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 QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. October 23, 2008: Thomas Suozzi, Nassau County Executive, and  Chair o the Governor’s Commission on Property Tax Reform, told politicians and concerned businesspersons at the Ritz Carlton last night,  a property tax cap  and Circuit Breaker legislation, would only happen if citizens and businesspersons  started a  strong political movement to pressure the legislature.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi addressing Westchester County Association Government Reception Wednesday evening at The Ritz-Carlton.

Suozzi was the featured speaker behind introductions of key politicians: Congresswoman Nita Lowey who said she welcomed any suggestions from the public on further measures to deal with the national financial crisis, Assemblyman Adam Bradley who promised the legislature was going back into session to address the state budget, , County Executive Andrew Spano, who described the present financial situation in the county and the state has one “I have not seen in my lifetime. Spano, borrowing White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino’s philosophy, said heartfully, “Let’s keep together and let’s work together. We’re all family, we all need to work through this together as a family.” 

Suozzi hammered home to an audience who was unusually impolite, continuing to buzz with conversation while Mr. Suozzi was speaking. At one point, Suozzi said the audience could continue their conversations in a few moments and asked them to “pay attention”  and, describing the problem with mandates and how they get enacted, because new mandates are described to legislators as good ideas. Mr. Suozzi said  “you can’t do every good idea.”

Suozzi suggested it was unrealistic to expect tax reform without a groundswell of public demand for it, saying,  “1. We’ve gotten “incredible pushback” from school districts and teachers union. 2. You have to change laws we have. 3. You will not get mandate reform because there are too many special interests. The only way is to enact a tax cap and circuit breaker.”

WPCNR caught up with County Legislator Bill Ryan after the talk and asked him what could be expected on the County Budget, now under construction. Ryan said he had submitted a budget for the Board of Legislators  1.4% above this year’s budget. He said he was hopeful the county could bring in a budget taking into account inflation of about 1.4% above 2008. (Last year, the county budget rose 3.9%)

Ryan said he had met with Governor David Patterson and representatives of the New York Conference of Mayors Monday in New York, at the request of the Governor, who wanted their input on how Patterson might cut the state budget so as not to stress the counties.

Ryan said he told the governor the best way to cut the budget was not to cut mandate funding, because would force the county to raise taxes to fund the mandates shifting the burden for the mandates. Ryan instead suggested state cuts be made in state aid on discretionary services. “This way,” Ryan told me, “the county can pick and choose where to allocate our money.”

Westchester County Association’s Bill Mooney, far left, and Alfred Del Bello, far right, flank the County Executives, Andrew Spano, second from left, and Thomas Suozzi.

Observations:

Suozzi was going to take questions, but ended his talk, it appeared due to lack of respect from the audience.  This reporter was embarrassed the way Mr. Suozzi’s talk was paid attention to by the audience of persons who should know better. Mr. Suozzi is a guest of Westchester County. At least a third of the persons continued talking and drinking during Suozzi’s talk.

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WPCNR ALBANY ROUND. October 22, 2008: Adult disabled children and they parents who no longer can adequately care for them,  who were hoping the pioneer New York State New York Cares initiative to build new group homes to house the young men and women are the first victims of the New York State finance crisis tied to the credit defaults swaps debacle.

WPCNR has learned that agencies seeking to open new group homes, some of which have already been purchased have been put on hold by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, pending budget review.

The review which suspends opening of group homes already purchased and renovated comes during National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The change in policy was disclosed in yesterday’s bulletin from the New York State Association of Community and Residential agencies, in which they report that on October 20 at a provider association meeting the NYSACRA was told “ALL out-of-home residential development” has been “halted, while they (OMRDD) assess their commitments in this grim financial environment.”

The newsletter reports the assessment  by OMRDD “will deterimine which projects may move ahead (some of which have already been purchased by caretaker organizations) and be funded, and which will not.”

The newsletter notes “reconfiguring and downsizing projects  for existing facilities most likely will not go forward;”  that no new projects will go forward and even projects having received approval may not go forward.

It was pointed out by the head of one local provider that budgets may be approved for homes that are not “fiscally viable,” which, in effect, would kill the home.

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 WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of the New York State Comptroller. (EDITED) October 20, 2008: The state budget number trends show growth is dropping off, according to a report issued Monday by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. Business taxes have decreased 13 percent compared to last year and the growth in personal income tax is starting to decline.

DiNapoli released his findings in a special quarterly report examining revenue collections based on revenue and spending information from the Comptroller’s Monthly Cash Report. The report noted after a strong start in April, growth in personal income tax collections is decreasing.

Total personal income tax collections in the General Fund compared to last year grew a total of 15.4 percent through September, compared to 24.6 percent for the first three months of this fiscal year. The state collected $2.4 billion in General Fund business taxes through September, a decline of $356.7 million or 13 percent, compared to last year.

DiNapoli released his findings in a special quarterly report examining revenue collections based on revenue and spending information from the Comptroller’s Monthly Cash Report. The report noted after a strong start in April, growth in personal income tax collections is decreasing. Total personal income tax collections in the General Fund compared to last year grew a total of 15.4 percent through September, compared to 24.6 percent for the first three months of this fiscal year. The state collected $2.4 billion in General Fund business taxes through September, a decline of $356.7 million or 13 percent, compared to last year.

“The state started the fiscal year with surprisingly strong personal income tax collections that fueled growth in state revenues. But that growth is falling off and things are looking very shaky,” DiNapoli said. “Personal income taxes will likely decline significantly when Wall Street bonus payments drop off in December and January. Then we’ll have a more accurate reflection of the financial challenges facing the state this year and next. But even without the bonus numbers, it’s clear that despite the state’s current year spending reductions, the state faces potentially unprecedented deficits.

“The Governor has made the right call to bring the Legislature back to address the state’s finances. Now is the time to carefully evaluate our priorities and take a sensible, balanced approach. We should not look for quick fixes that could create more problems. New York needs long-term solutions that don’t make an already bad situation catastrophic.”

Among the reports findings:

• Overall General Fund Revenues: State revenues totaled $29.4 billion through September, up $2.8 billion or 10.6 percent compared to the same period last year, primarily because of higher than expected personal income tax collections. DiNapoli cautions that this growth is primarily due to the settlement of the 2007 personal income tax liabilities.
  
• Overall General Fund Spending: The state spent $26.5 billion, including transfers, through the first six months of state’s fiscal year. This was 3.9 percent, or $1 billion, higher than the first six months of last year but below projections. The majority of the growth was from local assistance payments ($677.7 million), which were actually less than expected by $221.3 million.
  
• Breakdown of Business Tax Declines: The $2.4 billion the state collected in General Fund business taxes through September was a decline of $356.7 million or 13 percent compared to last year. Corporate franchise taxes were down $248.5 million or 17.6 percent; bank taxes decreased $67.9 million or 12.5 percent; and insurance taxes went down $57 million or 10.8 percent for the first six months. Business tax collections in September were $877.5 million, which is below projections of $1.25 billion. General Fund business tax collections have been below estimates in every month of the current fiscal year, even though projections have been lowered twice.
  
• Other Taxes: Other General Fund tax collections of $756.2 million grew by $242.8 million, or 47.3 percent, primarily because of estate tax collections in July. Consumption tax collections, including sales taxes, of $4.4 billion grew less than 1 percent from the previous year.
  
• Projected Budget Gap: The Division of the Budget is currently projecting a General Fund gap of approximately $1.2 billion. The Governor has said this gap could be as high as $2 billion. DiNapoli noted that his office had previously identified $1.6 billion in risks and $2.8 billion in non-recurring revenues used to balance this year’s budget. He expressed concern that this gap could increase if the economy continues to deteriorate and other anticipated revenue, such as the sale of Wellpoint stock, is lower than expected.

All Governmental fund receipts totaled $58 billion through September. This is approximately $536 million below projections. Year-to-date tax receipts of $32.4 billion were approximately $77 million over projections, while year-to-date miscellaneous receipts of $8.5 billion were approximately $283 million below projections and year-to-date federal receipts of $17.1 billion were $330 million below projections. Tax receipt collections were over estimates primarily because of strong personal income tax collections in April of this year. However, those collections represent estimated tax collections from the 2007 tax year and are not indicative of current economic circumstances.

Through the first six months of the fiscal year, spending in All Governmental funds increased 7.7 percent, or $4.1 billion, with the majority of the growth in local assistance payments. State Operations spending increased $733 million, or 8.3 percent, while General State Charges increased $96.3 million, or 3.1 percent. Spending for debt service increased 17.6 percent, or $294.7 million, and spending for Capital Projects has increased 12.5 percent, or $312.2 million, compared to year-to-date spending through September 2007.

The state’s finances are generally broken down by two main categories: General Fund and All 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.

Click here for the report examining first quarter state revenues.

Click here for a copy of the September 2008 Cash Report, which includes a full breakdown of all revenue and spending for the first quarter.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Grantland Rice. October 20, 2008:  In honor of the Tampa Bay Rays, Grantland Rice from the Heavenly press box behind homeplate in the great pantheon stadium in the sky, has penned another immortal poem of verse to celebrate a team that will always be remembered for their season of hope: the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays!

Hail to the Ray Men

By Grantland Rice

The  American Leauge Champions Tampa Bay Rays ascend to Baseball’s Elysian Fields, shown above, Hoboken New Jersey (Weehauken, N.J.)  Engraving, Harper’s Magazine, Library of Congress, Washington D.C

Hail to the Raymen,  brash brave Champions of  Junior Circuit!

Conquerers of the prentenda 2^nd Place Sox.

Restoring honor to horsehide postseason hustings, the team with no quit,

Exploding the clichés of sportswriters’ doubt with timely socks!

Hail to Garza the Goateed Guardian, “Matty the Second,” throwing inside like Gibson of days gone bye

Silencing vaunted scarlet hose cannons, fanning Big Papi  in 6^th when it mattered most.

Defusing  loaded New England batz with daring rise and darting drops to dazzle the eye.

To Young Reliable  Langoria, eclipsing Eva, with trademark 2 strike  opposite field clutch two bagger

Inside the line for equalizer, with Pena’s crafty slide turning Trop crowd to roaring host!

Here’s to the eyes of Willie in the 5th, Aybar sending  Lefty Lester’s crafty curve one hop to corner’s wall.

Roars for  Rocco-October’s 2-strike stroke in the SS hole to bring the Say Ray Kid around.

Plaudits again to noble Baldelli, ,modern Gehrig, his  running, dashing one hand catch at his knees in right  causing Boston to bawl

Kudo’s to the Say Ray Kid hero’s towering blow on 3-2 in the 7^th  to extend

Boston’s misery at the end

World Series passes to maligned Ray Bullpen crew

Defusing Beaneaters’ last threats in faithful 7^th and 8^th.

 To Wheeler the dealer bailing Matty out in 7^th, to Hang in There Howell hanging out Big Papi

To fearless Rookie David Price sacks full of Saux, fanning the redoubtable Drew on 3-2

The Tampa Bay Rays to the all – Improbable but true,

The nimble Iwamura, solving Lester to get things started.

The elegant Upton and threatening Crawford Carrying Rays

Over hard times and getting the Rays through.

To the starters, stoppers all who got the jobs done : Shields, Kazmir  of The Kays,

Jackson and Sonnanstine one after another they threw.

To the Rays of the bedraggled moth-eaten Trop rug of the showing seams,

Take their place with the ball’s hope teams:

The Hitless Wonders, the Miracle Braves, Leo’s Giants,

The Impossible Dream Mets, creating others’ Improbable Dreams

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WPCNR CYCLES. From New York Presbyterian Hospital. October 20, 2008:  Parents wishing to get insight into the behavior of their teenage children will have the opportunity to learn all about it from mental health experts at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s free Fall Community Lecture Series, to be presented at the White Plains campus, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains.

The new series on the challenging issues in adolescents will be presented on four successive Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 PM. The first is October 22, when Richard A. Friedman, M.D., a regular contributor of mental health topics to The New York Times, will kick-off the series with “Pushing the Limit: Thrill-Seeking and High-Risk Behaviors in Teenagers and Young Adults.” Dr. Friedman is a Professor of the Hospital’s Clinical Psychiatry and Director of the Psychopharmacology Unit.

On November 5, the topic by Amy Silverman, M.D. will be: “You Did What? Understanding and Coping with Self-Destructive Behavior in Adolescents.” Dr. Silverman is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Payne Whitney Manhattan and Westchester where she specializes in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The last lecture on November 12 is “The Elephant in the Room: Talking to Your Teen About Drugs and Alcohol and Resources for Help,” presented by Catherine Bookless, LCSW, coordinator of the Addiction Recover Service and Jon Haber, CASCAC .

Launched four years ago, the Hospital’s Community Lecture Series has proven to be a very popular program, attracting record crowds who have learned about such topical issues as aggressive behavior and anger management.

All lectures will be held in the Auditorium located on the second floor of the Hospital’s Main Building with the clock tower. There is no fee and pre-registration is not required for any of these programs. Free parking is available and refreshments will be served.  For further information, please

call (914) 997-5779.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division, opened in 1894, is one of the world’s most advanced centers for psychiatric care. The Westchester Division serves children, adolescents, adults and the elderly with comprehensive outpatient, day treatment, partial hospitalization and inpatient services. In addition to clinical treatment, the Westchester Division is also a center for interdisciplinary medical research and education through its academic affiliate, Weill Cornell Medical College. NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the nation’s top hospitals for psychiatry, as rated by U.S.News & World Report. For more information, visit www.nyp.org.