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 PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. May 22, 2009: A caravan of networks from everywhere converged on the U.S.Court House in White Plains yesterday for the first court appearances of 4 alleged terrorists arrested and charged with massive national publicity and White Plains was at the center of it all. Even President Obama chose to get into the act in Washington. The Roving Photographer caught the giddy media feeding frenzy at the Fedhouse at its apex. If you don’t like crowds don’t get involved with a possible terrorist cell.

The Camel News Caravan. No, they were not there to cover the redevelopment of Winbrook.

A Platoon of News Snipers

Where  Would the U.S. Auto Industry Be Without Law Enforcement’s Demands for Vans? Lots of Them.

News Gathers in Action: Smothering a High (now low) Profile spokeshead.

News on the Go: Keeping up with a fast-moving, important Redhead.

Even the Good Humor Man Was there: Moving a ton of Chocolate Eclairs — the distinguished choice of news gatherers. Where was the Sabretts Man — and Starbucks?

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WPCNR MARKETPLACE. From Johny Nelson, NYS Department of Labor. May 21, 2009:  Private sector employment in the Hudson Valley decreased 15,700, or 2.1 percent, to 736,700 for the 12-month period ending April 2009.  Employment gains were limited to educational and health services (+4,700). 

 The largest declines occurred in trade, transportation and utilities (-7,100), professional and business services (-3,800), manufacturing (-3,300), natural resources, mining and construction (-2,500), leisure and hospitality (-1,500), financial activities (-1,000), and information (-900).  The government sector shed 400 jobs over the year.

Analyst observation:

In April, the Hudson Valley’s economy continued to reel from the effects of the national recession.  The region’s private sector job count reached its lowest April level since 2004.  The government sector, which has long been relatively immune to economic weakness, has begun to shed jobs.  The sector declined by 0.2 percent, over the last year.  For the same period in 2008, the sector grew by 1.6 percent.

        Meanwhile, the financial crisis continues to wreak havoc on the auto dealers in the region. Over the past year, seven local car dealers have closed operations.

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WPCNR SOUTHEND TIMES. Special to WPCNR. May 20,2009: WPCNR has learned that having the Ridgeway Country Club declared by the county as essential to the county flood plan requires a formal proposal from the White Plains Common Council. The meeting of County Executive Andrew Spano’s Flood Mitigation Task Force held this morning revealed the precondition  of county involvement before the country can consider Ridgeway property could be considered for a project.

The WPCNR source reports the city or town in which a project may be considered has to sponsor the project and propose in “fairly complete”form.

Gerry Mulligan, Westchester County Commissioner of Planning told the meeting that White Plains Commissioner of Planning, Susan Habel sent him an e-mail about the Ridgeway Country Club, but Mulligan said the county could not make a move until “a very specific request is made by the White Plains City Government. The WPCNR source says scientific and engineering tests need to be completed in support of any proposal.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. May 20, 2009 UPDATED12:15 With Strategic Plan Detail: The CitizeNetReporter expressed interest in observing the scheduled two-day meeting of the White Plains City School District Strategic Plan Core Committee beginning today and continuing tomorrow.

Last night, the Supertintendent of Schools told WPCNR the meetings were not open to observation by the press because they were not an official Board of Education meeting.

The Core Committee agenda reported a month ago on this website was apparently going to check progress against objectives set last year and ongoing concerns. Previous reports of decisions made by the Core Committee have been sketchy and closely held, and issues they are considering vaguely reported by the Committee, its various task forces and other parmutations.

The official Strategic Plan, from the School District website reads:

The Board of Education accepted the Strategic Plan, as presented by the Core Planning Team in December, 2007.  Later that year, the Superintendent made recommendations for each of the five strategies.  Implementation of these has begun and will continue in the future.

Core Values

We believe that:

v      All people have intrinsic value.

v     Celebrating and embracing diversity enrich life.

v     All people can learn, grow and contribute.

v     Every choice matters, and that people are responsible for their choices.

v     Respect, honesty and trust empower.

v     When people serve the community, both the individuals and the community benefit.

v     High expectations promote high achievement.

Mission

The mission of the White Plains City School District is to educate and inspire all students, while nurturing their dreams, so they learn continually, think critically, pursue their aspirations and contribute to a diverse and dynamic world.

Strategic Objectives

 By 2012:

v     All students will achieve challenging district standards of literacy across all disciplines.

v     All students will continually choose to explore and enrich communities.

v     All students will choose to apply their knowledge and skills to solve problems meaningful to them.

Strategies

1. 
   

   We will take the steps necessary to gain the understanding and commitment of all employees to achieve our strategic objectives and mission.

List of Results

• 
  

  Every employee understands the vision, goals and implications of the mission and strategic objective.

  
  
• 
  

  A climate that builds trust and supports risk-taking is developed.

  
  
• 
  

  Employees’ ideas and concerns are valued in the decision-making process.

  
  
• 
  

  The district has established a culture that celebrates programs and people achieving the strategic objectives mission.

  
  
• 
  

  Employees are encouraged in their efforts to achieve the strategic objectives and mission.

2. 
   

   We will take the steps necessary to align new and existing resources, both internal and external, to accomplish our strategic objectives and mission.

List of Results

• 
  

  A systematic process is in place that assures all programs and projects are mission reflective and cost effective.

  
  
• 
  

  An evaluation/feedback system is in place that measures how effectively and efficiently resources are used.

  
  
• 
  

  A systematic process is in place that identifies, attracts, recruits, motivates, evaluates, and retains the people needed to support the mission and strategic objectives.

  
  
• 
  

  A budget process is in place that assures that resource allocations are mission aligned.

  
  
• 
  

  A systematic process is in place that assures we develop and maximize community resources to support the mission and strategic objective.

  
  
• 
  

  A systematic process is in place that assures the district has the fiscal resources needed to support the mission and strategic objectives.

  
  
• 
  

  A systematic process is in place that assures the district has the capital resources and major equipment needed to support the mission and strategic objectives.

3. 
   

   We will take the steps necessary to align and develop curriculum to achieve our strategic objectives and mission.

List of Results

• 
  

  As the foundation for all learning, at least 90% of all students are reading on grade level by the end of 2nd grade and are maintaining or exceeding grade level thereafter.  As our success rate increases, so will our goal.

  
  
• 
  

  A systematic process is developed that analyzes and uses student demographic and performance data to inform and influence program, curricular, and instructional decisions and reporting.

  
  
• 
  

  Best practices of differentiated instruction (DI) are continually implemented to enable all students to achieve the strategic objectives so that each child will reach proficiency level in all content areas.

  
  
• 
  

  School, classroom practices, and environments reflect principles that promote students’ motivation and love of learning.

  
  
• 
  

  In all disciplines, curriculum maps ensure alignment with state standards and integrate technology, problem solving and global awareness to meet the strategic objectives.

  
  
• 
  

  School and classroom practices and environments reflect principles that promote community building to achieve the strategic objectives.

4. We will take the steps necessary to continue to develop and capitalize on leadership capacity within the system at all levels to sustain commitment to the strategic objectives and mission.

List of Results

• 
  

  All district administrators are proficient in the essential characteristics of effective leadership.

  
  
• 
  

  All staff members, parents, community members, and students are encouraged and supported in assuming and sharing leadership roles that contribute to the achievement of the district’s mission and strategic objectives (i.e., “institutionalize” distributive leadership).

  
  
• 
  

  There is a pool of skilled leaders from within who have successfully completed a district-specific, meaningful and comprehensive internship experience.

  
  
• 
  

  The district has developed cooperative relationships with college and university graduate educational administration programs that have internships designed to support the strategic plan and district initiatives.

  
  
• 
  

  The district has established a plan for a regional leadership academy for teachers and administrators in cooperation with other school districts and universities,*

*Postpone until Results 1 through 4 are achieved.

5. We will take the steps necessary to develop an open and ongoing communication process that results in all stakeholders believing in the value of a White Plains City School District education and actively participating in reaching our strategic objectives and mission.

List of Results

• The district uses a coordinated and integrated approach to disseminate general newsworthy information in order to educate all stakeholders.
  
• The district creates opportunities to engage stakeholders in an open exchange of ideas.
  
• Communication with stakeholders effectively reflects a multicultural and diverse community.
  
• Community members are working in systematic ways to support students’ achievement of the strategic objectives.

Strategic Delimiters

We will not adopt any new program or service unless it is:

• consistent with and contributes to our mission;
  
• accompanied by an analysis of the resources and the staff development needed for its effectiveness;
  
• accompanied by a plan to assess its ongoing effectiveness.

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the NYS Office of the Comptroller. (EDITED) May 20, 2009:  State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reported Tuesday, that New York State tax revenues declined even more than anticipated in April. General Fund revenues of $4.8 billion, including transfers, were $3.8 billion or 44 percent less than last year and $239.1 million below the Governor’s April 28 projections.

“This was a poor start to the fiscal year,” DiNapoli said. “It’s been less than a month since the state’s financial plan was released, and General Fund revenues are already off nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. The economy continues to be shaky, which is significantly hurting state finances. We’ve already tapped nearly all of our unreserved funds so there is very little cushion if revenues continue to fall. We need to watch revenues and spending very closely, because the state may be forced to readjust priorities.”

DiNapoli’s April Monthly Cash Report released today found the General Fund closing balance for April was $60.8 million below Financial Plan projections. General Fund receipts totaling $4.8 billion were $239.1 million below projections and disbursements of nearly $4 billion were $177.8 million below projections.

Personal income taxes of $2.9 billion and business taxes of $61 million were significantly below April 2008 receipts (48.9 percent and 41.4 percent).

Other findings in the report:

• General Fund spending of nearly $4 billion was up $138.6 million compared to last year. The increase in spending was primarily due to increased costs for education (up $220.5 million), health and the environment (up $70.5 million). These increases were offset by decreases in Medicaid spending (which was supported by new federal stimulus funding) and General State Charges. General Fund spending was $177.8 million below projections.
  
• 
  
• All Funds receipts through April 2009 of $9.6 billion were $69.6 million below projections and $3 billion lower than April 2008.
  
• 
  
• All Governmental Funds spending through April 30, 2009 of $8.2 billion was $885.8 million, or 12.1 percent, more than 2008-09 figures through April 30, 2008, primarily due to increases in education ($200.1 million or 24.4 percent),and debt service ($237.3 million or 75.2 percent). In addition, Medicaid costs increased $493.7 million, or 18 percent, primarily because of increased caseloads associated with the economy. All Funds spending was $162.4 million below projections.

The state’s finances are generally broken down by two main categories: General Fund and All Governmental Funds. The General Fund is the major operating fund of the state and accounts for all receipts that are not required by law to be deposited into another fund. All Governmental Funds includes General, Special Revenue, Debt Service and Capital Projects funds, as well as funds from the federal government. DiNapoli’s monthly cash report compares state finances against the same time period last year and the state’s current year Financial Plan.