WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley, 89th Assembly District. April 28, 2006: The Legislature approved an on-time, bipartisan budget that was both balanced and fiscally responsible. Unfortunately, the governor used his veto pen in order to score political points at the expense of the sick, elderly, school children, college students, and property taxpayers. That is unacceptable and why the Legislature had no choice but to override the governor’s vetoes – sending a bipartisan message that we’re fighting for a budget that New Yorkers deserve.

If left unchallenged, the governor’s vetoes would have shortchanged New York’s college students and left our universities unprepared to meet the challenges of the future. The Legislature moved to rectify these inequities and voted to override the governor’s vetoes, restoring $119 million to the Tuition Assistance Program, vital operating aid as well as construction and infrastructure funding to SUNY. I voted to restore capital improvement projects at local colleges totaling $34 million, including:

·        $6 million to SUNY Purchase for the Heritage Site

·        $8 million to SUNY Purchase for HVAC renovations

·        $20 million to Westchester County Community College for additional Master Plan Projects.

Westchester’s overburdened taxpayer would have been left with no meaningful relief under the governor’s budget vetoes. The Assembly and Senate overrode the governor’s shortsighted vetoes of the Legislature’s bipartisan tax-relief package, including:

·        Empire State Tax Credit – a maximum credit of $330 for each child age 4 to 17

·        Property tax rebates that average $532 for Westchester’s Basic STAR recipients and $822 for senior homeowners under the Enhanced STAR program

·        Reducing the marriage penalty tax – saving married couples $41 million when fully phased in

  The Legislature fought to restore the governor’s cuts to Westchester’s hospitals and nursing homes and voted to override health care vetoes that would punish the sick, elderly and disabled by:

·        Forcing seniors and disabled into the Medicaid Part D confusion

·        Cutting transportation, support services, Home Health Care Recruitment and Training and efforts to allow seniors to remain in their homes

·        Denying residents of Adult Homes with mental disabilities an SSI supplement of $25 per month to support basic needs

·        Increasing certain co-payment for Family Health Plus

This budget represents the priorities of elected representatives from both sides of the aisle in the Assembly and Senate – representatives from across the state who are attuned to the values and needs of people in their communities.

 Sadly, the governor has threatened to tie up portions of the budget in courts, based on legal technicalities – not democratic principals. I urge the governor to join us in providing New York residents with an appropriate budget by not litigating on technicalities. 

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WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. From The Westchester County Clerk’s Office. April 27, 2006: The County Clerk’s Office has announced the first stage of a new national crackdown requiring a U.S. Passport even on the part of U.S. Citizens to gain reentry across United States borders.

County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni announces  new guidelines are in effect for all travelers, including U.S. citizens, to and from the Americas, the Caribbean and Bermuda.  These individuals will soon be required to have a passport or other accepted document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or re-enter the United States.

As of December 31, 2006, the requirement is applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

As of December 31, 2007, the requirement is extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.

Passport applications and photos are available at the Office of the County Clerk.  No appointment is necessary.

For further information, call or come in to the Office of the County Clerk, Passport and Naturalization, 3^rd floor, 110 Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. Blvd., White Plains, New York,

Monday through Friday, 8:00a.m. to 5:45p.m. or call (914) 995-3086.

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WPCNR STAND-UP STAND-IN. Humor. April 26, 2006: In light of the cancellation of the performances of one of America’s stand-up comic legends at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, WPCNR offers this refresher course being offered at one of the local universities:

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications (SEVERELY EDITED) April 26, 2006: County Executive Andy Spano announced a sweeping overhaul of the County Department of Social Services  tonight, Assigning First Deputy Commissioner of  the Department of Social Services  Nancy Travers responsibilities  exclusively to child welfare management. Executive Spano promised three new DSS directors will be hired to report to Ms. Travers to beef up DSS child welfare surveillance, and announced 30 additional child welfare workers would be hired to lighten caseloads in a system that saw children on DSS watch perish as a result of alleged DSS failure to evaluate the family living  environments.

Spano described a series of new Westchester County Police initiatives to sharpen officers’ skills at identifying drivers under the influence of drugs;  the additon of a new police helicopter and a mounted unit, and expansion of the County Police/White Plains Police program that conducts scrutiny of convicted sex offenders residing in the county.  Additional security measures for children and women were announced at Mr. Spano’s 2006 State of the County Speech at the Michaelian Building in White Plains.

The Department of Social Services reorganization was the most striking announcement, adding more caseworkers, putting more hands-on management at the three district offices and establishing an effort to make case workers better investigators of child abuse, and increasing bilingual staff.

The Department of Social Services Spano Sweep:

• A reorganization of the Department of Social Services. From now on, the First Deputy Commissioner Nancy Travers  sole responsibility will be child welfare. Reporting to her will be three new directors, each overseeing a different district office. Reporting to each director will be additional managers and caseworkers. This is in addition to 30 new staff positions to reduce case loads. 

• An “overflow” unit, to keep caseloads for current workers at optimal levels. This is in addition to the on-going workload study to determine how best to parcel out cases based on their degree of difficulty.

• Hiring more bi-lingual workers to help the Hispanic community receive assistance from employees who understand their culture and speak their language.

• A training pilot project with the Department of Public Safety will begin this summer to better train child welfare staff in investigative skills. Officers will continue to play an advisory role after training is done.
  
  
  
• The implementation of the new Child Fatality Review Team and Multi-disciplinary teams in cooperation with the District Attorney’s Office.
         “When I came into office nine years ago, there were things we had to fix.  When I began my second term, there were things we had to complete,’’ said Spano. “And now, as I begin my third term, there are things we have to build upon as we look to the future. What kind of county do we want Westchester to be—for our children, and their children?”

Detente with the New District Attorney                                                       

    He praised the county’s recently elected District Attorney Janet DiFiore, saying that a new era of cooperation with the District Attorney’s Office has already resulted in a surge of joint initiatives to protect the public.

             Spano stressed that government “must serve all residents equally no matter where they were born, no matter what their income, no matter what their age.”

     “Westchester County must continue to be a place where all people are treated fairly and given a chance to succeed,’’ said Spano. “We must never forget that tolerance, decency and respect are the hallmarks of what all Americans stand for.”

         He added, “Let’s not forget for a moment that all our ancestors were immigrants. “They all came here in search for a better life or for religious or political freedom. Let us not stifle this opportunity for others.’’

The County Executive said he would concentrate health efforts on the rise of obesity in children and closing the health care gap that exists for minorities.

Calling on the State to Step Up

          While vowing to continue to push these initiatives and others, Spano said that more must be done on the state and federal levels to deal with these larger social issues. He challenged the State Legislature to pass a comprehensive Civil Commitment law for sex offenders and the Governor to make sure they serve their full prison terms. Spano also urged federal legislators to change the formula for Homeland Security funding so that more money goes to higher-risk communities like Westchester.

         In his role as president of the County Executives of America, he asked his colleagues around the country to support federal legislation that would double funding for autism, a condition that affects 1 in 166 children in the country.

Recognizes Police and Probation Performance

        The County Executive recognized county employees for significant advances in law enforcement matters and senior citizen aid, including:

·        The county’s Parkway Patrol for stopping more impaired drivers, saying DWI arrests in 2005 were up 34 percent from 2004, on top of a 33 percent increase the year before. He added that driving while drugged arrests increased an astounding 81 percent. He recognized Captain John Hodges, Sergeant Brian Hess and Police Officer Robert Kelly.
 

·        The Department of Probation’s 14-member DWI enforcement team for winning the 2005 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Public Service Award. The award was for its success in keeping those on DWI probation from repeating offenses. The team, which oversees 1,300 cases, uses a variety of innovative techniques including Operation Night Watch, in which surprise visits to probationers are conducted to make sure they are sober and off the road. Recognized were probation officers Frank Garcia, Helene Hodapp, Juan Sierra, Terrence Gorman, Sheryl Day, Robert Grady, Oneida Garcia and Charles Cotton, Supervising Probation Officers Robert Watson and Edward Drenga and Assistant Commissioner James O’Shea.

·         Parry Aftab, the renowned Internet safety expert. Atfab will conduct the county’s upcoming Internet Safety seminar for parents May 9^th and conducted last year’s successful cyberbullying conference.

·        Staff of the Emergency Communications Center for their work helping residents cope with January’s storm and week-long power outages. In the 24 hour period dispatchers handled four times the average amount of calls and dispatched 711 calls to fire agencies and 128 to EMS agencies. Acknowledged were William Arduino, Raymond Stretz, Alison Travis, William Odell and Division Chief Mike Volk.

·        Department of Senior Programs and Services SWAT team (Staff Working All the Time) for their efforts to help the 127,000 Westchester seniors faced with making choices under the federal government’s new Medicare Part D program for prescription drug coverage. He thanked Laura Bolotsky, Jeanne Pici, Mary Edgar-Herrera, Dozene Guishard and Colette Phipps and volunteers Flo Brodley and Tim Oberg and Lois Steinberg from the Medicare Rights Center. 

          Spano said that our strength lies in our diversity and that we must work together to realize the dream of a better community.

          “We must continue to do all that we can to enhance the safeguards we have put in place — so that our residents are protected, our businesses flourigh, and those who need our help the most, find it with tolerance and understanding,” he said. “Some of us may be richer, some pooerer. Some may speak with accents, others with frailty. But we are all the family of Westchester.”

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. April 26, 2006: At a special ceremony in the White Plains High School Guidance and Career Center yesterday, Danica Covington of the  2006 WPHS New York State Runnerup Girls Basketball Team, joined her teammate, Elise Bronzo, in the Scholarship Circle as Ms. Covington inked a Letter of Intent to attend Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut,  on a four year “full-ride” Scholarship. Ms. Covington is the fifth WPHS athlete to earn a 4-year athletic scholarship this school year, the most athletic scholarships ever achieved in WPHS annals, and perhaps the most scholarships in the state, though we’re checking on that claim.

Covington is a 6-1 forward who led the Tigers in scoring with 12.6 points per game. She was also names League I-A Player of the Year. She’ll be playing for a developing Blue Devils team and expected to lend scoring and rebounding punch to a club poised to move into the elite of the North East Conference.

Covington joins fellow WPHS  seniors Elise Bronzo, Whitney Ford, Kelsey Kulk, and Conor Gilmartin-Donahue as members of the Class 0f 2006 earning four year rides to the college of their choice, and the fourth young woman to win an athletic scholarship this year through the efforts of the WPHS Guidance and coaching staff efforts.