Thursday, March 13, 2025 ~ Volume 70 ~ Issue Number 15 ~ $1.00
Contained: Fire Crews Halt Eastern Brush Fires
By Matt Meduri
Smoke seen in Manorville on Saturday (Credit - Office of Suffolk County Executive Romaine)
Suffolk County received a rare, yet potentially disastrous, development over the weekend: brush fires in southern Brookhaven and Southampton towns that sent smoke high enough in the air to be seen from across the Long Island Sound. The fires scorched hundreds of acres in the Pine Barrens, shut down service on Sunrise Highway east of the Moriches, and became especially serious on Saturday night when the flames jumped Old Riverhead Road (County Route 31) near Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. By Sunday afternoon, the fires had been mostly contained while fire and rescue monitored active hot spots that were somewhat contained mostly due to vegetation-scarce barriers formed by roadways. Continued on page 4
Forge River Sewer Treatment Plant Completed By Matt Meduri After years of planning, construction, and preparation, the Forge River Treatment Plant is now complete and online. The completion of the plant comes just six years after a 2019 referendum in which Mastic and Shirley residents voted overwhelmingly - a 414-71 vote - to create a sewer district to serve the area. The Forge River Wastewater Treatment Plant began three years thereafter, which has long been seen as the basis for revitalization and water quality mitigation in the area. Continued on page 10
Legislator Jim Mazzarella (R-Moriches) (Credit - Matt Meduri)
FULL FULLSTORIES STORIESON: ON:
ISP Announces Avelo as New Carrier Page 8
Community Spotlight: Sam Faber Page 22
Giglio: ‘Invest in Us’ Page 23