Suffolk Notebook: High-Speed Buses Touted, Film Locations Scouted

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone continued to push this week for the creation of high-speed bus routes in the county, connecting major employment districts with reliable and speedy public transit.

Bellone, according to a Newsday story, attended a symposium on transportation in Hauppauge to advocate for the lines in places such as Nicholls Road, the Sagtikos Parkway, and Route 110 between Farmingdale and Melville.

The buses would run on bus-only lanes, would use fast payment technologies and even be able to change traffic signals.

Grant Backs DWI Program

Suffolk's program to crack down on drunken driving picked up $180,000 from the state's Traffic Safety Commission this week.

The county's STOP-DWI initiative sets up patrols and checkpoints in the county, and has resulted in many DWI arrests.

“This additional funding will help to ensure safe traverse on Suffolk County roads without additional costs to Suffolk County residents,” Bellone said in a statement.

Bellone Taps Human Rights Commission Leaders

The county executive this week also named two new members to Suffolk's human rights commission, a group set up to consult on issues of discrimination, hate and inequality in the region.

Bonnie M. Cannon will represent the South Fork of the county and Dr. Hafizur Rehman represents Muslims, Bellone said.

Directors Take Suffolk Film Tour

Ahead of this weekend's Hamptons Film Festival, the county's film commission took several directors and movie industry insiders on a bus tour of "film worthy" scenes in the county, hoping to entice them to use these landmarks as filming sites in the future.

Here's where they stopped. Let us know what you think of the locations.

• Vanderbilt Museum, Centerport
• Northport Village drive-through
• Scully Estate, Islip
• Mansion at Timber Point Country Club
• Deepwell’s Farm, St. James
• Three Village Inn, Historic Stony Brook
• Stony Brook Grist Mill and Avalon Park and Preserve
• Downtown Port Jefferson
• Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
• Calverton ‘Open House’ Kitchen
• Historic Riverhead
• Hallockville Farm Museum
• Brecknock Hall, Greenport, and Downtown Greenport
• Sag Harbor
• Maidstone, East Hampton