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Painting it up at T.R. Elementary
Making music for the Regency
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VOL. 127 NO. 21
MAY 23 - 29, 2025
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School district budgets approved L.V. and OBEN see old and new faces on boards of education By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Courtesy Locust Valley Central School District
Incumbent Locust Vally school board Trustee Krystina Tomlinson was sworn back into office on Tuesday.
Voters in the Locust Valley and Oyster Bay-East Norwich school districts approved their respective 2025-26 spending plans in Tuesday’s budget votes and Board of Education elections, signaling strong community support for continued investment in local education. The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District’s $67.7 million budget passed with 643 votes in favor and 420 opposed. The spending plan, $2.1 million larger than the current budget, aims to maintain existing programs and services while supporting educational and operational needs across the district. “Thank you so much to the entire community who came out and voted,” Superintendent Francesco Ianni said. “I’m excited for the students. That is always, and will always, be my top priority as long as I’m superinCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Biographer Chernow dishes on the real Mark Twain By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Ron Chernow delivered the keynote address at the Gold Coast Book Fair on May 16, captivating a full auditorium at LIU Post with a spirited exploration of Mark Twain’s life, legacy — and contradictions. The presentation came on the heels of the release of Chernow’s newest book, “Mark Twain,” a glimpse into the life of America’s greatest humorist. Former U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, the owner of Theodore’s Books, in Oyster Bay, and the founder of the book fair, intro-
duced Chernow and explained why he created the event, emphasizing the importance of not only supporting books and reading, but also putting Long Island on the map as a literary hotspot. “Long Island is frequently overlooked as the literary treasure that it is,” Israel said. “(Cher now) joins us for the kickoff event of an extraordinary weekend celebrating our history, our democracy and our love of literature.” Chernow opened with a personal anecdote from 1974, when he saw the actor Hal Holbrook perform his legendary one-man show as Mark Twain.
“Holbrook stood up there for 90 minutes in the trademark Mark Twain white suit with the cigar, with the unruly mustache, and he spouted one political witticism after another. And I was just laughing hysterically,” Chernow recalled. “I still remember many of them, of Mark Twain saying there’s no distinctly Native American criminal class except for Congress. Sorry, Congressman Israel.” Chernow noted the ongoing relevance of Twain’s caustic humor, which he often aimed at political corruption. He added that Twain’s digs at the Gilded Age crooks of his times “are
still very relevant today.” The biographer, best known for his works on Alexander Hamilton and Ulysses S. Grant, said he was drawn to Twain because of the profound duality in his life. He pointed to a Ken Burns documentary that opened his eyes to the “life of tremendous personal tragedy and complexity.”
Twain found the humor in the serious, the tragic and even the sacred aspects of life. Chernow said that Twain liked to intentionally shock people with his escapades. “He even promised at one event that he would, quote, ‘devour a child in the presence of the audience, if some lady will kindly volunteer CONTINUED ON PAGE 7