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The Long Island Dailywith Michael Mackey Author: WLIW-FM
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Vigils for Justice to be held tonight at 6pm
Friday, 27 February, 2026
School districts across New York State and Long Island could see some relief in the state budget as legislative leaders discuss ways to help schools that are struggling to make the transition to emission-free buses by a 2035 deadline. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that State lawmakers in 2022 passed a law requiring new buses sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2027 and all buses on the road to be zero-emission by 2035 in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change. Zero-emission buses can include battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses. Much has since changed since then, with rising costs from federal tariffs, delays to some of the state’s clean energy projects by the Trump Administration and cuts to federal aid promised under the Biden Administration that would have helped pay for buses and charging stations."We have to deal in the reality," Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, told Newsday. "We’re flexible because we understand the world has changed with this administration." "We’re talking about how to manage this, yes," Hochul said, when asked if help for districts would be discussed as she and state legislative leaders negotiate the state’s $260 billion budget. The budget is due by April 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year.The discussion comes after Hochul last year delayed a state mandate requiring new buildings to be "all-electric." She is now reportedly eyeing changes to the state’s climate law, citing the need for affordability.And all 213 legislative seats and the governor’s seat are up for election in November, increasing political pressure to deliver for constituents. Lawmakers could also opt to do nothing on controversial items, saving them for a nonelection year.School leaders and education advocates say funding would help with the cost of buses and charging infrastructure. But for some districts, money won’t fix the problem as they face a slew of different challenges including concerns over battery life on long routes and power grid capacity. Education leaders and advocates say lawmakers should push back the 2035 deadline or rethink the mandate."We’re not at a point right now where that’s realistic or possible for way too many districts," Brian Fessler, chief advocacy officer for the New York State School Boards Association said. "Districts are hoping something is going to be done because they can’t move forward."Environmental advocates say the state should stay the course."We really need to move forward on this policy to make sure that kids and bus drivers and communities are safe and healthy getting to school," Liz Moran, New York policy advocate for Earthjustice, told Newsday. Exposure to toxic diesel bus fumes can lead to a host of health problems including childhood asthma, she said.***Riverhead Town officials are sounding the alarm about an email phishing scam targeting local residents. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that scammers are emailing residents who’ve had some interaction with the town planning or zoning board, bogusly copying official Riverhead Town correspondence, and advising recipients that they must wire funds to the sender to cover fees associated with their application. The fake documents bear the Town of Riverhead’s official seal and are accompanied by an email message that purports to be from a town official. Scammers appear to be targeting individuals who have pending applications before the planning or zoning board, perhaps scraping information that appears on board agendas and application documents posted on the town’s website, officials said. At least one individual received an email message purporting to be from Zoning Board of Appeals Chairperson Otto Wittmeier, with attachments including an invoice for $4,000 and an “itemized breakdown of application approval fee,” detailing the services for which the fees are being charged. The Town of Riverhead does not use wire transfers to collect fees of any kind from applicants, Riverhead Senior Planner Matt Charters said during a Town Board works session discussion yesterday. “We’re never going to ask you for a wire transfer for anything like that,” Charters said. “If you get a suspicious email for a planning department application, always call [the planning department],” Charters said. The department’s number is 631-727-3200 ext. 240, he said. Always carefully check sender's email address: townofriverheadny.gov is the town's only legit email.Similar scams are also being reported in the Town of Southold. ***A Southampton resident and ironworker attended the 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday night as a personal guest of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. Dan Stark reports on 27east.com that Aleshandra Fernandes is a member of the Local 361 ironworkers' union, which represents ironworks from New York City to Montauk. She has worked on the South Fork Wind project led by Ørsted, where she spent weeks at sea working on the turbines.Fernandes grew up in Southampton where her father was a contractor, and she would spend time on job sites with him. Years later, while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, she took a renewed interest in construction and ironworking.In a press release, Schumer…the senate minority leader…called out President Trump for his administration's attacks on offshore wind projects.“Dedicated union workers like Aleshandra have been faced with extreme job uncertainty as Trump has ramped up his attacks on offshore wind projects,” he wrote. “His repeated attempts to halt fully permitted, under-construction offshore wind projects risks permanent harm, including increasing electricity costs for families, job elimination, and weakened electric grid reliability in New York and across the country.”***Vigils for Justice in the wake of ICE raids conducted without warrants will be held this evening at 6 p.m. at East Hampton Town Hall, Sag Harbor, Quogue, and Westhampton Beach Village Halls, Southampton, East Hampton and Riverhead Town Halls, the Shelter Island Legion Hall and Greenport’s Mitchell Park. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that an ICE Out protest party with community, coffee, donuts and a march will be held tomorrow at Riverhead Town Hall from Noon to 2 p.m.Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democrats in the state Legislature agree that they want to limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to partner with local law enforcement.The question is how far the state will go to achieve that goal.Steve Hughes reports in NEWSDAY that Governor Hochul has proposed a three-year ban on local cooperation agreements with ICE, while the legislature is advancing a bill that would permanently bar the agreements. And on the periphery is a third bill, NY For All, that would offer even more protections for undocumented immigrants.While they might not agree on the details, it’s clear that Democrats who control both legislative houses in Albany are poised to act this year on an issue that has exploded since President Donald Trump ordered a crackdown on immigrants. Hochul has latched on to immigration as a useful cudgel in the governor's race against her Republican opponent, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.Nassau County is one of nine counties in the state with a cooperation agreement with ICE, and Blakeman has been largely supportive of the search for immigrants who have committed crimes after entering and / or remaining in the U.S. illegally. ***Jeremy Allen, the East Quogue man who was convicted last month of first-degree murder for the 2024 hacking death of a “friend” in his backyard, has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. As reported on 27east.com, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei issued the life sentence in a Riverside courtroom yesterday.Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney applauded the state’s harshest sentence being rendered for the conviction of its most serious, and relatively rarely applied, criminal charge.“Christopher Hahn deserved better than to have his life violently taken by someone he once trusted,” Tierney said of the Hampton Bays man who Allen beat with a baseball bat repeatedly over several hours and left to die on his home’s deck in September 2024. “For torture such as occurred here, a life sentence without parole is the only appropriate sentence,” stated the D.A.Allen and Hahn, 43, had been friends since high school and had spent the day of September 28, 2024, drinking at local watering holes before returning to Allen’s house on Oakville Avenue in East Quogue shortly before midnight.At trial in January prosecutors used security camera footage from Allen’s house to illustrate the case to the jury the depravity of Allen’s assault on Hahn.After completing his hours long killing, Allen called a handyman he knew to come clean the house, which had been splattered with blood by the initial beating. Upon arrival at the bloody scene, the handyman fled and called police, who arrested Allen at his home.***The Village of Greenport announced yesterday that it has been awarded a $25,000 grant from New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation to involve the community in its plan to expand Greenport’s historic district on New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that if successful, the nomination would expand the boundaries of Greenport’s historic district, which now contains around 290 buildings, by about 225 buildings, at the state and national level, according to Greenport Village.Properties listed on the State and National
