Week in Review: School Budget Passes, Cheating Investigation Closed

SCHOOL BEAT

Three Village Central School District voters spoke loud and clear Tuesday night, overwhelmingly passing an under-the-tax-cap school budget to avoid austerity. Nearly 69 percent of voters backed the $176.7 million budget with 4,309 "yes" votes and 1,961 "no" votes, an outcome that means big-ticket items such as full-day kindergarten, junior high school athletics and the nine-period day at the high school will remain intact.

Ward Melville High School's administration has concluded its investigation into an incident of at the Advanced Placement level and has disciplined 97 students, the district said in a statement Monday.

GOVERNMENT BEAT

. In the latest step over controversy which has raged for over a decade surrounding the expansion of the Stony Brook Post Office and Ward Melville Heritage Organization's Education and Cultural Center, the Brookhaven Town Planning Board held a public hearing on Monday afternoon on the project's site plan application and decided to keep the hearing open until next month.

BUSINESS BEAT

The frozen treat train has roared into the Three Village area, and one of the latest arrivals is Cool Monkey, slated to open in July. Whereas other local dessert cafés concentrate on frozen yogurt, Cool Monkey will offer both frozen yogurt and ice cream. Owner Tracy Sweeney said location is key: Cool Monkey is located in the same Stony Brook shopping plaza as the movie theater and popular eateries such as and .

Get ready for big things to happen at over the next few years. In a presentation to the Three Village Chamber of Commerce on Friday, the dean of Stony Brook's called Stony Brook University Hospital "a big business in Suffolk County" that is going to grow swiftly during the next five years.

POLICE BEAT

. Weekly rundown of crimes and incidents in Three Village.