WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the White Plains City School District. February 10, 2017 UPDATED February 11, 2017:

The Agenda just issued Friday for the White Plains School District Monday evening meeting announces that Timothy Connors who just left the school district as Interim Superintendent after filling in for the ailing Dr. Paul Fried (Fried resigned in December due to health reasons), will be hired again Monday evening to begin with for one month through March 21,  to replace Acting Superintendent Dr. Howard Smith, who started with the district in September. No reason was given in the agenda, for Dr. Smith’s departure.

Mr. Connors, after retiring from the district in 2009, has replaced Dr. Christopher Clouet for two years, (after Dr. Clouet left), and filled in as Interim Superintendent for Dr. Paul Fried, and now a third time beginning in 14 days, for Dr. Smith.

The District is in the midst of searching for a new Superintendent of Schools to replace Fried.

On the agenda is presentation of the proposed 2017-18 school budget, without instructional expenditures.

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WPCNR WHITE HOUSE WIRE. From The White House. February 9, 2017:

The past 8 years have taken a toll on America’s job force. But now, we have already begun bringing OUR jobs back to OUR country.

Today we are excited to announce that Intel has pledged to make a $7 billion investment in Arizona, creating 10,000 jobs!

Companies across America are making the commitment to creating thousands of new jobs everyday:

• 11/29/2016: Carrier pledges to create 1,000 new jobs
• 12/28/2016: Sprint and OneWeb announces it’s creating and saving 8,000 jobs
• 01/17/2017: GM pledges $1 billion in manufacturing to create 1,500 new jobs

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WPCNR WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. February 9, 2017:

Members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators Democratic Caucus introduced an Act Wednesday, aimed to alleviate many of the concerns surrounding inhumane treatment of their immigrant brothers and sisters and the fear working with local law enforcement often instills in them.

The bill, titled the “Immigrant Protection Act”, codifies existing County policy while also drawing from model ordinances put forth by the New York Attorney General’s office with the intent to ensure all Westchester County residents are protected.

“In light of recent events both nationally and locally, existing County policy needs to be made law. Too often our immigrant neighbors are fearful of what may happen to them or their family if they reach out to police to report a crime. Additionally, what the Trump Administration has done through its Executive Order and rumored potential next Executive Orders calls for action to be taken locally – and fast.

What this bill does is say that we as Westchester County taxpayers will not use our resources to assist the Federal Government in tearing apart the fabric of our communities,” said Majority Leader Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) and author of the bill.

Reports have been heard all across the nation of increased scrutiny of immigrants. From international airports to stores in Columbia County, NY, hard-working people are being questioned about their immigration status based on where they are from or where people think they are from, what they look like, and what they sound like.

“Not only will this bill restrict the County in assisting in any type of un-American ‘round-up’ of immigrants, it will also prevent the County from participating in any type of registry based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or national origin,” said Legislator MaryJane Shimsky (D-Hastings-on-Hudson). “We are a Nation, a State, and certainly County of immigrants. As a resident of this region, I can not stand by idly as I watch what makes Westchester truly great be undermined by short-sighted and bigoted policies.”

“Westchester County is home to all of us. Not just those with the right skin color, or the right sounding name, or the right zip code. All of us,” added Legislator Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers). “It is our job to make sure that all of our residents feel safe. This means working to erase fear of cooperation if an immigrant is a victim of or witness to a crime, this means working against any attempt to ‘keep tabs on’ on any particular group, and this meaning working to guarantee that all people are treated fairly in our justice system,” concluded Jenkins.

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WPCNR WASHINGTON WIRE. From the Office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillebrand. February 8, 2017:

ON SENATE FLOOR, GILLIBRAND URGES COLLEAGUES TO OPPOSE SESSIONS NOMINATION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Gillibrand: We need an Attorney General who will fight every day for equal justice and equal protection under our laws; Senator Sessions has no record of doing that

**WATCH Senator Gillibrand’s Speech on the Senate Floor HERE**

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand spoke on the Senate floor this morning to urge her colleagues to oppose the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for U.S. Attorney General.

Below are Senator Gillibrand’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the nomination of Senator Sessions for Attorney General.

And I’d like to preface my remarks with just a statement in recognition of the outpouring I’ve received from my state, from constituents.

I have letters, I have postcards sent – some with the Statue of Liberty – I have letters from every corner of my state, passionately writing about their views on President Trump’s nominations, particularly Senator Sessions.

I’d like to read one letter because I think it really summarizes the views of so many New Yorkers.

This constituent writes,

“As your constituent and as a Reform Jew, I strongly urge you to oppose the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.

“As the top law enforcement official in the country, the Attorney General has substantial power over the administration of key legislation that advances the fundamental rights of all people, regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, national origin. Senator Sessions’s firmly established record of opposition to the protection and the advancement of voting rights, LGBTQ equality, women’s rights, immigration reform, and religious freedom suggest that he would not fulfill the Department of Justice’s mandate to provide equal protection under the law for all people.”

The letter goes on to talk about his votes, particularly against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, when it was added as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act.

He also talks about voting against the Violence Against Women Act.

“In the words of Leviticus 19:18, love thy neighbor as yourself. Guide us to stand up against bias, prejudice, and discrimination. We cannot place the responsibility of leading the Department of Justice, the federal agency directly responsible for ensuring equal protection, in the hands of someone whose record demonstrates insufficient commitment to key civil rights protections.

“I urge you to oppose Senator Sessions.”

Our country, Mr. President, desperately needs an Attorney General who will reject discrimination in all forms.

We need an Attorney General who will defend our civil rights and human rights – with no exceptions.

We need an Attorney General who will not be afraid to challenge the President if an order is illegal or unconstitutional.

Senator Sessions has not made it clear that he would use his power as Attorney General to stand up for the voiceless and the oppressed, or to stand up to the President when he’s wrong.

Already, in just a few weeks of this new administration, President Trump has begun to test the strength and limits of our Constitution.

He has challenged the separation of powers. He has lashed out against the free press. He has singled out individual religions – and even individual judges.

Now more than ever, we need an Attorney General whose commitment to defending our Constitution goes far beyond his commitment to any one particular President or one particular party.

Would Senator Sessions challenge the President when he needs to be challenged?

During the presidential campaign, when the tape was revealed of then-Candidate Trump bragging about groping a woman against her will, Senator Sessions said he thought it was a “stretch” to call it sexual assault.

He said, “I don’t characterize that as sexual assault.”

We need an Attorney General who knows very clearly what sexual assault is – and who cares enough to prosecute it.

Senator Sessions has voted to make our gun background checks system even weaker, and voted against limits on high-capacity magazines, and he opposed legislation to make interstate gun trafficking a federal crime.

We need an Attorney General who will stand up for victims of gun violence and their families.

Throughout his career in the Senate, Senator Sessions has voted against or spoken out against important legislation, so important to my constituents – the Violence Against Women Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Voting Rights Act.

These are important pieces of legislation that protect individuals from discrimination.

We need an Attorney General who will defend the rights of women, who will defend the rights of our communities of color, who will defend the rights of the LGBT community, who will defend the rights of Muslim Americans and all minorities.

We need an Attorney General who will fight every day for equal justice and equal protection under our laws.

Senator Sessions has no record of doing that, and I have no reason to believe that he will do that as Attorney General

So I oppose Senator Sessions’s nomination as Attorney General, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.