Winters Bros. Purchased by WM

Long Island Morning Edition

Political experts and Long Island voters appeared divided yesterday about whether unity is possible amid a turbulent political climate, a day after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump urged Americans to find common ground in the aftermath of an attempt on Trump's life at a Pennsylvania rally. Michael Dawidziak, a Bohemia political consultant who works predominantly with Republicans, told Newsday on Monday that "People have been pleading with the political discourse propagators to 'listen to our better angels,' as Lincoln put it, for a while now, and it hasn't happened yet. Could an incident like this maybe finally wake them up and say, 'This has gone too far?' Yeah, hopefully."

But the veteran analyst warned change is unlikely to happen overnight, particularly in an election season.

"I do think things can change," said Dawidziak, adding that a growing number of Americans define themselves as politically independent. "And if our republic is to survive it will change. I'm just not sure it's happening this quickly."

Hank Sheinkopf, an independent political analyst, told Newsday yesterday that efforts to change the political tone will not only be fruitless, but could pose problems for Democrats. "In a presidential election year — when political parties are in battle for the world’s biggest prize, the call for political unity is meaningless. Politics is war. And war is not unity," said Sheinkopf, who has consulted for Democrats. "Calls to tone down nasty rhetoric will force the Democrats into a new quandary: How do you attack the man nearly murdered by an assassin without damaging and destroying your campaign? And today there is no clear answer."

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Former President Donald Trump named freshman Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential running mate yesterday.

Ending weeks of speculation, Trump announced Vance, 39, as his pick on the first day of the Republican National Convention.

Laura Figueroa Hernandez reports in NEWSDAY that New York’s Republican delegation at the convention celebrated Vance’s selection, saying the 39-year-old, who will turn 40 next month, brings youth and vigor to the ticket as Trump continues to run a statistically tight race with Democratic President Joe Biden, 81, and Vice President Kamala Harris, 59.

NYS GOP chairman Ed Cox, speaking from the convention floor, told Newsday he believed Vance, a father of three young children, is a known commodity to voters, citing his book and frequent appearances on the Sunday morning political talk show circuit.

“He’s brilliant,” Cox said. “His background as described in 'Hillbilly Elegy,' his brilliant defense of Donald Trump on the Sunday news shows; it’s a terrific choice.”

Before Vance’s selection, New York Republican leaders sought to project a united front, saying the recent assassination attempt against Trump would ultimately galvanize support behind the party’s nominee.

Suffolk GOP chairman Jesse Garcia told Newsday that he hoped Saturday’s failed assassination attempt would make both parties realize there needs to be a positive discourse.

"Almost directly after this incident one of the first words Trump said was ‘America unite’ . . . I think that’s the direction we need to move in," Garcia said.

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Winters Bros. Waste Systems, Long Island’s largest independent hauler of garbage, was purchased by industry behemoth WM, formerly called Waste Management, yesterday for an undisclosed amount, both companies announced. James T. Madore reports in NEWSDAY that Winters Bros., based in West Babylon, dates to the 1950s and specializes in solid waste removal and recycling on Long Island and in New York City. It has about 525 employees and serves homeowners, businesses and governments.

WM, based in Houston, is a publicly-traded company with 48,000 employees in the United States, Canada and India. The company operates 263 landfills, 332 transfer stations and 102 recycling facilities in North America, according to a securities filing.

Winters Bros. acquired Emil Norsic & Son a couple years ago. The Norsic family had owned and operated the Southampton garbage collection company since 1932.

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By the time Gov. Kathy Hochul made the abrupt decision to cancel congestion pricing in New York City last month, transit leaders had already allocated more than a half a billion dollars to get the long-awaited tolling program off the ground. Ana Ley reports in THE NY TIMES that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority entered into a $556 million contract for cameras, software and other tools that would have been used to detect vehicles entering the planned tolling zone south of 60th Street in Manhattan.

The true amount spent by the M.T.A. to implement the program is almost certainly higher. The city’s Independent Budget Office said the resources devoted to the long-delayed endeavor over the course of decades were “unquantifiable.” But Rachael Fauss, the senior research analyst for Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group, said the amount is likely to be close to $1 billion, given the amount of staff time that was dedicated to planning.

With the program indefinitely suspended, that money is, at least for the moment, wasted.

Congestion pricing was designed to rein in traffic and pollution while improving travel speeds in some of the world’s most crowded streets. The money raised from the first-in-the-nation program would have generated $1 billion annually for the M.T.A., which would have used it to pay for critical upgrades and improvements to the city’s transit network.

The M.T.A. had planned to start charging the tolls on June 30, but Ms. Hochul announced less than a month before the program was set to begin that she had changed her mind.

Ms. Hochul, who said that the planned tolls were too high — most drivers would have been charged $15 to enter the Manhattan tolling zone during peak hours — has insisted that she is only temporarily pausing the program. She has not committed to a new start date.

A Siena College survey in April found that most New York City residents were against congestion pricing, with 64 percent opposed and 33 percent in favor, and that suburban respondents disliked it even more.

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Considering the feverish state of political tensions in the country - the United States AND the former president BOTH narrowly survived a gunman’s bullet on Saturday evening, according to an esteemed security expert.

In a Boston Herald interview on Sunday, former New York City and Boston Police Commissioner and L.A.P.D. Chief Bill Bratton spoke about the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

“There was a significant security failure at this event. Mr. Trump and the country both dodged a fatal bullet. If, God forbid, he had been killed, there would have been absolute chaos,” said Bratton who currently serves as Co-Chair for the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council.

“I think it’s becoming very clear that security for this event was deficient. The fact there was a near-successful attempt on the former president’s life, it’s going to raise all kinds of questions going forward,” he said.

In the meantime, there is going to be a “fog of confusion” surrounding Saturday’s shooting, which will only be resolved through the course of an investigation according to Bratton who is a long-time resident of Hampton Bays.

“The first story is never the last story.”

Even the best laid security plans are fallible, Bratton said, and the Secret Service deserves praise for how quickly they neutralized the danger to the former President, but they’ll still need to answer for their preparations leading up to the event.

“It was a great response after the fact — but how did it get to the fact?” Bratton asks.

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North Shore University Hospital and NYU Langone-Long Island landed on a list of the top hospitals in the country for the second consecutive year. Sarina Trangle reports in NEWSDAY that several Long Island institutions were highlighted in the annual hospital rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report, a publication that specializes in rankings and consumer advice. The outlet named the Manhasset and Mineola hospitals on its "honor roll" of 20 top institutions nationwide. Long Island hospitals made up more than 30% of the roughly 30 best facilities in New York State, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Hospitals — and their marketing teams — are quick to highlight the data behind these designations. U.S. News & World Report compiles its lists by assessing inpatient and outpatient clinical outcomes, factoring in facility staffing and technology, and incorporating patient and physician surveys. Although the designation can be helpful for patients, experts say the research isn't as relevant for the average patient, who is considering their doctor's recommendations, insurance coverage and ability to travel.

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Suffolk County officials yesterday announced the start of a multimillion dollar state and federal grant project that aims to restore wetlands at Scully Marsh in Islip, East Islip Preserve and Cupsogue Beach Marsh in Westhampton.

"This project serves to harden our coast by restoring the area to its natural conditions, protecting neighboring communities and safeguarding the area from erosion," said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, in announcing the grants Monday. Maureen Mullarkey reports in NEWSDAY that according to county officials, Suffolk received a grant totaling $1.29 million for phase one of the program through a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant administered by the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. Phase two funding, for $2.75 million, will come from the federal government. The entire project will cost $4.3 million.

The three marshlands are each listed as "high priority wetland sites" in Suffolk's coastal resiliency plan. Scully Marsh is 25 acres, East Islip Preserve is 35 acres and Cupsogue Beach Marsh is 80 acres.

"Past human interventions and weather have disrupted the area’s natural hydrology, decreasing the marsh’s natural ability to act as a buffer from flooding, " the county said in a release.

Enrico Nardone, executive director of the Seatuck Environmental Association, which operates the Scully Estate, said that Long Island marshes have been mistreated for centuries, contributing to habitat loss and impact after extreme weather.

"We used to think that it's just a waste," he said. "Now we recognize how important they are to the health of the bay."

Marshes act as a sponge to water and are a first line of defense against sea level rises and storm surges, Nardone said. They are also home to crustaceans, birds, and many other animals.