Teenagers see serious consequences of ‘sexting'

By Bianca Prieto
The Orlando Sentinel
(MCT)
ORLANDO, Fla. _ After his former girlfriend taunted him, Phillip Alpert remembered the nude photos she e-mailed to him while they were dating.
He took revenge with an electronic blast _ e-mailing the photos of the 16-year-old girl to more than 70 people, including her parents, grandparents and teachers.
Three days later, Alpert, then 18, was charged with transmitting child pornography. Today Alpert is serving five years of probation for the crime, and he is registered as a sex offender _ a label he must carry at least until he is 43.
"I didn't know how bad of a decision it was," Alpert, now 19, said recently at his MetroWest apartment. "I don't think it's fair."
Alpert is one of many people across the country who are being charged with felonies and getting sentenced as sex offenders for doing something their friends do all the time, unaware of potential criminal charges.
One national study found that as many as 20 percent of teens have sent or posted nude or seminude photos of themselves in what has become known as "sexting." Young teens are using high-tech phones to text, post or e-mail racy photos _ technically child porn. Most do it for fun.
But getting caught means being kicked off sports teams and facing expulsion from school. Others are going to jail.
"It's become a troubling trend," said Marisa Nightingale, senior adviser for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which conducted the study. "Since the beginning of time, teens have flirted with each other and pushed the envelope. But 10 to 15 years ago, it didn't go global in 30 seconds."
Lawrence Walters, an Orlando attorney who practices First Amendment and Internet law, has been following the sexting trend as it has been emerging across the country.
"It's a new phenomena," Walters said. "Kids shouldn't be doing this _ shouldn't be engaging in this type of behavior. But using these harsh criminal laws for child pornography is a bit of overkill."
Just last month, a 15-year-old Pennsylvania girl was charged with creating child pornography for sending images of herself via MySpace to a 27-year-old man.
Also last month, a Brevard County, Fla., teen was jailed after forwarding a cell phone picture of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend's naked breasts to another teen. The girlfriend allowed the photo to be taken while the two were dating, police said.
Bryce Dixon, 18, told investigators he sent the photo because he thought the girl had cheated on him with his best friend. He said he knew that sending the photo would make her mad.
A judge set Dixon's bond at $140,000 for charges he faced, including transmission of child pornography. Dixon, who remains in jail, and his family declined to talk to the Orlando Sentinel. In an interview aired Tuesday on NBC's "Today" show, he said he made a stupid decision.
(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
Some states are trying to adjust the laws to deal with the problems of transmission of intimate photos of teens to teens, Walters said. But it hasn't been an issue debated by state lawmakers in Florida, said Republican state Rep. Pat Patterson.
Law enforcement officers have their hands tied when it comes to recommending charges to the State Attorney's Office in these types of cases, said Orange County Sheriff's Office spokesman Deputy Carlos Padilla.
"They don't have a choice because of how the statute reads. Regardless of the situation, the law dictates the charges, and they have to register as a sexual offender," Padilla said.
(END OPTIONAL TRIM)
The consequences of sexting are unpredictable.
An Ohio teen hanged herself in May after her ex-boyfriend forwarded nude photos of her, sharing them with other high school girls.
(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
Even teen celebrities have been caught in sexting scandals.
In September 2007, nude photos of Disney's "High School Musical" star Vanessa Hudgens surfaced on the Internet. The photos were alleged to be self-portraits taken with Hudgens' own cell phone and sent to her boyfriend, co-star Zac Efron. She later apologized for the photos, according to numerous news reports.
(END OPTIONAL TRIM)
Nightingale, with the advocacy group, said such cases should put teens and parents on alert.
"If that guy who you used to trust all of a sudden shares it, you have no control over it," Nightingale said. "If you regret it and change your mind, there is nothing you can do about it, or very little you can do about it."
For Alpert, he never asked for the photos that got him in trouble in 2007. He met the girl at a church function in 2005 and dated her off and on for about 2½ years, he said. At one point the girl took nude photos and videos of herself and sent them to his e-mail.
He tried using them against his ex-girlfriend with the mass e-mail after she called him and said she was much happier without him.
Although Alpert was charged with transmission of child pornography, the girl was never in any legal trouble. She did not respond to requests for interviews with the Sentinel.
(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
Since his arrest and conviction, Alpert's life has been difficult.
Classmates at Ocoee High School teased him unmercifully, sending him into a depression that caused him to miss class and avoid his graduation last year. He lost friends because "they just don't want to be friends with a sex-offender kid," Alpert explained.
He said he was kicked out of Valencia Community College in September because he's a sex offender. Neighbors have knocked on his door after finding him in the sex-offender database and asked him what he's done.
Alpert's mother moved out of state after he graduated, but the conditions of his probation don't allow him to leave Orange County without permission. He can't live with his father in Ocoee because the house is too close to a school, Alpert said.
(END OPTIONAL TRIM)
Every Wednesday he attends a class for sex offenders where he is joined by people who have raped and molested children. He's not like them, Alpert said, but the law says he is.
His advice to other teens tempted by sexting: "Don't do it. It's stupid."
___
Although technological advances are helping bring people together, they also are causing new problems for teens and parents. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has compiled a list of tips for parents and teens to help navigate this new virtual world and set rules and guidelines.
TIPS FOR PARENTS
_Talk to your kids about what they are doing in cyberspace.
_Know with whom your kids are communicating.
_Consider limitations on electronic communication.
_Be aware of what your teens are posting publicly.
_Set expectations and make sure you are clear about what you consider appropriate electronic behavior.
TIPS FOR TEENS
_Don't assume anything you send or post is going to remain private.
_There is no changing your mind in cyberspace _ anything you send or post will never truly go away.
_Don't give in to the pressure to do something that makes you uncomfortable.
_Consider the recipient's reaction.
_Nothing is truly anonymous.
Source: National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
___
SEXTING STATISTICS
A recently released study of teen and young adults' behavior online was conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a Washington-based advocacy group founded in 1996. The online survey, taken by 1,280 people ages 13 to 26, shows about 1 in 5 teens has sent or posted nude or seminude photos of themselves. This was the first public survey of its kind in the nation. To read the report, go to www.thenationalcampaign.org. Some of the findings:
How many teens say they have sent/posted nude or seminude pictures or videos of themselves?
_20 percent of teens, 13 to 19
_22 percent of teen girls
_18 percent of teen boys
_11 percent of teen girls, 13 to 16
Why are teens sending or posting sexually suggestive content?
_51 percent of teen girls say they feel pressure from a guy.
_18 percent of teen boys say they do it because of pressure from girls.
_23 percent of teen girls say friends pressured them.
_24 percent of teen boys attribute sending images or messages to peer pressure.
___
© 2009, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
_____
PHOTO (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): SEXTING

Paying Their Respects

*Click here for a photo gallery from TheMatadorOnline.com
BLUE POINT – Thousands of police officers from across the tri-state area came to Blue Point Thursday to remember Suffolk County Police Officer Glen Ciano, killed in the line of duty early Sunday morning.

Police say Police Officer Glen Ciano was enroute to assist another officer around 4:15 a.m Sunday. At the intersection of Vanderbilt Motor Parkway and Commack Road in Commack Officer Ciano's vehicle was involved in a crash with a 2007 Dodge Magnun.

Ciano, 45, was a 22-year veteran of the Suffolk County Police Department. He worked out of the county's Second Precinct.

Officers in full dress uniforms could been seen for as far as the eye could see outside Our Lady of Snow Roman Catholic Church in Blue Point Thursday morning. Escorted by police cruisers, motorcycles and helicopters from numerous agencies, including the NYPD, Westchester County and Nassau County police, the herse carrying Officer Ciano arrived at the church, followed by limos and buses carrying close friends and family.

Click Here to watch video from the scene

A private funeral mass was held for about 40 minutes before Officer Ciano's casket was brought back out of the church, receiving one final salute from thousands of officers lining the streets. Officers traveled from as far away as Maryland to come and pay their respects.

*Click Here for photo gallery

Jose Borbon, 23, of 178 Morton Blvd, was arrested and charged with DWI following Sunday morning's crash.

Reports indicate the officer’s vehicle spun around from the force of the crash. The vehicle came to rest after striking a traffic pole and bursting into flames. Witnesses say the fire started and spread quickly and rescue efforts were impossible.

Borbon was allegedly driving drunk early Sunday morning in Commack when the crash took place. Originally arrested on DWI charges, he may face homicide charges, according to prosecutors.

In court Monday, Borbon’s bail was set at $75,000. Prosecutor John Collins, who had asked the judge to set the bail at $1 million, told Newsday, “He could well be facing a homicide charge at some point in the future.”

Borbon pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated during his arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip Monday. The courtroom was packed with uniformed officers.

Court records indicate Borbon has a history of DWI charges. On January 4, Borbon was arrested in Nassau County for DWI, holding more than one license, criminal possession of a weapon, not signaling, driving without a seat belt and failure to obey a traffic device, according to Newsday. Nassau County police say that case is pending. He is set to appear in court in April on those charges.

Suffolk and Nassau police were uncertain whether he had a lawyer. A message left with his family was not immediately returned.

Newsday also reports Borbon held a D-class “conditional” license, which allows drivers to only drive to specific locations such as to and from work. Borbon is believed to be participating in the state’s Drinking Driver rehabilitation program.

New York State Department of Motor Vehicle records obtained by the newspaper indicate Borbon was involved in four separate accidents in 2006 and had his license suspended in 2007.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the officer killed in this terrible crash,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. “This officer made the ultimate sacrifice protecting and serving the people of Suffolk County.”

“The Suffolk County Police Department is mourning the loss of one of our own,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer. “It’s a sad reminder of the dangers police officers face each and every day.”

Radio Legend Paul Harvey Dies at 90

By Gerry Smith and Phil Rosenthal
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO (MCT) - Paul Harvey, a Chicago radio man whose melodious voice and hearty "Hello America" were cherished by millions for more than 57 years on national broadcasts that were an entrancing mix of news, storytelling and gently persuasive salesmanship, died Saturday. He was 90.

Called "the voice of Middle America," and "the voice of the Silent Majority" by the media for his flag-waving conservatism and championing of traditional values, Harvey died surrounded by family at a Phoenix hospital, according to an ABC Radio Networks spokesman. The cause of death was not immediately available.

"Paul Harvey was the most listened-to man in the history of radio," said Bruce DuMont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and host of the nationally syndicated radio program "Beyond the Beltway." "There is no one who will ever come close to him."

Paul Harvey Jr., who began writing his father's show, "The Rest of the Story," after he was hit by a car in 1976, offered condolences to those who loved to listen, even amid his own loss.

"My father and mother created from thin air what one day became radio and television news. So in the past year, an industry has lost its godparents and today millions have lost a friend," he said in a statement.

The show reached an estimated 24 million listeners daily on more than 1,200 radio stations nationally and 400 Armed Forces Radio stations around the world, according to his web site, http://www.paulharvey.com/.

In Chicago, Harvey was heard on WGN 720-AM, but his local ties ran deeper.

Returning to civilian life after a three-month stint in the Army, Harvey moved to the radio big-time in Chicago.

While broadcasting the news at WENR-AM in Chicago's Merchandise Mart in 1951, Harvey became friends with the building's owner, Joseph P. Kennedy, who helped him get on ABC nationally. With a recommendation from the Kennedy-clan patriarch, ABC Radio Network began using him as a substitute newsman. Network affiliates began calling for more Harvey.

His 45-minute routine started at the ungodly hour of 3:30 a.m., when the alarm clock would ring in the Harveys' 22-room home in west suburban River Forest, Ill. It never varied: brush teeth, shower, shave, get dressed, eat oatmeal, get into car and drive downtown. It all took a well-organized 45 minutes or so.

He dressed formally _ in shirt, coat and tie _ as if going to work as the president of a bank.

"It is all about discipline," Harvey told the Tribune in 2002. "I could go to work in my pajamas, but long ago I got some advice from the man who was the engineer for my friend Billy Graham's radio show. He said that one has to prepare in all ways for the show. If you don't do that in every area, you'll lose your edge."

Harvey rejected numerous offers to move his show to the East Coast so he could "stay in touch with his listeners and the American people," DuMont said.

Coming of professional age in the late 1930s and '40s, a time when broadcasters such as Lowell Thomas and Gabriel Heatter were household names, Harvey continued to flourish in the era of Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh.

Listeners were greeted by Harvey's trademark telegraphic delivery punctuated by his patented pauses:

"Hello, Americans!" he'd boom into the microphone in his studio high above Michigan Avenue, "This is Paul Harvey! (pause) Stand by for news!"

The "Paul Harvey News and Comment" broadcasts _ five minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at midday six days a week _ were consistently ranked first and second in the nation among network radio shows.

His five-minute "The Rest of the Story" broadcasts featured Harvey telling historical vignettes with surprise endings, such as the 13-year-old boy who receives a cash gift from Franklin Roosevelt and turns out to be Fidel Castro. Or the one about the famous trial lawyer who never finished law school (Clarence Darrow). He'd end each broadcast with his signature: "Paul Harvey. (long pause) Good day!"

Harvey's various broadcasts reached an estimated 24 million listeners daily, by some accounts.

"He certainly was among the last great radio commentators," Michael C. Keith, communications professor at Boston College and author of "The Broadcast Century," told The Los Angeles Times in 2001.

Part of Harvey's enduring appeal, Keith said, was his writing style, "a kind of down-home flavor yet sophisticated quality. It grabs you and holds on to you.

"His delivery was always reminiscent of the great broadcasters of the past, which made him a unique sound on contemporary radio. But he was always relevant to the present. Paul Harvey was never out of fashion. Once he came on the air, he was just irresistible. He really had you from the moment he said, 'Page One!' "

He was born Paul Harvey Aurandt in Tulsa, Okla., on Sept. 4, 1918. His father was a Tulsa police officer who was killed in the line of duty when Harvey was 3, and Harvey's mother raised him and his sister. (He dropped his last name for professional reasons in the 1940s. "Ethnic names were not very popular," he once explained. Besides, "no one could spell it.")

Growing up in the 1920s, Harvey developed an early infatuation with the new medium of radio, picking up stations from a homemade cigar-box crystal set.

A champion orator in high school, he was encouraged by his English teacher-coach to go into broadcasting. She went so far as to escort her prized 14-year-old student down to Tulsa radio station KVOO where she told station managers, "This boy should be on the radio."

Beginning as an unpaid gofer at a Tulsa radio station in 1933, Harvey worked his way up the radio ladder and soon began filling in at the microphone, reading spot announcements, the news and even playing his guitar on the air.

By the time he was taking speech and English classes at the University of Tulsa, he had worked his way up to a job as a staff announcer at KVOO. Jobs at other small radio stations in Abilene, Kan., and Oklahoma City followed.

While working as news and special events director at a radio station in St. Louis, Harvey met Lynne Cooper, a student teacher from a socially prominent St. Louis family who read school news announcements at the station.

Instantly smitten with the young woman he nicknamed "Angel" the day he met her, Harvey later asked her to dinner. On the night of their first date, he proposed as they sat in her parked car. They married in June 1940. The couple later kept the restored car _ a white Nash LaFayette _ parked in a specially built garage on their 260-acre ranch in Missouri.

"Since the first day of our marriage, we've worked side by side," Harvey told the Tribune. "We are so used to it, and I think that if we had not worked so closely the marriage would not have survived. There has never been the opportunity for neglect."

Lynne Harvey remained her husband's closest professional collaborator until she died in May 2008.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

She served as president of Paulynne Productions Ltd., general manager of "Paul Harvey News and Comment," and executive producer of "Paul Harvey Comments" on television. She also edited "You Said It, Paul Harvey," a collection of broadcasts published by the family company, as well as two "The Rest of the Story" books: compilations of Harvey's historical-vignette broadcasts, which began in 1976 and which were primarily written by the couple's only child, Paul Jr., a former concert pianist.

"Even after the passing of his loving wife Angel in May 2008, Paul would not slip quietly into retirement as he continued to take the microphone and reach out to his audience. We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him, Our thoughts and prayers are now with his son Paul Jr. and the rest of the Harvey family," said Jim Robinson president, ABC Radio Networks.

While working as program director at radio station in Kalamazoo, Mich., from 1941 to 1943, Harvey served as the Office of War Information's news director for Michigan and Indiana. That was followed by a three-month stint in the Army, which resulted in a medical discharge in early 1944 after he cut his heel on an infantry obstacle course.

Harvey's typical broadcast included human interest stories he loved to tell in order to satisfy the public's "hunger for a little niceness."

Stories such as the woman in Sheboygan, Wis. who was saved from a knife-wielding assailant: "The rescuer?" Harvey asked rhetorically. "Well, the rescuer is a gutsy woman who just happened to be passing by. And she says if I won't tell her name, it's all right to tell her age. (pause) Eighty."

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

Dumont said Harvey had a litmus test for all his stories: Would Aunt Betty care about this? He thought about the interest level of his real Aunt Betty to get away from "highfaultin" foreign affairs discussions to discuss "meat and potato" issues like health care, Dumont said.

A Harvey broadcast from the late 1980s included these items:

"Spec-tac-u-lar liftoff from Cape Canaveral this morning, into an azure sky." Harvey said, describing a rocket launch. Then it was on to "New York City. Last year. 8,064 people bitten by dogs. 1,587 people bitten (pause) by people." And "fashion-wise, oh-my-goodness, Paris designers showing things for men for next spring . . . include silky suits and trousers and flashy shirts . . . and designer Jean-Paul Gaultier has caused a fuss by including in his display a few skirts (pause) for men!"

Harvey said his trademark pauses were originally developed as "a lazy broadcaster's way of waiting for the second hand to reach the top of the clock." But they quickly became part of his on-air vocal style.

"I've always felt the pregnant pause is more useful for emphasis than shouting, but it can't be done deliberately. It has to just happen," he said. Harvey liked to joke that ABC radio executives threatened to compile all of that dead-air time and sell ads to fill it.

"I remembering being transfixed by the baritone and those long pregnant pauses _ the pauses that you could drive a truck through ... From a professional standpoint, one of the things that radio broadcasters are taught from day one in the profession, is that dead air is a big no-on and it's only after years and years in the field that you realize that silence is your most power tool (and) he did it better than anyone," said Steve Edwards, acting program direction at Chicago Public Radio who remembers listening in the back seat of his parents' station wagon.

"He was one of the voices, among several, that captivated my imagination, that made me spellbound by the power of radio," said Edwards, 38, and former host of Eight Forty-Eight.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, at one time a regular fill-in for Harvey, said that Harvey's program was one of the models and inspirations for his "Countdown" show, with its eclectic mix of the important and merely interesting, serious and funny, perspective and punch.

Known for his staunch conservatism _ he called it "political fundamentalism" _ Harvey supported McCarthyism in the 1950s. During the turbulent 1960s, Harvey echoed the sentiments of many older Americans by saying that he felt like "a displaced person" in his own country.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

But in 1970, Harvey shocked many of his listeners with his most famous broadcast. In the wake of Richard Nixon's expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia, Harvey said, "Mr. President, I love you. But you're wrong."

Before Rush Limbaugh and George Will became household conservative commentators, there was Paul Harvey, DuMont said.

"From a political standpoint, he was in the vanguard of conservative political thought," DuMont said. "Barry Goldwater used to listen to Paul Harvey. That's the real power of the guy."

Harvey heard plenty of criticism and praise and assessment, but preferred to stay away from the whole issue.

"What makes Paul Harvey tick? That question is better asked of the listeners," he told the Chicago Tribune. "If I thought too much about it, it might be self-defeating." Instead, he went about his business with that buoyant optimism that characterized his broadcasts and his life.

Harvey's about-face, which he later acknowledged "was shattering to my old American Legionnaire friends," triggered a flood of some 24,000 letters and thousands of phone calls from outraged listeners.

Harvey's son, who reportedly had a medical deferment that kept him out of the draft but who publicly declared himself a conscientious objector, was said to have influenced his father's view of the war, as did, some said, Harvey's wife.

But Harvey's dovish stance was not new. As early as October 1966, he had come out in favor of pulling out of the "winless war" that was being waged in behalf of "an unworthy government" in South Vietnam.

And while he favored the death penalty and railed against growing taxes, welfare cheats and forced busing, Harvey would again veer to the left by supporting the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion rights and criticizing the Christian right for attempting to impose their views on others.

"I have never pretended to objectivity," Harvey told the American Journalism Review in 1998. "I have a strong point of view, and I share it with my listeners. I have no illusions of changing the world, but to the extent I can, I'd like to shelter your and my little corner of it."

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

In addition to his radio broadcasts, numerous books and TV commentaries, Harvey wrote a thrice-weekly column that was syndicated in 300 newspapers and he received up to $30,000 for speeches.

He gave up many of the extracurricular activities in his later years but not radio.

Harvey, who also read his own commercials over the air, has been credited with coining words such as "guestimate," "trendency," and "snoopervision."

While he made his living with words, retirement wasn't in his vocabulary. In 2000, at age 82, he signed a reported $100 million contract that would have kept him on the air for 10 more years.

Only a virus that settled in his vocal cords in mid-2001 kept him away from the microphone. His three-month absence ended with a still-hoarse but clearly happy-to-be-back Harvey breaking into song at the end of his return broadcast: "It's been a long winter without you . . . "

Simply put, Harvey preferred a life "sitting at that typewriter painting pictures" _ and then reading those "pictures" over the air.

As he once said, "I'm just a professional parade watcher who can't wait to get to the curbside."

In 2005, Harvey received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civil award, in a White House ceremony.

___

(Dennis McLellan of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune reporters Mary Owen, Rick Kogan, Trevor Jensen contributed to this report.)

___

© 2009, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

_____

ARCHIVE PHOTOS on MCT Direct (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): ENTER PAULHARVEY

Snow Emergency Declared

Monday - Midday Update
Here is the latest on our snow storm from Megan Russ in the SmithtownRadio.com Weather Center...

>Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has declared a snow emergency for Suffolk County. He says this will help recieve federal and state emergency fudning if need be down the road
>A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 6 pm et
>A foot of snow accumulation thus far outside SmithtownRadio.com studios
>LIPA: No major outages
>LIRR: The LIRR is experiencing delays of 10-15 minutes due to weather-related conditions.

...ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL EXPECTED TODAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6
PM EST THIS EVENING.

BANDS OF MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY HEAVY SNOW WILL MOVE BACK INTO
THE NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA AND THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY
THIS MORNING. AFTER A BRIEF LULL...THIS SNOW WILL ALSO RETURN TO
EASTERN LONG ISLAND AND SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT BY LATE MORNING.

ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL OF 2 TO 4 INCHES IS EXPECTED TODAY. THIS WILL
BRING TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 6 TO 12 INCHES IN ORANGE AND
WESTERN PASSAIC COUNTIES...8 TO 12 INCHES IN THE NEW YORK CITY
METROPOLITAN AREA...9 TO 13 INCHES IN SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT...AND 10
TO 15 INCHES ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

NORTH WINDS SUSTAINED AT 15 TO 25 MPH AND GUSTING TO 30 TO 40 MPH
WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...WITH VISIBILITIES OF LESS
THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE AT TIMES AND NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS
OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO OR VISIT OUR WEB
SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/NYC FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND UPDATES.

$$

Winter Storm Warning: Overnight Update

Here is the latest from Megan Russ in the SmithtownRadio.com Weather Center:

>No school Monday

>Winter Storm Warning in effect until Mon 6 pm et

>10+ inches of snow expected for most of island

...MAJOR SNOWSTORM TO IMPACT TRI-STATE AREA OVERNIGHT AND MONDAY...

.LOW PRESSURE MOVING OFF THE CAROLINA COAST WILL TRACK
NORTHEAST...PASSING TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF LONG ISLAND MONDAY
MORNING. THE LOW WILL THEN PROCEED UP INTO THE GULF OF MAINE BY
MONDAY EVENING. STRONG CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTH WILL
PROVIDE THE COLD AIR FOR A MAINLY SNOW EVENT...WITH SOME SLEET
MIXING IN LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING OVER FAR SOUTHEASTERN
CONNECTICUT AND THE TWIN FORKS OF LONG ISLAND.

CTZ005>012-NJZ002>006-011-NYZ067>081-021030-
/O.CON.KOKX.WS.W.0004.000000T0000Z-090302T2300Z/
NORTHERN FAIRFIELD-NORTHERN NEW HAVEN-NORTHERN MIDDLESEX-
NORTHERN NEW LONDON-SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD-SOUTHERN NEW HAVEN-
SOUTHERN MIDDLESEX-SOUTHERN NEW LONDON-WESTERN PASSAIC-BERGEN-
EASTERN PASSAIC-ESSEX-HUDSON-UNION-ORANGE-PUTNAM-ROCKLAND-
NORTHERN WESTCHESTER-SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER-NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)-
BRONX-RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)-KINGS (BROOKLYN)-QUEENS-NASSAU-
NORTHWESTERN SUFFOLK-NORTHEASTERN SUFFOLK-SOUTHWESTERN SUFFOLK-
SOUTHEASTERN SUFFOLK-
909 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST MONDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST MONDAY.

A STEADY SNOW WILL BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT AND
INTO MONDAY MORNING. THERE MAY BE ENOUGH WARM AIR ALOFT FOR SLEET
TO MIX IN ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT AND THE TWIN FORKS OF
LONG ISLAND AT THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM...BUT FOR THE MOST PART
THIS WILL BE AN ALL SNOW EVENT. THE SNOW WILL THEN TAPER OFF
MONDAY AFTERNOON.

TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES OVER
ORANGE AND WESTERN PASSAIC COUNTIES...TO 10 TO 14 INCHES ACROSS
CENTRAL LONG ISLAND AND SOUTH CENTRAL CONNECTICUT. SOMEWHAT LOWER
AMOUNTS ARE FORECAST ACROSS THE TWIN FORKS OF EASTERN LONG ISLAND
AND SOUTHEAST CONNECTICUT DUE TO THE SNOW POSSIBLY MIXING WITH
SLEET. FOR THE NEW YORK CITY METRO AREA...8 TO 12 INCHES OF
SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED.

SUSTAINED NORTH WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 30 TO
OCCASIONALLY 35 MPH WILL RESULT IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH
VISIBILITIES OF LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE AT TIMES.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...
SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS WEATHER RADIO OR VISIT OUR WEB
SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/NYC FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND UPDATES.

$$

2/2: No School for SCSD

Ahead of Monday's snow storm, the Smithtown Central School District has cancelled all classes and school activities for Monday, March 2, 2009.

The elementary school math assessment will be given Tuesday.

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A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST MONDAY.

A STEADY SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE TRI-STATE AREA FROM SOUTHWEST TO
NORTHEAST THIS EVENING. THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES THROUGH
THE OVERNIGHT AND INTO MONDAY MORNING. THERE MAY BE ENOUGH WARM
AIR ALOFT FOR SLEET TO MIX IN ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT AND
THE TWIN FORKS OF LONG ISLAND AT THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM...BUT FOR
THE MOST PART THIS WILL BE AN ALL SNOW EVENT. THE SNOW WILL THEN
TAPER OFF MONDAY AFTERNOON.

TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES OVER
ORANGE AND WESTERN PASSAIC COUNTIES...TO 10 TO 14 INCHES ACROSS
CENTRAL LONG ISLAND AND SOUTH CENTRAL CONNECTICUT. SOMEWHAT LOWER
AMOUNTS ARE FORECAST ACROSS THE TWIN FORKS OF EASTERN LONG ISLAND
AND SOUTHEAST CONNECTICUT DUE TO THE SNOW POSSIBLY MIXING WITH
SLEET. FOR THE NEW YORK CITY METRO AREA...8 TO 12 INCHES OF
SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED.

SUSTAINED NORTH WINDS OF 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 30 TO
OCCASIONALLY 35 MPH WILL RESULT IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH
VISIBILITIES OF LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE AT TIMES.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...
SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO
POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Winter Storm Warning

Bulletin : Winter Storm Warning; 6-10+ inches; thru Mon 6 pm
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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