Daily Briefing
Government
NY PLAYS $2.4 million grant completes funding for downtown playground
An adaptive children's playground on downtown Riverhead's Peconic River waterfront can now be built as designed, after a state grant of nearly $2.4 million completed its funding, town officials said.
Weather
Wind advisory in effect ahead of coastal storm packing possible gusts up to 55 mph
A wind advisory is in effect for Long Island from 2 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Sunday, as a coastal storm Is expected to impact Long Island and New York City with wind gusts as high as 55 mph.
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Government
Riverhead audit flags failures in processing $3.57 million federal water grant
Auditors found accounting and oversight failures involving Riverhead’s $3.575 million EPA grant to extend public water to 64 Manorville homes.
Government
Audit: Riverhead’s general fund balance grows to $33.3 million as revenue outpaces spending
Fueled largely by property taxes, Riverhead added nearly $4.9 million to its general fund balance in 2025, giving officials a larger financial cushion as they prepare the next budget.
Government
Riverhead council members discuss ‘bail reform’ and cooperation with ICE
Two Riverhead Town Board members during last week’s work session called attention to state laws and policies they said negatively affect policing.Â
Crime
Riverhead police report more criminal incidents, fewer arrests in August
Riverhead police reported 197 criminal incidents in August, up from 155 a year earlier, while arrests and motor vehicle accidents declined.
Crime
Former Riverhead teacher pleads guilty to soliciting nude images from minors
Posing as a teenage boy on Snapchat, a former Riverhead High School teacher solicited nude images from underage girls and sent them explicit images of himself, prosecutors said in announcing his guilty plea Monday.
Government
Romaine’s $4.59 billion budget proposal holds county general fund tax levy steady
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine has proposed a $4.59 billion budget for 2027 that would hold the county's general fund property tax levy steady while relying on more than $2.2 billion in sales tax revenue.
Government
Riverhead awards $328K HVAC contract, advances sewer projects
Riverhead awarded a $328,000 community center HVAC contract and approved sewer financing, technology grants and records digitization.
Government
Suffolk Community College moves to purchase downtown Riverhead culinary center
The college's Board of Trustees on Thursday authorized negotiating a purchase-and-sale agreement for the roughly 30,000-square-foot culinary center it has leased on Main Street in downtown Riverhead.
Government
School board members say town politicized negotiations over SRO program
Five Riverhead school board members accused town officials Wednesday of making false statements and politicizing negotiations over funding two school resource officers assigned to the high school and middle school.
Government
Wading River Duck Ponds restoration moves into engineering phase
Riverhead and Brookhaven will split the cost of an engineering assessment of the Wading River Duck Ponds, where sediment, stormwater runoff and deteriorated infrastructure have accumulated over decades.
School board members say town politicized negotiations over SRO program
Five Riverhead school board members accused town officials Wednesday of making false statements and politicizing negotiations over funding two school resource officers assigned to the high school and middle school.
New York moves to end Regents exams as graduation gatekeeper beginning...
Beginning in 2028, New York students will no longer have to pass Regents exams to earn a high school diploma, under a change approved Monday by the State Board of Regents.
Riverhead’s top business official resigns four months after hiring
Colleen Card, hired as Riverhead's assistant superintendent for business in May, has been appointed school business administrator by the Sag Harbor Union Free School District, effective Nov. 1.
With first year behind him, Riverhead superintendent looks ahead as students...
As Riverhead students head back to school this week, Superintendent Bob Hagan says his second year begins with a deeper understanding of the district, its schools and the community.
Public meetings
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