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With the close of the year, Nassau Republican and Democratic office holders are moving jobs while the next presiding officer of the Nassau legislature remains in question. As long rumored, it was announced today that Nassau's Republican Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello, of New Hyde Park, the last remaining member of the original county legislature that began in 1996, would be North Hempstead's next Town Attorney. Rich Nicolello The appointment of  Nicolello, who had announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election to the county legislature, follows the November election when the 4-3 Democrat-Republican North Hempstead Town Board was replaced by a 4-3 Republican-Democrat board. That meant Republicans, as of Jan. 1, would be in control of the hiring the town's appointed positions for the first time in three decades. That also meant that North Hempstead Town Attorney John Chiara of Garden City would be out of a job. But Chiara would not be unemployed. Several Dem...

Nassau Civil Service Employees Association retirees fighting to stop an expensive change in their health insurance coverage have won a temporary victory. Supreme Court Justice Conrad Singer today signed an order preventing Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman from switching their health insurance coverage from the state's Empire Plan to the state's Excelsior Plan and directed the county to continue the retiree's membership in the Empire Plan until a full court decision can be made. Singer ordered the county to present its arguments against an injunction to Supreme Court Justice Danielle Peterson on Jan. 22. (Intersting side note: Danielle Peterson is the daughter of former Republican Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Greg Peterson.) Blakeman had negotiated a change for all CSEA members and retirees to the Excelsior Plan in a new  contract approved by the CSEA in August. The Excelsior plan is less costly to the county but more expensive for union members. The new contract...

Democratic elections commissioner reupped The Nassau legislature, at its last meeting of the year on Monday, approved Nassau and State Democratic Chairman Jay Jacob's reappointment of James Scheuerman as the county's Democratic elections commissioner. The appointment came a year early. Scheuerman's current term expires at the end of 2024. The new appointment is for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2025. State law says Republican and Democratic election commissioners must be nominated by their party chairman. The legislature routinely ratifies the chairman's selection. Jacobs did the same thing two years ago, though it's still not certain why. In January of 2022, he reappointed Scheuerman to a two-year term beginning Jan, 2023.  But it certainly shows a great faith in Scheuerman of Glen Head. Last year, at Jacob's recommendation, Scheuerman's wife, Jaclene Agazarian was cross endorsed for District Court judge, ensuring her election. Agazarian had been a principa...

Civil Service Employee Association retirees today were in court attempting to stop a change in health insurance included in a new union contract scheduled to take effect Jan.1. The "Nassau Retirees Legal Fund" and eight other CSEA employees argue in a class action lawsuit filed today against Nassau and County Executive Bruce Blakeman in Nassau Supreme Court that they face  " imminent and irreparable medical, emotional, and financial harm because the County intends to deprive them of promised health benefits in 2024." The new contract negotiated between the union and Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman and ratified by members in August changes the health insurance from New York's Empire plan -- which provides platinum coverage -- to the New York Excelsior plan. The Excelsior plan is more costly for union members but less expensive for the county.  Update:  The state, meanwhile, has increased rates for the Excelsior plan -- in come cases by more than 40 pe...

 As uproar continues over university presidents' refusal to condemn calls for genocide of Jews, the Harvard Board issued a statement today to alumni supporting president Claudine Gay. Dear Members of the Harvard Community, As members of the Harvard Corporation, we today reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University. Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing. So many people have suffered tremendous damage and pain because of Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, and the University’s initial statement should have been an immediate, direct, and unequivocal condemnation. Calls for genocide are despicable and contrary to fundamental human values. President Gay has apologized for how she handled her congressional testimony and has committed to redoubling the University’s fight against...

                                                                                  Mazi Pilip While the political world erupted with news from Politico.com last week that Nassau Legis. Mazi Pilip of Great Neck is a registered Democrat who runs and caucuses as a Republican, nobody is noting her strong support for Israel.  Pilip is a black, Orthodox Jew and former Israeli paratrooper who was born in Ethiopia and airlifted to Israel in a rescue operation when she was 12.  Pilip joined with Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman last month in calling for the resignation of Hofstra...

                                                                             Front of Nassau County Executive building (from wikipedia) County sources say the Nassau County Executive and Legislative building at 1550 Franklin Ave. in Mineola was closed at 2 p.m. today and employees told to go home because of an announced anti-Israel  rally and protest against Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is Jewish. It is feared the rally/protest will spur violence in Mineola. It is also unclear who is sponsoring the event. Already there are complaints about anti-semitism in one of the flyers about the rally,...

                                                                                  It wasn't a surprise that Nassau Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) was elected by  her fellow Democrats to replace departing Democratic Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams of Freeport as their new leader in January. She has the most experience and apparently enough time to spend as a fulltime leader. What is somewhat surprising is that Democrats made their selection of DeRiggi-Whitton -- along with Tom Suozzi to run for Congress in the new vacant District 3 seat -- on the first day of Hanukka. Absen...

                                                                                 Nassau Legis. Siela Bynoe, a Westbury Democrat, is expected to announce that she will seek the state senate seat now held by State Sen. Kevin Thomas, a Levittown Democrat. Sources say her announcement is scheduled for 11:30 am Wednesday in Westbury. The move will pit the Bynoe, who was elected last month to her fifth term on the county legislature, against Assemb. Taylor Darling, of Hempstead Village, who is already campaigning for Thomas' seat. Taylor Darling Thomas was drawn out of his 6th District State Senate Seat during last year's redistricting. He had won a stunning upset over incumbent Republican State. Sen. Kemp Hannon in 2018 and had been re-elected ever since. Thomas is now seeking the 4th Dist...

                                                                                                                                                           As predicted, controversial Nassau County Corrections Commissioner Michael Sposato has been moved out of managing the East Meadow jail following the recent approval of a new contract by the county's corrections officers union. Sources say Sposato, a former Nassau sh...