A little noticed element of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget proposal would extend a temporary tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers, which she said would fund programs to make life more affordable for middle class and poorer families, but which independent analysts warn could hurt taxpayers of all income levels. Hochul’s proposal would extend the temporary income tax surcharge on earners making more than $2.1 million a year in taxable income and provide the state $5 billion a year in revenue over five more years. The temporary tax rate, which began in 2022 and is scheduled to end in 2027, was created to help the state rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Hochul's proposal, the surcharge would continue into 2032. Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that Democratic legislators along with advocates for the poor want the revenue to help pay for needs in public schools, which would also reduce pressure on property taxes; for health care, including hospitals in fiscal distress; and social services for food and housing as inflation hits middle- and lower-income families hardest. However, the proposed extension of the temporary tax is a concern for fiscal analysts. "First, it’s a question of economic competitiveness," said Patrick Orecki, director of state studies at the independent Citizens Budget Commission. "The next is the necessity of it ... this tax is just like the ‘millionaire’s tax’ 15 years ago that was passed to get through the recession," Orecki told Newsday in an interview. "Now, it’s built into the tax code." That millionaires tax rate was adopted as a response to the 2009 recession, extended once and then made permanent. The current proposal to extend the temporary surcharge is in addition to the millionaire's tax. Orecki said Hochul’s proposed tax extension has the potential to continue an exodus of wealthy New Yorkers to other states with lower income taxes or, as with Florida, no state income tax. That could force reduced spending on the same education, health care and social service programs and middle class tax breaks Hochul says the tax extension is needed to help fund, financial analysts said.

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The Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays is closed until further notice, officials announced Friday. Lisa Finn reports on Patch.com that Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said the town received word from Suffolk County that the Suffolk County Department of Public Works had closed the bridge until further notice.

Ryan Murphy, Southampton Town public safety and emergency management administrator, sent out a release that said the bridge is closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic in both directions.

"The town was informed that, while the NYSDOT was conducting a routine inspection of the bridge on February 20, conditions were identified that have since resulted in the closing of the bridge. County and state engineers continue to analyze the data in an effort to determine what additional action may be necessary," the release said.

"Until such time as the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays reopens, residents and visitors are asked to pursue alternate means of accessing Dune Road. Residents and visitors are also urged to be mindful of the potential traffic impacts to other bridges and roadways that might provide access."

The notice continued: "As the town becomes aware of additional information, or a projected timeline for the reopening of the bridge, we will share that information."

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The East Hampton Town Police Department’s 2025 Citizen Academy is now accepting applications, with the Spring 2025 session scheduled to begin on March 5. CHRISTOPHER WALSH reports on 27east.com that a 10-week program, the Citizen’s Police Academy gives participants firsthand insight into how the town’s police officers perform their duties and serve the community. The goal is for graduates to leave the academy as more informed citizens with an insider's view of local law enforcement functions and operations. The free, interactive 10-session program will run one to two times per week from 6 to 9 p.m. between March 5 and May 14. The course is open to those who live in East Hampton Town, are 17 or older and have a valid driver’s license. Applicants will be subject to a background check. The application submission deadline is this coming Wednesday, February 26. Those seeking more information can call 631-537-7575, extension 542.

“We encourage residents to join us for this unique experience designed for East Hampton Town community members to gain greater insight into law enforcement and a working knowledge of the values and operations of the East Hampton Police Department,” Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said in a January 27 statement.

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The Peconic Bay scallop season set to end next month has registered another period of decline but research and hatchery efforts are helping rebuild the East End’s fragile shellfish population.

Meanwhile, in Southold, the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s shellfish hatchery on Friday kicked off another season of spawning oysters, highlighting a successful multiyear effort to bring back an industry that thrived on Long Island a century ago.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that public officials from across Suffolk were on hand to mark the event, and to discuss plans for a first-time Long Island Oyster Festival at Smith Point to promote local oysters, even as oyster growers pointed to supply issues last year that sent some scrambling for seed supply. This month's spawn event could produce 9 million to 15 million new oysters for use by local towns and villages, and in restoration work. Last year, Cornell also helped supply commercial hatcheries impacted by the supply crunch, officials said.

But, perhaps, the biggest challenge the hatchery faces these days is the restoration of bay scallops, which have been primarily harvested in the Peconic Bay and had one of their biggest years in 2018 before a die-off starting in 2019-20, most likely tied to a pathogen devastated the fishery in the ensuing years. Figures released by the state Department of Conservation for the 2024-25 season show that only 897.6 pounds were brought to land from the sea since November. Before the die-offs, landings hit 110,802 pounds for the 2018-19 season, according to the DEC. The 2024-25 season was "awful,” Harrison Tobi, who leads the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s bay scallop restoration program, said of the harvest that began in November. “From what I’ve heard from fishermen and what I saw in field surveys, there was a drastically low adult population.”

By comparison, Peconic Bay scallop landings for the 2022-23 season were 5,537 pounds and jumped to 6,057 pounds for the 2023-24 season.

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The potential gutting of hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for Medicaid under consideration by Congress could hit close to home for Long Islanders. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that nearly 680,000 residents of Suffolk and Nassau counties rely on Medicaid for their healthcare, according to figures provided by the Healthcare Education Project at a forum on Medicaid equity at the Riverhead Free Library last Wednesday. Additionally, 48 percent of births here are covered by Medicaid, four in nine Long Island children and people with disabilities are covered by Medicaid, and 15.20 percent of recipients here are seniors.

The Healthcare Education Project is a New York-based advocacy organization created by the Greater New York Hospital Association and the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East union of healthcare workers, and is part of a national movement underway called “Hands Off Medicaid.”

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota…the Republican from Amityville who represents the east end…said Feb. 15 that he is “committed to common sense reforms” to Medicaid, including work requirements, ensuring only U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents receive benefits and stopping “waste, fraud and abuse in New York’s Medicaid system.”

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Following a routine inspection, Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays has been closed indefinitely, officials said Friday. Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that a New York State Department of Transportation inspection of the bridge last Thursday revealed “deterioration of the concrete girders,” department spokesperson Stephen Canzoneri said in an emailed statement Friday afternoon. “In the interest of safety, the bridge has been closed pending further analysis,” he added.

The Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays connects the mainland to Dune Road, known for its beaches and frequent flooding. Neither cars nor pedestrians are allowed to cross until further notice, officials said.

The NYS DOT, which inspects the bridge, and Suffolk County, which owns it, will continue to review data from Thursday’s inspection to determine “the path forward” regarding both repairs and a timeline for reopening, Ryan Murphy, the Southampton Town emergency management administrator, told NEWSDAY on Friday. He said the town, county and state have been “in the loop together” and may have “a better handle on” a timeline and plan for reopening the bridge this week.

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The 12th floor office atop the H. Lee Dennison Building provides picturesque views and a glimpse into the past for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine.

Looking east out the window across from his desk, Romaine can see Hauppauge Middle School, where he once taught history. He occasionally reflects on how he likely would have retired years ago had his path not veered from education to elected office, he said.

Instead, at 78, at the back end of a political career that spans four decades, he enters his second year as leader of a county of 1.5 million people with an eye toward economic development, boosting affordable housing, rebuilding county infrastructure and improving water quality through sewer expansion and water reuse projects.

"I’m motivated by the job I do," he said. "I’m motivated by the people I serve."

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that lawmakers describe the Suffolk County executive as accessible, evenhanded and focused on the task at hand — an old-school Republican who eschews culture wars in an increasingly polarizing national political landscape.

Romaine, who lives in Center Moriches, highlighted the county’s 2025 $4 billion budget as a success of his first year. The budget fell within the state’s 2% tax cap in a "very difficult year."

Looking at the current year, the Suffolk County Executive tells NEWSDAY he is addressing the future of the Ronkonkoma redevelopment formerly called Midway Crossing, his support for solar projects and renewable energy, public safety and the county’s role in immigration enforcement.

Romaine has not yet indicated if he’ll seek a second term, saying that’s a decision he’ll make closer to the 2027 election.

"A lot of that, at my stage in life, depends on my health," he said.