Here are a few stories from around Long Island that you may have missed this week.

Donations Help Pediatric Patients Celebrate Giants Win

Several young New York Giants fans undergoing treatment at Winthrop-University Hospital were treated to a bevy of gifts Monday following Big Blue’s victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

A series of bags filled with Giants memorabilia including   pennants, cups, caps, t-shirts, pennants, cups, foam fingers and Giant’s toy dolls were brought to Winthrop’s Children’s Medical Center by members of Stop & Shop – one of the team’s sponsors – in an effort to cheer up the children who are undergoing care at the hospital.

East Meadow Board Hires Lunch Consultant

As all New York State school districts prepare to go out to bid for school lunch programs,  the East Meadow School Board has enlisted a consultant to guide the district through the process.

The Board of Education approved a motion to hire HNB Consultants, for $9,000 to assist the district with requirements relative to school lunches, specifically in regards to vendors who will be bidding.

'Devastating' End to Plainview Wrestling Season

Plainview JFK wrestler Andrew Haft described the experience as “devastating.”

“This is the tournament the team trains for the entire year,” said Haft, the captain of the Hawks’ wrestling team, which was not permitted to compete in Saturdays’ Nassau County Qualifying Tournament because of a computer registration mistake.

“The reason I want my voice to be heard is because I never want this to happen again to future wrestlers,” said Haft, a senior and multiple varsity athlete. “This was an embarrassment to our school and to the entire Plainview community."

Plainview Schools Superintendent Gerard W. Dempsey agrees and has asked his staff to investigate what went wrong and to prevent it from happening again.

Dempsey said the mistake occurred when Plainview’s coaching staff failed to enter computer records associated with the various wrestlers. The data, which determines the seeding for the competitors – an electronic method for determining who wrestles whom – was due Thursday. Plainview missed the deadline.

Long Beach City Council Declares Fiscal Emergency

Calls for a criminal investigation into the prior administration’s financial reports surrounded the Long Beach City Council’s unanimous vote to pass a resolution officially declaring a fiscal emergency at Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall.

An independent auditor, Scott Oling, a partner at the accounting firm O'Connor Davies Munns & Dobbins that was hired by the prior Republican administration, first briefed the council on the fiscal budget ending on June 30, 2011, in which he highlighted overspending in various departments, primarily the police and fire departments, and underfunding in the water fund and sewer fund, among others. Along with subsequent borrowing, Oling said, these practices contributed to depletion in the reserve fund from $7.4 million in 2008 to $107,000 on June 30, 2011.

Lynbrook Awarded $100,000 for Improvements

Nassau County has awarded a $100,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the Village of Lynbrook for downtown streetscape improvements. 

The village will build upon previously completed work by installing street lights and decorative paving on Hempstead Avenue and Alexander Avenue in the village’s downtown, according to a press release.

An additional $40,000 has been allocated to the village to assist low income residents with residential weatherization improvements.