Good morning. ☕ This is your Thursday, Sept. 3, Rye Record newsletter, curating some of the latest headlines across the city of Rye.

Today’s Weather Channel local forecast is cloudy with a high of 83 degrees. ⛅ Check out the forecast for the rest of the week here.

From the time he was in kindergarten, Richard Giacovas was obsessed with local television news, especially anchors Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons on “Live at Five” on WNBC.

When he was as young as six, he would put on a jacket and tie, create a news desk along with a hand-drawn city skyline behind it, and “report” the news of the day.

Now, at the age of 34, Giacovas is living his childhood dream every day as a Fox 5 TV reporter and fill-in anchor.

“I remember the first time I walked on the set,” he said. “This is going full circle back to me sitting in my parents’ living room with a pretend background of the city skyline behind me. Now I’m walking on the set of Fox 5, and I see the skyline of the city, but this time it’s real.”

At Osborn School, he wrote for the Osborn Weekly. When he was 15, he reached out to Scarborough, and the famous anchor invited Giacovas to the station for a tour and encouraged him to stay in touch.

In his junior year at Rye High School, Giacovas took a video journalism class with teacher Vincent Baione, and the die was cast.

Click here to read Beth Levine’s full report.

-Today’s newsletter is curated by Chris Marshall

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RYE TOWN PARK ARREST. A Port Chester man was arrested Tuesday for the alleged sexual abuse of a juvenile at Rye Town Park. Rye police announced charges Wednesday against Manuel Lazala, 24, the result of a month-long investigation.

POLICING THE HALLS. The Rye City School District named Erik Green, a former NYPD detective, its new director of security, safety, and emergency preparedness. Green comes to Rye after retiring from a 20-year police career.

TWEAKING THE RECIPE. The Rye Chamber of Commerce’s 12th Chili Cook-Off, which traditionally took place during a post-Thanksgiving event called Mistletoe Magic, is now a standalone event, set for Oct. 4 at the Rye Recreation building. — David Hessekiel

THE RYE FINDER. Test your RyeQ with this Rye-centric word search puzzle. This week’s challenge is to find the names of seven words associated with Playland. Answers run vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.

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There have been years when Rye High School won two state championships, the latest in 2023 when football and girls soccer both completed the feat, but the hardware acquired in 2025-26 was unprecedented.

After claiming four state championships and nine section titles — both school records — 33 members of the Class of 2026 committed to continue their athletic careers in college.

But with a new school year set to begin, now is the time to usher in a new class of seniors and what they hope to achieve. It may be unlikely Rye — or any other school in New York — will win four state titles. But Athletic Director Susan Reid offers a reminder these are high schoolers, and a state championship isn’t the only life goal.

“I don’t know in my lifetime if we’ll see that again, but I hope every class has their own individuality,” Reid said. “2027 will be a special class in their own right. It will be interesting to see how next year’s senior class creates their own individuality in the world of athletics.”

— Chris Marshall

Hours before International Overdose Awareness Day, Rye police said an officer made a timely, life-saving rescue of a man suspected of having overdosed on opioids.

A statement issued Monday by Rye Public Safety Commissioner Michael Kopy said Rye police officer Lauren Duffy responded to the reported overdose Sunday and found a man unresponsive, not breathing, and not responding to stimuli.

Recognizing the signs of a suspected opioid overdose, Duffy immediately administered Narcan (naloxone), a nasal spray designed to rapidly reverse the effects of a life-threatening opioid emergency. The individual quickly regained consciousness and began breathing.

International Overdose Awareness Day is recognized globally on Monday, Aug. 31. This year’s theme, “25 Years On. Still Needed.”, marks 25 years of bringing people together to remember those lost to overdose and take action to prevent future deaths.

Karen Granucci left rosaries wherever people might need them, including popular gathering places for veterans, in area churches, and for her CCD students.

Rosi Ajjam also felt a calling to make rosaries for those in need around the world, building her own company, Mater Rosae, with the tagline “A Rosary in Your Hands … Always.”

The two members of Church of the Resurrection in Rye joined forces to form “The Rosary Makers of Rye.” In May, Granucci was listening to the Catholic Channel on SiriusXM Radio and heard a call for rosaries for the Sept. 24 beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

The duo’s goal is to make 1,000 rosaries before Sept. 15, in time to be blessed before going on to St. Louis for the beatification.

— Rhonda Barnat