WHITE PLAINS WESTCHESTER DAILY NEWS SERVICE VISITS SINCE 2000 A.D. 25TH YEARl REPORTING THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW News Service Since 2000 A.D. 2026 WILL BE OUR 26TH YEAR OF COVERING WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA . John F. Bailey, Editor (914) 997-1607 wpcnr@aol.com Cell: 914-673-4054. News Politics Personalities Neighborhoods Schools Finance Real Estate Commentary Reviews Policy Correspondence Poetry Philosophy Photojournalism Arts. The WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER. TELEVISION: "White Plains Week" News Roundup, 7:30 EDT FRI, 7 EDT MON & the incisive "People to Be Heard" Interview Program 8PM EDT THURS, 7 PM EDT SAT on FIOS CH 45 THROUGHOUT WESTCHESTER AND, ALTICE OPTIMUM WHITE PLAINS CH 1300 Fighting for Truth, Justice and the American Way. TOP 10 VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD :1. USA. 2.BRAZIL3.VIET NAM 4. CHINA 5. JAPAN 6.UK. 7.CANADA. 8.INDIA. 9.AUSTRALIA 10.IRELAND 11.GERMANY 12..ARGENTINA 13.BANGLADESH 14.RUSSIA. 15.NEWZEALAND. 16. FRANCE. 17.MEXICO. 18.UKRAINE. 19.SOUTH AFVRICA. 20. IRAQ.
Join us on Sunday, March 21, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. for a conversation with Mara Gay, a New York Times Editorial Board member who writes about politics and New York. She’s also an MSNBC political analyst, appearing regularly to discuss national politics. Mara’s journalism career began at White Plains High School, where she served as editor-in-chief for The Orange.
Mara will be interviewed by Bill Falk, editor-in-chief of The Week, a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. Previously he worked at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes. Bill has been a resident of White Plains since 1992.
He’ll be talking with Mara Gay about what it’s like working as a journalist today including topics such as reporting during a pandemic, fake news, and sharing opinions in a polarized political climate.
DR. JOSEPH RICCA, WHITE PLAINS SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS GOES INTO DETAIL ON HOW WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS WILL REOPEN ON MARCH 22
DR. RICCA BRIEFING ON REOPENING COMMITTEE APPROVAL OF REOPENING WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS CONDITIONS–TO EXPECT (7:01)
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Dr. Joseph Ricca, White Plains Superintendent of Schools. March 3, 2021 UPDATED 1:45 PM EST:
On behalf of the Board of Education and our educational community, please accept my thanks and appreciation for all that you have done, and are doing, to move toward safely returning our students to school five days a week.
This is truly a celebratory moment for our community. Having access to the vaccine and situating our facilities appropriately to welcome our students back, has put us in an outstanding position to begin phasing our children back into school this month.
UPDATE 11:55 AM EST: At this morning’s Reopening Committee meeting, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS DR. JOSEPH RICCA REPORTS the committee HAS APPROVED phasing schedule below. With the Committee’s support, we are preparing to move forward as outlined. Please consider reviewing our Reopening Committee work and progress here. (COMPLETE VIDEO, 1 HOUR 3 MINUTES)
Monday, March 22 – Kindergarten, Ninth Grade, and Twelfth Grade Return to School for Five Days
Monday, April 5 – First Grade, Second Grade, Sixth Grade, and Seventh Grade Return to School for Five Days
Monday, April 12 – Third Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade, Eighth Grade, Tenth Grade, and Eleventh Grade Return to School for Five Days
The phasing schedule and additional information will be shared with our parent/guardian community this Friday.
Moving forward, we will be sharing information with our community at the building and district level and we are always available to answer any questions you may have.
Again – thank you for all of your hard work. This is a major step forward for our community and we know that our children will be thrilled (even if they don’t show it) to begin to recapture a sense of normalcy and structure with our return to school five days a week.
The Annual White Plains Board of Education Budget Vote and Election will take place on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, Noon to 9 P.M., at six voting districts. Three Board seats will be up for election, each with a three-year term of office, beginning July 1, 2021.
Candidates must be United States citizens, 18 years of age or more and residents of White Plains for at least one year. Petitions are available from Michele Schoenfeld, District Clerk, at 5 Homeside Lane. They must be signed by 100 qualified voters and returned by April 28th.
Registration, for qualified voters new to the City, or those who are not registered to vote in general elections, will take place on Saturday, May 1st, Noon to 5 P.M., at Mamaroneck Avenue School, Nosband Avenue. A resident who has moved within White Plains during the last year may also change his/her voting address at that time.
WPCNR VACCINATION REPORT. From The New York State Vaccine Tracker. March 1, 2021:
Last night’s vaccine tracker reported Westchester County has now 9.9% of its 967,612 population fully vaccinated with two shots of either the Pfizer vaccine or the Moderna medication. Presently, the county reports as of Monday night that 16.6 % of the population has received at least one dose. a total of 12,841 persons received their second shot in a week.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT announced this morning at 11 A.M., that 9,840 does of vaccines would be distributed to the county to the following locations: (click on the highlighted names to see locations.)
So far we have no report from the county how many shots of the Johnson & Johnson one Vaccine will be received by Westchester County this month. It is unclear whether persons scheduled for first doses will innoculated with a share of the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, which accelerate Westchester’s fully vaccinated cohort.
This was not made clear in the Governor’s report earlier this evening announcing 164,812 doses of the Johnson & Johnson product would be arriving in New York this week.
One year ago today, New York confirmed our first case of the novel coronavirus, and the uncharted pandemic of COVID-19 began for New Yorkers. We’ve faced great pain and loss over the last 365 days, but there’s reason to be hopeful for the future.
Today, the New York State Clinical Advisory Task Force unanimously recommended the use of the Janssen Pharmaceuticals/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine has less restrictive storage requirements that will make it easier for the state to reach more New Yorkers, faster.
We expect to receive approximately 164,800 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.
There’s a lot of work ahead, but with this vaccine’s approval—the third one—we have cause for optimism as we move forward to a post-COVID future.
1. COVID hospitalizations rose slightly to 5,307. Of the 174,158 tests reported yesterday, 6,235, or 3.58 percent, were positive. There were 1,065 patients in ICU yesterday, down 18 from the previous day. Of them, 741 are intubated. Sadly, we lost 80 New Yorkers to the virus.
2. As of 11am today, 92 percent of first doses allocated to the state have been administered. This represents 2,954,858 first doses administered of the 3,206,430 first dose allocations received from the federal government. So far, 4,583,616 total doses have been administered out of the 5,229,950 total doses received. See data by region and county on the State’s Vaccine Tracker: ny.gov/vaccinetracker.
3. Starting today, hotel workers are now eligible for the COVID vaccine. Given the overall increase to the State’s supply and the essential health care service that these hotel workers provide, we are granting localities the flexibility to add hotel workers to the 1B vaccine prioritization group. Hotel workers can schedule an appointment through the State’s Am I Eligible Tool or call the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).
4. Appointments still available at mass vaccination sites in Brooklyn and Queens. Over the weekend, appointments opened up to all eligible New Yorkers who live in Brooklyn or Queens. Eligible Brooklyn residents can make a vaccination appointment at the Medgar Evers College site; eligible Queens residents can schedule a vaccination appointment at the York College site. If you are eligible and live in Brooklyn or Queens, get vaccinated. If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here.
The White Plains Police Reform Committee has released its report for public comment. View the report here: White Plains Police Reform Committee Draft Final Report (note that the report is lengthy and takes some time to load). (66 Pages)
Comments on the report will be accepted through Saturday March 6, 2021. Submit comments via email at: policereform@whiteplainsny.gov or by calling (914) 422-1313.
(Albany, NY) The Senate Democratic Majority today advanced legislation to stand up for workers in New York State.
This package will enact the “NY Hero Act” sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, which requires the creation of health and safety standards for COVID-19 and other airborne infectious diseases in the workplace guaranteeing a greater employee voice in the workplace.
This package also includes legislation to encourage employer use of shared work programs to avoid layoffs and legislation to increase the amount of shared work benefits to the maximum allowed by federal law. In addition, these bills will promote career paths into healthcare, permit employee time off for vaccinations to be administered, and grant an enhanced death benefit to families of deceased public employees.
“To address the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, we must protect and support a strong workforce,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “Workers across the state have shown incredible selflessness and perseverance throughout the pandemic, and this legislation is a step in recognizing and addressing their sacrifices. I commend my colleagues in the Senate Majority for sponsoring this legislation that will have a positive impact on so many hardworking New Yorkers.”
The legislation passed by the Senate Majority includes:
NY Hero Act: This bill, S.1034A, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, will implement airborne infectious disease standards requiring employers to implement an infectious disease exposure prevention plan.
Shared Work Program Petition: This bill, S.17A, sponsored by Senator Shelley B. Mayer, will allow employees to petition their employer to apply for the shared work program in order to avoid layoffs or to rehire laid off workers.
Vaccination Leave: This bill, S.2588A, sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes, will grant public and private employees four hours of time off, per dose, to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Healthcare Employment Incentivization: This bill, S.3470, sponsored by Senator Tim Kennedy will require the New York State Department of Labor and Department of Health to establish a program to incentivize unemployed individuals to enter short-staffed jobs in healthcare by expediting training and certification.
Shared Work Program Benefit Extension: This bill, S.4049, sponsored by Senator Jessica Ramos to increase the amount of unemployment insurance benefits an employee can claim under the shared work program to limits of the federal maximum.
Public Employee Death Benefit: This bill, S.4681, sponsored by Senator Andrew Gounardes, willextend previously enacted accidental death benefits to the families of frontline workers who have passed away due to COVID-19.
The City of White Plains is launching a COVID Angels Volunteer Project to assist White Plains seniors with navigating the technology needed to obtain an appointment for getting the COVID-19 vaccination.
Mayor Tom Roach said, “My office has received many, many calls from seniors who have been unable to secure a vaccination appointment. The White Plains COVID Angels Project is designed to be a source of assistance to seniors who have limitations accessing vaccinations and to alleviate some of the stress that has become associated with navigating the vaccine process.”
The City of White Plains Youth Bureau and Recreation & Parks Department will be managing the project and are asking for volunteers to assist them in making calls and securing vaccination appointments online for our senior citizens.
Due the scope of this undertaking we will need as many volunteers as possible to navigate the New York State Department of Health website, as well as log data related to securing an appointment online.
A volunteer organization has been identified to assist with implementation of this project: SEWA International (Westchester).
SEWA International is active in twenty countries and has worked closely with other local disaster relief organizations throughout New York and USA.
SEWA serves humanity irrespective of race, color, religion, gender or nationality. They specialize in disaster relief and rehabilitation.
SEWA’s development programs focus on family services; child, tribal and refugee welfare; women empowerment; health; and education. In addition to their extensive work in the US, they have also undertaken development projects in Colombia, Guyana, India, Kenya, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Volunteers with various skillsets are welcome! We will need volunteers to be team leaders and work on data collection as well as booking appointments online and making calls.
Acquiring appointments online can be done 24 hours a day which lends itself to flexibility for all who want to help. People can volunteer whatever time they may have to give. The planning process is well underway to give White Plains seniors assistance obtaining the protection they need to combat this aggressive virus.
New York State is encouraging eligible New Yorkers to take the required trainings to become vaccinators and support the State’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
Governor Cuomo signed an Executive Order expanding the eligible pool of trainees who can administer vaccinations at a point of dispensing or “POD site” (flexible vaccination sites that can be set up in any community) using a non-patient specific order provided they first receive training. A non-patient specific standing order is a general order to vaccinate anyone who comes to be vaccinated at a POD and doesn’t name each person. These include:
Licensed practical nurses (LPNs)
Unlike other healthcare settings, supervision by a Registered Nurse (RN) is not required in a POD site for LPNs to vaccinate using a non-patient specific standing order.
Pharmacists who are not certified to administer immunizations by the New York State Education Department (SED)
Midwives who are not certified to administer immunizations by SED
Dentists
Dental hygienists who have been issued a dental hygiene restricted local infiltration anesthesia/nitrous oxide analgesia certificate
Podiatrists
Emergency Medical Technicians
Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians
Students in eligible education programs (medicine, nursing, PA, pharmacy students who do not have a limited permit that includes a certificate to administer vaccinations, dentistry, podiatry, and midwifery)
Temporarily-Licensed Pharmacy Technicians
All POD sites that have these non-traditional vaccinators (referred to below as “new vaccinators”) must have oversight from or be approved by New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) or the applicable Local Health Department, and must have medical oversight by a licensed physician, licensed physician assistant (PA), or certified nurse practitioner (NP). The individuals providing such medical oversight must have a current certification in CPR.
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Trainings
The following training requirements are for all new vaccinators, except for temporarily-licensed pharmacy technicians. Pharmacy technicians should refer to the Interim Guidance Implementing Executive Order 202.90 – Licensing of Temporarily-Licensed Pharmacy Technicians for more information, including certification and training requirements, found at the following link: http://www.op.nysed.gov/COVID-19tlpt.html
For all other new vaccinators: Sign up at ServNYhttps://apps.health.ny.gov/pub/servny/.Volunteers are notified of opportunities based on the preferences indicated at registration. In some cases, you may hear from a local Medical Reserve Corps rather than from the State of New York. Deployment to vaccinate at a POD site will depend on the staffing needs of the POD site. In some cases, there may be a need to fill non-vaccinator roles. Registering with ServNY does not guarantee deployment to a POD site.
Complete the online NYSDOH COVID-19 Vaccine Training for Vaccinators modules. There are four training modules:
Background on COVID-19 Vaccines:
COVID-19 Vaccine Considerations, Patient Screening, Education, and Consent
COVID-19 Vaccine Administration, Anaphylaxis, and Post-Vaccination Information:
COVID-19 Vaccine Shipping, Storage, and Handling
Complete the online Privacy and Security of Health Information in New York State module.
Complete in-person clinical vaccine administration training with assessment of skills and competencies in accordance with NYSDOH guidance.
For students, vaccine administration training and skills assessment must be attested to and provided by their educational institution in accordance with NYSDOH guidance.
For all other new vaccinators, the in-person vaccine administration training must cover the areas listed in the Immunization Action Coalition Skills Checklist for Vaccine Administration. The assessment of the individual’s skills and competencies must be done using this checklist, with all areas identified as meeting or exceeding required skills and competencies for vaccine administration.
The checklist may be signed by a physician, PA, NP, or RN OR a certified EMS provider who is designated as an evaluator after their skills have been directly observed and signed off by the licensed physician, licensed PA, or certified NP who is medically supervising the POD or the EMS agency Medical Director. Preferred EMS evaluators include Certified Lab Instructors, Certified Instructor Coordinator, Field Training Officers, EMS Training Coordinators.
The training and skills assessment can be done at the POD site or, for EMS providers, by the EMS agency.
Additional requirements for students: Have completed, at a minimum, at least 1 year of clinical experience, as attested to by their educational institution in accordance with NYSDOH guidance.
For any providers who are licensed or certified outside of NYS, in order to be covered by the liability immunity under the PREP Act: Complete the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Training modules found here: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/training.html
How to Complete the Online NYSDOH COVID-19 Vaccine Training for Vaccinators and the Privacy and Security of Health Information in NYS modules
For non EMS providers, you must sign in or register on the New York State Department of Health’s Learning Management System (LMS). For EMS providers, go to www.VitalSignsAcademy.com and click on the top right hand side of the page “Login/Register”.
