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Long Island Now

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Long Beach to pay $63.5G for ice arena flooring after Sandy damage

The Ice Arena in Long Beach. (April 15,

Photo credit: Ian J. Stark

Long Beach has tapped a Minnesota firm to install new flooring at Long Beach Ice Arena, which was damaged by superstorm Sandy.

Rink Systems Inc. of Albert Lea, Minn. will place 15,000 square feet of “heavy duty rubber flooring” at the ice arena, according to a resolution approved by the city council Tuesday.

The city will pay Rink Systems $63,500 for the job, city records state.

The...

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Hempstead extends fee waiver program through June 1 for Sandy victims

Hempstead Town Hall Plaza is at 1 Washington

Photo credit: J.C. Cherubini, 2011

Hempstead Town is extending until June 1 its program that waives home reconstruction and repair permit fees to help ease rebuilding efforts for homeowners still dealing with superstorm Sandy’s aftermath.

Hempstead Town officials had initially established the temporary program for six months. The program allows all Hempstead Town Building Department fees to be waived for Sandy-related structural...

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YouTube LI success story Eric Striffler chosen for ‘NextUp’ program

From left, Jake Baldino, of Manorville, Mike Peterson,

Photo credit: Handout

In 2012, Eric Striffler uploaded a new, original video to YouTube six days out of the week.

So when the 21-year-old says his full-time job is to manage his channel, Pretty Much It, what he really means is “all the time.”

“It’s full time but it’s more than full time,” said Striffler, of Manorville, who turns 22 this month. “I’ll wake up in the morning and start working and then it’s 4...

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'Harlem Shake' flash mob hits Stony Brook University

Hundreds of Stony Brook University students danced in

Photo credit: Amy Onorato

Stony Brook University freshman Moshe Ben-Zacharia arrived at the top of the Staller Center for the Arts steps dressed from head to toe in bright yellow Spandex and a mask of Bane, a character in the movie “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises.”

He fit right in. Ben-Zacharia was among hundreds of Stony Brook students dressed in costumes ranging from a giraffe, a banana, horses and a clown who danced...

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Centre Island approves ability to exceed 2 percent tax cap

The Centre Island Village Board on Saturday voted to give itself authority to exceed the state’s 2 percent cap on property tax levy increases.

“We did it last year although we didn’t need it” ultimately, Mayor Lawrence Schmidlap said. “Most of the villages and towns pass it to be safe.”

But he said he did not believe that Centre Island will need to use the tax cap waiver this year either.

The...

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DA Kathleen Rice: Newtown spurred record Nassau gun buyback

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and District

Photo credit: Howard Schnapp

County Executive Edward Mangano and top Nassau law enforcement officials said Saturday’s gun buyback in Uniondale of 330 firearms was the county’s largest since the program began in December 2008.

District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who has worked with the county police department on the program since its beginning, said she believes December’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,...

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Food banks get help for nutrition efforts

Two Long Island-based food banks are receiving large grants to help with Sandy relief and childhood nutrition efforts.

Long Island Cares, based in Hauppauge, received a $200,000 grant from The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust for its Emergency Response and Recovery Services program, the food agency announced Tuesday. The money will be used for ongoing Sandy relief, including increased...

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Hempstead Town Animal Shelter passes surprise state inspection

Kittens await adoption at the Town of Hempstead

Photo credit: Newsday, 2010 / Thomas A. Ferrara

The Hempstead Town Animal Shelter recently passed all aspects of a surprise state inspection despite recurring allegations of animal mistreatment and past investigations into its operations.

A Department of Agriculture and Markets inspector went to the shelter Feb. 7 and found that it met all 30 requirements, according to a report from the agency obtained by Newsday at Tuesday’s town board...

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Sag Harbor forum to focus on police salaries

View of the downtown area in Sag Harbor.

Photo credit: Newsday

A former Suffolk County legislator from Sag Harbor is holding a forum next month on what he calls “the unfairness of the laws covering municipal negotiations with police unions.

“It’s just unfair . . . the system is rigged,” Bill Jones said. “I bet you never thought you’d hear that from a West Point graduate.”

Jones, who was once a village trustee in Sag Harbor, said most people know...

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West Islip native Dan McShane advances in ‘Jeopardy!’ Tournament of Champions

Dan McShane, 25, a West Islip native, qualified

Photo credit: Jeopardy Productions Inc.

A former Soviet capital and some speak-easy TV knowledge has West Islip native Dan McShane alive and kicking in the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions.

The 25-year-old bartender, who now lives in Brooklyn, has advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, and his quest for a spot in the final will air Thursday at 7 p.m. on WABC-TV.

McShane’s first-round match aired Monday, and his $20,000...

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