School: Lynbrook wins Blue Ribbon award
On Sept. 23, Lynbrook was announced as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2024. This year, the National Blue Ribbon School Award was granted to 356 schools that display excellence in academic performance and serve as positive examples for schools across the nation. Other local winners include Joaquin Miller Middle School and Leigh High School. This is the first time that Lynbrook has won the award since 2008. Principal Maria Jackson, Assistant Principal David Erwin and FUHSD Superintendent Graham Clark will be flying to Washington, D.C. to attend the national awards ceremony from Nov. 7-8.
Community: fire
Just before midnight on Oct. 17, a fire broke out in a house near the intersection of Johnson Avenue and Brookhaven Drive. The police and fire department arrived shortly after and were able to put out the fire completely by 4 a.m. While nobody was hurt, the garage and nearby shed were burnt. Fortunately, the firewall in the house prevented the entire house from catching on fire.
“It was really scary because it was just two or three houses away from my house on the other side of the street,” sophomore Ishanvi Hullur said. “It’s frightening to be in that situation when you know it could have been us.”
National: Hurricane Milton
Residents of Florida were greatly impacted when Hurricane Milton hit on Oct. 7, resulting in flooding, wind damage and power outages. Starting less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene and dissipating on Oct. 12, this storm is the second most intense Atlantic hurricane to date after Hurricane Rita in 2005 and the strongest tropical cyclone in 2024 so far. Milton was categorized as a Category 5 major hurricane, with its highest winds reaching 180 miles per hour. There have been 24 confirmed deaths in the United States and three in Mexico, with over $30 billion in estimated damages from the storm.
International: 2024 Cuba blackout
Cuba began to experience a nationwide power outage due to the failures of the Antonio Guiteras Power Plant on Oct. 18. More widely known as the 2024 Cuba blackout, this incident is the most severe energy failure the country has experienced since 1991. Although the plant was temporarily restored, it shut down again on Oct. 20, impacting approximately 11 million people. Due to the blackout, protests broke out shortly after, with many building makeshift barricades in the streets. While it was hoped that the power outage would end by Oct. 22, Hurricane Oscar slowed down the progress made to improve the situation.
