TWF 309 - Nassau County Positivity Rate Breaks 10% (CoVID Update #9)

 Greetings, friends,

Unfortunate news, today, brought to us by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran:

With a 10% positivity rate, that means that one out of every ten people who go in to get tested are turning up positive.  Our biggest problem is that, yesterday, this number was only 6.8%

As you can no doubt see, there are significant problems facing Nassau County.  If this is a one-off and we drop back down to something more like a 6.0, then it's not the greatest warning sign in the world.  If, on the other hand, this number stays elevated...

...Well, we have significant problems.

I don't have much to say.  I don't know what there is to say in a situation like this.  All I can do is say that we need to call our representatives, senators, and the rest and demand that help be provided to businesses and individuals who are suffering the economic hardships of this virus, because the fact is that at this rate there there will need to be another shut-down.

Nobody will like it.

Nobody will be happy with it.

But too many people have already died, and are still dying of this virus.  It's absolute madness to allow it to spread out of control, and when one in ten people tested are positive, well, it's out of control.  Last week, I talked about how our area hospitals were nearly at their ICU capacity.  I talked about how, if you either get CoVID or if you just happen to need intensive medical care for any accidental or chronic reason, you might find that care unavailable.

So once again I'm asking you to limit your gatherings to essential meet-ups only.  That's all there is to it.

Also:

I just want to say a final farewell, and extend my deepest condolences to the family of Freeport High School teacher Robert Lordi.  I worked with Mr. Lordi for five years, did some teaching certification observation hours with him, and he passed away on December 27th.  He was a really great guy.

Thank you for reading.  Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York.  He mostly writes Sci-Fi and Fantasy these days, which you can check out at his Amazon Author Page at this link!

TWF 308 - Area Hospitals Reaching ICU Capacity! (Covid Update #8)

 Greetings, Freeporters!

First, let me wish you happy holidays, whatever you celebrate!

Now, let me unfortunately have to dampen them.  Recently, I came across this article/document/tool from the New York Times.  It provides an updated-weekly list of all of the ICU beds available in hospitals, as well as the number of CoVID patients at each one.  Here is the headline information from my check just now:

The news is grim, friends:  We are nearly at maximum capacity for ICU beds.  What that means is that, if you should have a bad car accident, or a stroke, or a heart attack, or a severely injury due to a fall on the snow, or any kind of just-bad-luck that happens, you might not be able to get an ICU bed.

A simple plea.

I know it's the holidays.  With that said, I want you to take a look at this chart:

Did you notice how, even two months ago, the Coronavirus numbers were starting to grow significantly?  And do you notice how, in the last month (say, since November 26th?), that number has grown drastically and remained at a high, sustained level?

Look, I know nobody wants to hear this, but it's the truth:

Please don't go out and have a big Christmas get-together?

I'm not saying don't see A person or two.  I'm just saying that CoVID is a virus we can't easily detect - one that can slip into a young person undetected and infect their entire family in hours, family members who aren't young, don't stay asymptomatic, and do end up needing hospital-level care.

I have had family members who have gotten CoVID.

I have had good friends be struck down for months from CoVID.

I know you have, too.

So just...

...Please be smart, this holiday?  Especially with who you see?  If you must go out, quarantine and get tested if you can.  Just be advised: If you try to walk in, you're going to wait hours to get tested.  I know this first-hand, I needed a test for a procedure and I had to wait for two hours.  And I was HAPPY it was only two hours, and that I was allowed to wait in my car where it was warm, because I've seen night-time lines wrapped around other locations.

Thank you for reading.  Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York.  He mostly writes Sci-Fi and Fantasy these days, which you can check out at his Amazon Author Page at this link!

TWF 307 - (Fundraiser) The Aftermath Of The Fire At Duryea's Florist.

 Hello, friends!

As so many of you are already aware, a recent fire burned down a rather famous storefront in Freeport.  Duryea's Florist is one of Freeport's older businesses that's still in operation, and along with the florist's a deli and some apartments located above it were decimated.  The fire injured numerous firefighters who responded to help put out the blaze.

Now, Kara Willocks has set up a GoFundMe page to help Duryea's set up at an alternate location and keep operating as we get into the holiday season - usually one of their best times-of-year!  The Weekly Freeporter knows that with CoVID numbers rising throughout Nassau County (and New York State as a whole), times are really hard for a lot of people, but given that I've been an appreciative patron of Duryea's and they really are nice people, if you can contribute to help this Freeport landmark stay in Freeport and keep their business going in the face of this horrible disaster, that would surely be appreciated.

Duryea's before the fire.

Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York.  If you enjoy fiction, particularly Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels, check out his Amazon Author's page.  Thanks for stopping by!

TWF 306 - Nassau County Coronavirus Cases Increasing. Be safe! (CoVID Update #7)

 Greetings, friends,

First, happy Veterans Day; thank you to all those who served.

That said, I come bearing some unfortunate news.  Coronavirus cases in Nassau County have increased significantly in the past week, matching a national trend that's seen the U.S. break 10,000,000 cases nationwide.

Below is the chart for Nassau County:

According to Nassau Executive Laura Curran, the positivity rate for the county is 3.4%.  This means that for every thousand tests, 34 people are positive.  These numbers aren't world-ending, but they reflect a significant concern.

Please make every effort to wear a mask if you're around other people, wash your hands and/or hand-sanitize frequently, minimize non-essential travel, and keep a six-foot social distance from others.

These are scary times, but Nassau has already proven its strength - see that long dip between April/May and now?  We can possibly bend the curve back down if we all work together, acknowlege the threat is real, and apply ourselves accordingly.

With that said, we wish the best to all of those who are ill, and we thank our medical staff for all the hard work they do!

TWF 305 - Early Voting Continues To Be Busy In Freeport! Times and Places!

 Greetings, friends!

This is the scene from the Freeport Recreation Center, this morning:

What you can't see is the line snaking around the Rec's parking lot, back towards Merrick Road, and down along the street for a good while.  If that sounds unusual, well, it's been that way for the past two days.  Newsday reports similar circumstances elsewhere on the Island, so it isn't just Freeport's location that's been busy.  Generally speaking the wait times have been about one and a half to two hours long, though your mileage may vary depending on where you go and what time you go.

Click here for a complete list of locations and times for Early Voting.  When you go to vote, consider bringing a folding chair, a drink, a snack, and something to read.  Don't forget your mask, or to socially distance!

TWF 304 - Testing Availability Expanded In Freeport, Hempstead. (CoViD Update #7)

Greetings, friendly Freeporters!

Progress on the CoVID disaster has reportedly been pretty steadily improving, with NYS Senator Anna Kaplan citing ever-shrinking hospitalization numbers, specifically due to actions New Yorkers have taken regarding Social Distancing.  Please make no mistake - it is only due to our collective (relatively...) early action on reacting to the virus that has kept the number of deaths relatively stable, and preserved (most of) our health-care system.

But make no mistake - those who I've spoken to in the medical field have compared the fallout of the CoVID disaster to a "War-zone," and I have no reason to doubt them.  As every blinking Highway sign says, "Stay home, save lives."  After all, the less people who are admitted to the hospital, the less that doctors, nurses, and care-staff are exposed to the disease.

This is also a short update to signal-boost Nassau Executive Laura Curran's information about testing being expanded to Hempstead and Freeport residents, citizen-or-non.  See the below flyer for more information, and if you have CoVID symptoms don't hesitate to schedule an appointment to be tested.

Best wishes, and stay safe.  Only go out when necessary, and stay socially distant!

TWF 303: Uncertain Times, Steady Minds (CoVID Update #6)

Greetings, friends,

I hope you're all doing well.


Local Updates:
Not many.


At this point, you are no doubt aware of CoVID-19, AKA Coronavirus' presence, changing day-to-day.  Schools are closed, and the Village is operating on a limited basis & workload.  Check your daily Governor's and Presidential briefings.

Then again, depending on when you are reading this, you may or may not have been deemed an "Essential" worker, and your job status may be on a day-to-day basis.

So, there isn't really that much by way of hyperlocal 'news' that isn't being documented more regularly.  This message is just to say you aren't alone in feeling anxious or disoriented.  These are complicated times.  The important coda is that we will get through this, together.

We will get through this together.

TWF 302: County Executive Orders Schools Closed & More (CoVID Update #5)

Greetings, friends,

Opening note - these may be the strangest times since the end of 2012, huh?

Moving on.

Nassau Executive Curran Orders Nassau County Schools Closed

This is an expansion of Freeport's pre-existing announcement, recorded here, both beyond the 3/16-17 closure, and beyond the local scale.  This is a two-week closure, though staff is permitted to use the facilities for distance learning purposes and others, and it doesn't apply to certain schools for people with special needs.  As always, please check in with your district.

Notice that "Social Distancing" is called for; this is basically just staying in with friends and family; or, at least, not going out to crowded places.

Last, as we've been saying here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!  (That still includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper!  :/ )

TWF 301: Freeport Schools Closed To Students, 3/16 & 3/17 (CoVID-19 Update #4)

Greetings, friends,

Just a brisk update:

According to the latest Superintendent's message at the Freeport Schools website, schools will be closed 3/16/2020 and 3/17/2020 for students:

"We have decided, in an abundance of precaution, to close the schools for students only on Monday, March 16th and Tuesday March 17th to continue preparations for our contingency plans for communication and E-Learning platforms and other related matters to ensure the continuity of education for our students in the event of an extended closing. During these two days, staff will further solidify our E-Learning platforms. We will continue enhanced building sanitizing protocols including the weekends."



Last, as we've been saying here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!  (That still includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper!  :/ )

TWF 300: States Of Emergency Require Calm (CoVID-19 Update #3)

Greetings, friends,

Just a few updates.

First, the Federal Government is taking emergency action over the Coronavirus in order to make more testing available.  Why more testing wasn't available earlier is itself an unexplained question.  The U.S. has been pitifully behind the rest of the world in testing.


Second:  Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has declared a State Of Emergency in order to access more resources.  This includes many facility closures.


Third:  As Laura Curran said as part of the above announcement, IF you are healthy and IF you can, please donate some blood.  There's apparently a lack of donations going on.


Fourth:  As we always say, here:

First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!  (That includes buying up all of the damned toilet paper!  :/ )

TWF 299: Coronavirus Shuts SUNY, CUNY, Nassau & More! Plus, Dr. Kuncham Speaks! (CoVID-19 Update 2)

Hello friends,

I hope you are all doing well!

Freeport-Specific Updates from Dr. Kuncham:  Nassau County Executive Laura Curran gave a press conference with medical and educational leaders - including Freeport's own Superintendent, Dr. Kishore Kuncham, who spoke about issues regarding the spread of dangerous rumors about the virus' impact.  Kuncham also talked reassuringly about the development that's gone on for Freeport's online learning plan, which involves over 6,000 Chromebooks being distributed to students!  He even addressed concerns about internet access for possible students.  (Starts 16:00 min into the video)

Broader Long-Island College & University Closures
A little past 2:00 PM, Governor Cuomo announced that all SUNY and CUNY schools will be transitioning to an online "distance learning" model.  According to Garden City's Patch, Nassau Community College is also closed; Long Island Press provides a more comprehensive listing of closures, including my Alma-Mater, Adelphi University, as well as Molloy College and others.


While there are still very few public school district closures in our area (see the above link to Long Island Press for more details!) - and such closures present infinitely different complications, including but not limited to how children would be supervised, and in some case get fed - the risk exists that certain schools may close in the future due to a confirmed case of exposure, or due to a broader outbreak that is uncontainable with lesser measures.

As always, check with your district's website and administration to confirm any changes you hear about online!

State Worker Aid:  Cuomo has announced that any quarantined/etc NYS workers will get up to two weeks of paid leave.  Private enterprise and other government offices might want to follow suit, especially for places like New Rochelle, where broader quarantines already exist.


To that end:  First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!

TWF 298: Nassau County Coronavirus School closures (CoVID-19 Update #1)

Greetings, friends!

As 2020 continues to be a banner year for Humankind, I'm hopping back on The Weekly Freeporter strictly in an Emergency Response basis.  Please note that this is an ongoing emergency, and that situations change frequently and without warning - and TWF is not a professional outlet, meaning our resources are limited.  Updates will be on a limited basis, and only to serve as a place to collect information.

That said, if you have any leads, reach out and we'll verify as best we can!

Additionally, as with our Hurricane Sandy coverage, while we'll focus on Freeport as possible, this disaster effects, well, all of Humankind, so let's start with just keeping an eye on Nassau County.

According to Governor Andrew Cuomo's latest update on Twitter, about 19 people in Nassau have tested positive for Coronavirus.  ABC News and others report that the National Guard has been called into Rockland County to help those in quarantine get food and supplies.  As more testing takes place, more positives are expected; according to medical professionals I've spoken to, this will help with controlling the outbreak.


To that end:  First of all, please make sure you are washing your hands, covering your coughs, and generally obeying good personal hygiene in order to minimize both your risk and the risk of those around you.  If you feel sick (fever, chills, body ache, difficulty breathing), DO NOT go to work, and DO NOT just go to the doctor - call your healthcare provider and ask for instructions on what their procedure is.

Do not panic!


Announced Nassau County School District Closures - More detail available from Long Island Press.
Glen Cove
Locust Valley
Oyster Bay
Plainview-Old Bethpage
Shoream-Wading River

It is reasonable to expect more as time goes on.  Additionally, there are many local colleges closed, including Hofstra, Columbia, and Saint John's.  As always, please check in with your school's webpage on a daily basis, and/or keep an eye on the alerts sent to your e-mail/cell phone.


Be safe.

TWF 297: Juried Photography Contest From Long Island Arts Council At Freeport

Hello, friends!

I know that with the Coronavirus around, it's easy to get lost in scary thoughts, so here's something a little more upbeat!  As a creative person, I always try to shout out opportunities for others - in any given field - to make a little money and get a little advancement.  For example, I was recently a guest on "Ronin Uncensored" Podcast, and I'd encourage you to check it out in your leisure time.

The Long Island Arts Council at Freeport is having their Fortieth Annual Juried Photography Show (link goes to their full prospectus), with a calendar and possible winnings as repeated below:







We strongly encourage all photographers to join!  It must be wondered, however, why you have to be 20 years old to enter, and not just a legal adult?  Ah well!  It's a good contest, nonetheless!


Jesse Pohlman is an author and creator from Freeport, New York, and occasionally publishes new The Weekly Freeporter articles only under unusual circumstances, as the publication is on hiatus.  If you want to check out his website, its https://www.jpohlmanwriting.com!  

TWF 296 - Poor Peoples' Campaign Comes To Freeport!

Greetings, friends!

The Poor People's Campaign (shortanded to PPC for this article) was started in 1968 by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to advocate for the poor and disadvantaged among us.  On at 10:00 AM on Saturday, January 25th at 10:00, the PPC will be having it's Monthly Meeting at God's Open House For Everyone in our own Freeport, New York.  Sandy Guillaume, Executive Director of Second Chance Reentry will be present to help address concerns about recent changes to criminal processing laws.

If you're looking to learn about things like bail reform, and you're ready to have some of your concerns demystified, this meeting is a great chance to learn from an expert in the field!  Furthermore, after the fact, the Campaign will be joining a rally at the Nassau County DA's office to support what are viewed by many as essential reforms.