_______________ east meadow ______________
Graduation Keepsake
HERALD
Edition
June 25, 2026
GRADUATES
Meet the
2026
Vol. 26 No. 26
Police supported at annual 5K
Engaging panel hosted by lIA
Page 7
Page 9
JuNE 25 - July 1, 2026
$1.00
‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ staged at church well, but it all grows out of the characters.” The story is set in the Tower A small group of opera fans of London during the 1510s, gathered at the East Meadow during the reign of King Henry United Methodist Church on VIII. “The Yeomen of the Guard” follows the fate of the June 13 for the opening day of the Gilbert & Sullivan Light charismatic Colonel Fairfax, who has been Opera Company of u n j u s t ly i m p r i s Long Island’s 2026 oned and is schedproduction of “The uled to be executed Ye o m e n o f t h e within the hour. Guard.” Phoebe Meryll, Gilbert and Sulliwho has fallen in van’s classic opera love with Fairfax, debuted in 1888, joins her father, Serwith book and lyrgeant Meryll of the ics by W.S. Gilbert Ye o m e n o f t h e and music by Guard — bodyAr thur Sullivan. guards of the BritThe production is ish monarch — and known for its dra- GAyDEN WrEN her brother in a darmatic story and its Gilbert & Sullivan ch e r i s h e d s c o re, Light Opera Company ing plot to save him. Their plan iniw h i c h i n c l u d e s of Long Island tially succeeds, but such famous songs soon draws in Jack as “Is Life a Boon,” “I Have a Song to Sing, O!” and Point and Elsie Maynard, a pair of traveling performers appear“Strange Adventure.” “’The Yeomen of the Guard’ ing at the Tower on the day of has a depth and realism that’s the execution. As the scheme unique in the Savoy operas,” grows more complicated, Fairsaid Gayden Wren, a longtime fax and his would-be rescuers member of the company and find themselves facing the very also the author of an acclaimed real threat of arrest, imprisonbook about Gilbert and Sulli- ment and even execution. The opera is known for its van. “There are laughs and there’s melodramatic drama as Continued on page 16
By JoNATHAN PADIllA
Intern
Tim Baker/Herald
A match made for the community Fans gathered for a spirited U.S. vs. Australia World Cup watch party on June 19, hosted by Island FC and Nassau County. The crowd added energy and excitement as supporters followed every moment of the international matchup. Story, photos, Page 3.
Survivors share their support Gun safety summit draws a crowd to Eisenhower Park By JoSEPH D’AlESSANDro jdalessandro@liherald.com
On Gun Violence Awareness Day, a field of orange hearts surrounded a statue in Eisenhower Park of a young girl hiding beneath a school desk, each one representing one of the 130 lives lost to gun violence every day. Orange is the color of gun safety. Over 100 activists gathered wore the color on June 5, sharing information with gun violence survivors and speaking about their personal history with the topic. East Meadow’s Janet Klein Goldstein is a fierce advocate for gun violence victims. She is a leading member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America’s New York chapter. She invited local elected officials to the event to
remind them of gun legislation’s life-or-death stakes. “We want them to hear the voices of survivors,” she said. “We want to honor the victims of gun violence, and that’s why we invite them here.” Goldstein and her colleagues take their advocacy on the road, heading all the way to Albany to push for “common sense” legislation, she said. “We were in Albany three or four times these past seven months, and we advocated for two bills that the governor signed into law just recently,” Goldstein said. “A third one she signed into law (days) ago, and she’s signing the fourth into law as we speak. It’s breaking news.” These bills include prohibitions against manufacturing firearms that are easily modified into Continued on page 11
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t’s breathtaking, one of the best works of musical theater ever written.