Protesters outside Islip Town Hall yesterday demanded that town leaders terminate a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allows agents to use a local shooting range. Bahar Ostadan reports in NEWSDAY that the contract has come under scrutiny amid growing opposition to ICE enforcement efforts on Long Island since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. "We’re here because the Town of Islip is making money off of the deportation of innocent families," said Ahmad Perez, founder of Islip Forward, a group that monitors and keeps records of ICE agents carrying out enforcement actions on Long Island, and also helped organize Sunday's rally of well over 100 people. An Islip spokesperson told Newsday last week the shooting range on Freeman Avenue has been used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, for training since "at least the early 2000s."

Islip Councilman Jorge Guadrón, a Democrat, told Newsday in a text Sunday that ICE in Islip has engaged in a "campaign of intimidation and terrorization ... resulting in fear, trauma, and destabilization of immigrant families and local business across the town."

A statement posted in late July on the Islip Town website sought "to clarify some misinformation" about the contract. The range is used by multiple law enforcement agencies and dates back several decades, according to the town.

"These partnerships help to ensure the safe use of firearms and proper training,” the July 30 statement states.

ICE agents use the Islip range to qualify for firearms proficiency, according to federal records. The town also rents out the shooting range to the Nassau County Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, according to the statement.

After Trump returned to office, he and his administration said ICE would target hard-core criminals in the country illegally and arrest and deport them. ICE agents have arrested more than 1,600 people on Long Island since January 20, 2025, all of whom had prior criminal convictions, the agency told Newsday last week.

In July, Newsday reported that ICE agents also were sweeping up immigrants on Long Island with no criminal history. The federal agency has refused to comment on whether any of those arrested had clean records.

***

A planned Southampton cannabis dispensary that was impacted by a state error after regulators said it’s too close to a school will be able to open, according to the latest guidance from the state.

Lee Meyer reports in NEWSDAY that the new guidance, according to a memo issued this past Wednesday by the NYS Office of Cannabis Management, stated the office is not directing licensees found to be in violation of the state law to close or relocate their business, or stop working toward opening.

The guidance also stated it will not recommend to the state Cannabis Control Board that licensees whose locations conflict with the school proximity rule have their licenses revoked.

The CCB is the approval and oversight body of the Office of Cannabis Management and issues and regulates cannabis licenses.

Birchwyn & Tess LLC, the Southampton dispensary at 471 County Road 39, which is still in development, was cited by the OCM on July 28 for being too close to the Tuckahoe School at 468 Magee St. The one-building district serves pre-K through eighth grade.

The OCM said it had previously told dispensaries they could not be located within 500 feet of a school’s grounds — but the law requires the distance to be measured from a school’s property line.

A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul's office wrote in an email to Newsday Friday that the governor "has made it clear that impacted licensees will be held harmless while she and OCM work with the state legislature to ensure that they can continue to operate while seeking a permanent fix through legislation.”

Birchwyn & Tess LLC holds a conditional adult-use retail, or recreational, license.

It is one of more than 100 licensees impacted by the change, according to the OCM.

In Suffolk County, the Towns of Riverhead, Brookhaven, Babylon and Southampton voted to allow marijuana sales after the state legalized the drug in 2021. There are eight recreational dispensaries in operation on Long Island…in addition to more than half a dozen cannabis selling shops on Shinnecock Tribal territory in Southampton.

***

Riverhead Town Police officers started using body cameras and vehicle cameras yesterday, according to town officials.

Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the cameras were a long-term goal of the town’s 2021 police reform plan and are considered by civil rights organizations like the ACLU and NAACP to be an essential oversight tool for reducing police misconduct and increasing community trust.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard said, “[I’m] glad we have finally implemented them.” Adding, “It protects the officers from inaccurate allegations.”

Hubbard is a retired Riverhead Police detective.

Police Chief Ed Frost said he hopes the cameras will help build a better relationship between the public and police through increased transparency and accountability. Footage from the cameras will allow for a “true, unbiased account” of police interactions in court, he said.

The cameras “will also assist with future training needs of the department, to assess where we need to do better,” Frost added.

The department’s 100 officers will activate their cameras during most calls, Frost said. Officers may turn them off in certain cases, such as at a patient’s request during a medical call, he said.

Last year, Riverhead was awarded a $1.47 million state grant to purchase the body cameras. That grant also covered the cost of installing the car cameras, Frost said.

Last Tuesday, the Riverhead Town Board approved agreements with its two police unions to implement the program. Officers will each receive an additional $2,000 in salary this year, and $500 in both 2026 and 2027, for using the cameras.

***

On Tuesday, the Southampton Town Board will hold a public hearing on the use of Community Housing Funds for Georgica Green’s proposed 40-unit mixed-use affordable rental apartment complex on Flanders Road in Riverside at its regular meeting tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Georgica Green Ventures, one of the largest developers of attainable housing on the East End, is pitching a proposed 40-unit mixed-use affordable rental housing complex on Flanders Road in Riverside.

The company, which has built several housing developments in Riverhead, Speonk, Southampton and East Hampton, is asking for $2.4 million from the Town of Southampton’s Community Housing Fund to purchase property at 47 Flanders Road, not far from the traffic circle in downtown Riverside.

This is the first major development proposal in this blighted hamlet since Southampton Town created a sewer district last year for the heart of Riverside, in anticipation of the town’s construction of a $35 million sewage treatment plant designed to make it easier to redevelop the area.

As proposed, the project would include ground floor commercial rental space and a mix of studio, one bedroom and two-bedroom apartments that “will be affordable for household incomes between 60% to 100% of the Area Median Income,” according to the public hearing notice, approved at the Town Board’s July 8 meeting.

Also at the July 8 meeting, the Southampton Town Board approved an intermunicipal agreement with the Riverhead Central School District, authorizing the use of $900,000 in town Community Preservation Fund Water Quality Improvement Project funding to hook up the district’s Phillips Avenue Elementary School to the sewage treatment plant, which is expected to be constructed between 2027 and 2030.

The Southampton Town Board’s public hearing regarding the use of CHF funds for Georgica Green’s project is tomorrow at 1 p.m.

***

St. Rosalie’s Roman Catholic Church on the north side of Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays is approaching the 30-year mark of being in its current building, as well as the 125-year mark of serving the Hampton Bays community. St. Rosalie’s Church was founded in 1901 — when Hampton Bays was still known as Good Ground. The church hosted services out of its original wooden building until a new building was completed and opened in 1996 with a new capacity of 750 to accommodate its growing crowd of churchgoers. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the old church still stands, now home to the Knights of Columbus. The church’s current building features a display of stained-glass windows that include images of corn, fishing boats, sailboats and tractors — all nods to the days of Good Ground as a community that lived off the land. The church’s vast property is also home to a community center, parish center and Bishop Ryan Village, which offers low-income housing for seniors. Father Steven Maddaloni, the church’s pastor, said that the church’s social work programs tie into the church’s main goal of being “the face of Christ to people who need to see Christ’s face.” The church also sees great variety in those who attend Mass, including retirees, members of the Hispanic community and young families. As the church approaches 125 years of serving Hampton Bays, Pastor Maddaloni said that “It feels good to approach this milestone knowing that this community is still thriving.” Looking to the future of St. Rosalie’s, he said that some of the main goals of the church include looking for ways to inspire younger generations to get involved and continuing to bridge the gap between the English and Spanish-speaking communities.

***

The Southampton Elks Lodge recently donated robotic cats and dogs to two Long Island centers as part of the organization’s efforts to help veterans.

Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the Elks donated 19 robotic pets to the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University and six to the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton in June, both of which the Elks have donated to before.

The robotic companions, made by Joy for All, are designed to look and feel like real pets for those who live somewhere where pets aren’t allowed. The lifelike-dogs can wag their tails and bark, the cats purr in response to being pet and some can respond to voices.

“The donation of these companion pets will help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation amongst our veterans, increase conversation between peers, reduce stress, anxiety and agitation, and can help improve their mood and overall well-being,” said Michelle Cheslak, the director of therapeutic recreation at the Long Island State Veterans Home.

Gene Scanlon, the grand coordinator and retired secretary of the Southampton Elks chapter, saw other Elks Lodge chapters purchasing the robotic pets and liked the idea of buying something more substantial the next time he secured a grant, which are typically around $2,500 to $3,000.

In addition to the robotic pets, the Southampton Elks also donated two 84-inch HDTV’s to the Northport Veterans Hospital over the winter.

***

Ticks from distant countries are turning up in the United States after hitching rides on international travelers, a new study found.

The study, published Friday in the journal iScience, documented seven nonnative ticks that were carried by humans to Connecticut from 2019 to 2023. The little arachnids came from Belize, Costa Rica, Germany, Guatemala, Poland, Scotland and Tanzania.

“The main finding is that we are facing an increasing risk of invasive ticks in the United States,” said Goudarz Molaei, a study author who is a medical entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. He added that the rate of unintentional introductions of nonnative species appeared to be rising.

That could increase the number of tick-borne pathogens in the United States — which, the study notes, was already on the rise — and heighten disease risks for people across the country.

Jacey Fortin reports in THE NY TIMES that in recent decades, ticks of all kinds have been flourishing in the United States. Some originated abroad, like the Asian long-horned tick.

The arachnids have been traveling domestically, too. Ticks from the Gulf Coast are moving north. So is the lone star tick, a southern bug whose bite may trigger an allergy to red meat.

And deer ticks, which are known for spreading Lyme disease, are moving farther north.

It is fitting that the study was conducted in Connecticut. Lyme disease is named for towns in the southern part of the state where, in 1975, a cluster of illnesses prompted a search for the pathogen that, we now know, is transmitted by ticks. Since then, the state has become a sort of epicenter for tick research.

As always, health care professionals recommend checking for ticks on your person and on your pets, whether you’ve been to Tanzania or just to your own east end backyard. Doing this regularly can improve your chances of catching a tick before it transmits a pathogen, or even before it bites.

And while studies like this one should prompt caution, as well as additional research, Dr.Megan Linske, a tick ecologist, said, they are not a cause for abject fear.

“I always encourage people to go outside, enjoy the outdoors, even when you’re in other countries,” she said. “Go enjoy the outdoors, but just be aware that ticks are everywhere.”