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 ALBANY ROUNDS. From 89th District Assemblyman Bob Castelli. March 30, 2011:

Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli (R, C – Goldens Bridge) today released the following statement regarding his vote for this the 2011-12 New York State budget:

 “This year’s budget was one of compromise and contained the spending restraint necessary to put our state on a firm financial footing in order to meet today’s economic challenges and help produce a lasting recovery.”

“In keeping with my core mission of putting taxpayers first, in addition to enacting major spending controls, the Legislature was able to restore critical funding to our State’s Veterans’ homes, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, and Westchester’s schools, providing much-needed education aid.”

“While this year’s budget was one of compromise, it is also a budget passed in good faith: faith that the governor will live up to his promises and work with the Legislature in the coming months to pass necessary reforms such as a property-tax cap, unfunded-mandate relief, Medicaid reform, independent redistricting, pension and medical-malpractice reform.”

 “Without these reforms, this budget, with all its fiscal restraint, will not be enough to pull us out of a decade-long decline and restore New York’s place as the Empire State.”

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WPCNR Campaign 2011 by John F Bailey March 31, 2011:

The special election to decide a new mayor for White Plains for the next two years, and eight months or so, takes place today at the 43 election districts in White Plains, a list of where you vote in each of these districts is posted on this site, and also the city website.

The race features Common Council President and current Acting Mayor Tom Roach,(Democrat,Working Families, and Independence Party lines), Bob Hyland,(Republican/Conservative) and former Councilman Glen Hockley, People Over Politics. The three met in a debate last week at the Council of Neighborhood Associations and also on television. Here is what this reporter gathered from the Council of Neighborhood Association Debate about these three candidates:

Hyland

Bob Hyland demonstrated an easy-going quiet demeanor, saying he would concentrate on holding down cost of living in White Plains and making WP more friendlier to attract new business and work for property tax relief.

Hyland said he was a quick study and would rely on his Chief of Staff and separate Corporation Counsel to get him up to speed (quickly) on the inside baseball of legislation.

He sharply criticized Mr. Roach for rejecting purchase of Ridgeway by the city, creating,in part, the FASNY controversy now panicking the South End of Town. Hyland remarked in closing that his two opponents, Mr. Hockley and Mr. Roach would not approach matters that differently and if voters wanted a change in how things are done he would bring that. Hyland did not have a solution to Ridgeway.

Hyland, speaking to WPCNR at the Board of Education meeting Monday evening, told this reporter he would assign members of the Common Council to review individual Department expenditures and needs and report back with recommendations to prepare the 2011-12 City budget,instead of Council-as-Committee approach traditionally used (which was announced by city hall today). 

No Positions

What was not asked in the Council of Neighborhood Associations debate, and what to this reporter’s knowledge has not been addressed by any candidate, are these looming issues:

Do you believe the present $155.5M city budget should be cut or maintained?

Do you want to keep payroll where it is with no further layoffs? Will you continue a non-replacement policy?

Will you work to gain more Council on-going use of the proceeds from the windfall from the new ½% Sales Tax filling up the Reserve Fund.

Will you keep the present Administration?  Hyland said he would.

Will you share sales tax money with the School District?

The Decision as to who leads will now be decided in today’s election – maybe – if the election is not too close to call. Polls are open from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. Special to WPCNR from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March30, 2011:

The FBI, along with members of the NYPD, arrested Marat Mikhaylich for his alleged involvement in nine area bank robberies yesterday.

The arrest happened in Queens around 9:30 a.m. without incident.

The FBI was tipped off to his location this morning after a 2007 Gold Toyota Camry, which had been stolen by Mikhaylich yesterday, was found on 91st Avenue in Queens, New York. Mikhaylich had stolen the car after allegedly robbing a Cathay Bank in Edison, New Jersey on Monday, March 28.

“The Holiday Bandit’s three-month bank robbery spree has come to an end,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk. “This should serve as a stark reminder to anyone who wishes to brandish a weapon, rob a bank, and put the lives of innocent civilians at risk: we will find you and bring you to justice.”

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WPCNR THE DUMP NEWS. By John F. Bailey. March 24, 2011:

Reverend Phillip Quealy, Pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows has received written assurance from the City of White Plains that the OLS Baseball field, scheduled for remediation by direction of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, has been found to have “no evidence of contamination…in the existing soil cover or underlying ash material.”  The statement is in a letter signed by the Commissioner of Public Works, Joseph Nicoletti. The letter has also been sent to the DEC.

In the letter the city, says “there is nothing to prohibit its continued use.” Nicoletti goes on to write, “the NYS DEC has established that a two (2) foot thick soil cap should exist on the field over the subterranean ash.”

The letter commits the city to lay an additional foot of soil on the entire field to assure a two foot thick soil layer throughout the field; “installation of new, vinyl coated backstop and chain link fencing as part of our proposed project. Further, we will reconstruct the clay infield and professionally remove and reinstall the existing playground equipment as well,” and possible replacement of two trees before the beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

A second letter from the city consultant on the dump remediation program,AKRF, outlines the testing done on the field.

Reverend Quealy told WPCNR he would be mailing copies of the letters to all OLS school parents.

Yesterday, the city would not tell WPCNR directly if they had advised the school the field was safe to use. Commissioner Nicoletti speaking to WPCNR said he did not have an estimate at this time what the field remediation would cost.

Reverend Quealy told WPCNR the field is currently available for use by students.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. March 21, 2011 UPDATED MARCH 23,  2011:

Entergy officials told the Energy Committee of the Board of Legislators today they do not have enough information on what happened in the Japan nuclear disaster over the last ten days to make improvements (if any) on the Indian Point plant that increase its ability to withstand an earthquake event on the scale of what was seen in Japan.

The Entergy officials told the committee that the NRC report interpreted by some media  as identifying Indian Point as an unsafe place to put a nuclear plant “is not what the NRC report says.” Acording to the Entergy officials the report details earthquake activity in recent years and suggests plants review their infrastructures to evaluate whether their plant facilities may or may not need to be strengthened. Entergy told the Committee it is now “overlaying” NRC earthquake data on their engineering calculations to evaluate that.

 One official said, “we will be responding to that. General (NRC) data we are seeing so far would not corroborate that. An issue you have to consider is how much earth moved and the rate it moved.” The official said recent earthquake seismic results have show more increases in the lower seismic readings, and that the “larger protected structures at Indian Point respond lower to lower frequencies,  we have more margin (of strength). But that work (analysis) needs to be done by the experts.”

Indian Point Reactors produce 2,000,000 megawatts power 2 million homes, varies from 18% to 38%.

Also what came out was that the spent fuel pools, cause of most of the problems in the Japan disaster, cannot be unloaded into dry cask storage in the near future. Entergy officials said their plan to keep the spent fuel pools irrigated included thousands of gallons of water in storage on site with backup diesel generators as well as pumping water from the Hudson.

The Entergy spokespeople said Indian Point notifies Westchester County within 30 seconds when there is a security problem at IP, and that it is the County Emergency Department which initiates the decision to evacuate areas. The official said also that New York State has a new program that can alert individuals by cellphone if they need to evacuate.

Next Monday issue of seismic activity with NRC, FEMA representatives will be taken up.