🌱 Patrols Increased At LI Synagogues + Fire Two Nights In A Row

Get on up, Five Towns! Let's get you all caught up to start this day off on an informed note. Here's everything you need to know about what's happening around Five Towns today.

First, today's weather:

Morning rain, then flurries. High: 42 Low: 29.

Here are the top three stories today in Five Towns:

1. Patrols have increased at Jewish synagogues on Long Island after hostages were held at the Congregation Beth Israel in Texas. Nassau Police are monitoring Midway Jewish Center in Syosset and other synagogues in Nassau after Saturday's attack. (News 12)
2. For the second night in a row, a fire broke out at a building in Mineola. It happened at a building on East 2nd Street just before 6 p.m. Saturday, and on Friday at the same time. (News 12)
3. Rock and Wrap It Up, the Cedarhurst-based food recovery and anti-poverty think tank, staged its 31st annual Gift Giving on the morning of Dec. 24, and Gammy’s Pantry, of Lawrence, had its third annual Three Kings Day on Jan. 6 and 7. The groups distributed over 10,000 gifts, 8,300 of them donated by Publishers Clearing House in Jericho. (LI Herald)

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Today in Five Towns:

• The Chocolate Makery at Jewish Children's Museum Brooklyn, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Long Island commuters are asking the LIRR to open station waiting rooms for extended hours during the cold winter months. (Subscription: Newsday)
• Baseball Plus in Hicksville has indoor baseball and softball pitching machines, 2 to 10 p.m. weekdays, and9 a.m.-7 p.m. weekends. (Subscription: Newsday)
• Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library will be closed today for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Monday. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with another update!

— Jackie