WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR—65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. April 25, 2006: The Fort Hill Players Summer Production of Robin Hood has scheduled audition dates May 16 and 18  at “The Roch” (Rochambeau School)  for its July production. For info on the new production, click “Read More.”

Brace yourselves, theatergoers: Sherwood Forest has had quite the shakeup.

Mary Lynn Dobson’s play is not only a romp through Sherwood, but also a hilarious take on the swaggering guy-in-green who always tries his best in The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. This frantically funny, Pythonesque retelling of the classic legend portrays Hood’s never-ending quest to aid the needy. This time, he encounters a lovely damsel-in-distress. Of course, since this isn’t the typical Robin Hood, this isn’t the typical Damsel.

Add to that an ever-scheming sheriff, who would rather bowl a strike than hit a bulls eye; a bad-guy monarch wannabe; and a good-natured “Town’s Guy” who manages to make his way into every scene, and you’ve got an irreverent jaunt you won’t soon forget.

Audition Info

May 16 & 18 – 7:30pm
Rochambeau School, 228 Fisher Ave, White Plains (click for directions)

Performances: July 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18 at 7 pm

Additional information 914-946-5143

Character Descriptions

10 Adult Actors needed.  4 men, 2 women, 4 men or women.

Robin Hood: Male Should be played as a 20-something.  Dashing Hero.
Cross between Dudley Do Right & Frasier’s Niles Crane.  Always impressed with himself. Good intentions to help the homeless & poor of England; oversized ego. Master sportsman.

Lady Marian: Female Should be played as a 20-something. Lovely damsel in distress. Niece of King Richard & Prince John, Robin Hood’s true love.  Cross between Miss Piggy & the actress Emma Thompson.  Kind, charming, and shares Robin’s quest to aid the needy. Also has a strange obsession with skin conditions.

Prince John: Male  Head bad guy.  Typically evil, selfish, greedy and has no regard for the welfare of England & his people. Should be disliked by all.

Sheriff of Nottingham: Male Typically evil, selfish, greedy and has no regard for the welfare of England & its people. Is a master sportsman and Robin’s chief rival.  Hopes to marry Marian. Also disliked by all.

Town’s Guy: Male or Female Narrator/Friend of Robin.

Lady In Waiting: Female Marian’s attendant.

Friar Tuck: Male Holy presence for Robin & his Merry Men.

Will Scarlet: Male or Female One of Robin’s Merry Men. Wise Guy.

Little John: Male or Female One of Robin’s Merry Men. Dim witted, large in size.

Allan Adale: Male or Female One of Robin’s Merry Men. Slightly dim witted.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. April 24, 2006: WPCNR received a report of a new ploy in telephone credit card scams from one of our readers. WPCNR asked the White Plains Department of Public Safety about its possibility. Martin Gleeson, spokesperson for Public Safety reports, “What you describe appears to be a real scheme to defraud that is known to law enforcement. It’s unclear wheather any White Plains residents have been victimized.”  Here is how the scam works, and should you experience such a call, contact the police:

Just a heads up, in case you come across this…


This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you’ll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from “VISA”, and I was called
on Thursday from “Master Card.”

The scam works like this: Person calling says, “This is (name), and I’m calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I’m calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?”

  When you say “No”, the caller continues with, “Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is  that correct?”

  You say “Yes”. The caller continues – “I will be starting a fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1-800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number.”

  The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. “Do you need me to read it again?”

  Here’s the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, “I
need to verify you are in possession of your card.”

He’ll ask you to turn your card over and look for some numbers. There are 7 numbers; the first 4
are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers that verify you are the possessor
of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him.


  After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he’ll say, “That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?” After you say “no,”  the caller then thanks you and states, “Don’t hesitate to call back if you do,” and hangs up.

  You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

  Long story made short – we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don’t give it to them.

Instead, tell them you’ll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the
card!

  If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you’re receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you’ll seecharges for purchases you didn’t make, and by then it’s almost too late and/or more difficult to actually  file a fraud report.

  What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a “Jason Richardson of Master Card” with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn’t let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA.

  The police urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each other, we protect each other.

(A WPCNR reader)

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Libby Hollahan. April 23, 2006 (Edited): The League of Women Voters of White Plains and the Junior Section of the Woman’s Club of White Plains will jointly sponsor a public forum for candidates for the 2006 White Plains Board of Education election.  The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 4, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Woman’s Club, 305 Ridgeway, White Plains.  All White Plains voters are encouraged to attend and ask questions of the candidates.

Three seats on the seven-member board will be available in this year’s election.   The seats are currently held by Peter Bassano, Terry McGuire, and Donna McLaughlin.  All candidates who have filed petitions by the April 26 deadline will be invited to participate in the meeting.   Board members serve without pay, and terms of office are for three years, effective July 1.

The Board of Education election is Tuesday, May 16.  Citizens will vote on the annual school budget, as well as electing board members.  At the forum, the candidates will answer questions from the floor about their position on the budget and other issues relating to the schools.

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WPCNR MEDIA WATCHDOG. From Shennell Antrobus, Optimum Online. (Edited) April 22, 2006: Cablevision’s  Optimum Online announced Friday to WPCNR News that it has completed a major value-added speed increase in the city of White Plains, and introduced a new premium tier service, Optimum Online Boost, offering the fastest broadly-deployed high-speed Internet service for the White Plains home. Verizon, the new player in Westchester in the fight for the internet and cable television market, was unable to be reached for comment.

“Speed matters on the Internet, and we’re happy to give our customers in White Plains more of the speed they want without raising prices,” according to a statement by Patricia Gottesman, Cablevision’s Executive Vice President of Product Management and Marketing.

According to her statement, ” with many more customers using the Internet to send digital photos and download musci, speed is key to a great experience. This recent upgrade has made the top-rated and most popular high-speed Internet service offered anywhere in the nation even faster and more valuable. And, with the addition of our Optimum Online Boost premium tier, we are once again redefining the Internet experience and extending our position as provider of choice in this market (White Plains).”

Claims beats speed whips phone company specs.

 In addition to faster speeds, Optimum Online Boost includes  new features and benefits designed for residential and business customers with higher-bandwidth needs, including:

• Up to 15 e-mail addresses with 1 gigabyte of storage per address, for a total of 15 gigabytes of storage, and the ability to send extremely large e-mail attachments in excess of 20 Megabytes. 
  
• Web hosting capabilities, with tools that enable customers to build and maintain their own Web sites.
  
• Advanced configurations that include DDNS, Port 25 and Port 80

Verizon, Cablevision’s archrival could not be reached for comment on Optimum’s new service due to its voice-mail system which does not connect inquiring reporters to a live person, let alone a media spokesperson.

Optimum Online serves more than 1.6 million subscribers, which is more than half of all Internet-connected homes in Cablevision’s service area. 

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WPCNR PASSAGES. April 20, 2006: Calliope “Poppy”  Philippidis died Thursday morning at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. A resident of Kew Gardens, she died after five days in the hospital following injuries from the last of several falls. She is survived by her son, Alex Philippidis, of White Plains, and his brother.

Visitation is Monday 4/24 at Ballard-Durand Funeral Home in White Plains from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.Funeral is Tuesday 4/25 at 10 a.m. at Greek Orthodox Church of Our Saviour in Rye.