Headlines From Around the Island

Some the news from around Long Island this week.

Tales of Wartime Love at the Airpower Museum

In addition to vintage planes, there was love in the air at Farmingdale's American Airpower Museum this Valentine's Day.

Ten couples, made up of vets from World War II, Vietnam, Korea and Iraq, renewed their vows at the museum as part of Supervisor Kate Murray's "GI Love Stories" event. Rockville Centre's Mormile Florist provided flowers for the ceremony and Bellmore's A Taste of Home donated a custom cake for each couple.

LIPA to Plant New Trees in Malverne After 'Aggresssive' Trimming

The leaves aren't the only thing missing off of trees around Malverne and West Hempstead right now. Many have lost their limbs, some at the hands of Long Island Power Authority workers, as the company takes an "aggressive" approach to trimming the trees in the area, says Paul Jessup, superintendent of Malverne's Department of Public Works. Utility companies could be hit with hefty penalities if one of their transmission lines is brought down by a branch, say during a storm, because they have failed to maintain the minimum clearance levels.  Jessup told the village board that LIPA's "aggressive" trimming efforts have "destroyed" the trees on Ackley Court, but he's been in talks with the company to resolve the issue.

Mark Gross, a spokesman for LIPA, said that upon the request of Malverne DPW, LIPA had returned to trim the trees some more in an attempt to fix their awkward shape but that plan didn't work. Therefore, they have now agreed to cover the cost of replacing the pine-oak trees on Ackley with a more "wire-friendly" species that typical won't grow as tall and has thinner branches.

New Hyde Park Engineer Honored

A Con Edison engineer from New Hyde Park has won national honors for her research to improve the transmission of high-voltage electricity.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) named Anna Fu a winner of its Technology Transfer Award.

Fu, a senior engineer in Transmission Planning, evaluated the potential impact of fault current limiters, working on her project with experts from EPRI, a national energy research organization. These devices reduce fault currents when a short circuit occurs, helping to maintain reliable service while deferring more expensive upgrades. While not yet commercially available, the behavior of these devices needs to be evaluated in advance to ensure their best possible design and implementation.

East Rockaway School Board Rejects Princeton Plan

There will be no Princeton Plan in East Rockaway. That news, revealed almost one hour into Wednesday night’s board of education meeting, elicited a collective exhale from residents in the jam-packed auditorium. However, the board stressed that, while many in attendance heard what they wanted, the rejection of the plan should not be treated as good news for the district.

The budget, hampered by the state’s new tax levy limit, would not be able to support Superintendent Dr. Roseanne Melucci’s “instructional vision” of the plan. Because of this, Melucci declined to issue a recommendation, effectively ending the discussion for September of 2012. The plan would have reorganized the district’s elementary schools by grade level, not geographic location.

Long Beach Fire Department Gets Federal Funds

The Long Beach Fire Department has received $54,000 in federal funding to purchase new emergency care equipment for ambulances.

The LBFD applied for the funds last year and the money was allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, according to the offices of U.S. Rep. Peter King and U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.