On January 22, 2003 two young people from Port Washington, a town that prides itself on its diversity and sense of community, filed a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity. Alice Szaluta and Nick Reichmann had between them put in ten years of service at Blockbuster, the national entertainment company whose local outlet is at 19 Soundview Shopping Center. At the end of last year both employees, the only employees of Blockbuster, Port Washington with disabilities, had their hours reduced and then stopped entirely. Neither employee was given any indication their job was at risk or that their hours would not be reinstated. Instead, they said they were left to discover for themselves, that the scheduling was not an administration error or a temporary situation, but that they had been intentionally terminated. FULL STORY

It's official. The theme of Gambol 2003 is Camelot, and the event will take place at Hempstead House, a beautiful Gold Coast mansion in the Sands Point Preserve. This will be the first time in its 52-year history that Gambol will not be held in the high school. FULL STORY

All is not quiet down under in Auckland, NZ. Though "racing for the auld mug" does not begin until Friday, Feb. 14, the Hauraki Gulf has been abuzz with boats for the New Zealand Millennium Cup Superyacht Regatta 2003, which started on Monday, February 10. One can only assume that the powers that be in NZ inaugurated this event three years ago when they won the America's Cup and were faced with the perplexity of what to do during the "down time" between the end of the Louis Vuitton Challenge Cup and the beginning of the America's Cup. With many of the skippers and crew who were denied the opportunity to challenge for the Cup, and who didn't want to leave the warm weather of Auckland, this regatta is the perfect excuse to stick around. The regatta is aptly named as the size of the entries range from a modest 80-foot sloop to a 134-foot Destination Fox Harb'r, which is being driven by Dennis Conner. San Francisco's Paul Cayard is steering the 97-foot Canon Leopard owned by Briton Mike Slade, Francesco de Anglis is the helmsman on the 105-foot Italian cruising sloop Ulisse, and the British skipper Ian Walkerwill is driving the oldest yacht in the Millennium Cup, the 100-foot marconi gaff cutter Moonbeam, designed and built in 1914 by William Fife. Other America's Cup sailors include Prada's Gavin Brady steering the 80-foot sloop Innovision, and their Brazilian tactician Torben Grael on board the 112-foot sloop Ipanema. Some of the teams on a few of the boats are rather interesting. Kiwi sailors Kelvin Harrap and Matthew Mason, who sailed for OneWorld will join Robbie Naismith from Oracle on the 111-foot cruiser Silvertip. Tom Whidden, from Stars and Stripes will sail with Kiwi owner Neville Crichton on the 90-foot Sydney Hobart race winner Alfa Romeo. What a beautiful sight these boats must make on the starting line and as they race toward the finish, with the beautiful Auckland harbor as a backdrop. FULL STORY

Strong, tenacious, determined, these are all attributes that depict the girls varsity basketball team. The girls win last week against Lawrence was no different. Tough defense along with help off the bench gave the girls an important conference win. Even though Lawrence has struggled this season (1-9), nobody was saying it would be an easy victory. Port (7-3) used every one of their players to push toward a playoff berth. The depth and ambition of the team was highlighted in this game on many occasions. FULL STORY