Hits: 116

WPCNR MILESTONES. June 6, 2014: 

It has been 71 years since allied troops died and lived on Normandy’s beaches in France in the largest military operation in history to turn the tide against Nazi Germany, the ultimate evil Third Reich.

It is a day to remember, reflect. Examine ourselves. Would we have the courage those men and women did?

I thought in preparing my simple news program yesterday, what kind of of visual should I put up to remember those brave who faced massive, withering fire hitting and dying instantly on those beaches. Should it be the sobering pictures of the wounded? The sobering lineups corpses in the sand? The overhead awe-inspiring photographs of the landing?

I chose this: thousands of crosses to remember who died together fighting tyranny and evil because you must always fight tyranny and evil and hate. You cannot negotiate with it.

The crosses are all the same. And there are thousands of them in graveyards like the one shown here. The legacy of spent humanity, all the same in death, united in death no matter their nationality, creed, religion.  Next time you hear the speeches of hate and prejudice and superiority, please remember this picture and this day.

Seventy one years ago this morning, thousands of troops stormed the beaches in Normandy, France in the largest invasion in history.The bloody assault against a heavily defended coastline, requiring incredible courage and sacrifice by allied troops, landing craft, paratroops, signalled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich and the regime of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.The quiet beaches of Normandy today. The hundreds of rows of white crosses in cemeteries around the little town bear silent eternal vigil to the sacrifice of those brave men and women who fought, died, and triumphed this day 69 years ago today.

 

We can in no way, or through any motion picture know what any veteran experienced that day. The veterans who still are with us do not like to talk about their combat experiences. And they do not.

One veteran of D-Day, asked what he thought of Saving Private Ryan, the movie of a few years ago depicting the landing and the realism of it, said the real D-Day was worse. However, veterans we have interviewed remark that they think of their combat experience every day. It is always with them.

It is inconceivable to me that I could ever be able to do what these men and women did. I would like to hope I could have. However, the veterans have.

They left ordinary lives as teenagers office workers, factory workers, farmers, accountants, and what have you and were able to go to war and “rise to the occasion,” or as they say today, “step it up to the next level.” The highest level.

Few of them are left now. But today their sacrifice should be remembered.

 

Hits: 140

WPCNR COMMUNITY ALERT. From Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore, March 30, 2015:

Editor’s Note: This is the second of  Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore’s columns to alert county residents of typical scams  they should be aware are being tried on residents currently. This column is particularly timely. We appreciate the District Attorney for beginning a practice WPCNR has long advocated law enforcement organizations practice: preemptive information. This month’s column explains a current scam that was worked on persons we know. They recovered their money. Ms.DiFiore explains how Check Washing operates:

Check Washing is a disturbing trend that begins with mail being stolen for the purpose of obtaining personal and business checks. A person may become aware they have been a victim of check washing only after checking their balance and realizing more money is missing than they expect.

Check washing is an easy way for someone to turn “your” money into “their” money.  It’s the chemical erasing of the handwritten parts of the check you have written.  Criminals remove the “payee” portion and the “amount”. Your signature remains intact. They use solvents such as acetone, brake fluid and bleach. Once the check is “washed”, the payee and/or the amount of the check can be altered.  The thief often inflates the amount. $45 dollars becomes $645 dollars as an example.

 

Tips for minimizing your risk of check washing include:

• Never put outgoing bills in your house mail box. Avoid placing your mail in street mail boxes. In some cases thieves have targeted them.  It’s strongly recommended that you take your outgoing mail to your local post office.
• Minimize the number of checks you write. Your best option is to pay bills on line using a secure computer. This minimizes the possibility of your checks being stolen through the mailing process.
• When writing out checks, use a gel ink pen (preferably black) so the ink will permeate the fibers of the check. There are brands that advertise that they are non-erasable.
• Never leave blank spaces on the payee or amount lines. Write large and use XXs to fill in space.
• Shred cleared checks returned along with your bank statements.
• Review your bank statements immediately. You have a limited time frame in which to report fraudulent transactions. When fraud is detected, it is necessary to report it within 30 days (UCC Code 4-406).
• If possible, have your new checks delivered to your bank.

Investigate any of the following:

• A call from a bill collector for a payment you know you mailed.
• A check is declined by a merchant when you have not bounced any checks.
• A merchant notice about a bounced check you did not write.
• A notice from a check verification company regarding a problem of which you were not aware of.
• A call from your local bank branch informing you someone you don’t know or they don’t recognize is trying to cash your check.

In 2014, the Westchester County District Attorneys office created an Identity Theft Unit in response to an exploding number of ID theft, credit card fraud and check washing complaints. The Unit vertically prosecuted and investigated 226 cases, resulting, so far, in 83 felony convictions.

Those prosecutions represent increases of 350% in ID theft complaints and a 1,200% increase in felony guilty pleas from one year earlier. If you suspect you are a victim of  check washing, immediately report it to the police.

 

 

 

 

Hits: 132

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 1, 2015:

Pending receipt of a promised copy from the Mayor’s office of the Matrix Consulting report on the operations of the  White Plains Department of Public Works, WPCNR contacted White Plains Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona on her impressions of the report.

I asked her Monday morning what her feelings were about the report which was cited by Mayor Tom Roach as the basis for the removal of Mr. Nicoletti. Ms. Lecuona voted not to remove Mr. Nicoletti.

Ms. Lecouna in a statement to WPCNR was troubled writing:

 

 

Hits: 312

Peter Katz, John Bailey, Jim Benerofe

On

The Nicoletti Dismissal

Silence–then  City Efforts at Damage Control

The Playland Hearings on Standard Amusements Wind Down with Lots of Questions

and MORE–

ON THE NEW PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

THE COUNTY’S MOST RELEVANT NEWS INTERVIEW PROGRAM

YOU’VE GOT

WHITE PLAINS-SCARSDALE – HARRISON COUNTY LEGISLATOR

BENJAMIN BOYKIN

 

ON

COUNTY ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

COUNTY POPULATION LOSS

THE PLAYLAND OPERATOR HEARINGS

THE NEED FOR REMOVING THE STIGMA ON “AFFORDABLE HOUSING”

BECAUSE THE COUNTY NEEDS IT.

AND MORE ON

PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

DOWNLOAD BOTH WHITE PLAINS WEEK AND PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

at

www.whiteplainsweek.com

 

 

 

Hits: 526

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. bY JOHN F. BAILEY, MAY 27, 2015 UPDATED 11:45 A.M. E.D.T.

COMMISSIONER JOSEPH “BUD” NICOLETTI, JR. WAS REMOVED AS COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS THIS EVENING BY THE WHITE PLAINS COMMON COUNCIL IN A SPECIAL MEETING THAT LASTED ABOUT 6 MINUTES.

MR. NICOLETTI ATTENDED AND WATCHED HIS OWN DISMISSAL HAPPEN BEFORE HIS EYES.

MR. NICOLETTI UNEXPECTEDLY SHOWED UP ABOUT 20 MINUTES AFTER NINE.

HE WAS GIVEN AN OVATION BY A CROWD OF APPROXIMATELY 60 PERSONS. AND SHOOK HANDS ALL AROUND BEFORE HIS DENOUEMENT UNFOLDED.

AFTERWARDS HE TOLD WPCNR’S JOHN BAILEY HE WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE A THE MEETING TONIGHT TO REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE   AT 12 NOON wEDNESDAY.

HE SAID HE HAD NO INKLING HE WAS ABOUT TO BE REMOVED. HE SAID THAT A FEW MEMBERS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL HAD EXPRESSED DISMAY THAT SOME PROJECTS HAD NOT BEEN COMPLETED, AND MAYBE THAT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.

COUNCILWOMAN MILAGROS LECUONA AND COUNCILMAN DENNIS KROLIAN EACH EXPRESSED SHOCK ON HEARING THEY WERE ASKED TO VOTE ON DISMISSING NICOLETTI–AND EMPHASIZED THAT THEY HAD HEARD OF NO IMPROPRIETY OR REASONS WHY HE SHOULD BE REMOVED. THEY VOTED AGAINST HIS REMOVAL.

COUNCILMAN JOHN KIRKPATRICK, COUNCILMAN JOHN MARTIN, COUNCILWOMAN BETH SMAYDA AND NEW COUNCILWOMAN NADINE HUNT-ROBINSON VOTED TO OUST MR. NICOLETTI.

NONE OF THE COUNCILPERSONS VOTING TO REMOVE MADE ANY COMMENTS AS TO WHY THEY DID SO WHEN ASKED BY THE MAYOR IF THEY HAD ANY COMMENT.

MAYOR TOM ROACH’S “YES” VOTE WAS DROWNED OUT BY THE UPROAR OF SHOCK FROM THE CROWD AND UPON REVIEW OF THE WPCNR TAPE RECORDING OF THE PROCEEDINGS, HE DID VOTE  ‘YES” AT FIRST BELIEVEDBY THIS REPORTER TO BE AN  “ABSTAIN,”. HE  JOINED IN THE OUSTER.

THE MAYOR ALONE  REMARKED  ON MR. NICOLETTI’S OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH THE CITY,

NICOLETTI SAID HE IS TAKING RETIREMENT AND ACCUMULATED VACATION TIME AS HE LEAVES THE CITY EMPLOY EFFECTIVE AS OF 9:36 PM WEDNESDAY EVENING.

WHEN THE VOTE WAS TAKEN. THE CROWD BURST INTO AN UPROAR, SAYING THIS IS “A DISGRACE, A DISGRACE.”

MR. NICOLETTI IS THE SECOND COMMISSIONER TO BE REMOVED BY THE ROACH ADMINISTRATION IN FIVE MONTHS. THE FIRST WAS MR. ROACH’S FIRST COMMISSIONER HIRE, FORMER PLANNING COMMISSIONER ELIZABETH CHETENY.

THE COMMISSIONER OF PLANNING ELIZABETH CHETENY WAS REMOVED IN MID JANUARY, WHICH WAS EXPLAINED BY THE MAYOR, AS  “WE WANTED TO GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.”

IT TOOK THE COUNCIL 7 MINUTES TO DISMISS A PERSON WHO HAS GAINED RECOGNITION FOR HIS EXPERTISE. STATEWIDE

HE  IS RENOWNED FOR HIS ABILITY TO REMOVE SNOW THE MOST EFFICIENTLY OF ANY OTHER MUNICIPALITY IN THE COUNTY AND HAS FOUGHT TO DO THINGS RIGHT, MOST NOTABLY REFUSING TO APPROVE THE ORIGINAL RITZ CARLTON SEWAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THE CITY MAIN STREET SEWER COULD NOT HANDLE THE OVERFLOW. BECAUSE MR. NICOLETTI WOULD NOT SIGN OFF ON THAT RITZ PLAN, THE BUILDER OF THE HOTEL WAS FORCED TO BUILD A SEPARATE BYPASS, DUBBED BY THIS REPORTER, “THE NICOLETTI BYPASS.”

NICOLETTI IS RENOWNED FOR HIS “NICOLETTITINI” mixture he treats roads with in anticipation of a snowstorm, that enables the streets to be plowed more effectively.

HE HAS BROUGHT ONE-ARM GARBAGE TRUCKS TO THE CITY THAT EXECUTE MORE EFFICIENT USE OF DPW PERSONNEL.

HE HAS BROUGHT LED, ENERGY SAVING LIGHT TO CITY STREETS AND GARAGES.

THE COMMON COUNCIL MEMBERS LEFT THE CHAMBERS QUICKLY AND DID NOT LINGER TO BE INTERVIEWED.

THE MAYOR’S OFFICE DID NOT ANSWER THE BUZZER OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE DOOR, WHEN THIS REPORTER ATTEMPTED TO GET THEIR COMMENTS ON THE NICOLETTI DECISION.

IT THE COUNCIL 7 MINUTES TO REMOVE A MAN, WITH NO WORD OF PRAISE OR THANKS FROM THE 4 WHO VOTED TO REMOVE HIM — A MAN WHO HAS BEEN COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS FOR 30 YEARS, HAVING BEEN APPOINTED TO THE POSITION BY MAYOR ALFRED DEL VECCHIO IN 1985.