The Weekly Roundup

Town Board wrap-up: The new code is intended to protect neighborhood character and preserve property values, according to the legislation unanimously approved by the Riverhead Town Board on Tuesday.

A rapidly spreading fire destroyed a barn in Jamesport last night. The barn was fully engulfed upon firefighters' arrival and its roof collapsed within moments, Jamesport Fire Chief Duffy Griffiths said.

Main Road in Aquebogue is closed to traffic this morning between Colonial Drive and Church Lane due to an early morning crash that snapped a utility pole.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and the Riverhead Town Police Department are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a man they say stole a GOTRAX scooter from the Riverhead Target on Route 58 last month.

A site plan for a drive-in restaurant the developer hopes will be leased to a Sonic franchise gained final approval from the Riverhead Planning Board Thursday. It was among four site plans given final approval by the board at its meeting.

Jason Langhorn, 40, an associate of the Riverhead-based “Red Stone Gorilla” subset of the Bloods gang, was one of three shooters in the November 2015 mistaken-identity murder of a man in parked car in Riverside.

Peconic Bay Medical Center's emergency department will handle about 38,000 visits this year, including a growing number of critical care cases, such as strokes, heart attacks and trauma. The expansion, which will cost about $20 million, will focus on critical care.

The Town Board last night voted to transfer $194,100 from the general fund to the highway fund to cover some of the cost of the highway department’s expenses associated with the pickup.

The Town Board voted 3-2 last night to approve a 2023 operating budget that pierces the tax levy cap and raises the tax rate by more than 4%. Supervisor Yvette Aguiar voted no, citing amendments to her tentative budget proposed by council members — all but one of which she voted to approve at the board’s Nov. 1 meeting. 

The millions of highway fund revenues spent on leaf pickup over the past decades could have purchased new plow trucks, paved roads, built desperately needed sidewalks, improved crosswalks, and provided more highway crew members to do the crucial jobs they do that keep our town functioning. Yet the Town Board insists on raiding the highway department's budget.