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WSHU Official Statement on Season Nine Playoffs

When Lane Murdock, a high school sophomore, heard that 17 high school students and educators had been killed in a shooting in Parkland, Fla., she says she felt numb.

To her, and so many others, mass shootings can feel all too common in the U.S.

"In the time I've been in high school we've had the Pulse, Las Vegas and now, [the Parkland] shooting," Murdock says.

So that same day, Feb.14, Murdock started a Change.org petition that so far has received more than a quarter-million signatures. Her ask? A walkout to protest violence in schools that she planned to coincide with the anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. Murdock was born in 2002.

On one of the last days of spring break, she and seven other students from her high school in Ridgefield, Conn., gather around a few tables at their town rec center. They have been working hard, even losing sleep, trying to get organized for the day. As Murdock says, "Success knows no sleep."

This is, by far, the biggest event they have ever planned. She and her team have more than 2,500 walkouts across the country registered through their website. They've drafted a long to-do list, including everything from securing a stage for speeches for their local walkout, to reaching out to the national press.

Meet The Students Who Dreamed Up Friday's National School Walkout

By IAN C. SCHAFER

September 2017

Filed for WSHU Public Radio

Long Island and video games have a history as old as the medium.

It’s generally held that the very first video game, Tennis for Two, was developed in 1958 by William Higinbotham of Brookhaven National Labs.

When Nintendo released their Nintendo Entertainment System — or N-E-S — in 1985, the North American home video games market was stagnant and there was no guarantee of success. They were seen as a novelty, and no longer profitable after the failure of Atari, the biggest player in the industry at the time.

But Nintendo pulled it off, igniting what is now the most profitable entertainment industry in the world, worth over 91-billion-dollars.

Their first test market?

New York City.

Joseph Lerner, an IT worker and father of three from Saint James on Long Island is the proud owner of one of these first 50,000 systems. But he wasn’t in line to buy it day-one.

He’s a collector, and for him, like many retro games enthusiasts on Long Island, a childhood pastime became a lifetime passion through buying and trading.

“That’s what I grew up on. That was the thing. The Nintendo, Super Nintendo — I remember when I first got Mortal Kombat, everyone was at my house. They were all like ‘You’re the only person who got it!’ All day  — then we’d go outside and play games.”

Mike Burd, owner of retro-focused shop, Video Game Trading Post in Levittown shared a similar sentiment.

“It's my generation buying their childhood back.”

Burd opened his shop in 2015 as the retro games market began to boom. Now independently owned games shops catering primarily to the retro market are popping up all over Long Island. He uses the example of classic NES game, Contra.

“When I see Contra back in 2007 selling for 10, 15 bucks and now it’s selling for 40-45 bucks — pretty much it’s tripled over.”

Burd had been selling and trading games out of his shed before then.

Leroy Raymond, co-founder of the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo says these casual meetups are a hallmark of the retro gaming community.

“We started the expo, it was me and two other guys. We met just through the Facebook group and trading games in Target parking lots and places like that on Long Island.”

The first expo was in 2015 and saw huge success.

“We were expecting, you know, a third of of the amount of people that showed up. So it’s a great problem to have when a lot of people are really into it.”

This year’s expo was held this past weekend at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City and was expanded to include a second day.

Vendors, internet personalities and players turned out to share their love of retro gaming through play, discussion, transaction — and competition.

Many attendees first heard about the event through the Long Island Retro Gaming Facebook group, which boasts nearly three-thousand members.

Burd says that social media has played a huge role in the current popularity of retro games.

“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn't for social media — Facebook, Google. It's tremendous.”

It makes it easier to find the games and hardware you’re looking for, but for collectors like Joseph Lerner, this ease brings stiff competition.

"It helps because I’ve met a lot of cool people, but for the average person going hunting — because I love treasure hunting, I love finding this stuff — there’s so many people. They’ve just slimmed it down — ‘Oh you’re the tenth person here.’”

This popularity hasn’t gone unnoticed by the industry either.

Last year Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System Classic Edition, a miniature version of the original NES with a selection of popular titles built-in.

The demand far outweighed the supply. The system, which costs $60 at retail, can currently sell for as much $350 on eBay.

Its follow-up, modeled after 1990’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System will be released this month and similar systems are coming soon from Sega and Atari.

These systems are a great opportunity for the casual audience to enjoy these classic games, but enthusiasts have been using the same technology behind them to play console games since the mid-90s.

Software emulation allows anything from a personal computer to a cellphone, or even a different video game console to read and play digital copies of a video game.

While many say that emulation is important for preserving video game history...

Raymond: “They were kind of designed to be ephemeral. I don’t think they were designed to last. So I think emulation serves a purpose in that we’re at least able to preserve these things.”

Everyone agreed that nothing beats the real thing.

By IAN C. SCHAFER

AUG 11, 2017

Read at WSHU

Officials in the Town of Oyster Bay on Long Island say a new single-stream recycling program will have both a positive environmental impact and benefit taxpayers.

The town currently operates on a dual-stream system that requires residents to separate paper and cardboard from metals, glass and plastics.

Single-stream recycling requires less work on the part of residents. Items are separated in the facility instead of at the curb.

Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino says the new program will generate up to $2 million in revenue.

The town currently pays almost $36 per ton to have someone pick up all non-paper recyclables and receives $45 per ton for paper goods.

By IAN C. SCHAFER

AUG 9, 2017

Read at WSHU

The Family Service League on Long Island plans to build a facility in Bay Shore where those in treatment for drug abuse or mental illness can receive medical care for themselves and their children.

The $7 million Health and Wellness Center was approved last month by the Suffolk County Economic Development Corporation.

Family Service League Vice President for Development Jonathan Chenkin says the center will be a great asset to some of the most vulnerable members of the public.

“On average, a person with severe mental illness lives 25 years less than someone without. So having this comprehensive healthcare model really changes the way they live and adapt in our society.”

Chenkin says the center will be staffed with doctors as part of a partnership with Northwell Health’s Southside Hospital.

“We currently have an incredible collaborative healthcare program with Southside Northwell and the model is working so well, and having such an impact on people with severe mental illness and covering all of their needs — including their physical needs — that we really felt, based on the outcomes of this model that we would like to expand it.”

By IAN C. SCHAFER

AUG 8, 2017

Read at WSHU

A counterterrorism unit has been created by the Southampton Town Police Department on Long Island to increase security at high-profile events in the resort town popular with the rich and famous.

The department says about 15 officers will regularly carry semi-automatic rifles and coordinate with other counterterrorism agencies. The officers have worked with the Secret Service to learn how to pick threats out of a crowd.

Counterterrorism officers have been stationed at some events in the past few weeks to deter threats. There are over 100 such large events in Southampton Town every summer.

By IAN C. SCHAFER

AUG 8, 2017

Read at WSHU

Lawyers for former New York State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos have asked a federal appeals court for a new trial in his corruption conviction.

They cite the court’s recent overturning of the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges.

Silver won his appeal based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that elected officials must engage in a direct quid pro quo — as opposed to taking a phone call or attending a meeting — to be charged with “honest services fraud.”

Skelos and his son, Adam, were convicted in 2015 on extortion and bribery charges for Dean Skelos’ role in securing high-paid jobs for his son.