The declaration makes Suffolk eligible for assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency. The county and the state will also be eligible for federal assistance with the cost of snow removal on eastern Long Island.

“Suffolk County bore the worst of the storm’s impact on New York,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who co-wrote a request to the president with U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. “Residents throughout Suffolk County and New York should not be left shouldering all of these costs alone.”

The Feb. 8 snowstorm forced scores of drivers to abandon their vehicles on roadways including the Long Island Expressway, which was closed for days while hundreds of snowplows were brought in from upstate to clear the way.

Countless other roads were also forced closed by the powerful nor’easter, dubbed Winter Storm Nemo, which brought the highest accumulations in the Town of Brookhaven, where residents were most critical of the municipalities response.

Inside the workings of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Physicists exploring the subatomic realm are well aware of the uncertainty principle at work on the particles there but now a federal report has come out that casts the future of America’s most advanced physics experiments in doubt at the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC).

The issue, as it is with many things involving the federal government these days, involves funding. But more importantly what’s at stake is the United States’ ability to remain at the forefront of cutting-edge science.

Last week a report was released by a subpanel of the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation’s Nuclear Science Advisory Committee that recommended closing the heavy ion collider if federal funding remains flat or just keeps up with inflation in the coming years. The report, named after the subpanel’s chairman Robert Tribble, a nuclear physicist based at the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University, favored completing a facility now under construction at Michigan State University and maintaining another facility at the Jefferson Lab in Virginia, which is being upgraded.

A modest increase more than inflation, the report suggested, might keep all facilities at least on track. Of America’s the three large atomic research labs, only BNL’s RHIC is currently operating, and it is set to run a series of high-level experiments starting Feb. 11 that will last until the summer.

In Monday’s response to the report’s worst-case scenario, the Empire State’s Congressional representatives have begun to weigh in. Both New York’s Democratic Senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, have called on the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Energy to increase funding of its nuclear physics program by an additional $50 million for the next fiscal year.

“Even though this report is non-binding, it should serve as a call to arms for those who care about scientific research, Long Island’s economy, and our nation’s position at the forefront of innovation,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).  “The solution to the problem is simply to make sure that the budget for nuclear research in this country is given a modest boost, so that hundreds of jobs on Long Island are preserved and America remains at the cutting edge of nuclear research.  Cutting our nuclear research now, and ceding our advantage to our competitors, is penny wise and pound foolish.”

“Closing a facility that plays an important role in the future of U.S. competitiveness and supports hundreds of jobs is the wrong approach,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). “If we are going to out-innovate and out-compete other countries in the fields of science and technology, we must continue to invest in cutting edge facilities like the country’s only ion collider at Brookhaven National Lab.”

In a jointly authored letter to the outgoing Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and acting director of the Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients, the senators wrote: “Now is not the time to scale back federal funding for such critical basic research and important scientific facilities and cede our position of leadership in these fields of study.  Our economic competitors in China, India and other countries have seen our success in these areas and now copy our approach to innovation and are increasing their rate of investment at a time when we seem to be considering the opposite.

“Strengthening U.S. investment in nuclear physics is the right thing to do to develop technologies to improve national security, identify and cure disease and meet our energy challenges, as well as to expand our knowledge about the makeup of the universe through scientific discovery.  Americans stand to benefit today and in the future from U.S. investment in nuclear physics through better medical imaging and diagnostic tools, new cancer therapies, advanced tools to deter nuclear proliferation and innovative energy storage systems.”

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) has been working closely with the offices of both senators to coordinate a response, and together they reversed deep cuts Republicans in Congress had proposed in spending bills in the past. They hope to do the same this time around, too.

“I have fought successfully in the past to protect Brookhaven National Lab from damaging budget cuts that would hurt Long Island’s economy and threaten America’s international leadership in research and development,” said Rep. Tim Bishop. “I am coordinating closely with Lab officials and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to make the case that the cutting-edge research in energy, medicine and other fields performed at the RHIC is a national priority that deserves sustained funding.”

The RHIC is world-renown for its ability to recreate the conditions presumed to match the universe in the first moments of existence so scientists can study in detail the type of matter at the beginning and understand the force that holds together “the fundamental particles that make up 99 percent” of the visible world—from stars to planets to people.

“We believe that RHIC science, past and future, is compelling and essential both for the DOE mission as well as for U.S. leadership in nuclear physics — and the Tribble report strongly reflects that view,” says Doon Gibbs, BNL’s interim laboratory director. “We will continue to advocate for science, for RHIC, and for Brookhaven Lab in all that we do.”

In a statement on the lab’s website, Gibbs said that he’s been in touch with the other two labs’ directors and “we have agreed to work together to realize the modest growth path.”

Sandy destroyed homes across the region, like this one on Fire Island that was knocked off its stilts.

The Sandy relief bill finally completed its passage through Congress on Monday, three months after the superstorm devastated Long Island, the tri-state area and much of the northeast.

Federal, state and local lawmakers cheered the U.S. Senate passing the final $51 billion of the $60 billion relief package—a bill that the U.S. House of Representatives infamously failed to pass four weeks ago amid the fiscal cliff negotiations. The Senate, which had already approved the funding, had to pass the bill a second time after House GOP leaders balked and the new session started.

“Despite the difficult path in getting to this moment, the Senate membership clearly recognized early on the urgency and necessity of approving the full aid package and its importance in rebuilding our battered infrastructure,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Conn.Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement.

The funding will be allocated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers and other agencies coordinating projects to rebuild areas damaged by the Oct. 29 storm.

“We now must remain vigilant to make sure these dollars move to the people who need it most, because at this point, aid delayed is aid denied,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

After the Republican House leadership initially refused to bring the Sandy bill up for a vote after the New Year, it later passed Jan. 15. The initial $9 billion in funding was approved late last year.

President Barack Obama released a statement shortly after the bill passed that he looks for to signing it and “had hoped Congress would provide this aid sooner.”

President Barack Obama gave his second inaugural address in Washington, D.C. on Monday, Jan. 21, 2012.

Long Island played a supporting role in the presidential inauguration from offering musical talent before the big day to supplying celebratory libations afterward—plus local residents that went to Washington, D.C. for the occasion.

Bedell Cellars winery in Cutchogue provided a 2009 Merlot for the 2013 Inaugural Luncheon on Monday. The Stony Brook School’s Chamber Singers sang a South African song called “Bonse Aba” during a pre-inauguration celebration Saturday. And countless Long Islanders braved the cold to watch President Barack Obama’s second inauguration live.

“Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life,” Obama said from the steps of the Capitol Building. “It does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time—but it does require us to act in our time.”

The president gave his second inaugural address Monday after a ceremonial oath. Chief Justice John Roberts had sworn Obama shortly before noon Jan. 20, as is legally required, but his swearing in ceremony was redone publicly Monday for the full day’s events, which coincided with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Whenever Inauguration Day falls on a Sunday, it is rescheduled for the following day.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, said the caterers for the 2013 Inaugural Luncheon chose Bedell, the North Fork wine.

“Serving Long Island’s own Bedell Cellars Merlot at the Inaugural luncheon shines a spotlight on one of New York’s world-class wine industry,” said Schumer. The senator was reportedly pushing for Long Island duck on the menu, but the Merlot will be served with bison instead.

The 16-member Stony Brook School Chamber Singers had received an invitation to sing in an inauguration event at the National City Christian Church as well. They were among 40 ensembles invited to perform from across the country.

In addition to LI residents who drove down to the nation’s capital on their own, some organized bus trips, including an NAACP-chartered coach to D.C. from Lakeview that left early Monday morning destined for the National Mall.

Comparing the Founding Fathers to the partisan gridlock in today’s Congress were dominant themes woven throughout Obama’s speech as he nudged the Republican majority that has blocked his legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay,” the president said. “We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.  We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.  We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and 40 years, and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.”

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, left, who went to Washington D.C. Tuesday to lobby for Sandy aid, meet with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Reps. Peter King and Steve Israel.

Seventy eight days after Sandy, the remaining $51 billion of the $60-billion northeast aid package finally passed the U.S. House of Representatives, sparking praise from Long Island lawmakers who two weeks ago were at war with the Republican majority that initially snubbed superstorm survivors.

“Tonight’s vote to provide $60 billion in Hurricane Sandy relief was an outstanding victory,” said Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), who famously blasted House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) for the delays. ”It is unfortunate that we had to fight so hard to be treated the same as every other state has been treated. But we did fight this bias against the northeast and thank god our residents won.”

Rep.  Steve Israel (D-Huntington) said, “New Yorkers can finally rest assured that help is on its way. I’m delighted that the House finally passed the Sandy relief bill, but the real heroes are the New Yorkers rebuilding their lives, homes, and businesses.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Conn. Gov. Dannel Malloy released a joint statement saying, “We are grateful to those members of Congress who today pulled together in a unified, bipartisan coalition to assist millions of their fellow Americans … at their greatest time of need.”

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said he expects the bill to easily pass the Senate and be sent to the President’s desk for signing.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave his State of the State address in Albany on Wednesday.

The gun control debate got a shot in the arm this week when a school shooting broke out during a White House task force meeting on the issue the day after Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged New York to pass the nation’s toughest firearms regulations.

Proposed re-enactment of the federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that expired in 2004 is at the forefront of the current debate. But pro-gun lobbyists shot down such regulations as an infringement of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Emotions continue to run high on both sides.

“There has got to be some common ground, to not solve every problem but diminish the probability” of future mass shootings, Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday. “That’s what this is all about.”

Biden was meeting with a group of hunting organizations when a 16-year-old armed with a shotgun critically wounded a fellow student in a California high school. The task force was formed after a gunman massacred 20 school children and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. last month.

The National Rifle Association, whose leader has proposed armed guards in every school—although in the latest case, the school’s armed guard was snowed in at home—characterized the meeting as “disappointing” and said it will work with Congress instead.

“No one hunts with an assault rifle,” Cuomo said Wednesday while unveiling his gun-control package. “No one needs 10 bullets to kill a deer. And too many innocent people have died already. End the madness now!”

He proposed banning gun clips manufactured before 1994 that hold more than 10 bullets—hardware used by the Newtown gunman and other mass murderers—modernizing the pistol permitting process to ensure felons and others barred from owning handguns don’t fall through the cracks.

Cuomo also gave a nod to the NRA and conservatives such as state Senate Republican Conference Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), who have suggested the gun control conversation falls short without addressing mental health and stricter punishments.

“There is no doubt that illegal guns are a major threat to public safety—but it is not the only one,” Skelos said after Cuomo laid out his plans in his State of the State address. “More frequently we are reading about crimes committed by people with a history of mental illness who may not be getting the treatment they need.”

The governor’s package includes enhanced sentencing guidelines for those convicted of using illegal guns, which mirrors a series of proposals Skelos unveiled last week. Cuomo also plans to propose measures to ensure mental health professionals alert authorities when they become aware a gun owner is likely to cause harm.

In addition, he also wants to close a loophole that allows private gun owners to sell guns to others without the buyer being subject to the background checks they would face when making a purchase from a licensed gun dealer.

On the federal level, New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are calling on Biden to include measures to crackdown on illegal guns and strengthen background checks into his final recommendations.

The senators are pushing bills mandating that states share records on felons, drug abusers and those seriously mentally ill to be used in background checks for gun buyers. They also are pushing a bill cracking down on trafficking firearms into New York.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) is also reintroducing her legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines for guns—a bill that is likely to be part of the Newtown task force’s recommendations Tuesday to President Obama.

McCarthy has devoted her political career to combating gun violence after her husband was murdered and son critically injured during the 1993 Long Island Railroad massacre. Rep. Diana Degette (D-Colo), whose district includes the infamous Columbine High School and is adjacent to Aurora—where a gunman murdered 12 people and wounded nearly 60 others at a movie theater last summer—is cosponsoring the legislation.

“These devices are used to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time possible and we owe it to innocent Americans everywhere to keep them out of the hands of dangerous people,” said McCarthy. “We don’t even allow hunters to use them—something’s deeply wrong if we’re protecting game more than we’re protecting innocent human beings.”

Peter King blasts House GOP members. (Chris Twarowski/Long Island Press)

Sixty-six days after Superstorm Sandy devastated New York and New Jersey, the Republicans in Congress got scorched by prominent members of their own party—Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford)—for not immediately voting on the $62 billion recovery bill that the Senate passed with bipartisan support. And, given the level of animosity expressed, the aftermath of their partisan attack may last longer than the cleanup following the storm.

After being the target of scathing criticism, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) has agreed to bring the aid package for a vote  in two phases starting Friday with $9 billion for the National Flood Insurance Program up first, followed by $51 billion on Jan. 15, when the 113^th Congress holds its first full legislative day. The problem with Boehner’s schedule is that the Senate will have to vote on the issue once again.

The delay has touched a nerve on Capitol Hill because Congress approved $62.3 billion in federal emergency appropriations two weeks after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in 2005.

Before Boehner put the vote back on the calendar, King had said that “the conduct of the Republican leadership was disgraceful, it was indefensible and immoral.” He blasted members of his own party—breaking one of President Ronald Reagan’s cardinal rules, “thou shall not speak ill of another Republican.”

“I can’t imagine that type of indifference, that type of disregard, that cavalier attitude being shown to any other part of the country,” said King. He accused the House Republicans of being prejudiced against New York and New Jersey and taking their support for granted.

“These Republicans have no problem finding New York when they’re out raising millions of dollars, they come to New York all the time filling their pockets with money from New Yorkers,” King said on Fox News. “I’m saying right now: anyone from New York and New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their mind because what they did last night to put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans was an absolute disgrace.”

How his sentiments go over with the Speaker remain to be seen, since King tried to smooth over his anger later Wednesday afternoon, saying that his outburst “was a lifetime ago.”

Christie, whose name has been on the short list of Republican presidential contenders for 2016, had been quite pointed in his criticism of the House’s handling of Sandy relief.

“Unlike people in Congress we have actual responsibilities,” Christie, referring to himself and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, said in a press conference. “Shame on you!” he repeated, adding that the Speaker had stopped taking his calls Tuesday night. “There’s only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims: The House Majority and their Speaker, John Boehner.”

The criticism from our region’s Democratic elected officials was more along familiar lines.

“I’m absolutely shocked that the House Republican leadership is adjourning the 112th Congress without addressing the needs of the victims of Superstorm Sandy,” said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola). “Like most members whose constituents were affected by Sandy, we expected, and were all but assured, that there would be consideration of a supplemental appropriations bill before this House adjourned. It’s unacceptable to leave millions of Americans across the most densely populated part of the nation, including my Long Island district, on the hook for the unexpected costs of a natural disaster.”

Sen. Charles Schumer said that the New York and New Jersey delegation had lobbied House leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) to schedule a vote “but then John Boehner pulled the rug out from under us,” and the two states “got caught in the crossfire of an inside the beltway leadership squabble in the Republican Party.”

New York’s junior Democratic Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, went as far as questioning Boehner’s manhood.

“Speaker Boehner should come to Staten Island and tell families trying to rebuild their businesses why they need to wait longer for help. He should come to the Rockaways and tell families trying to rebuild their homes why they need to wait longer for help. But I doubt he has the dignity nor the guts to do it.”