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Thursday, April 10, 2025 ~ Volume 137 ~ Issue Number 21 ~ $1.00
Romaine Delivers 2025 State of the County Address By Matt Meduri
Executive Romaine delivers the 2025 State of the County Address in Riverhead on Tuesday (Credit - Matt Meduri)
Pursuant to the Suffolk County Charter, the County Executive must deliver a State of the County Address in front of the Suffolk County Legislature to update the Legislators on progress made and progress to be made. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) delivered the 2025 State of the County Address at 2:00 in Riverhead on Tuesday afternoon. Romaine, a former County Legislator himself who served two stints on the horseshoe, one in the 1980s and one in the mid-2000s, reflected fondly on his time there. “When you’re a legislator, you’re the only voice the communities you represent have in government,” Romaine said to the horseshoe. “Yes, there’s a county executive, but you’re their voice, and I always want to listen to all eighteen.” After fifteen months serving in Suffolk’s top post, Romaine feels confident and “blessed” in the partnership the Legislature has provided him, each other, and Suffolk residents. “In the fifteen months here, how many vetoes have I issued of your resolutions?” Romaine asked. “None, because you are all doing a great job in representing your communities and forming a partnership with me,” he added, lamenting the lack of such partnership in Albany and Washington. “The state of the county is good,” said Romaine to applause.
Celebrate St. James’ Board Sworn In Big Plans for Calderone Theatre
The Board of Celebrate St. James, Councilwoman Nowick (far right), and County Clerk Puleo (far left) (Credit - Matt Meduri)
FULL STORIES ON: FULL STORIES ON:
Hauppauge Eagles Soar in Baseball Opener Page 12
Horizons to Host Free Mental Health Clinic Page 17
Legal Insights from Futterman Lanza, LLP Page 23
Continued on page 4
By Matt Meduri
The hamlet of St. James is known for its quaint, small-town, main street-oriented personality, complemented by local businesses and regular pedestrian patronage that compose the backbone of a classic downtown. But a somewhat unsuspecting detail of the hamlet lies in its history and de facto origin as a modern community. While the Hamptons are seen as the getaway of many in New York City, at the turn of the century, St. James was a Hamptons-esque enclave of New York’s then-bustling vaudeville scene. Many thespians, such as Mae West, Fanny Brice, and Lillian Russell, summered in St. James to escape the city life and near-constant touring, but they also constructed several theatres to keep the art alive in their off-time. The Calderone Theatre on Second Street is a product of the vaudeville heyday. Reminiscent also of New York’s numerical, grid-like infrastructure, St. James is laid out in a similar fashion, demonstrating the New York City state of mind at the time. The Calderone Theatre had its run as a playhouse and later a movie theatre. But as vaudeville mostly died - with television being the box in which it was buried - the future of the theatre remained in question for decades. Continued on page 12