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 PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. September 7:

Aspara Warrior

By Ouk Chim Vichet

Your Roving Photographer was reminded again of why artists create, when he turned the corner in a gallery at the University of Michigan Museum of Art and was confronted by this amazing sculpture. It represented the power of personal expression and imagination to say more than words can say. For the rest of the story…

The arms and torso are constructed of barrels of AK-47 rifles, triggers, handles. What is the warrior saying? What is the warrior’s message? The shock of seeing Vichet’s warrior for the first time is profoundly disturbing. It is haunting, evoking sorrow, repulsion, thought. What does the warrior say to you? What does the warrior inspire in you?

The sculpture points out the ability of one person’s imagination to state and evoke and to move us to another dimension of sensitivity.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From White Plains Department of Public Safety. September 3, 2009 — Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) Treatment Center for Trauma and Abuse was recently awarded $10,000 from the Westchester County’s Women’s Research and Education Fund to continue its collaboration with the White Plains Police Department.  The WJCS Treatment Center for Trauma and Abuse and White Plains Police Department jointly respond to women and children who are victims and/or witnesses to domestic violence. 

The number to call to seek the Treatment Center, if think you might possibly become a victim of violence of any kind, or are already a victim,  is 949-7699, extension 375, or call the police at 422-6111. The police advise persons that the Trauma Center will help them deal or even diffuse a potentially personally harmful situation.

“Recognizing that an effective domestic violence strategy goes beyond law enforcement response, the  White Plains Police Department partnered with WJCS to bring critical services to women and children who are  victims and/or witnesses to violence in their homes,” according to
Commissioner Frank Straub.

 “Through this ongoing partnership,” Straub said, “the Police Department and WCJS have taken significant steps toward breaking the cycle of violence as well as to connect victims to long and short-term services. The funding, recently awarded to WCJS will allow this partnership to continue, expand opportunities to provide critical intervention by specially trained police officers and WJCS clinicians.”

Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Daniel Jackson told WPCNR  that no woman or child in a situation they think may lead to violence or lead to their being a victim of violence should hesitate to contact the Treatment Center for Trauma and Abuse before something happens to them. Jackson said a woman or child or man, for that matter, could call the police at 422-6111, or the Trauma Center at 949-7699, Ext 375.

“This funding allows the Treatment Center for Trauma and Abuse and the White Plains Police Department to continue the momentum of an initial project that showed much promise,” says Liane Nelson, PhD, Director of the Treatment Center for Trauma and Abuse. “The project aims to increase the capacity of police officers to work with mothers, children and families affected by domestic violence and to identify children who may be in need of intervention.”

According to Dr. Nelson, children who have witnessed domestic violence, particularly by one parent against another, frequently suffer from psychological and behavioral difficulties including trauma. These
children often feel torn between two parents and have difficulty with trust, safety and separation. Early assessment and intervention offers children a critical chance to recover and heal from the damaging
psychological effects of the domestic violence. The project also provides families with important information and resources.

An award winning program, the WJCS Treatment Center for Trauma (TCTA) provides long-term solutions to victims of violence and abuse by offering a comprehensive team and multi-service approach that has the capacity to identify and treat the inter-related aspects of violence and abuse and the resulting long-term pain and trauma of abuse experienced by women, children and families.  For more information about the project or the WJCS Treatment Center for Trauma and Abuse, contact Dr. Nelson at 949-7699 ext.  375.

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of the New York State Comptroller. (EDITED)with Reporting by WPCNR September 2, 2009: Local sales tax revenues across New York State, including New York City, were down 8.9 percent, or $640 million, for the first seven months of 2009 compared with same period last year, according to an analysis released Tuesday by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

This report backs up WPCNR’s analysis of August 18 based on figures from the Department of Taxation and Finance  that White Plains retail sales continued their decline, down 12.5% year to year in the first month of the city fiscal year in July, the second straight month sales tax had declined from the previous year. This latest number continues the trend first reported by WPCNR six months ago indicating White Plains retail was running 12% behind 2007-2008 collections, and Westchester County is down 13% in sales tax through seven months.

“It’s not surprising that local sales tax revenues are down so significantly,” DiNapoli said. “Back-to-school shopping makes September a very important month for sales tax revenues. Local governments need to take a hard look at the September data. Just like the state, if local governments are not on track to meet their budgeted revenues for the year, they need to make adjustments in their spending now without placing a greater burden on local taxpayers.”

While every region of the state experienced declining local sales tax revenues, Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley declined the most at 10.1 percent each. New York City saw a decline in sales tax revenues of 10 percent, or $285 million. The Mohawk Valley saw the least decline at 3.2 percent during the first seven months of 2009.

Counties experienced a 7.6-percent decline from January to July of this year over the same seven months last year. If this trend continues for the remainder of the year, counties may see their first annual decline in sales tax revenues in 18 years. Back-to-school shopping makes September the most important sales tax collection period outside of the holiday shopping season, making it a key month for local governments to watch.

Six counties had sales tax revenues decline by double digits: Putnam, Delaware, Westchester, Monroe, Suffolk and Saratoga. The only counties to experience sales tax revenue growth were Seneca, Schuyler, Tioga and Genesee. These increases were mostly due to payment timing issues, although about one-third of Seneca County’s 13.1-percent growth was due to new retail development.

Click here to view DiNapoli’s analysis.

Click here to download audio from Comptroller DiNapoli on this topic.

Here is partially what WPCNR reported on White Plains and Westchester County trends two weeks ago:

If sales tax does not recover significantly (and holds at the present level),  to make up that shortfall, the city would have to enact an 18% property tax increase.

The County of Westchester sales tax receipts are down 12.9% over the first six months of the county 2009 fiscal year.

Common Council President Benjamin Boykin told WPCNR in July, when the final quarter of 2008-09 fiscal year failed to meet projections of the City Finance Commissioner by $1 Million , that he is going to call for a budget review in September.

Westchester County sales tax collections in the first six months of 2009 have declined  too. The county “handle” on sales tax receipts is down 13%. The county collected $33.8 Million less in fiscal 2009 at the halfway point than the county did in 2008, according to statistics from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Office of Tax Policy Analysis.

The pace of retail sales projected by White Plains Week and WPCNR in the spring of this year continues to indicate key sales tax collection in the city are consistently 12 to 13% off.

On the county level the county as of midway is running $3.8 Million behind in sales tax receipts, 12.5% below the collection pace of last year after half of the 2009 fiscal year. If the retail trend continues, the county would face a $3.8 Million deficit in sales tax receipts for the year.  The county budgeted to collect $478,235,000 in sales tax for the year.

In the first six months of 2008, Westchester County collected $271,096,156.95  in sales tax. In the first six months of 2009, they collected only $237,221,726.61, a decline in receipts of 12.5%.

This combined with obvious deficits in mortgage and hotel tax collections is not a positive trend.

In White Plains if the 12.9% fall-off in retail sales  tax collections continues it means the city faces a $6 Million budget shortfall. It already has a $1 Million deficit left over from 2008-09. The city budget calls for collecting  $47,250,000 in sales tax in 2009-2010. If the 12.9% decline continues, the city will only raise $41 Million in sales tax.

However, August is the second most lucrative retail sales month of the year next to the holiday season in the second quarter, so there is hope this is just a sluggish start. To correct the nearly 13% decline in July, the city would need to generate a half million dollars more in August sales tax receipts to get back on track with their hoped-for  sales tax pace. In August, 2008, the city collected $3.9 Million in sales tax (however that was inflated by the additional ¼% sales tax added last year. The cumulative effect of a soft retail market is not easily erased.

DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION & FINANCE

OFFICE OF TAX POLICY ANALYSIS

SALES TAX MONTHLY CASH/COLLECTIONS REPORT

MONTH OF JULY 2009

                                  CASH JULY 09          CASH JULY 08    CUMULATIVE          CUMULATIVE

                                                                                                               CASH  09                 CASH   08

 White Plains City       $3,431,350.08           $3,938,113.71          $25,379,226.67      $26,641,410.77

Westchester Cty         $31,249,530.49         $35,646,779.50        $237,221,726.61   $271,096,156.95

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John Bailey. September 1, 2009: Patrick Dunne, former pastor of  Our Lady of Sorrows in White Plains, appeared in New York Supreme Court this morning before Judge Barbara Zambelli at a proceeding to determine his readiness for trial on a charge of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class “C”Felony for allegedly stealing over $432,000 from “various parish accounts” from 2002 through 2007.

Dunne, dressed in blue blazer, vanilla golf shirt, khaki trousers and topsider loafers appeared in court with his attorney Richard Ferrante, was asked for his home telephone number by the judge, and after giving it, the Judge advised him that if he did not appear September 10, a warrant would be issued for his arrest. At the September 10 proceeding, a judge would be assigned for the upcoming trial  and  a date for the trial to start would be assigned.

A spokesman for the District Attorney told WPCNR, said he expected the trial date would occur sometime in the fall.

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WPCNR MR. AND MRS. AND MS. WHITE PLAINS SURVEY. August 31: The latest unseemly fiasco  and stenchy stink bomb emanating from the Westchester County Board of Elections, if Councilman Glen Hockley is to be believed, is just amazing.

What a catch by the vigilants! Mr. Hockley fails to file a Certificate of Acceptance. Yet, he’s run for Council before. And nobody tells him he needs it, even though he asked.

Mr. Hockley alleges he asked repeatedly if his information in filing his petitions was in order, and was never told of the need for him to sign a Certificate of Acceptance to get on the November ballot,  is the second time in two years the Board of Elections in Westchester County is showing prejudice against a maverick, independent candidate running against the established party candidates based on technicalities similar to the George Brett pinetar bat incident of 1978.  

Is this a message to independents that if you buck the mainstream parties, you have no chance?

Two years ago, the Westchester Board of Elections attempted to keep  Candyce Corcoran off the ballot running as a member of the Conservative Party because she failed to sign her county and home town on her petitions. Everyone knew she was from White Plains and lived in Westchester County.

The Commissioners apparently did not know the law then. The courts, as Ms. Corcoran pointed out to Mr. LaFayette (Reginald) and Ms. Sunderland (Carolee), at the time had ruled in a previous case  in favor of a candidate in Suffolk County who had made a similar error, and ordered he be placed on the ballot. Sheepishly, the Board then allowed Ms. Corcoran on the ballot. How incompetent!

Now we have Mr. Hockley acquiring 2,000 signatures, asking the Board of Elections if he needed anything else or any other actions to be completed, and not being told he needed a Certificate of Acceptance.  Or, so Mr. Hockley says.

You need a high priced election lawyer, Glen. Perhaps Mayor Joseph Delfino can hire you a lawyer to put together a Show Cause order based on prejudice, after all the Mayor on his “Farewell Tour”has the money just sitting there in the Friends of Joe Delfino political action fund and he’s not using it.  I’d give Joe a call. After all you have supported him steadfastly on every issue the Mayor has been behind.

 Ms. Sunderland could not be reached for comment, and Mr. LaFayette is not listed in the Westchester County telephone book, so he could not confirm that Mr. Hockley asked LaFayette personally if he needed to complete any other requirements.

Obviously operating the Board of Elections in Westchester County competently — regardless of the incompetence of possible candidates — I mean, not being able answer a question, or perish the thought, withholding the proper answer — if they indeed they did,  is beyond the talents of Westchester County.

But what of other Board of Elections around the state? Do they have such problems, too? Not knowing the law and withholding knowledge of the law (as Mr. Hockley alledges).

Perhaps it is time to take the Board of Elections away from New York Counties and put them in the hands of the U.S. Court System and have them make the appointments  taking it out of the patronage trough?

What do Mr. and Mrs. and Ms. White Plains think? Answer in the poll on the right. You can also vote as to whether, the Board of Elections should put Hockley on the ballot anyway despite the missing Certificate of Acceptance.