My Hometown

Bill Horan and Riya Pantel discuss food insecurity - which many don’t even realize is a problem on Long Island.  They speak with Robert LaBarbara, the VP for Procurement & Supply Chain Oversight, at Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank, a non-profit that benefits people dealing with food insecurity.

Bill Horan and Riya Pantel talk with Angelik Bell, a registered nurse and case manager at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital, part of Northwell Health. Besides being a terrific nurse, she has spent the weekend before Thanksgiving making sure families in her community have what they need for the holiday - and she’s been doing it for the past 18 years through her non-profit, Harvest For The World.

Bill Horan meets 17-year-old Kendall Aufenanger, a junior at Great Neck North High School, who has been named a youth ambassador for the National Baseball Poetry Festival and was also recognized as a 2025 youth contest winner - an honor that reflects both her writing talent and her growing role in helping promote creative writing among young people.  Founded in 2022, the National Baseball Poetry Festival takes place at Polar Park in Massachusetts with programs on readings, workshops, panels, performances, a ballpark tour, two ballgames, fireworks, and conversations that bring together poets, educators, baseball fans, and community members.

Bill Horan meets the creators of FOOD TRUCK FRIDAYS - a weekly event that takes place in the spring, summe and fall in Levittown, NY - so bring some money and an empty stomach, because this community event is sure to fill up your heart - and your stomach!  He talks with Wendy Lantigua, the CEO and Creator of Food Truck Fridays, along with Joe Fradella, the owner of The Lemon Life, a fresh lemonade vendor who can be found at the event.

Bill Horan and Riya Pantel learn about PRONTO of Long Island: People Helping People, with a mission to feed the hungry, clothe the needy, welcome the strangers & provide healing and hope to everyone who walks through their doors.  They speak with Merlisa Fairley, Chief Operations Officer, and Keith Scott, the President & CEO.

Today, we’re talking Long Island music royalty… without needing backstage passes! Bill Horan and Riya Pantel talk with Norm Prusslin, the Co-Founder, and First Vice Chair on their Board of Directors, and a 2026 inductee to the Hall of Fame, at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook. Norm is also a professor at Stony Brook University and a past General Manager of their college radio station, WUSB.

Bill Horan and Riya Panel talk with Cosmo Leone, the author of YES, IT’S COSMO!  He is an alum of WHPC and Nassau Community College, and his book is all about his career in the radio industry.

Bill Horan and Riya Pantel talk with Hilary JM Topper, who is the former owner of HJMT Public Relations, and is now the author of "Unlocking the Triathlon: The Beginner’s Guide to Competing in a Triathlon", which tells her story of how, as a 53-year-old non-swimming mom and business owner, she trained for and completed her first triathlon.

Bill Horan and Riya Pantel talk with Kristen Stucchio-Suarez, the Project Director at RRDA, the official tourism and promotions agency for Nassau County, about fun things to do around the county this spring and summer, including Long Island Restaurant Week, events at UBS Arena, The Gold Coast Book Festival and more.

Get your dancing shoes ready - Bill Horan talks with Nicole Loizides Albruzzese, the Executive Artistic Director of New York Dance Theatre and the affiliated Ohman School of Ballet. She is also the Executive Producer of the Gold Coast Dance Festival.