Guest Column
Guest Column
A first responder’s response: Riverhead officials twisted my words for political gain
A retired FDNY firefighter who lost 12 members of his firehouse on 9/11 shares his perspective on a Riverhead Town Hall clash and calls for ethical local leadership.
Guest Column
Laura Jens-Smith: Waski’s post about Kevin Shea crossed a line
Laura Jens-Smith argues that Council Member Joann Waski’s Facebook post about Kevin Shea’s July 21 Town Board remarks omitted his immediate correction and turned a verbal mistake into a partisan attack.
Guest Column
Reassessment 101: Poison or prescription
By law, all real property in a town must be assessed at a uniform percent of value — but in Riverhead, that figure has fallen to 7.73% of market value, 46 years after the last town-wide update.
Guest Column
Nick LaLota knows better on election integrity, yet still promotes the big lie
Rep. Nick LaLota knows the safeguards built into our election system, yet campaigns on fixing a system that's not broken.
Guest Column
Exemption 101: What real property is taxable and what is exempt in Riverhead
Riverhead assessor Laverne Tennenberg explains how property tax exemptions work. About 25% of the property value in the Town of Riverhead is exempt from taxation, shifting the tax burden onto all remaining taxable properties.
Guest Column
Assessment 101: The facts behind the United Riverhead Terminal settlement
Even though it is still summer vacation and school is out, perhaps it is time for a lesson in Assessment 101.
Guest Column
In America, there is no ‘law enforcement’ without due process
ICE is not engaging in "law enforcement." It is terrorizing communities.
Guest Column
This discussion is urgent: Open letter to Supervisor Halpin from OLA executive director Minerva Perez
Supervisor Jerry Halpin in a meeting "made it clear" he has "no intention of discussing the Public Safety Law further," OLA's Minerva Perez writes. OLA still seeks a public discussion with the full Town Board.
Guest Column
Accountability matters
Leadership requires more than holding office — it requires honesty, integrity, and the willingness to take responsibility when words or actions cause harm.
Guest Column
If this is a farm, what isn’t?
A proposed Calverton cannabis facility raises a larger question: How far can government stretch the meaning of “farm”? Guest column.
