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INCORPORATING THE WEST HEMPSTEAD BEACON VOL. 76 No. 12
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March 19 - 25, 2026
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Village of Hempstead receives water grant By JORDAN VALLONE jvallone@liherald.com
Alice Moreno/Herald
Mikayla grier performs a saxophone solo with the Knightime Jazz Band behind her during Jazz night. the ensemble included saxophonists, trumpeters, trombonists, percussionists, guitarists, bassists and pianists.
Knightime Jazz Band strikes a chord at UHS
Ex-band director Frank Abel joins concert — they need to be appreciated and celebrated. I figured a night like this would be a great opportunity for them to be celeThe Uniondale High School auditori- brated, so people could see how great they are.” um was filled with the warm Some of the selections and soulful sounds of jazz that the jazz band performed music on March 6, when the during the evening included Knightime Jazz Band enter“All of Me,” written by Gertained an audience during its ald Marks and Seymour inaugural Jazz Night. Simons, with arrangement The evening was designed by Billy Byers; and “Time not just to entertain, but also After Time,” a classic romanto celebrate student musitic jazz standard with words cians. by Sammy Cahn, music by Colton Wynter, UnionJule Styne and arrangement dale’s music director who by Don Schamber. “Time has led the program for After Time” appeared in “It about 20 years, said Jazz Happened in Brooklyn,” a Night was created specifical1947 Frank Sinatra film. ly to spotlight the dedication After intermission, the of the students. Joseph Knightime band performed Boardman, also a Knightime COLtON WYNtER the notable “Put Your Head Jazz Band director, has Uniondale High School On My Shoulder,” originally served for seven years. sung and written by Paul “I have a great bunch of music director Anka in 1959, and remixed kids,” Wynter said. “They work hard, and they’re very good players COntinued On Page 3
By ABBY GIBSON
Intern
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figured a night like this would be a great opportunity for them to be celebrated, so people could see how great they are.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $250 million investment to help communities across New York afford critical water and sewer infrastructure improvements, aimed at protecting public health and modernizing aging systems. The funding was approved by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation Board of Directors a n d i n c l u d e s l ow - c o s t f i n a n c i n g along with state and federal grants that allow local governments to complete essential projects without placing a heavy financial burden on ratepayers. The investments will support initiatives such as replacing lead service lines, treating emerging contaminants, reducing flooding risks and upgrading outdated water systems. On Long Island, several projects were approved to help improve drinking water quality and moder niz e aging infrastructure. The Village of Hempstead will receive $23 million in state and federal grants and interestfree financing to construct new sewer piping that will re place an aging and undersized wastewater collection system. The state portion of the funding is supported by the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act. “Communities are working hard to upgrade aging water infrastructure and protect public health, and I’m committed to providing them with the resources they need to succeed,”
Hochul said in a statement. “With this $250 million investment, we’re making vital projects affordable and ensuring New Yorkers can trust the water they rely on every day.” According to state of ficials, the Environmental Facilities Cor poration board’s approval marks a key step in the funding process, allowing municipalities to move forward with agreements and access the funding needed to begin their projects. The funding will be distributed t h r o u g h s e ve r a l s t a t e p r o g r a m s designed to make water infrastructure improvements more affordable for local governments. Among them are the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which combine state and federal dollars to provide more than $1 billion annually in low-cost financing and grants for water projects across New York. Additional funding will come from Hochul’s Lead Infrastructure Forg ive n e s s a n d T r a n s fo r m at i o n , o r LIFT, grant program. The program provides loan-forgiveness grants to help communities replace lead service lines by covering project costs that are not fully paid by federal grants. The Environmental Facilities Cor poration board approved LIFT g rants for projects in Ogdensburg, Poughkeepsie and Rochester. The state’s Water Infrastructure Improvement and Inter municipal Grants programs will also help support projects. Since 2017, those prog rams have saved ratepayers more COntinued On Page 4