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 STAGE DOOR. From Libby Hollahan. March 1, 2008: White Plains High School will be presenting its Spring Musical, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!,” on Friday, March 14, and Saturday March 15, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 16, at 3 p.m.  All performances will take place in the White Plains High School Auditorium, 550 North Street.

Tickets are $5 for students and seniors, $10 for adults, and $20 for Premium Reserved Seating.  For ticket information, call 422-2234.

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” is a musical comedy set in the business world of the early 1960s, featuring the office antics at the “World Wide Wicket Company.”  It is the story of Finch, a young window washer with ambitions of rising to the executive suite, and his rival, Bud Frump, nephew of Company Boss J.B. Biggley.  There is Rosemary, the secretary who dreams of marrying a young executive and moving to the suburbs (“New Rochelle…no, White Plains”), and Hedy LaRue, the new secretary who gets hired for talents other than her typing.   The music and lyrics are by Frank Loesser, and the book is by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert.

White Plains High School’s production is directed by Ms. Penelope Cruz and Ms. Seren Cepler, and is presented with the permission of Music Theater International.   The cast includes 33 WPHS students.  The Pit Orchestra, which includes 27 students and two faculty members, is conducted by Mr. William Tonissen.  The choreographer is Mr. Kevin Wallace.  The Student Assistant Directors are Remy Adler and Austin Saiz, and Technical Directors are Sabrina Doolittle and Stephanie Quinn.  Additional White Plains School District teachers helping on the show are Mr. Ferrigno and Ms. Tompkins, pit orchestra, and Ms. Davis, sound.

Student Participants in the Production (Cast, Crew and Orchestra) are:

Pamela Abrahams, Alexis Adamski, Remy Adler,  Daniel Alfonso, T.J. Bastone, Kellsie Belgrave, Rachel Benjamin, Evelyn Berger, Patrick Blaney, Gigi Brady, Victor Brady, Paul Bronzo, Ali Brotmann, Will Burmeister, Alex Cantatore, Seann Cantatore, Jake Carmen, Cara Cohen, Reid Cohen, Andrea DeMarco, David Doyle, Allison Fairhurst, Donya Feizbaksh, Hannah Fine, Remy Gautreau, Cameron Glass, Shinice Hemmings, Mariana Hess, Laura Hollahan, Lani Hosei, Antony Kalathara, Jason Kaplan, Jessica Lacativa, Emma Lagle, Ben Lanman, Katie Lau, Corinne Leary, Ben Leib, Adina Lowy, Julia Maguire, Emily Majsak, Juliana Marothy, Ariel Miller, Paiza Miller, Maia Matsushita, Sean McGee, Meaghan McLeod, Mackenzie Mollo, Ben Norris, Ben Oppenheim, Randy Patterson, Laura Pellegrini, Daniel Petralia, Mitchell Pozo, Peter Pozo, Katie Rie, Becky Riss, Austin Saiz, Alex Sampugnaro, Nicole Santolo, Deborah Scharbach, Elizabeth Scherer, Scott Schwartz, Collin Shepard, Alannah Smith, Zach Sorrow, Preeth Srinivasaraghavan, Edward Zekus,  Mary Zhu.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS AFTER DARK. By John Bailey. February 28, 2008: Ci Ci (Lael) Calloway, daughter of the jazz legend, Cab Calloway, performed an informal runthrough of a benefit show she will be performing in April at the North End Restaurant Thursday evening in prepartion for a gala benefit she will be staging there in April  to raise funds for the renovation and restoration  of her father’s home on Knollwood Road in Westchester.

Heidi-Heidi-Ho…once more. Cab Calloway’s daughter, Lael “Ci Ci” Calloway reprised her father’s old standards in a runthrough of a benefit for restoration of her father’s former home in Westchester.  She performed in the intimate North End Restaurant Thursday evening and intrigued hipsters with her father’s unique riffs that just get you moving.

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Ms.Calloway with a commanding voice and warmth towards the audience, performed her renditions of her father’s famous standards, “Tain’t Necessarily So,” and of course, “Heidi-Ho”  and others accompanied by video of her father performing in the past. The benefit  show featuring Ms. Calloway now in runthroughs, will be hosted by The North End on North Broadway in White Plains in April in an effort to turn the Calloway residence where she grew up into a museum. Ms. Calloway recalled for the audience the many famous names in music whom she met growing up as a child there, including Lena Horne and Duke Ellington.

PARTNERS:  Serena Russell, left, and Barbara Cantatore, owners of the North End with Ms. Calloway inbetween sets. Ms. Russell said the idea for the benefit came up in casual conversation with Ms. Calloway on a visit to the restaurant.

Serena Russell, partner in The North End, said the idea for the Calloway House Restoration Project”  benefit occurred when Ms. Calloway had dinner at the North End and struck up a conversation with Ms. Russell. Ms. Russell said she was very excited and behind the project of establishing the Knollwood Road residence place in America’s musical history.

Calloway’s voice filled up the room with its power, range and command, and brought back the toe-tapping “scat” style her father made famous. White Plains residents will be able to hear that never-to-be-forgotten style at her complete show in April in the uniquely intimate North End restaurant. For details on the benefit, contact the North End at 914-993-9333.

Ms. Calloway showed off her range in her breathy contralto.

Brenda Starr, left, and Serena Russell digging the scene.

Your peripathetic pavement pounding reporter notes that the North End bar could become a habit. The sea food fancier should try the oysters at the bar. They were terrific, big and juicy, plump, white, glistening. They were served arranged on their shells  which surrounded around a  festive red zesty, tasty, mouthwatering sliced red pepper dressing in the middle the oyster platter.

The sliced red pepper slaw taste intermezzo between  mouthfuls of oyster,  set the stage for each smooth luscious sliver of the monster oysters  to slide right down your throat. The unique idea of the red pepper slaw showcased the subtle sensuality of the oysters. The oysters from the North End Kitchen were detached but laying in the shell, too (how oysters should be served), so the go-down-easies  could be smoothly slid into the mouth without loss of any part of them. The reporter lost his objectivity and devoured most of the slaw when this shot was taken. Forgive me.

Ms. Calloway’s performance showed the North End could become a place to get into some good sophisticated jazz on a regular basis combined with, if the oysters are any indication — a place that unlike any music place I  have been in — serves great gourmet food. The North End’s chef is formerly the chef at the leading independent seafood restaurant in Philadelphia, The Striped Bass.

David Kurdys, the restaurant General Manager said  top chefs from New York and other cities are coming to White Plains because it was becoming much harder for chefs to own their own places in Manhattan because the real estate is so expensive. He said the chef wanting to make a name for himself has to get into a chain, working with corporate management. Once that name is made, he said, they like the idea of coming up to Westchester to have their own place. He said the food product comes from the Hudson Valley so it made sense for them to come on up here, and establish their own niche. 

He predicted the county would be seeing more name chefs coming up to Westchester in the future.  

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WPCNR ADAM IN ALBANY. From Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. February 28, 2008: Assemblyman Adam Bradley’s (D-White Plains) legislation renaming the state’s spinal cord injury research fund and board to honor late actor and activist, Christopher Reeve, passed the Assembly today. The legislation also creates a check off box on personal income tax forms for individuals to donate to the fund, without reducing their amount of tax due.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Board of Legislators. February 28, 2008: Federal lobbying will be the order of the day when Chairman Bill Ryan attends the annual Legislative Conference of the National Association of Counties (NACo) beginning on March 1^st. Ryan along with representatives from across the country will meet with federal officials to discuss issues confronting county government, including health care, transportation, public safety and housing, among other priorities.

Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, William Ryan. May, 2007.

During the conference, Ryan will meet as part of NACo’s 34-member Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) Steering Committee to which he was recently reappointed. LUCC members, collectively, represent 130 million people living in the 100 largest counties in the United States.

“As second vice president of the New York State Association of Counties, I recognize the tremendous importance of county government and the challenges we face in delivering needed high-quality services,” said Ryan, who was first appointed to the LUCC Steering Committee for 2006-2007.

Ryan will also be assuming another major responsibility as part of the NACo’s newly-formed County Hospital Task Force. He was appointed due to his involvement in saving the Westchester Medical Center from financial collapse and closure in 2004. Since then, Ryan has served as the only elected official on the Financial Improvement Committee (FIC), which implemented the successful turnaround plan and continues to guide the hospital.

“Pulling the medical center back from the brink of financial ruin, equipped me with first-hand knowledge on dealing with a health care facility in crisis,” Ryan said. “I am anxious to participate in the work of this important and timely hospital task force. I look forward to bringing valuable information home to Westchester for our consideration.”

As a part of the 10-member task force, Ryan will help promote NACo’s focus on the health care crisis and its impact on metropolitan counties. Members will discuss and share best practices and lessons learned in county hospital operations, identify common issues and, where appropriate, submit recommendations to the NACo Health Steering Committee regarding legislation.

The National Association of Counties is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,066 counties.

The organization advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government,  improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED) February 28, 2008: The Northern Westchester Watershed Committee released its Highway Deicing Task Force Report this month. The report documents existing conditions in the Croton Watershed, describes the environmental impacts of road salt and alternatives and provides strategies to decrease the use of road salt without sacrificing safety.

Some communities have already begun installing computerized salt monitors on their deincing equipment to limit the amount of salt and deicing chemicals that can work into the county watershed sources.    

“The health of our water bodies is of vital importance to Westchester,” said County Executive Andy Spano.  “This report shows us how to improve record-keeping on alt usage and how to protect our natural resources through best management practices.”

In 2006, Spano, the watershed committee and Alex Matthiessen, president of Riverkeeper, focused attention on the effect road salt can have on water quality. In response, this task force was created to protect natural resources while providing for the safety of the traveling public. The task force concluded that the general public lacks an understanding of the impact salt and other deicing chemicals have on water quality.

The report was distributed to municipalities, and some have already begun to implement recommendations.  For example, the towns of Somers and North Castle will be fitting equipment with computerized salt spreaders to monitor and control  the amount of salt spread on roads.

Funding for further implementation and possible expansion of the report will be discussed at future NWWC meetings.  The report is available online by clicking on the stormwater tab at http://www.westchestergov.com/planning/environmental/.  For more information, contact Christina Anderson, environmental planner, at (914) 995-3782 or cca1@westchestergov.com.