“A couple of seconds is like a lifetime,” Jane Brierley said the other day about the breaststroke, her strongest event and the one she recently parlayed into a state championship in Rochester.

In what Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney described as "meticulously planned heists," a pair of thieves allegedly targeted a wealthy woman with residences in Sag Harbor and Manhattan and made off with cash, art, guns, jewelry, fine wines, and other items valued at more than $1 million.

This time of year, there are lots of opportunities for giving. Toys for Tots, food for food pantries, and now warm clothing for soldiers about to endure a Ukraine winter on the frontlines.