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ICE ramps up recruitment efforts
The incentives to join one of America's most controversial workforces are meant to be enticing: up to a $50,000 signing bonus, student loan forgiveness and lucrative overtime hours.
Nicole Fuller reports in NEWSDAY that U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, better known as ICE, has ramped up its recruitment efforts to hire scores of new agents by offering attractive benefits in order to fulfill President Donald Trump's push to arrest and deport the millions of people who the administration says are in the country illegally.
The massive recruitment drive to hire some 10,000 ICE employees, which began in late July, could impact local police departments — including on Long Island and in New York City — if officers were to leave in droves to join the federal immigration enforcement effort.
The annual salary for deportation officers ranges from $49,739 to $89,528, according to USA Jobs, an official government website.
So far, there does not appear to be a mass exodus from police departments on Long Island to ICE, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
A Suffolk police spokesperson tells NEWSDAY, "The department has not experienced an increase in retirements.”
Lou Civello, the president of the Suffolk County Police Department's largest union, the Police Benevolent Association, said that Suffolk police officers "very rarely leave for other positions." He said there have been 98 retirements so far this year.
"I've heard of no officers from Suffolk County leaving to join ICE at this point," said Civello, who noted that Suffolk's generous compensation and strong community support make it an attractive career destination.
Both Nassau and Suffolk police departments…county, town, and village…are among the highest paid in the country. Suffolk's most recent police contract, agreed upon earlier this year, secured a $189,801 salary after nine years of employment.
***
Opponents of a proposed settlement between the Connetquot school district and the state to use the nickname, "T-Birds" instead of the current "Thunderbirds," made a strong showing last night at a public hearing to discuss the potential deal.
Darwin Yanes reports in NEWSDAY that school district officials last week announced that a deal with the state was in the closing stages. It would "allow the district the flexibility to revert to 'Thunderbirds' if there is a change in the current state law," Connetquot Schools Superintendent Joseph T. Centamore wrote in a letter to the school community last week.
A decision on the proposed settlement could be made as early as next week, a school official said.
More than 50 people attended yesterday's hearing and a majority of the nearly two dozen speakers who went to the podium told board members that keeping "Thunderbirds" honors decades of students educated in Connetquot district classrooms and pays tribute to the area's Native American history.
The NYS Board of Regents in 2023 banned the use of Native American mascots, team names and logos in public schools. The regulation affected 13 districts on Long Island, including Connetquot.
The name "Thunderbirds" was first chosen by school district students in the 1960s and eventually shortened unofficially to the "T-Birds.
Most districts have taken steps to get rid of the names and mascot but four districts, including Connetquot, filed legal challenges to either keep their name or nullify the regulation. A state judge ruled against the districts in March; Connetquot has appealed that ruling. Under the proposed settlement, school officials said the district would have to spend about $86,000 to rebrand to the "T-birds." But to be in full compliance with the state’s mascot ban, which means a new name, logo and imagery, the Connetquot School District estimates a price tag of about $323,000.
A handful of the attendees Thursday evening said it made sense to end the litigation and expressed support for the state’s mascot ban.
Tiana Morano, a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and district resident, said she backed a settlement.
"I’m happy with any deal that acknowledges the native voice," Morano told the board. "Changing a name is not erasing history, it is correcting it. It’s about teaching our children that real honor means listening to the people that are affected, not clinging to outside groups or symbols that do not represent us."
***
Peconic Landing and the Brecknock Hall Foundation will host the annual End of Summer Music and Fireworks Celebration, free and open to the greater community, this coming Sunday night in Greenport. The evening starts with music and dancing on the patio of Brecknock Hall followed by a spectacular fireworks show over the ponds. Attendees are invited to bring folding chairs or blankets to enjoy the show from the surrounding lawn.
Sunday's event starts at 6:30 pm with a live performance by Code Bleu, a high-energy eight-piece band. The performance will include popular hits for all generations to enjoy. Fireworks will take off after sunset, approximately 8:15 pm, launched over Peconic Landing’s community pond. Fireworks will be supplied and produced by Starfire Corporation.
For more information, visit www.peconiclanding.org/events.
***
Erin McTiernan moved one step closer yesterday to becoming the new Republican commissioner of the Suffolk County Board of Elections as the board prepares to usher in a new voting era in 2026. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the Suffolk County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee unanimously adopted a resolution to appoint McTiernan, 41, of Port Jefferson, to the new role. The full legislature can formally sign off on the appointment at next Wednesday’s general meeting.
McTiernan, a deputy commissioner, will succeed current Commissioner Betty Manzella, who resigned effective Sept. 8. McTiernan will begin the top role alongside Democratic Commissioner John Alberts as the board transitions voters to new touch screen machines next year.
McTiernan said that the county’s Board of Elections will be using the current paper ballot Dominion machines in November’s general election before switching next year to a touch screen ExpressVote XL machine made by Election Systems & Software.
McTiernan said. "We do feel this was a great fit for Suffolk County."
In March, the legislature allocated nearly $35 million to the county’s Board of Elections to purchase new voting machines. The commissioners had told lawmakers the current machines were more than 15 years old and beyond their shelf life.
In March, the board piloted the ES&S machine during a special election, which McTiernan oversaw, for a council seat in Southampton Town. No additional pilot was conducted during the June primary.
The ES&S machines have drawn criticism from voter advocacy groups who argue they are unreliable, too costly and inefficient.
McTiernan officially begins the new role Sept. 8, pending final approval, and the term expires Dec. 31, 2026.
***
Local government and public access channels will be returning to their prior channel positions in the middle of September. Denise Civiletti reports on RIVERHEADLOCAL.com that Optimum notified the NYS Public Service Commission yesterday of its decision to return the channels to their original slots in the lineup on or about Sept. 16, after it received feedback from municipalities and other stakeholders. Last Friday, Optimum moved local government and public access programming from their longtime channel positions in the heart of its channel lineup to a block of channels in the 1300s. While Altice, which owns Optimum, notified the PSC of that change a month earlier, it did not notify local municipalities, prompting outrage among some officials.
Josh Gladstone, interim executive director of LTV, a nonprofit that operates East Hampton Town's television programming, said the town was “bumped from a long-standing channel placement of 20 and 22, where we've been operating for over 40 years, without any notice." Gladstone said the town channel broadcasts information during emergencies such as hurricanes and wildfires. "The small independent voices for, by and of the community are up against challenges at every level,” Gladstone told NEWSDAY before Optimum's reversal. “I’m guessing there’s a monetary value associated with a lower channel number.”
***
This coming Sunday, August 31st at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church…there is an admission free concert.
Shelter Island Friends of Music present “Grammy-nominated classical, world music artist David Krakauer and acclaimed South African-raised pianist/composer/producer Kathleen Tagg. They have created a body of work that defies stylistic confines and embodies a celebration of identity, communication, dialogue and cross-cultural connection…performing standards and original compositions.”
There will be a post-concert reception with the musicians.
That’s this coming Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Shelter Island Friends of Music concerts are free of charge with donations accepted at the door.
For further info visit: SIFriendsofMusic.org
***
Long Island had the largest growth in its senior population over the past decade, surpassing all other areas of the state, outside of New York City, and a rising percentage face poverty, according to a study out today. Olivia Winslow reports in NEWSDAY that Jonathan Bowles, the study's co-author and executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, a New York City-based public policy think tank, said yesterday: "There is a fast-aging population on Long Island...We have a bunch of new data points in this report that really show they are struggling to make ends meet."
Among the findings of the report, which is based on U.S. Census Bureau 2013 and 2023 surveys:
Long Island had an estimated 520,068 people aged 65 and older in 2023, a 24% increase since 2013.
Overall, the poverty rate for Nassau and Suffolk's 65-and-over population was 6.2%, up from 4.7% a decade earlier and17.8% of Long Island's population was 65 or older in 2023, up from 14.8% in 2013.
Over the past decade, the number of older adults in poverty increased "a concerning 62%," the report said.
And just over 10% of Long Islanders age 70 and older did not report any Social Security income. Plus, "Nearly half of all older Long Island residents report no retirement income from sources other than Social Security," the report said.
New York State AARP Executive Director Beth Finkel said: "Too many Long Islanders are struggling to make ends meet as they age. With more than a third of Nassau and Suffolk residents now over 50, the challenges are only growing…Nearly half have no retirement savings, poverty among older adults in Long Island has climbed, and family caregivers, the backbone of our long-term care system, are stretched thin."
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By WLIW-FMThe incentives to join one of America's most controversial workforces are meant to be enticing: up to a $50,000 signing bonus, student loan forgiveness and lucrative overtime hours.
Nicole Fuller reports in NEWSDAY that U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, better known as ICE, has ramped up its recruitment efforts to hire scores of new agents by offering attractive benefits in order to fulfill President Donald Trump's push to arrest and deport the millions of people who the administration says are in the country illegally.
The massive recruitment drive to hire some 10,000 ICE employees, which began in late July, could impact local police departments — including on Long Island and in New York City — if officers were to leave in droves to join the federal immigration enforcement effort.
The annual salary for deportation officers ranges from $49,739 to $89,528, according to USA Jobs, an official government website.
So far, there does not appear to be a mass exodus from police departments on Long Island to ICE, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
A Suffolk police spokesperson tells NEWSDAY, "The department has not experienced an increase in retirements.”
Lou Civello, the president of the Suffolk County Police Department's largest union, the Police Benevolent Association, said that Suffolk police officers "very rarely leave for other positions." He said there have been 98 retirements so far this year.
"I've heard of no officers from Suffolk County leaving to join ICE at this point," said Civello, who noted that Suffolk's generous compensation and strong community support make it an attractive career destination.
Both Nassau and Suffolk police departments…county, town, and village…are among the highest paid in the country. Suffolk's most recent police contract, agreed upon earlier this year, secured a $189,801 salary after nine years of employment.
***
Opponents of a proposed settlement between the Connetquot school district and the state to use the nickname, "T-Birds" instead of the current "Thunderbirds," made a strong showing last night at a public hearing to discuss the potential deal.
Darwin Yanes reports in NEWSDAY that school district officials last week announced that a deal with the state was in the closing stages. It would "allow the district the flexibility to revert to 'Thunderbirds' if there is a change in the current state law," Connetquot Schools Superintendent Joseph T. Centamore wrote in a letter to the school community last week.
A decision on the proposed settlement could be made as early as next week, a school official said.
More than 50 people attended yesterday's hearing and a majority of the nearly two dozen speakers who went to the podium told board members that keeping "Thunderbirds" honors decades of students educated in Connetquot district classrooms and pays tribute to the area's Native American history.
The NYS Board of Regents in 2023 banned the use of Native American mascots, team names and logos in public schools. The regulation affected 13 districts on Long Island, including Connetquot.
The name "Thunderbirds" was first chosen by school district students in the 1960s and eventually shortened unofficially to the "T-Birds.
Most districts have taken steps to get rid of the names and mascot but four districts, including Connetquot, filed legal challenges to either keep their name or nullify the regulation. A state judge ruled against the districts in March; Connetquot has appealed that ruling. Under the proposed settlement, school officials said the district would have to spend about $86,000 to rebrand to the "T-birds." But to be in full compliance with the state’s mascot ban, which means a new name, logo and imagery, the Connetquot School District estimates a price tag of about $323,000.
A handful of the attendees Thursday evening said it made sense to end the litigation and expressed support for the state’s mascot ban.
Tiana Morano, a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and district resident, said she backed a settlement.
"I’m happy with any deal that acknowledges the native voice," Morano told the board. "Changing a name is not erasing history, it is correcting it. It’s about teaching our children that real honor means listening to the people that are affected, not clinging to outside groups or symbols that do not represent us."
***
Peconic Landing and the Brecknock Hall Foundation will host the annual End of Summer Music and Fireworks Celebration, free and open to the greater community, this coming Sunday night in Greenport. The evening starts with music and dancing on the patio of Brecknock Hall followed by a spectacular fireworks show over the ponds. Attendees are invited to bring folding chairs or blankets to enjoy the show from the surrounding lawn.
Sunday's event starts at 6:30 pm with a live performance by Code Bleu, a high-energy eight-piece band. The performance will include popular hits for all generations to enjoy. Fireworks will take off after sunset, approximately 8:15 pm, launched over Peconic Landing’s community pond. Fireworks will be supplied and produced by Starfire Corporation.
For more information, visit www.peconiclanding.org/events.
***
Erin McTiernan moved one step closer yesterday to becoming the new Republican commissioner of the Suffolk County Board of Elections as the board prepares to usher in a new voting era in 2026. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that the Suffolk County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee unanimously adopted a resolution to appoint McTiernan, 41, of Port Jefferson, to the new role. The full legislature can formally sign off on the appointment at next Wednesday’s general meeting.
McTiernan, a deputy commissioner, will succeed current Commissioner Betty Manzella, who resigned effective Sept. 8. McTiernan will begin the top role alongside Democratic Commissioner John Alberts as the board transitions voters to new touch screen machines next year.
McTiernan said that the county’s Board of Elections will be using the current paper ballot Dominion machines in November’s general election before switching next year to a touch screen ExpressVote XL machine made by Election Systems & Software.
McTiernan said. "We do feel this was a great fit for Suffolk County."
In March, the legislature allocated nearly $35 million to the county’s Board of Elections to purchase new voting machines. The commissioners had told lawmakers the current machines were more than 15 years old and beyond their shelf life.
In March, the board piloted the ES&S machine during a special election, which McTiernan oversaw, for a council seat in Southampton Town. No additional pilot was conducted during the June primary.
The ES&S machines have drawn criticism from voter advocacy groups who argue they are unreliable, too costly and inefficient.
McTiernan officially begins the new role Sept. 8, pending final approval, and the term expires Dec. 31, 2026.
***
Local government and public access channels will be returning to their prior channel positions in the middle of September. Denise Civiletti reports on RIVERHEADLOCAL.com that Optimum notified the NYS Public Service Commission yesterday of its decision to return the channels to their original slots in the lineup on or about Sept. 16, after it received feedback from municipalities and other stakeholders. Last Friday, Optimum moved local government and public access programming from their longtime channel positions in the heart of its channel lineup to a block of channels in the 1300s. While Altice, which owns Optimum, notified the PSC of that change a month earlier, it did not notify local municipalities, prompting outrage among some officials.
Josh Gladstone, interim executive director of LTV, a nonprofit that operates East Hampton Town's television programming, said the town was “bumped from a long-standing channel placement of 20 and 22, where we've been operating for over 40 years, without any notice." Gladstone said the town channel broadcasts information during emergencies such as hurricanes and wildfires. "The small independent voices for, by and of the community are up against challenges at every level,” Gladstone told NEWSDAY before Optimum's reversal. “I’m guessing there’s a monetary value associated with a lower channel number.”
***
This coming Sunday, August 31st at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church…there is an admission free concert.
Shelter Island Friends of Music present “Grammy-nominated classical, world music artist David Krakauer and acclaimed South African-raised pianist/composer/producer Kathleen Tagg. They have created a body of work that defies stylistic confines and embodies a celebration of identity, communication, dialogue and cross-cultural connection…performing standards and original compositions.”
There will be a post-concert reception with the musicians.
That’s this coming Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Shelter Island Friends of Music concerts are free of charge with donations accepted at the door.
For further info visit: SIFriendsofMusic.org
***
Long Island had the largest growth in its senior population over the past decade, surpassing all other areas of the state, outside of New York City, and a rising percentage face poverty, according to a study out today. Olivia Winslow reports in NEWSDAY that Jonathan Bowles, the study's co-author and executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, a New York City-based public policy think tank, said yesterday: "There is a fast-aging population on Long Island...We have a bunch of new data points in this report that really show they are struggling to make ends meet."
Among the findings of the report, which is based on U.S. Census Bureau 2013 and 2023 surveys:
Long Island had an estimated 520,068 people aged 65 and older in 2023, a 24% increase since 2013.
Overall, the poverty rate for Nassau and Suffolk's 65-and-over population was 6.2%, up from 4.7% a decade earlier and17.8% of Long Island's population was 65 or older in 2023, up from 14.8% in 2013.
Over the past decade, the number of older adults in poverty increased "a concerning 62%," the report said.
And just over 10% of Long Islanders age 70 and older did not report any Social Security income. Plus, "Nearly half of all older Long Island residents report no retirement income from sources other than Social Security," the report said.
New York State AARP Executive Director Beth Finkel said: "Too many Long Islanders are struggling to make ends meet as they age. With more than a third of Nassau and Suffolk residents now over 50, the challenges are only growing…Nearly half have no retirement savings, poverty among older adults in Long Island has climbed, and family caregivers, the backbone of our long-term care system, are stretched thin."