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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 Daily Politics & Government
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  • AAA warns drivers to be careful leading up to "rutting season"

    AAA warns drivers to be careful leading up to "rutting season"
    Oct 15 2026
    New York's Class of 2026 had a higher mean SAT score than the national average and the state's highest participation rate since 2020, according to a Newsday analysis. Michael R. Ebert reports in NEWSDAY that data recently released by the College Board details how the more than 127,000 students who took the standardized exam in New York during the 2025-26 school year performed. Long Island-specific data was not available.New York’s test-takers achieved a mean SAT score of 1,053, up eight points from last year and outperforming the national mean for the fifth straight year. The national mean score for the Class of 2026 was 1,045.The last time that New York’s high schoolers underperformed when compared with the national mean score was in 2021. That year, students statewide had a mean score of 1,057, compared with the national mean score of 1,060, according to the College Board.New York’s mean score of 1,053 for 2026 was the highest among its SAT test-takers since 2022, while the percentage of students statewide in the highest-scoring subgroup was also the most since 2022.This year, 9% of students statewide had SAT scores between 1,400-1,600, equaling the national average. By comparison, New York’s percentage of students scoring 1,400-1,600 was 8% in 2024 and 2025, 7% for 2023, and 9% for 2022, according to the College Board.Statewide, high schoolers achieved higher scores on the SAT’s math portion this year with 11% of test-takers earning the highest scores of 700-800, while 9% of students achieved that mark in the test’s reading and writing portion. The 11% scoring at 700-800 in math was the state’s highest percentage since 2022, when that figure was also 11%, according to the College Board.A total of 127,180 high school seniors took the SAT in New York, representing 63% of all those eligible. That's the highest percentage since the Class of 2020, when 160,484, or 79%, of the state’s estimated population of high school graduates took the test, according to the College Board.The most popular intended major for New York’s SAT test-takers was business, followed by clinical sciences.***It's rutting season, and AAA Northeast is warning drivers to be careful out there — especially in rural Suffolk County.John Valenti reports in NEWSDAY that the annual deer mating season is one of the most hazardous times for drivers in the Northeast. One east end town, Southold, leads New York State in deer-related crashes between 2021 and 2024, AAA said in a statement yesterday.The number of Long Island crashes involving deer rose 75% over eight years to the highest level on record, Newsday reported earlier this year. While most of the crashes occur in Suffolk County, Nassau County's North Shore communities have also seen an uptick.The AAA said more than 40% of all deer-strike incidents occurred between September and December, prime rutting — or, mating — season for wild hoofed animals: deer, elk and moose.Between 2021 and 2024 the AAA said the Town of Southold recorded 790 crashes involving deer strikes by drivers, while 599 were recorded in Town of Brookhaven and 526 were tallied in the Town of Southampton. The three towns were among the top 10 municipalities in the state for deer strikes in that time period, AAA said.Statistics also found more than 20% of all deer crashes occurred in November, with drivers almost 2½ times more likely to be involved in a deer-related crash in November than any other month.The peak risk period for deer strikes is early morning and late-afternoon / early-evening, AAA said.Peak crash time frames are between 6 and 10 a.m. and between 3 and 7 p.m.AAA Northeast senior manager for public affairs Robert Sinclair Jr. said the natural inclination of drivers confronted with a deer in the road was to take evasive action to avoid a crash.The advice of experts? Don't overreact."If you're in an area where deer are prevalent — wooded areas, areas where you know there's wildlife — watch the side of the road, be aware," Sinclair said. "Especially, at dawn and dusk. Especially, at dusk, which is prime time for deer. ... And the big thing is do not swerve. If you swerve, you hit a tree, you hit a pole, you hit a car — maybe you even have a head-on collision."Terrible as this sounds, Sinclair said: "Most times, it's better to just hit the deer."And, Sinclair said, don't brake hard, either. "You hit the brakes hard and it causes the front end of the car to dive. That can allow a deer to roll up onto your hood and through the windshield. And that can kill you."As he said: "The best advice is just slow down. Be aware. Pay attention."***Greenport’s 36th Annual Maritime Festival is ready to set sail this coming weekend, staying true to its commitment to highlighting the nautical heritage of this seaside community. The event kicks off with the Friday night Land & Sea Gala, this year being held in the American Legion Hall on Third Street — a change in venue from Mitchell Park due to ...
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    10 mins
  • Democratic candidate for 1st Congressional District Chris Gallant sees fundraising increase after intimate photos go viral

    Democratic candidate for 1st Congressional District Chris Gallant sees fundraising increase after intimate photos go viral
    Oct 19 2026
    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law Saturday a bill that quadruples tax credits for volunteer first responders.The bill, passed unanimously by the State Senate and Assembly earlier this year, raises the annual tax credit for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers from $200 to $800. The benefit for married joint filers rose from $400 to $1,600.Joseph Ostapiuk reports in NEWSDAY that the signing delivered a legislative win for fire officials who say greater incentives are needed to stave off significant declines in the ranks of volunteer firefighters. The statewide force has declined one-third from 120,000 in the early 2000s to around 80,000, fire officials have said. While the decrease has stabilized in recent years, advocates said more has to be done to recruit young volunteers.Volunteer fire and elected officials said the tax-credit legislation will help retain firefighters and EMS members in departments on Long Island.Donald Farrell, president of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York, called the bill a "tremendous victory for New York's volunteer fire and EMS service.” Other recent bills aimed at improving volunteer recruitment and retention include legislation signed last year phasing out PFAS forever chemicals in firefighter protective equipment and extending the ability of fire department-run ambulances to recover costs of service from insurance companies through 2031.Improving incentives for volunteer first responders is needed to ensure there are enough people to respond to calls across the state, said Billy Theis, chairman of the Nassau and Suffolk Fire Districts Legislative Committee. A 2023 Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY) analysis found a statewide paid firefighter service would cost $4.7 billion annually, triggering significant property tax increases."When we get the call, somebody's in trouble," Theis said before the bill signing. "We have to have the tools, we have to have the people to be there."***A New York-based pediatric health network and an IT management company will pay $2.7 million to New York and Connecticut after a data breach that impacted hundreds of thousands of residents, New York State Attorney General Letitia James' office said Friday.Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that James and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong secured the settlement from Boston Children's Health Physicians, which has two locations in Suffolk County, Long Island - Smithtown and Miller Place - and from XTIUM, which provided network security services to Boston Children's Health Physicians {BCHP}. The companies will pay $2.1 million to New York and $540,000 to Connecticut. Besides the payout, the settlement also requires the companies to strengthen data security and for BCHP to pay additional sums to the states if it does not comply.Impacted residents will have fraud alert coverage through the settlement, a state spokesperson said."Institutions trusted with sensitive private health data have a critical responsibility to protect it from bad actors," James said in a news release. "BCHP knew its data security features were inadequate but did not fix them, exposing the information of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to hackers."In an August 2024 breach, hackers accessed 18 of XTIUM's client networks, including BCHP's, stealing records for around 825,000 New York and 62,871 Connecticut residents, the state said. The stolen information included the Social Security and driver's license numbers of more than 170,000 New York residents.***The Express News Group’s Express Sessions series returns this coming Thursday, October 22, with a conversation on deer and tick control to identify solutions to reduce ecological damage and tickborne illness.Titled “Out of Control: How the East End Can Get a Grip on Deer & Tick Populations,” Thursday’s event will run from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor over lunch.The panel will include North Haven Village Trustee Claas Abraham, East Hampton Town Councilman Tom Flight, Dr. Sandeep Gandhi of the Regional Tick-Borne Disease Center at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni and Michael Tessitore of Suffolk County Deer Management.Visit ExpressSessions102226.eventbrite.com for further info and to purchase a ticket.***At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the seemingly endless number of people critically ill or killed by the disease had cast many Long Island healthcare professionals on the front lines into emotional despair and anguish.It had become clear to the leaders of health systems across the region that many physicians, nurses and other medical staff needed to get a handle on their mental health amid a medical crisis like none they'd seen before.John Asbury reports in NEWSDAY that the burnout rate among physicians and nurses — already at the crisis stage before the pandemic began in 2020 — has continued to spike in the years ...
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    10 mins
  • Over 88,000 Long Islanders voted over the weekend

    Over 88,000 Long Islanders voted over the weekend
    Oct 27 2026
    Typical natural gas customers on Long Island can expect only a marginal increase in their winter heating bills this year, but hundreds of thousands of fuel oil users are in for sticker shock, experts said yesterday.Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that last month, National Grid, the region’s primary natural gas supplier, released a projection that its Long Island customers could see a seasonal decline of $120 in the supply/commodity portion of their bills through the November to March heating season. The catch: the delivery portion of bills is projected to rise about $125 during the same period. In all, average customers who use around 720 therms during the winter can expect a net seasonal increase of $5, National Grid said.Heating oil customers won’t be so lucky. The average price of a gallon of heating oil across Long Island last week increased from already staggering highs of more than $6 a gallon, settling in at $6.37. That’s an increase of 67% from a year ago, when customers paid $3.82 a gallon, according to a state database.For the nearly 400,000 Long Island customers who heat their homes with oil, the impact will begin to be felt this month with dropping temperatures.Industry experts say the price of home heating oil, like its diesel fuel cousin, is tied directly to the global cost of oil, which hit highs last week of more than $110 a barrel. War with Iran is a major factor but winter supply constraints could also play a role.National Grid customers saw the commodity portion of their bills decline through the summer and fall, from a high of 70.76 cents a therm in June to 44 cents in October. Average customers use around 720 therms a month.National Grid’s projection of a total $5 increase this winter, based on “current market conditions,” was that customers who use that average therm number would see total winter bills of around $1,461 for the November through March season.For heating oil customers, filling a 250-gallon tank just once (from empty) would cost $1,592.50.“People are going to be shocked,” said Michael White, vice chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, a strategic planning group for Nassau and Suffolk. “It’s going to be a real problem this winter. In the next month there are going to be thousands of people who cannot afford to fill their tank again.”***The electric vehicle chargers in Southampton Village that have sat dormant and covered in burlap may be operational again soon.Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that the Southampton Village Board voted unanimously last week to authorize Mayor Bill Manger to execute an agreement with Matcha Labs Inc., a Boston-based company that specializes in electric vehicle charging, to assume ownership and operate the chargers located throughout the village. Manger said that the contract has not been finalized yet, but the vote was taken so that the village could move forward with the agreement.Mayor Manger said that the plan is for Matcha, who also owns and operates the electric vehicle chargers in Babylon Town, to come in and use Southampton Village’s existing chargers. He noted that after representatives from Matcha came to the village to inspect the chargers, all but one of the chargers appear to be compatible with Matcha’s system. If all goes according to plan, the chargers could be flowing with electricity by the end of the year.Currently, there are chargers located at the Long Island Rail Road station, in the West Main Street parking lot and at the Jobs Lane parking lot adjacent to Agawam Park. There were originally eight chargers, though one charger at the train station was stolen. Manger said that the village could have the capabilities to carry up to 13 chargers.“All of a sudden, if there was a huge demand, we could consider adding more in other locations or to the same locations, but this was what was established thus far,” said the Southampton Village Mayor.***The Southampton Town Board is scheduled to hold public hearings at its 6 p.m. meeting this evening on use of Community Housing Funds to acquire and rehabilitate property at 34 Good Ground Road in Hampton Bays, on penalties for fishing and shellfishing offenses, on the town’s preliminary 2027 budget and on overriding the state tax levy cap with that budget. Beth Young of EAST END BEACON also reports that supporters of OLA’s Public Safety Law are expected to turn out to urge the town to adopt the law.This evening’s Southampton Town Board Regular Meeting begins at 6 p.m. in Town Hall, 116 Hampton Road, Southampton, NY 11968.The meeting can be viewed live on Sea-TV’s YouTube channel.***It’s one of the most persistent and intractable problems on the East End. No, we’re not talking about traffic or affordable housing.We’re talking about deer.Cailin Riley reports on 27east.com that this was the topic of conversation at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor last Thursday, as local politicians, a doctor and a deer management expert ...
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    10 mins
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