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By Mike White 🇺🇸 Oct. 16, 2025

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☕ Good morning, Long Island!

🗞️ Today we’ve got a wild mix of mystery, nostalgia and new beginnings: a 1984 murder finally solved, a cozy café debut in Setauket, and a look back at the days when venomous rattlesnakes populated our woods.

🍽️ Coming up: Port Washington’s Restaurant Week kicks off Oct. 19–26, featuring 14 restaurants, prix-fixe lunches for $21 and dinners at either $35 or $48. Reservations are recommended. Tap here for details.

(This is not to be confused with Long Island Restaurant Week, which happens in early November.)

✍🏼 Feel free to respond to this email with feedback!

Today's weather: Sunny, with a high near 58.

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MEET OUR SPONSORS

Big news from one of our favorite sponsor stories — the young couple who revitalized a beloved Deer Park dental office are now married! Introducing, for the first time in this newsletter as husband and wife: Dr. David and Michelle Broughton. Wishing them a lifetime of smiles.

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First, Center Moriches man charged in Lynbrook cold case teen murder after 40 years

🚨 DNA from a discarded cup and straw helped detectives crack the case. 63-year-old Richard Bilodeau was indicted Wednesday for the 1984 murder of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, who was found dead a month after she left her shift at the since-closed Hot Skates roller rink.

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Second, A new chapter for Toast: The Study opens in East Setauket

🌯 After months of planning, Terence Scarlatos — the founder of Toast Coffee + Kitchen — has launched a cozy new café blending food, books, and local vibes in East Setauket. Our pick? The chopped cheese.

🍕 In other food news, The Pizzeria, which now counts seven Long Island locations, was just named among DoorDash’s top pizzerias in these United States. It's the delivery company's first “Battle of the Slices" list.

🐟 Branzinos, the popular Huntington restaurant known for its refined take on Italian classics and seafood specialties, has officially opened its second location at 240 Fort Salonga Road. We got over there for a photo tour.

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Third, how rattlesnakes once ruled Long Island — until we killed them off

🐍 For centuries, timber rattlesnakes thrived in our forests, preying on chipmunks and birds. Their venom could be deadly to humans — and so we hunted them relentlessly. Now they're gone. This is a remarkable story.

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More headlines to highlight

☕ Roslyn native brings Brooklyn-style café home with Sweet Harbor Coffee — A woman returns to Long Island to open a vintage-modern coffee shop in her hometown, and with her husband. (They also just had a baby.)

🚒 Community rallies to rebuild Hicksville’s House of Donuts — After a devastating fire, locals are stepping up with donations to help rebuild a beloved favorite.

🐋 Step inside a whale (literally) — A 45-foot inflatable sperm whale from the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum lets visitors walk inside to learn about marine life. And it'll be traveling the Island this winter.

🍭 Colorful new candy shop brings a taste of Sweden to Stony Brook Village — The new sweets shop is at 73 Main St., next to Schnitzels.

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GREAT NIGHTS

Haunted mansion fundraiser supports SBU student-athletes

The 1957 Club — a collective dedicated to helping Stony Brook University student-athletes capitalize on their name, image, and likeness — is hosting a haunted Halloween fundraiser for adults tonight in Port Jeff.

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Sister Act runs through Oct. 26 at Argyle Theatre. Tap here for tickets.