WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. May 29, 2003: The White Plains Middle School Eastview Campus held its third concert in three weeks Wednesday evening, showcasing the Eighth Grade Orchestra, the Eighth Grade Band, and the Sixth Grade Chorus. The musical interludes provided an audience of approximately 200 parents proof they could hear that the music program of the White Plains schools (ranked 7th in the nation), is extraordinary in its ability to develop, nurture, challenge and inspire young musical talent.

READY! Conductor Laura Mazziotti takes her trademark stance on the podium to begin the Eight Grade Concert Band performance Wednesday evening. The band, demonstrating remarkable clarity, tone, depth, power and harmony between the sections, filled the hall with excellence.
Photo by WPCNR ArtCam

HIGHLIGHT TRIO: Seth Kreielsheimer, Serena Qui, and Elizabeth Meier, (L to R), perfomed a flawless, lyrical Rigadoon in an enthralling blending of their three crystal-clear violin stylings evoking thunderous applause and cascading “Bravos!” from the audience.
Photo by WPCNR ArtCam

HIP-HOPPERS CAN BE-BOP, TOO: In the reception following the concert, the Middle School Jazz Band made the Eastview halls jump, playing brassy, toe-tapping arrangements of Stand By Me, The Twist, and YMCA featuring mellow sax, solid percussion, the stylish “Kenny Burrell” style of Josh Rosenblum’s guitar that got parents nodding their heads in time like a jazz band should.
Photo by WPCNR ArtsCam

TAKE A BOW! The Eighth Grade Band is honored by applause, after presenting conductor Mazziotti with a bouquet for her conductorship throughout the year.
Photo by WPCNR ArtsCam

The Eight Grade Orchestra, under the direction of Lisa M. Giordano impressed the audience with seamless blending of woodwinds, violins and violas and basses on Shaker Fantasia Handel’s Hornpipe. Conductor Giordano noted it is rare to have an Eighth Grade Orchestra playing Mozart, and proceeded to demonstrate with their performance of Andante and Allegro, and finished their program with I Want to Hold Your Hand .

The orchestra was precise and delicate in their transitions of themes from section to section, drawing out moments when appropriate, and executing flawless seques in the variety of pieces.

Conductors Mazziotti and Giordano clearly enjoyed both working with and developing their young musicians as evidenced by their tearful goodbyes before the groups’ last numbers.

Chorus Develops Difficult Pieces

The Sixth Grade Chorus, directed by Carol Myers, demonstrated poised and fearless transitions on the tricky Addams Family theme and the playful tongue twister song, Peter Piper. Wholesome young voices in the making touched the audience with their sincerity in their versions of Colors of the Wind and Heal the World.

Director Myers consistently challenges her young singers with very difficulty material on all levels. When this reporter went to school, choruses were burdened with straight singalongs of spirituals, patriotic songs and Stephen Forster songs. Ms. Myers never gives her choruses boring material and the attention and effort the young singers deliver is touching. Better microphoning of the young singers, though, would be appreciated.

Not only softball players play up, and down.

An innovation of the White Plains music program is the way musicians support other grade groups. The Eighth Grade orchestra was supplemented by four seventh graders and five high school students, formerly Eastview graduates. In the Band, there were five seventh graders, and one sixth grade member.

The practice of having talented members not in eighth grade “sit in” and play in the orchestra and band groups, challenges younger players and provides more outlets for the developing talent, delivering an orchestral experience, for example, when otherwise there would not be one.

Band In Harmony

The Eighth Grade Band performed two splendid marches, Noble Quest and National Emblem showcasing ranks of accomplished sections, a toney, not too-overbearing brass, a mellow and melodious woodwind and flute corps, and a rumbling percussion bed.

It is a tribute to the conductorship and the ability of the young musicians to respect their roles in the pieces they play with respect to the other sections , that the band coalesces to deliver a complete piece. In many bands, the sections had an “every section for itself” attitude with woodwinds overbearing on the brass solos, and the brass blasting away. White Plains bands are not like that. They play together and as a team.

Pieces that showed this coalescent quality were Two Celtic Folksongs where the band developed an “orchestra” quality, brass respecting the “glen-like” sweetness of the woodwinds carrying the picture-painting melody. There was none of the condesending indifference that young brass usually deliver in those kind of pieces.

The showcase piece of the evening was Song of the Matador that displayed all of the colors of the band in a rousing piece. Beginning with the band’s youngest member, Audrey Silverman portraying the power of the bull with her sensitive and awesome timpani solo to the splendor of the matador’s cape swirling in the “flash and swirl” of the splendid brass, to the thunder of the bull’s charge and clouds of dust evoked by the woodwinds. A difficult piece of changing tempos and blending tides and emotions, the band nailed it.

The band displayed the contrapuntal cohesion of its play ethic on The Lion Sleeps Tonight where trombones, trumpets, baritones, sxophones, clarinets and flutes played variations on the old African folk song with bravado, celebration and flare.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. An Address by Hugh McKiernan, Principal, Mamaroneck Avenue School at the Board of Education Tenure Meeting. May 28, 2003: The Principal of Mamaroneck Avenue School in White Plains, Hugh McKiernan, is retiring this year. When he introduced the teachers being recommended for tenure at MAS last Wednesday evening, he made some very moving remarks about the teaching profession and the quality of White Plains teachers. Here are his remarks:

HUGH McKIERNAN
The Principal of Mamaroneck Avenue School addressing the Board of Education last week on the new breed of 21st Century Teacher.
Photo by WPCNR News

GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, SUPERINTENDENT CONNORS AND COLLEAGUES, ALTHOUGH THIS IS MY LAST APPEARANCE AT THE ANNUAL TENURE APPOINTMENTS, THE CANDIDATES I BRING BEFORE YOU TONIGHT MAKE THE EVENT A VERY SPECIAL ONE FOR ME.

AN ANONYMOUS WRITER ONCE SAID,

“THE SUCCESSFUL TEACHER NEEDS THE EDUCATION OF A COLLEGE PRESIDENT, THE EXECUTIVE ABILITY OF A MANAGER, THE HUMILITY OF A DEACON, THE ADAPTABILITY OF A CHAMELEON, THE HOPE OF AN OPTIMIST, THE COURAGE OF A HERO, THE WISDOM OF A SERPENT, THE GENTLENESS OF A DOVE, THE PATIENCE OF JOB, THE GRACE OF GOD AND THE PERSISTENCE OF THE DEVIL.”

IT’S ONE HECK OF A JOB DESCRIPTION.

SOME FIVE OR SIX YEARS AGO, IT BECAME CLEAR TO ME THAT A NEW STRAIN, A NEW KIND, A NEW GENUS, IF YOU WILL, OF TEACHER HAD BEGUN TO APPEAR AT M.A.S. WHO FIT THAT PROFILE.

THIS NEW ITERATION OF PEDAGOGUE SUBSCRIBED OF COURSE TO THE BELIEF THAT ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN, EACH IN HIS OR HER OWN WAY, IN HER OR HIS OWN TIME. THIS IN ITSELF WAS NOT STARTLING.

WHAT I HAVE FOUND THAT WAS MOST INSPIRING IN THIS NEW TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TEACHER IS NOT THAT FIRMLY HELD BELIEF TO WHICH ANY TRUE TEACHER WOULD SUBSCRIBE.

NO, WHAT I FOUND WAS THAT THIS NEW BREED OF TEACHER HAS DEVELOPED AN INTUITIVE SENSE OF HOW CHILDREN LEARN, HAS MATCHED THAT INTUITIVENESS WITH THE SKILLS NEEDED TO TRANSFER THE BELIEF INTO PRACTICE, HAS THE LEVELS OF ENTHUSIASM AND ENEGRY TO SUSTAIN THAT PRACTICE AND, MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, HAS THE DEDICATION TO REMAIN FOR THE LONG TERM.

HERE TONIGHT YOU HAVE THREE PEOPLE WHO EPITOMIZE THE PROFILE I DESCRIBED.
IT MATTERS NOT WHERE THEY CAME FROM: ANOTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT OR VIDEOTAPE PRODUCTION OR TOTS AND TODDLERS. IT MATTERS THAT THEY HAVE COME TO WHITE PLAINS TO HELP US WITH OUR MISSION.

A WRITER NAMED NATHAN PUSEY WROTE:

“A TEACHER’S TASK IS NOT TO IMPLANT FACTS BUT TO PLACE THE SUBJECT TO BE LEARNED IN FRONT OF THE LEARNER, AND THROUGH SYMPATHY, EMOTION, IMAGINATION AND PATIENCE, TO AWAKEN IN THE LEARNER THE RESTLESS DRIVE FOR ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS WHICH ENLARGE THE PERSONAL LIFE AND GIVE IT MEANING.”

THESE THREE CANDIDATES HAVE THOSE CHARACTERISTICS.
THE AUTHOR JAMES HILTON PENNED THESE WORDS:

“IF I HAD A CHILD WHO WANTED TO BE A TEACHER, I WOULD BID HER GODSPEED AS IF SHE WERE GOING TO WAR. FOR INDEED, THE WAR AGAINST PREJUDICE, GREED AND IGNORANCE IS ETERNAL, AND THOSE WHO DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO TEACHING GIVE THEIR LIVES NO LESS BECAUSE THEY MAY LIVE TO SEE SOME FRACTION OF THE BATTLE WON.”

THESE THREE TEACHERS, WHO STAND BEFORE YOU HERE: GIVE WITNESS TONIGHT TO THAT DEDICATION.

TONIGHT WHEN YOU VOTE TO APPOINT (THEM) TO TENURE, IT IS WITH OUR GREATEST CONFIDENCE THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE THEIR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION, BEARING IN MIND THE WORDS OF CARL JUNG:

“ONE LOOKS BACK WITH APPRECIATION TO THE BRILLIANT TEACHERS, BUT WITH GRATITUDE TO THOSE WHO TOUCHED OUR HUMAN FEELINGS. THE CURRIUCLUM IS SO MUCH RAW MATERIAL BUT WARMTH IS THE VITAL ELEMENT FOR THE GROWING PLANT AND FOR THE SOUL OF A CHILD.”

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. May 27, 2003: The White Plains Tigers softball team polished off Saunders in the first game of their rain-necessitated Sectional doubleheader Tuesday afternoon, but lost the nightcap to North Rockland, 2-0, ending another successful winning season. Coach Ted O’Donnell’s young team finished at 18-5 and has a bright future ahead.

In baseball, Carmel down White Plains, 7-3, to end their run in the Sectional. Coach Marcel Galligani’s club finished 16-7.

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WPCNR White Plains Law Journal. Analysis & Comment by S. Richard Blassberg, WPCNR Legal Affairs Correspondent. May 27, 2003: Friday morning May 23rd at approximately 11:40 A.M., the foreperson announced the Jury’s findings and actions. Having found Dennis Alvarez-Hernandez guilty of six counts of First Degree Murder some two weeks earlier in the Guilt Phase, the panel of four men and eight women were then compelled to determine the appropriate punishment in the sentencing phase under the 1995 Capital Punishment Statute. There were three possible outcomes:

WPCNR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT
S. RICHARD BLASSBERG
Photo by WPCNR News

1. The Jury after considering twenty-four court-approved “Mitigating Factors,” and then weighing the mitigating evidence against the “Aggravating Factors” could unanimously decide to impose Death by Lethal Injection.

2. The Jury having so weighed the mitigating versus the aggravating factors could unanimously choose Life Without Possibility of Parole.

3. Or, in the event that all twelve jurors were not able to reach a unanimous sentencing decision, they could so declare, and thus turn over the sentencing decision to the Presiding Judge whose options would not include either of the above, but merely successive life sentences.

Judge Kenneth Lange had already instructed the jury that in the event they did not return a unanimous sentencing decision, he would impose a sentence of 115 years.

The Tense Courtroom Scene

Friday morning, the gallery was packed to capacity with family of both the victims and the convicted defendant as well as reporters, interested citizens, the Capital Defender, Kevin Doyle, and several of his staff, and, of course, many Assistant D.A.’s, Yonkers Police Detectives, and District Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Mrs. Pirro sat between Yonkers police detectives Lorenzo and Craft who had led the original investigation, and who gave important testimony in the first phase of the trial. This reporter was pleased that she chose to sit between them because weeks earlier, following their court appearance, I had shared with them my belief that the D.A. had probably squandered police efforts by rejecting Alvarez-Hernandez’ plea offer.

The Significance of The Plea Offer

The Defendant had long ago offered to plead Guilty to Murder One, in exchange for a sentence of Life in Prison Without Possibility of Parole, additionally waiving all rights to appeal. Mrs. Pirro, by turning a “deaf ear” to that plea offer, instead demanding the Death Penalty, in effect set up the possibility that a jury could “deadlock” and thus compel the Presiding Judge to sentence to life, without the ability to impose the parole restriction. I had remarked to the two detectives jointly that such an outcome was not unlikely.

How the Jury Found

The courtroom was dead silent as the foreperson, Juror Number One, rose to her feet. Responding to Judge Lange’s question, she acknowledged that the jury had considered and weighed the Mitigating Factors and Aggravating Elements and had voted and acted upon their beliefs. The Judge then proceeded to go down the list of twenty-four approved Mitigating Factors and Juror Number One revealed how the Jury had voted on each one.

It quickly became apparent as Mitigator after Mitigator, 17 out of 24 in all, had been accepted by all twelve Jurors, and several others by a majority, that this Jury was not likely to call for a Death Sentence.

In fact, after delivering the Jury’s Action on all twenty-four factors, the Foreperson, to the amazement of many, announced that they had, on their own initiative, added a 25th Mitigating Factor, which took into account the fact that the principal victim, Patricia Torres, at 28, was significantly older than the Defendant, who was 22 at the time. Eleven of the twelve had approved this voluntary additional Mitigating Factor.

Road Map of Jury’s Thinking

The list of Mitigating Factors, together with the Jury’s responses to them, appeared to this reporter to be a veritable road map of their collective thinking about the man they were being asked by the D.A. to put to death.

Before Lange had even gotten half-way down the list, Prosecutor Patricia Murphy had thrown her hands behind her chair and clasped them in utter defeat and resignation. She knew the prosecution had failed miserably.

Sentencing

Following the review of the list of Mitigating Factors, Judge Lange proceeded to ask the Foreperson what sentence the Jury had arrived at, if any, for each of the Six Counts of First Degree Murder of which they had found Dennis Alvarez-Hernandez guilty just two weeks earlier. Although he had been found Guilty of each of fourteen counts of the indictment, only the convictions for six counts of Murder One were eligible for sentence of Death by Lethal Injection.

As Lange slowly went down the Six First Degree Murder Convictions, each was met with the same response, “Not Unanimous.” The Prosecution’s worst nightmare had materialized. Not only had the Jury refused to sentence Alvarez-Hernandez to death, but it also failed to sentence him to Life Without Possibility of Parole.

By deadlocking, (and this reporter believes it may actually have been 11 to 1, the majority against Lethal Injection), the jury insured only the lightest, least desirable sentence from the D.A.’s standpoint, could be imposed by the Judge.

The District Attorney’s strategy had clearly failed and she had suffered the most crushing defeat of her prosecutorial career.

Motion to Send the Jurors Back to Work.

Mrs. Pirro was not willing to respect or accept the actions of the Jury. Following the foreperson’s announcements, she dispatched her Chief Assistant, Richard Weill, to approach Judge Lange with a motion to send the jurors back into Deliberation.

Judge Lange, visibly annoyed by this irregular and highly improper motion, offered the stern admonishment, “The law allows them to disagree,” and dismissed the motion.

Mrs. Pirro’s action was wrong, very wrong, because it was disrespectful to the court as well as to the Jury. She, once again, simply could not contain herself. Her actions clearly demonstrated her disregard for the written law. As usual, it must be “her way or the highway.”

Analysis

Under any other District Attorney than Mrs. Pirro, Dennis Alvarez-Hernandez, killer of Patricia Torres, and two of her young children, would have begun serving a Life Sentence Without Possibility of Parole more than two years ago, as per his plea offer. To understand why Mrs. Pirro chose instead to subject the family of the victims as well as the defendant’s family to the anguish, pain and torture, not to mention the extraordinary expense of human resources and taxpayers’ money by the County of Westchester and the City of Yonkers, one must realize, like most everything she does, this capital punishment trial was, in this reporter’s opinion, all about her career, her position in the public eye, and “all about herself.”

Specifically, analysis of her decision to press for the Death Penalty, can be best understood in terms of four events which occurred in relatively close succession in the year 2000.

1. On June 20, 2000, Al Pirro, her spouse, is convicted in Federal District Court in White Plains, on all counts, of a massive ten-year tax fraud, involving joint returns.

2. On September 3, 2000, Dennis Alvarez-Hernandez kills his girlfriend, Patricia Torres, and two of her young children, Ashly 4, and William, 7.

3. In October 2000, Mrs. Pirro releases trial balloons that she will seek reelection to a third term.

4. Shortly thereafter, she announces her intention to seek the Death Penalty for Alvarez-Hernandez, in an apparent effort at shoring up Conservative support for her upcoming reelection.

Media Stranglehold.

Quite simply, Jenine Pirro’s calling for the Death Penalty was just another instance of her survival tactic, “Deflect and Distract.” Over the past nine years, she has used the method many times with great success. No wonder. She has almost total control over press and media in Westchester County, and nationally as well. (It is because Mrs. Pirro continues to be the “darling,” of the media that this series of reports was commissioned.)

Conclusion.

Dennis Alvarez-Hernandez committed a dreadful, murderous act on September 3, 2000, taking the lives of his girlfriend and two of her young children, while severely intoxicated with alcohol.

His plea offer to accept life in prison without possibility of parole, and to waive all possible appeals, should have been accepted by District Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Surely to do so would have been in the best interests of the people of Westchester County whom she is sworn to protect. It would also have been in the best interests of the families most closely touched by the tragic events.

Not to Be.

Mrs. Pirro chose to pursue the Death Penalty, disregarding the cost in human anguish and pain, not to mention the incalculable cost in human and financial resources. She knew all along that by taking the path she chose, for very transparent political reasons, she would set in motion years of hardship and expense no matter what the outcome of the trial might be. Now that she has done what she has done everyone has come away as losers for the following reasons:

1. The family of the victims as well as the family of the defendant have been put through a 2-1/2 year emotional wringer.

2. The People of Westchester have spent, and will likely continue to spend many millions of dollars and huge amounts of human resources for years to come, in the event that Alvarez-Hernandez exercises his rights to appeal..

3. The Law Enforcement Community specifically, the Yonkers Police Department, has seen a lessening of the consequences to the Defendant as compared with what he was willing to accept in his plea offer.

4. Finally, Mrs. Pirro comes away a huge loser, no matter how she may struggle to “spin the facts.” Her selfish, politically-motivated choice coupled with her inappropriate and disrespectful actions with regard to the law have not gone unnoticed by the legal community nor by the People of Westchester.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. by John Bailey. May 26, 2003: The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, better known as ESPN was advertising the Women’s Fast Pitch NCAA Softball Championship Game to be telecast at 4:30 PM Monday, Memorial Day, however, the network for some reason yet to be determined is televising it on Tape Delay. The Telecast according to a recorded message on the ESPN Programming Information Number will be cablecast at 8 PM on Monday.
In the hunt for the Women’s Championship Monday afternoon, my daughter watched two hours of a meaningless ESPN News segment hoping the game would come on. My wife yelled at me to call ESPN, or call someone in town to see when the championship was on.

Meanwhile the talking heads on ESPN News went on and on about Roger Clemens’ meaningless 300th victory; Larry Brown’s latest contract jumping, and the French “Who Cares?” Open. On the annoying ESPN “crawl” the network was advertising “Women’s NCAA Softball, ESPN, 4:30 to 6 PM.” This was an outrage to softball fans, because at no time did the “talking sports idoits” say, the NCAA Softball Championship was going to be shown at 8 PM.

Change-up!

When I called ESPN’s Programming info at 1-860-766-2236 approximately 4:45 PM, the line did not mention anything either, and when I punched up the “blackout” option on hunch they might not be showing it in the New York area, I just heard a long taped message about blackout policy.

Game Being Played!!!

My wife exasperated at the domestic violence ensuing in front of the television set downstairs between father and daughter about where the game was on the gazillion channels ESPN has, went on the NCAA website where to her horror the game between California and UCLA was being recounted via box score and pitch-by-pitch action.

Softball Fans and Girls. Women Everywhere Jobbed by the Geniuses at ESPN

At 5:30 PM I called back the ESPN Information Line, and suddenly a hastily recorded message was heard, explaining that the softball championship was being televised at 8 PM.

Bozos in Bristol Pull Another Heidi

Obviously an overload of calls to Bristol prompted by the absence of the game at 4:30 across the country, had made it necessary for the “Bozos in Bristol” to add the hasily record message.

What a bad job.

On the station’s own live ESPNews program, they were still running the crawl about softball on at 4:30, while their infoline was saying the game was on at 8 PM.

The utter disregard for live telecasting of the championship is another example of the disrespect towards women’s sports. Not only was there no report on ESPNews for TWO HOURS about this being the day of the softball championship, not even a preview, but they never explained when it was going to be on.

For the NCAA to allow the women’s softball championship to be disrespected by ESPN in this manner, is inexcusable.

This is reminiscent of the NBC “Heidi” game back in 1968, when NBC cut out of the last two minutes of the Jets – Raiders game to start “Heidi” on time.

California Prime Time Is No Excuse

The decision to show the championship on tape to, in theory capture the California audience on a holiday, which can be the only possible reason for the tape delay telecast is inexcusable. It is a holiday. It should have been televised live when they said it would be televised.

ESPN has three channels, why not use one to televise the softball championship live?