Consumer prices in the New York area, including Long Island, rose at a faster pace in June than in May, driven in part by higher costs for child care, housing and groceries, such as meat and eggs.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday that its Consumer Price Index for the 25-county region covering parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania increased 3.5% in June compared with a year earlier. That year-over-year jump was higher than May’s 3.4% but below April’s 3.9%. The index is a key measure of inflation.

James T. Madore reports in NEWSDAY that grocery prices rose 1.8% in June, led by a 4.7% increase in the meat, poultry, fish and eggs category and a 2.9% rise in cereals and baked goods. Those increases, along with rising child care and housing costs, were partially offset by an 11.3% drop in gasoline prices. Nationwide, consumer prices also rose more quickly in June than in May. The national Consumer Price Index increased 2.7% in June from a year earlier, up from May’s 2.4%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Restaurant meals were up moderately in the New York area — 3.1% in June year over year — and that could boost Long Island's tourism industry, said John A. Rizzo, an economist and Stony Brook University professor.

Restaurants, beaches, museums and entertainment venues generate more than $7.5 billion in annual consumer spending across Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to the research firm Tourism Economics.

Rizzo said the latest metro-area inflation data don’t yet show any major price pressure from federal tariffs.

“There is little evidence of any inflationary effects of the tariffs yet,” he said. “But that could change in the coming months.”

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Engineers returned to the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays this week to begin an extensive new assessment of the condition of the bridge’s concrete structure as the county tries to devise a game plan for what could be a years-long, multi-million-dollar repair job.

Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that Suffolk County engineers will be working beneath the bridge, utilizing an under-bridge truck that lowers workers from the roadway above, over the next two weeks. Two-way traffic will be maintained at all times, but while the workers are on site just one lane will be open with flaggers directing alternating traffic. Delays are expected and town officials are asking motorists headed to the beach, Shinnecock Inlet and the restaurants on Dune Road to plan accordingly.

A New York State Department of Transportation inspection in October determined that deterioration of the concrete in portions of the girders that support the bridge’s roadway, 55 feet above the waters of Shinnecock Bay, had progressed to the point of threatening the structural integrity of the bridge.

State DOT engineers have noted gradually worsening cracked and crumbling concrete, exposed steel rebar and failed joint seals in the bridge’s roadway since at least 2020, according to state inspection reports.

The Ponquogue Bridge is a 2,812-foot-long bridge over Shinnecock Bay in Hampton Bays, New York. Maintained by the Department of Public Works for Suffolk County, the 29-span bridge carries two lanes of County Route 32 over the bay, connecting Hampton Bays to the eastern end of Westhampton Island.

Local officials have said Ponquogue Bridge repairs will be exceedingly complicated and the county has offered no timeline yet for when or how the issues will be addressed.

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A rally organized by a group who calls itself “Indivisible” is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon from 4pm to 5pm in the MACY’S HAMPTON BAYS PARKING LOT.

“We will unite in honor of John Lewis and the democracy he fought for. This rally will have a visibility of 360 degrees at the intersection of Route 24 and Route 27A in Hampton Bays. Hope you can join us in fighting for...