High Tide
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Our lifeguards may be low on manpower, but they are about to get a little help. Not when it comes to moving people away from the jetties and out of the rip currents, but with keeping an eye out for sharks. Gov. Hochul announced last week that the state will be deploying 60 drones to monitor the water along Long Island, New York City and Westchester. According to the governor, the drones will be making three sweeps a day—in the morning, mid-day, and in the evening. It is not clear how this information will then be relayed to the lifeguards or patrons in the water, you know, the people to whom the information is pertinent. Is there anything more relaxing than a buzzing shark detector flying over your head while you soak up the sun?
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Rockaway Creates, an organization whose mission is to support locals to strengthen the Rockaway community by advocating for collaboration and creativity that benefits Rockaway, has launched a new podcast! The Rockaway Creates Connection Podcast, which already has seven episodes available wherever you get your podcasts, features conversations with some of Rockaway’s most talented, creative and entrepreneurial minds and looks to share their stories. The Rockaway Times’ very own Dan Guarino is featured in the fifth episode, so go check it out!
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Eric Ulrich, the former New York City Council member representing District 32 which includes the west half of the Rockaway peninsula and parts of southern Queens, and also the former Commissioner of the NYC Department of Buildings under Mayor Adams, is expected to face charges from a criminal investigation. According to the NY Times, a grand jury indictment is expected to come down as soon as this week. The investigation has reportedly focused on crimes related to bribery that occurred while the former councilman was in office. As of going to print, no charges have been filed.
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As plastic straws continue to become a thing of the past, it makes you wonder what could be next. Well, NYC will now fine restaurants that provide customers with plastic utensils and sauce packets without you having explicitly requested them. As part of an effort to reduce plastic, the “Skip the Stuff” bill (seriously, who names these things?) will include giving restaurants first, a warning, and, starting July of next year, a fine, for providing customers with your standard to-go effects.
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You are not going to want to miss the Lifeguard Olympics which are returning this Tuesday, July 25. Check out the action at 6:30 p.m. on Beach 106th. All are welcome to come out and support.
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Come one, come all! The annual Graybeards Family Fun Run is next Friday, July 28. Registration details can be found on page 6 of this week’s paper. Get out there and run!
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Tuesday, August 1 is National Night Out Against Crime. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., on Beach 94th to Beach 95th Streets, the 100th Precinct Community Council, supported by some of the peninsula’s businesses, will have a DJ, free food, rides and raffles, among other fun activities.
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Councilwoman Joann Ariola is hosting a Back-to-School Drive from July 12 to August 15. If you have pens, pencils, bookbags or other school supplies to help improve the lives of our local students, drop them off at her Rockaway Park office at 114-12 Beach Channel Drive.
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