🌧️ Storm's Coming: Nassau Declares State of Emergency

⚡ Still in the Dark: South Fork Slammed by Weekend Storms

🔪 Massapequa Stabbing Case Heads to Trial

🎪 Huntington Manor's Firemen's Fair Marks 123 Years

Grab the flashlights, neighbors — not the candles. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman declared a state of emergency effective 6 p.m. tonight through 6 a.m. Tuesday, warning that heavy rain moving through could bring flooding and downed trees across the county. No mandatory evacuations are in place, but officials say they're watching conditions closely as the storm rolls in.

The ask from the county is simple: stay off flooded roads, keep pets sheltered, and make sure your phone is charged before the rain starts. If the power goes out, officials specifically want you reaching for a flashlight instead of a candle — a small thing that prevents a much bigger problem. Downed wires or outages should go straight to PSEG Long Island's 24-hour line at 800-490-0075.

And please, save 911 for actual emergencies — the county says it needs those lines clear to track flooding and respond where it's needed most. It's the second soggy scare for Long Island in a week, so keep an eye on the sky and check in on elderly neighbors before the rain gets going.

👉 Read more: LongIsland.com

While Nassau braces for what's coming, the East End is still cleaning up from what already hit. A thunderstorm packing heavy rain and high winds tore through Saturday night, and by Sunday morning thousands of South Fork households were still without power, according to PSEG Long Island. Hampton Bays, Riverhead and Southampton took the brunt of it.

The numbers tell the story: PSEG restored power to more than 17,000 customers hit by the overnight storm, on top of 36,000 already affected by last week's heat wave. In Hampton Bays, better than one in five customers were still dark Sunday morning, and Southampton Town declared its own state of emergency to help with cleanup — downed wires and tree limbs are still a real hazard on local roads.

If you're out there assessing the damage, PSEG wants outages reported by texting “OUT” to 773454. East Hampton Town got off comparatively easy, with only a few dozen customers affected — a reminder of just how localized these summer storms can be from one hamlet to the next.

👉 Read more: 27east.com

A hard story out of Massapequa this week. Kristin Sculley, 22, has been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 28-year-old Robert Carragher III, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. Sculley was arraigned before a judge, pleaded not guilty, and was remanded.

Prosecutors say Sculley, a longtime acquaintance of Carragher's, had spent the evening at his family's Massapequa home in late May watching television in his basement bedroom. In the early morning hours, according to the indictment, she retrieved a knife and stabbed him in the neck as he slept. Carragher ran upstairs for help before he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sculley is due back in court on July 24 and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted. As always, the charges are accusations only — she's presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise in court. We'll follow this one as it moves forward.

👉 Read more: LongIsland.com

On a lighter note — Long Island's largest firemen's fair is back. The Huntington Manor Firemen's Fair returns July 14 through 18 at Henry L. Stimson Middle School in Huntington Station, marking an incredible 123rd year for the tradition. Organizers are billing it, once again, as the biggest fireman's fair on all of Long Island, and honestly, at this point who's arguing?

Expect the full carnival experience: 21 rides and attractions, midway games, cotton candy and funnel cakes, and a beer tent for the grown-ups who earned a sit-down. The parade steps off Wednesday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m., rolling through the streets with firefighters, bagpipers, drummers, fire trucks and vintage cars. Fireworks light up the sky on the 15th, 17th, and 18th.

The fairgrounds are at 401 Oakwood Road in Huntington Station, with gates open nightly from 6 to 11 p.m. (5 p.m. on Saturday). If you've never gone, this is the year — 123 years of community pride doesn't happen by accident.

👉 Read more: Living Huntington

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