Community Corner
Most Popular Stories of 2011
Our most read stories from last year on Port Jefferson Patch.
Last year marked some major events. There were two fires at the Lawrence Aviation property, Hurricane Irene blew through causing flodding on Main Street and pop starlet Brittney Spears came to visit little seaside village. All of these were in our ten most popularly read stories of 2011.
We though e had this all wrapped up but then a late contender came in and blew the rest of these stories out of the water. Of course, it was "The Most Interesting Man in the World" having lunch at Danford's last week that beat out every single story we ran last year.
See below for the full list in order of popularity based on visits and Facebook shares and relive the year that was.
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1.
He is the most interesting man in the world, and he ate lunch at Danford's.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The most interesting man in the world stopped by what we think is the most interesting place in the world: Port Jefferson. Jonathan Goldsmith, the actor who plays a rich playboy adventurer in the popular and viral commercials for Dos Equis beer came to to have lunch at Wave.
2.
During Hurricane Irene in late August, the tide waters from Port Jefferson Harbor came up over the bulkheads, flooding Main Street. The tide was even higher than usual because of Images came to us in real time and we updated the post as they were submitted. This photo gallery from the day of the storm became wildly popular with many thousands of views and hundreds of shares on Facebook. It's easy to see why. Photos of familiar places suddenly thrust underwater have an eerie appeal. There's also the curioslity of people who can't be there to see what is happening in places they know, work and play.
3.
It's Britney... Port Jeff! Yeah, we said it. The pop diva who has made her way from the Mickey Mouse Club to the Enquirer (BTW, she's engaged!) stopped by Port Jefferson for a visit in early August. It just so happens that a in the same month we experienced an and a hurricane. Coincidence? We think not.
4.
PJ Cinemas owner Phil Solomon has written some very popular articles for Patch in his Box Office column but none has surpassed the review he wrote for Spy Kids 4D. What, you may ask is the fourth dimension in the movie going experience? Nope, it's not the star of the film, Jessica Alba, although to some people she adds a dimension and to others she may take away one or two. The extra D is, in fact, "aroma-scope." Yes. Scratch and sniff added a whole extra dimension to the movie going experience for kids in the latest Spy Kids installment.
5.
Seems that people couldn't wait for Schafer's to open this summer judging by the number of people who came to check out this article previewing the restaurant as it was still being built this spring.
6.
When Gunsmoke actor James Arness died this past June,it put us in the mind of the old cowboy movies and television shows. We asked readers who their favorite fictional cowboy, marshal or sheriff was. We got lots of answers. Turns out people like cowboys.
7.
On the morning of Sunday, Aug. 28, people in the area woke to the beginnings of Hurricane Irene. Downed trees and even flying trampolines were causing all sorts of havoc already. This was the first of many reports we posted on the hurricane, the and the .
The first eyewitness report came from Mount Sinai resident Kristy Bohne who awoke to the loud crash of a neighbors trampoline hitting into her house.
“Then into our stone patio breaking the steps and parts of our fence then into our pool, cutting our post light in half and ruining our favorite tree,” she said. “Then jumped the fence again, crashing to my other neighbors house and finally getting stuck between our homes.”
8.
A fire over Labor Day weekend at the former Lawrence Aviation site became just the latest in a series of hazards that has plagued the area since it was discovered the former owners were dumping toxic waste that polluted the water under Port Jefferson village. on the same property and both were .
9.
Tragedy struck when Teresa Coffey of Port Jefferson Station, and one-month old baby she was watching was found dead in Huntington by Michael Baldwin, the baby's father. While Suffolk Police Lt. Det. Gerard Pelkofsky said during a press conference that it was "possible she asphyxiated the child" the Suffolk County Medical Examiner had to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of deaths.
10.
More Hurricane Irene coverage made it into the top ten. This one was the first report from the village as water came up over the bulkheads. Mayor Margot Garant was first on the scene and warned people to stay home until the waters subsided.
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