🌱 CityMDs Reopen + Nassau's First Winery Opens

Morning, Five Towns! Let's get you started this Tuesday with everything you need to know going on in town today.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and windy. High: 35 Low: 27.

Here are the top three stories in Five Towns today:

1. The three CityMD locations that closed due to COVID-19 staffing shortages on Long Island have reopened. The locations in Bay Shore, Merrick, and Patchogue returned to normal operations on Monday. (News 12)
2. Nassau County's first winery opened in Oceanside. Insieme Wines opened a tasting room with in-house made wines. (Subscription: Newsday)
3. Banks lent an estimated $1.61 trillion for home purchases last year, up about 9 percent from 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the highest on record. The MBA projects that the value of home loans will climb to a new high of $1.74 trillion in 2022. (Subscription: Newsday)

Doing a "Dry January" or just looking for a flavorful alternative to regular cocktails? Here's a suggestion: try a non-alcoholic drink from our partners at Betera. Created by an award-winning chef from natural botanicals, Betera’s drinks come in 3 flavors — Ginger-Orange, Elderflower-Lime and Rhubarb-Hibiscus. We tried Ginger-Orange, and it was excellent — lightly effervescent, floral with a hint of bitterness and the sippability of a cocktail.

Betera is offering readers of the Daily a 15 percent discount on their first order: use PATCH15 at checkout. Highly recommended — you can try Betera here.

Today in Five Towns:

• Winter II Sports Begin, Woodmere Middle School.

From my notebook:

• Tomorrow is the Hewlett-Woodmere Board of Education meeting, 8 p.m., Hewlett High.
• Hebrew Academy of Long Beach in Woodmere announced its middle school spelling bee winners: first place Ayala Glicksman, Benaya Aryeh second, and Eitan Summers third. (LI Herald)
• St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway was awarded a Silver Certification for Excellence in Person-Centered Care by Planetree International. (LI Herald)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Tuesday! I'll see you soon.

— Jackie