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.
WPCNR MEDIA MERRY-GO-ROUND. From Bedford Town Supervisor Chris Burdick. 5:30 PM August 18, 2020:
Two weeks after the storm many residents still are plagued with telecommunication outages, broken promises of restoration and insufficient interest or resources on the part of Altice (Optimum’s parent) and Verizon.
Setting aside the abysmal lack of preparation for the storm, there is the persistent lack of recovery. Rapid recovery should be the standard. At this point any recovery seems elusive.
As of this writing, we estimate that 103 Optimum customers and 77 Verizon customers still lack one or more services to which they subscribe (based on the list we compiled from residents reporting to us).
What we’re doing is persistently staying after Optimum and Verizon until every customer’s service has been restored. We are doing this by staying in touch with those without service (and we ask that you please stay in touch with us, including to let us know that your service has been restored – so we can update our records);
Pressing Optimum and Verizon multiple times each day (including weekends) to report on crews dispatched and their status; and providing accounts of failures to State Senator Shelley Mayer and other legislators so they can press Optimum and Verizon in hearings which they’ve called. Kevin Lynch on my staff and I are taking over from Tim Parker, so please e-mail us at supervisor@bedfordny.gov and klpapk@gmail.com
EMERLY MARTINEZ WILL LEAD WHITE PLAINS HIGH SCHOOL IN THE DIFFICULT YEAR AHEAD. HE REPLACES ELLEN DOHERTY, PRINCIPAL FOR LAST 8 YEARS
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the White Plains City School District, with supplemental material from WPCNR. August 18, 2020:
Emerly A. Martinez was appointed as the new Principal of White Plains High School on Monday evening, August 17th, at a Zoom meeting of the White Plains Board of Education, held under the COVID-19 Executive Order 202.55.
Mr. Martinez was the finalist from over 60 candidates in a rigorous search process which included interviews with the Superintendent’s Cabinet and a Principal Search Advisory Committee representing all the constituencies of the school community. He replaces Ellen Doherty who held the position for eight years.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph L. Ricca said, “The district was very pleased with the large pool of talented candidates from which Mr. Martinez rose to the top. His abilities suit White Plains very well.”
Board President Rosemarie Eller said she looks forward to “welcoming Mr. Martinez and to working with him in an exciting new chapter for White Plains High School.”
Mr. Martinez will come to White Plains from the Principal position at Cornwall (N.Y.) Central High School in the 2019-20 school year. Prior to that he was Assistant Principal at Fox Lane High School in Bedford and Dean of Students at Ossining, and social studies teacher there for 13 years. school. according to his Cornwell High School biography. He began his educational career teaching High School Social Studies in Ossining.
Cornwall Central High School serves 1,105 students in grades 9-12. (White Plains High School had a 2019-20 student count of 2,140.)
The percentage of students achieving proficiency in math is 98% (which is higher than the New York state average of 52%) for the 2017-18 school year. The percentage of students achieving proficiency in reading/language arts is 98% (which is higher than the New York state average of 52%) for the 2017-18 school year.
Cornwall Central High School placed in the top 5% of all schools in New York for overall test scores (math proficiency is top 5%, and reading proficiency is top 5%) for the 2017-18 school year.
The student:teacher ratio of 16:1 is higher than the New York state level of 13:1.
Minority enrollment is 31% of the student body (majority Hispanic), which is lower than the New York state average of 57%.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Mercy College, a Master’s in Education from Lehman College, a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the College of St. Rose, and anticipates receiving a Doctor of Education Degree in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville College in May of 2021.
WPCNR SCAM REPORT. From County Legislator Catherine Parker. August 18, 2020:
Please be on the alert for a potential scam aimed at senior citizens. The document, which looks like an official notice from Westchester County, threatens a levy against Social Security benefits to satisfy a tax liability.
We believe that it is part of an attempted fraud perpetrated against residents of the County who may have tax liens on file with the County Clerk’s office. If you receive this type of notice, do not respond to it.
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS From the White Plains City School District. August 17, 2020: 3PM
In order to ive you a better understanding of the district’s reopening plan, we will be hosting a series of three virtual community forums for parents and members of the community to ask questions that may not have been addressed during Dr. Ricca’s community updates during the month of July. Click here for flyer.
Here are the day and times and log-ins for the two remaining Virtual Community Forums: TODAYAugust 18, 2020—12 noon—1:00pm
On Friday, Aug. 7, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that in-person instruction is permitted in all regions of New York state for the start of the 2020-21 school year based on current COVID-19 infection rates, while also outlining new requirements related to school reopening plans.
These requirements include highlighting plans for remote learning, COVID-19 testing, and contact tracing, which are all parts of the district’s reopening plan that was recently submitted to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) and New York State Department of Health (DOH).
Over the course of the last several weeks, the district has been working to formulate a plan for reopening school in September. These plans were created based on guidelines from federal and state agencies, as well as feedback from community stakeholders. A copy of our complete reopening plan can be found here.
\Anyone with questions or concerns about the district’s reopening plan can be directed to send their questions to Questions@wpcsd.k12.ny.us. Additionally, a list of frequently asked questions and answers will be posted on the district’s website in the coming days. Please stay safe, well and # WPProud!
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS 6 MONTH UPDATE. (ADDITIONAL LOCAL INFO ADDED 2:50 PM EDT ) August 17, 2020:
Governor Cuomo stressed today New York is opening schools but that is “how” schools reopen that must be addressed with parents and teachers. Without their cooperation and buying into to school district plans, if they keep children home and teachers are not confident of their safety and stay home “you have no schools,” the governor said.
Here is a clip from the governor’s statements today about the school reopenings:
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO NEWS CONFERENCE THIS MORNING ON THE SCHOOLS
He outlined how gyms can reopen. He sharply criticized cities and towns across the state for not enforcing restaurant and bar rules stating 66 violations were issued across the state.
MICHELLE SCHOENFELD of the White Plains City School District told WPCNR the White Plains has already had the first of three such meetings last Friday and plans on two more.
The second such forum is tomorrow Tuesday with links and time to come. She said the third and final will take place Friday. (Time and link to come). The district calls these meetings “Virtual Community Forums on Zoom.”
He reported yesterday the state infection rate dropped to to
point 7 %, the lowest it has been since the covid epidemic began in the state. “New
Yorkers did what couldn’t be done.”
Westchester County Executive George Latimer issued the following statement on the Con Edison performance in response to Tropical Storm Isaiaa power outages in Westchester County Friday.
“Con Edison’s performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias was grossly deficient. The Governor, the New York State Public Service Commission, elected officials of both parties at every level and the customers themselves all recognize that failure.
Con Ed was simply not ready- a repeat of March 2018 – to provide the necessary manpower to cut and clear wires and to restore power in a timely fashion.
It cannot be acceptable to take a week or more to fully restore power, and in this case, from a storm that was not of the magnitude of Hurricane Irene or Superstorm Sandy.
This tells us the utility is simply not staffed up to handle storms; it tells us the profitability of the company is based on carrying staff insufficient to handle any significant weather incident.
“Westchester residents have time and again been underserved precisely in the moment when they most need that service. They need and deserve a service provider that outs service to the public ahead of any other consideration.
“Now, it is up to the State to use its regulatory authority to right this wrong, and mandate that the utility provide sufficient manpower and equipment that can, during the next hurricane, bring speedy relief to Westchester residents.”
WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2020. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators. August 16, 2020:
Expanded early voting hours; a multimedia campaign to encourage early voting; multi-lingual video instructions for how to vote absentee; changes in procedures to increase the number of available workers; drop boxes for returning absentee ballots; necessary voting equipment; and information-sharing partnerships with community organizations — these are just some of the recommendations for improving voting this November contained in a newly issued report from the Board of Legislators’ Election Information Gathering Task Force.
The Task Force was created by Board Chairman Ben Boykin in response to voting challenges that emerged during the June 23 primary elections.
The Task Force is co-chaired by Legislators Catherine Borgia and Vedat Gashi. The other Task Force members are Vice Chair Alfreda Williams and Majority Leader MaryJane Shimsky. The Task Force gathered information from more than 100 public comments and committee meetings with voter advocates and the Westchester County Board of Elections Commissioners.
The 21-page report details some of the things that went right and some of the things that went wrong during the June primaries, as election officials dealt with unprecedented events relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Challenges included multiple State changes to deadlines and absentee voting procedures, difficulty in recruiting and training poll workers, and changes in the availability of many regularly used polling locations.
Other recommendations in the report include technology investments to help streamline opening and recording of mailed ballots and improvements to the Board of Elections website.
Taskforce Co-Chair Catherine Borgia said, “The Board of Elections faced an extremely difficult set of circumstances in June because of COVID. We have to assume the situation will be similar this fall, but voter turnout will be much higher. Although the Board of Elections has the sole power and responsibility over the conduct of elections, we hope the information and recommendations we’ve assembled will be helpful to the BOE. The Board of Legislators stands ready to be a partner to the BOE in making sure voters in Westchester have the greatest possible access this fall.”
Taskforce Co-Chair Vedat Gashi said, “The impact of the pandemic on the June primaries was something no one could have been fully prepared for. However, we still have more than 10 weeks before early voting begins in the general election and the experiences of the June primaries to learn from. This report pulls together what we’ve learned since June and I hope the information and recommendations will be valuable to the Board of Elections going forward.”
WPCNR MEDIA GO-ROUND. From Paul Feiner, Town Supervisor of Greenburgh NY, USA:
Dr. Ed Zuckerberg, father of Facebook’s Mark and Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Mark speak to Greenburgh Summer student interns
Randi: “Be nice to your brother-you never know if he’ll become a billionaire and hire you.”
Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, grew up in the village of Dobbs Ferry (part of Greenburgh). His father, Dr. Ed Zuckerberg was a well respected Dentist in the community. His sister, Randi, was asked by her brother to serve as DIrector of Market Development and spokesperson for Facebook during Facebook’s early years. Ed Zuckerberg and his daughter, Randi, spent almost an hour and forty minutes this past week talking with Greenburgh summer interns.
Dr. Zuckerberg spends the initial portion of the discussion talking about how his children his grew up with technology and were exposed to computers early on. Dr. Zuckerberg’s fascination with technology and computers probably enriched Mark’s interest in computers, programming, messaging. Some call Dr. Zuckerberg “the father of Facebook.”
Randi Zuckerberg talks to the student interns about being the sister of the founder of Facebook. “Be nice to your brother. You never know if he’ll become a billionaire and hire you.” Randi talks about her career in marketing, Broadway- performer and producer (she won a Tony award for producing Hadestown) and also invited Greenburgh students to apply for an exciting opportunity with the Zuckerberg Institute.
The Zuckerberg Institute mentors high school students with exciting visions, helps them become innovators who are ready to change the world. The program teaches students secrets and concepts that have helped entrepreneurs build billion dollar corporations and global initiatives. Town Clerk Judith Beville and I will be speaking with the leadership of the Zuckerberg Institute this week and look forward to partnering with them–providing Greenburgh youth with the chance to become great successes in life.
The 2020 Greenburgh summer internship program is a program organized by Town Clerk Judith Beville, Town Attorney Tim Lewis, Commissioner of Planning Garrett Duquesne and myself. Other nationally known speakers this summer included Hillary Clinton, former United States Secretary of State, First Lady and Senator and David Kaplan, previously with Newsweek and author of NY Times Best Seller: “The Most Dangerous Branch: Inside the Supreme Court’s Assault on the Constitution” and Barrett Seaman, former TIME Magazine Correspondent and White House Correspondent. Mr. Seaman is currently with the Hudson Independent. Other officials and community leaders also spoke to the students. The students produced a number of public service announcements during the summer dealing the pedestrian safety, racism, COVID/need to wear masks, the need to participate in the census and much more.
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From ABC NEWS. August 16, 2020:
In an interview with ABC News and testimony before congress, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that taking positions over coronavirus preventive messages was the most serious threat to public health he has ever seen. In an story in the Huffington Post at
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER.From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. August 15, 2020:
The total number of COVID hospitalizations continues to remain low. Yesterday, there were 554 hospitalizations, a slight drop from the previous day. Of the 85,455 tests reported yesterday, 727 were positive (0.85%). Sadly, we lost 4 New Yorkers to the virus.
New York State is investing in innovative methods to detect and control any new Coronavirus outbreaks. Today, we are launching a pilot program to detect the presence of COVID-19 in wastewater. In doing so, we will have an early indicator system to detect virus spread in communities. Wastewater testing has been identified by top scientists and researchers as a cost-effective way to monitor for outbreaks of COVID-19 around the world. The State will provide $500,000 to support a wastewater sampling project in Onondaga County and start sample collection in Albany, Newburgh and Buffalo. This new initiative will complement our leading testing program, which is now up to 87,000 tests a day (3-day average) and that provides a daily snapshot of the estimated infection rate of the virus by region across the state. We know that when we follow the science we win the fight against this virus. The more data we have, and the more points of detection, the better able we are to stop the spread.
Chart of the Day: When New York was in need, individuals from 44 states (and in territories as far as Guam) and from 12+ foreign countries mailed over 8,000 masks to my office. It’s that unity and solidarity that our nation must keep up in order to beat this virus. Here’s what else you need to know tonight:
1. New York City museums and cultural institutions can reopen starting Monday, August 24. Museums, aquariums, and other low-risk indoor arts and cultural institutions can open at 25% capacity. Timed ticketing will be required with pre-set, staggered entry, along with strict enforcement of face coverings, social distancing, controlled traffic flow to avoid crowding, and enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols.
2. Bowling alleys throughout New York will be allowed to reopen starting Monday with strict safety protocols. Bowling alleys will be able to operate at a 50 percent occupancy, and face coverings and social distancing will be required at all times. Every other lane must be closed and patrons need to stay with the party at their assigned lane. Additionally, thorough cleaning and disinfection of shared or rented equipment between each use will be required. Read more here.
3. New York will dispatch mobile testing teams to farms in rural counties across New York. The State’s contact tracing program has identified several new clusters at farms linked to seasonal workers. In addition to sending mobile testing teams, the Department of Health and Department of Agriculture & Markets will help provide housing for farm workers who test positive and need to be isolated.
