The homestretch

Pencil Point

Yuge

See cartoonists draw Trump on the spot at LI cartoonist convention

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Pointing Out

Crashing the net in Hempstead

Two years ago Friday, fans of the New York Islanders celebrated an off-the-ice victory — Madeline Singas’ win over former Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray in the race for Nassau County district attorney.

While Islanders fans might not have been the only deciding factor in that election, their disdain for Murray certainly played a role in her loss.

Many Islanders fans still hold Murray and other Hempstead Town officials responsible for the team’s move to Brooklyn because of the town’s rejection of the $3.8 billion Lighthouse Project proposed by former Islanders owner Charles Wang.

On Tuesday, another Lighthouse opponent is on the ballot: Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino, who took over from Murray. Santino, a town board member when the Lighthouse Project came up for approval, was not a fan of its size and scope. The Republican worried about the potential for traffic and whether Wang was committed to the project in the long-term. “This whole process has been like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall,” Santino memorably said during a 2009 hearing.

So, will Islanders fans remember Santino, who is fighting a contentious re-election battle against Democrat Laura Gillen — and against some very disenchanted Republicans?

Are there enough vengeful Islanders fans in the town to score a game-winning goal?

Randi F. Marshall

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Daily Point

Trash the mailer

A couple weeks ago, Joseph Saladino sent out another mailer.

This came after the Oyster Bay Town supervisor imposed a 30-day moratorium on town mailings in response to criticism of him for using taxpayer funds for campaign literature because the mailings were less informational and more about supporting incumbent Republicans during election season.

The new mailer — a letter telling residents about the addition of cardboard to Oyster Bay’s new single-stream recycling program — did have some boastful elements about saving taxpayers money and convenience for residents. And some Democrats did complain that Saladino again was crossing the line of what’s promotional and what’s not.

But the bigger issue now appears to be the confusion the mailing is causing — in villages that have their own recycling programs and do not participate in Oyster Bay’s effort.

“I got 10 or 15 phone calls, people called village hall. They’re calling out of confusion about what’s going on,” Bayville Village Trustee Tim Charon told The Point.

Sea Cliff Administrator Bruce Kennedy said his village headed off any confusion as soon as it heard about the mailer. “Via word of mouth, social media, we got out the word that if you get something from the Town of Oyster Bay on recycling, ignore it,” Kennedy told The Point.

The problem: In single-stream recycling, residents put all recyclables in one container. In Bayville and other villages, recyclables must be separated. Sea Cliff has its own single-stream program.

“If they get this letter from the Oyster Bay supervisor and they start throwing all the recyclables in one bin, it defeats the purpose of the recycling,” Charon said.

Now that would be a lot of garbage.

Michael Dobie

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Making a Point

Judicious move

The Newsday editorial board speaks out on judicial races only when the contest reflects issues above and beyond the candidates running for the bench. We did so last year in the contest for Nassau County surrogate because of concerns that favoritism was influencing decisions by the court. This year, we are breaking with tradition again because the cross-endorsement deal made by Democratic, Conservative and Independence party leaders broke the norms of how the parties deal with judges. Instead, the deal they brokered sought to deprive voters of real choices in important races, such as Suffolk County sheriff and legislative races.

Read our editorial here.

Rita Ciolli