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The Long Island Daily

The Long Island Daily

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The Long Island Daily, formerly Long Island Morning Edition, with host Michael Mackey provides regional news stories and special features that speak to the body politic, the pulse of our planet, and the marketplace of life.Copyright 2026 WLIW-FM Politics & Government
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  • Annual conservation event Day for the Bay tomorrow; Catholic church denounce Trump deportation campaign; and more

    Annual conservation event Day for the Bay tomorrow; Catholic church denounce Trump deportation campaign; and more
    Jun 5 2026
    Homeowners who live near the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club will not be allowed to park cars on their lawns on their driveways or on their street frontage for a fee during the U.S. Open this month, Southampton Town says. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the Town of Southampton has already issued a cease-and-desist order to a Barkers Island Road homeowner who was advertising for paid U.S. Open parking spaces on his property with lawn signs and through internet posts.Ryan Murphy, the town’s director of code enforcement, said that using a residential property for a profit-making venture constitutes an illegal change of use under the town’s zoning codes and that the town code officers will be doing patrols before and during the tournament, which runs from June 15-21, to enforce the ban.Selling parking on residential properties near major events like this month’s U.S. Open, which is expected to draw nearly 20,000 people on the competition days, is a common sight nationwide.But communities, and even event organizers themselves, have taken different stances toward the practice. Many communities allow it, either looking the other way at the legal status it creates or expressly passing temporary special permissions to allow residents to rake in extra income from a major draw.Some events have forbidden it because of traffic safety concerns.At past U.S. Opens at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, members of the Shinnecock Nation, who are not subject to the town’s zoning codes, have set up private parking lots on their individual properties along Montauk Highway, most even providing shuttles to the venue entrance at the other side of the Stony Brook Southampton college campus.Lance Gumbs, the vice chairman of the nation’s Council of Trustees, said that he and other tribe members with streetfront properties will be offering private parking options, in addition to the VIP parking lots that the USGA has paid the tribe to host on their powwow grounds in the interior of the territory, from which USGA shuttles will ferry the spectators who pay the $84 per day, to the tournament entrance.***Long Island’s Latino population grew more than 120% since the turn of the millennium, compared with about 12% in New York City, according to a report from the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.Robert Brodsky reports in NEWSDAY that on Long Island, the Hispanic population grew 122% between 2000 and 2024, including a 143% increase in Suffolk County and a nearly 99% uptick in Nassau County, U.S. Census data shows.The Dominican population has become the largest Latino contingent across both the metropolitan region and on Long Island, which has seen a more than 260% growth during that 24-year period, figures show.Suffolk now has 363,136 Hispanic residents and Nassau has 264,758, data shows.Experts contend Latinos have flocked to Long Island for many of the same reasons other groups have: improved work opportunities, high-performing schools and relatively affordable housing in communities where the Hispanics appear to be clustered.Latinos make up a majority of the population in seven hamlets and villages on Long Island as of 2020, according to Census data. Those areas include Brentwood, North Bay Shore, Central Islip, New Cassel, Inwood, Hempstead Village and on the east end – Flanders.Lawrence Levy, executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said the growth of the Latino population on Long Island was not a surprise.But its future trajectory remains in doubt, he said, in part because of the Trump administration's immigration policies. Census data figures include both legal and undocumented U.S. residents."It's pretty hard to predict the future of Latino growth because we're in an unprecedented period in terms of both policy and the processes that flow from it," Levy said. Immigration policies could affect local industries such as construction, and child and elder care, he noted.The total Latino population increase in the N.Y.C. metropolitan area was 48%, from 3.59 million in 2020 to 5.31 million in 2024, according to Census data. ***The Peconic Baykeeper will hold its annual Day for the Bay tomorrow morning from 9 to 11 a.m. at South Jamesport Beach. This year the event will include the Peconic Estuary Partnership, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the North Fork Anglers.Learn about the Blue Water Task Force and participate in hands-on activities to learn about water pollution, runoff and safe fishing and boating on the North Fork. Tomorrow morning’s event is free.For further info and registration visit Peconicbaykeeper.org.***Presumably bedtime won’t be an issue for Game 2 of the N.B.A. Finals tonight since there’s no school tomorrow. But, parents will once again face a championship bedtime challenge before game 3 Monday night.The last time the New York Knickerbockers won a National Basketball Association title was 1973. With fans' ...
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    10 mins
  • Shinnecock Nation to land helicopters during US Open; removal of "sell-by" dates will reduce food waste; and more East End Long Island news

    Shinnecock Nation to land helicopters during US Open; removal of "sell-by" dates will reduce food waste; and more East End Long Island news
    Jun 4 2026
    Charter helicopters will utilize temporary landing pads on Shinnecock Nation Territory during the U.S. Open Golf Championship for patrons wishing to breeze over traffic backups on roads — for rates ranging from several hundred dollars to more than $1,400 per seat.Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the aircraft charter booking company Blade and Zip Aviation are working with the U.S. Golf Association and the Shinnecock Tribe to utilize a landing pad that will be set up in an open field, part of the powwow grounds on the 800-acre Shinnecock Neck territory…just west of Southampton Village.The nation’s vice chairman, Lance Gumbs, said that the landing area has room for up to three helicopters to land and disembark passengers who will then be taken by shuttles to the tournament entrance gates.Blade is offering flights to the tournament from helipads in New York City, and from East Hampton Airport, which is only a 10-minute flight away.The Blade booking site — headlined “The longest drive is nothing to brag about” — shows prices for seats aboard the flights from New York City at $1,480 each and private charters as high as $15,000 for up to eight passengers. Seats for the flights from East Hampton Airport are $645 each.A 10 a.m. flight from New York City to the third day of the tournament on Saturday, June 20, is already sold out.During previous U.S. Open events at Shinnecock Hills, seaplanes have delivered passengers to Sebonac Inlet where they were met by concierge services and shuttles to the course, including at the 2018 U.S. Open, when Blade set up a concierge tent at the beach.A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said that temporary heliports that are operated for less than 30 days are not regulated by the FAA and do not have to be approved. But the temporary heliports are supposed to be limited to fewer than 10 operations per day — a total of five round-trip flights.***Democrats in the New York State Legislature passed resolutions last night supporting changes to the state constitution that would grant legislators the ability to redraw congressional districts in the middle of the decade.The state Senate voted 38-22 in favor of the resolution. The state Assembly voted 91-47.Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that the votes are the first of three steps that must happen before Democrats, which control both houses, can redraw the state’s congressional districts in order to maximize their representation in Congress.Republican legislators argued that the proposed changes ignore the will of the voters, who approved the creation of an Independent Redistricting Commission in 2014.Democrats said they were simply responding in kind to Republican efforts to create more favorable district maps across the South, amid a nationwide redistricting fight for competitive advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives.The changes would allow the legislature to redraw New York State's 26 congressional districts in the middle of the decade, rather than once a decade when the U.S. Census Bureau numbers come out, as it typically does.The legislature will need to pass the same changes again next year. Voters would also need to approve the measure in November 2027 before it could go into effect for the 2028 election.The proposal allows state Democrats to approve new maps with a simple majority vote and removes a ban on maps drawn to benefit a political party. It also says that if the maps are successfully challenged in court, they go back to the legislature for changes.Democrats hope the eventual new district lines could help them pick up as many as four seats, including ones on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley. Democrats currently hold 19 of New York's 26 seats.***Thanks to coordinated efforts between students and educators, as well as the Southampton Rotary Club, the Bridgehampton School now has a special way of bringing the “global language of peace” to life right here on the east end.Last Friday, the Bridgehampton School community gathered for a special outdoor ceremony to dedicate and recognize the recently installed “Peace Pole” that was set up on school grounds, next to a memorial bench dedicated to former teacher Nancy Bagshaw, who died at the end of 2023 at age 60.Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that Peace Poles are a worldwide Rotary initiative. The tall but slim poles, often white and made of wood or PVC, are internationally recognized symbols meant to represent “the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth,” according to rotary.org. Each Peace Pole bears the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in different languages on each of its four or six sides. There are tens of thousands of Peace Poles in nearly every country. There are currently more than 100 Peace Poles planted across Long Island.It was the Bridgehampton students who chose the placement of the pole near the bench dedicated to Ms. Bagshaw, a ...
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    10 mins
  • Riverhead Town Board votes to move forward with eminent domain proceedings

    Riverhead Town Board votes to move forward with eminent domain proceedings
    Jun 3 2026
    There are just a couple days left in New York’s legislative session in Albany — and the State Legislature has a lot of catching up to do. Fewer than 350 bills have passed both the Senate and Assembly, meaning that the Legislature will need to go into overdrive to come close to matching the roughly 850 bills passed in 2025.There is always plenty blame to go around in Albany, but this year the clear culprit seems to be the glacial pace of budget negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul. Lawmakers finally passed the $269 billion budget last week, giving them only one week to advance their own agenda.In theory, the Legislature could stay in Albany as long as it likes to pass bills. In practice, members have already made travel arrangements to their home districts, to see family and campaign for the June 23 primary.That will put pressure on the Assembly speaker, Carl E. Heastie, and the Senate majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, to prioritize the bills that have the best chance of passing without much debate.Several issues vying for floor time this week include a moratorium on data centers, making redistricting easier in New York, an uncertain future in plastics, keeping surveillance out of pricing, and counteracting some Trump administration initiatives.The artificial intelligence debate promises to continue throughout the fiscal year in New York and across the country. A.I. has transformed New York’s economy, while it has also begun to shape the state’s physical landscape through the data centers that power A.I.But concerns about their environmental impact and energy consumption have led lawmakers in Albany to rally around a one year moratorium on new data centers.Initially, the push had been for three years. But after conversations with stakeholders, Mr. Heastie said, the Legislature had come to a compromise on one year. “I think we’re comfortable passing that,” he said.Over the next five years, the number of data centers across the nation is projected to triple, consuming more electricity than 28 million households, according to an analysis from the nonprofit Food & Water Watch.***For teen bands in the Town of Southampton, the musical calendar year revolves around one night: the annual Southampton Youth Bureau Battle of the Bands at Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that this year is no different, as teenage bands, friends, family and peers will flock to the parking lot of Ponquogue Beach this coming Friday, June 5, to hear and cheer on their favorite young groups in the 23rd annual Battle of the Bands.Gates open at 7 p.m.; those who arrive early will get to listen to a series of special guest opening acts for the first hour. This year’s slate features four local middle and high school students who have participated in the Youth Bureau’s annual “Hamptons Got Talent” event in the last two years.The main event begins at 8 p.m., when the bands take the stage.Like last year’s edition, this year will feature five competing bands. Each band will have 20 minutes to perform a set of three to four songs each. The winning band gets to come back on stage to perform an encore at the end of the show.Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places. This year’s prizes have been donated by the event’s sponsors, including Dream Recording Studios, LTV Studios, Hampton Coffee Company and the Hampton Theatre Company.The event will be emceed by three students from Westhampton Beach High School: juniors Elhani Armijos and Jennifer Santiago, and senior Kate Lynch.Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the gate on Friday June 5.For more information, visit southamptontownny.gov/youthbureau or call 631-702-2425.***The Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton invites you to join them for a wonderful Sunday afternoon of chamber music performed by Poetica Ensemble, a consortium of world class musicians led by artistic directors and local residents Song-A Cho and Christopher Shaughnessy. The ensemble has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Scorca Hall as well as other renowned concert halls throughout the greater New York area and beyond.Registration required.The performance is this coming Sunday, June 7, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Morris Meeting Room at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton.For further info visit myrml.org.Register for the event at rogersmemorial.librarycalendar.com/event/sunday-concert-80790***The Riverhead Town Board voted yesterday to move forward with eminent domain proceedings against the Long Island Science Center’s downtown property, adopting a findings statement that says acquisition of 111 E. Main St. is necessary to complete the town square project.Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the resolution passed 3-1, with one abstention. Council Members Denise Merrifield, Joann Waski and Ken Rothwell voted yes. Supervisor Jerry Halpin voted no. Council Member Bob Kern abstained.The resolution authorizes the Town ...
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    10 mins
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.