Nassau County's executive wants to deputize residents who hold gun permits.

County Executive Bruce Blakemen's plan involves training 100 residents for "the protection of human life and property during an emergency." Little else has been made public about the plan but it has been met with widespread opposition and concern.

Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, minority leader of the Nassau County Legislature, said there are many ways it can go wrong.

"Emergencies are very chaotic situations by nature and all of a sudden, someone shows up that a police officer might not recognize or isn't identified correctly," DeRiggi-Whitton pointed out. "We're just waiting for a disaster to happen."

She added some Nassau County police officers are against the plan and, like many others, feel it's unnecessary. Blakeman said he is relying on New York State County Law 655, which grants sheriffs authority to deputize added personnel for emergencies.

DeRiggi-Whitton noted legal options are being pursued to stop the plan from being enacted.

The lack of information has made residents anxious about what the plan would do. Some have said the effort, along with Blakeman's ban on female trans athletes in county athletic facilities, are solutions without problems.

Susan Gotthrer, director of the Nassau Regional Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said more pressing issues need to be addressed.

"We have real problems in Nassau County," Gotthrer argued. "We have housing shortages, we have lack of opportunities, we have education issues, high taxes. We would really like to see Mr. Blakeman putting his energies towards real governing issues and not imaginary ones like this."

Blakeman is not alone in pushing to deputize gun owners. Support for militias is growing among conservative politicians. Some residents are worried the armed people will be used to intimidate voters at or after the 2024 election. Nassau County is considered one of the safest counties, not just in the state but in the nation.


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As powerhouse Hurricane Milton nears the Florida coastline, communities in the Tampa Bay area are extending relief efforts initially launched for Hurricane Helene.

The Demps Law Firm at Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, is one of many organizations leading relief donation drives for Hurricane Helene.

Cornelius Demps is now grappling with the daunting possibility of widespread devastation from Hurricane Milton. He said he would ask people to pray for all in the storm's path as they adjust to the ongoing need.

"The hurricane relief donation drive was supposed to end this Friday," Demps explained. "Instead, we're going to do it the rest of the month of October and we mainly need people just to donate what they can."

The law firm has been collecting essential items such as cleaning supplies, food and clothing with help from local groups like the NAACP in St. Petersburg and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel. The firm is also working with Carmel Friendship Church to create an Amazon Wishlist so people who do not live in the area can donate as well.

As Hurricane Milton intensifies, Tampa Electric is prepared for widespread outages and extended restoration efforts.

Mary Lou Carn, a company spokesperson, noted their readiness, but warned Milton could cause more disruptions than Hurricane Helene.

"A storm of this magnitude will bring more outages and a longer restoration time than we had with Helene," Carn cautioned. "It's just a bigger, more powerful storm, so that is what we anticipate. Our customers should be prepared for widespread and extended outages."

Residents relying on life-sustaining equipment should have backup power ready and Tampa Electric advised unplugging nonessential devices to prevent surge damage. Tampa Electric has more than 5,000 utility workers in Florida from out of state, staged and ready to begin repairs once it is safe.


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As Florida recovers from Hurricane Helene, the state's network of Community Health Centers continues to provide crucial care statewide.

Community Health Centers see patients despite their ability to pay. Although some facilities avoided significant damage, the storm's widespread impact is straining resources, staff and patients. Clinics from Sarasota to the Panhandle are focused on rebuilding and restoring services.

Despite the storm's size and power, said Gianna Van Winkle, director of emergency management programs for the Florida Association of Community Health Centers, the centers largely avoided catastrophic damage.

"No total losses or anything like that," she said, "but at the same time, there's power loss, there's staff and patient impacts that are going to affect the way that these health centers operate in these days and weeks ahead."

In hard-hit rural areas, where resources and infrastructure are often limited, health centers operate mobile units and partner with county officials to deliver care and supplies. They're also collecting relief supplies to support workers affected by the storm.

Health centers along the Gulf Coast, including in Sarasota, faced significant flooding. Christine Coviello, chief advancement and engagement officer for CenterPlace Health, said its facilities avoided structural damage, but had to close for a day because staff members were unable to reach the clinics.

"The storm surge is what really got us," Coviello said. "The wind and the rain was something we could handle a lot better - but this time, the storm surge really affected those low-lying areas."

Telehealth, mobile units and backup power systems allowed many facilities to remain operational or quickly return to service. However, despite these healthcare facilities coming out largely unscathed, many staff members are struggling to recover from personal losses, while still being called to serve their communities.

A week after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc across the Southeast, the North Carolina town of Boone is facing an uphill battle.

With many roads still impassable, widespread power outages and a "boil water" advisory in effect, the community is coming together to aid those most affected.

SOL Nation, a nonprofit focused on environmental and social justice, is helping with the recovery effort. Tiffany Fant, the organization's executive director, said the damage is twofold, with people in rural areas dealing with much of the impact.

"Within the city limits, the water's receded, the streets are OK; there are still some power outages but people are moving about," she said. "But then when you get further out into the county, there's still people stranded, roads blocked, some roads washed out."

Fant said SOL Nation is partnering with Cornerstone Summit Church to create a resilience hub. The church sanctuary has been converted into a donation center to receive and distribute resources. The group is also partnering with others in Charlotte to provide relief to other areas.

Fant explained SOL Nation's efforts focus not only on immediate relief but also long-term recovery. She added that it is training members who are closest to the community to continue these efforts after the immediate crisis has passed.

"No one is going to be able to rebuild and recover alone, in isolation," she said, "so it's going to take community to know who is unaccounted for, to know who's still stranded, to know who needs to get medical supplies, right? And that takes community. That takes knowing your neighbor."

She said anyone looking to help can visit SOL Nation's website at solnation.org, or the Cornerstone Summit Church website at cornerstonesummit.org.

Other relief efforts are also underway in Western North Carolina from local, state and federal partners. So far, the National Guard has performed more than 1,400 rescues.


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