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 POLICE GAZETTE. December 4, 2006 UPDATED DECEMBER 5, 2006 12:31 P.M. EST: White Plains Police report their first arrest  involving possession of an illegal handgun under the new New York State law that went into effect November 1,  requiring a mandatory 3-1/2 year sentence for persons caught in possession of an handgun without a license. The arrest occurred the day after Thanksgiving, (10 days ago) at the Winbrook housing complex in the city.

In a related development, the Police Department has issued a statement on the issue of turning in illegal guns, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Daniel Jackson urges, “any illegal or found handguns should be reported to the police. It is important that they not be handled by untrained persons.”

Unfortunately, its a difficult issue and each case is unique. Citizens should call the 422-6111 general business line to make the report. If the gun is, in fact found, our job is to safely secure the weapon and investigate it’s origin.

Meanwhile, as reported yesterday, here are the details of the first arrest in White Plains for illegal handgun possession are:

Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety Daniel Jackson reports on November 24 at approximately 6 P.M., officers responded to a report of a man with a gun at 135 South Lexington Avenue on the sixth floor. Commissioner Jackson describes the situation as “appartently” “a dispute in the hallway in which one of the parties displayed a semi-automatic handgun.

Investigation resulted in the arrest of David Pinnock, 34 years old of 135 S. Lexington Apartment 6-D for Criminal Possession of a Weapon after a .380 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. Additionally, the Deputy Commissioner reports the arrest of Michael Giles, 27, of 86 Dekalb Avenue for Criminal Possession of A Controlled Substance after approximately 5-1/2 grans if alleged cocaine was also recovered. The Commissioner said any Criminal Possession of a Weapon charge would be prosecuted by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the procedure being, he said, first determining if a felony has been committed then when that is determined the case is turned over to the District Attorney’s office for prosecution.

A Westchester County Police press spokesperson said in response to a WPCNR question on the possibility of planting  illegal guns as a method that now could be used by a person’s enemies to cause their enemies to be incarcerated, said that usually planting illegal drugs was a better way to entrap a person, because the sentence is longer. The press office was also attempting to get WPCNR a copy of the Westchester County law describing what circumstances were recognized as legal for carrying a licensed handgun.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. Interview with Kim Wood, University of Michigan Marching Band & WPHS Graduate. D ecember 2, 2006 UPDATED December 4, 2006: The University of Michigan is going to the Rose Bowl.  So is their crack marching band. Here, Kim Wood of the WPHS Class of 05, who gave us her impressions of the Ohio State Michigan game experience, gives her insights as to what it’s like marching with the Big Band, which prepares for each game just as much as the football team, learning complex formations, new each week.

KIM WOOD, WPHS GRAD at Michigan Stadium — “The Big House”

 One of the real flaws of network halftime coverage is they no longer show halftime shows, cutting away to sports wrapup shows which are sponsored. It is a shame, especially when you hear Ms. Wood describe some of the University of Michigan spectaculars when she discussed her band experience at the U of M with WPCNR:

Wood, a clarinetist, has performed in every halftime show for the U of M marching band this band of approximate 300 students. Kim Wood graduated with the White Plains High School Class of 2005, is a member of the Big Blue Marching Band. A few weeks ago she gave us an insight into her football marching season and performing every halftime show, which is something when you realize she has to audition for her slot on Saturday:

 “It’s really a great experience. Every week, the Performance Block is set. The Performance Block is the 235 people that march for Pregame and then a few more are added to that who march for halftime. Every week the Rank Leaders have to challenge a certain amount of people in each rank. If you’re challenged, you have to do the marching audition on Friday to try to stay in the block. 

Wood says it is very stressful – performing the music and the formation: “One line goes (marches and plays) at a time – challenging on pregame marching and halftime marching. On Monday you find out if you made the Performance Block.”

WPCNR, corresponding with Ms. Wood from the U of M campus, asked to tell us about the band: “There are 368 people in the band, including the flags, the twirlers, and the Drum Major. There are 40 clarinets, and I am the 13^th chair.”

 WPCNR asked about what they performed at the various halftimes of the year:

 “For the Ohio State game, we did a Led Zeppelin Show, consisting of Rock and Roll/The Ocean as one song, Black Dog/Kashmir as another, and Stairway to Heaven as the last. There were no real noticeable formations for that show, we did curves and diagonal lines.

          The shows where we created unique formations were the Wisconsin game Michael Jackson Show, where we made a script MJ with a fedora on top of it, like his fedora in the smooth criminal video. Then we formed a bunch of 10 big squares as shown in the Billie Jean video where he jumps on the sidewalk and it lights up.

         Our flags ran to each square and lit up the squares with the flags as our Drum Major ran to each square and acted as Michael Jackson.

          The show wrapped up to “Bad” like the graffiti in the “Bad” video. For “Thriller” we made 3 tombstones with the initials of the 3 teams we had beaten so far. Then we all zombie-walked over to our next spot and did a dance of Michael Jackson Dances.”

At the Iowa game, the band created a “march” show. Wood reports the band performed Berlioz’s March to the Scaffold/ Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis, John Williams’ March from 1941, National Emblem and The Stars and Stripes Forever: “We did very straight marching for this show to represent military marching, no curve formations or anything. It was all precise and straight. We opened an American Flag on the field at the end of The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The Ball State Game was impressive for the band’s formations: “We did a theme song show with the music from Mission Impossible/Knight Rider/Hawaii 5-0/and the A-Team as one number, and Dynasty/I Dream of Jeannie/and Gilligan’s Island as another, and the Star Trek theme as the last.

      “We formed the M:I symbol. We formed Kit (the car in Knight Rider) and rotated the wheels, a big wave for Hawaii 5-0, and A-T-E-A-M for the A-Team. We created the bottle for I Dream of Jeannie and a ship that crashed onto a rock for Gilligan’s Island. Finally, we formed the Starfleet Symbol for Star Trek with Patrick Stewart (who played a latter day Dr. Spock) conducting the band.”

       Wood explained that Patrick Stewart was on campus as artist in-residency in Ann Arbor with the Royal Shakespeare Company. “Our Band Director got Stewart to come conduct us at the game for the Star Trek theme. He came to one of our practices as well and told us that he had been taking conducting lessons from the director of music at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was very excited, honored, and happy to be there and everyone loved it.”

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By “Red Light” Bailey. December 1, 2006: For the first two minutes and 40 seconds of this game there was end to end action. Charlie Pavarini put an end to that.

Number 14,  Charlie Pavarini’s slick conversion flying in off left wing and taking a laser, stick-to-the-blade pass from Ryan McGee to Charlie from behind the goal set him up real nice about 15 feet out. He nailed it,  beating  the Pawling tender high left and tight inside with a forehander at 4:18 of the First Period  at Ebersole Rink Thursday night to start a workmanlike 5-1 Tiger win. Here Pavarini has lofted the puck behind the Pawling goaltender into the left side of the net. Ryan McGee who created the goal is just behind the goal line. Then the “Seek Line” of Phil Sigona, Tim Conroy and Rui Encarnacao took over the ice. Photo, WPCNR Sports

With the Tigers on the Power Play after a foolish “Hit From Behind” Pawling penalty, at 5:36 in, Phil Sigona took an errant shot from Rui Encarnacao on left wing in the far corner. Phil tentatively skated in along the goal line with no defenseman picking him up and took on the goaltender at point blank range. Phil savagely jammed the rubber in on the right side of the net through the tender’s pads between the legs, for a 2-0 lead 1 minute and 28 seconds later at 7:46 of the First.

The Tigers got careless at the 11:06 of the period and allowed Pawling’s Kevin Gaughran swooping in on right wing after taking a cross-ice pass from Bill Vitro to beat Mike Camberari off balance to make it 2-1 with 3:54 to go in the period.

With Pawling slowing down because of the furious pace, Rui Encarnarcao received a pass from Phil Sigona(Number 8) from the left hand corner behind the goal taking the feed about 30 feet out. Rui skated across ice above the circles, uncontested and fired his whip forehander at waist level past goaltender Schwartz to Schwartz’s right who appeared handcuffed by the hummer. Looking at this shot, Rui (Number 9) is about to fire the black laser and the goaltender appears screened by his own defenseman. Photo, WPCNR Sports

There was 1:57 to go in the period and it ended that way, 3-1 White Plains. Mike Cambareri’s goal-tending was outstanding in the First Period especially in the first two minutes and the last 7, making 4 very difficult saves to start the game on close-in shots caused by ill-advised cross ice passes and clearing attempts that did not clear.

In the second period, Pawling’s attack was consistently stymied by better positioning by the WP defensemen, Fairhurst, McCarrick and the relentless forechecking of White Plains forwards.  Pawling managed only 5 shots on goal. Meanwhile White Plains pressed the action on three power plays with the Orange and Black converting on power play number 3 with Tim Conroy sweeping in a loose puck to the left of the new Pawling goaltender, Andy Bardua.

The Mucker Mops Up! After Pawling’s Andy Bardua had made the initial save, Conroy’s work behind the net to set up an initial shot from the goaltender’s right by Encarnarcao, leading to the bound off the goalies pads and Conroy poking and badgering and whacking, swept it in for a 4-1  White Plains lead with 5:51 to go in the second period. It broke open the game. Rui Encarnacao celebrates! Conroy (12) just behind Pawling defenseman celebrate the hardwork. The puck is just to the left of the goaltender’s extended leg. Photo, WPCNR Sports

The third period saw the Tigers ice it early when Rui Encarnarcao notched his second goal of the night on assists from Conroy and Steve McCarrick just 2 minutes and 24 seconds into the period to make it 5-1. Rui’s second goal was very much like his First Period score, a blast from out front between the circles.

Mike Cambareri padding aside a point blanker from the right wing in the Third Period. Photo, WPCNR Sports

Cambareri sticks away another in the Third Period. (Seen through the scarred, scratched, and badly-in-need-of-replacing rinkside glass.) Photo, WPCNR Sports

Tiger Paws: The “Seek Line,” so dubbed by WPCNR because they “seek out” the puck, and it is a play on Phil Sigona’s name, had a great hockey night. Encarnarcao’s 2 goals gives him 6 for the season with 5 assists, Tim Conroy’s goal and assist gives him 2 goals for the season, plus 8 assists, and Phil Sigona’s goal and assist gives him 7 for the season with 3 assits… Mike Cambareri made 24 saves, Pawling’s two goaltenders handled 39 shots…Charlie Pavarini who got things started notched goal number 2 for his season…White Plains moves to 4-1. Next home game is Thursday night on Ebersole Ice, 5:15 P.M.

The WPCNR Stars of the Game are the three members of the Seek Line:  No 1, Rui Encarnarcao, Number  2, Tim Conroy and Star No. 3, Phil Sigona — the line that works for each other, scores together.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. November 30, 2006: It’s sign up time for White Plains Little League for the 2007 Spring Season for baseball and softball. Children born between May 1, 1991 and December 31, 2001 are eligible to play. Parents can sign their young players up online at www.whiteplainslittleleague.com, or by filling out a Registration at the Department of Recreation and Parks, or by mailing in a Registration to the White Plains Little League. Cost is $85 for a children 5 to 8 years of age and $110 for children 9 to 15. In-person registration will be held January 6, 2007 from 9 AM to 1. However the vast majority of registrants find it much more convenient to register on line where you can pay by Mastercard or Visa. Registrants after January 15 will be assessed a late fee. The site also contains a calendar of events. 

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WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. November 28, 2006: The site of The Pinnacle on Main Street, the 171-unit condoplex planned by the Ginsburg Development Corporation is polluted with an undetermined amount of cleaning fluid, delaying the start of that complex indefinitely.

Ginsburg Development Corporation is negotiating with the Department of Environmental Conservation to determine the extent of the contamination and whether it has to be cleaned out before ground is  broken, according to a story filed by Alex Philippidis in the Westchester County Business Journal Tuesday.

The White Plains Common Council should be intrigued. The Council gave The Pinnacle a stay of the date when Ginsburg Development  has to post a guarantee to construct 52 units of affordable housing, 24 of which are to fulfill Louis Cappelli’s affordable housing unit requirement in exchange for approval to build the Ritz-Carlton Westchester down the street. The extension by the Common Council  to provide GDC more time  to cobble state and county  financing together for the affordable housing piece.

The Westchester County Business Journal’s Alex Philippidis broke the pollution story today, in his report on the November 16 meeting of the Westchester County Board of Realtors. At the meeting,  Andrew Maniglia, Vice President of Development for Ginsburg Development Corporation,  revealed to the realtors that the land where The Pinnacle, the Main Street condoplex scheduled to go up this spring across from City Hall is contaminated with cleaning fluid dumped on the site in previous years.

Maniglia said Ginsburg Development is negotiating with the Department of Environmental Conservation to determine what the amount of the contamination perchloroethylene , a cleaning fluid, is and whether the company needs to remediate the deposit.

Maniglia reported Ginsburg Development has been in talks with the DEC to receive funding from the DEC “brown site cleanup fund” that has recently changed fund eligibility requirements so builders of condominums could use it to clean up their sites.

The pesky deposit of cleaning fluid creates a timing problem for Ginsburg Development Corporation.

The developer received an extension from the White Plains Common Council for it to get its financing together for the 52-unit  affordable housing component of the project. That extension when The Pinnacle has to file a guarantee with the city that the affordable housing will be built expires in April, 2007.

Ginsburg Development Corporation agreed with Cappelli Enterprises to build the affordable housing units Cappelli Enterprises is charged with building as part of its 221 Main Ritz-Carlton Westchester project. The Common Council has staunchly maintained that unless the Ritz-Carlton affordable housing “share” is guaranteed to be built, the council would withhold a Certificate of Occupancy for the Ritz-Carlton, scheduled to open in ten months (September, 2007). With no ground broken, which the Pinnacle people had promised two months ago, it is virtually impossible to have any affordable housing units built by September 2007, let alone open.

Mr. Philippidis’ story may be read at http://www.westchestercbj.com/archive/112706/1127060003.php

To refresh your memory on the Council extension of the Guaranty Agreement, read the WPCNR report on this extenstion at http://wpcnr.com/article5145.html