HALF OF WP HIGH STUDENTS ASSEMBLE ON LAWN TO MEMORIALIZE MURDERED CHILDREN OF PARKLAND. DEMAND “NO GUNS! NO GUNS! NO GUNS!

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WPCNR School Days. By John F. Bailey. March 14, 2018 UPDATED 12 NOON E.D.T.:

In a demonstration  completely organized by 3 White Plains High students, deploring the murder of the 17 students shot in cold blood  two weeks ago in the Parkland Florida high school, an  school district estimated 1,000 students (half the 2,039 high school enrollment)  assembled on the green in front of White Plains High this morning at 10 A.M. to join the national student mourning and demand for action on gun control from the country’s leaders.

They  began on time (10 A.M.) in the cold mourning wind. They walked single file out of the high school main entrance  and the single file of young people carrying signs, gained momentum and turned into a growing orderly  enmasse surge of America’s future filling the lawn of the school filling the green from the windows on the north of the high school, spilling over the  sidewalk entrance of wall-to-wall students to around the south, windowed edge of the circular high school library where it meets the wall of the school.

Tight security was in effect. Press was not allowed on the grounds of the high school. Pictures were taken by some parents. Standing on the side walk in front of the school.

White Plains Superintendent of  Schools Dr. Joseph Ricca, (who approved the protest in negotiations with the student organized observance),  attended and observed.

Speeches were given by student leaders were not heard well. There were some cheers. Some levity was observed, but this was the exception. There were chants of “No Guns! No Guns!” The group moved around to the juncture of the rounded library and the main building at 10:20 and filed with dignity into the school. There was no lingering and only a few students “hacked around” that this reporter observed.

Dr. Joseph Ricca told WPCNR, “The kids were pretty amazing. Really. The leaders said their piece in orderly fashion.

“They expressed they felt schools are no places for guns and that students needed to feel they were safe in school from violence. They read aloud the names of the 17 faculty and students killed at Stoneman Douglas High School and called for a moment of silence.

“At the end the students formed a large heart. A picture was taken of the heart and the picture will be sent to Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

They also are sending bracelets in the Stoneman Douglas High School colors to the students of Parkland enscribed with the inscription,

“White Plains High School Cares”

 

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County Government Warns of IRS Tax Scams.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From County Legislator Benjamin Boykin. March 14, 2018:

 

 

With tax season upon us, the Internal Revenue Service is warning about scammers using a range of tactics to take advantage of taxpayers.

Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams. Scammers use regular mail, telephone, or email to set up individuals, businesses, payroll and tax professionals.

The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information.

Click the following link to learn more, including ways to protect yourself: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-scams-consumer-alerts

 

 

 

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Board of Legislators Calls for Con Ed Rebates…Echoes County Executive’s Demand that Con Ed Executives Resign

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators. March 13, 2018:


The Westchester County Board of Legislators wants utility companies to offer rebates or rate reductions to residents and businesses who experienced losses as a result of the companies’ responses to power outages caused by winter storms earlier this month. 

It also wants the companies to reimburse the County for money spent to operate warming centers, pay overtime to first responders and for other emergency costs.

In a bipartisan resolution passed unanimously Monday night, the Board slammed Consolidated Edison and New York State Electric and Gas for inadequate planning and deployment of resources after the storms left thousands of County residents without power, many for as long as a week and some for longer, noting that the frequency and severity of storms will worsen due to climate change.

Public Service Commission Called On

The resolution urges the state Public Service Commission, which regulates the utilities, to order the reimbursements and rebates.  It also calls on the Commission to set new rules for storm response by the companies, in particular rules involving the reliance on “mutual aid” — the process of calling in crews from other utilities across North America to help with storm recovery.

The Board also is calling for the Commission to hold public hearings in Westchester, so the Commission can hear directly from residents who were affected by the extended outages.

In addition, the resolution calls for  the resignation of senior management at Con Ed and NYSEG, echoing a call last week from County Executive George Latimer.

 

The Board is planning to invite Con Ed and NYSEG to a meeting with all legislators in the near future to review and discuss issues relating to storm preparation and remediation efforts.

tors. March 13, 2018:

 

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WHITE PLAINS SCHOOLS ON A 2 HOUR DELAY SCHEDULE TODAY.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS.MARCH 13, 2018:

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph Ricca has delayed the start of White Plains Public Schools two hours today, announcing:

“Good morning @wplainsschools, out of an abundance of caution and due to the winter weather conditions, we will follow a 2-Hour Delay schedule today, March 13th. Please take your time traveling and be safe. #WPProud“

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Westchester Board of Legislators Pass Immigrant Protection Act, 11-3. Awaits County Executive Signature. First in State to Pass Such a Bill

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. Release from the County Board of Legislators and Neighbors LINK. March 12, 1018:

The Westchester County Board of Legislators voted Monday night to approve the Immigration Protection Act.

The bi-partisan measure passed by a vote of 11-3. It was supported by all of the chamber’s 12 Democrats, but two were absent from the meeting for reasons unrelated to the vote, which is reflected in the vote total. It also was supported by Yonkers Republican David J. Tubiolo.

Chair of the Board of Legislators Ben Boykin, District 5 – White Plains, Scarsdale, Harrison, said, “I applaud my colleagues for the passage of the Immigration Protection Act. Moving this legislation, which had been thwarted by the prior County Executive, was a priority for the new Board and I commend all those who were involved in crafting this latest version.  The Immigration Protection Act will foster the safety of all of the County’s residents by removing any trepidation some might have in the interactions with the County’s law enforcement agencies and I’m proud that we’ve been able to craft something that has the full support of both advocates for the immigrant community and the County Departments responsible for public safety, corrections and probation.”

The legislation is not a sanctuary bill, but defines what county law enforcement can ask about a person’s citizenship or immigration status and what information the county will share with federal officials.

The Westchester County Departments of Public Safety, Corrections and Probation all supported the legislation and agreed that it will protect all people without violating the law.

Neighbors Link, in a news release tonight noted that Studies have long shown that immigrants are more reluctant to report crime when they fear that police are acting as immigration agents. The Trump administration’s indiscriminate and aggressive immigration crackdown has led to dramatic decreases in crime reporting among immigrants across the country. Decreased reporting makes criminals harder to catch, endangering the safety of all local residents.

Neighbors Link, John Jay Legal Services, the New York Immigration Coalition, and Make the Road New York collaborated with other Westchester-based member organizations, to advocate for the bill’s passage and engage community members on the issue. All partners are members of the NYIC Westchester Steering Committee, a coalition of 20 organizations in the area.

“Strong, safe communities depend on good relations between law enforcement and locals.  Today, Westchester became the first county in the state to put public safety first for all residents, regardless of immigration status. We applaud Legislator Borgia for her leadership, and eagerly await County Executive George Latimer’s signature to turn this crucial legislation into law,” said Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition

“We have made history tonight by passing the Immigration Protection Act, which enhances safety in Westchester County by increasing trust and cooperation between county employees, particularly law enforcement, and all residents,” said County Legislator Catherine Borgia, District 9 – Briarcliff Manor, Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Ossining, Peekskill, chair of the Board’s Budget & Appropriations Committee.

“I am very grateful to all of the members of the large bipartisan coalition that helped bring this Act to passage after a year of extensive research and negotiation. Special thanks to my colleagues on the Board, particularly former Legislator Jim Maisano; the Law Enforcement and Social Service commissioners and union members; the Latimer administration including County Attorney John Nonna; the Westchester Chapter of the NY Immigration Coalition; the New York State Attorney General’s office; and advocacy groups such as A Better Road NY, Neighbors Link, and the many citizen groups who kept this issue in the forefront of our agenda.  I am very proud of the work we did together to ensure justice and equal protection for all Westchester residents.”

An earlier version of the measure was vetoed by then-County Executive Rob Astorino.

 

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Dr. Joseph Ricca in Candid Meeting on School Security Tells Over 100 the State of Security of White Plains Schools

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WPCNR School Days. By John F. Bailey. March 12, 2018:

Dr. Joseph Ricca, first year Superintendent of Schools for White Plains held  well over 100 parents, students and city officials, who came out the day after last week’s snow spellbound March 8. He sought and succeeded in easing many concerns on the state of security in White Plains schools.

He accomplished this by taking a long list of questions submitted prior to the start of the meeting and with a panel of the school district security consultant, principals from White Plains High School, middle school and  elementary schools, pyschologists, the school buildings and grounds administrator, and social workers  serving students, the professionals who know the school district and the procedures they follow every school day in handling a variety of matters.

In an hour and a half, Dr. Ricca and his panel spelled out how the schools handle very complex security concerns with established, detailed protocols, drills, and precedures on how potential threats are investigated and dealt with.

The transcript of the entire meeting as well as a television tape of the meeting is expected to be put up on the school website “in a few days,” according to the school district.Dr. Ricca urged strongly that  parents not attending the evening, and parents who did attend that any threat a child makes on social media, (Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Instagram,) would be reported to the White Plains Police by the school district and their child would receive a police visit.

He said parents concerned about how to deal with their student’s behavior can call their school and get immediatnce help from the school psychologists and social workers, or receive referrals to an agency “readily” available. He ecouraged parents to take advantage of these resources and the social workers and psychologists elaborated on the circumstances they are prepared to deal with and look for in the students in their schools, in cooperation with teachers.

The security expert who analyzed all 9 of the White Plains schools beginning last spring, said he found White Plains was very involved in security and advanced in their training and protocols.

Dr. Ricca told those in attendance the White Plains does have School Resource Officers, who are  trained police officers from the White Plains Police Department who are armed.

In a statement on the meeting, Dr. Ricca commented,

“In the short term, we have:

* Ensured that all schools follow a limited point of entry (single or double)

* Have buzzer/camera systems enabled for all visitors

*Coordinated on-going training and drilling

*Coordinated with the White Plains Department of Public Safety for SROs, (School Resource Officers) patrols/visits and training

*Reinforced with our school communities (including all students)  that no visitors should be let in at any time through any door save the designated main entrance

*Provided support to our pupil personnel staff. We are also exploring additional community partnerships to engage with students who may be experiencing difficulty

* Reinforced digital citizenship expectations with our students (in an age-appropriate manner)

He said during the meeting that by next fall, White Plains High School and other elementary schools would receive upgrades in communications systems, door security and window upgrades. The following slide gives details on these security enhancements:

Capture

 

 

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Con Ed Restores 5,487 to Power in Westchester Over Last 24 Hours. 1,767 Unconnected as of 12 o’clock E.D.T.

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WPCNR THE POWER STORY. March 11, 2018:

The major communities in Westchester County have had most customers without power restored over the last 24 hours by Con Edison. As of 12 noon, 1,767 remain without power in small pockets across the county.

Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Rye, Pelham have most been restored to power.

To check on your community go to the storm map here:

https://apps.coned.com/stormcenter/external/default.html

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Beth Smayda Honored Today by League of Women Voters

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WPCNR MILESTONES. From the League of Women Voters. March 11, 2018:

The League of Women Voters of White Plains will present their Civic Engagement Award to Beth Smayda. The award will be presented from 3 – 5 p.m. at  the home of Janice Abbott and Richard Benjamin 177 Soundview Avenue in White Plains.

A public finance professional for over twenty-five years, Beth was elected to the White Plains Common Council in 2009 and began serving as a councilwoman in January 2010. She was Chair of the City Budget and Management Advisory Committee throughout her eight years on the Council and was chosen by her Council to be Council President in 2012 and 2013.

Beth has a long history of involvement in the
White Plains community, having served as a past
President of the White Plains League of Women
Voters, Chair of the League’s City Budget
Committee for twenty years and Chair of the City Government Committee.She also served on the White Plains PTA Council, chairing the School Budget and Legislation Committees, work for which she received the PTA Jenkins Award.

Beth’s public finance career began at Moody’s Investors Service after working as a researcher on intergovernmental and local government financial issues for the New York State Legislative Commission on State Local Relations. At Moody’s she was an Assistant Vice President in the Northeast Group.

She then went to MBIA where she worked for 18 years analyzing, marketing, executing, monitoring, and remediating municipal bond transactions. At MBIA she managed the Public Finance Enterprise Insured Portfolio Management Group, headed up the Armonk office of the Public Finance Western New Business Group, and was Managing Director and Head of the Healthcare New Business Group. Beth then went to BondFactor Company as Managing Director and is now a Director at the ACA Financial Guaranty Corporation.

In 2006 Beth co-founded the Northeast Woman in Public Finance
(NEWPF), a network of 1,000+ women from all fields in the public finance
industry. She served as Co-President through 2012 and was named in
December 2013 as a Trailblazing Woman in Public Finance by the Bond
Buyer. She has been a long-time member of the Municipal Analysts of
New York.

Beth received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Public
Administration from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois and a Master
of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas,
Austin, TX.

 

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Con Ed Powers 5,746 Customers in 24 Hours. 7,254 Customers Without Power In Westchester as of Noon Saturday. Great Progress in Peekskill-Yorktown- Shrub Oak Mohegan Lake– Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Eastchester, Rye Averaging 200 Customers Out.

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WPCNR THE POWER STORY. By John F. Bailey. March 10, 2018, 12:50 P.M. UPDATED 12:54 P.M.:

 After Weschester County Director of Operations Joan MacDonald announced Con Edison had 13,000 customers without power in the county and NYSEG was reporting 6,941 (a total of 19,941), at noon  yesterday at the County Center News Conference Solidarity Rally of 58 elected officials and customer victims of the storm– Con Ed’s Service Outage map (now restored to the Coned website (as of Friday morning), showed 7,254 Customers out of service this morning.

Con Ed has restored 5,746 of those Customers without power yesterday at noon by 12 noon today. NYSEG figures are not immediately available.

Check the solar map for your area at this link–copy and paste it in your browser and hit go:

https://apps.coned.com/stormcenter/external/default.html

As of noon, only 4 customers remain in White Plains without power.

The Peekskill, Shrub Oak, Mohegan Lake Yorktown areas have been substantially restored to power according to the outage map.

Mamaroneck is the most out of power in the county with 327 Customers without power — in their 8th day.

Cortlandt still as of 12 noon has 262 Customers without power.

The Scarsdale area as 192 out of electricity. Greenville close to Scarsdale, 248, and south on Mamaroneck Avenue, 19. The Quaker Ridge area adjacent the Hutchinson River Parkway is showing 38 Customers out on the map

Harsdale shows 50 Customers out of power. Rye shows 55.

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Con Edison Saturday Morning: We’re Rebuilding System as We Go–CEO SAYS–CREWS FROM PUERTO RICO RECALLED.

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WPCNR THE POWER STORY. From Consolidated Edison. Released Saturday 9 A.M. March 10, 2018:

Forget about merely trying to repair damages from last week’s back-to-back storms in the Northeast, said Con Edison’s Chairman and CEO John McAvoy on Friday during a press conference at the New York headquarters .

Credit: Con Edison

“With winter storms we’re used to seeing trees and limbs come down and take down our wires and interrupt power for our customers,” McAvoy said. “These storms — the tree damage we’re seeing is much more extensive.

“And the result of that is we’re not just repairing our system, in many cases we’re actually rebuilding it,” he said about the storms’ impacts, which unloaded heavy, wet snow and whipped roaring 70-mph-plus winds through ConEd’s service territory, first on March 2 and then on March 4.

McAvoy said the number of outages that ConEd saw in both storms was “very significantly higher” than what’s typically seen for these levels of storms. “If you compare it to Hurricane Irene, which occurred in 2011, 50 percent more outages in Westchester from the storms than from the hurricane,“ he said.

“What we saw that caused so much damage was a three-fold part of the weather equation. First, extremely high winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour, a heavy, wet snow that really stuck to the trees, and ground and soil that were saturated and that allowed many trees to become fully uprooted as a result of the high levels of precipitation. This is basically completely a tree event,” McAvoy said.

As of this morning, ConEd reported that crews have restored service for about 187,000 of the roughly 200,000 customers that lost it during that short span of time.

The mutual aid process that’s set up to allow utilities throughout the country to share resources with each other quickly located many crews from other areas to the Northeast to support ConEd.

“We helped Puerto Rico in their time of need. When the second storm hit we decided to recall our employees from Puerto Rico and they are now back and added to the restoration,” added McAvoy.

ConEd currently has 2,000 people working in the field, including about 600 ConEd employees and approximately 1,400 mutual aid workers, said McAvoy. “And we expect that we will get another 400 over the next several days.”

Company officials acknowledged earlier on Friday that some of the toughest work remains, with more than 86 Westchester County roads closed, more than 600 of the outages involving single customers, and numerous locations having severe tree damage.

Crews restoring service will first focus on repairs to critical facilities, such as hospitals, municipal pumping stations and schools, according to a ConEd statement. Customers who are still out of power from last week’s storms will be given “the highest priority for restoration,” the company said, and restoration efforts will continue on a 24-hour basis until every customer is restored.

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