🌱 North Fork Daily: LI's COVID Positivity Rate + Home Invasion

Good day, neighbors! It's me again, your host of the North Fork Daily.

First, today's weather:

Variable cloudiness. High: 37 Low: 28.

Here are the top three stories in North Fork today:

1. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office has reported that Long Island has a COVID-19 positivity rate of 13.05 percent, the highest rate in New York. On Thursday, more than 8,200 new infections were reported in Nassau and Suffolk. (News 12)
2. The name of the man killed in a Christmas home invasion in Southampton was released. Steven Byrnes, a 53-year-old man, was found shot on Roses Grove Road. (Patch)
3. The Riverhead-based African American Educational & Cultural Festival will host its Second Annual Virtual Spirit of Kwanzaa Celebration: Seven days and Seven Principles from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. The celebration is virtual and takes place every night at 7 p.m. (RiverheadLOCAL)

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Today in North Fork:

• All ages roller skating, 102 3rd St., Greenport, 6 to 9 p.m.

From my notebook:

• North Fork Brewing Co. in Riverhead will have a Holiday Trivia Night Tuesday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. (Subscription: Newsday)
• French bulldogs are the most-stolen dog breeds. Two recent publicized cases of French bulldogs being dognapped on Long Island ended with the dogs being recovered but according to statistics only 10 percent of 2 million dogs that are stolen per year in the U.S. are found. (Subscription: Newsday)
• A family in New Hyde Park found a creative solution for Christmas gatherings during a COVID-19 surge. Crista LaRock of New Hyde Park recorded a video from the family's Christmas Eve dinner table with her sister wrapped in a plastic bubble. (ABC 7 News)

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That's it for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Jackie