Elected leaders on Long Island are asking for an inquiry into how a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl was allegedly sex trafficked while missing for 25 days last year after her family pleaded with county officials for help.

"It's our responsibility as legislators to find out what's going on, and I don't want to be accusatory but I think the No. 1 thing is, what was reported and when was it reported and who found out?" Suffolk Legis. Jason Richberg said.

Looming large over this girl’s case is whether new county safeguards failed after the 2020 killing of 8-year-old Thomas Valva, who was forced to sleep in a freezing garage by his NYPD officer father and his fiancee. "After things that have happened in the past, I think it's important that we ensure that we're doing our due diligence to get those answers," Richberg said.

The Suffolk Legislature's Democratic minority leader said his staff has asked for a briefing on the county's involvement in the girl's case, but has yet to get one. Even before the formal meeting, some new ideas for changes were beginning to emerge, including more education on the issue of sex trafficking for parents and children, and better screening for at-risk youth.

Elected leaders who spoke to Newsday said it was too soon to cast blame on Suffolk County Child Protective Services, one of the agencies that had been involved in the girl’s case before her disappearance.

Michelle DiDio, the girl's stepgrandmother, said Child Protective Services was involved in the case in a letter written to Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine pleading for help from county officials in the months before the teen's disappearance.

Newsday has chronicled the girl’s story in an exclusive investigation called "Unprotected."

Newsday is not naming the girl, now 15, because she is a minor and the victim of alleged and adjudicated sex crimes.

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Southampton Town officials unveiled plans for the renovation of the Red Creek Park skate park in Hampton Bays to a crowd of skateboarders and parents last week to what the town said was an enthusiastic reception. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the plans, which were developed by engineering firm L.K. McLean Associates and custom skate park designers, the Platform Group, were presented to skaters in two potential arrangements, with variations in the obstacles and skating features that were offered. Those interested are being asked to take a survey on the town’s website southamptontownny.gov/survey to share their preferences for the skate park’s final design. The survey will remain live until October 15. The skate park renovation is expected to cost about $1.25 million and will be funded by the Town of Southampton. The work is anticipated to be completed by fall 2026.

Once again for your input on the renovation of Red Creek Park skate park in Hampton Bays visit southamptontownny.gov.

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Saving Cold-Stunned Sea Turtles is a free program being presented this evening at Quogue Wildlife Refuge from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Atlantic Marine Conservation Society biologists will review the species of sea turtles found in NY waters and the threats they face during this presentation in the Nature Center. Participants will learn what cold-stunning is and the effect it has on sea turtles, as well as learn how to effectively monitor their local beaches for cold-stunned sea turtles. Learn what to do if you come across a stranded sea turtle this Fall or Winter! This evening’s free program for adults and families begins at 6 p.m. in the Quogue Wildlife Refuge.

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An effort is afoot for the second year in a row to get New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign a bill banning the harvesting of horseshoe crabs for bait and biomedical purposes. Beth Young reports in EAST END BEACON that Governor Hochul vetoed the bill last year, after some legislators, including local NYS Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio {R-2nd District}, expressed concern that fishermen would no longer be able to use horseshoe crab meat to catch conch and eel.

Both the New York State Assembly and Senate passed a new version of the bill this June, and it is again awaiting the Governor’s signature by the end of this year.

Seventeen environmental groups led by Citizens Campaign for the Environment held a rally in support of the bill yesterday at the Northport Village Dock.

“Horseshoe crab populations are being depleted. Commercial fishermen catch them and chop them up for use as bait for conch and eel,” said Citizens Campaign in its announcement of the rally. “Horseshoe crabs are an essential species in the food web—a decline in their population is harming the ecosystem and threatening bird species that depend upon the crabs for food.”

Connecticut and New Jersey already have bans on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs, and Massachusetts has strict restrictions on their harvest.

The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the federal government in 2024 to list the American Horseshoe Crab as an endangered or threatened species, noting in its petition that “multiple studies have indicated a significant decline of the American horseshoe crab in Connecticut and New York.”

The crabs are currently listed as “vulnerable” federally.

Renowned naturalist Dr. Jane Goodall, who recently passed away, had joined the campaign to get the governor to sign the bill last year.

“I believe New York has an opportunity to lead in this conservation effort. By signing this bill, you can ensure the survival of the horseshoe crab and the many species that depend on it…I have devoted my life to preserving the planet and I hope together, we can make a lasting difference in this important corner of the world,” said Dr. Goodall in a letter last year to Governor Hochul, provided to the press by Citizens Campaign for the Environment.

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The Town of Riverhead is moving forward with the conversion of the former town hall to its justice court. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the Town Board yesterday unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the issuance of $6.5 million in bonds to finance the construction of the new justice court facility. The board plans to gut the existing building at 200 Howell Avenue, located next to the building at 210 Howell which currently houses both the town justice court and town police department headquarters. The renovation of the former Riverhead Town Hall will result in two courtrooms and additional office and conference room space for the busy town court, which long ago outgrew the space it occupies in the shared building, said Supervisor Tim Hubbard after Tuesday’s meeting. The renovated courthouse will provide a secure environment for judicial proceedings, including a secure, enclosed space for the transfer of prisoners from the police headquarters or county jail to the town courthouse, he said. After yesterday’s vote to authorize $6.5 million in borrowing, the supervisor said the town had not yet hired architects to draw plans for the building renovation. Instead, Hubbard said, Council Member Bob Kern was working with builder Joe Petrocelli on the new building layout, and they were consulting with state officials on the proper design and construction of a secure justice court facility. Petrocelli has been working on the project “gratis,” Hubbard said. The supervisor said the town is hoping to begin renovation work on the former Riverhead Town Hall shortly after the new year.

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Shelter Island Friends of Music presents Borromeo String Quartet performing music by Haydn, Vijay Iyer, and Dvorak, this coming Sunday, October 12 at 6pm in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Admission is free. And there will be a post concert reception with the musicians.

“Each visionary performance of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet strengthens and deepens its reputation as one of the most important ensembles of our time…they have been hailed for their “edge-of-the-seat performances,” by the Boston Globe, which called it “simply the best.”

The concert is this Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, 32 North Ferry Road {Rte.114}, Shelter Island, N.Y.

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New York pregnant women, mothers and young children enrolled in a federal program that provides food, infant formula and other benefits can continue to receive that assistance for now, but that funding could soon be depleted amid a lengthy government shutdown, experts warn.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, often referred to as WIC, currently "remains open and ready to serve families" in New York, according to the state Department of Health, which manages the program in New York.

"As the federal landscape continues to change rapidly, we are closely monitoring any developments and will keep New Yorkers informed of any changes that would affect their benefits," the department said in a Monday email to Newsday.

But the National WIC Association, a nonprofit that is a proponent of the program, is raising the alarm that a protracted government shutdown could jeopardize the health of millions of mothers and children who rely on WIC across the country. That's because WIC is dependent on yearly funding doled out at the start of the government's fiscal year, Oct. 1, which now comes as the spending impasse between Republicans and Democrats draws on.

A reserve of $150 million is keeping the program afloat now.

During the 2024 fiscal year, the program helped about 440,000 people in New York, with the state receiving about $500 million in federal funding, according to the state comptroller’s office.

About 23,550 people in Suffolk took part in the program this year as of July, per the NYS Health Department.

Several Long Island program providers said this week that WIC services have not been impacted by the shutdown so far, though they remain vigilant.