Archive for July, 2011
Possible Tornado Causes Outages in Ossining and Croton
A violent storm, that may have included a possible tornado, caused over 6,000 homes in Croton and Ossining to be without power on Friday evening. A downed tree that appears to have been struck by some force of nature blocked the southbound lane of Route 9 near the northern border of Ossining about 6:15 p.m. [...]
JV Mall Names New Manager
Jeremy Strife said that even with many opportunities to shop via the Internet, a shopping mall is still a place where people can meet as a community. Strife said the Jefferson Valley mall in Yorktown is such a place for shoppers. Strife, who resides in White Plains, recently became mall manger of the Jefferson Valley [...]
Katz Touts Benefits of Public-Private Partnerships
Assemblyman Steve Katz, joined by Putnam County officials and local figures in the business community, held a press conference Thursday morning outside the United Cerebral Palsy building in Brewster to promote public-private partnerships in New York State and in the Hudson Valley. “In our country, we are not a socialist nation and we are not [...]
Rigger Enters Peekskill Race
Darren Rigger said there have been many “twist and turns” in this year’s quest for the Peekskill Democrats to place a third candidate on the ballot for a seat on the common council. Two potential candidates previously left the race and as of July 21 there was an opening. That slot was filled by [...]
flower power
Dear Garden Guru, I never had a vegetable garden and am interested in starting one. Can you give me recommendations as to the best vegetables and fruit to start with? Also, am I able to start planting now or must I wait? Rose from Katonah, N.Y. Dear Rose, Traditionally, one starts his/her veggie garden in early [...]
Peekskill Schools Partner with Food Bank to Help Children
Peekskill City School District has partnered with Food Bank for Westchester (FBW) to help school children whose families are struggling to make ends meet. FBW is a non-profit organization dedicated to hunger relief for all Westchester families in need. “Teachers know how hard it is for children to learn when they’re hungry,” said and Joseph [...]
Social Media Shines at Best of Westchester Event
Early last week, I was asked if I’d be willing to be a social media ’partner’ at the Best of Westchester event at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. I would receive a pass to the event and be listed as a ’partner’ in the event’s first-ever social media tent. Well, I already had a VIP pass to [...]
Could My Friend’s Fiancé Be Gay?
Question: What do I do if I think my female friend’s fiancé is gay? – Alison from Westchester Answer: Well, that’s a tough one! It is certainly difficult to watch people we are close to enter into situations that we believe might lead to hurt and disappointment. In some circumstances it is challenging but appropriate [...]
Greenburgh Resident Announces Challenge of Nonna
Saying that his district needs a representative whose first allegiance is to the community, Michael Smith officially announced his candidacy for Westchester County Legislator in District 3. Smith, a 54-year old Greenburgh resident who previously served as president of the Board of Education in the Valhalla School District, announced his candidacy on Saturday at Mount [...]
Cortlandt’s Becker Exploring Run for Congress
Cortlandt Councilman Dr. Richard Becker is exploring a run for Congress next year against Republican incumbent Nan Hayworth. Becker, 57, who is running unopposed for a second four-year term on the Cortlandt Town Board this fall, said in an exclusive interview he has filed papers with the federal Election Commission and has already started fundraising [...]
Hudson River Restrictions Lifted for Ossining, Points North
The Westchester County Department of Health is advising people who use the Hudson River waters south of Ossining for recreational purposes, namely swimmers, windsurfers and kayakers, to avoid direct contact with the Hudson River now throughout the weekend. There are no restrictions to boating. Those who fish should practice catch and release from all points [...]
Ossining Town and Village Seek Court Consolidation
It appears likely that the Village and Town of Ossining will consolidate their justice courts. The town and the village have been holding meetings on the issue, which must be addressed shortly after Labor Day for a merger to go into effect on Jan 1, 2012. Members of the town board expressed their support for [...]
Amler Tabbed Westchester Health Commissioner
Putnam County Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler will soon be leaving her position and taking over as the commissioner of health for Westchester County, Putnam County Executive Paul Eldridge announced Thursday. “As I move on to new responsibilities, I want to thank our wonderful County Executive, Paul Eldridge, and all of my good friends and [...]
Mt. Kisco Little Leaguer Survives Scare, on Road to Recovery
It’s a play that happens innumerable times during a baseball season. For Mikey Corsi, it was almost his last. Corsi, a second baseman for the Mount Kisco 10U travel team this summer, had walked in the top of the first inning in a June 30 game at Lewisboro Town Park. When the next batter worked [...]
Food Bank to Move From Millwood
The Food Bank for Westchester, based in Millwood for more than a decade, will vacate its current home later this year after recently signing a long-term lease for warehouse and office space in Elmsford. The announcement was made Wednesday morning that the Food Bank will move to a 37,000-square-foot facility at 200 Clearbrook Road this [...]
Bolton and Raffo Force Republican Primaries in Somers
If any Somers incumbents thought that re-election would come this year without any effort, they were in for a bit of a surprise last week. Councilman Harry Bolton and business owner Bob Raffo Jr. had gathered enough signatures by the July 14 deadline to file petitions with the Westchester County Board of Elections to trigger [...]
HUD Pulls CDBG Funds from Westchester
Housing and Urban Development has pulled more than $4 million of federal funding from approved community development block grant (CDBG) projects in Westchester after it rejected the county’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. The analysis, submitted by the county on July 11, was supposed to identify problems and determine solutions that would assist [...]
Radio Voice Lopate Speaks at The Club in Briarcliff Manor
Leonard Lopate, the famed public radio show host of “The Leonard Lopate Show” on WNYC, has spent the past 26 years using his show to learn about interesting subjects and talk with people who otherwise would not answer his call. A humble man, who would much rather ask questions than talk about himself, Lopate preferred [...]
Somers Resident Releases “Beer Guts-N-Beards” Calendar
Alyse Schiffman of Somers was surrounded by pin-up men at the Jackie Blue Lounge in White Plains on Saturday, July 9, but they were not the stereotypical models. Instead they were the guys who posed for her “Beer Guts-N-Beards” Real Men Calendar of 2012, and they were there to celebrate at the release party. “When [...]
Potential Pleasantville Farmers Market Facelift
The Pleasantville Farmers Market, which has undergone a face-lift over the past year, is considering moving to the other end of Memorial Plaza to allow for more space. Community Markets, which runs the market and the Farmers Market Committee, met with the village board at last Monday’s work session to discuss their proposal. “This is [...]
Sibling Rivalry
Question: My cousin has asked for advice on sibling rivalry so I am turning to you for help. Her 50 year old single daughter, a well-educated and accomplished professional suffers from sibling rivalry. She aimed her jealousy at her younger sister until her sister met an untimely death. The situation was quiet for a while [...]
Examiner Media to Launch The White Plains Examiner
Examiner Media will be launching its fourth paper in as many years next month as the company prepares to debut The White Plains Examiner. Set for an Aug. 23 launch, The White Plains Examiner will join the company’s existing trio of local community newspapers. The Examiner, The Northern Westchester Examiner (formerly The Yorktown Examiner) and [...]
Chase Ending Newspaper Publishing Operation
Three months after North County News and the Yorktown-based PennySaver were combined into PennySaver Community, parent company Chase Media Group has decided to return the PennySaver to its shopper format and end newspaper operations. “In the weeks ahead, you will see the PennySaver is in your mailbox again, in the traditional ‘shopper’ format familiar to [...]
Hall Won’t Run Again for House Seat
Former Congressman John Hall, a Democrat who lost his bid for a third term last November, won’t look to return to his seat in the 2012 election. Hall, who served in New York’s 19th Congressional district from 2007 to 2010, said Tuesday he does not plan to challenge Rep. Nan Hayworth, a Republican, for his [...]
Candidate Sought for Vacant Yorktown BOE Seat
The Yorktown Central School District Board of Education is seeking applications to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Education due to the recent resignation of Trustee Mark Drexel. The school board is seeking letters from residents of the school district interested in serving on the board of education. The appointed individual will serve [...]
Winkler Appointed Pleasantville Board of Ed President
Lois Winkler was appointed president of the Pleasantville Board of Education, with Tom Exton being named vice president, at the panel’s reorganization meeting. Winkler, who is the longest serving board member having started her service in 1999, was elected to a 5th term in May. Exton, who served as vice president last year, declined the [...]
It’s Show Time!
Mom named me Trinity because I’m her third horse, but most of the time she calls me The Meenster, short for mini-monster. I’m not mean, but I am mischievous. If I get bored, look out! I belong to a breed of horses called Morgans who can all trace their ancestry back to one special stallion named [...]
DeChiaro Proposes Ossining Jazz Club
Tom DeChiaro, owner of the Winery at St. George in Yorktown, has a passion for restoring historic buildings and turning them into upscale destinations that people seek out. In his latest venture DeChiaro is proposing to convert the historic Ossining Savings Bank into a wine bar/jazz club that would be a catalyst to revitalizing the [...]
Google+ Is Here, But Keep it All in Perspective
So Google+ is on the way. Another new platform saying it will bring its users to social media paradise. Will Google+ be the answer we’ve all been waiting for? Truthfully, I don’t know. It appears that Google+ will offer some pretty cool things — including Hangouts, Huddle, Sparx and Circles — but I suspect those [...]
Westchester Business Leaders Come Together
Some of Westchester’s brightest and boldest have come together with ideas to make Westchester a more business-friendly place. The Westchester Coalition for Business Development, a task force established by the Business Council of Westchester, issued a series of steps to build the county’s economic development on Wednesday at CW Brown in Armonk. The coalition also [...]
