______________ VALLEY STREAM _____________
infections as of Feb. 8
6,093
infections as of Feb. 1 5,690
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Vol. 32 No. 7
State to explore NYAW takeover Cuomo appoints special counsel to oversee feasibility study can Water on Long Island have been plagued by exorbitantly high rates for water — this simaseidman@liherald.com ply cannot continue,” Cuomo G o v. A n d r e w C u o m o said in a news release. “New announced Feb. 3 that the state Yorkers deserve access to clean, Department of Public Service safe and affordable water, and we will look into the feasibility of are going to pursue every avenue municipalizing New York Amer- to make that happen.” ican Water, the privately owned Customers in Valley Stream utility whose service greeted the news of a and water bills have possible public takelong been decried by over largely positiveNassau County cusly, with some debate tomers. over the merits of T he study will government-run utilassess different aveities. nues by which to “I support public reduce customer costs water,” Peg Marron — which in some Zydor said. cases are nearly five “Utilities are not times more than the best provided by priprice of municipally JohN owEN, vate companies,” o w n e d w a t e r — Valley Stream John Owen said. including a public “I welcome the takeover. The anpublic takeover,” Sannouncement comes after two tiago Sabodacha said. independent feasibility studies Distrustful of governmentconducted by Walden Environ- run institutions, others, howevmental Engineering determined er, were skeptical that a public that local ratepayers in NYAW’s agency would be able to do a betHempstead territory and Sea ter job. Cliff district would see a reduc“New York American Water is tion in their water bills through terrible, but I’m not sure that a public acquisition of the com- New York state is capable of runpany. ning a utility,” Jimmy Hillgard“For far too long, the 120,000 customers of New York AmeriContinued on page 5
By AlYSSA SEiDmAN and PEtER BElFioRE
U
Courtesy Stephanie Bader
She’s one tough cookie Two-year-old Valley Streamer Riley had some fun in the snow Sunday when a light storm dumped around four inches on the neighborhood.
Ups and downs of Covid learning V.S. parents chronicle schooling during a pandemic By NiColE AlCiNDoR nalcindor@liherald.com
Early last fall, with the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic still looming, Valley Streamer Sabrina Carreras elected to have her ninth-grade daughter, Kennedy, attend Memorial Junior High School virtually. Six months into the school year, however, Kennedy, like many other students, has struggled with the social isolation of
virtual learning, and others, who attend school in a hybrid mix of in-person and online classes, have had to contend with disruptions when infection rates rise. “My daughter Kennedy was always a very actively involved student in music and sports, and being remote has kept her from participating in that, which has taken a toll on her emotionally,” Carreras said. “My daughter internalized a lot of this, and she has become more introverted.
Now there are many moments when she doesn’t have the desire to do much of anything, because she knows there’s not much she can do in a pandemic.” Both of Nana Akaeze’s sons, who are in grades 11 and 10, attended Central High School on a hybrid schedule last fall. Typically, they were in school twice a week and at home three days for virtual classes. Although Akaeze expressed anxiety over the possibility of Continued on page 17
tilities are not best provided by private companies.