reporting from Daniel Dunaief

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Kellly Wong of Lai Life Products

If we had to pick one word for 2020 it might be pivot. We’ve all been pivoting our lives to accommodate changes due to a global pandemic. Perhaps no one has pivoted more than small business owners and entrepreneurs, especially local micro entrepreneurs who rely on sales from weekend markets throughout the holiday season.

The annual Women’s EXPO, an initiative of the Middle Country Library Foundation and Miller Business Center, has also pivoted and will be held virtually this year on Dec. 10.

“The mission of the Library’s Miller Business Center has always been to promote economic development on Long Island and we felt that more than ever, we needed to support Long Island’s women entrepreneurs,” said Sophia Serlis-McPhillips, Director of the library. “With support from Bank of America and our other sponsors, we are able to offer workshops that would help provide the necessary tools to succeed in this virtual marketplace,” she said. The programs, focusing on social media, selling online, marketing, and photography, helped entrepreneurs with the online environment.

“Bank of America is committed to supporting economic mobility for those within the communities we serve,” said Bob Isaksen, Long Island market president for Bank of America. “Women entrepreneurs play an important role in driving economic growth here on Long Island, and this year more than ever, it is important to support and advance their businesses. We’re grateful to have a strong, long standing partnership with the Middle Country Library Foundation for this event and encourage everyone who is able to virtually shop the EXPO this holiday season.”

Here are just a few of the women you will “meet” at this year’s virtual event:

Kelly Wong: Lai Life Products

Kellly Wong of Lai Life Products

After seeing how hard it was for some people to kneel on their thin yoga mats, Kelly Wong created a high quality knee pad to alleviate pressure on knees, wrists, or tailbone. She never expected that her passion project, Lai Life, would be so successful. Feedback from those customers showed Wong that the implications for her product reached far beyond the yoga studio. Now she markets the pad with its many other uses including for gardening and game day.

With in-person events being canceled, Kelly turned to her ecommerce site.  Targeted online ads and a move towards exercising at home has helped and Kelly has even sold out a few times. The move to more online sales has forced her to learn a lot more but overall it has helped with the business. Interestingly, she’s been developing more relationships with her customers in this new virtual world. This year will be Kelly’s first as an exhibitor at the EXPO and she is “very excited to join this elite group of small businesses.”

Lori Rosenberg: Red Gems

Lori Rosenberg of Red Gems

Primarily a pop-up shop, Lori Rosenberg’s Red Gems, was not prepared for all the event cancellations. “I have always told my children to play to their strengths, one of my strengths is building a strong rapport and trust with my customers,” said Lori.

This rapport has brought her many repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals who reach out to purchase the jewelry, rain ponchos, and other accessories she sells. But not seeing new and loyal customers at events has been a challenge. While Lori knows she has to build her online shopping presence, she is also the first to admit that tech does not come easily to her.

Like most of us, she’s had to learn a lot of new skills in 2020. Lori is looking forward to learning what she needs to create a virtual booth for the EXPO. “I signed up for the virtual EXPO because I was honored to have been an exhibitor for the last two years and from start to finish it was a true pleasure as well as profitable. The staff could not have been more professional, supportive or accommodating and it was inspiring to be in the company of other Long Island entrepreneurs.”

Tamar Perry: Creative Treasures

Tamar Perry of Creative Treasures

Tamar Perry has been creating since her first art class at age 12. Her hobby turned into a side business in 2011, when she began making paper jewelry and selling at local shows.

This year has been a challenge — the pandemic caused her employer to close its New York office — but Tamar is an optimist and saw an opportunity to invest in her own company, Creative Treasures which focuses on vintage, romantic, steampunk and old country style paper crafting and mixed media art.

While her main focus is creating scrapbooking albums and mixed media art, she has partnered with Plasterkraze in Selden to offer make-and-take events and online classes.

As a first time exhibitor, Tamar is looking forward to using the virtual EXPO to interact with the local community and introduce them to her art. “The virtual EXPO gives me the ability to invite you to my studio, share my techniques and show you hands on how I make these crafts.”

Dana Porciello: The Soothery

Dana Porciello of The Soothery

Like many other small businesses without a storefront, Dana Porciello, of The Soothery, has been seeking ways to get in front of customers. In these times especially, finding markets for her handmade soaps, lotion bars, lip balms, and face masks has been a big challenge, but one Dana knew she wanted to take on. She’s been working on her website – thesoothery.com – to get her business in front of a wider audience. Dana has also joined any safe, in-person markets. “I met amazing people and customers who wanted to support local makers which was inspiring and made me love what I do even more.” She has learned a lot about her business and sees this year overall as a tremendous learning experience.

Dana’s excited about the opportunities a virtual EXPO brings. “I love the Women’s EXPO because every woman here started with an idea and made it a reality. I find this so powerful and love to be around that energy. The library and its community does an amazing job supporting the EXPO and women in business and I love being a part of it.”

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Support local businesses and finish your holiday shopping at the 20th annual (and first VIRTUAL) Women’s EXPO on Thursday, December 10, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at www.womensEXPOli.org. Virtual attendees will be entered to win one of many door prizes. Computers for browsing will be available at the Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd, Centereach on the day of the event. For more information, please call 631-585-9393, ext. 296.

 

 

 

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