LI students win scholarships for vaccinations
4 LI teens among latest to win scholarships for getting vaccinated
A 15-year-old shows his vaccination sticker after receiving the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Freeport in May. Credit: AP/Mary Altaffer
The scholarship lottery is part of the numerous attempts officials are making to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19.
Among the latest winners are Kelly Moscoso-Yanes and Victoria Romero, of Nassau County, and Emily Brodsky and Aleksander Sosa, of Suffolk County. They'll be able to go to any SUNY or CUNY school for free for four years, provided they are admitted, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday. Three other Long Island teens already won the scholarships.
Moscoso-Yanes, 16, who will be a senior at Freeport High School in September, got her first shot in late April in Garden City and was originally planning to apply to Adelphi College — a private school not eligible for the scholarship — but she will now pivot to Farmingdale State College or Nassau Community College.
"It’s very important," she said. "I want to be a corporate lawyer or an architect. And those careers are expensive. I wanted to help my parents out with this college scholarship."
The state is selecting 10 winners every week over a five-week period. Three more rounds are left.
Read more about the winners and get the daily update on the virus in this story by Newsday's Bart Jones and Robert Brodsky.
The number of new positives reported today: 24 in Nassau, 42 in Suffolk, 206 in New York City and 418 statewide.
The chart below shows the number of new cases confirmed each day on Long Island.
This chart shows the number of new virus cases confirmed each day.
Search a map of new cases and view more charts showing the latest local trends in vaccinations, testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.
Summer camp outlook: Sun, fun and (sometimes) masks
Campers enjoy lunch at Park Shore Country Day Camp in Dix Hills on July 9, 2020. Credit: Johnny Milano
Although Cuomo lifted most restrictions, summer day camps on Long Island likely will continue their previously planned protocols for this season, camp directors told a Newsday Live webinar on Wednesday.
Children likely will still ride on buses at half-capacity while wearing masks, have health and temperature checks each morning, and spend most of the day with their designated cohort group, said Mark Transport, immediate past president of the Long Island Camps and Private Schools Association and owner-director of Crestwood Country Day Camp in Melville.
Unvaccinated campers will be encouraged to wear masks when indoors in large groups for an extended time period, such as when it rains, he said. But aside from that, camp should be back to business as usual.
Watch the webinar and read more for some more answers to common questions.
LI added 12,600 jobs in May, led by hiring restaurant and bar workers
Gold Coast Surfside Deli in Huntington was among the eateries seeking workers this month. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Long Island’s job market added more than 12,500 jobs last month, led largely by gains in the leisure and hospitality sector in its run-up to the summer season, according to state data.
In May, the Island saw a modest 12,600 gain, a 1% increase, in the number of jobs month-over-month from April, the state Labor Department reported Thursday.
In total, the region was up to 1.24 million jobs last month, still below pre-pandemic levels.
Newsday's Victor Ocasio has more in this story.
Calling all lifeguards: State parks hiring after pandemic shortage
A lifeguard keeps watch at Jones Beach State Park on July 6, 2020. Credit: Barry Sloan
Long Island’s state parks are one of many venues competing to hire lifeguards for parks, beaches and pools after the pandemic curtailed many training programs and created a shortage, Newsday's Joan Gralla reports
The State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in a statement said it has openings for positions that pay $18.15 an hour at Montauk/Hither Hills, Wildwood, Orient, Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Heckscher and Sunken Meadow state parks.
Get the details on how to apply and what's required.
More to know
The number of murders statewide increased 48.7% last year compared with 2019 and auto thefts rose 53.6%, according to annual statistics released Wednesday. Analysts said the pandemic likely spurred more crime.
An open letter from two congresswomen calls for JPMorgan Chase & Co. to refund millions of dollars in overdraft fees collected during the pandemic.
Citi Field will be allowed to open at full capacity starting Monday, the Mets announced. Proof of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination will no longer be required to attend, but unvaccinated individuals are still asked to wear masks.
The U.S. Open will begin selling tickets for full capacity beginning in July, a source told Newsday on Wednesday, after it was played without fans last year because of the pandemic.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since April, despite evidence the economy and job market are rebounding.
News for you
Flynn's at Ocean Bay Park on Fire Island in 2018. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Get ahead with Fourth of July plans. If you're looking to celebrate this year with fireworks, getaways and more, here's a roundup of some things to do and places to stay while celebrating Independence Day on the East End and across the Great South Bay.
Start your weekend early. If you're looking for things to do on Long Island this weekend, there's the Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival, an ice cream tour and more to explore. Check out a list of events.
What's new at the Engeman Theater? On Sept. 16, the 2021-22 season at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport will kick off with the jukebox musical "Smokey Joe's Cafe." Later in the year, Engeman will present Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music" and then, the hair band musical "Rock of Ages." See the full lineup.
Bob Dylan makes his streaming debut. He'll give his first televised concert since 1994 on social media and the streaming-concert website Veeps.com. It premieres July 18 and is rewatchable through July 21.
Plus, if you missed today's webinar: Newsday Live's virtual event on Thursday focused on tips for selling your home in this hot market. Watch a replay here.
Sign up for text messages to get the most important coronavirus news and information.
Commentary
A couple hugs as they watch fireworks over the New York Harbor on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Craig Ruttle
Time for joy and remembrance. The Newsday Opinion Editorial Board writes: When New Yorkers were freed of most COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday, many of them burst forth into weather so extraordinary that it was hard not to sense fate in the perfect breeze.
Wednesday dawned just as gloriously.
With 70% of adults having received at least one vaccine dose and test-positivity numbers trending toward tiny, there is so much to celebrate, and mourn.
We have a lot of new heroes, and old ones newly noticed. They are health care workers and teachers, and restaurant and food-delivery staffs. They are scientists who developed vaccines, and unseen and unloved bureaucrats at every level of government who toiled to keep our communities as safe and provided for as possible.
They are volunteers who staffed food banks and patrons who donated to them, blood donors and election poll workers who risked illness to do their part, neighbors who made sure those nearby were safe or eased their isolation with a call, text or care package.
Remember all the drive-bys, the attempts to cheer others via previously unimaginable means. Remember the scheduled every-evening cacophonies of clanging and banging to acknowledge the awesome challenges front-line workers faced and overcame. And let’s not forget every parent and child who swallowed complaints and put on a brave face, every gripe left unsaid and rebellion against restrictions held in check.
We are striding forth into the sun now, but we mourn, too. Keep reading.
Erin Serpico is an assistant web producer who joined Newsday in November 2018. Originally from New Jersey, she now covers community events and produces local content for newsday.com while also helping run the homepage.
