New York State Budget To Require All High School Students To File FAFSA Application

Long Island Morning Edition

The New York State budget's aim to make college more affordable and accessible includes expanding tuition assistance and requiring all high school students to fill out the application for federal aid, known as FAFSA. Keshia Clukey reports on Newsday.com that state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul this past weekend approved a $237 billion spending plan for fiscal 2024-25 that includes requiring students or their parents to fill out the free application, or if applicable, the José Peralta New York State DREAM Act, which helps certain students, whether they are in the United States legally or not, with access to grants and scholarships.

The FAFSA form is used to determine how much federal aid a student is eligible for, but also is used to assess eligibility for state and other aid. Last year, New York college students left more than $225 million of unclaimed federal financial aid on the table by not applying for FAFSA, according to the state Higher Education Services Corporation, which administers state financial aid.

The budget also boosts financial aid for New York students, whether they attend public or private colleges and universities, through changes to the state’s Tuition Assistance Program, known as TAP. The budget both expands income eligibility and increases the minimum award to $1,000, up from $500.

“Higher education can transform New Yorkers’ lives, helping students develop the skills they need to pursue their dreams,” Governor Hochul stated yesterday. “We are taking significant steps to ensure all New York students have access to the financial support they need to continue their education and become the next generation of leaders in our state.”

***

After former Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren raised an objection, the New York State Civil Service Commission delayed a decision on whether to grant the village a waiver to allow Village Administrator Anthony Carter to collect a government paycheck and pension at the same time. Brendan J. O’Reilly reports on 27east.com that during the commission’s monthly meeting last Wednesday, state human resources specialist Frank Belleville said that the commission received correspondence the day before from the former mayor and from a village resident objecting to granting Carter a waiver. “They asserted that information presented in the application for Mr. Carter was not accurate, so what I would be prepared to do today is recommend this item be calendared, and then I would like to afford all parties — the village officials as well as the former mayor and the concerned citizen — with an opportunity to come before the commission next month to present their side of the story, essentially,” Belleville said. The commissioners unanimously agreed to “calendar” the item until they meet again on May 15. “This delay is a direct result of the concerns I raised about the financial and ethical implications of allowing Mr. Carter to collect a six-figure pension on top of his nearly $200,000 salary for a significantly diluted position,” Warren said in a statement after the commission meeting. Southampton Village Mayor Bill Manger responded to Warren’s letter with his own letter to the commission. Manger wrote that Warren’s letter is “filled with falsehoods” and attributed Warren’s motivation to a “longstanding vendetta” against the village and Carter.

***

For the first time ever, the Shelter Island Friends of Music and the Perlman Music Program (PMP) are presenting a Works In Progress chamber concert at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Featuring 21 gifted young musicians, including 14 from Israel, the event takes place this coming Thursday at 7pm.

Perlman Music Program has featured an Israel Residency for its young students since 1999. “This year, more than ever, we are focused on fulfilling our commitment to nurturing young Israeli string players by providing them with a much-needed safer space to hone their craft...” they said.

Shelter Island Friends of Music looks forward to hearing these

PMP chamber groups in our own acoustically wonderful venue.

As always, admission is free. Donations are encouraged and will be shared by SIFM and PMP.

For more information, visit ShelterIslandFriendsofMusic.org

***

A bird rare to the Northeast that found its unlikely way to Flanders, Long Island continued to spark a flurry yesterday — as scores of awestruck ornithophiles lined up near one woman's bird feeder for a glimpse of the blue beauty. Lisa Finn reports on Patch.com that Meigan Madden Rocco said on Monday, about 150 more people came from as far as Buffalo; they began lining up at about 7 a.m.

"These are the most patient people I have ever met!" she said. "Some wait for over an hour to see him. Thankfully, he always makes an appearance! It's quite stressful hoping he shows up for everyone!" But, he’s back and forth to his Yankee Whipper bird feeder all day.

The bird had been coming to her house for a few days, Rocco said. "I knew he was special, so I reached out to a friend who worked as a wildlife coordinator for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and sent her the photo. She said it looked like a Lazuli Bunting — but the location didn't make sense, since they are a species native to the West Coast and Mexico."

"After checking with her former colleagues, they confirmed it was a Lazuli Bunting," she said.

The sighting was reported to the North American Rare Bird Alert database, Rocco said. "Everyone found out that way and started sending me messages, asking permission to come view the bird," Rocco said. "Apparently, it has only been seen in New York one other time, in 1998. So our little bird is a big deal."

She laughed. "It's crazy! Our bird has paparazzi! He is so beautiful."

So far, around 550 people have traveled to view and photograph the bird. "This will be only the second known sighting of one in New York — and he chose our feeder," Rocco said. "Visitors have quite literally broken down in tears, prayed, and sent thanks up. They're very kind people."

***

State highway crews have been filling potholes in the deteriorated pavement along Middle Country Road in Calverton, but resurfacing of the roadway is not scheduled until 2027, according to a NY. State Department of Transportation spokesperson. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the condition of the pothole-ridden roadway has prompted numerous complaints to Riverhead Town officials, including Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard and Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski. Because Middle Country Road (NY-25) is a state road, there’s nothing town officials can do — other than field residents’ complaints and get in touch with the state agency to urge action. Zaleski said yesterday he’s been “all over them,” but State DOT officials “never gave us a date.” He said he understands the state has been doing drainage work along Middle Country Road in Calverton and plans to renovate the intersection at Edwards Avenue, so resurfacing would logically take place after those other projects are completed. “I’d rather hear it will be done in 2025 or 2026,” Zaleski said. “It’s nothing but a rumble strip,” he said. “It’s like a million pieces of bubble gum stuck on a board.”

***

Efforts are currently underway to create a digital archive of all 60-plus years of Dan’s Papers through Stony Brook University, which was gifted Dan Rattiner’s personal collection of newspapers and manuscripts last year. The school has already raised $80,000 for this massive and expensive undertaking, but it needs about $45,000 more to complete the work creating a permanent, searchable archive featuring more than six decades of this seminal local publication and Rattiner’s life’s work.

Oliver Peterson reports on Danspapers.com that S.B.U. has already begun the digitization process with the money raised so far, and they plan to make it all available for free and accessible to readers, students and historians both physically and digitally for generations to come.

Rattiner founded Dan’s Papers in 1960 and continues to contribute stories weekly.

***

The Best Fish Is Also the Most Local. Why Is It So Hard to Find?

Seafood caught in nearby waters has long been left out of the farm-to-table movement.

On a cold, windy February morning on Shinnecock Bay, Ricky Sea Smoke fished for clams from the back of his 24-foot boat. The fisherman, whose real name is Rick Stevens, expertly sorted through haul after haul as they were dumped onto the sorting rack.

But almost none of them are available locally.

Instead, at restaurants in nearby East Hampton, you’ll find pasta topped with Manila clams from the West Coast and shrimp cocktail with red shrimp from Argentina. At fish counters across Long Island, imported salmon fillets glisten in greater profusion than local mackerel and black sea bass.

What’s labeled Long Island seafood might come from any number of places. Seafood from big dealers like the ones at Hunts Point is notoriously hard to trace. Melissa Clark reports in THE NY TIMES that this startlingly inefficient path seems as if it should be an aberration, but it’s standard in the United States, where seafood is routinely trucked hundreds of miles to centralized dealers, changing hands four or five times before ending up at a local fish counter or restaurant, in far worse shape for the commute.

But late last year, Mr. Stevens found a workaround by sending his clams to Dock to Dish, one of a growing number of small businesses across the country — including restaurant suppliers, shops, farmers’ markets and community-supported fisheries — that are dedicated to helping fishing communities sell their catch directly to local markets.

Dock to Dish is committed to buying whatever seafood fishing boats bring in, limpets and all, then selling it directly to nearby customers, often within 24 to 48 hours.

Some 65 percent to 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported, while the country exports much of its seafood (worth about $5 billion in 2023), said Joshua Stoll, an associate professor of marine policy at the University of Maine and a founder of the Local Catch Network. Sending seafood overseas shifts a significant portion of profits away from fishing communities that desperately need it.