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THE OPTIMUM OUTAGE
NATIONAL DISEASE REPORT
THE WESTCHESTER COVID WAVE AS SCHOOL STARTS
SENATOR GILLEBRAND REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE IRAN WAR
REDUCTION OF SHOOTINGS IN NEW YORK CITY
ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK
WITH JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS
AND HIS
PERSPECTIVE ’26
COMMENTARY
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BEACH CLOSURES DUE TO RAIN IN NEW ROCHELLE, MAMARONECK AND RYE
(White Plains, NY) – The Westchester County Health Department has closed the following beaches through the weekend and until further notice due to 3.28 inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
NEW ROCHELLE: Hudson Park Beach, Davenport Beach Club, Greentree Country Club and Surf Club on the Sound
MAMARONECK: Harbor Island Park, Beach Point Club, Orienta Beach Club and Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club
RYE: Coveleigh Club
Beach patrons are advised to avoid the water at these beaches due to bacterial contamination from road runoff into drainage outfalls near these beaches.
The County remains committed to maintaining high standards of environmental health and safety across its recreational facilitie
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TONIGHT IN A PEOPLE TO BE HEARD SPECIAL,
JOHN VORPERIAN
HOST OF BEYOND THE GAME
INTERVIEWS
SORITHA KOMATIREDDY
CHALLENGING LITISHA JAMES FOR NY ATTORNEY GENERAL
FIND OUT HER ISSUES WHY SHE IS RUNNING
WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND WHAT SHE WILL CONCENTRATE ON
ALSO TELECAST SATURDAY NIGHT AT 7
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Additional Enforcement to Target Impaired and Reckless Drivers During ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ Campaign Aug. 19 – Sept. 7
Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that New York State Police, County Sheriffs’ Offices, and local law enforcement will be increasing patrols and checkpoints to crack down on impaired and reckless driving during the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign, which will run Wednesday, August 19 through Labor Day, Monday, September 7.
“New York is a great place, with our scenic trails and world-class state parks, to enjoy the end of summer and the Labor Day holiday,” Governor Hochul said. “I want everyone to have a wonderful time and make happy memories. Just know that if you make the irresponsible choice to drive impaired or recklessly, law enforcement will be out in force and showing zero tolerance. Their job is difficult so please don’t make it tougher: drive responsibly.”
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Acting Commissioner Christian Jackstadt said,
“As the summer season draws to a close heading into Labor Day weekend, our roadways are going to be handling a lot of travelers. Whether you are taking on a road trip or celebrating locally, please follow the rules of the road – don’t speed, avoid distractions and never, ever drive impaired. I thank our dedicated law enforcement partners for their unwavering commitment to removing impaired and reckless drivers from our highways.”
During the 2025 campaign, law enforcement officers statewide issued 131,245 tickets during the enforcement, including 4,125 arrests for impaired driving and 24,905 citations for speeding.
Enforcement Mobilization
State Police and local law enforcement agencies will conduct sobriety checkpoints and increase patrols during the enforcement period.
Law enforcement will use both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement (CITE) vehicles to help identify motorists who are violating the law.
CITE vehicles allow police to better observe driving violations. While these vehicles blend in with everyday traffic, they are unmistakable as emergency vehicles once the emergency lighting is activated.
New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, “Labor Day weekend reflects the hard work and achievements of American workers and concludes the final few weeks of summer. While we want everyone to enjoy this time, we want them to do so responsibly. There’s no excuse for impaired driving; and it takes little to no effort to arrange for a safe ride home. We will continue to work with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee to crack down on drivers who make our roads unsafe for others.”
New York State Association of Chiefs of Police President, Brighton Police Department Chief David Catholdi said, “As Labor Day is approaching, the New York State Chiefs of Police want to remind motorists that driving safely is everyone’s responsibility. Whether you’re traveling across town or across the state, slow down, stay alert, and look out for one another. We want everyone to enjoy the holiday period and return home safely.”
New York State Sheriffs’ Association President, Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said, “When someone drives impaired or recklessly, they put themselves, their passengers and the public at risk. Have a plan to get home safely. The message is simple: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over and be a safe, courteous driver. The Sheriffs of New York State want you to enjoy the rest of summer and the Labor Day weekend in a smart way by not driving impaired.”
The Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee urges drivers to use the STOP-DWI Have a Plan app to help them get home safely. The free app allows users to designate a driver, call a cab or ride share, and to review the consequences of impaired driving. Users can even use the app to report a drunk or drugged driver. The app is available for Apple, Android and Windows smartphones.
Motorists are also reminded to follow the State’s Move Over Law, which requires all drivers to slow down and move over when safe to do so for all vehicles stopped along the roadway.
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WPCNR MEDIA WATCH. By John F. Bailey. UPDATED August 19, 2026 10:30 A.M. EDT:
Katie Primm, Communications Director, told WPCNR this afternoon Optimum restored half of White Plains Optimum customers last night and the company has told the city the restoration of the rest of the city would be “tentatively” completed tonight.
IT IS BACK TONIGHT
MS. PRIMM IN A STATEMENT TO WPCNR WRO
“The moment we hung up, I had a call from the Cable department saying that both the Government and Public channels are now back up and running on Cablevision.”
Ms. Primm said Optimum “has been very cooperative and responsive.” She told WPCNR, the outage (which knocked out access to White Plains Community Media with website visitors unable to download programming from the site and programming on channel 76) was traced to a private building in the city that apparently had “misplaced a wire” which was given as the cause of the city wide optimum loss.
Ms. Primm said the city website and all media programming to Verizon customers was not affected.
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GILLIBRAND STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S WAR IN IRAN
Washington, D.C. – Today, following the official lapse of President Trump’s 60-day ceasefire deal with Iran and his threat to broaden and prolong the war even further by bombing Oman, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, released the following statement:
“Every day that Trump’s reckless war drags on is another day that working families suffer. Americans are struggling to fill up their gas tanks, pay their soaring utility bills, and put food on the table, all while their president spends billions of taxpayer dollars fighting a war he had no reason to start in the first place.
Now, with no peace deal in sight and no objectives achieved, Trump is threatening to drop even more bombs in the Middle East – this time on one of our allies. His actions are an embarrassment, his war is a failure, and the American people are paying the price.”
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SAFER STREETS: GOVERNOR HOCHUL AND POLICE COMMISSIONER TISCH
HIGHLIGHT RECORD-BREAKING CRIME REDUCTION IN PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS NEW YORK CITY
The Governor’s investments and the City and State’s crime-fighting partnership continue to deliver results in public housing developments across New York City – breaking the record for the fewest murders, shot Murders, Shooting Incidents, Shooting Victims and Robberies in Public Housing in Recorded History: FEWEST shooting incidents, shooting victims and robberies through the first seven months of the year.
This year 2026, , Governor Hochul announced an additional $77 million commitment to enhance NYPD resources – building on the previous $77 million in State funding that was already invested in FY 2026, for a total of more than $150 million invested and committed for NYPD resources since 2025.
“When I became Governor, I made public safety my top priority. For the last five years, I have made unprecedented investments in public safety — nearly $4 billion — to support law enforcement and their efforts to tackle crime head-on,” Governor Hochul said. “Every dollar we invest and every partnership we build strengthens our efforts to make New York safer. I remain grateful to Police Commissioner Tisch and the brave men and women of law enforcement who are instrumental in this work. Their continued dedication to driving down crime is producing real, measurable results for our communities.”
The NYPD’s Housing Bureau is responsible for the safety of nearly half a million residents, employees, and visitors across the city’s housing developments. By working in close coordination with resident patrols, community groups, and development managers, the Bureau remains dedicated to effectively reducing crime and improving the quality of life in and around New York City’s public housing developments.
Governor Hochul and NYPD Commissioner Tisch today visited Police Service Area (PSA) 2, which serves Brooklyn North. PSA 2 patrols 42 developments within the 73rd, 75th, and 77th precincts and has achieved the strongest crime reduction in Brooklyn so far this year. Within this service area, shooting incidents fell 40 percent and shooting victims are down 45.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
Across New York City, major crime in public housing declined 6.3 percent (3,174 vs. 3,387) between January and July of this year.
Murders down 45 percent (11 vs. 20),
Shooting incidents down 33.3 percent (54 vs. 81),
Shooting victims down 35.2 percent (59 vs. 91), and
Robberies down 19.3 percent (419 vs. 519).
Governor Hochul’s continued investment in law enforcement enables the NYPD to maintain approximately 5,000 hours of daily Enhanced Transit Safety Overtime and supports the continued deployment of mobile field forces and enhanced resources on trains and platforms.
Last week, Governor Hochul updated New Yorkers on her record investments in public safety, which have contributed to a significant reduction in crime and gun violence throughout her tenure as Governor. To date, the Governor has invested nearly $4 billion in public safety initiatives — including gun violence prevention, subway safety, hate crime prevention and border security — while providing historic support for local and state law enforcement from Long Island to Buffalo.
As a result, New York State has seen a 10 percent decrease in index crime, with reductions across all seven crime categories and a more than 60 percent decline in shooting deaths since the Governor’s first full year in office.
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White Plains Community Media TV channels are currently off the air. (The problem was first reported by viewers 12 days ago .)
However, the website is working to live stream programming at www.whiteplainsny.gov/87/Cable-Television.
Please note that streaming online needs to be via Firefox or Safari until this issue is resolved.
Teams are looking into both the cable and internet issues and working to fix the problem as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience.
UPDATE
If you are an Optimum subscriber, and you go to the www.wpcommunitymedia.org website you are unable to download current week videos of public access shows. It is unclear if you can download and see programs on Verizon.
The Community media and TV channels are still visible on Verizon channels 44 45 and 46 after a media air check this afternoon by WPCNR with a Verizon subscriber.
Optimum subcribers are unable to receive any programming unless you access Firefox and Safari and go to www.whiteplainsny.gov/87/ and that option is now in effect.
The cable television offices told WPCNR that the live stream URL in blue sends you to the city channel which is streaming the current programming at regular times.
Apparently the condition causing the blackout of Optimum Channel 76 is one of compatibility of recent changes Optimum has made.
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As summer winds down, several diseases are winding up, like Covid-19 infections and rare mosquito-borne illnesses. Unfortunately, we can expect the same for vaccine-preventable diseases, according to new CDC data.
We also have some good news: the approval of a new mRNA flu vaccine. If you’re deciding whether to get it, there is some important nuance for you to consider.
Here’s your disease “weather report” and what it may mean for you and your family.
Covid-19 levels (e.g., emergency department visits, wastewater transmission), remain low nationally but continue to rise in every state. The South and the West are the leaders, which is typical this time of year.
By the end of this wave, we can expect 10-15% of people to get infected. Thankfully, the number of hospitalizations isn’t nearly as high with population immunity, but Covid-19 remains serious for older adults, infants, and people who are immunocompromised.
Are Covid-19 metrics still useful for tracking waves? Yes, when used together.
It’s true that fewer people and places are testing, but the positivity rate reflects the share of tests, which helps show the direction of trends. For wastewater, the number of sites has dipped slightly (from ~1,500 to 1,300), and funding is hanging on by a thread, but our systems still cover ~144 million people.
What this means for you: We are at the beginning of a Covid-19 wave. It’s not clear how small or big this will get, but if you’re high risk for severe disease, the time to get the vaccine is now.
It’s peak mosquito season. So rare mosquito-borne diseases like dengue (also known as “break-bone fever” due to severe joint pain) are popping up in the news, particularly in the Southern and Western U.S.
Last week, the first-ever non-travel-related Dengue case was reported in Virginia. A local mosquito bit a returning traveler with dengue, then bit another person nearby, and they got sick. This isn’t going to turn into an outbreak, because these mosquitoes only feed every few days, stay within a few hundred yards of where they hatched, and live just 2-4 weeks.
A few decades ago, epidemiologists would have been surprised to find locally acquired dengue in the U.S., as it was typically confined to the equator.
Mosquitoes in the U.S. have long been capable of carrying the disease (so infected mosquitoes aren’t marching northward from the equator), but the environment in the U.S. didn’t have conditions for the disease to thrive. Now, infected travelers combined with longer, warmer seasons create the perfect conditions for transmission. Scientists expect it to become increasingly common.
What this means for you: Dengue, or any mosquito-borne disease in the U.S., is very rare. Mosquitoes are mostly a nuisance. The name of the game is prevention of bites.
We can expect measles, whooping cough, and other vaccine-preventable diseases to continue to creep back up, according to CDC data released yesterday.
Some takeaways:
What this means to you: The high national vaccination rates are great, but they mask state variability.
And state rates mask local variability. Local rates (and unvaccinated, tight-knit pockets) are what really drive outbreaks, school disruptions, and costs to a county. This data is rarely available to parents and communities. I hope CDC is working on it, but in the meantime here is a tool from Washington Post to see where your community lands.
By now, you’ve probably seen the headlines: FDA approved the first mRNA flu shot (called mFlusiva) for older adults. Many people are excited about it. (It is great news!) Here is the nuance to help you make an evidence-based decision this fall.
In a large clinical trial, the mRNA flu vaccine was more effective than a standard vaccine at preventing symptoms in adults aged 50 and older: 2% of people who got mFlusiva developed flu, compared to 2.8% who got the standard shot. This equates to a 27% more effective vaccine.
This is good news because our standard flu vaccines aren’t that great at preventing infection. The flu virus mutates quickly, so flu vaccines can range from 15% to 60% effective each year, depending on how much the virus has changed over the 6 months it takes to make the vaccine and get it into arms. Any improvement is great. In addition, mRNA vaccine formulas can be updated in weeks, which would be enormous if we can adapt the annual policy pipeline to match that speed (or in case we get a flu pandemic).
If you’re like me and the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine knocked you out for a day or two, I have some unfortunate news: this one will probably do the same. That’s because, for some people, the immune system reacts to how mRNA vaccines are delivered into your cells (via lipid nanoparticles), leading to more inflammation.
Compared with a standard flu shot, the mRNA flu vaccine causes more injection-site pain (66% vs. 30%), fatigue (45% vs. 20%), and headaches (38% vs. 18%). Most of these side effects were mild and gone within a day or two, and no serious safety issues arose.
1. How well does it work for seniors? It’s unclear.
For adults aged 50-64, the vaccine was fully approved because the clinical trial was straightforward: fewer people got sick.
For adults 65 and older, it’s messier.
This group usually gets a high-dose flu shot, since their immune systems respond less strongly to a standard dose. But mFlusiva was never tested head-to-head against that high-dose shot in a clinical trial. Instead, it was approved for this age group based on high antibody levels tested in petri dishes. The mRNA flu vaccine has been shown to generate broader antibody responses than current vaccines, suggesting it could be more effective over time. The T cell response also seemed better. This will likely mean they are better, but we don’t have enough data yet to confirm this or answer “how much better?” FDA is requiring Moderna to run that head-to-head trial, but results won’t be in for a year or two. In the meantime, they authorized its use for people ages 65 and older through an accelerated approval.
2. Will people be able to get it this fall? Yes, maybe, I think?
For those aged 50-64, it’s unclear whether this will be widely available. Traditionally, ACIP has to recommend a new vaccine for insurance to cover it and for physicians to order it. But ACIP isn’t functioning because of a legal dispute between AAP and RFK Jr. It’s unclear what happens in fall.
For those 65 and older, there is a loophole: flu vaccine coverage under Medicare Part B is written directly into the law. It doesn’t depend on ACIP. That means people 65+ on Medicare should be able to get it this fall at no cost.
3. Will people actually get vaccinated?
This is the elephant in the room: flu vaccination rates are decreasing across the country at staggering rates. Shiny new biotechnology is cool, but not if people don’t use it.
What this means for you: A new mRNA flu vaccine should be available to those 65 years and older this fall.
Covid-19 is resurging, rare mosquito-borne diseases are gaining ground, and illnesses from the 19th century are making an unwelcome return. The tools to stop them exist (and new ones are coming), but the question is whether we’ll use them.
Love, YLE
Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below:
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Governor Kathy Hochul issued a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Markwayne Mullin to reiterate her strong opposition to the termination of protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Secretary Mullin:
I am writing to follow up on a conversation I had with President Trump, and to
reiterate my strong opposition to the termination of protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants under Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
The callousness of abruptly ending TPS for legally-present individuals including the
recent termination for Haitians and the forthcoming termination for Salvadorians will force New York State and local governments to sever the employment of hundreds of essential employees as soon as next week, putting their livelihoods – and potentially their safety – at risk.
This impact is not limited to government workers and will be felt by private sector
industries across our state. The sudden removal of these members of our workforce and our communities will impact critical services that New Yorkers rely on – with a particularly heavy impact on the healthcare industry, putting our seniors and other vulnerable New Yorkers at risk.
For generations, New York has welcomed those fleeing disasters or persecution and
seeking a better future. Through our Office for New Americans, my administration has
supported thousands of New Yorkers with TPS application assistance and legal
representation. New York remains committed to supporting TPS recipients and will continue to do everything in our power to prevent harm to the immigrant community.
By knowingly and cruelly forcing thousands of families to leave our country and
return to their home countries, regardless of any ongoing or worsening humanitarian crises, the White House is committing a reckless and inhumane act. But it is not too late to reverse course.
I once again urge you to fully restore TPS for those who cannot return due to extreme
instability, violence, and crises in TPS-designated countries. These individuals have made enormous contributions to our communities and our economy, and helped define the character of our state.
TPS exists precisely because people should not be forced back into danger. No
administration should knowingly send individuals back into harm’s way when the law
provides a clear path to protect them.
I eagerly await your response to this urgent matter. We, as leaders and as Americans,
have a responsibility to protect and preserve the dignity, security and basic livelihood for all.
Sincerely,
Kathy Hochul
Governor
