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  Timing is everything, it seems. There was a rumor over the weekend that the state Assembly Judiciary Committee, headed by Assemb. Chuck Lavine (D-Glen Cove), was going to be sending subpoeana's out this week to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and staff. Most political wiseguys scoffed at the rumor. It's been four months since the Judiciary Committee was supposed to be conducting an impeachment investigation into allegations against Cuomo of sexual harrasssment, cover-up of nursing home deaths, misuse of government employees, bullying of lawmakers. But nothing happened. Cuomo denied the allegations and continued to hold frequent news conferences with friendly guests, touting his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo's bluster and bravado helped move him up in statewide polls of his popularity, which had cratered when the allegations first were made. It seemed clear he was running for re-election next year. On June 15, he handed out plaques to what seemed like every union leader in...

From 1988 presidential campaign ad   Does anybody remember the 1988 presidential campaign ads by Republican George H.W. Bush that blasted Democrat Michael Dukakis, then Massachusetts governor, for a weekend prison furlough program that released Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who used his time off to commit armed robbery, assault and rape? Many say the Horton commercials defeated Dukakis -- though others also blame the ludicrous photograph of Dukakis, a small man,  wearing a combat helmet while riding on top of a huge tank during some news event.  (Politico called it "the worst campaign photo op ever.") Horton was black, which ignited some controversy, but Bush still won handily. Now State Sen. Todd Kaminsky is running for Nassau District Attorney this November. He kicked off his campaign, according to Newsday, pitching himself "as a corruption fighter and tough enforcer of criminal laws." Kaminsky, a Long Beach Democrat,  is a former federal prosecutor who also...

                                                                                     As expected, Nassau Democrats this evening nominated State Sen. Todd Kaminsky of Long Beach to run for Nassau district attorney in November after Democrat Madeline Singas took a seat on Court of Appeals. Democrats put out a news release not only saying Kaminsky is their candidate but that he has a campaign war chest of $1.5 million, which is sure to give pause to any potential Republican challenger. Nassau Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs, in a news release, described Kaminsky as "a fearless federal prosecutor who has put Long Islanders' safety first his entire career." But Nassau Republican chairman Joseph Cairo, who has yet to name a GOP candidate, immediately put out a statement denouncing...

Doesn't it seem like politics has turned topsy-turvy lately? No rhyme nor reason these days. Take the rally to support Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder yesterday outside the county legislative building in Mineola. It was organized by community groups, not political parties or the police unions. And it looked like there were more than 400 participants rather than the 200 cited by Newsday. But who was there and who wasn't? Traditionally, Republicans are staunch supporters of the police. Democrats also have backed police but their support has been less consistent. Support definitely waned after black and brown activists rallied against Democratic lawmakers for voting in favor of a new superior officers contract and a police reform plan that, the protesters said, did not address minority community concerns. Only three Democrats -- who happen to be the only African-Americans on the 19-member legislature -- voted against the contract and reform plan. Then the same community a...

                                                                             Nassau Police Commissioner Pat Ryder Maybe its because most Nassau county legislators and many Town board members are running for re-election this year. But few public figures have independently posted their support for embattled Nassau Police Comissioner Patrick Ryder after a coalition of black and brown community groups and activists called for his resignation.  In a story about police recruitment last month, Ryder made awkward comments to Newsday, essentially blaming broken homes in minority communities for youths' lack of interest in law enforcement -- comments that the activists consider offensive and racist.  County Executive Laura Curran, who is also running for re-election in November, has supported h...

  Kelly Ann Tinyes A meditative reflection garden will be created at Grant Park in Hewlett to commemorate Kelly Ann Tinyes, a Valley Stream 13-year-old who was brutally beaten, mutilated and strangled by neighbor Robert Golub in 1989. The Nassau Legislature's Rules committee on Monday quietly accepted a donation of $25,000 to $30,000, successfully fundraised by the Hewlett Woodmere Public Schools Endowment fund,  to cover the costs of installing a memorial garden, including pavers, benches and shrubbery, in the county park. It will be named the "Kelly A Tinyes Meditative Reflection Garden."  The full legislature will be asked to vote on the gift at its next meeting. Tinyes was a student at the Woodmere Middle School when she disappeared one early March afternoon after an answering a phone call while babysitting her little brother. Her slashed and naked body was found the next afternoon stuffed in a sleeping bag in a neighbor's basement. Golub, then 21, was charged wit...

                                                                              Hempstead Town Hall (from Google street view) The coronavirus pandemic has shut down lots of public and private activities. But public records are still supposed to be public. Civic activist* Felix Procacci, who has been a constant thorn in the side of the Republican-controlled Hempstead Town Board, has gone to Nassau Supreme Court to force the town to respond to his Freedom of Information Law requests. Procacci, who ran unsuccessfully on the Democratic ticket for Hempstead supervisor in 2013,  earlier this month filed a lawsuit asking that the court compel the town to comply with state law and to answer nine requests for information he filed between Sept. 9 of last year and Jan. 11 of this year. From 2013 Democr...

                                                                                    County executive Laura Curran and John Chiara (from a Nov. 2018 Curran tweet) Nassau Deputy County Executive John Chiara, who has been serving as acting county attorney since County Attorney Jared Kasschau announced his resignation last month, is now formally the acting county attorney. County Executive Laura Curran made it official on June 1, the day after Kasschau left the county, and submitted her letter to the county legislature on Thursday. So what do we know about Chiara, who has been the deputy county executive in charge of "compliance" since Curran took office in Jan. 2018. We know that Legis. Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) shut him down hard in June 2019 when he was arguing in favor of a propos...