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N E W S P A P E R
VOLUME SIXTEEN, ISSUE 16
20 PAGES
THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014 DIX HILLS
Aspiring Composer Tops Class Five Towns College celebrates 40th commencement Long Islander News photo/Arielle Dollinger
By Arielle Dollinger adollinger@longislandergroup.com
The Paramount Spotlight Dan Finnerty had the audience in stitches when The Dan Band came to The Paramount May 28.
It Started With A Night Of Drunken Karaoke By Peter Sloggatt psloggatt@longislandernews.com
If everyone could turn a night of drunken karaoke into a successful career the way Dan Finnerty has, there’d be a lot more Bentleys on the road. Not to say that Finnerty has reached that level of success, but the 43-year-old singer-comedian from Rochester is making a living. Best known for roles in movies like “The Hangover” and “Old School,” Finnerty has carved a unique niche in the entertainment industry performing raunched-up versions of songs best performed by women. Finnerty gained fame as the wedding singer who performed an expletive-laced rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at Will Ferrell’s wedding (Continued on page A13)
As a fresh slew of graduates throw their caps into the air this graduation season, one cap knows its home to be the head of Five Towns College valedictorian Harrison Ingemarson – a Pennsylvania-native walking away with a four-year Bachelor of Music degree after just three years of college. Ingemarson’s father, who drives a delivery truck, was passing through New York one day a few years ago when he heard a radio commercial for Five Towns College in Dix Hills. He mentioned the school to his son, who graduated on Saturday. “It was easier than I was expecting, actually,” said the 21-year-old graduate. “I was able to waive a lot of classes and test out of a lot of things… I had already done so much practicing and musical projects on my own throughout high school that a lot of the curriculum that they provided here was already at a level lower than what I was capable of.” Ingemarson is one of 194 members of the Class of 2014, the school’s 40th group of graduates. Known for its emphasis on the arts, Five (Continued on page A18)
Five Towns College Valedictorian Harrison Ingemarson graduated on Saturday, with a fouryear Bachelor of Music degree after just three years.
MELVILLE
Economics, Politics Convene In Melville By Danny Schrafel dschrafel@longislandernews.com
About one week after the dust settled following the New York State Democratic Committee’s convention at the Huntington Hilton in Melville, local impacts remain beyond the political machinations that unfolded there. For starters, the influx of thousands into the Melville area – by way of delegates, Democratic elected officials and media professionals, and plenty of protestors looking to give Governor Andrew Cuomo a piece of their mind – all means money for Melville and surrounding communities, said Mike DeLuise, president of the Melville Chamber of Commerce. Since they can’t fit them all at the 304room Huntington Hilton, hotels around the
area absorbed plenty of overflow delegates. In town for three days, those Democratic delegates went out to dinner, bought souvenirs, shopped and spent money in local shops, and all the while Huntington and Melville were in the media spotlight as a hub of political action. “Because you have a governor who has national prominence, media around the country puts a focus on the area,” DeLuise said. As new eyes are cast upon a part of Long Island many were previously unfamiliar with, the perception of the region changes, he added. “When people think of Long Island, they might think of the Hamptons, they might think of the LIE or the Long Island Rail Road, but now you’re showing the meat and potatoes of the business commu-
nity,” DeLuise said. “It’s a great, great way to show off what we have.” As the impact comes into focus, how the convention ended up here speaks to the political value in places like Long Island to Cuomo and his challenger, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino. Pundits across the political spectrum agree that Long Island and upstate New York will be critical to determining Cuomo’s fate this fall. Stanley Klein, a Dix Hills resident who has spent the better part of six decades as a political science professor at LIU Post and serves as a Huntington Republican committeeman, argued the Melville convention was aimed at bolstering support in an area where Cuomo has recently taken some lumps. (Continued on page A13)
IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION
Lottery For Melville Senior Housing Set For July A3
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