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Ben Brown and his wife Maggie. Photo courtesy of Ben and Maggie Brown.

By Daniel Dunaief

Baseball has been Setauket product Ben Brown’s ticket to ride, or, perhaps, more appropriately, ticket to fly.

The 25-year old Ward Melville High School graduate, whose debut season in Major League Baseball was cut short last year by a neck injury, joined the Chicago Cubs this year for spring training.

Even days before the Chicago Cubs prepared to make a trip across the world to Japan, Brown wasn’t sure if he and his wife Maggie would make the longest flight of his life.

“He only knew a couple of days before that he was going,” said Ben’s mother Jo-Anne Wilson. “Then, they’re scrambling to get people to stay at home and watch their dogs.”

While Brown’s mother was thrilled that her son could enjoy an international trip on a world baseball stage, she had some parental anxiety.

“The night I knew he’d be landing at 3 am, I was still up,” Wilson said. She was greatly relieved when her son texted her.

“I could breathe again,” she laughed. Even though Ben is her third child, she can’t outgrow her parental concern for the well-being of her children.

“I’m sure he was surprised when I texted back within half a second,” said Wilson, who promptly fell asleep after the brief exchange.

Brown’s father Jody Brown was more concerned about jet leg, as Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time and 16 hours ahead of the time in Mesa, Arizona, where the Cubs play their spring training games.

Memorable trip to the Embassy

Ben Brown meeting up with another WMHS graduate Anthony Kay, who is also a pitcher. Kay is playing for the Yokohama DeNa BayStars. Photo courtesy of Maggie Brown

Brown’s parents connected with Ben a few times by FaceTime while their son and his conspicuous six foot, six inch frame were traveling around Japan.

The Japanese public was “friendly and so welcoming,” said Wilson. “The kids were very respectful when they were approaching the players for autographs.”

That presented a contrast to some young fans in the United States, who can be aggressive when seeking autographs or pictures with baseball players.

A trip to the American Embassy, where the Cubs attended a party, was a highlight of the journey.

“He said, ‘Mom, you’ve never seen anything like it in your life,’” Wilson said, recalling her son’s delight at the colorful and well-presented offerings. “He never left a table” filled with every type of sushi imaginable.

Brown was impressed with the immaculate condition of the streets.

Brown’s wife Maggie learned about the expectations for garbage the hard way. She had eaten a pastry and was carrying a coffee cup. When she went to throw her garbage in a can in a fish market, she was reprimanded for trying to discard items that didn’t come from the market. People expect to put items in their own trash cans.

The Browns visited Anthony Kay, who is pitching for the Yokohama DeNa Baystars and is another Ward Melville baseball star, while they were in Tokyo.

A well-watched opening game

The first game of the season was a huge draw in Japan, with an estimated 25 million people watching the Cubs and the defending World Series Champion Dodgers take the field at the Tokyo Dome.

Ben Brown interacting with autograph seekers.
Photo courtesy of Maggie Brown

Over 42,000 people flocked to the stadium, paying anywhere between $2,000 and $19,000 a seat, according to Fox News 11 Los Angeles. Three players from the defending World Series champions are Japanese, including hitting superstar Shohei Ohtani, and pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. The Japanese players from the Cubs are pitcher Shota Imanaga, who started game one, and outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

Back in Setauket, Brown’s parents got up to watch the start of the game at 6:10 am, sitting down with a cup of coffee.

Imanaga threw four hitless and scoreless innings, allowing four walks and striking out two.

The right handed throwing Brown came on to pitch in the fifth inning.

After striking out Miguel Rojas, Brown walked Andy Pages, bringing up Ohtani. The Dodgers left-handed hitting star laced the team’s first hit of the season, a single to right fight.

By the end of the inning, Brown had given up three runs, two of which were earned, on three hits.

Brown pitched an impressive fifth and sixth inning, recording four additional strike outs, including of Ohtani.

Brown’s brother James Neppell, who is 15 years older than Ben and who helped ignite his passion for the sport, was pleased with his brother’s outing and with his approach to Ohtani during the superstar’s second at bat.

“He struck him out on three pitches” Neppell said proudly. “That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

Brown’s father was pleased with his son’s 14 swings and misses, “which is more than any pitcher on the Cubs or the Dodgers” that day as well as the five strike outs.

The Dodgers won the first game 4-1, as Brown took the loss.

The Browns shared the excitement of the trip with their son from a distance, while they also mirrored some of his activities on Long Island.

“We had sushi while he was gone,” Jody Brown said.

Next steps

Just before a spring training outing against the Atlanta Braves earlier this week, Ben found out he had been named the club’s fifth starting pitcher.

Brown and his wife Maggie. Photo courtesy of Ben and Maggie Brown

“It’s a real honor,” Brown said during an interview with an MLB broadcast after his 75-pitch outing in which he allowed two earned runs in four and a third innings against the Braves. “To say that you’re a part [of the team] from day one is pretty incredible.”

Brown suggested that the engagement of the fans, which he likened to European soccer style chants, was a “real blast.”

Jody Brown recalls how travel baseball, which now includes a trip across the world, started when his son was young.

“I remember his first [baseball] trip when he was eight years old to Maryland,” said Brown. “The local coach called and said, ‘We need him to come.’ I thought, ‘That’s crazy.’ That was the start.”

At around that same time years ago, Neppell told his friends he thought his brother might make it to the major leagues. His friends, who thought he was crazy at the time, are impressed that the 33rd round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2017 draft has come this far.

The Browns appreciate the thrilling ride they have taken with their son.

“We’re on the same journey,” said Wilson. “We’re enjoying every minute of it, even the stress.”

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METRO photo

By Frank Artusa

This month New Yorkers were blanketed with scam text messages requesting payment of unpaid tolls. Another growing text based scam involves receiving messages from “wrong numbers” where the scammer attempts to then engage in casual conversation in order to befriend the victim and steal information. Perpetrators are utilizing increasingly sophisticated techniques and deceptive practices like these to trick people into providing access to their most valuable data. 

In recent years phishing, smishing, and vishing have become three of the most common attack vectors, among a dizzying array of others for compromising personal identifiers, valuable data, mobile phones, and computers. In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission reported $12.5 billion in fraud related losses suffered by the American public with identity theft and imposter scams comprising two of the top three categories.

Phishing is a scam where an attacker sends an electronic communication, usually an email, attempting to obtain access to financial accounts or other protected data, typically by getting a victim to click a link or enter personal information into a fake website. Other variations on this technique include vishing, typically done utilizing a voice call and smishing, a deception attempt via a text message. These are just a few of the common types of attacks, among many others, and it’s becoming quite a challenge to discern truth from deception.

In the realm of enterprise level cybersecurity, a best practice for keeping attackers out of networks is to adopt a “default deny” approach, that is, to block all access to business systems unless explicitly permitted via an allow list. Following this perspective to protect personal devices and accounts can also be beneficial to stopping bad guys by denying all attempts of communication from unknown numbers and email addresses.

When an email is received from an entity purporting to be a financial institution requesting personal information, never respond. Deny this solicitation by default and call the institution directly to verify the request. With text messages from an unknown number, stop the smishing attempt by not responding and immediately deleting the message, or call the sender directly to verify the legitimacy of their request. Individuals should never click on any links.

Vishing scams, which historically have been based on simple phone calls from people attempting to persuade victims to reveal valuable information, have now unfortunately evolved into attackers scouring social media accounts for the names of family members and even obtaining samples of their voices through pretext phone calls, then tailoring a targeted scam with an artificial “deepfake” call from the alleged family member. Again, in this case protection is achieved by denying the scammer from the outset and calling that family member or friend directly to verify.

Retirees are particularly vulnerable because they are less likely to be aware of the evolving cyber criminal landscape through work based training programs and are more accustomed to trusting historically dependable methods of communication like basic voice phone calls. The sad truth is that a high level of skepticism of all communications is necessary to combat these threats and protect important financial and personal data in both personal and professional environments. If any type of communication or correspondence is unusual, opt for a default deny approach.

Individuals who are victimized should contact the impacted financial institution to report and prevent further monetary damage. Concerns relative to stolen identity can be addressed by following the steps listed at www.identitytheft.gov. Unfortunately, cyber criminal investigations can be quite challenging due to the international nexus of most incidents; however, reports should be made to your local police department as well as to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Frank Artusa is a current cybersecurity professional and retired FBI Special Agent.

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Athletics

Stony Brook men’s lacrosse outlasted No. 12 Fairfield, 17-16, on March 29 at LaValle Stadium, handing the NCAA’s last remaining unbeaten team its first loss of the season. Kian McCoy paced the offense with a career-high six points (three goals, three assists) while Jamison MacLachlan made a season-best 20 saves in cage.

The high-scoring contest featured a 10-goal first half, seeing Stony Brook take an early 5-1 lead.

The Seawolves led 6-4 after the opening 15 minutes of action. Six different Seawolves scored a goal in the frame.

Fairfield trailed by four goals early on but scored three of the final four goals of the quarter to trim the deficit to two goals.

A five-goal scoring run that spanned the final three-plus minutes of the first quarter and the first six minutes of the second stanza gave Fairfield its first lead of the afternoon, 7-6.

Brendan Marino snapped Stony Brook’s nearly 15-minute scoring drought with his second of the afternoon to even the score at 7-7. McCoy followed with his second of the contest to put the Seawolves back in front.

The Stags tallied a pair of goals to back ahead by one before Richie DeChiaro scored in the final minute to even the contest at 9-all heading into the intermission.

The lead continued changing hands in the second half. McCoy completed his hat trick to break the ice in the second half and put Stony Brook in front 10-9.

Fairfield notched back-to-back goals to make it 11-10 in favor of the nationally-ranked visitors.

The two sides entered the fourth quarter all even at 13 after Tanner Williams found the back of the net to complete the scoring in the third quarter.

Carson Boyle netted a man-up goal and Collin Williamson padded the Seawolves lead to two goals with one of his own early in the fourth.

Fairfield responded with two more tallies to tie it again, 15-15. MacLachlan held strong in net, stopping a pair of Fairfield shots and keeping it even as the contest entered the final five minutes.

MacLachlan caused a turnover with less than three minutes to play, intercepting a pass to the X. Stony Brook gained possession, cleared and called timeout to set the offense.

Ray O’Brien scored the go-ahead goal, unassisted, sneaking a shot inside, with help from the post, with 2:17 to play.

Robbie Smith won the ensuing face-off, leading to a Caleb Yeung unassisted goal to push the lead to two goals with 1:06 to play.

Smith won the next face-off as well, but Fairfield forced a turnover and scored with 20 seconds to play.

After a Fairfield timeout, the Stags went early on the face-off, giving what proved to be the final possession of the contest to Stony Brook. The Seawolves ran the clock out on their second ranked win of the season, and first in league play.

“I’m so proud of the guys, they played so hard. These last four weeks, we’ve practiced so hard and we’re in these one-goal games. It comes down to play here or there, and we talked all week about finishing. We broke every huddle with ‘finish’ the entire week and every huddle in game today and our guys just made one more play and that was the key,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said postgame.

Up next, the team hits the road to face Delaware on Saturday, April 5. The Seawolves and Blue Hens are set for a noon start in Newark with the contest streaming live on FloCollege.

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Emma Clark Library. Photo by Heidi Sutton

By William Stieglitz

Suffolk library directors have voiced concerns following the White House’s executive order this month that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) be reduced to minimal statutory functions, a move which the American Library Association (ALA) said is intended to “eliminate” the agency. Ted Gutmann, director of Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket, and Jenny Bloom, director of Port Jefferson Free Library, said that while both libraries are funded primarily through local taxes, the services they receive from the federally funded New York State Library are at risk. 

“New York State Library is sort of an invisible partner for all of the libraries in the state,” Bloom explained. “It does some cooperative buying of things that it provides to us out of its budget.” This includes funding for summer reading programs and construction aid as well as access to the online NOVELny database. The database provides access to thousands of digital collections and reference materials and is, according to Bloom, “not something that we as an individual library could afford.”

Kevin Verbesey, director of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System, said that while it’s too early to know how significant the impact will be for Suffolk public libraries, “the potential ramifications could be disastrous,” with fallout for local taxpayers as well. 

“If the federal government doesn’t support the states and the states can’t support local libraries,” he said, “it’s just going to mean local libraries, from an administrative perspective, are going to have to do more, which is just going to mean the cost is going to be shifted to the local taxpayer.” He emphasized that the reduction is only 0.003% of the federal budget, a number backed by the ALA, but is a large amount to local libraries.

Verbesey also expressed concern for the E-rate funding of schools and libraries, the future of which is currently being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, and which provides about $5,500 annually to Port Jefferson Free Library and $10,000 annually to Emma Clark. 

“If that funding goes away… that is $35 million with an ‘m’ kick,” he said. “Which means you have two choices: We’re not going to have the Internet in schools and libraries… or Nassau and Suffolk taxpayers are going to have to dip into their pocket for an extra $35,000,000 a year to make sure that their kids have access to the Internet when they go to school.”

Multiple directors also worried the IMLS cuts reflected a lack of appreciation for libraries, both as a bedrock community space and as a constantly evolving service provider. “We see the numbers every day of people coming through the door,” Bloom said. “They tell us what they need. We help them with their job applications. We help them find social services they need. We help them get passports. You know, we’re here for them as a safe space, and we help them meet other young parents with kids the same age. It’s huge and it’s a need and we see it.”

Verbesey also spoke on the broad services offered. “The traditional things that we think of are still there,” he said. “There still are collections of books. There’s still collections of videos, music, there’s still classes on a wide array of things, there’s all kinds of exciting programs. But there are also technologies. There’s maker spaces, there’s video podcasting rooms, there’s audio podcasting rooms, there’s career centers, there’s business development centers. You know, the library is providing this amazingly broad array of services and resources to our communities. And, you know, the most important message is to go and visit them and use them and see all the exciting things taking place at your library.”

Regarding the future of Suffolk libraries, Gutmann said, “it would be important for anybody who’s a supporter of the libraries to let their elected officials know that they support the libraries, and they’d like to see these numbers go through.” Support for local budget proposals was also encouraged, with Port Jefferson Free Library’s next vote scheduled for April 8.

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Sanchuan Feng
Junlin Wang
Chanwoo Jung

By Sabrina Artusa

Three students from the Stony Brook School sat down on March 19 to take one of the most difficult mathematical exams for high school students in the country. 

The exam could potentially make them eligible for the country’s olympic math team. After an exceptional performance in the American Mathematics Competitions, and the subsequent American Invitational Mathematics Examination, they moved on to the next round of exams, the USA Mathematical Olympiad. The simple fact of their progression is an accomplishment and proof of their skill as they join the ranks of America’s competitive student mathematicians. 

Junior Joseph Jung and sophomores Sanchuan Feng and Junlin Wang participated in the AMC with 300,000 other students before progressing to the AIME, where they answer 15 questions in three hours. 

Ten students from the SBS advanced to the AIME, placing them in the top 5% of AMC scorers; Jung and Feng were selected to continue to USAMO and Wang was selected to continue to the USA Junior Mathematical Olympiad. The SBS only had two students qualify for the USAMO in the past 18 years. 

The AMC is a 25-question examination and consists of three levels: AMC 8, AMC 10 and AMC 12. The levels are based on grade level — a student, however, can choose to take an exam above their grade level, so they can take several. Level AMC 12 can be taken by any student in 12th grade or below; Feng, a sophomore, was admitted to the USAMO based on his performance in AMC 12, two grades above his own. 

It isn’t rare for SBS students to qualify for the AIME; however, it is rare for a student to progress to the USAMO, “the third level in the competition ladder,” according to SBS Math Department Head Steve Stortz.

“I was thrilled and genuinely surprised,” Jung said, recalling his reaction to learning that he was chosen to continue. “It’s rewarding to see the hard work pay off, especially considering the high level of competition. Advancing further motivates me to continue learning and improving.”

“Their success is truly impressive,” said SBS Academic Dean Jeffrey Smith. “Scoring in the USAMO category means these three stood out among tens of thousands of students nationwide, landing in the top 250–300 or so. It’s a huge accomplishment that shows off their incredible problem-solving skills and mathematical creativity — stuff that goes way beyond typical high school math.”

While the SBS isn’t considered “specialized” in math, it has an advanced mathematics program that is rapidly evolving and expanding. In addition to advanced math classes such as linear algebra, advanced topics in math, and Advanced Placement calculus, the SBS is attempting to grow its math olympiad team and make it more “formal,” according to Stortz. 

Stortz said that the advanced courses help enable students like Wang, Feng and Jung to reach their potential. In previous years, the highest level the school offered was AP calculus. Now, students can take linear algebra and multi linear calculus as part of Stony Brook University’s Accelerated College Education program.

“Here they are, high school students, and they are doing math that, if you were a math major and you were maybe in your junior year, you will reach some of these questions,” Stortz said.

The USAMO and USAJMO take place over two days: 4.5 hours one day and 4.5 hours the next. The nine-hour exam consists of only six questions. Stortz said that the students typically use all of the time. 

Jung, the vice president of the math club, said that these competitions help fuel his passion for math. “Early recognition in competitions like the AMC 8 and various school honors further inspired my ongoing passion for math,” he said. “I think of math as a language: how people can communicate with each other through numbers and letters.”

Jung hopes to build upon his mathematical skill in a career in technology, “particularly in areas like space exploration or cryptography.”

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Professor Michael Bender. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University’s Gordon T. Taylor, Katherine B. Aubrecht, and Michael A. Bender were recently named 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows.

The AAAS Fellows program was first established in 1874. To be considered as a Fellow, AAAS members must be nominated by the Steering Committee of their respective sections by three Fellows or the CEO of AAAS. Nominations are reviewed by the AAAS Council, which then votes on the nominations. To become an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor.

“This year’s class of Fellows are the embodiment of scientific excellence and service to our communities,” said Sudip S. Parikh, Ph.D., AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “At a time when the future of the scientific enterprise in the U.S. and around the world is uncertain, their work demonstrates the value of sustained investment in science and engineering.”

“I warmly congratulate our newest AAAS fellows for this well-deserved and impressive recognition of their work and its importance to society,” said Carl W. Lejuez, executive vice president and provost. “We are proud that over the years about a dozen of our current faculty have been named AAAS fellows in a broad range of fields, including political science, psychology, creative writing and math and of course marine science and chemistry. Honors like these underscore our flagship status and Stony Brook’s value to our region and our nation.”

As AAAS Fellows, Taylor, Aubrecht, and Bender join a class of 471 scientists, engineers, and innovators. Together, they make up the ranks of distinguished scientists, engineers, and innovators who have been recognized for their contributions in the areas of academia, research, and science communications. Notable AAAS Fellows include Maria Mitchell, Steven Chu, Ellen Ochoa, Irwin M. Jacobs, Alan Alda, Mae Jemison, and Ayanna Howard.

Taylor, Aubrecht, and Bender will be recognized for their achievements at the Fellows Forum on June 7, an event held during the AAAS Annual Meeting, where they will be presented with a certificate and a blue and gold rosette.

Gordon T. Taylor

Professor Gordon Taylor. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Gordon T. Taylor is a professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. He also serves as head of SoMAS’ Marine Sciences Division and as director of the NAno-Raman Molecular Imaging Laboratory (NARMIL). His alma mater is University of Southern California, where he earned his PhD in 1983.

“I am truly honored and humbled by this recognition,” said Professor Taylor. “I am indebted to all my talented, hard-working students and colleagues who were so instrumental in the achievement of my scientific goals. My sincere gratitude to AAAS for this acknowledgement. It means a great deal to me to join the ranks of AAAS Fellows.”

Professor Taylor is being honored for his distinguished contributions to furthering understanding of microbial mediation of marine biogeochemical processes, ecological interactions among microorganisms in marine food webs, and technical advances in Raman microspectrophotometry.

Katherine B. Aubrecht

Professor Katherine B. Aubrecht. Photo Courtesy of Finishing Touch Photo

Katherine B. Aubrecht is an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences department of Chemistry and in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences division of Sustainability Studies. Her alma mater is Cornell University, where she earned her PhD in 1999.

“The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) works to advance science for the benefit of all by focusing on research, education, engagement with the public, and the use of science to inform policy,” said Professor Aubrecht. “I am grateful to be nominated and elected as an AAAS Fellow. I am also grateful for the opportunities at SBU for cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations.”

Professor Aubrecht is being honored for her contributions to advancing chemistry education by incorporating green chemistry, sustainability, and systems thinking to foster more connected and relevant teaching and learning. She has worked with the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute and Committee on Environment and Sustainability to further these objectives.

Michael A. Bender

Professor Michael Bender. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Michael A. Bender is the John L. Hennessy Chaired Professor of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Computer Science, where he runs the computer science honors program. He has won several awards, including an R&D 100 Award, a Test-of-Time Award, a Distinguished Paper Award, two Best Paper Awards, and five awards for graduate and undergraduate teaching. His alma mater is Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in 1998. Bender has also held Visiting Scientist positions at both MIT and Kings College London, and is a co-founder of the software company Tokutek, which was acquired by Percona in 2015.

“I am deeply honored to be recognized as an AAAS Fellow,” said Professor Bender. “I’m especially grateful for the collaborative efforts of many brilliant students, colleagues, and industry partners who have contributed to advancing our field.”

Professor Bender is being honored for his distinguished contributions to the foundations of data structures and their applications.

 

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By Jeffrey Szabo

The March 7 article in Newsday, originally titled, “Public water providers challenge strict PFAS standards, concerning environmentalists,” might mislead readers regarding the Suffolk County Water Authority’s relationship to the legal action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new PFAS standards. I want to clarify SCWA’s position and correct the record.

First and foremost, SCWA did not bring this lawsuit and is not a party to it. The legal action was initiated by the American Water Works Association and later joined by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, organizations of which SCWA is one of many members. The lawsuit was filed to ensure that the EPA follows the rule of law and the intent of the Safe Drinking Water Act. 

It is also important to clarify that SCWA does not set drinking water standards. These standards are established by the EPA and the New York State Department of Health. Our responsibility is to adhere to these regulations, which we not only meet but consistently surpass. Furthermore, our goal is to treat all contaminants, including PFAS, to nondetectable levels.

Regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit, SCWA’s approach to water treatment will not change. Under my tenure as chief executive officer, we have invested tens of millions of dollars in state-of-the-art treatment technology to ensure that our customers receive the highest quality drinking water. By this summer SCWA will be fully compliant with the 4 parts per trillion  standard established by EPA, well ahead of the required compliance date in 2029. We led the nation in testing for PFAS and have proactively developed new treatment technologies, such as advanced oxidation process treatment for 1,4-dioxane. Our dedicated team of water professionals takes their duty to protect public health with the utmost seriousness, and these achievements are proof of that. 

The fact is SCWA did not pollute the aquifer with PFAS. But our wells draw from that aquifer, and SCWA is now faced with enormous treatment costs to remove the contaminants. Our customers should not bear that financial burden — the polluters should. That is why SCWA is suing the manufacturers of PFAS to hold them accountable for the costs of installing and operating this treatment. Ratepayers should not have to pay for the actions of chemical companies that profited while polluting our water supply.

SCWA’s stance is clear: whether the standard is 10 PPT as set by New York State, 4 PPT as established by the EPA, or any other threshold, our goal remains the same — zero. We are committed to removing contaminants to nondetectable levels and will continue to invest in the technology and infrastructure necessary to achieve this goal.

Our customers can rest assured that SCWA will always prioritize their health and safety, regardless of external legal proceedings. We are proud of our track record and the trust we’ve built within the community. Our rigorous testing protocols and proactive treatment methods have consistently demonstrated our dedication to delivering the highest quality water possible.

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Steven Zaitz won first place in the NYPA Best Sports Feature Photo category for the above photo.

By Heidi Sutton

The New York Press Association announced the winners of its 2024 Better Newspaper Contest during NYPA’s annual Spring Conference at The Saratoga Hilton in Saratoga Springs on March 20 and 21.

Over 130 newspapers in New York State took part in the annual event celebrating newspaper excellence and community journalism with 2,082 entries competing for 280 awards in 71 categories covering the editorial, advertising and circulation efforts of the state’s dailies and weeklies. Members of the Missouri Press Association were tasked with judging this year’s contest.

TBR News Media, which has 6 newspapers along the North Shore of Suffolk County, was honored with a fitting 6 awards for excellence this year including two first place awards.

Reporter Lynn Hallarman captured first place in the Best Spot News Coverage category for her November 2024 article titled “FEMA denies aid to Stony Brook, state and local officials fight back” on the after effects of the North Shore storm that caused widespread flooding, leading to road closures and extensive property damage to homes and businesses and breached the dams at Stump Pond in Smithtown and Mill Pond in Stony Brook back in August The judge wrote,”Wow! What a phenomenal piece with huge impact to the community. Great writing, in-depth reporting and photography.”

Former news editor Toni-Elena Gallo snagged second place in the same category for her article titled “Storm ravages the North Shore” in August 2024 which addressed each town on the North Shore severely impacted by the flooding. “Great reporting and photos showing storm damage, officials and impact to local wildlife. I really liked the way you broke down and explained each area of impact. It was a well-written report that kept my interested throughout,” commented the judge.

Sports reporter and photographer Steven Zaitz won first place for Best Sports Feature Photo for the photograph on the right titled “Oh-Kay!” which accompanied Zaitz’s article “Evan Kay’s stellar pitching propels Commack to second consecutive Long Island championship” in June 2024.

“The lead photo is full of peak emotion,” wrote the judge. “The player leaping makes the image come alive, creating a focal point that helps organize the image. The flying ball glove is a bonus. The other two photos in the package are also full of emotion with clean backgrounds.”

Art/Production Director Beth Heller Mason won second place for Best Small Space Ad for the design of a 1/4 page ad for the Port Jefferson Lions Club Car Show in September 2024. “Ad full of stuff but you made it feel less crowded and very clean. Way to work it! Great job,” wrote the judge.

The production department also won second place in the Best Multi-Advertiser Pages category for “Shop Local!” box page ads in TBR’s Time for Giving holiday supplement with the judge commenting, “Nice, clean, easy-to read layout.” 

Rounding out the awards, Classifieds Director Sheila Murray won third place for Best Classified Advertising with the judge commenting how he liked the clean layout and how it was well organized.

“As with every year, I am proud of the accolades and recognition of our staff members,” said TBR News Media publisher Leah Dunaief. 

“We are honored to be among the winners recognized by our peers in the New York Press Association but that is not our main purpose, which is to serve our readers and advertisers in the best way possible. Congratulations to the talented and hard working staff of Times Beacon Record News Media!” she said. 

For a full list of winners, visit nynewspapers.com/nypa/better-newspaper-contest/

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The northern dusky salamander in Anita Lago’s hand when she found it on Sept. 1, 2024. Photo courtesy Anita Lago

By Sabrina Artusa

Anita Lago was walking along a stream leading to the emptied Stony Brook Mill Pond on Sept 1, overturned earth and strewn twigs littering her path, when she spotted a black object. Thinking it was a fishing lure she picked it up.  

“It was not a fishing lure, it had legs,” she said. 

Lago put it back and showed a picture of the salamander to John Turner of the Seatuck Environmental Association, who shared it with Smithtown High School East senior and Four Harbors Audubon Society board member Gabe Finger. Finger and Turner identified the salamander as a northern dusky salamander.

A light form of the northern dusky salamander. Photo courtesy John Turner

The northern dusky salamander isn’t known to live on Long Island — the only traces of it having existed on the island are nearly a century old. One of the only samples was secured by Long Island naturalist Roy Latham. 

Finger and Turner returned to the pond. Finger overturned a rock and found another. Wading in the stream, Turner and Finger found four more salamanders of two different morphs: two salamanders were darker gray and two were a lighter, sandier color. The genetic expression of the salamander allows for wide varying appearances, Turner said, just like people. 

The finding was pure “serendipity,” according to Turner. “No one was looking for it.” 

“It is remarkable for a species that is thought to be gone for almost a century and to still be here and to be here in a fairly suburban part of Long Island,” Turner said. “I would not think of Stony Brook as where you would find it. I would think it would be further out east, maybe by the pine barrens, and it is hiding in plain sight.”

Gabe Finger presenting the discovery of the salamander at the Long Island Natural History Conference at Stony Brook University on March 21. Photo courtesy SCSD

Finger, who will be attending Cornell University to study sustainability and wildlife biology. gave a presentation about the finding at a Long Island Natural History Conference at Stony Brook University on March 21. “Since I was very, very little I’ve always been just fascinated with animals and I knew from a very young age that all I wanted to do with my life was study animals,” he said. 

Since the salamanders found at the Stony Brook Mill Pond have likely been geographically separated from their ancestors for tens of thousands of years, it is possible that they evolved into a new species —an offshoot of the northern dusky salamander.

The northern dusky salamander resides in cold, trickling waters. The small, fast flowing tributaries of the North Shore fit these criteria: the streams aren’t in the sun long enough to get warm and are fast-flowing enough for a quick turnover of water. The salamander also lurks in the muddy stream banks, maybe hiding under a rock or log. 

Turner and Finger can’t pursue their studies further until they have permission to take a small toe clip of the salamander to study its DNA. “There’s been a lot of red tape to go through,” Finger said. 

Once they have a DNA sample and the salamanders become more active in the warmer weather, researchers can begin employing environmental DNA collection techniques to detect the presence of salamanders by simply testing the water of streams in which they potentially reside. 

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File photo by Raymond Janis

An opportunity to build trust

It was heartening to read Daniel Dunaief’s interview with the new Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina [“New Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina discusses highway, school safety,” March 9] discussing school and road safety, adoption of body cameras and the importance of recruiting new officers from underrepresented communities.

Of some concern, though, is the comment that Catalina and the Suffolk County Sheriff traveled to El Salvador to learn police recruitment ideas. Since 2019 El Salvador has become a single-party dictatorship that has suspended the rule of law, civil rights and human rights in order to suppress gang violence. And the current U.S. federal administration is paying El Salvador to imprison Venezuelan deportees without due process. Probably not the best place to learn about good policing.

Notably absent from the article was any query about whether the SCPD intends to continue spending taxpayer money to fight the 2022 Newsday/New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against them. In 2020, New York State repealed the 50-A law that allowed departments to keep police complaint and disciplinary records secret. Since 2020, Newsday and the NYCLU have filed 10 Freedom of Information Law requests to SCPD that have still not been satisfied, even after a lower court and an appellate panel ruled against them. This February, New York’s highest court issued a ruling on the same kind of case (against the Rochester PD) requiring full disclosure of all records, regardless of outcome or when the complaint was made. Why continue spending money on a legal fight they will certainly lose?

If Commissioner Catalina would genuinely like to turn the page, and build community trust through transparency, now would be a good time to simply comply with the law.

John Hover

East Setauket

When is enough enough?

I want to thank Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) for his article in The Port Times Record [March 13, “Your Turn: Overdevelopment will not solve the affordable housing crisis”].  

The article supports my ongoing concern that Port Jefferson village should stop approving permits to build new apartment buildings. 

I recently tried to obtain the number of apartments and the number of residential homes currently in Port Jefferson village and was told that the village does not have this information. I must ask how the planning board and the Building and Planning Department can make educated rulings if they don’t even know how many exist and what the Village Master Plan considers the maximum that should be allowed. If there are no limits, the trend will just continue until Port Jefferson has lost all the charm of a small, historic village.

From my research, the Village of Port Jefferson already has over 1,100 apartments located in apartment buildings. This doesn’t include the three apartment buildings now being discussed in the Building and Planning Department and all the apartments that exist above the stores in our downtown and uptown. 

We are a small village and 1,100+ apartments is more than the village can hold and still maintain its history and charm. I imagine that compared to other villages and hamlets in the area, Port Jefferson village outshines them in trying to meet the needs of people who find home ownership unobtainable.

I believe that the residents of Port Jefferson village need to decide if they want to maintain what’s left of the village’s history and charm or continue the trend of building massive apartment buildings and maybe one day being the new “Queens or Brooklyn” of Long Island. 

We will only be able to stop this trend by ensuring that we elect village officials who will determine the number of apartments existing and the number that is acceptable. I believe something is lacking when no official in the village can easily obtain this information nor provide a number that a master plan states is acceptable. 

Rob Grimm

Port Jefferson 

BESS implications

In a recent letter to the TBR News Media, Peter Bond took issue with a previous letter from me regarding the capability of a battery energy storage system lithium-ion battery unit to power homes. In my calculation, I used 5,000 W as an estimate of the power used by a typical home, which was characterized by Bond as unjustifiably high.

To derive this number, I consulted my PSEG electrical energy bill from Aug, 20, 2024, which stated that my home energy from July 12 to Aug. 12 of 2024 was 1,978 kWh for the 720-hour period, or an average of 2,747 W during each day. However, as we know, the energy used during the hot summer is not even nearly constant during each day, and the hottest 4-hour period of the day can easily utilize twice as much energy as the average value for that day. In this case, therefore, the average power used in my home during this hot 4-hour period was calculated to be 5,494 W.

The PSEG report also provides the consumed energy during this period for an “average home,” which is 1,355 kWh. Using this number in a similar calculation provides an average 4-hour hot weather power utilization of 3,764 W. In my letter, I tried to use a realistic measure of the required power consumption, and I selected 5,000 W as a convenient number for an illustrative example. If we use these PSEG energy values instead, we find that the 8.75 MW BESS, during a 4-hour period with active air conditioning, can be expected to power 1,593 homes similar to my home (1,978 kWh), or 2,325 “average homes” (1,355 kWh). In any case, both of these options result in the number of homes being far fewer than the 8,500 homes claimed by New Leaf Energy in their presentation.

As was stated at the recent Sterling Woods meeting, the eventual goal is to retire the present “fossil fuel” system and replace it with solar arrays and lithium-ion batteries. The big problem with this approach, which is never mentioned at these meetings, is the likelihood that extended periods of reduced sunshine levels, e.g., 2 or 3 or 4 or more consecutive overcast days, are likely to cause power blackouts, comparable to the New York City blackout in 1977. The only remedy for this problem will be the addition of one set of very large installations of solar arrays and BESS units for each anticipated day of overcast weather. If additional overcast days do occur, a blackout will be the inevitable result.

George Altemose

Setauket

LaLota and Garbarino must oppose cuts to Medicaid and SNAP 

On March 7 hundreds gathered at the New York State Office Building in Hauppauge to advocate for a 7.8% targeted increase in Medicaid rates for disability services to address rising costs, ensure fair pay for staff and stabilize the care system for individuals with disabilities.

 As a father of an adult child with disabilities who relies on Medicaid-supported services, I feel an overwhelming responsibility to advocate for the protection and support of staff, whose roles are crucial in caring for individuals with disabilities. These significant issues have profound personal and far-reaching effects on families like mine.

 For over 25 years, my son Bobby has received exceptional care from the Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI). The dedication and compassion of their staff have greatly enriched his life, helping him accomplish daily tasks. Their work is more than just a job; it is a calling driven by empathy and a commitment to improving lives. These critical services deserve fair compensation and job security.

 In addition, the proposed $800 billion cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are deeply troubling. These programs serve as lifelines, supporting individuals like my son and often the staff caring for him and his peers, many of whom seek supplemental food support because of their low-wage status. Cutting funds for these programs is more than an economic decision; it is a moral one that will have devastating consequences for vulnerable populations.

 I urge our local congressional representatives, including Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino, to oppose these cuts. I encourage them to advocate for sustainable funding that prioritizes the well-being of those who depend on these critical support services. An investment now will secure the present and safeguard the future for people like my son.

Joseph W. Schmidt, Esq.

Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI)

Tipping servers

Leah Dunaief recently wrote an editorial about tipping and American’s obsession with this practice. In New York servers do not make $16.50, more like $11. Since she seems to be comparing the United States with European countries, where people leave a few coins for excellent service. Let’s look at Europe. Servers get paid a regular livable salary. Servers are part of the national health care system. Europeans believe health care is a right not a privilege. No one in Europe goes through health care bankruptcy, as more than 300,000 Americans did in 2024. Servers are part of the national pension system, to which they contribute, for a livable pension. American servers have none of these benefits, therefore we should know that tipping is vital to their economic well-being. I for one am proud of those Americans who tip generously.

Stuart Bernstein

Setauket

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

 

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