Denise Civiletti

Column: "It’s summertime on Long Island. It’s hot and humid and there are too many annoying mosquitos. It's been this way for as long as I can remember. Is this something to worry about now?"

Today, Justice Thomas said the quiet part out loud. The reasoning of the Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade can be applied to the right of same sex couples to marry, or have private consensual sex, or even the right to buy contraceptives. They are rooted in a legal doctrine Thomas said is “demonstrably erroneous” and the Court has a duty to “correct” them.

Opinion: No, gun control laws won’t prevent all gun violence. And yes, every mass shooter is by definition mentally ill. But focusing on one of these to the exclusion of the other is as effective as “thoughts and prayers” are for healing the hearts of grieving parents, siblings and other family members of the 19 little children and their teachers whose bodies were shredded by hundreds of rounds of bullets in a Texas classroom this week. It does next to nothing. And that's exactly what the gun lobby wants.

COVID isn’t done with us yet, and try as we might, we can’t just wish it away. Follow CDC guidelines for masks & social distancing. Take a home rapid test before gathering with friends and family. Please be careful.

If you have an emotional attachment to the big, decrepit, vacant buildings on Main Street, you may not want to read on. You’re not going to like what I have to say.

Evasion, double-talk, stonewalling and spin. That's all we got this week in response to direct questions which the public has the right to get answered.

The number of new daily COVID infections in New York is four times what it was a year ago, before the second wave last fall/winter killed more than 10,500 New Yorkers. The delta strain of the coronavirus, now responsible for 83% of all infections, is much more contagious than last year's virus. And more than 8.5 million New Yorkers remain unvaccinated.

The tragedy that befell Michael Hubbard 10 years ago today did not have to happen. With at least two dozen burn injuries and one death before May 28, 2011, the product that ended Michael Hubbard's life should not have been on store shelves that spring.

Behind this door is "another dimension — a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's a signpost up ahead. Your next stop: the Twilight Zone.” Welcome to Riverhead Town Hall.

Celebrating our beautiful planet on Earth Day, 2021.