Education: University of Florida



	The first day I walked onto the grounds of the White House complex and into the White House Briefing Room, I couldn&rsquo;t help but get goosebumps &ndash; here I was walking the same path as generations of other reporters.



	The moment spoke volumes to me about how much Newsday cares about its readers getting the complete picture of how decisions in Washington, D.C., impact everyday life on Long Island. During a time when so many local newspapers are pulling back reporters from bureaus, Newsday continues to invest in making sure we have all of our bases covered &ndash; from Amityville to Albany to Wyandanch to Washington.



	It&#39;s my job as Newsday&rsquo;s White House correspondent to find unique Long Island and New York angles, and to explain in our coverage how the administration&rsquo;s decisions are impacting things back home. So often I have found &ldquo;there&rsquo;s always a Long Island connection&rdquo; &ndash; from writing about White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre&rsquo;s Long Island roots to profiling Navy Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, a Long Island native who was tapped by former President Donald Trump in 2020 to lead the federal government&rsquo;s collection and distribution of medical supplies during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.



	I&rsquo;ve also written about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen&rsquo;s upbringing in Nassau County, and the Jericho roots of the high-profile D.C. attorney Mark Zaid representing the anonymous whistleblower who set off the impeachment inquiry into Trump&rsquo;s dealings with Ukraine.



	My favorite stories involve helping readers understand how the laws passed in Washington are impacting their lives. I&rsquo;ve written several Q&amp;A pieces about the stimulus payments that were doled out during the pandemic and the temporary child tax credit expansion passed as part of the pandemic relief package. Often I found myself fielding emails from readers who were missing checks, or had questions about their payments and I was happy when I was able to point them in the right direction or where to seek help for their specific case.



	I grew up wanting to be a journalist to help people. I remember being in elementary school and reading an article in a New York City tabloid about a wheelchair-bound individual who could not leave a walk-up apartment without help. The coverage of the person&rsquo;s story helped spur action that led them getting into a wheelchair-friendly, first-floor apartment. It was the first time I was able to connect how words and pictures on paper could directly help someone&rsquo;s life.



	I am thankful for the opportunities Newsday has given me to help in my own small way since I joined the newsroom in 2012 as a politics reporter.



	Honors and Awards: UNITY/United Nations Reporting Fellowship, 2011; Florida Press Club- First Place General Excellence in Minority News Writing, Second Place General Excellence in Business Writing, Third Place General Excellence in General News Writing; Florida Society of Newspaper Editors-Second Place Business Reporting, 2006

Laura Figueroa Hernandez


	Laura Figueroa


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A journalist with a passion for uncovering the truth, Laura&rsquo;s coverage of the White House gives readers insight on complex laws and policies coming out of the nation&rsquo;s capital and how they impact Long Island.

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Newsday Journalists: Laura Figueroa Hernandez

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Education: University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia School of Journalism



	What made me want to be a movie critic? That&rsquo;s easy: my dad.



	I grew up in Southern California, where the movies seem to reign over everything and everyone. I also was an arty kid &ndash; you know, the kind who actually reads the liner notes on albums and stays for the closing credits after every movie. But I really owe my career to my dad, who took me to a theater just about every weekend when I was a boy. He would scour the newspaper, find out what was playing and suggest a few titles. Personally, I didn&rsquo;t care if it was &ldquo;Benji&rdquo; or &ldquo;Blazing Saddles.&rdquo; Any movie, to me, was magic.



	Eventually, I developed some actual opinions about movies, and I began to ask questions about them. Who made them? How? And why? I got serious about moviegoing, attending the annual 50-hour movie marathon at the Filmex festival for several years in a row. (Best education I ever got.) As I entered my teen years, I started reading the Los Angeles Times&rsquo; film and music critics. When I went away to college and then bounced around to different cities, I always picked up the local paper and turned straight to the arts section. I wanted to know: What&rsquo;s happening, what&rsquo;s playing, who&rsquo;s touring, what should I see or do? I got to know the writers by their bylines. Some made me laugh, and some made me furious, but truth be told, I admired them all. I thought: What cool jobs they had! I wish I could do that. And then, one day, I decided I would.



	Even after I began seriously pursuing journalism as a career, it took me a while to find my way to Newsday&rsquo;s arts desk. I freelanced for tiny papers (some were really just stapled pamphlets), then went to graduate school. I did a summer internship at the Buffalo News (the other best education I ever got) and then joined the Wall Street Journal as a business reporter. I learned a great deal there over several years &ndash; but I wasn&rsquo;t writing about the arts, and I missed it. When Newsday had an opening for a rock critic, I applied and got the job. And a few years later, I became the paper&rsquo;s film critic.



	The arts desk at any newspaper is a funny place, full of nerds and obsessives who care deeply about seemingly trivial things such as Oscar categories and rock band discographies. I like to think I fit right in. I&rsquo;m proud and grateful to be part of a crew that helps Long Islanders decide what to see and do. I&rsquo;m happy to make some readers laugh and some readers furious. (They let me know, believe me.) Whenever I write something, whether it&rsquo;s a review of the latest blockbuster or a feature on an up-and-coming filmmaker, I try not to be snobbish or pretentious. Instead, I imagine some kid and his dad out there, wondering what to see this weekend.

Rafer Guzmán

Rafer Guzman

When it comes to Long Island entertainment, Rafer knows. He shares exclusive coverage of the Long Island stage and screen, plus shows that are not to be missed.

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Newsday Journalists: Rafer Guzmán

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I didn&rsquo;t always know I wanted to become a journalist.

Growing up, I often would go to my family&rsquo;s deli in Valley Stream after school. Picking up the daily edition of Newsday was one of the first things I would do, even before greeting anyone.

I would grab the paper, find a seat, and flip the paper to the sports section to quickly check scores before reading the news. At the time, I didn&rsquo;t anticipate that my name and words one day would be featured in the paper.

I was born and raised on Long Island. While growing up, I often debated which career to pursue, but nothing stood out. All I knew at the time was that I enjoyed telling stories. It wasn&rsquo;t until my time at Stony Brook University that I realized I could make a living doing that.

Right after college, I worked at a local weekly newspaper, covering the City of Long Beach and other parts of Nassau County. There, I saw firsthand the impact a local paper could have on the community.

I joined Newsday in 2021 and immediately understood that there wasn&rsquo;t another media outlet around that had the resources and commitment to produce such impactful journalism.

Newsday is vital to the community because we tell stories that otherwise might not be told. I think it&rsquo;s the attention to detail that reporters and editors give every story that makes Newsday different. Not only do we care about the stories we publish, but we have a commitment to the topics and people we cover.

During my time as a Newsday reporter, I have covered a wide range of stories, from topics such as local government to crime to environmental issues to education.

I&rsquo;ve also written obituaries of Long Islanders, giving readers a glimpse of their lives. One of the toughest challenges we face is calling families after a tragedy. But it is necessary because instead of just writing about people as victims, we aim to tell readers about their lives.

My goal as a journalist is to provide readers with the most accurate, informative and balanced reporting I can. It&rsquo;s an honor when people put their faith in us to tell their stories.

Darwin Yanes

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Darwin&#39;s passion for storytelling began at an early age on Long Island, grabbing the daily Newsday at the family deli. As a Newsday education reporter, Darwin brings Long Island&#39;s stories to life. With attention to detail, he has covered a wide range of stories, from topics such as local government to crime to education.

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Newsday Journalists: Darwin Yanes

Education: The University of Arizona



	Andi Berlin is a food writer and restaurant critic. She joined Newsday in 2022 after more than a decade writing about restaurants for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix and The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. She has also written food and travel pieces for The New York Times, London Eating, The San Francisco Bay Guardian and USA Today.



	Honors and Awards:&nbsp;First place in food writing, Arizona Press Club, 2019.

Andi Berlin

Long Island

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Nassau County has joined the state's task force to crack down on license plates that have been altered, also known as "ghost plates," while Suffolk is considering a similar move. Newsday transportation reporter Alfonso Castillo has the story.

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The Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center hosted a rally on Sunday where attendees called for an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger reports.

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The Trump administration ordered an immediate cease to the wind project near the coast of Long Beach, stating the Biden administration rushed the permit process. Newsday reporter Robert Brodsky reports.

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Following demonstrations on the Stony Brook University campus last spring, pro-Palestinian protests again took place Thursday, the first of this current school year. NewsdayTV's Drew Scott reports.

SBU demonstrations over war in Gaza resume

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When Halal Guys opened its first Long Island brick and mortar eatery in 2018, it was a sensation.

Halal Guys closes both Long Island stores

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Events at St. John of God Parish in Central Islip and the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury commemorate Jesus's final hours before being crucified.

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The person killed was identified Friday evening as Lucien Jean, 62, of Wyandanch.

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Jonathan Davis, of Port Washington, will peddle nearly 4,300 miles — from New York to Portland — over two months to raise money to help cure vision loss, a condition afflicting his sister and his niece.

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Some real estate experts are concerned about the potential effect of the economic outlook on the spring market. Newsday business reporter Jonathan LaMantia has the story.

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The accused Gilgo Beach killer was in court Tuesday for a hearing to decide whether the DNA technique used on hair samples found near victims can be used at trial. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

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NewsdayTV gets an exclusive look at how a drill weekend turned into a full-blown firefighting operation last month.

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AARP members spoke out about "frustrating" customer service experiences with the Social Security Administration during a meeting in Melville. Newsday reporter Tiffany Cusaac-Smith has the story.

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As part of an ongoing gang investigation, authorities said they have recovered human remains at the 81-acre Underhill Preserve, across the street from Jericho High School. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports.

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A bill that would make it illegal to come within 15 feet of first responders performing their duties in Nassau has come under fire from critics who say it would violate the First Amendment. Newsday Nassau County politics reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.

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Tariffs against Canada and Mexico, initiated by President Donald Trump, took effect on Tuesday. Newsday business reporter Brianne Ledda explains how this could impact Long Islanders.

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A 15-year-old boy faces murder charges after police said he fatally stabbed his 56-year old grandmother at her home Selden.

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The U.S. ICE agency and Nassau County police have made public their agreement empowering 10 Nassau detectives to work with federal authorities to arrest and help deport immigrants without legal status. Newsday reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.

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In his annual State of the County address, Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine spoke of infrastructure projects and economic headwinds. Newsday politics editor David Cruz reports.

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Find out what's happening with Nassau & Suffolk news, Long Island schools, plus the latest crime, courts, politics. Coverage includes Fire Island, the Hamptons & North Fork.

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