The Connetquot school board voted 3 to 2 last night to approve a proposed settlement with the state which would allow the district to use the nickname T-Birds and related imagery, instead of the current Thunderbirds. Nicholas Grasso and Darwin Yanes report in NEWSDAY that the board members, like residents, were divided at yesterday’s meeting. The NYS Board of Regents in 2023 banned the use of Native American mascots, team names and logos in public schools. The regulation affected 13 districts on Long Island, including The Connetquot Central School District of Islip. Most of the districts have taken steps to comply with the regulation.

The deadline to make the change was the end of June, but Connetquot was granted an extension until March to comply with the regulation.

New York State Sen. Alexis Weik and Suffolk County Legis. Trish Bergin, both Connetquot graduates who represent the district, attended the meeting and called on the board to settle to prevent further spending of taxpayer dollars on litigation.

Connetquot has been fighting a state ban on Native American mascots and other imagery in public schools. The district held a public meeting last week to gather feedback from the community ahead of last night’s vote.

Board members said at last week's meeting that the district had spent nearly $50,000 on litigation against the state to continue using the Thunderbirds name and its mascot — a red, black and white eagle. Continuing the legal battle could cost another $125,000, according to board members.

As part of the agreement, the district would represent that the nickname T-Birds has "never been associated with any Indigenous imagery of any kind," according to meeting documents posted on the district’s website. The current associated images such as "an eagle, thunderbolt and/or lightning bolt," would be permissible under the deal.

School officials have said the district would need to spend about $86,000 to rebrand to the T-Birds. To be in full compliance with the state’s mascot ban, which means a new name, logo and imagery, the district estimates a price tag of about $323,000.

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The state’s court will hear arguments next Monday September 8, in a case that could change the timing and dynamics of local elections — county executive, town board, county board — across New York State. Yancey Roy reports in NEWSDAY that the NYS Court of Appeals will weigh the constitutionality of a law that would move local elections in New York to even-numbered years to align them with state and federal contests.

In short, New Yorkers would no longer have some sort of election every single year. Instead, New Yorkers would vote for town board or county executive in either a gubernatorial or presidential election year. Democrats say the law would lead to better turnouts and less cost to counties. Republicans contend it violates the state constitutional guarantees for "home rule" and would lead to local races being ignored.

The Democratic-dominated State Assembly and Senate passed the legislation in 2023; Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law that December.

The new law applies to every county outside of New York City and would phase in even-year elections over a few years.

According to a recent National Conference of State Legislatures report, 24 states forbid even-year elections for municipalities, seven mandate it and 19 let counties decide. Of those 19, six hold most local elections in even years.

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ReWild Long Island’s Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Change wrapped up its most successful season yet on the South Fork, with more than 30 student interns, youth organizers, and local volunteers contributing over 1,000 hours of community and environmental service at more than a dozen sites. Now in its third year, the program has grown significantly from a 2023 pilot with just nine students from East...