If Texas lawmakers follow through on President Trump’s call to redraw state congressional maps to help the Republican Party, New York leaders say they want to be ready to respond in kind.

Benjamin Oreskes reports in THE NY TIMES that Democrats in the NYS Assembly and Senate will introduce a bill today that would allow New York to redraw its own congressional lines mid-decade — instead of every 10 years, linked to the U.S. census — if another state does so first.

“Republicans have made it clear that they will stop at nothing to use this process to advance their political agenda,” said State Senator Michael Gianaris, the deputy majority leader sponsoring the bill in the Senate. “If other states are going to do this, we shouldn’t stand by and watch the Congress be lost.”

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has cited “constitutional concerns” in his call for Texas to draw new lines, but the actual motive seems political. President Trump has suggested that Texas’s redistricting could help Republicans gain five House seats in their mission to keep control of the chamber after the 2026 midterms. Currently, Republicans have a seven-seat edge in the House, with four seats vacant.

New York’s response is the latest counterattack from Democratic-led states and organizations…notably California.

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would follow its rules, but added that “all’s fair in love and war.”

“But if there’s other states violating the rules and are trying to give themselves an advantage, all I’ll say is, I’m going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries,” she said last week, referring to the House minority leader.

For New York’s bill to go into effect, the State Legislature would have to pass it twice, in consecutive legislative sessions, and then voters would have to approve it in a referendum. The earliest the lines could be redrawn would be 2028.

“This is not New York firing the first shot,” said Assemblyman Micah Lasher. “It’s us saying New York shouldn’t be precluded from action if another state starts the fight…Democrats have got to stop unilaterally disarming,” he said.

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New York State Attorney General Letitia James yesterday sought to block the Trump administration’s demand for personal information for recipients of food stamps, which James said would be used to find, harass and prosecute immigrants that need the aid to feed their children.

James and Democratic attorneys general in 19 other states have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is seeking the personal information of recipients.

Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that James said the Trump administration has threatened to cut off funding for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program if a state doesn’t provide the data. The data includes Social Security numbers, addresses, family members’ names, landlords’ contact information, immigration status and medical data. The federal "SNAP data sharing guidance" made public last week follows an executive order by Republican President Donald Trump to root out what he called fraud, waste and abuse in the SNAP program, which helps the poor and working poor afford food. SNAP is a federally funded program administered by states.

The federal order states that the information will be secure. The only stated use for the data identified in the directive is to verify the eligibility of people receiving the subsidies.

The attorneys general said they believe the Trump administration wants the data to target immigrants because of past attempts to obtain data held by social service programs to identify immigrants who may be in the country illegally.

James accused the administration of "animus against immigrants and people of color" among the 2.9 million New Yorkers in the SNAP program.

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The Hope for Depression Research...

Long Island churches and nonprofits are holding "emergency planning" workshops explaining how immigrants living here illegally — and who fear arrest or deportation — can sign papers for "standby guardianship" of their children. Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that some immigrants are refraining from activities like food shopping in part because of their biggest fear of all: getting detained and deported while their children stay here, advocates said. A temporary custody transfer can be done by signing a form provided by the New York State Office of Child and Family Services, said Theo Liebmann, a professor at Hofstra Law School. "It's horrifying. It's the most devastating thing I've ever experienced," said Minerva Perez, whose East End Latino advocacy group, OLA of Eastern Long Island, has held workshops explaining the process to immigrants. "You're in a room with people who are silent as you speak to them about the possibility of them being separated from their children. And there's not a heavier feeling in the world," said Perez. Usually the standby guardianship is used in cases when the parent has little standing to remain in the country legally but the child does, such as through a special immigrant juvenile status visa given to children abandoned, abused or neglected by at least one parent, Liebmann said. Or there could be a case where the parent entered the country without authorization, but the child was born here, making him or her a U.S. citizen. The designated caregiver can decide issues such as education, housing and medical care. It is good for 12 months but can be extended.

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Long Island now has one of the fastest, most efficient and reliable mail services in the country thanks to a high-tech Postal Service upgrade covering both its counties, officials say. Brandon Cruz reports in THE NY POST that a US Postal Service state-of-the-art sorting and delivery center opened in Huntington Station in Suffolk County last week as part of a $40 billion nationwide modernization effort aimed at dragging the country’s aging mail system into the 21st century. The move comes after the October opening of Nassau County’s revamped hub in Hicksville — making Long Island one of the only regions in the country where both counties are fully modernized. “With these upgrades, Long Island now has one of the most efficient mail systems in the country,” USPS spokeswoman Amy Gibbs told The Post. Officials said results are already being delivered to residents throughout both counties. “Customers are definitely getting their packages faster,” said Robert Kasten, who oversees vehicle operations for the Atlantic 4 territory, which includes Long Island. USPS has already deployed 16 of their new electric Ram ProMaster trucks across Suffolk, with plans to eventually replace the county’s entire decades-old 1,400-vehicle fleet. The EV vehicles can run for days without needing a charge and are designed with better visibility, easier dismounting and improved ergonomics to help carriers move quicker and safer. The hubs in Nassau and Suffolk are just two of roughly 111 newly modernized sorting and delivery centers opening across the nation. The upgrades are thanks to the United States Postal Service investing $40 billion over 10 years to revamp its processing, mail and package systems, having already poured more than $18.9 billion into renovations nationwide, according to Gibbs.

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The Hampton Bays Civic Association will hold its next monthly meeting tomorrow in the Hampton Bays Community Center on Ponquogue Avenue. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments, with the meeting beginning promptly at 7 p.m. this Tuesday.

Tomorrow evening’s featured guest speaker is Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore, who will provide an update on key issues impacting both Hampton Bays and the Town of Southampton. Also joining the meeting will be Southampton Town...

The Town of Southold is placing new restrictions on watering lawns to encourage conservation as the North Fork grapples with a water supply crisis. Tara Smith reports in NEWSDAY that the law, approved in a 4-1 vote this week, requires new automatic sprinkler systems to be outfitted with smart controllers and rain sensors that prevent watering for two days after a half inch of rain falls.

Southold’s volunteer Water Advisory Committee has been advocating for stricter irrigation rules to reduce the strain on the sole-source aquifer as demand for water soars. The Suffolk County Water Authority, which serves about 9,500 customers in Southold Town, estimates 70% of water pumped during peak summer hours is used for landscape irrigation.

Up to 50% of that water goes to waste “due to overwatering caused by inefficient irrigation methods and systems,” according to Southold’s new code.

Officials said Southold is a particular concern due to shallow wells and overpumping, which has caused saltwater intrusion in some areas.

The new law also bans sprinkler heads from watering paved areas and mandates an odd-even watering schedule. Under that system, properties with even numbered addresses must water on even numbered days of the month, and odd-numbered houses on odd-numbered days.

Backyard food gardens, farms, nurseries and garden centers are exempt from the rules, and the town set a three-year grace period for existing systems to comply.

Southold Town officials have said enforcement would focus on voluntary compliance and education rather than through punitive fines. During periods of “extreme drought,” the law allows the town to ban irrigation on all properties and fine offenders up to $1,000 per violation.

The conservation law comes as the SCWA issued an alert asking customers to conserve water, citing “dangerously low” levels.

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The Center Moriches school district approved time sheets that employees submitted for working at athletic events that had conflicting game times or on dates when no games were scheduled, state auditors found. Dandan Zou reports in NEWSDAY that those employees were among 13 whose time sheets were found to be not "adequately supported," according to a report from NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office. The payments, which were also made for tutoring services, totaled more than $100,000.

Auditors raised questions on “the reasonableness of payments for 258 chaperoning and sports scorekeeping events totaling $14,190 due to various discrepancies with game schedules,” according to the report released last week but announced publicly yesterday. It was based on an audit that covered the period from July 2022 through March 2024.

The discrepancies in time sheets submitted by eight employees included overlapping game schedules that would have meant the employees attended two games at the same time at different locations, dates when no games were scheduled, or time sheets that indicated multiple tournaments on the same date and location, the report said.

The comptroller's office recommended the district establish "comprehensive written payroll processing policies."

Center Moriches schools Superintendent Ricardo Soto in a letter to the comptroller’s office last month said corrective measures were implemented and the district is developing a payroll processing policy to be adopted.

“The report supports our continuing efforts to protect the district’s financial integrity,” he wrote in the June 26 letter. “The change in the time sheets will help ensure that employees are receiving payments for time actually worked.”

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Rural & Migrant Ministry, an outreach program to farm workers formed in 1981 by a consortium of New York State churches, has been a part of the East End’s support network for immigrant workers here for decades. This coming Sunday at Orient Congregational...