Week in Review: Education Funding Rally, Man Charged in Home Invasion

Among the top headlines this week on Three Village Patch:

Hundreds Rally for Fair School Funding

Some called for an end to the tax cap, and some called for an end to unfunded state mandates. But all called on state lawmakers to consider fair public education funding in a way that doesn't decimate schools' programs or cause districts to rely too heavily on taxpayer support. Hundreds of people – including educators and residents, parents and students – showed up to support fair school funding in a "Stop the Cap, Close the Gap" rally at Ward Melville High School on Thursday afternoon. The event, part of a campaign by the Long Island Progressive Coalition and Educate NY Now, was one of more than a dozen rallies held across Long Island Thursday.

The day before a Southampton man allegedly committed what police called "a brutal home invasion" in East Hampton this July, he was released from prison, where he served time on felony charges related to robbing a bank and calling in a bomb threat about the Smith Haven Mall. According to New York State Department of Corrections records, Alexander C. Haje, formerly of South Setauket, was released on parole from the Queensboro Correctional Facility in Long Island City on July 26 after serving a 2.5 to 4-year sentence. The very next day, according to East Hampton Town police, Haje, 26, went with another man to a cottage in Maidstone Park looking for drugs and money. They lured the resident outside, assaulted him, and then forced him inside, where he was robbed of cash, credit cards, and electronics.

Cops: Thief Stole Kayaks from Local Business

Suffolk police are investigating an incident in which someone stole three kayaks on Oct. 19. The kayaks went missing from Setauket Harbor Canoes and Kayaks sometime between 7 a.m. on Oct. 19 and noon on Oct. 21. The incident is being investigated as a case of fourth-degree grand larceny, which indicates the theft was greater than $1,000.

State Awards $16.8M Contract for Electrical Improvements at Stony Brook.

According to a report published Oct. 20 on ConstructionDigital.com, New York State has awarded a contract worth $16.8 million for electrical contracting work on the campus of Stony Brook University and Stony Brook University Hospital. The report describes Eldor Contracting Corporation, the Holtsville company that received the contract, as a major tri-state area company specializing in electrical construction and renewable energy.

Electronic Sign Issue Will Be Resolved at Murphy JHS

A compromise has been reached regarding the new electronic sign at Murphy Junior High School, which had been the cause for concern for some residents for the past several weeks. A wooden sign will replace the electronic sign at the entrance to the school and the electronic sign will be mounted on the side of the building, according to school board trustee Jonathan Kornreich and Kathleen and John Goldstein, who brought the issue to the school board at the Oct. 9 meeting.