Long Island had no shortage of big news over the past year. Here is a look back at the most notable headlines from across the region in the past 12 months.

Year In Review

SPEED CAMS DEBUT
New York State launched the Automated Work Zone Speed Monitoring Pilot Program on April 17, introducing 30 speed cameras in work zones on highways such as the Long Island Expressway. The initiative aimed to enhance awareness of reduced work zone speed limits and protect road repair crews from reckless drivers. Initially, drivers receive warnings for 30 days; subsequent violations incur fines of $50, $75, and $100 within 18 months. Failure to pay the tickets risks vehicle registration renewal. State officials shared data in December showing that after six months of its implementation, nearly 42,000 drivers on Long Island received tickets for speed camera infractions.

LEGAL WEED SHOPS DEBUT
The first New York State-licensed legal recreational marijuana dispensary on Long Island opened for business in Farmingdale on July 8 as the industry’s slow rollout inches forward two years after adult-use cannabis was legalized. Strain Stars, located at 1815 Broadhollow Road in Farmingdale, was among the first companies to receive its Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license through the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) in November. It is one of three dozen licensees on LI, but most have yet to open. A second, Happy Days, is scheduled to open Dec. 30 at 105 Route 109 in Farmingdale.

SHARK, WHALE TROUBLE
It was another wild year for marine wildlife news. A spate of whales washing up dead across Long Island and the East Coast prompted calls for studies into whether offshore wind farm construction may be to blame. And then as swimmers flocked to local beaches for Independence Day, five suspected sharm bites were reported in two days, mostly in the waters off Fire Island, and one in Quogue. It marked the second summer in a row of sharks biting swimmers at Long Island’s ocean beaches.

POLITICAL TURNOVER
Although Republican Suffolk County Executive-elect Ed Romaine soundly defeated Democrat Dave Calone on Election Day, the GOP fell one seat short of securing a supermajority in the Suffolk County Legislature. Republicans hold 12 seats to Democrats’ six — an exact 2/3 majority. Both parties flipped seats on both sides of the county line, but the Nassau County Legislature remains in GOP control by a margin of 12-7. Romaine is the first Republican to win the top-elected position on eastern Long Island in 20 years and will replace outgoing Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, who was term-limited from running for re-election.

MIGRANT CRISIS
New York City’s decided in September to drop a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Town of Riverhead’s and Suffolk County’s efforts to keep the Big Apple from sending an influx of migrants to Long Island. The city had filed the lawsuit after Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar signed an executive order on May 16 that prohibited local hotels’ lodging facilities to be used to house asylum seekers for whom city officials had been struggling to find shelter. Riverhead and Suffolk were among dozens of local governments across the downstate region that NYC sued to overturn similar migrant-blocking efforts as the city eyed the suburbs to ease the overflow.

WILDFIRE SMOKE
In early June, Long Island was engulfed in an orange haze, as wildfire smoke from Canada moved south. Visibility was poor as the skies had a deep orange hue, and air quality warnings were issued by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Several schools canceled outdoor events during the haze, and elderly people as well as anyone with respiratory issues were asked to stay indoors. The haze was strongest on June 7 and 8. It briefly returned towards the end of June, but did not reach the same level of concern.

OFFSHORE WIND FARM ONLINE
After years of planning, Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource announced in December that the first electricity started flowing from the 12-turbine South Fork Wind farm 35 miles east of Montauk Point. It is New York’s first offshore wind farm and is on pace to be the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. So far, two of the 11-megawatt turbines are up. The second is undergoing testing, then it can begin producing power too. When the other 10 are spinning and South Fork opens by early next year, it will be able to generate 132 megawatts of offshore wind energy to power more than 70,000 homes.

LI TIES TO ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
On Oct. 7, terrorist group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing up to 1,200 Israelis and injuring others. Israel launched a counterattack shortly thereafter. Several Long Islanders were in Israel at the time of the attack, including Omer Neutra, a Plainview native who is currently being held hostage by Hamas, and Natalie Sanandaji, a Great Neck native who was attending a music festival and narrowly escaped with her life. Responses to the attack have caused political friction on Long Island, particularly in Nassau, where County Executive Bruce Blakeman criticized Hofstra president Susan Poser for drawing “moral equivocations” between Israel and Hamas, with Hofstra responding that Poser had clearly condemned Hamas on no uncertain terms.

SANTOS EXPELLED
George Santos officially took office in January, mere weeks after his entire background was exposed as fiction – from his employment history and education to his ethnicity. Santos ignored calls to step down and pushed on – although it wasn’t for long. He stepped down from assigned committees shortly after taking office, and in May faced a 13-count federal fraud indictment, receiving additional charges in October. He survived two expulsion votes in May and November, respectively – but the third time was the charm, as he was expelled on Dec. 1 following the House Ethics Committee’s report on his campaign.

GILGO BEACH SERIAL KILLER SUSPECT ARRESTED
Long-awaited news that Suffolk County authorities finally apprehended a suspect in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case rocked a quiet start to a tranquil summer weekend on Long Island. As we now know, 60-year-old Rex Heuermann, a married father of two, was arrested on murder charges July 13 as he left his architectural firm office in Manhattan. He pleaded not guilty to killing Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, and Melissa Barthelemy — three of the so-called Gilgo Beach four found in December 2010 — and is the prime suspect in the death of the fourth, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Police are also investigating whether he is responsible for the murders of other victims found near Gilgo and beyond.