Drivers in the Town of Hempstead last year were hit with nearly 40,000 more school bus camera tickets than drivers in Suffolk County, despite having half the population. Payton Guion reports in NEWSDAY that BusPatrol America, a Virginia-based company that runs the school bus camera programs, recorded 140,456 violations in Hempstead in 2023, compared with 103,532 in Suffolk. The town’s population is 793,409, while Suffolk is home to more than 1.5 million people.

A number of factors likely contributed to Hempstead's higher ticketing rate, but town communications director Brian Devine said the two biggest reasons were simple: Hempstead is denser and its camera program is newer. BusPatrol also said denser areas tend to see more tickets. Devine added that the number of tickets issued this year is down compared with last year, which is consistent with other BusPatrol programs as they mature.

Newsday analyzed the nearly quarter of a million tickets issued last year, providing the most comprehensive picture to-date of the bus camera programs in Suffolk and Hempstead town. Programs officials say bus cameras are necessary to protect children but critics have called it a "cash grab."

"The passing of school buses is such a problem in our state and nationally," said David Christopher, executive director of the advocacy group New York Association for Pupil Transportation. "This is just one tool of many that we can employ to keep kids safe. People are driving aggressively and they’re driving distracted, and kids are in danger when that happens."

Nearly 250,000 school bus camera tickets were issued in Suffolk County and the Town of Hempstead in 2023, according to a Newsday analysis of data provided by the county and town.

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September is the peak month for mosquitoes and West Nile virus, but they got an early start on Long Island this year. Lisa L. Colangelo reports in NEWSDAY that health officials reported larger numbers of infected mosquitoes compared with recent years, as well as more human cases of West Nile and biting mosquitoes overall in Suffolk County in July and August, possibly setting the stage for additional cases of disease later this year.

Even more troubling to experts is the growing spread in the Northeast of eastern equine encephalitis, another mosquito-borne disease that can be more deadly. For the first time in five years, an EEE-infected mosquito sample was found in Suffolk County, officials reported Friday.

While there have been no human EEE cases in New York, they have been documented in New Jersey and Massachusetts. A man from New Hampshire died last month after contracting the virus and developing the disease, and concerns about transmission have led some New England towns to recommend 6 p.m. curfews on outdoor activities this month to avoid infected mosquitoes.

For now, the bigger threat in New York is the West Nile virus, especially for people over the age of 50.

Experts suggest people avoid outdoor areas when mosquitoes are biting. If you have to be outside, wear long sleeves and long pants. Use insect repellent registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and follow label directions carefully. Eliminate standing water on your property, which can serve as mosquito breeding grounds.

Scott Campbell, chief of the Suffolk County Health Department’s Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory tells Newsday that the rainy spring on Long Island provided rich breeding grounds for mosquitoes, leading to high populations earlier than usual.

And the hot, relatively dry summer led mosquitoes and birds to share limited water...