New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature yesterday agreed to a second emergency spending measure as closed-door negotiations continue for a state budget that was due Monday.The budget "extender" will in part pay for a ballooning cost to continue to secure prisons with National Guard troops after a wildcat strike by prison guards.Michael Gormley reports in NEWSDAY that the emergency measure passed Thursday will allow the state to spend $340.9 million to keep paying its bills through Monday, which allows most legislators to go home for the weekend after morning sessions in the Senate and Assembly."I feel like we have been making some progress over the last few days," said Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan). She said budget bills could be approved by late next week. "No guarantee, but I am a bit more optimistic," Krueger said.There is some added pressure to resolve the budget quickly: The Legislature is scheduled to begin its Easter-Passover break April 10 and return to session April 28. In addition, a state law suspends the pay of legislators until a late budget is replaced by a new budget.The $340.9 million emergency spending measure will fund state government for the next four days. A $1.7 billion extender had been approved Tuesday to run state government for three days. The 2025-26 state budget for the fiscal year that began Tuesday will total more than $252 billion. Every Democrat and Republican in the Senate and Assembly voted for the extender to keep state government operating.***Riverhead has settled a lawsuit with CMA Mine, a Southampton-based company that owns a 20-acre mined site on the corner of Osborn and Youngs Avenues, adjacent to the capped and closed Riverhead Town landfill. Alek Lewis and Denise Civiletti report on Riverheadlocal.com that at the heart of the lawsuit was whether the company should be granted permission to dig deeper within the existing footprint of the mine to a depth of 100 feet — which is 89 feet below the groundwater table. It proposes “reclaiming” the mined land by constructing an 8 ½ acre lake on the site. The Town of Riverhead and the company have agreed that CMA will apply to the building and planning department for a letter of pre-existing use stating that its pre-existing, nonconforming use allows digging to the depth of 100 feet. If the planning/building department denies the application, the town Zoning Board of Appeals will determine, within 60 days, “the scope of the pre-existing use.” Mining operations there date back to 1938. CMA, a company owned by Steven Mezynieski of Southampton, has owned the site on Osborn and Youngs Avenues since 2017. The town’s position remains that mining on the site is a pre-existing nonconforming use and the scope or extent of the use is limited to the existing mined land reclamation permit, according to Riverhead Town Attorney Erik Howard.***The Shelter Island Friends of Music is thrilled to welcome the Catalyst Quartet for a special performance tomorrow at 6:00 PM in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Admission is free, with donations greatly appreciated to support future concerts. Founded in 2010, the Catalyst Quartet has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Kennedy Center. The program for this Saturday will feature a compelling mix of classical and Latin American influences, including works by Maurice Ravel, Astor Piazzolla, Paquito D’Rivera, and George Gershwin. A reception with the artists will follow tomorrow’s concert. The Shelter Island Friends of Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing world-class musical performances to Shelter Island and the East End community at no cost to the public. Through its concert series, the organization aims to inspire a love for classical music while supporting...

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine to hold first ever Southern Pine Beetle Symposium