A Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family and especially

to our servicemen and servicewomen who can't be home this year.

Bishop in Lead as Ballot Counting Ends

Congressman Tim Bishop (D) has opened a 235 vote lead over Randy Altschuler(R) as the ballot counting came to an end on Tuesday 11/23.  Both contenders will have to meet in Suffolk Supreme Court on Tuesday 11/30 for a final determination of 2000 contested ballots.  Perhaps the battle for Congressional Representative for CD-1 will come to an end on Tuesday.

Alessi Concedes To Losquadro
Incumbent NY State Assemblyman Marc Alessi (D) has conceded to Dan Losquadro (R) whose lead had climbed to over 900 votes in final counting.  Losquadro, a Conservative/Republican was strongly backed by conservative groups including the influential Suffolk County 9-12 Project headed by Bob Meyer.

Stipend...What is it?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a stipend as: 'A fixed sum of money paid periodically for services or to defray expenses.'

Now that little word, stipend, has stirred up a hornet's nest in Riverhead when it was revealed that there is over $100,000 in stipends included in the budget including a $7,000 stipend for the Supervisor.  Layoffs of 6 full time and 7 part time Town employees  made quite a few residents unhappy and the issue of stipends is adding fuel to the fire.

Apparently the issuance of stipends to Town, municipal or Community employees is a traditional practice and certainly not new.  Indeed some  Town contracts include stipends in their makeup.  No telling where this is going. Stay tuned.

Library Shuts Down as Precaution

The Riverhead Public Library has shut it's doors temporarily after discovering that bed bugs may have been found in the facility.  Following inspection and treatment of the premises, the Director is confident that the building will be reopened for patrons on Friday Nov 26.