By Mike White 🇺🇸 May 19, 2026

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☕ Good morning, Long Island!

💻 As a lifelong journalist, let me tell you how proud I am of the entire GLI team over all the scoops we've been landing. Hard work, trust and relationship building pays off — especially over time.

🗞️ So keep those news tips coming!

🚆 And, the strike is over.

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

Weather: It will be sunny with a higher near 87 today in East Rockaway — where my parents are from. High school sweethearts. 🤗

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MEET OUR SPONSORS

Greater Mineola coverage is funded in part by The Farm Italy — a striking neighborhood restaurant and cocktail bar that brings the simplicity, beauty and seasonal freshness of local Italian dining to Westbury.

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1. Suffolk lacrosse teams told they made playoffs — then Section XI recalculated overnight

🥍 A Section XI computer glitch scrambled Suffolk lacrosse playoff brackets over the weekend, briefly changing which teams qualified for the postseason. The error, tied to incorrect game data in the playoff formula, sparked confusion and heartbreak just days before playoff play begins.

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2. Diocese prays for justice after statue is beheaded at East Islip church

🙏🏼 The Diocese of Rockville Centre is praying for justice after vandals beheaded a statue of Jesus at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in East Islip, horrifying parishioners, over the weekend.

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3. This Melville pizzeria will be like none other when it opens this month

🍕 Say Cheese Pizza Cafe is bringing Roman- and New York-style pizza, loaded pancake pies, espresso drinks and more to Melville when it opens May 27 in the former Ruland Road Deli space. Click here for the full report.

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The News Sections

FOOD & FUN

☕ A 27-year-old would-be veterinarian has opened a dog-inspired coffee shop in the heart of Westhampton Beach — complete with treats and a canine theme inspired by his own pup, Brody.

🍗 Long Island cult favorite Dom’s Famous Chicken Fingers says its first standalone restaurant in Plainview is finally nearing the finish line after months of anticipation.

SPORTS

🏒 Fresh off winning the Calder Trophy for the NHL's top rookie, Islanders star Matthew Schaefer brought the award to Cohen Children’s Medical Center to surprise young patients and families.

REAL ESTATE

🏡 Someone managed to scoop up a West Islip property on busy Udall Road for $250,000 last year, built a new house on it, and is now asking for four times that. The house, still being built, hit the market this month.

GAMBLING

🚔 Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel says it will temporarily close overnight Monday into Tuesday for a major system hardware upgrade that could delay reopening Tuesday morning.

INSPIRATION

🏃 A Long Island mother turned unimaginable personal loss into a growing charity race that’s helping families facing medical crises across the Island.

🍔 The Chaminade grad behind Arby’s famous “We Have the Meats” campaign and Dos Equis' "Most interesting man in the world" has returned to his alma mater as the new CEO of Shake Shack.

🧠 Support is pouring in for a Long Island family devastated by ALS, as friends, neighbors and strangers rally to help ease the crushing financial burden caused by the disease.

👗 A former nursing home dietitian is transforming Long Island nursing homes with pop-up boutiques that provide free clothing, accessories and dignity to residents in need.

🪨 The Purple Rock Project transformed an Islip beach into a powerful memorial honoring Long Islanders lost to opioid and fentanyl addiction.

EVENTS

🚢 The largest maritime and aerial gathering in U.S. history is sailing into New York Harbor this summer as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. Tall ships, military vessels and massive air shows are all expected to be part of the spectacle.

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In the age of AI, Hunter Business School doubles down on hands-on

🤖 As AI reshapes white-collar industries, Hunter Business School says more Long Islanders are pursuing hands-on healthcare and technology careers that can’t easily be automated. School officials say programs focused on real-world skills and fast job placement are seeing growing interest from both recent grads and career changers.

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Greater Babylon coverage is funded in part by The Argyle Theatre, where Broadway comes to Babylon Village. Click here for tickets to The Prince of Egypt, starting April 16 and running through June 7.