Girl Power

Girl power has gained a lot of traction over the past few decades, and for good reason. The idea of intelligent, vivacious young women overcoming everything in their path is a powerful image that inspires girls to strive for the top.

But Tina de Lemps, founder of Femcho, a unique program that combines fitness with building friendships, confidence and emotional health for girls 5-17,  thinks girl power isn’t necessarily the be-all-end-all for girls.

New Signal At Washington, Manetto Hill

A new left turn signal and turning lane has been installed at the intersection of Manetto Hill Road and Washington Avenue. Drivers will now find it to be safer and easier to make a left onto Washington Avenue from Manetto Hill Road.

Sharon Lasher, assistant principal at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School; Ryan Ruf, Assistant Superintendent of Business, Plainview-Old Bethpage School District; Lorna Lewis, Superintendent, Plainview-Old Bethpage School District; Jim Murray, Principal, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School; Legislator Judy Jacobs; Olga Portnoy, PTA Council; County Executive Edward P. Mangano; Debbie Baer, Mattlin Middle School PTA President; Ginger Lieberman, Vice President, Plainview-Old Bethpage School Board; and Sandy Weinstein, legislative assistant and Plainview resident.

Plainview Hospital Launches Hospitalist Program

Patients assigned a doctor in charge

of their care during hospital stay

The latest in hospital care is, a hospitalist.

Don’t know what that is? Check out Plainview Hospital, which began a hospitalist program last October and plans to expand it to Syosset Hospital, according to Dr. Alan Mensch, senior vice president of medical affairs at Syosset and Plainview hospitals, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

Town: Improvement To Parks Worth Cost

It may only be January, but the upcoming November election already appears to be on the mind of Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto. At a recent board meeting, the supervisor defended the decision to spend millions of dollars to upgrade town parks and facilities.

“Every level of government is suffering,” remarked Venditto about the fiscal woes faced by municipalities. “Having said that, in some municipalities the infrastructure has not been addressed. This [the renovations to town facilities] is going to protect our infrastructure and quality of life. Just remember that when fall comes around and people are shooting arrows at us.”

Divide Us At Your Peril

Redistricting Coalition presents map to the

legislature, promises legal action if ignored

A typical response to criticism is “If you don’t like it, let’s see you do better.” Members of the Nassau County United Redistricting Coalition did just that: they didn’t like the map that the Republican members of the redistricting advisory commission drew for the county at all, so they decided to create their own. Furthermore, unlike the commission, which had a budget of $500,000, they did it with nothing.

“With no money in our budget, we have come up with a better map— an incredible map that involves listening to the community, listening to the vast numbers of residents that showed up to the public hearings, which the commission, oddly, ignored,” said Jackson Chin for LatinoJustice, a member organization of the coalition.

Plainview Water District Elects Officers

At the Plainview Water District Board of Commissioners public meeting held on Tuesday, Jan. 8, Joel Kessler was inducted as chairman of the Plainview Water District and Andrew Bader was sworn in as treasurer. Commissioner Edward Shulroff was appointed as secretary.

“I am grateful that my fellow commissioners have selected me as chairman,” said Kessler. “I look forward to continuing the Plainview Water District’s long standing tradition of providing the highest quality water possible and excellent customer service to our residents.”

For more information, please contact the water district at 931-6469 or visit www.plainviewwater.org. 

Fire Department Honors The Memory Of Danny Levy

The Plainview Fire Department was saddened to announce the passing of life member and ex-captain Danny Levy, who died from a 9-11 contracted illness on Tuesday, Jan. 8. After the 9/11 attacks, Levy volunteered many days at Ground Zero with other heroic men and women, and sometime after, and became ill as a result of his time spent in lower Manhattan.

Levy initially joined the fire department in August 1999 as a fire medic and shortly switched from a medic to begin his training as a firefighter. He was eager to learn, and his natural leadership skills, honed in the Israeli military, put him on the path towards becoming an officer.

Josh Seiden Takes Las Vegas

Plainview comedian, juggler, unicyclist

and all-round entertainer opens for

Nathan Burton at Planet Hollywood

Josh Seiden’s very first experiences with performing required a captive audience. From a very young age, Seiden, obsessed with circus acts, would recruit his brother to put on shows for his parents, whether they liked it or not.

“We’d literally run around the house, screaming, putting on shows, [and] we’d make them sit through them,” remembered Seiden.

A Day At The Ranch

FREE and Heart Gallery NYC team up to

teach foster children new life skills at

scenic Saddle Rock Ranch

Even under an overcast sky, with some of the dirt roads turned to mud from visiting cars, Saddle Rock Ranch is still beautiful. The 15-acre property, dating back to 1812, is filled with wide expanses of grass, a tree-lined pond, a garden and some of the world’s calmest, gentlest horses. The ranch is something clients of Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) with developmental disabilities have been able to enjoy for some time, but for a group of foster children and teens from the city on a cool winter Saturday on Dec. 8, it was a brand new experience.

It may seem like the goal of the outing was to get city kids out in the fresh air and give them a chance to interact with the horses and other farm animals (and that was certainly part of it), but there was more going on: for Heart Gallery NYC, a nonprofit organization that works to match children in foster care with adoptive parents, it was a chance to begin preparing the children for life beyond the foster care system.

Redistricting Rage

Residents incensed over redistricting map proposed

by Republican members of redistricting commission;

Republican commissioners refuse to respond

The hundreds who gathered in Mineola for the last meeting of the Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission on Jan. 3 didn’t throw any tomatoes at the front of the room, but some came close. For more than four hours, approximately 50 speakers lambasted the map proposed by the Republican side of the commission, generally characterizing it as a transparent power play with no consideration for the public good or even the law. The Democratic commissioners were not completely spared the public’s ire, but most of the anger was directed at the Republicans; the Democrats’ map, proposed at nearly the last minute on Dec. 31, was praised, although somewhat tepidly, as a fair plan.

Considering that hundreds of angry people were crammed into the Legislative Chambers demanding answers from the Republican commissioners, who by and large didn’t respond, it’s remarkable that tempers didn’t flare more.