(Long Island, NY) The Long Island Aquarium is pleased to announce new Winter-Weekday special pricing! Starting November 2^nd and running through January 31, 2016, guests can take advantage of the Falling Temperatures, Falling Prices promotion.  Mondays through Fridays ONLY (excluding holidays, school breaks and vacations), adults (13-61) will get admission to the Aquarium and Exhibition Center for $19. Kids (3-12) and seniors (62+) will pay just $15 for all-day admission.  As always, children 2 and under are free.

Bryan DeLuca, Executive Director, says “We want to thank our loyal guests for their continued support by making weekday visits that much more appealing. We understand the majority of our weekday guests are senior citizens and parents with young children looking to get out of the house.  We want them to think of coming to see us and enjoy a FINtastic day at the Aquarium.”

This promotion is the latest in pricing promotions that the Long Island Aquarium is offering their guests.  In January 2015, they implemented Free Birthdays where guests get free admission within 7 days of their birthdays (guests must show valid ID). In March 2014, the Exhibition Center price was incorporated into the Aquarium admission price.  Says DeLuca “We have so much to offer our visitors, but making sure our price points are manageable for young families and senior citizens alike is so important.”

The privately-owned Long Island Aquarium, features one of the largest all-living coral reef displays in this hemisphere, a 120,000-gallon shark tank, year-round sea lion shows, numerous touch tanks, butterflies from all over the world, the largest, living insect zoo in North America and more than 100 exhibits and interactive experiences, including Shark Dive, Penguin Encounter, Pirate Snorkel, Shark Keeper, and more! Located in Riverhead, on the east end of Long Island, guests are encouraged to learn about what lives within the local waters, with exhibits showcasing local flora and fauna, as well as exotic, tropical displays.

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Police Fourth Squad detectives are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a man in Islandia on Tuesday, November 3.

Carlos Santiago was driving a 2008 Honda northbound on Motor Parkway when his vehicle was struck by a tractor trailer that was traveling westbound on Express Drive North at 1:15 p.m.

Suffolk County Police are investigating a motor vehicle crash that killed a man in Islandia on Tuesday, November 3. Photo Credit: Chris Boyle.

Santiago, 35, of Brentwood, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the tractor trailer, William Garrison, 56, of Frankfort, Indiana, was transported via ambulance to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for non-life-threatening injuries.

The tractor trailer was inspected at the scene by the Suffolk County Motor Carrier Safety Section and the Honda was impounded for a safety check. The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Fourth Squad detectives at 631-854-8452.

Light Over Water: Oyster Bay Harbor Scenes – Saturday, November 21, 3 to 6 pm, in the Oyster Bay Historical Society’s Koenig Center

(Long Island, NY) On Saturday, November 21, from 3 to 6 pm, artist Kirk Larsen shares the powerful inspiration behind his current exhibition Light Over Water: Oyster Bay Harbor Scenes, now on view at the Oyster Bay Historical Society. Mr Larsen examines the creative process at work in many of the fifty-six paintings and drawings on exhibit, as well as recounting the emotional and financial rewards of investing in fine art.

In All Her Glory. Photo Credit: Kirk Larsen.

Learn some of the basics of how and why to buy art, and discover how ownership of fine art can enrich, enliven, calm, and even heal. A great opportunity for beginners and seasoned collectors alike, this will be an uplifting event for all.

The program takes place at the Historical Society’s Angela Koenig Center on 20 Summit Street in Oyster Bay. Entry is free and open to all, but reservations are required. Contact the Oyster Bay Historical Society at 516-922-5032 or obhsdirector@optonline.net.

The exhibition remains on view until December 23.

(Long Island, NY) Reefer Madness: The Musical, a hilarious send-up of the 1936 cult movie that depicted innocent American teens caught up in the scourge of marijuana, is coming to Farmingdale State College in November.

Presented by the Back Stage Theater Company in the Little Theater in Roosevelt Hall, the show opens November 13 at 8 p.m.  Additional performances, scheduled for November 14, 19, 20 and 21, also start at 8 p.m.  Tickets are $10 for the general public, and $5 for senior citizens and non-Farmingdale students.  Tickets are free for Farmingdale students with a valid ID.  Tickets may be purchased prior to the show.

Reefer Madness: The Musical is coming to Farmingdale State College in November. Photo Credit: Farmingdale State College.

This outrageous musical comedy takes a satirical look at the hysteria caused when clean-cut kids fall under the influence of marijuana, leading them down a hysterical and evil path of debauchery.*  The stage show debuted in Los Angeles in 1998, and was later adapted for television.  Kevin Murphy, who wrote the lyrics and co-authored the book with Dan Studney (music), won an Emmy for the song “Mary Jane/Mary Lane.”

The six lead characters include:

• Average teen-turned-pothead Jimmy Harper, played by Bryan Johnson of Copiague
• Reefer Den hostess Mae, played by Emily Gleeson of West Islip
• The Lecturer, played by Kevin White of Plainedge
• Sally the hussy, played by Shaylyn Brown-Hurley of Massapequa
• Jimmy’s girlfriend Mary Lane, played by Kaila McLaughlin of North Babylon
• Mae’s boyfriend Jack, played by Justin Panullo of East Islip
• College dropout Ralph, played by Warren Tierney of Seaford

The Backstage Theater Company is a student-run performing arts club on the Farmingdale campus.

*Reefer Madness is for mature audiences only.  It contains adult humor, implied drug use and religious parody.

Farmingdale State College continues to prepare students with the education, skills, and critical thinking needed to meet the challenges oftomorrow. As the largest of SUNY’s colleges of technology (with over 8,700 students), Farmingdale equips students with the resources and knowledge sought by today’s emerging industries. Offering bachelor and associate programs, Farmingdale will soon offer its first graduate degree.  At Farmingdale, students also have abundant opportunities in experiential learning-internships, clinical training, and guided research-that provide practical instruction and personal growth. Small, personalized classes, a residence hall with suite-style living, a lush 380-acre campus undergoing major renovation, and a highly successful NCAA Division III athletics program with modern facilities make Farmingdale State College one of the fastest-growing colleges in the region. In addition, in the 2015 U.S. News & World Report’s section titled Best Regional Colleges in the North, Farmingdale is ranked #11.  Also in that category, FSC is #3 in the LEAST Student Debt Load at Graduation. For more information, contact Kathryn Coley at 631-420-2400 or kathryn.coley@farmingdale.edu.  Look on our website www.farmingdale.edu. Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/farmingdale.

Event at Tilles Center Recognizes Trailblazing Latin American Female Director as well as Grammy-winning Musician, and Star of Showtime’s “Homeland”

(Long Island, NY) On Wednesday, October 28th, the Gold Coast Arts Center kicked off its 2015 Gala Benefit event at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts– 720 Northern Blvd, Greenvale, NY 11548 where Grammy-Award winning musician/conductor/arranger and music archivist Vince Giordano (Boardwalk Empire) and Actor/Producer star of Showtime’s Homeland Navid Negahban were on hand to receive Artist of Distinction Awards in Music and Film, respectively. The Gala was hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist and Eyewitness News correspondent Kristin Thorne, and Actor Lou Diamond Phillips was on hand to present the “Woman of Influence” Award to Director Patricia Riggen while Executive Producer of Homeland, Michael Cuesta, presented Navid Negahban with his award, and Vince Giordano accepted his by way of Wall Street Journal music and popular culture writer Will Friedwald!

Lou Diamond Phillips, Vince Giordano, Regina Gil, Sumi and Michael Glickman, Navid Negahban. Photo Credit: Neil Tandy.

The evening kicked off with red carpet appearances by many noted guests and elected officials including Gold Coast International Film Festival Founder and Executive Director Regina Gil, GCIFF Festival Director Caroline Sorokoff, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, Jon Kaiman- Special Advisor to Governor Cuomo, Academy Award winning screenwriter Norman Steinberg, and President of Long Island University- Kimberly Cline.

Gold Coast Arts Center Founder and Executive Director Regina Gil. Photo Credit: Lenny Marks.

In a throwback to the greatness of the 1920’s film era performers entertained guests by being dressed accordingly as flapper girls and gangsters for the event , which also included a pre-awards dinner and silent auction!
Grammy-winner Vince Giordano has appeared in films such as The Cotton Club, The Aviator, Finding Forrester, Revolutionary Road, and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, and in concerts at the Town Hall, Jazz At Lincoln Center, the 92^nd St Y and the Newport Jazz Festival. In addition to headlining in New York City nightclubs, his recording projects include soundtracks for the award-winning Boardwalk Empire with vocalists including Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, St. Vincent, Regina Spektor, Neko Case, Leon Redbone, Liza Minnelli, Catherine Russell, Rufus Wainwright and David Johansen.

Artist of Distinction Navid Negahban, Michael Cuesta and The Honey Taps. Photo Credit: Neil Tandy.

Vince and his sensational band, The Nighthawks, have also recorded for Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World, Tamara Jenkins’ The Savages, Robert DeNiro’s The Good Shepherd, Sam Mendes’Away We Go, Michael Mann’s film Public Enemies, and John Krokidas’ debut feature, Kill Your Darlings, along with HBO’s Grey Gardens and the miniseries Mildred Pierce. Most recently Vince and the band recorded music for HBO’s Bessie starring Queen Latifah; Cinemax’s The Knick starring Clive Owen; an upcoming Haynes’ film called Carol; and a new pilot for Amazon. The Nighthawks are also seen and heard in the USA Network series Royal Pains and in the PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook. Hudson West Productions recently completed a feature documentary called “Vince Giordano – There’s a Future in the Past.”

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and Regina Gil. Photo Credit: Neil Tandy.

Giordano’s passion for music from the 1920’s & 30’s and the people that made it, began at age 5. He has amassed an amazing collection of over 60,000 band arrangements, 1920’s and 30’s films, 78 recordings and jazz-age memorabilia. For over 40 years, Vince Giordano has single handedly kept alive a wonderful genre of American music that continues to spread the joy and pathos of an era that shaped our nation.

Vince Giordano accepting his Artist of Distinction Award in Music from The Honey Taps and Will Friedwald. Photo Credit: Lenny Marks.

Navid Negahban, sometimes called “the man of a thousand faces,” is most widely known for his role on the Emmy award-winning Showtime Series HOMELAND opposite Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, and Damian Lewis.  Among his many fans are Israeli president Shimon Peres and U.S. president Barack Obama.  He currently stars in the upcoming BABA JOON, which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win five Ophir Awards, the equivalent of the Israeli Oscar.   The film will be this year’s entry for Israel at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film.

Mayor of Village of Great Neck Plaza Jean Celender, Steve and Holly Blank, Town of North Hempstead Board Member Lee Seeman, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, TNH Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman, TNH Town Clerk Wayne Wink, Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum, Town of North Hempstead Board Member Anna Kaplan, Navid Negahban. Photo Credit: Neil Tandy.

Navid has worked with some of the most respected names in Hollywood including Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper (AMERICAN SNIPER), Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal (BROTHERS), Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Amy Adams (CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR),  and Clive Owens and Juliette Binoche (WORDS AND PICTURES). He will also appear in upcoming films alongside such stars as Chloe Grace Moretz, Richard Armitage, Carrie-Anne Moss, Thomas Mann, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, and John Hurt. Born in Mashhad, Iran, Navid studied theater in Iran, Germany and the United States and is fluent in English, Farsi and German.

Lou Diamond Phillips and Patricia Riggen, GCIFF “Woman of Influence” Award recipient. Photo Credit: Lenny Marks.

Patricia Riggen is today one of the few Latin-American female directors working in Hollywood. Originally from Mexico, she started her career as a screenwriter, producer and film executive at the Mexican Film Institute. She later moved to New York to earn an MFA in directing and screenwriting at Columbia University. Her thesis film, The Cornfield, screened at more than 30 international film festivals and received 20 awards, among them the Student Academy Award, the Mexican Academy Award for Best Short Film, the Student Emmy and a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award. Her next film was the 30-minute documentary film Family Portrait, won the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the Sundance Film Festival 2005.

Gold Coast Int’l Film Festival Director Caroline Sorokoff, Richard and Julie Blau of Chez-zam and their Chaplins . Photo Credit: Lenny Marks.

Patricia made her feature film directorial debut on Under the Same Moon, which she also produced.  It premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival to great accolades, and was acquired for worldwide distribution by Fox Searchlight and The Weinstein Company. The film recorded opening weekend record numbers for a Spanish language film in the US, and was a box office success in both Mexico and the U.S.

Talya Smilowitz. Photo Credit: Lenny Marks.

Riggen went on to direct two features for young audiences, Girl in Progress, starring Eva Mendes, Patricia Arquette and Cierra Ramirez; and the musical Lemonade Mouth for the Disney Channel, which garnered 12.5 million viewers in its first two airings.  She was honored by her peers with a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for her work in the latter.

Gold Coast Int’l Film Festival Director Caroline Sorokoff with Kristin Thorne. Photo Credit: Neil Tandy.

Patricia directed the English-language Chilean mining drama The 33 to be released by Warner Bros. in November 2015. The film is based on the real events surrounding the 2010 disaster when a group of 33 miners were trapped in the San José Mine in Chile for 69 days. Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, Gabriel Byrne, James Brolin and Lou Diamond Phillips lead the ensemble cast of the film about the rescue effort that captivated the world. She also recently wrapped production on the Sony Pictures drama Miracles from Heaven, starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah.

Kristin Thorne is a Long Island correspondent for WABC-TV’s Eyewitness News. Before joining the Eyewitness News team in January 2012, Kristin was a reporter at News 12 Westchester, and before that worked at WHTM-TV in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Thorne loves being involved with the Long Island community she serves, and is a volunteer with Big Brother, Big Sisters of Long Island and with the Little Shelter Animal Rescue and Adoption Center. A graduate of Georgetown University in Washington DC, she earned her Master’s Degree from the prestigious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and has received numerous Emmy nominations while also having been honored with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.

View Additional Photos of the Evening From Getty Images HERE

The Gold Coast Arts Center and Gold Coast International Film Festival are proud to have awarded such great talents for their many accomplishments and support of the arts through their incredible works! The 2015 Gala proved to be an extraordinary evening leading up to the Festival, which kicks off in just a few short weeks on November 9th!

For Press Inquiries, Contact: rick@rickeberle.com

ABOUT THE GOLD COAST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
This year’s Gold Coast International Film Festival will feature over 60 films and dozens of filmmakers at screenings and events in venues throughout the region, including the Soundview Cinemas in Port Washington, the Bow Tie Cinemas in Great Neck/Port Washington/ Manhasset/ Roslyn, the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck and the campus of LIU Post.

The complete Festival schedule will be released in October 2015. Filmmakers scheduled to attend include: award-winning director/producer/screenwriter, Morgan Spurlock; star of Showtime’s Homeland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Navid Negahban; Patricia Riggen director of the new Warner Brothers film The 33 , starring Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche and Lou Diamond Phillips; award winning filmmakers Michael Cuesta (Executive Producer of Homeland) Rick Goldsmith, Yael Melamede and Andrew Horn; WNBA superstar Chamique Holdsclaw; several members of the band Twisted Sister who will join us for the US premiere of a new film about their rise to fame – plus many more filmmakers and special guests.

Film highlights this year include: The Benefactor (Richard Gere), Frank and Cindy (Oliver Platt, Rene Russo), Tumbledown (Jason Sudeikis, Rebecca Hall), When I Live My Life Over Again (Christopher Walken, Amber Heard), Son of Saul (winner Cannes Film Festival), Mustang (winner Cannes Film Festival) and other award-winning films from around the world.

Over the past five years, the festival has brought the latest Hollywood hits and Indie favorites to standing room only audiences throughout the fabled Gold Coast of Long Island. Add A-list celebrities and unforgettable events to the mix and it’s easy to see why GCIFF has become the “go to” Festival for film buffs and the public (it is also the last major film festival on the East Coast before Awards season). The Festival is produced by the Gold Coast Arts Center.

Previous honorees and special guests of the festival and the Gold Coast Arts Center include film industry VIPs Francis Ford Coppola, Hugh Grant, Baz Luhrmann, Brian Dennehy, Paul Sorvino, Ed Burns, Bruce Dern, Isabella Rossellini, Eli Wallach, Gabriel Byrne, Bill Plympton, Phil Donahue, Phylicia Rashaad, Joan Allen, Jay McInerney and Michael Cuesta, as well as composer Morton Gould, artists James Rosenquist, Oleg Cassini, Edwina Sandys and Bob Gruen, comedian Susie Essman, Broadway stars Kelli O’Hara, Melissa Errico and Savion Glover, and 4-time Oscar winner for production and costume design Catherine Martin.

Sponsors and partners of this year’s GCIFF include founding partners the Town of North Hempstead and Douglas Elliman Real Estate, longstanding major partners LIU Post and Nassau County IDA as well as AMC Networks, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Panavision, A.L. Sarroff Fund, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, J.M. Kaplan Fund, The Katz Center of North Shore –LIJ Health System, LVR Rental, Samar Hospitality, The Andrew Hotel, Stella Artois, and The Amsterdam at Harborside as well as 1-800-Flowers, WLIW21, New York Women in Film & Television, Anton Publications, Blank Slate Media, Care Connect and many others.

About the Gold Coast Arts Center
The Gold Coast Arts Center is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the arts through education, exhibition, performance and outreach. For over 20 years we have brought the arts and arts in education experiences to tens of thousands of people throughout our region through our 1) School for the Arts, which offers year-round classes in all visual and performing arts to students of all ages and abilities, (2) Free public art gallery, (3) Concert and lecture series, (4) Outreach programs, which each year bring artist residencies, after-school programs, school assemblies, teacher training workshops and parent-child workshops to students, senior citizens, teachers and others in underserved communities throughout our region, (5) Year round film screening and discussion series and (6) Gold Coast International Film Festival, now in its 5th year. The Arts Center is an affiliate of the John F Kennedy Center for the for the Performing Arts: Partners in Education Program, and National Gallery of Art, both located in Washington DC.

(Long Island, NY) Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center’s 53rd Annual Ball, “Sweetest Day,” was recently held at the Crest Hollow Country Club. The 2015 Gala Honoree was President of Hunter EMS Ambulance, Inc., Daniel Leibowitz. For the past decade, Mr. Leibowitz has created and nurtured a longstanding partnership with Good Samaritan Hospital along with Catholic Health Services’(CHS) other five hospitals. Since 1982, Hunter has served CHS and its patients with dignity and respect.

Chairman of The Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation board Kelly Danielle-Crosman, Esq. and Good Samaritan Hospital’s Chief Administrative Officer Nancy Simmons, congratulate 2015 Good Samaritan Ball honoree Daniel Leibowitz (middle). Photo Credit: Good Samaritan Hospital.

The Ball raised nearly $300,000 to benefit the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation. Over the years the Ball has raised nearly $10 million. These funds have helped Good Samaritan continue its mission of delivering the highest quality health care to countless patients and families.

“It is an honor to be associated with Good Samaritan Hospital and the patients it serves,” said Mr. Leibowitz. “Our entire emergency services team is committed to bringing the quality of care the residents of Long Island’s south shore deserve.”

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police First Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the people who used credit cards that were stolen from a vehicle in Deer Park.

A man and woman used stolen credit cards at stores in Deer Park, North Babylon, Bay Shore and East Islip to make several purchases in October.

Suffolk County Police are seeking the public’s help to identify the people who used credit cards that were stolen from a vehicle in Deer Park. Photo Credit: SCPD.

The credit cards were stolen from an unlocked 2010 Mercedes that was parked at Joe’s Crab Shack, located at 1700 The Arches Circle, on October 18.

A man and woman used stolen credit cards to make several purchases in October. Photo Credit: SCPD.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

(Long Island, NY) The First Squad is investigating a Robbery that occurred on Monday, November 2, 2015 at 11:00 p.m. in Merrick.

According to detectives, a male victim, 36 was walking with a female victim, 47 westbound on Horatio Avenue when they were approached by two unknown male white subjects in dark clothing armed with black handguns.

Nassau County Police are investigating a Robbery that occurred on Monday, November 2 in Merrick. Photo Credit: Chris Boyle.

One subject struck the female in the head before they removed both victim’s cellphones, cash and a wallet. The subjects fled on foot northbound on Petite Avenue. The female victim was treated at the scene for a minor laceration to her head.

Detectives request anyone with information regarding the above crime to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Pattern Crime Unit detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred on Monday, November 2 at Rainbow Shops located at 660 North Wellwood Ave., in N. Lindenhurst.

A man entered the Rainbow Shops clothing store armed with a handgun, forced employees and customers to the rear of the store, restrained them, forced an employee to open the safe, and removed cash from the register drawers. The man also robbed two of the customers of their cash and jewelry.

Suffolk County Police are investigating a robbery that occurred on Monday, November 2 at Rainbow Shops located in N. Lindenhurst. Photo Credit: Chris Boyle.

The robber is described as a black male, between 5 feet 10 inches tall to 6 feet tall, with a thin to medium build. He was wearing a mask and a hooded sweatshirt.

Similar robberies have occurred in Nassau County since August 20, 2015. The following robberies, which are also similar in nature, have occurred in Suffolk County this year: On September 7, Avenue Clothing, in East Farmingdale; on October 12, New York and Co., in West Babylon; and on October 26 Avenue Clothing in Deer Park.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are investigating a one-car crash that critically injured an Islandia woman on Monday, November 2.

Winterjane Preston was driving her 2011 Hyundai west on the Long Island Expressway when she apparently lost control of her vehicle and struck a guardrail at approximately 12:45 p.m. The vehicle then went off the roadway and onto the north shoulder at exit 62 in Farmingville.

Suffolk County Police are investigating a one-car crash that critically injured an Islandia woman on Monday, November 2. Photo Credit: Chris Boyle.

Preston, 30, of Islandia, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital by Ronkonkoma Fire Department ambulance where she was treated for a head injury. There were no passengers in her vehicle.

The Hyundai was impounded for a safety check and the investigation is continuing.