This Morning’s Bulletin — 6.18.14
Good Morning!
• The Shinnecock Indian Nation will receive $3.7 million and Suffolk County will receive $1.3 million from the federal government to restore wetlands, eelgrass beds and oyster marshes as part of a $102.7 million Department of the Interior program to make communities on the East Coast more resilient against storms. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the projects, which are funded through the Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant Program, on Monday. The Shinnecock Nation will use the funds to restore their eelgrass, oyster marsh and beach habitats, while Suffolk County plans to restore 400 wetland acres throughout the county.
• Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone signed Legislator Jay Schneiderman’s bill yesterday making the sale of dogs from puppy mills illegal in the county. The new law prohibits pet stores or dealers from selling pets from breeders who have received violations from the United States Department of Agriculture; requires pet stores and pet dealers to provide information on the background of a pet upon request; and requires that animals are sold in Suffolk County at or after eight weeks of age.
• Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota announced that the county’s East End DWI Task Force will again be conducting DWI and boating while intoxicated checkpoints this summer at a press conference Tuesday at the Coast Guard station at the Shinnecock Canal. Different East End law enforcement agencies are responsible for patrolling 347 square miles of land, while tens of thousands of seasonal residents and weekend visitors join year-round motorists on the roads and waters from June through September. Mr. Spota said the task force is the most cost-effective way for those law enforcement agencies to work together to deal with the menace of drunk and drugged driving.
• Sag Harbor has re-elected Robby Stein to his seat on the village Board of Trustees, and former Village Clerk Sandra Schroeder also won a seat on the board in village elections yesterday.
• Southold Town has just put its zoning maps online, in a feature that allows the public to search properties either using a visual map or by entering a tax map number. The maps are online here. Currently, the maps allow you to see the zoning, the size of the parcel, current land use, tax map number, and whether the property may have wetlands. The town’s Planning Department plans to add more layers to the map in the future which will show other land use data throughout town.
• The Suffolk County Department of Health Services and the North Fork Animal Welfare League will offer free rabies vaccinations for dogs, cats and ferrets this coming Sunday, June 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Riverhead Animal Shelter at 532 Young’s Ave. in Calverton. The clinic is open to all county residents. All dogs must be on leashes and all cats and ferrets must be in carriers.
And that’s the way things look at dawn’s light here today.
