Nearly four in 10 school board members are current or former teachers, according to a survey by the NYS School Boards Association, reflecting the rising influence of the state’s largest teachers’ union in electing its members to public office. Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that the Pipeline Project of the New York State United Teachers union has helped elect more than 400 of its members to the more than 700 school boards since 2015, according to the union, which has nearly 700,000 members.

Supporters say union members can provide school boards with direct insight from classrooms on curriculum, education policy, student needs and funding priorities. The project is also helping members win seats in the State Legislature and in Congress, according to the union.

But the Pipeline Project has also drawn criticism that the already politically powerful teachers’ union now has a conflicting interest in school boards, which determine spending, including teacher compensation, and set instruction policy in a state with some of the highest property taxes in the nation. State law doesn’t allow teachers and other employees of a school district to serve on that district’s school board as a guard against conflicts of interest, but teachers can serve on their local school boards if they work in other school districts.

In addition, Ken Girardin, director of research at the Empire Center for Public Policy think tank, concluded in his 2023 study that current teachers who work in other districts still pose a conflict by potentially promoting policies to benefit teachers as a group over fiscal prudence. He also said retired teachers and family members of teachers also pose potential conflicts on school boards.

The teachers union, however, said Pipeline and the expertise and funding it provides works for the whole community, and will continue to put more members in elected roles.

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Members of National Grid’s unionized workforce overwhelmingly rejected the company’s "best and final" contract offer in a vote tallied yesterday afternoon, giving both sides about three weeks to reach a new pact before a potential strike. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1049 voted 617 to 252 to reject the London-based company’s contract offer in a mail-in ballot. The union represents nearly 1,200 workers who operate the National Grid’s natural gas network and LIPA-contracted power plants.

Their contract expired last month but both sides agreed to a contract extension to March 28. The existing four-year contract, which includes no strike and no lockout language, remains in place.

National Grid, in a statement last night said they are “disappointed the tentative agreement we signed with Local 1049 leadership was not ratified by the members, and will continue to negotiate in good faith for a deal that is fair for our hard working employees and affordable for customers.”

"The membership is unhappy and angry at the offer that was given to us after two months of negotiating," said Pat Guidice, business manager for the local, after the vote. "We intend to go back to the table as soon as possible to get an agreement that meets the needs of both sides so we can go on doing our jobs for our Long Island neighbors."

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PSEG Long Island expected to begin work today to remove another section of giant steel high-voltage poles in Eastport, this time on a stretch of roadway that has seen at least two pole-related fatalities. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that the utility plans to remove five steel poles around a section of County Road 51 that intersects with County Road 111, and replace them with underground lines, according to the company. Two other steel poles will be replaced with shorter "riser" poles that transition the line from overhead to underground. The work includes...

President Donald Trump released a flurry of executive actions over the past month that could lead to increased school taxes in New York, raise the cost of goods from construction materials to gas prices, cut federal funding for transportation and separate immigrant families. Keshia Clukey reports in NEWSDAY that New York and other states don’t necessarily need to follow all of the directives, according to constitutional and public policy scholars and attorneys. But some of the orders carry a threat of billions of dollars in reduced federal aid for not complying.

“An executive order, just as a piece of paper, doesn’t do anything. It has to be implemented,” said Julie Novkov, dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the state University at Albany. “So the real question lies in how federal officials are going to implement executive orders in ways that might have an impact on what the states are doing.”

Generally executive orders are directed at federal government officials and agencies, but those agencies can try to enforce Trump’s policies on states even if they conflict with state-level policies and laws, constitutional scholars and attorneys said.

State officials already have said they plan to resist federal orders that clash with NYS law. If the courts rule in favor of Trump or Congress backs the order, New York risks losing federal funding dollars for not complying — funding the state would likely have to make up for in tax increases, including school taxes.

Several legal challenges have already been brought by state attorneys general, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, against Trump’s directives, setting up constitutional battles on several fronts.

“We need to remember that it is the United States of America, that means 50 co-equal states and we have a government that is built on the consent of the governed,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of the Common Cause/NY good-government group. “We believe in the Constitution, we believe in checks and balances, and therefore we believe the states need to step up and assert their sovereignty in the federalist system and protect state residents.”

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Some Long Islanders plan to participate in a nationwide "economic blackout" today, as a form of protest against what organizers view as corruption among corporations and politicians. Brianne Ledda reports in NEWSDAY that the boycott is one of several protests planned by activists in the coming weeks against large corporations, especially those that have scaled back on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

People's Union USA, a group focused on economic resistance, has taken credit for today’s protest, which was organized primarily on social media. It is a midnight to midnight Friday only boycott, with participants instructed not to make purchases online or in-person — not even food or gas today.

If protesters must purchase something, they should use cash and shop small, the group’s website says.

Long Island experts expressed skepticism at how effective a one-day boycott might be at bringing about policy change, especially without a clear target or goal. Members of progressive coalitions on Long Island, however, still plan to join.

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First National Bank of Long Island, which has several branches on the east end, will merge with ConnectOne Bank, as announced by the two financial institutions this month. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that shareholders of the parent companies of both banks voted in separate special meetings to approve the merger, the companies announced in a press release Feb. 14.

The companies expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of this year, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.

Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will operate under the ConnectOne brand. It will have...

Federal officials are giving the MTA until March 21 to end its congestion pricing program in Manhattan, but Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York will continue to mount an "orderly resistance" to the Trump administration’s attempts to kill the tolling plan.

Speaking at the monthly board meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Hochul addressed the uncertain future of congestion pricing after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a letter to her last week, said he was rescinding federal approval for the program and requesting an "orderly cessation" of the tolls.

"I will propose something in the alternative: orderly resistance," Hochul said. "The fight’s not over."

Alfonso A. Castillo reports in NEWSDAY that Federal Highway Administration executive director Gloria Shepherd followed up Duffy's letter with another telling state, city and MTA officials they "must cease the collection of tolls" by March 21. MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber yesterday confirmed federal officials have told the transit authority to "wind it up" in just over three weeks, but made it clear the MTA has no intention of complying unless ordered by a judge.

Launched Jan. 5 following years of planning, debate and legal challenges, the MTA’s Central Business District Tolling Program charges most vehicles $9 for driving on 60th Street and below in Manhattan during peak hours. The plan aims to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and generate funding for mass transit including the LIRR.

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The Southampton Town Board this past Tuesday closed a public hearing on a proposal to phase out all sand mines on residentially zoned property in town. The board did not indicate when it would vote on the proposal, which has the support of its Democratic majority.

Stephen J. Kotz reports on 27east.com that after reading comments from the Town Planning Board, which also supported the measure, Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said at the February 25 meeting that the board would still have to review the proposed law to make sure it meets the standards of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Opponents of the measure, who packed an initial public hearing, were nowhere to be found both Tuesday and last month when the board also solicited public comment. The Planning Board also recommended that the Southampton Town Board use money from the Community Preservation Fund to purchase former sand mines, a measure it said would speed up the amortization process. The amortization proposal, which was unveiled last October, would require mines that have extracted all of the sand allowed by their mining permits to close within a year. Those that still have sand left to mine would be allowed to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for an extension of up to seven years to exhaust their allotments. They would also be allowed to argue before the ZBA that they should be given additional time.

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A British-style boarding school complete with uniforms and boater hats is preparing to open in Oakdale in September, after receiving a provisional charter for a 6-12 school from the NYS Board of Regents.

Harrow International School New York is scheduled to be the first American affiliate of the 450-year-old Harrow School in London, whose alumni include Winston Churchill and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Oakdale campus is undergoing a $100 million-plus renovation, officials said.

Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that Harrow officials led an open house at the 170-acre campus of the former LaSalle Military Academy and St. John’s University in Oakdale on Tuesday.

The school expects to open for up to 80 students this year, with plans to eventually accommodate about 400, a school official said.

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With the infestation of the southern pine beetle on Long Island entering its 12th year, a separate insect and a fungus — along with...