🌱 Mourning Woodmere Teen Killed By Drunk Driver + Murder Arrest

Hello, people of Five Towns! It's me again, your host of the Five Towns Daily.

First, today's weather:

Some sun, then clouds; mild. High: 53 Low: 52.

Here are the top five stories today in Five Towns:

1. Friends and family mourn the Woodmere teenage girl who was killed by a drunk driver on Saturday. She was returning from a camp reunion with friends, some now injured, and her mother remains in critical condition. (CBS New York)
2. Nassau County approved the $1.6 million sale of two county-owned properties in Freeport and Roosevelt to a developer to build 155 units of affordable housing. MHANYS Freeport LLC is a nonprofit and will build mixed income, multifamily residential housing and ground-level commercial space at 450-46 North Main St. in Freeport and 470 North Main St. in Roosevelt. (Subscription: Newsday)
3. Nassau County Executive-elect Bruce Blakeman said he will not enforce Gov. Kathy Hochul's new mask mandate. And a spokeswoman for the current executive, Laura Curran, said she will not be actively enforcing the mandate, only responding to complaints. (Subscription: Newsday)
4. A Hudson Valley woman was arrested for the Nov. 25 murder of a Hempstead man on Fulton Avenue. Veronica Hardwick, 51, of Poughkeepsie, is accused of stabbing and killing 35-year-old Richard Reshard. (Patch)
   
5. Flu cases are beginning to rise, and Nassau has the most cases of anywhere in New York State. This week saw 2,871 cases of influenza out of more than 64,000 tests. Both Nassau and Suffolk reported more than 10 new flu cases per 100,000 residents. (Daily Voice)

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Today in Five Towns:

• CC PTA Meeting, WEC, Hewlett-Woodmere School District, 9:30 a.m.
• Board of Education Regular Meeting, OES, 8 p.m.

From my notebook:

• If you missed Woodmere Middle School's 8th-Grade Winter Concert last night you can watch it here. (Facebook)
• Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools is looking for alumni of Hewlett High School from the years 2014 - 2021 to participate in a survey about your education. (Facebook)
• Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library has an online lecture about the history of Santa Claus at noon. (Facebook)

From our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Big Apple Circus is NOW OPEN in New York City! (December 17)
• Amahl & the Night Visitors — Family Opera at Sands Point Preserve (December 18)
• Add your event

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll see you soon.

— Jackie