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                                                                                   State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) announced today he will not be running for re-election, tweeting his decision just before the state Democratic party convention opens this afternoon in Manhattan. Kaminsky is the second high profile Democrat in two days to drop out of a race for re-election: U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice of Garden City announced yesterday she would not run again for Congress. While Rice's announcement knocked everyone for a loop -- she let party leaders know five minutes before she tweeted out her plans -- Everyone was expecting Kaminsky's statement. After Kaminsky lost his bid for Nassau District Attorney to Republican Anne Donnelly, he reportedly told friends he would not run aga...

                                                                                   As you can see, U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice of Garden City announced today that she is not running again. She is yet another Democrat from the U.S. House who is giving up their seat -- 30 altogether so far. Kathleen Rice Not sure why. Pundits instantly speculated that she would face tough challenges from left- wing progressives and right-wing conservatives. Some suggest she is seeking a judgeship or a state appointment.  Maybe Rice, a former Nassau District Attorney, is even thinking about challenging ...

                                                                                    Gov. Kathy Hochul at news conference Wednesday Who is Gov. Kathy Hochul listening to when it comes to her plan to require all municipalities in the state allow at least one apartment  or "accessory dwelling unit" on a single-family lot? Is it suburban elected officials who contend the proposal will end single-family zoning -- so dear to many Long Islanders who fled the city for the suburbs? Is it progressive groups who say the move is necessary to increase affordable housing for low-income groups, young people and seniors? Or is it big Hochul campaign contributors who would profit from the plan -- members of the building trades and construction industry? Hochul, 64, the state's former little-...

                                                                                    First, Democrats on the county legislature last month asked Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman to extend the March 1 deadline for Nassau property owners to grieve their property tax assessment to May 2 because of covid-related disruptions to the housing market. Then Republican legislators on Monday introduced their own resolution to extend the deadline to April 30, citing the late mailing of the notices of tentative assessment which, by law, must be published on the first business day in January for the new year's assessment roll. Traditionally, those notices were mailed to property owners during the first week in January.  But former Democratic County Executive Laura Curran's adminis...

                                                                                   James Vilardi Nassau Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman didn't say who he was replacing as chairman of the Atlantic Beach Bridge Authority when he submitted the nomination to the legislature of Sameul Nahmias of Lawrence to the unpaid post. That was a little puzzling. In a separate nomination, Blakeman named the bridge commissioner he was replacing -- Helen Elovich --  with his choice of  Vincent Pasqua for the bridge authority. The county legislature is to consider those nominations along with more than a dozen others today. But Five Town Republicans recognized the slot almost immediately. It belonged to longtime Inwood Republican leader James Vilardi, who has been the authority ...

                                                                            Bruce Blakeman Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Friday submitted to the county legislature more than a dozen nominations for appointments to positions in his administration. Some names are familiar within political circles; others are not. Some nominations already have been reported; some not. Four are former state judges who retired or aged out after the state two years ago refused to recertify judges aged 70 and older to continue working in the court system. Blakeman also has selected four deputy county executives, including chief deputy Arthur Walsh, a former counsel to Nassau's Off-Track Betting Corporation.  His deputies include Joseph Muscarella, a former Oyster Bay Town councilman and North Ma...

                                                                          New York's bail reform law was supposed to prevent poor people charged with non-violent crimes from languishing in jail because they could not afford to pay a nominal bail. But the law, which eliminates cash bail for all but the most vicious crimes, appears to be encouraging  suspects to disregard required court appearances. Nassau's bail reform year-end crime report for 2021 shows the percentage of bench warrants issued for suspects released without bail last year increased nearly 300 percent from last year. In 2020, 222 bench warrants were issued fo...