Politics & Government

Bamboo Proposal Pulled

News from other Long Island communities, April 21.

Here's a look at some of the news that happened around Long Island this week.

Bamboo Item Pulled From Huntington Agenda

With a resolution to regulate residential bamboo usage heading for probable defeat Tuesday by the Huntington Town Board, the item was pulled from the agenda by Councilwoman , the sponsor of the legislation.

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Seemingly surprised and obviously agitated after other board members questioned her proposal, Berland pulled the item.

Speed Skater Races Against the Clocks

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Fifteen seconds stands between Jacki Munzel and the Winter Olympic trials.

But the speed skater from Long Beach faces roadblocks: her age and, unlike her dominant Dutch counterparts, the inability to train regularly at a regulation-sized oval.

“I’m skating against people that are skating six days a week and I’m not,” said Munzel, who at 48-years-old has returned to the ice after hitting a barrier.

Her fastest time in the 3,000 meters is 4:32, but to qualify for the trials possibly as late as one month before the Olympics in Sochi, Russia in February 2014, she must shave her time down to 4:17. 

A Hofstra pre-med student is taking steps toward ending what he feels is discrimination against him by a longtime ban against blood donation by gay men.

Michael Heroux  says his homosexuality has unfairly landed him on a "blacklist" due to a regulation by the federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability.

LIRR Restoring Midday Service on Port Washington Line

 Beginning May 14, half-hourly midday service will be restored on the on weekdays between the morning and evening rush hours, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Friday. 

Back in September 2010, service was reduced to hourly trains in an effort to fill an $800 million budget gap. When the cuts took place, the LIRR said it would monitor ridership patterns and make adjustments, as needed. 

Yet travelers seemed to respond to that schedule by avoiding the railroad. An LIRR revealed a loss in ridership, by as

In the wake of a , local officials are now left trying to figure out how to prevent a fire of that size and scale from happening again - and should a fire break out again, that adequate water is available in the sparsely populated hamlet.

On Wednesday, the Pine Barrens Commission - made up of town, county, and state officials that oversee the preserved 100,000-plus acres - decided to bid out for a fire management plan, looking for qualified parties to conduct controlled burns.


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