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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. Based on Statistics From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. July 29, 2020:

The Covid-19 virus dealt a blow to the White Plains economy in June, as expected.

Sales tax revenues were down $3 Million to $2,381,120 compared to the $5, 047,352 in June 2019. The $2,666,232 decline  meant the economy in White Plains declined 52%.

The  Sales tax revenues for 2019-20 fiscal year for the City of White Plains was  $47,714,688, down from  $50,115,543 last year. The $2,400,855 decline is 4.8%.  The city budgeted that decline into their adopted 2020-21 budget, cutting their expected sales tax revenue $2,700,00 in the new budget just begun, thanks to their policy of never budgeting more than they collect the previous year in sales tax revenues,

The worry that the city faces is how fast sales tax revenues will rebound to the averaged $4 Million plus a month to put the city back up to the $50 Million a year number and more. Will July bounce back? Will August boom with back to school sales (if we go back to school) ? Will internet sales be fully accounted for by the state by municipality?

The city also faces the disasterous renovation of the Ritz Carlton, which means a big slump in hotel tax. The city budget for 2020-2021 predicts a $600,000 slump in hotel taxes. Hopefully the “ever booming” real estate market, if you believe realtor news releases, may save further deficits.

If you are budgeting for next year, the city may have to consider at least a 6% property tax increase to make up the 4.8% (at present rate) Covid-19 related decline to maintain city services and anticipate furture wage increases. Ironically, the approximate 5% decline is exactly the amount the city transfers into the Taxpayers Relief Fund, which funds annual payroll increases.  That $5 Million or so has to come from somewhere if the White Plains economy fails to recover quickly the next three months.

White Plains because it does not wildly expand its budgets on wishing and hoping, always appears ready to whether the interim financial challenges that come along, instead of anticipating financial futures that may never happen. The delay in starting a half dozen apartment complexes in the downtown in White Plains due mainly to financing problems developers are facing as well as delay in developing the city parcels adjacent the Metro North Station upgrade is an example of how conservative planning in White Plains budgets spares White Plains the pain that cities, towns and villages in Westchester face in the months ahead.

The city does not have to make cuts in this new budget yet, but they may want to consider using their fund balance to correct the sales tax covid-related shortfalls if the recover such as it already is continues as it is. Capital projects also could be delayed. But with a new round of labor negotiations coming up, the city development has got to get rolling. Those apartments cannot open soon enough.

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WPCNR MULTI-SYSTEM INFLAMMATORY SYNDROME UPDATE. From the Governor’s Press Office. July 28, 2020:

For two month at at time when Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome cases in children were progressing at 10 a day, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has not given an update on the progression of Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome In Children, the condition discovered in May.

Monday, the Governor reported the state of the new disease: Here is what he said:

“I was asked the other day about Kawasaki disease and what we’re seeing on that. The number of cases in New York has gone up slightly, we’re at about 240 cases now. That was about 15 or so more in the past month.

But, New York is not a good gauge for this because the number of cases is coming down across the board, right? We are seeing the numbers increase in other states where the cases are increasing, and what we’re seeing is the more you look for it, the more you find it.

If you’re not aware of it, you don’t see it. But, the findings of our State Department of Health here in New York have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and we’re proud of that.

So, we’re getting the word out to the other health departments that they should look for this. And as they’re looking for it, they’re finding more across the country. But we have not seen it increasing significantly in New York, but then again we haven’t seen the cases increasing significantly in New York.

Last point, as we work through this situation, there’s a number of levels here, right? It’s three-dimensional chess. You want to number one – keep the number low and that’s my main priority and we’re doing that and we’ve been successful at that. Number two, you want to look ahead on the horizon – do you see any waves building that could be problematic? Is there a second wave? Could the increase nationwide have a more dramatic effect? Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate. The third level is what have we gone through that we can learn from and start to correct now and that level is actually exciting and positive and we’re exploring that all across the board.”

Doctors and parents can read the New York Department of Health article published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine at

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2021756

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Benjamin Boykin, Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. July 22, 2020: Westchester County announced it has created a working Group today to Assist Local School Districts with Reopening Transition this Fall. (Editor’s Note: The plans for any school districts reopening are due in Albany August 1 for review by the Governor.) Westchester County government has worked closely with local school districts across the County to provide assistance and public health support to protect our schools, teachers, staff and most importantly our students. The County has established a working group designed to further provide information and support around the areas of public health, emergency preparedness and response. The goal of the task force is to help create a more efficient way to provide feedback for common issues that may arise such as: the bulk purchasing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), suggesting vendors for Plexiglas dividers and signage, offering assistance with contact tracing, and developing a standardized frequently asked questions document. Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “No one knows what we will be up against when our school districts start to reopen again. If we do see plans for a return in September, administrators will have a limited amount of time to make crucial decisions about how to provide a quality education for our students, while maintaining their health and safety, which will always be our top priority. It is my hope that this working group will make the transition process smoother, and provide an easy venue for districts to reach out to us for the support they may need.” Last week, the New York State Department of Health and Board of Regents released specific guidance requiring all school districts to develop a re-opening plan, to be reviewed and approved by the State.The first action steps for the County’s school reopening working group are as follows:Create a survey for school districts, to be collected by the superintendents, to identify the quantity and type of PPE gear required for a safe reopening. The County will assist in procuring the equipment through outside vendors.Host webinars centered around specific aspects of returning to school: proper school cleaning, food provisions for kitchen staff, protocols for contact tracing, and attaining PPE gear. Designate points of contact at the Westchester County Department of Health to assist with health care concerns as they arise. Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health Joseph Glazer has been named leader of the working group. Joining Glazer will be White Plains School Superintendent Joe Ricca, Susan Spear and Aviva Meyer of the County Executive’s Office, Dr. Dial Hewlett, Peter DeLucia and Marina Yoegel of the Health Department, and Hernane DeAlmeida from the Department of Public Works Glazer said: “Having provided additional linkage between the Westchester County Department of Health and our schools since the beginning of the pandemic, I understand how important it is for all of us to work together. I am humbled to be helping lead an effort with the goal of returning students to schools and classrooms that are safe for everyone.” Ricca said: “Under the strong leadership of County Executive Latimer and our talented County partners, coordination and collaboration between the County and our public school districts has been consistent throughout the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful for this continued partnership as we all work to continue to support our children and community members throughout Westchester. As we look to the future, with a hopeful eye to welcoming our children and staff members back into our classrooms, we know that this partnership will remain critical in providing for the health and safety of our communities. It remains an honor to work alongside so many committed professionals in support of our children. Together, we will move through these challenges successfully and we will be stronger for the shared effort.”

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This column originally appeared on WPCNR on February 1, 2003, and celebrates the Dreamers, the Achievers, the High and the Mighty:

The Space Blazers:

 The Apollo 11 Crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,  Buzz Aldrin, Jr. Mr. Armstrong set foot on the moon 51 years ago on July 20, 1969 (NASA Photo)

One of the papers I receive at WPCNR White Plains News Headquarters, White Plains, New York, USA did not tell me ALL week this week was the 51st anniversary of the week when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.

The exact hour  was  20:11 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). That was the culmination of the last great American achievement  – the personal computer and the internet were to come as the next great American achievement conquering space — when Apollo 11 with Armstrong in command, with astronauts Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. blasted off to the stars  for real.

They became the real Flash Gordons, Buck Rogerses, Tom Corbetts and Captain Videos for all-time.

The Apollo 11 mission was a success.

But there have been the tragedies associated with striving for the stars and being the best, achieving the best, working for the good. Those are the persons who keep dreams alive by their deaths and personal sacrifice. I wrote the following after the explosion of the Columbia Space Shuttle upon reentry after 19 days in space in January 2003.

Saturday’s fatal Columbia Space Shuttle accident killing all 7 astronauts aboard when the historic spacecraft broke up over East Texas at daybreak Saturday morning begins a period of national mourning. 
The expected media speculations have started, guessing at the cause of the reentry that went bizarrely, awfully wrong.
The truth is the civilized world takes absolute scientific miracles for granted. We do not appreciate the courage and skills of the men and women creating the future.
Those of us with cell phones, internet connections, high-speed trains, satellite communications and entertainment (all products made possible by the space program), do not realize the magnitude of daring achievements that you and I have come to accept to be executed like clockwork.
I first learned of Columbia’s fate late Saturday afternoon when my wife mentioned that instead of sports programming being videotaped on our television, there was coverage of a live NASA event on ABC.
(Incredibly, the radio station I had been listening to on the way from a sports clinic had not reported any hint of the accident. That station was Z-100, the most listened-to station in the New York metropolitan area. America Online also on their first up page did not mention the missing craft as of midday. That kind of communications misjudgment is sad.)
As I watched the close of Mr. Jennings’ coverage at about 3 PM, he signed off with no recap, no names of astronauts, and some parting words about what he thought was the cause of the disaster.
I’ll say what he should have said.
Columbia’s seven astronauts who died — we know their names: they were

Columbus, Magellan, Cook, Lewis, Clark, the Wrights, Lindbergh, De Laroche, Earhart, Markham, Gruber, Chaffee, Grissom, White, Gargarin, Komarov, the Challenger Crew, the crew of Soyuz 11. They are a handful of the hundreds of brave men and women who went into the unknown.

Appollo 11′s Crew turned the dreams of the 1950s visualized in television shows like Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (above, Astro, Roger and Tom) and Captain Video, “The Master of Science” below  into reality.

America’s Spacemen and Spacewomen and the explorers before them are the people who trust in their ability and their vessel to expand the world’s horizons, to know the unknown, whose legacies build a better world. Whose deeds inspire and achievements are the catalysts for achievement to come. Their failures ever reminders of the uniqueness of their courage and resolve.

From Captain Cook’s fragile vessel which sailed the Pacific, to the marvel that was the Columbia, the captains courageous who sailed the Roaring 40s, blazed the Oregon Trail, discovered how to fly, and flew the oceans, journeyed to the stars, knew the risks they were taking. 

The media  trivializes their courage, their skills, and the difficulty of what they did and wanted to do, to concentrate on the causes of their failure, as if knowing the cause will make their loss acceptable.

The Magnificent Seven

I do not know Columbia’s Magnificent Seven. I just see their smiling faces in their photograph, and I regret the loss of every one. They had achievement on their faces, pride in their demeanor. Their eyes shown with the glow of being alive and striving to do the great things they set out to do.

Civilization has been created because of people like the crew of the Columbia’s Magnificent Seven, not the incompetence we see demonstrated daily today where technology is concerned.

The Columbia itself had flown 26 missions since launching in 1981. It was guided and outfitted with the best 2003 communications and equipment had to offer.

Not like Captain James Cook’s bark, Endeavour, a 100-foot ship powered by sail that conquered the “space” of his time, the Pacific Ocean. It was the Columbia’s Magnificent Seven’s “Endeavour.” They were tracked, they were backed up, but they perhaps more than anyone here on the ground knew the high dangers of the shuttle mission.

Liftoff, as their predecessors, The Challenger crew fell victim to, is fraught with risk.

Reentry, which needs to be negotiated at precisely the right angle of attack, is equally risky.

Soyuz 11’s spacecrew of Dobrovolskiy, Volkov, and Patsayev died in 1971 on reentry, when the Russian cosmonauts took too long to descend.

No guarantees in real life. Machines sometimes run out of miracles.

The magnificence of the explorers’ sacrifice and dedication, is that they accept the risk of “the endeavor.”

They accept the challenge, bear it alone, seizing challenge with an indomitable spirit and confidence, facing death when it comes with the satisfaction that they made the effort, and I suspect analyzing, coping, trying to fix it until the end, the very end.

They never give up.

Columbia’s Magnificent Seven, after 16 days in space, are gone now. My sorrow is with their families who will miss these Magnificent Seven, and who know in their hearts that they died trying to reach the pinnacle of their aspirations.

They are only human.

They tried their best, achieved their best, and experienced what they longed to experience. They dared to live the great adventure.

Not all of us have the courage to follow our longed-for adventures and make them real. You can watch movies that attempt to give that experience by transference. That’s why, I believe, you and I take it so personally when we lose heroic personalities of our time. We wonder what they are like. We glorify them, rightly so.

Follow Me! They Say.

I wonder how those Magnificent Seven felt, how satisfying it must have been, to be at your best, doing what you love, coping with the risks.I envy them that.

The Columbia Crew is the Miracle.

In reality it is not machines that conquer, it is the intrepid personalities, each unique, each contributing, who perform the miracles with God’s help. That they fall short is an example to us, not to take ourselves, our fates, or our existences for granted.

This is true of the everyday people we take for granted: the firefighter, the policeman, the train engineer, the airline pilot, the construction worker, the doctor fighting COVID, the nurse, the leader trying to do what must be done despite opposition. All are highly trained disciplined workers, executing precise tasks for which the non-expert has no feel or understanding .

What makes for the desire to achieve? What is out there or up there that leads them on?

The Feel of the Unknown

I took Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s biographical adventure diary, Listen! The Wind down from the aviation bookshelf.

She was the young bride of the aviator-pioneer, Charles Lindbergh. She navigated for him in his aircraft, and ran his radio communications on his many exploratory flights around the world.

In a passage she describes a night flight over the ocean, in which she was operating the radio for her husband Charles, who was at the controls. Mrs. Lindbergh is describing the feelings she has as she tries to tune in the South American coast at sea in the dark of night in 1933, 87 years ago.

The feeling, the courage of the adventurer, the explorer has not changed. This is great:

“Night was the hardest. It would be all right once it was day. I kept saying…We began to hit clouds. I could tell without looking up, for the plane bumped slightly from time to time, first one wing down and then the other. And the moon blackened out for short periods.

Then for longer periods. I could not see to write my messages. I stiffened, dimly sensing fear – the old fear of bad weather – and looked out. We were flying under clouds. I could still find a kind of horizon, a difference in shading where the water met the clouds. That was all. But it seemed to be getting darker.

Storms? Were those clouds or was it the sky? We had lost the water. We were flying blind. I turned off the light quickly (to give my husband a little more vision), and sat waiting, tense, peering through the night. Now we were out again. There were holes through which one could see the dark sky. It was all right, I felt, as long as there were holes.

More blind flying. This is it, I thought is what people forget. This is what it means to fly across the ocean, blind and at night. But day is coming. It ought to be day before long… Daybreak! What a miracle. I didn’t see any sign of day and yet it must be lighter. The clouds were distinguishing themselves more and more from water and sea.
Daybreak—thank God—as if we had been living in eternal night—as if this were the first sun that ever rose out of the sea.

Note: This column originally appeared February 1, 2003 on WPCNR.