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Hampton Bays Fire Department Parade could cause delays tomorrow evening
If Texas lawmakers follow through on President Trump’s call to redraw state congressional maps to help the Republican Party, New York leaders say they want to be ready to respond in kind.
Benjamin Oreskes reports in THE NY TIMES that Democrats in the NYS Assembly and Senate will introduce a bill today that would allow New York to redraw its own congressional lines mid-decade — instead of every 10 years, linked to the U.S. census — if another state does so first.
“Republicans have made it clear that they will stop at nothing to use this process to advance their political agenda,” said State Senator Michael Gianaris, the deputy majority leader sponsoring the bill in the Senate. “If other states are going to do this, we shouldn’t stand by and watch the Congress be lost.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has cited “constitutional concerns” in his call for Texas to draw new lines, but the actual motive seems political. President Trump has suggested that Texas’s redistricting could help Republicans gain five House seats in their mission to keep control of the chamber after the 2026 midterms. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge in the House, with four seats vacant.
New York’s response is the latest counterattack from Democratic-led states and organizations…notably California.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would follow its rules, but added that “all’s fair in love and war.”
“But if there’s other states violating the rules and are trying to give themselves an advantage, all I’ll say is, I’m going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries,” she said last week, referring to the House minority leader.
For New York’s bill to go into effect, the State Legislature would have to pass it twice, in consecutive legislative sessions, and then voters would have to approve it in a referendum. The earliest the lines could be redrawn would be 2028.
“This is not New York firing the first shot,” said Assemblyman Micah Lasher. “It’s us saying New York shouldn’t be precluded from action if another state starts the fight…Democrats have got to stop unilaterally disarming,” he said.
***
New York State Attorney General Letitia James yesterday sought to block the Trump administration’s demand for personal information for recipients of food stamps, which James said would be used to find, harass and prosecute immigrants that need the aid to feed their children.
James and Democratic attorneys general in 19 other states have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is seeking the personal information of recipients.
Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that James said the Trump administration has threatened to cut off funding for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program if a state doesn’t provide the data. The data includes Social Security numbers, addresses, family members’ names, landlords’ contact information, immigration status and medical data. The federal "SNAP data sharing guidance" made public last week follows an executive order by Republican President Donald Trump to root out what he called fraud, waste and abuse in the SNAP program, which helps the poor and working poor afford food. SNAP is a federally funded program administered by states.
The federal order states that the information will be secure. The only stated use for the data identified in the directive is to verify the eligibility of people receiving the subsidies.
The attorneys general said they believe the Trump administration wants the data to target immigrants because of past attempts to obtain data held by social service programs to identify immigrants who may be in the country illegally.
James accused the administration of "animus against immigrants and people of color" among the 2.9 million New Yorkers in the SNAP program.
***
The Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) will mark the 10th anniversary of its annual Race of Hope to Defeat Depression this coming Sunday, August 3, in Southampton Village. The 5K walk/run around Lake Agawam begins at 8:30 a.m., with check-in starting at 6:30 a.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane.
Launched by HDRF Founding Chair Audrey Gruss, the race has grown into a signature event drawing over 1,000 participants annually and raising more than $500,000 in 2023 alone to fund groundbreaking mental health research. Gruss has served as co-grand marshal for the past decade, joined over the years by notable figures including Katie Couric, Candace Bushnell, and Sailor and Jack Brinkley Cook.
Participants may run competitively or walk with friends, strollers, and pets. All registrants receive race gear in HDRF’s signature yellow. Registration is $50 before August 2 and $55 on race day – Sunday, August 3.
To sign up, visit southampton.raceofhopeseries.com.
***
Rural & Migrant Ministry works for the creation of a just, rural New York State through nurturing leadership, changing unjust systems and structures, and standing with the disenfranchised, especially farmworkers and rural workers. For more than 40 years, RMM has worked with partner churches, unions and community organizations to fight for farmworker rights and conditions in the Hudson Valley (vineyards and orchards), Western New York (vineyards and orchards) and Long Island (vegetable fields, poultry farms and vineyards).
Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that a Rural & Migrant Ministry Caravan of Empathy is coming through the East End this coming Saturday August 2. “For some reason, in Washington and in other places, the word empathy is out,” said RMM’s Executive Director, Rev. Richard Witt, who gave a guest sermon at the Orient Congregational Church July 27. “In the church, I don’t think the word empathy is out. So, we’re claiming it.”
RMM runs the Amandla Worker Education Center in Riverhead, which provides resources for farm workers and their families here.
Rural & Migrant Ministry’s Caravan of Empathy begins on Saturday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 18 James Lane in East Hampton at 12 noon, traveling to the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center at 551 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike for a 1 p.m. vigil.
It will stop for refreshments at the Amandla Rural Worker Education Center at 573 Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead at 2:45 p.m., after which it travels to CAST at 53930 Main Road in Southold for a vigil at 3:30 p.m.
Another vigil will be held at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church at 523 Front Street in Greenport at 4:45 p.m., followed by dinner and vespers at the Orient Congregational Church, 23045 Main Road in Orient at 5:30 p.m.
Rev. Ron Garner, who recently took the helm at the Orient Congregational Church, said, "I hope people will be aware of how much the migrant community right now is in fear for what is going to happen. A lot are just frightened that any day could bring disaster, not only to them, but to their families. We want people to be aware of the contributions the Latino community makes on the North Fork.”
For more details on the Caravan of Empathy, and on Rural & Migrant Ministry’s work, visit ruralmigrantministry.org.
***
A taxpayer-funded Suffolk County gun range is now a training ground for ICE agents as part of a new deal between the US Department of Homeland Security and the Town of Islip. ICE agents were recently spotted at the range, prompting calls from local activists and NYS Assemblyman Phil Ramos, an Islip Democrat, to nix the contract — with the lawmaker blasting the agency as “rogue.” It is unclear when the behind-closed-doors deal was actually finalized. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Ramos slammed the contract as “dehumanizing.”
“I am deeply disappointed that such a decision was made in a community that proudly holds the highest concentration of Hispanic taxpayers in New York State outside of New York City,” he told The Post. Hispanics make up nearly 20% of the entire Islip Town population, according to the latest census numbers. Islip Town officials say the deal is nothing groundbreaking — and revealed that similar contracts have been drawn up in the past allowing federal agents, including ICE, to use the range to train.
Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, a Republican, said agreements with DHS go back to the early 2000s. ICE falls under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security. “The Town’s Rifle Range is one of the very few such facilities on Long Island and serves a vital role in the training of individuals from law enforcement agencies including but not limited to Nassau County Police, Sheriffs and DA … U.S. Treasury, Farmingdale Police Department and the NYS Park Police,” Carpenter said. Partnerships like those, Carpenter said, help ensure law enforcement officers and federal agents operating in the area are properly and safely using their firearms and receiving training. Federal training partnerships with local facilities are not uncommon, and ICE is one of several DHS agencies that routinely conduct firearms training at regional ranges across the US.
***
Southampton Town Police are warning drivers of possible delays as roads are closed in Hampton Bays tomorrow evening for the annual Hampton Bays Fire Department parade.
Wednesday’s parade starts at 7 p.m., and roads along the parade route will be closed from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Ponquogue Avenue will be closed between Montauk Highway and Lynncliff Road, and Montauk Highway will be closed from Bittersweet South Extension to Flanders Road (SR24).
Traffic will be detoured around the road closures. Police are advising motorists to avoid the area from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow….unless you’re attending the parade…in which case get there early and celebrate the Hampton Bays Volunteer Fire Department!
***
More than 100 licensed cannabis dispensaries in New York were allowed to open too close to schools and may have to move, state regulators said yesterday.
State law prohibits dispensaries from opening within 500 feet of schools. For the past three years, regulators in the Office of Cannabis Management have measured the distance from the entrance of the potential dispensary to the entrance of a school. However, the agency said on Monday that the distance should have been measured to a school’s property line.
Ashley Southall reports in THE NY TIMES that the announcement has created uncertainty around the future of dozens of dispensaries at a time when suitable locations have become increasingly rare and expensive. A vast majority of the affected businesses are in New York City and owned by veterans, people affected by the state’s past anti-marijuana laws and others who were given preference to receive licenses.
Felicia Reid, the agency’s acting executive director, told her staff in an email obtained by The New York Times that the affected businesses include 60 dispensaries that are currently open and 45 others that are getting off the ground, as well as 47 applicants who were required to secure deeds or leases in advance. Officials said the change stemmed from a review of the agency’s practices that Ms. Reid ordered last year.
In letters to the businesses, Ms. Reid acknowledged that her agency’s decision might have harmful repercussions for people who have poured their time, money and energy into jump-starting the legal cannabis industry.
“To give you this news, and for the weight of it, I am incredibly sorry,” she said.
In a statement, OCM said it was seeking an unspecified legislative solution to help the dispensaries stay in place. But in online guidance, officials cautioned that if lawmakers did not act, the agency could not renew the dispensaries’ licenses at their existing locations. The agency has also set aside $15 million to help cover the expenses of finding a new location for the affected applicants looking to open dispensaries.
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By WLIW-FMIf Texas lawmakers follow through on President Trump’s call to redraw state congressional maps to help the Republican Party, New York leaders say they want to be ready to respond in kind.
Benjamin Oreskes reports in THE NY TIMES that Democrats in the NYS Assembly and Senate will introduce a bill today that would allow New York to redraw its own congressional lines mid-decade — instead of every 10 years, linked to the U.S. census — if another state does so first.
“Republicans have made it clear that they will stop at nothing to use this process to advance their political agenda,” said State Senator Michael Gianaris, the deputy majority leader sponsoring the bill in the Senate. “If other states are going to do this, we shouldn’t stand by and watch the Congress be lost.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has cited “constitutional concerns” in his call for Texas to draw new lines, but the actual motive seems political. President Trump has suggested that Texas’s redistricting could help Republicans gain five House seats in their mission to keep control of the chamber after the 2026 midterms. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge in the House, with four seats vacant.
New York’s response is the latest counterattack from Democratic-led states and organizations…notably California.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would follow its rules, but added that “all’s fair in love and war.”
“But if there’s other states violating the rules and are trying to give themselves an advantage, all I’ll say is, I’m going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries,” she said last week, referring to the House minority leader.
For New York’s bill to go into effect, the State Legislature would have to pass it twice, in consecutive legislative sessions, and then voters would have to approve it in a referendum. The earliest the lines could be redrawn would be 2028.
“This is not New York firing the first shot,” said Assemblyman Micah Lasher. “It’s us saying New York shouldn’t be precluded from action if another state starts the fight…Democrats have got to stop unilaterally disarming,” he said.
***
New York State Attorney General Letitia James yesterday sought to block the Trump administration’s demand for personal information for recipients of food stamps, which James said would be used to find, harass and prosecute immigrants that need the aid to feed their children.
James and Democratic attorneys general in 19 other states have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is seeking the personal information of recipients.
Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that James said the Trump administration has threatened to cut off funding for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program if a state doesn’t provide the data. The data includes Social Security numbers, addresses, family members’ names, landlords’ contact information, immigration status and medical data. The federal "SNAP data sharing guidance" made public last week follows an executive order by Republican President Donald Trump to root out what he called fraud, waste and abuse in the SNAP program, which helps the poor and working poor afford food. SNAP is a federally funded program administered by states.
The federal order states that the information will be secure. The only stated use for the data identified in the directive is to verify the eligibility of people receiving the subsidies.
The attorneys general said they believe the Trump administration wants the data to target immigrants because of past attempts to obtain data held by social service programs to identify immigrants who may be in the country illegally.
James accused the administration of "animus against immigrants and people of color" among the 2.9 million New Yorkers in the SNAP program.
***
The Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) will mark the 10th anniversary of its annual Race of Hope to Defeat Depression this coming Sunday, August 3, in Southampton Village. The 5K walk/run around Lake Agawam begins at 8:30 a.m., with check-in starting at 6:30 a.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane.
Launched by HDRF Founding Chair Audrey Gruss, the race has grown into a signature event drawing over 1,000 participants annually and raising more than $500,000 in 2023 alone to fund groundbreaking mental health research. Gruss has served as co-grand marshal for the past decade, joined over the years by notable figures including Katie Couric, Candace Bushnell, and Sailor and Jack Brinkley Cook.
Participants may run competitively or walk with friends, strollers, and pets. All registrants receive race gear in HDRF’s signature yellow. Registration is $50 before August 2 and $55 on race day – Sunday, August 3.
To sign up, visit southampton.raceofhopeseries.com.
***
Rural & Migrant Ministry works for the creation of a just, rural New York State through nurturing leadership, changing unjust systems and structures, and standing with the disenfranchised, especially farmworkers and rural workers. For more than 40 years, RMM has worked with partner churches, unions and community organizations to fight for farmworker rights and conditions in the Hudson Valley (vineyards and orchards), Western New York (vineyards and orchards) and Long Island (vegetable fields, poultry farms and vineyards).
Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that a Rural & Migrant Ministry Caravan of Empathy is coming through the East End this coming Saturday August 2. “For some reason, in Washington and in other places, the word empathy is out,” said RMM’s Executive Director, Rev. Richard Witt, who gave a guest sermon at the Orient Congregational Church July 27. “In the church, I don’t think the word empathy is out. So, we’re claiming it.”
RMM runs the Amandla Worker Education Center in Riverhead, which provides resources for farm workers and their families here.
Rural & Migrant Ministry’s Caravan of Empathy begins on Saturday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 18 James Lane in East Hampton at 12 noon, traveling to the Bridgehampton Child Care & Recreation Center at 551 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike for a 1 p.m. vigil.
It will stop for refreshments at the Amandla Rural Worker Education Center at 573 Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead at 2:45 p.m., after which it travels to CAST at 53930 Main Road in Southold for a vigil at 3:30 p.m.
Another vigil will be held at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church at 523 Front Street in Greenport at 4:45 p.m., followed by dinner and vespers at the Orient Congregational Church, 23045 Main Road in Orient at 5:30 p.m.
Rev. Ron Garner, who recently took the helm at the Orient Congregational Church, said, "I hope people will be aware of how much the migrant community right now is in fear for what is going to happen. A lot are just frightened that any day could bring disaster, not only to them, but to their families. We want people to be aware of the contributions the Latino community makes on the North Fork.”
For more details on the Caravan of Empathy, and on Rural & Migrant Ministry’s work, visit ruralmigrantministry.org.
***
A taxpayer-funded Suffolk County gun range is now a training ground for ICE agents as part of a new deal between the US Department of Homeland Security and the Town of Islip. ICE agents were recently spotted at the range, prompting calls from local activists and NYS Assemblyman Phil Ramos, an Islip Democrat, to nix the contract — with the lawmaker blasting the agency as “rogue.” It is unclear when the behind-closed-doors deal was actually finalized. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that Ramos slammed the contract as “dehumanizing.”
“I am deeply disappointed that such a decision was made in a community that proudly holds the highest concentration of Hispanic taxpayers in New York State outside of New York City,” he told The Post. Hispanics make up nearly 20% of the entire Islip Town population, according to the latest census numbers. Islip Town officials say the deal is nothing groundbreaking — and revealed that similar contracts have been drawn up in the past allowing federal agents, including ICE, to use the range to train.
Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, a Republican, said agreements with DHS go back to the early 2000s. ICE falls under the jurisdiction of Homeland Security. “The Town’s Rifle Range is one of the very few such facilities on Long Island and serves a vital role in the training of individuals from law enforcement agencies including but not limited to Nassau County Police, Sheriffs and DA … U.S. Treasury, Farmingdale Police Department and the NYS Park Police,” Carpenter said. Partnerships like those, Carpenter said, help ensure law enforcement officers and federal agents operating in the area are properly and safely using their firearms and receiving training. Federal training partnerships with local facilities are not uncommon, and ICE is one of several DHS agencies that routinely conduct firearms training at regional ranges across the US.
***
Southampton Town Police are warning drivers of possible delays as roads are closed in Hampton Bays tomorrow evening for the annual Hampton Bays Fire Department parade.
Wednesday’s parade starts at 7 p.m., and roads along the parade route will be closed from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Ponquogue Avenue will be closed between Montauk Highway and Lynncliff Road, and Montauk Highway will be closed from Bittersweet South Extension to Flanders Road (SR24).
Traffic will be detoured around the road closures. Police are advising motorists to avoid the area from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow….unless you’re attending the parade…in which case get there early and celebrate the Hampton Bays Volunteer Fire Department!
***
More than 100 licensed cannabis dispensaries in New York were allowed to open too close to schools and may have to move, state regulators said yesterday.
State law prohibits dispensaries from opening within 500 feet of schools. For the past three years, regulators in the Office of Cannabis Management have measured the distance from the entrance of the potential dispensary to the entrance of a school. However, the agency said on Monday that the distance should have been measured to a school’s property line.
Ashley Southall reports in THE NY TIMES that the announcement has created uncertainty around the future of dozens of dispensaries at a time when suitable locations have become increasingly rare and expensive. A vast majority of the affected businesses are in New York City and owned by veterans, people affected by the state’s past anti-marijuana laws and others who were given preference to receive licenses.
Felicia Reid, the agency’s acting executive director, told her staff in an email obtained by The New York Times that the affected businesses include 60 dispensaries that are currently open and 45 others that are getting off the ground, as well as 47 applicants who were required to secure deeds or leases in advance. Officials said the change stemmed from a review of the agency’s practices that Ms. Reid ordered last year.
In letters to the businesses, Ms. Reid acknowledged that her agency’s decision might have harmful repercussions for people who have poured their time, money and energy into jump-starting the legal cannabis industry.
“To give you this news, and for the weight of it, I am incredibly sorry,” she said.
In a statement, OCM said it was seeking an unspecified legislative solution to help the dispensaries stay in place. But in online guidance, officials cautioned that if lawmakers did not act, the agency could not renew the dispensaries’ licenses at their existing locations. The agency has also set aside $15 million to help cover the expenses of finding a new location for the affected applicants looking to open dispensaries.