White Plains CitizeNetReporter

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From Westchester County Department of Communications August 8, 2018 UPDATED 2:10 PM UPDATED 4:30 pm edt UPDATED August 9, 12 noon edt:

The Westchester County Department of Public Safety has confirmed a shooting at Westchester Medical Center (WMC) in Valhalla. At a news conference, police said a man in his 70s, who has not yet been identified entered a fourth floor room at the Center with a handgun and shot and killed a woman, described as “family member” in that room, then killed himself.

The Westchester Rockland Journal News reported Thursday morning the hospital does not search visitors to the hospital and does not have metal detectors, according to Kara Bennorth, the hospital’s chief administrative officer.

The two people who died in a murder-suicide incident at Westchester Medical Center earlier today are a married couple from the Town of Yorktown.

They are Richard DeLucia, 71, and his wife, Ann DeLucia, 70, who was a patient at the hospital. Richard DeLucia shot his wife in her hospital room and then shot himself. Each died of a single gunshot wound.

County Police detectives found a note early this afternoon at the DeLucia residence. In that note, Peter DeLucia indicated that he was distraught over his wife’s medical issues and wanted to end her suffering.

In a press briefing earlier today, Police Commissioner Thomas Gleason said County Police were notified at 9:39 a.m. that shots had been fired on the fourth floor of the hospital. A uniformed County police officer and two plainclothes officers arrived within two minutes, and proceeded directly to scene of the gunfire along with hospital security.

They discovered that Mrs. DeLucia had been shot in bed. Her husband and the weapon he used – a licensed .38-caliber revolver — were on the floor.

Medical personnel at the hospital rendered care to both but they died of their wounds.

“I am grateful to the Medical Center staff and the officers from the Westchester County Police, Mount Pleasant Police, Greenburgh Police and New York State Police for their prompt and professional response in the first minutes of this tragic incident,” Gleason said.

It has not been explained how the murderer was able to get a handgun into the hospital without it being detected.

As of 2 PM the incident was officially over.

WPCNR IMMIGRATION INTELLIGENCE. Special to WPCNR From the Department of Homeland Security. (Edited) August 7, 2018:

The Department of Homeland Security today, reported that at the end of FY 2017, there were 606,926 Suspected In-Country (in USA)Overstays. The overall Suspected In-Country Overstay rate was 1.15 percent of the expected departures (52.7 Million)

Non-immigrants entering on a student or exchange visitor visa (F, M, or J visa), numbered 1,662,369 students and exchange visitors scheduled to complete their program in the United States in 2017. However, 4.15 percent (68,988) stayed past their Visa expiration.

Canada and Mexico Overstay Rates

For Canada, the FY 2017 Suspected In­-Country Overstay rate for those traveling through air and sea POEs (Ports  of Entry)is 1.01 percent of 9,215,158 expected Canadian departures leaving 101,367 Canadians overstaying their visas.

For Mexico, the FY 2017 Suspected In-Country Overstay rate for those traveling through air and sea POEs is 47, 537 (1.63% of 2,916,430 expected departures).  (This represents only travel through air and sea POEs and does not include data on land border crossings. DHS is currently working to improve its monitoring capability for land POEs.)

Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Country Overstay Rate

This report separates Visa Waiver Program (VWP) country overstay figures from non-­VWP country figures. For VWP countries, the FY 2017 Suspected In-Country Overstay rate was .051% of the 22,472,710 expected departures, or 1,146,108.

Non-Visa Waiver Program Participant Overstay Rate

For non-VWP countries, the FY 2017 Suspected In-Country Overstay rate is 1.91 percent of the 14,659,249 expected departures, meaning 278,525 of Non-Visa Waiver Program Participants are here past their time as of 7 months ago,

The  data is delivered in today’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Entry/Exit Overstay Report.

(Editor’s Note: The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States Government which allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the United States for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa.)

The report provides data on departures and overstays, by country, for foreign visitors to the United States who entered as nonimmigrants through an air or sea Port of Entry (POE) and were expected to depart in FY 2017.

The in-scope population for this report includes temporary workers and families, students, exchange visitors, temporary visitors for pleasure, temporary visitors for business, and other nonimmigrant classes of admission.

DHS has determined that there were admissions represent the vast majority of all air and sea 52,656,022 in-scope nonimmigrant admissions to the United States through air or sea POEs with expected departures occurring in FY 2017.

The report also breaks down the overstay rates further to provide a better picture of those overstays who remain in the United States beyond their period of admission and for whom there is no identifiable evidence of a departure, an extension of period of admission, or transition to another immigration status.

The U.S. government is using a multifaceted approach to enforce overstay violations, including improving entry and exit data collection and reporting, notifying visitors of an impending expiration of their authorized period of admission, cancelling travel authorizations and visas for violators, recurrent vetting of many nonimmigrants, and apprehending overstays present in the United States.

A further breakdown can be found below and the full report is available here.

THE ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE ARE BACK!

THE CITIZENETREPORTER

JOHN BAILEY

THE ANCHOR FOR ALL SEASONS

PETER KATZ

THE DEAN OF   WHITE PLAINS NEWS

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The effort to organize, and assemble Community Choice Aggregation savings to upstate communities is being taken up by three other organizations similar in organization to Westchester Power/Sustainable Westchester.

Virginia Steinberg, in a statement below, described the three organizations taking the concept of aggregated buying power to the three area of upper New York:

“Joule Assets, MEGA and Good Energy are private companies who are offering administrative services to municipalities that wish to create CCAs (Community Choice Aggregations). They help local groups to organize to achieve PSC approvals to participate, organize the bidding process for supply, and oversee the performance of the supplier.

You can think of SW (Sustainable Westchester) as performing these roles, and the role of the local community group.

In other localities where there is less density, these administrators may aggregate over several counties and collaborate with different local partners in each case.

These firms are also working to provide opportunities for these localities to promote local energy and energy efficiency as we at Sustainable Westchester are doing with our programs.

Westchester Power Members

There are 45 municipalities in Westchester County.

21 participating municipalities in the Westchester Power Program CCA.

Towns highlighted in green or brown below are part of the WP (Westchester Power) CCA.(Community Choice Aggregation):

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. August 2, 2018:

Westchester County Executive George Latimer has named White Plains resident Saad Siddiqui, Esq., as Fair Housing Director of the County’s Human Rights Commission.

Mr. Siddiqui (to the right in the above photograph at the White Plains TV Studios) was a candidate for Common Council in White Plains challenging the Democratic City Committee-nominated slate with Alan Goldman (center)and Michael Kraver (left) in September 2017, unsuccessfully. He then ran in the November Common Council election of 2017 on the Working  Families Party line, gaining 12% of the votes cast, with Democratic nominees Justin Brash, John Kirkpatrick and John Martin winning election to the Common Council.

Westchester County Fair Housing Law outlaws discrimination of any kind during a prospective home seeker’s search for housing. Discrimination includes actions from advertisers, appraisers, bankers, real estate offices, brokers and home inspectors – who are all required to give equal treatment to all residents interested in renting or buying housing in Westchester.

Latimer said: “Saad brings a wealth of knowledge and legal experience, both in government and private practice, to this important position. In Westchester, we don’t tolerate discrimination of any kind – especially during the already difficult process of finding housing. I was proud to help craft the Westchester County Human Rights Legislation during my time on the Board of Legislators and was proud to see the Board continue this work with its adoption of Fair Housing Laws in 2008. I firmly believe Saad is the right person to implement these laws in 2018.”

Siddiqui is a Partner and co-founder of the law firm of Ferrante & Siddiqui, LLP and maintains a diversified law practice with an emphasis on criminal and immigration law.

Siddiqui said: “As an immigrant and minority myself, I personally recognize the need to confront discrimination and protect the rights of all people. For these reasons, I have devoted my personal and professional life to defend the rights of others and provide a voice for the underprivileged and underrepresented. As an attorney I have represented hundreds of indigent defendants charged with felonies from arraignment to disposition. Because many of my clients, past and present, have been victims of discrimination and profiling, I have strived not only to reach a fair and appropriate outcome to resolve their cases but also to ensure that they would never be victims of discrimination and profiling again.  I look forward to bringing my experiences to this new role and serve the people of Westchester.”

Human Rights Commission Chair Rev. Doris K. Dalton said: “I am delighted to have Mr. Siddiqui join the Human Rights Commission as the Fair Housing Director. John Baker, the chair of the Fair Housing Board, the board members of the Commission and I will work with Mr. Siddiqui to ensure Westchester is a welcoming place for all its residents to call home.”

Human Rights Commission Acting Executive Director Jerrice Epps said: “Westchester County is committed to ensuring every resident or prospective resident is given a fair opportunity when it comes to housing – and at the Westchester County Human Rights Commission we take that mission very seriously. Saad, with his years of expertise when it comes to advancing the rights of those who have been discriminated against, will be a valuable asset to the people of Westchester and I look forward to working with him to advance our shared ideals.”

Prior to entering private practice, Siddiqui was Associate Counsel in the Criminal Division of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County.  Additionally, Siddiqui serves on the Board of Directors of the Lower Hudson Valley Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Criminal Justice Institute of the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester County, an alternative to incarceration.

The Commission can be contacted for more information or to file a complaint by phone at (914) 995-7710 or in-person at 112 E. Post Rd., 3rd Fl., White Plains, NY.