U.S. tariffs on imports of artificial Christmas trees have led to higher retail prices and more consumers reusing the artificial trees they already have at home or buying real trees, which generally are cheaper than artificial trees, retailers said. The retail costs of artificial trees and other holiday décor have increased by 10% to 15% this year, according to Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association. There is a 30% tariff on imports of artificial Christmas trees from China, which accounts for 87% of the artificial trees sold in the United States, she said.

The price of a small, basic artificial tree will range from about $60 to $100 this year, while a standard artificial tree, at 6½ or 7 feet tall, will be $150 to $250.

A pre-lit artificial tree with realistic foliage, fullness or extra features will run from $250 to $500, Warner said.

Tory N. Parrish reports in NEWSDAY that most of the Christmas trees Americans purchase — 83% — are artificial.

Most real Christmas trees sold in the United States are grown here, with Oregon being the top-producing state, said Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board, a Michigan-based promotional group funded by Christmas tree growers in North America.

It’s too soon to know whether there will be a huge surge in sales of real trees due to the tariffs on artificial trees, she said.

"I think a lot of my industry is hopeful that they see that ... but until the numbers are really crunched, it’s hard to know. But I think our industry is prepared for a strong season," she said.

But wholesale tree growers have indicated that they don’t intend to raise prices this year.

A survey of 43 wholesale growers, representing at least half the U.S. real Christmas tree market, found that 84% do not plan to raise wholesale prices for the upcoming season, according to the Real Christmas Tree Board's annual survey released in September.

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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is set to announce his bid for New York governor today — facing off against Rep. Elise Stefanik for the GOP nomination. Craig McCarthy and Vaughn Golden report in THE NY POST that Blakeman is expected to formally declare his candidacy this morning, following weeks of speculation over whether the Long Island pol, a longtime friend of President Trump, would take the fight to Stefanik, a prominent White House ally.

“Bruce will focus on making Empire State more affordable and safer while putting New York first,” a source told THE POST.

Speculation has been swirling over whether Trump will weigh in on the race and endorse a Republican nominee in next year’s primary to face off against Democrat incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Asked if he’d support either one of his allies, Stefanik or Blakeman, yesterday, Trump stayed neutral.

“She’s great. He’s also great,” he said.

“Well, I’ll think about it,” Trump added when asked whether he would endorse either gubernatorial hopeful.

“He’s great and she’s great. They’re both great people. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party,” Trump said. Congresswoman Stefanik has been scrambling to consolidate support amongst party bigwigs since Blakeman first publicly revealed he was seriously considering throwing his hat in the ring after he handily won reelection as Nassau County executive last month.

Early polling shows that Stefanik is a clear early favorite over Blakeman in a GOP primary. Stefanik’s team immediately went on the offensive last night, accusing the Nassau exec of working with Democrats and running to stroke his ego. “Bruce has no shot and is putting his raging ego first and New Yorkers last as he blows up the best opportunity in a generation to Save New York,” Stefanik campaign spokesperson Bernadette Breslin wrote in a statement.

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Students, civic groups, environmentalists and representatives from the Town of Southampton got together on Saturday to plant beach grass at Long Beach in Sag Harbor, in the hopes the plantings will help to catch and build up sand on the beach and prevent it from blowing into the parking lot. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that the Southampton Town Parks and Recreation Department, Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program, the Noyac Civic Council, and members of the Pierson High School Environmental Club partnered on this project, which also involved distributing “SEAd bombs,” a mix of clay, soil, and native seeds, into upland areas, where they will bloom into a mix of annual and perennial pollinators, and establish strong root systems to help prevent erosion at Long Beach in Sag Harbor, New York.

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Low-oxygen areas in Long Island Sound dropped last summer to the smallest footprint recorded in nearly 40 years, according to data from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Tracy Tullis reports in NEWSDAY that the Connecticut agency monitors dissolved oxygen levels at 48 stations in the Sound through the summer months, including in Long Island bays and along North Shore beaches. Hypoxic zones in Long Island Sound extended to 18.34 square miles, the largest area for the year, for three days in July, per Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

That was the smallest hypoxic area recorded since 1987, when the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and other participants in the Long Island Sound Study, now the Long Island Sound Partnership, started collecting data.

"This is great news," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment in Farmingdale. "This is what happens when you have reliable funding, meaningful collaboration, strong public support, and good science — all working together."

Low-oxygen zones, also known as "dead zones," develop in warm, nutrient-rich waters, which encourage the runaway growth of algae. When that biomass dies, it sinks to the ocean floor and decomposes, consuming oxygen. Low levels of dissolved oxygen inhibits the growth of clams, oysters and scallops, Chris Gobler, a professor of coastal ecology at Stony Brook University, found. If oxygen levels fall very low, fish, crustaceans and shellfish can't live in those water and may suffocate and die in large numbers.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut note that continued progress will be necessary to keep up with a warming planet. Even if the amount of nitrogen in the Sound stays at present levels, warming oceans will encourage more algal growth, and deplete oxygen levels, since warm water can't hold as much dissolved gases as cold.

Clean water projects in the Sound have benefited over the years from federal funding to the Long Island Sound Partnership, which increased from $1 million in 1985 to $40 million last year. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said he is "very concerned" that this funding could be in jeopardy, considering large cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Southampton Town Police have arrested an elderly Riverside man who they say was running a “walk-up” drug distribution business out of his house on Old Riverhead Road. As reported on 27east.com, John Woods, 83, was arrested by officers of the East End Drug Task Force this past Friday, December 5, and charged with two felony drug possession charges. He was arraigned in Southampton Town Justice Court, but the charges will be referred to the Suffolk County district attorney’s office to seek a felony indictment in county criminal court. Police say they had been getting numerous complaints from residents of his neighborhood about drug use on the street that seemed to be emanating from the property at 110 Old Riverhead Road. After an investigation by the drug task force, which combines the expertise of county investigators and several local police departments, the Southampton Town Police got a search warrant for the property. The town’s emergency services unit, a specialized detail of officers, raided the home Friday morning and arrested Woods. The raid turned up 17 knotted plastic baggies of crack cocaine, slightly more than $3,000 cash and four cell phones. He is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree with the intent to sell, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, both felonies. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

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In Riverhead through the next few months, pedestrians, workers and shoppers walking from the Peconic River parking lot to Main Street through a 100-foot-long alleyway will experience a unique public art installation. Deborah Wetzel reports on Riverheadlocal.com that illuminated in flowing shades of blue and white neon, a 42-foot-long steel and aluminum LED replica of a North Atlantic Right Whale and a swimmer will be suspended on two arches on the two dark red brick walls, a work of art that officials hope will create a pedestrian friendly environment while expanding Riverhead Town’s goal of emphasizing local talent. The grant money for the project of $40,000 came together last year with a Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grant for $16,730 coupled with a town match of $10,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding and $13,262 from the Business Improvement District Management Association. The funding allowed neon artist Clayton Orehek of Riverhead to begin designing last summer, creating art seeking to give the walkway a new look and feel. Riverhead Town Grants Analyst Frank Messina believes the project “also will enhance safety.” Several of Orehek’s other colorful illuminated sculptures have made their home in Grangebel Park in Riverhead.

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Montauk residents are being asked today to vote on a nearly $35 million bond proposal that would pay for the renovation and expansion of the district’s K-8 school building and the construction of a home for future superintendents. Nicholas Grasso reports in NEWSDAY that the project, which would give rise to a two-story annex housing a new gymnasium and space for science classes, as well as reconfigure the existing building’s layout, is the largest the district has seen in 25 years, according to principal and superintendent Joshua Odom. The nearly century-old main building lacks the space to run athletics and performing arts programming simultaneously, and some infrastructure installed decades ago have stretched beyond its expiration date, Odom told NEWSDAY.

The Montauk community narrowly voted down a similar bond measure on May 20, but the district has since altered the renovation plans and reduced the price by around 10% to $34.87 million, Odom said. The cost to the average taxpayer, with a home worth just over $1.5 million, for the 20-year bond will be approximately $30 a month.

In addition to the bond referendum, Montauk School District residents are being asked to approve a $2.9 million capital savings project. These improvements — which will not raise taxes, according to a legal notice — will address "HVAC, electrical, carbon monoxide and security system upgrades, replace interior doors and construct ADA improvements."

Residents can cast their votes today from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Montauk Public School's gymnasium, 50 S. Dorset Drive, Montauk, N.Y. 11954

For further info regarding the Montauk School Renovation Project / Bond Referendum visit the district’s website at montaukschool.org