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Editorial: Renew the spirit of ’76

by TBR Staff - July 2, 2023

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free-speech-6249232_1280 — Pixabay photo

On this page, we do the work of democracy.

The first editorial ever published in our newspaper [“The spirit of ’76,” April 8, 1976] declared our opinion pages as “a forum where everybody has an opportunity to be heard.” Through the many changes over the last 47 years, we affirm this creed unconditionally, subject to concerns of libel and good taste.

For nearly half a century, our staff, columnists and letter writers have broadcast ideas to the North Shore public each week. This page is our weekly community dialogue keeping vital communication channels alive.

Debate ennobles citizens. Through spirited exchanges, we empower our peers to interpret and digest local current events, enabling rational, informed decisions at the ballot box.

But how our times have changed.

With innovation, many of our discussions have moved from the printed page to the digital screen. Citizens today take their disagreements to social media, where opinions are not subjected to rigorous editorial standards and vetting procedures.

Social media often discourages thoughtful dissent. Unfiltered, shielded by screens, we inject venom and misinformation into our public forum. The natural consequence of this toxic social media culture is the decay of civility and decorum.

We live in a hypercharged, decidedly polarized political context. We expect media outlets and tech companies to squelch meaningful exchanges. We seek only information affirming our existing — often incomplete — worldviews.

Instead of debating, we dehumanize and delegitimize our political opponents. Through our collective softness and fear of dissent, we paint a warped picture of reality.

While our staff may object to some of the sentiments advanced on this page, we remind our readers that we are moderators, not censors. We hold up the words attributed to Voltaire, the great French philosophical champion of free speech, who once wrote, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

We disagree with outlets and tech companies that censor divergent speech, stymie political discourse or needlessly encroach upon our deliberative process. However, we disallow hatred or what appears as personal attacks.

As journalists, we cannot bend our editorial code to meet the censorial standards of our age.

For this republic to endure, we must return to honest disagreement. So in this spirit, let us continue this noble work, allowing the conversations to flourish.

Three Village Academy offers an alternative road to success

by Mallie Jane Kim - July 2, 2023

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Academy students may have fallen through the cracks on larger campuses

3V-academy — Three Village Academy, above, is tucked behind a quiet Stony Brook neighborhood. Photos by Mallie Jane Kim

Tucked behind a quiet Stony Brook neighborhood sits the least known school in Three Village Central School District: Three Village Academy, home base for about 55 ninth through 12th graders each year who have had a tough time socially or emotionally, and who may otherwise have fallen through the cracks at larger secondary schools in the district.

Principal Gus Hueber checks on a student working independently. Photo by Mallie Jane Kim

At a time children and teens nationwide are struggling with increased anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, the academy, which shares a building with district administration offices, offers a distinctly lower-key environment than the massive, stately Ward Melville High School, population 1,520.

It is a general education program — not special education, though about half of the students have accommodation plans, and not a behavioral intervention program. The academy is primarily for in-district students, but a small portion are sent and paid for by other districts: Smithtown, Commack, Port Jefferson and Sachem, among others, and there are typically about 15 out-of-district students on a waiting list, according to academy principal Gus Hueber.

The academy provides a way for all of its students to receive the same quality of education as any other Three Village student, but with more one-to-one attention and support, and less social pressure.

“Some kids, at whatever moment in their life they are struggling, there’s a window we work with them, we support them,” said Hueber, who has served as principal since the academy’s inception 10 years ago. “It’s not magic; it really is just providing them with a safe and trusting place and trusting relationships,” he added.

But for some families, it may feel like magic when a child with chronic absenteeism suddenly has a safe place they willingly attend.

Like Tabitha DeMuria’s daughter Jenny [not her real name], who was in ninth grade at P.J. Gelinas Junior High School during the 2020-2021 school year when she started missing school. Since it was the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenny could simply do course work online. Before long, even that stopped, DeMuria said. “She just shut down.”

COVID-19 stress was an exacerbating factor, but struggle had already been brewing. Jenny was coming to terms with the aftermath of a tragedy in her family, and she faced bullying by some girls at school.

When Jenny toured the academy, teachers she met were warm and friendly, as were her peers. “The students came up to her — not knowing who she was — and told her, ‘You’re going to do great here,’” DeMuria said.

Because the school is in-district, the transition was swift and smooth. Academy teachers split their time with the other Three Village secondary schools, and the curriculum is the same. By the time school broke for summer in 2021, Jenny had vastly improved all the grades that had dropped due to repeated absences, according to DeMuria.

Support staff like guidance counselors and school psychologists play an important role, but the teachers themselves become a huge part of these students’ lives. They eat lunch in the same room as the students, they join together for kickball or volleyball and they attend the academy’s prom.

Superintendent of Schools Kevin Scanlon, who helped launch the academy when he was assistant superintendent, set the tone for the school’s culture by hand picking teachers. Scanlon said he told incoming staff that flexibility is vital. “If you are rigid as a teacher and rigid as a person, this is not the right program for you,” he told them.

The closeness of the relationship among staff and students brings a sense of ownership and pride to the community. Academy students get together at the beginning of the school year to create rules for public spaces, like the hallway, and they post signs detailing those expectations. “Don’t be on your phones — keep your eyes up,” one sign reads. “We will not scream, push or make inappropriate sounds,” reads another.

They create murals in school hallways; a version of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” for one. DeMuria said mural painting helps ease Jenny’s anxiety. “All of her stress is gone when she’s able to do something like that,” she said.

Some academy students ride a bus to the high school for the afternoon if they’d like to take AP classes or participate in sports, and others go to BOCES vocational programs to earn certificates in things like cosmetology or auto mechanics. Many of the graduates, according to Scanlon, would most likely not have graduated if they’d stayed at Ward Melville. Others, including Jenny, choose to return to the big school after a few years and wind up graduating there.

Stories of success and growth like Jenny’s are common at Three Village Academy. According to Hueber, every year at graduation when seniors share how far they’ve come from dark places thanks to academy staff, there’s not a dry eye in the room.

“You have no idea the impact you’ve made on certain kids,” he said.

Between You and Me: I don’t remember ever being bored

by Leah Dunaief - July 2, 2023

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

“I’m bored!” exclaimed my cousin, when we were about 10 and sitting in the backyard of my grandfather’s former dairy farm in the Catskills one summer afternoon.

I thought about that for a few seconds. “What does bored mean?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.

“It means I have nothing to do,” she railed.

“Oh. I’ve never been bored,” I replied unhelpfully.

“What do you do when you have nothing to do?” she demanded.

Again it took a few seconds. “I think,” I offered lamely.

My aunt, her mother, who was sitting nearby, burst out laughing.

Looking disgusted, my cousin got up and walked away.

I thought of that exchange, so many years ago, when I saw the headline in last Tuesday’s New York Times: “Let Children Get Bored. It’s Good for Them.” The article went on to advise that “in moderate doses, boredom can offer a valuable learning opportunity, spurring creativity and problem solving and motivating children to seek out activities that feel meaningful to them.”

How, exactly, did I spend my summertime hours when a visit from my cousin was a rarity and there was nothing structured amid the grassy cow pastures?

By the beginning of July, during my elementary school years, I had my books already signed out from the neighborhood library. There was a rule limiting the number that could be withdrawn at one time, but the librarians knew me, knew that I would be taking them away for the summer, that I would take good care of them and return them in September, so they let me exceed the number. Often they would make recommendations that added to my pile. So reading made up a large part of my waking hours.

I also remember picking blueberries from the bushes that grew in the pasture behind the house. They were wild berries. I don’t think anyone planted them there. They were sweet and delicious, and when I had my fill, I would bring back a small amount for my mother and sister, who were with me during the week. My dad would come up by Shoreline Bus on the weekends, and then I would roam with him across many pastures, marked by low stone walls, collecting blueberries in greater quantities.

I would invent games, like selecting a large rock as a target, then throwing small rocks at it from increasing distances, keeping score from one day to the next. If it rained, I would empty the glass jar in which my mother kept loose coins, place a pot against the far wall of the kitchen, then try to pitch the coins into the pot. To this day, I have pretty good aim when I toss something.

As an offshoot from reading, I guess, I would write sometimes. One of my favorite stories was about the antics of the Bobbsey Twins, by Laura Lee Hope, and I would try to dream up adventures for them when I had finished their books. I also loved horses, read the whole series about the Black Stallion by Walter Farley, then tried to extend it with my own amateurish episodes.

Sitting in the shade of a tree, I know I did a lot of daydreaming. I don’t remember any of those thoughts, but I do recall that I loved the smell of the nearby evergreens when the breeze blew and the warmth of the sun on my skin as it dipped down below the level of the tree limbs. In the evening, we could hear the frogs croaking and see fireflies momentarily lighting up the night sky. There were stars, millions of stars that were not visible in the city. And there was The Lone Ranger on the radio at 7:30.

My sister was two years younger, and I would make up scenarios in which I would be Miss Brown, and she would be my secretary. I would send her on all kinds of made-up errands, like mailing a letter at a pretend postal box a block away, and she would gladly run to oblige.

There was an innocence and a peacefulness in those loosey-goosey days that I think today’s youth, with their cell phones and video games, never know.

Ward Melville High School celebrates Class of 2023

by Press Release - July 1, 2023

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Members of the Ward Melville High School Class of 2023 proudly walked through balloon arches and out onto the front lawn of the school on June 25 to celebrate their graduation. Family and friends cheered the soon-to-be graduates on, as the Ward Melville Symphonic Band played “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Commencement exercises began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by student government president Mikaeel Zohair, followed by a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner by senior Adam Bear. Principal William Bernhard welcomed the crowd and touted the school’s recent Blue Ribbon School designation, crediting in part, the accomplishments of the graduating class. Additionally, Mr. Bernhard recognized graduating senior Jesse Guise for having perfect attendance since kindergarten — an achievement only recorded one other time in Ward Melville history.

Board of Education President Susan E. Megroz Rosenzweig gave opening remarks and offered advice to the Class of 2023. Bernhard then welcomed this year’s keynote speaker, Edward Bonahue, president of Suffolk County Community College and graduate of Ward Melville High School. Bonahue praised students for their resiliency during the pandemic and encouraged them to continue to persevere through challenges.

Zohair returned to the podium to reflect on his time at Ward Melville High School. On behalf of the student government, Zohair presented the class gift — banners to hang on the campus light poles with messages of Patriot pride.

Bernhard introduced the top academic leaders of the Class of 2023, valedictorian Ava Della Pietra and salutatorian Serene Stoller. Both students delivered speeches that reflected on their journeys. Stoller first touched on the concept of invisibility and encouraged her peers to be leaders, even when it doesn’t require being in the spotlight.

“We live in a world that appreciates the strength of vibrant voices and celebrates visible accomplishments,” Stoller said. “But we must remember that behind every ground-breaking innovation, every transformative idea and every societal change, there are countless invisible heroes who toiled away, uncelebrated but essential. So, I urge you to seek out the problems that society overlooks and find innovative solutions.”

Della Pietra spoke about the importance of being connected and noted how the class will always be connected through their experiences in Three Village.

“As we reflect on this chapter in our lives, let’s not forget the value of human connection,” she said. “If you retrace your path through high school, you’ll probably find your most cherished moments brimming with shared experience, because life is so much sweeter when you have someone to share your triumphs and failures with.”

Following the remarks, the seniors walked across the stage and received their diplomas from members of the board of education. Bernhard presented the graduating class, and Class of 2023 representative Anna Calise led the turning of the tassels. Students threw their caps into the air, signifying the end of their time at Ward Melville High School.

Suffolk CCE works to remove more ghost-fishing gear from LI Sound

by TBR Staff - June 30, 2023

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Screen Shot 2023-06-29 at 5.02.10 PM — Researchers are still trying to pinpoint the precise number of lobster pots, pictured above, abandoned on the Long Island Sound floor. Still active, these traps pose numerous ecological and environmental risks. Photo by Gerald England/Lobster Pots/CC BY-SA 2.0

By Aidan Johnson

Potentially over a million abandoned lobster pots and fishing gear lay on the Long Island Sound floor.

This gear has been left in the Sound for multiple decades, but its impact on marine life is still felt today. [See story, “Ghost fishing,” TBR News Media website, June 4].

While the pots may be old, some still function and can trap lobsters and other aquatic animals, often killing them due to no way to escape.

Some of the lobster pots, partially made of plastic, are beginning to break down, polluting the water and compounding the environmental and ecological risks posed to marine life.

To stop this maritime mess, the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County is getting to work. CCE first got involved with ghost fishing after the issue was raised with them by their commercial fishing partners in 2010.

“They had let us know that after the lobster industry crashed in about 1999, they were encountering a lot of derelict lobster pots during their normal operations and that they knew where some of these were,” said Scott Curatolo-Wagemann, senior educator at CCE Suffolk in Riverhead.

“We were able to put together a grant proposal, working with the commercial fishing industry — they had knowledge of where these traps were — to work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to work out a letter that would allow us to do this work,” he added.

‘Right now, we’ve been doing this all on the local fishermen’s knowledge.’ — Scott Curatolo-Wagemann

Since New York State law prohibits anybody except the owner of a lobster trap from removing it, CCE Suffolk pays fishermen a charter fee to remove the pots.

According to a statement updated in March by CCE Suffolk, 19,000 derelict traps have already been removed from the New York waters of the Long Island Sound, equaling an estimated weight of 950,000 pounds.

While there are many more derelict traps, CCE Suffolk is still determining precisely how much longer these efforts will take.

“Right now, we’ve been doing this all on the local fishermen’s knowledge,” Curatolo-Wagemann said. “We are trying to expand it. We’ve applied for some funds to start using side-scan sonar to map out areas that may have high concentrations of traps so that we can kind of [make] a coordinated effort to remove traps,” adding that efforts are underway “to get an estimated amount that may still be out there.”

State Assemblyman Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) is working on drafting legislation allowing the state to remove the ghost gear after a designated period, but declined to comment for this updated story.

The Jazz Loft strikes gold with latest acquisition

by Press Release - June 30, 2023

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Cornet The Jazz Loft — From left, Joshua Landress of J. Landress Brass and Tom Manuel with the gold-plated cornet recently acquired by The Jazz Loft. Photo courtesy of The Jazz Loft

The Jazz Loft’s Museum contains more than 10,000 pieces of jazz relics, including sheet music, instruments, recordings, artwork and furniture once owned by some of the Jazz greats. The Jazz Loft’s memorabilia come from as close as New York City and as far away as Europe! How does it get to Stony Brook? Look no further than Jazz Loft founder and President Tom Manuel, who is always on the lookout for something fresh and unique that can fit inside a rented van.

Recently, Manuel has been scouring the streets of New York City in search of something with a great story behind it…and he found it at the J. Landress Brass store on 38 West 32nd Street Suite 908 which is owned by Joshua Landress. The latest Jazz Loft acquisition—a 1978 gold-plated King Super 20 cornet that was used by Wild Bill Davison—came all the way from Europe, and serendipitously made its way to New York City. A defining feature of the cornet is that it’s highly engraved and even has Wild Bill Davison’s name on it.

Davison was an American Jazz cornet player who had a career that lasted 70 years. Throughout his career he worked with over hundreds of bands and made more than 20 albums between the years of 1965 and 1975.

Davison was known for his astounding playing and musicianship and always knew how to amuse the audience with his uncanny ability to play while chewing gum, without missing a single note and is best remembered for his association with Eddie Condon, with whom he worked and recorded music with from mid 1940s until Condon’s last concert. One of his most well-known songs was “Blue and Broken Hearted” that he played alongside Condon and Edmond Hall. Davison got to play with bands such as the Ohio Lucky Seven, The All-Star Stompers, George Wettling’s All Stars, and Art Hodes’ Hot Five.

“I am thrilled to be adding this outstanding item to the Jazz Loft’s museum holdings,” Manuel said. “Wild Bill Davison’s gold-plated cornet is not only a beautiful work of art visually, but an instrument that represents one of the early practitioners of Jazz.”

The gold-plated cornet is not only on display at The Jazz Loft, but Manuel is very excited to get the chance to use the cornet in future performances.

Located at 275 Christian Avenue in Stony Brook, the museum is open Thursdays to Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission fee is $10. For more information, visit www.thejazzloft.org.

Letters to the Editor — June 29

by - June 29, 2023

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letters_page-scaled-1-700x467-1-1-2-2 — File photo by Raymond Janis

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation.

Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

Democracy at work

The proudest day of my life was when my parents and I took the oath to become citizens of the United States. I was 8 years old.

As a Russian emigrant, my father applied for and received a Tolstoy grant, which sponsored our family’s journey to America. They arrived on these shores with a baby, a box of books and dreams for a brighter future.

This election season in Port Jefferson brought back the feeling of pride I experienced at becoming a citizen of this great nation.

I went to meet-and-greets for all the candidates and attended the debates. I observed as people of varied and even opposing political leanings coalesced around the candidate they thought best represented their vision for our village. I participated in putting up signs, knocking on doors and engaging in spirited discourse with my neighbors.

This was democracy at work, and it renewed my faith in the American spirit. All of us were motivated by the love we have for this beautiful harborfront village we call home and a desire to help steer it toward a better tomorrow.

I, for one, am honored to help us paddle.

Xena Ugrinsky

Port Jefferson

Personal attacks are not helpful

I’m deeply disappointed with the editor’s decision to print a letter that seeks to contrast me with the wonderful couple who own Kai Li Kitchen in East Setauket [subjects in our “American Dream” series, May 25].

This letter continues a false narrative that aims to distinguish between good and bad immigrants, painting me as a complaining socialist who doesn’t work hard. That is an unfair and unsubstantiated personal attack. I am an immigrant to this country, the first of my family to grow up and attend college here. I have been an educator for almost a quarter of a century in public and higher education. I am an advocate for a range of issues as both a volunteer and in my paid professional work.

As a citizen of this country, I have my First Amendment rights, and I use them eloquently and fully with no apology. I love this country deeply, so deeply that I am willing to do the work of improving it. It is why I have advocated for economic, environmental, social and racial justice at all levels of government. What [letter writer] Mr. Graziano calls “complaining,” I call the work of citizenship. The progress that happens in this nation has occurred because of people who would not accept the status quo as the final product.

As someone who has written in this paper for years, I’m disappointed to see the decline in quality in recent months. It seems that the editors of TBR News Media have turned the letters-to-the-editor page into a venue where personal attacks on residents are fair game. Residents and subscribers deserve better from local journalism than this.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

South Setauket

My heart is breaking for Port Jeff

It’s a sad day in the Village of Port Jefferson today. The election is over and to the surprise of many, Kathianne Snaden did not get enough of her supporters out to vote for her. This paper called the results an “upset.”

The reason I feel compelled to write is many residents don’t realize that as a result of the vote, Kathianne is now off the Board of Trustees completely, as her term expires in a short few days. What a huge loss for this village. Four years of village government knowledge and proven results are literally out the window now. You may not fully know all Kathianne did and was responsible for, which we have now lost. And after you read this you should be “upset” as well.

As our commissioner of public safety and liaison to code, Kathianne worked with the Suffolk County Police Department and brought increased enforcement and specialized SCPD units here to Port Jeff that other villages don’t get and in doing so lowered crime numbers in the village drastically. That relationship is gone now.

As liaison to parking, Kathianne worked to build the first new parking lot in 40 years in Port Jeff to address our chronic parking problems.

Kathianne worked tirelessly to beautify this village, creating parks, cleaning up dilapidated overgrown areas and instead creating small pocket parks and green spaces. The flowers you see in this village are a direct result of Kathianne’s efforts, saving you money instead of paying a gardener to do this. That eye for keeping the village sharp looking is now gone.

As commissioner of building and planning, Kathianne worked to streamline that department and helped create housing solutions that could bring more families into the village — benefiting our schools and businesses alike. Gone.

Speaking of families, we have lost the only Board of Trustees member that has kids in the school district. Kathianne worked with the district to create a positive relationship where both the schools and the village benefited as well as every one of your kids. Parents: Kathianne was your pro-schools voice in village government. That voice is gone now, leaving louder voices intent on trying to close the schools.

The loss to this village is immense. My heart breaks for this village and for my wife. She’s being prevented from doing what she loves to do and what she excels at: Making a difference in the daily lives of all Port Jeff residents.

William Snaden

Port Jefferson

DWI crackdown: Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office announces Operation H.E.A.T.

by Press Release - June 29, 2023

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McMorris Family - Sheriff — Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon, second from left, with the family of Andrew McMorris, a Boy Scout fatally killed by a drunk driver in 2018. Photo courtesy Toulon's office

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon (D) recently joined roadway safety advocates to announce a summer campaign targeting drunk driving.

Beginning during the July 4 holiday weekend, Toulon’s Office will increase DWI patrols and checkpoints from Huntington to the East End, continuing these measures throughout the summer in an effort to keep Suffolk’s roadways safe. According to the Sheriff’s Office, its DWI team has already had record-high impaired driving arrests this year, with a nearly 40% increase in DWI/DUI arrests from 2022.

Coined “Operation H.E.A.T.,” the initiative aims to ramp up already heightened efforts to mitigate these increases.

“The ‘heat’ is on this summer for drunk and drugged drivers in Suffolk County,” Toulon said during a press event Thursday, June 29. “Our deputy sheriffs will be out in full force patrolling the roadways with an eye out for impaired drivers. If you don’t drive sober, you will be pulled over.”

Joining Toulon was the family of Andrew McMorris, a 12-year-old Boy Scout who was fatally hit by a drunk driver in 2018 while hiking with his Scout troop. The driver in that crash was found guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide and sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.

“The Andrew McMorris Foundation asks everyone this summer and always to please make a promise to never drink and drive,” said Alisa and John McMorris of the Andrew McMorris Foundation. “Call a cab, call a friend, save a life, start a trend. You don’t have to be a superhero to save someone’s life. Just take the keys.”

Paige Carbone, regional executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also attended the meeting. She offered her support for the department initiative, emphasizing the need for stricter enforcement.

“Summer is one of the deadliest times of the year on our highways,” she said. “MADD supports Operation H.E.A.T. and will join the efforts by providing staff and volunteers to participate in checkpoints across the county this summer.”

The regional director added, “Our mission is to end drunk driving, and MADD encourages alternatives, such as designating a non-drinking driver, rideshares and using public transportation. That can prevent these crimes from happening.”

Toulon also offered these tips:

If you are hosting a party, designate a sober driver or arrange alternate transportation to ensure guests get home safely.
If you’ve been drinking and don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home, call a taxi or rideshare service or stay for the night.
Take the keys from a friend if you think they are about to drive while impaired.

For more information on the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, please visit www.suffolksheriff.com.

Ron Gold celebrates 500th broadcast of ‘The Nonprofit Voice’

by Press Release - June 29, 2023

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Ten years ago, Marketing Works CEO Ron Gold started “The Nonprofit Voice” on WRCN-FM LI News Radio on 103.9 FM to shine a spotlight on Long Island’s nonprofit community. Over the years, Gold has been joined on air by leaders from nonprofit organizations of all sizes to discuss the important work their agencies do and the challenges they face. On June 14, Mr. Gold celebrated his 500th show with a special two-hour live broadcast that featured nearly two dozen past guests, who joined him in the radio station’s Ronkonkoma studios.

The special broadcast was broken out into eight 15-minute segments. The first segment featured Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter and Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine, who also presented Mr. Gold with proclamations.

The other segments featured small groups of nonprofit leaders: Robert Budd of Family Residences and Essential Enterprises (FREE), Janet Koch of Variety Child Learning Center and Fred Sganga of Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University; Tom Hopkins of EPIC Long Island and Mike Smith of ACDS; Eileen Egan of Community Mainstreaming Associates and Robert Ciatto of ACLD; Barbara Faron and Elizabeth Galati of Federation of Organizations and Dr. Chris Rosa of The Viscardi Center; Paule Pachter of Long Island Cares-The Harry Chapin Food Bank and Dana Lopez of The INN; Lisa Veglia of QSAC, Lisa Gatti of Pal-O-Mine Equestrian and Charles Evdos of RISE Life Services; Renee Flagler of Girls Inc. of Long Island and John McGuigan of AHRC Suffolk.

“I am thrilled that so many of my past guests were able to join me in celebrating this milestone,” said Mr. Gold, who is a Three Village resident. “I am also proud that ‘The Nonprofit Voice’ has been able to give so many of the region’s nonprofit organizations a platform to discuss the important work they do. I am grateful to JVC Broadcasting, which owns LI News Radio, for their support of our show for the past decade.”

“Serving Long Island is the core of what we do at JVC Broadcasting and we place great emphasis on serving the neighborhoods and communities in which we live and work,” said John Caracciolo, President and CEO of JVC Broadcasting. “‘The Nonprofit Voice’ is dedicated to inspiring and creating positive change that improves the lives of others. We are proud to host ‘The Nonprofit Voice’ on LI News Radio and proud of Ron Gold completing 500 shows on the station. This is live and local radio at its best.”

Stony Brook Film Festival celebrates 28th year

by Heidi Sutton - June 29, 2023

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march68 — Vanessa Aleksander and Ignacy Liss in a scene from March ‘68. Photo courtesy of Staller Center

Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts turns into a movie lover’s mecca when new independent films screen at the Stony Brook Film Festival on evenings and weekends from Thursday, July 20 to Saturday, July 29. The popular festival, now in its 28th year, will become a hub for some of the best filmmakers working today, a meeting ground for favorite actors and rising stars, and a showcase of new masterpieces as it pairs memorable short films with an array of features you won’t see anywhere else.

Presented by Island Federal, this year’s lineup offers 36 films from over 26 countries. The Festival kicks off with the U.S. premiere of the Dutch film Sea of Time. Led by Sallie Harmensen (SkyTV’s Devils), Reinout Scholten van Aschat, and of Danish stage and screen fame Elsie De Brauw, the harrowing, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful film is anchored by the powerhouse performances that examine enduring love in times of hardship.

Many international films in this year’s Festival are threaded by this theme of love overcoming life’s difficulties. Whether it is the blossoming young love against all odds in the Polish period drama March ’68, the touching Japanese film Trapped Balloon (starring Toko Miura of the 2022 Oscar-winning film Drive My Car), the gorgeous and romantic love story of My Sailor, My Love with Scottish film icon James Cosmo (Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials) and Tony-Award Winner Bríd Brennan (Dancing at Lughnasa), or the hilarious, music-infused road trip feature Grandpa Goes South from Slovenia.

Continuing on this shared theme of overcoming is Martha, a film that tells the true story of Martha Liebermann, wife to famed painter Max Liebermann, as she faces the Third Reich on own her terms.

At the same time, the powerful documentary Radioactive, directed by Stony Brook University professor Heidi Hutner, recounts the saga about four housewives from Three Mile Island facing down the nuclear industry Goliath for over forty years, and The Grandson tells the story of a man’s refusal to allow heartless scammers to get the best of his grandfather in this tight Hungarian thriller.

There is no shortage of independent cinema in this year’s lineup, including the Serbian puzzle piece Where the Road Takes You, which takes the Western trope of the stranger in town who saves the girl and flips it on its head. From Canada comes the quirky comedy I Like Movies about the reformation of a crabby, awkward teenage cinephile.

Also providing comic relief is the scenic and quietly riotous American indy Friends From Home, shot on the cheap during Covid, and from Italy, the strangely compelling Amanda, about a young woman who suddenly decides that an acquaintance from her very young childhood is now her best friend.

Rounding out a host of stellar independent offerings is the wild Yes, Repeat, No, set in a studio where three actors are all auditioning for the same role. This courageous and unforgettable film zeroes in on questions of conflicting identity while managing to surprise at every turn.

Some recognizable faces also show up in this year’s lineup, including Richard Kind, Karen Allen, and Peter Reigert in Hit Man: Secrets of Lies and the wickedly hilarious Two Chairs, Not One, starring Caitlin Reilly (HBO’s Hacks), whose wildly popular TikTok account has amassed hundreds of millions of views.

The closing night feature tells an extraordinary tale of overcoming. Divertimento shares the true story of sisters Zahia and Fettouma Ziouani, a conductor and a cellist, who, despite being Algerian immigrants from the wrong part of Paris, managed to create a world-class professional orchestra with little more than respect, determination, and sheer talent. Opening and closing with the insistent rhythm of Ravel’s Bolero, the film makes its hopeful message equally insistent: family and community can make the impossible possible.

“We are very excited to have filmmakers from all over the world join us for their premiere screenings. Our audiences can gather in a huge theater with Long Island’s largest screen, to see movies the way they were meant to be seen,” says Festival Director Alan Inkles.

“Not only are these films not available on any streaming format, but you also get to hear directly from the filmmakers themselves, ask them a question at our live Q&A, and even vote for your favorite,” he said.

Additional sponsors for the Stony Brook Film Festival include Campolo, Middleton & McCormick, LLP; Suffolk County; Altice Media; and WLIW/PBS.

FILM SCHEDULE

OPENING NIGHT

Thursday, July 20 at 8 p.m.

Feature: Sea of Time

Short: The Red Suitcase

Friday, July 21 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Exodus

Short: Hit Friends

Friday, July 21 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: I Like Movies

Short: Chipper

Saturday, July 22 at 7 p.m.

Feature: My Sailor, My Love

Short: The Countryman

Saturday, July 22 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Grandpa Goes South

Short: Two Chairs, Not One

Sunday, July 23 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Martha

Short: Stuck

Sunday, July 23 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Friends From Home.

Short: At A Glance

Monday, July 24 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Trapped Balloon

Short: Healer

Monday, July 24 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: A Fleeting Encounter

Short: Winter’s Passing

Tuesday, July 25 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Elik & Jimmy

Short: The Third Defector

Tuesday, July 25 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Amanda

Short: Mahogany Drive

Wednesday, July 26 at 7 p.m.

Feature: Radioactive: The Women of Three Mile Island

Short: Queen Moorea

Wednesday, July 26 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Where the Road Leads

Short: Hit Man: Secrets of Lies

Thursday, July 27 at 7 p.m.

Feature: March ‘68

Short: The Father, The Son and The Rav Kalmenson

Thursday, July 27 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: Yes Repeat No

Short: Demon Box

Friday, July 28 at 7 p.m.

Feature: The Grandson

Short: Death By Puppies

Friday, July 28 at 9:30 p.m.

Feature: First Snow of Summer

Short: Voices

CLOSING NIGHT

Saturday, July 29 at 8 p.m.

Feature: Divertimento

Short: The Basics of Love

CLOSING NIGHT AWARDS

10:30 p.m. Presented on stage.

——————————————-

Ticket information

All screenings are held at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook in the 1,000-seat Main Stage theater.

Festival goers can choose from a Gold Pass “VIP” ($250), Regular Pass ($100), new! Flex Pass ($75), or Individual Pass of $15, $13.50 seniors. To learn about the different membership levels and their benefits, call 631-632-2787 or visit www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com.

This article first appeared in Summer Times, a seasonal guide supplement by TBR News Media.

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