Week in Review: High Stakes School Testing, New Asian Market & More

School Board Takes Stance Against High-Stakes Testing

Students in Three Village face too many high-stakes standardized tests, and the state needs to re-evaluate its focus on using those tests to evaluate both students and teachers – that's the sentiment behind a resolution on high-stakes testing unanimously adopted Tuesday night by the Three Village school board. 

Warehouse Collapse Forces Stony Brook Beverage to Relocate

Stony Brook Beverage is open for business at its new location at 718 Route 25A in Setauket – about 50 feet to the west of its old location. While a large sign in the window of the old building informs customers of the move, owner Bill Seydel, whose family has owned the store for the past 10 years, said some people seem to still be confused about where their favorite beer and beverage distributor has gone. Seydel and wife Theresa said they needed to vacate their previous building after a rear warehouse collapsed during the February blizzard. 

Children's Hospital Fundraising More Than Doubles Since 2011

When Patch checked in with the team behind fundraising for Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital in October of 2011, pledges and donations had reached nearly $4 million. Now, about a year-and-a-half later, more than double that amount has been raised through gifts and pledges: $8,040,943.

Bishop Pushes Cancer Patient Protection Act at Local Treatment Center

At medical practices such as North Shore Hematology/Oncology Associates in East Setauket, the federal government's sequestration cuts have hit an already-vulnerable population: cancer patients. With cuts to Medicare reimbursements for cancer drugs in effect, North Shore Hematology/Oncology Associates has had to send about 15 percent of its patients to hospitals for treatment. But a bill being co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tim Bishop, D-Southampton, has the potential to rectify that. If passed, the Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2013 would restore pre-sequestration levels of Medicare funding for cancer treatments.

New Asian Market Coming to Stony Brook

Renovations are under way at 1087 Route 25A in Stony Brook, where a new Asian food market is slated to open in June. The shop's owner, Pengfei Wang, said he is looking forward to "serving the people who live in this community and serving the college students from Stony Brook." Wang, 24, is himself a graduate of Stony Brook: He said he finished a degree in applied mathematics in 2012. The new store, Stony Brook Asian Mart Inc., is located in the former home of Budget Instant Print Center, which closed in the summer of 2012 after more than 30 years in business when its owners decided to retire. 

New Nursery School to Open in Stony Brook

When she was searching for nursery schools for her own children, Sarah Gounaris said she found schools that she liked – but not schools that she loved. So the Commack mom, who has a degree in child development and years of experience working in preschools, decided to open her own.