🌱 Center Moriches-Eastport Daily: United Healthcare, $13.6M Payout

Morning, everybody! It's me, Diane Witek, your host of the Daily. Keep reading to find out the most important things happening around town.

First, today's weather:

Partly sunny. High: 67, low: 52.

Here are the top stories in Center Moriches-Eastport today:

1. Beech trees across Long Island, New York and the Northeast, have been decimated by a newly discovered tree disease. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is asking residents to report signs of the blight so the state can track its spread. The disease has now been found in eight states and in Canada. The department asks residents who spot the striped, diseased leaves to take photographs of the leaves, bark and the entire tree and submit to foresthealth@dec.ny.gov. (Patch)
2. Roughly 18 million children under the age 5 are the only group in the United States not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine until Pfizer-BioNTech announced on Monday, that "three modified doses of its COVID-19 vaccine offer strong protection for children ages six months to five years." (Subscription: Newsday)
3. Have fun this weekend at Tiki Joe's Smith Point, located at 1 William Floyd Parkway, Shirley. They will have live music on Saturday, May 28, from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m. (Google Events)
4. On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that under an August 2021 agreement with United Healthcare, $13.6 million has been paid to New Yorkers who had been denied health care coverage. A federal lawsuit was filed against United for illegally denying coverage of outpatient psychotherapy for thousands of members. (Patch)

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Today in Center Moriches-Eastport:

• In-Person Gentle Toning and Muscle Strengthening (Center Moriches). (8:30 a.m.)
• Gentle Chair Yoga with Susan on Zoom (Center Moriches). (11 a.m.)
• Intro to Guitar Workshop — Grades 4-12th — CMT660 (Center Moriches). (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Moriches Bay Little League: "What an exciting night! Congratulations to the Center Moriches Varsity Baseball and Varsity Softball teams for moving forward into the next playoff game! Both teams were victorious during their home games yesterday afternoon!" (Facebook) (Website)
• Moriches Bay Project: "The MBP Team would like to thank the amazing sponsors of our 2022 Bayside Fête! Thank you for making this event possible!" (Instagram) (Website)
• Center Moriches Free Public Library: "Stream new movies on any device, and even cast to your TV, with #hoopla. Check out Disney-Pixar's Turning Red today! #cmorlibrary, #turningredmovie, #hoopladigital, #freewithyourlibrarycard. https://bit.ly/3knN4n2." (Facebook) (Website)
• Eastport Animal Hospital: "Taking care of your furry friends is a form of pure love. Check out these simple pet care tips!" (Facebook) (Website)

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Featured businesses:

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Events:

• 40th Season Kickoff (May 28)
• The Hampton's Classic Car Show (May 29)
• Free Educational Medicare Plans Seminar at the La Buena Vida Restaurant (June 8)
• Add your event

You're officially in the loop for today! I'll see you soon.

— Diane Witek

About me: Impassioned Writer, Website Designer, Social Media Marketer and newly proclaimed Baker. Lover of nature and animals of all kinds.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Center Moriches-Eastport Daily? Contact me at diane.witek@patch.com