Accessory Apartments

I have what's known as an accessory apartment in my house in Huntington, one of the few, but much-contested, ways of increasing the number of apartments available on Long Island. And, while the whole process is annoying, the women in the inspection office are unfailingly helpful and polite. And I love inspector Nucci. :)

South Huntington Scholarship FundRaisers

A South Huntington schools clothing drive raised $2,500 for scholarships, with 18,880 pounds of clothes donated. Congrats to Lynn Judd and all her helpers.

The PTA Council is also selling giftcards for the holidays, also as a scholarship funder. Order forms are available on the PTA section of the disrtic's web site, www.shufsd.org, or at the main office of the high school.

Hall of Fame

The South Huntington Hall of Fame is looking for nominees. Candidates must:
have graduated at least 10 years ago
have graduated from South Huntington or Walt Whitman High School
have attended high school in South Huntington for at least 2 years
be worthy of permanent recognitionin any field or endeavor

Nominations will be accepted until March 1.
Forms are available at www.shufsd.org, and questions can be sent to : halloffame@shufsd.org

Clinton at the Book Revue

Him, not her.

Bill Clinton is coming to Huntington:

At the Book Revue

Sunday, December 2nd, 2:30pm

Former President Bill Clinton will be signing his new book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change The World at Book Revue on Sunday, December 2nd, beginning at 2:30pm.


Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World is an inspiring look at how individual endeavors can save lives and solve problems, and it offers compelling examples of citizen activism at work in the world today. A portion of President Clinton's proceeds from the book will be donated to charities and nonprofits that are doing their part to change the world.

PLEASE NOTE:

President Clinton will sign one copy of Giving per person. He will not have time to sign any other books, memorabilia, etc.

Bags and other personal items will not be permitted in Book Revue during the event.

This includes, but is not limited to, cameras, pens, photos, other books, gifts, phones, etc.

Please leave these items at home or in your car.

Important details regarding the organization of the event will be posted on our website, www.bookrevue.com, later today.

For further clarification, call Book Revue at 631-271-1442.

Walk Off The Holiday

walk for family, fun and fitness at the Huntington YMCA on Friday, November 23rd!
National Family Week Walk
Join the Huntington YMCA's final event of National Family Week 2007. A post Thanksgiving healthy walk. Not just for members - bring your family, friends and neighbors! Meet at the Camp Pavilion at 11:30 on Friday, November 23rd. Walk at your own pace, open to all ages and fitness levels.

Puberty's Early Onset

An Ithaca College professor has written a disturbing report about the early onset of puberty in girls. Not only is it arriving earlier in many girls; puberty is being extended.

As if growing up weren't hard enough, a new report published by San Francisco's Breast Cancer Fund says girls, particularly African American girls, are hitting puberty earlier — and it's lasting longer.

Environmental toxins, obesity, and psychological stressors are all cited as possible reasons for the trend in the report written by Ithaca College profesSsor Sandra Steingraber. It was commissioned about a year ago to put together what she calls "pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle."

YouTube Takes On Bullying

I found this on the BBC site; I don't know how it might work in the U.S.

YouTube tackles bullying online

The government is taking a 'zero tolerance' approach to bullying
The first online anti-bullying channel has been launched to encourage young people to denounce the intimidation.

YouTube has set up a site where youngsters can post their own videos and messages.

It follows growing concern about the increase in persecution by e-mail, mobile phone and on social networking sites, known as cyberbullying.

The scheme is being launched at the start of anti-bullying week and is run jointly with charity Beatbullying.

The Beatbullying YouTube channel aims to revolutionise how young people access information on how to avoid being bullied and importantly on how to avoid being the person who does the intimidating.

It is the first anti-bullying partner channel on YouTube and aims to enable young people to post their own messages and videos as part of a wider campaign to stamp out the abuse.

Grades Are Out

Ah, report card arrived. Did reasonably well under regular circumstances but especially given the horrendous schedule we unintentionally created. Better next quarter but there are some excellent to good grades here, so the beating* won't commence any time soon. She's trying out for some winter sports but the schedule won't be nearly as bas as with soccer.

*I'm joking!

Meningitis in South Huntington

Huntington Station child may have bacterial meningitis
BY DEBORAH S. MORRIS | deborah.morris@newsday.com
Parents and guardians of students in the South Huntington School District were notified by letter yesterday (Thursday) that a student at Stimson Middle School in Huntington Station has been hospitalized with a suspected case of bacterial meningitis, school officials said.

The letter also said the infected student has siblings in Walt Whitman High School and Birchwood Intermediate School. The district also alerted parents and guardians of students who were absent from school yesterday through an automated phone system that leaves a message.

Read the letter. Note, it's a pdf.

Democrats and the Environment

Three Democratic presidential candidates, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, are going to be discussing environmental issues at 5 p.m. Eastern today.
I tried the video link a little while ago but it wasn't working but if it's up and running later, you'll be able to see it at Going Green

I wonder where Mr. Interior, Bill Richardson, is? And Obama?

Grist also has a breakdown on where the candidates, Democratic and Republican, stand on environmental issues.

Caroline Kennedy at the Book Revue

Caroline Kennedy will sign copies of her new book, A Family Christmas, at the Book Revue on Saturday, December 8th, beginning at 6pm.

Kennedy shares some of her favorite Christmas poetry, prose, lyrics and scripture, drawing on a variety of authors including Harper Lee, Billy Collins, Charles Dickens, John and Yoko, and Martin Luther King Jr. Also included is her own childhood Christmas wish list, and a letter from John F. Kennedy to a child concerned about the well-being of Santa Claus.

Please note: this event is a SIGNING only.

Caroline Kennedy will only have time to sign her new book.

Schools and Education

From TED (Technology,Entertainment,Design), Sir Ken Robinson talks about education and creativity.

See a Pumpkin, Throw a Pumpkin

But bring your own trebuchet.

Pumpkin Flinging Contest
Pumpkin Fling was postponed from October 27 due to inclement weather. It will be held on Saturday, November 17, starting at 11:00 a.m. This is Cornell Cooperative Extension’s fifth annual Pumpkin Fling! Community groups from all over Suffolk County are invited to participate. The catapults (trebuchets) may be entered in either adult or youth categories. Sizes and designs range from a simple rocking mechanism to full-scale trebuchets with dumbbell weights or sand for counter-weights. They must be designed to be able to launch 3-5 pound pumpkins.

The public is invited to attend to cheer competitors on. The Suffolk County Farm in Yaphank is open year-round, at no charge. Call 631-852-4600 or go to www.cce.cornell.edu for an entry form, safety guidelines, and official competition rules.

Huntington Y Needs Food Donations

From the Y:

Dear Friend of the Y,

The Thanksgiving Food Drive will continue until Friday, November 16th. We really need your help! Please help us to provide disadvantaged families in our community with a plentiful Thanksgiving.

Bring non-perishable food items (from the list below)to either the Rauch Family Center lobby, the Nursery School lobby or the Blauman HEC lobby.

If you would like to volunteer to pack, deliver or both, please contact Diane Cowitt at 421-4242 ext.113.

Thank you for helping us build strong kids, strong families and strong communities.
Items Needed
16oz. Carolina Rice
10oz can tomato soup
10oz can vegtable soup
1 lb can cranberry sauce
1lb can coffee
16oz can greenbeans
16oz can of peas
16oz can corn
40oz can sweet potatoes
16oz can of peaches
16oz can of applesauce
turkey gravey
stuffing
5lb bag of flour
medium jar of grape jelly
macroni & cheese box

Taking On Bullying

This mom has been writing about bullying issues for a while now. Looks like she and her husband have had it. Watch for more.

Action at the Book Revue

Wow, I guess I missed all the fun at the Book Revue last night. Looks to me as if some people think the Suffolk Police Department can be summoned and misled, at the expense of peaceful assembly. Maybe the creeps who caused this problem shouldn't be invited back?

Huntington Y Events

Family Bingo, Family Swim or a Healthy Family Walk!


Groups across the nation will host National Family celebrations to honor the children and families in their communities. Here at the Huntington YMCA, those events include Family Bingo Night at 7pm on the 16th(sign up at the member services desk in the HEC Building,) Family Swim at either 1:15 or 2:30 on the 17th (this event requires a free ticket which will be given out on the 17th at the Rauch Lobby desk starting at 1:00pm) and a Family Healthy Walk on Friday, November 23rd at 11:30(leaves from the Camp Pavilion.)

All of these events are open to members as well as the general public and are free! Bring your family, relatives and friends.

Tough Penalties for Teens

Methodist Fund-Raiser a Success

Several Methodist churches raised funds for Habitat for Humanity last week.
From the Rev. Chuck Van Houten at Centerport UMC:

This past Sunday was our Building on Faith United Methodist Choir Concert to raise funds for the Habitat for Humanity project. And what a concert it was. We had the joy of hearing eleven choirs from around the Long Island East District of The United Methodist Church perform. The diversity and fellowship of seeing and hearing these different choirs was quite an amazing experience. Let me say as one of the participants, I was truly amazed and humbled. And the experience of hearing all the choirs sing a final piece together arranged and conducted by our own David Bishop was awesome. It was truly a great day. You should also know that our choir shined in their performance and that our Cherub Choir, singing, "You Don't Need A Phone To Call Jesus" was the hit of the afternoon. Congratulations to our Choir and our Cherubs. You Rock!

The good news is that not only was it an amazing experience for all involved, but we also raised over $4,000.00 for the Habitat project. We should all feel great about that! Hats off to Ethel Abbott, Joanne Utley, Linda Avallone, Margaret Burr, the entire Habitat team, members of our Youth Group and the District Youth Council, as well as our Choir and their fearless leader, David Bishop for making the day such a great success.

Guy Gets Away

We just had a little excitement here. Since the plates were stolen off my neighbor's car two weeks ago while it was parked in front of my house, I'm trying to keep half an eye of the street. About 11 tonight, I heard a metallic bang right near the car that had lost its plates, stood up and peered out the window just in time to see someone duck down behind the car. So I called the cops; within a few minutes, two cruisers, followed by an unmarked car carrying plainclothes cops, showed up. Do we get police attention or what?

Meantime, the guy had run off--I saw him dash away across Park before the cops came but after my watchdog(!) barked. Nothing came of it but maybe we've scared some people away. She's now forgiven for having chewed to pieces the cord needed to operate the steam iron and having caused the circuit breaker to pop when I flipped the switch, not knowing what she'd done. Dog is a whole series of postings all by herself.

Book Swap

The folks at Paperbackswap.com are going to be expanding their offerings to include DVDs, possibly by the end of the year. This is a wonderful site for readers who don't want to spend a fortune. Check it out. There's a little more information here on how it works.

A Moment of Calm

Finally, an almost-peaceful weekend--soccer is over, marching band ended at the football game (go, Whitman!) and we have a couple of weeks of relative calm. Now the private flute teacher starts showing up, along with the algebra tutor who is helping us make the conversion from last year's curriculum in another school system to this year's--there are some gaps but nothing horrible.

2nd Annual Restaurant Week

Long Island Restaurant Week Begins Sunday
The Second Annual Long Island Restaurant Week begins tomorrow, Sunday, November 4th and runs through Sunday, November 11th. If there's a restaurant you're dying to try this is the time to do it. Visit a participating restaurant and get a three-course prix fixe dinner for $21.95 all night, except Saturday when it will be offered only until 7 p.m.