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 PRESS BOX. Special to WPCNR. July 26, 2004: The Juggernaut and the Texas Thunder played four innings Sunday afternoon with the Thunder enjoying a 6-0 lead, when the thunderstorms that had delayed the start of the contest returned to the Houston area. The game was suspended, and will be played to its conclusion on the Thunder’s last trip to New Jersey, August 8, 9 and 10. Meanwhile the Nauts reeling from two miserable games in the Thunder lair, return home Tuesday to play the Arizona Heat at Montclair State University Softball Stadium in a twilight game at 4:05 P.M., and night games Wednesday and Thursday evening at 7:35 P.M. The Nauts currently are third at 25-16, 2 games behind the Thunder (24-11), and Akron (25-12) in a virtual tie for first in the three-way battle for supremacy in the National Pro Fastpitch standings.  The Standings:

The National Pro Fastpitch Standings July 26, 2004:

                                    W         L        Games Behind

Akron Racers                25      12                ____

Texas Thunder               24      11                _____

NY NJ  Juggernaut        25      16                  2

New England Riptide     18      23                  9

Arizona Heat                  13      27                 13-1/2

California Sunbirds          12     28                  14-1/2

Sunday’s Results

Arizona 3, New England 1

Akron 14, California 2

New York New Jersey at Texas, suspended.

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2004. July 26, 2004: The Westchester County Independence Party recently announced its support of Assemblyman Adam Bradley in his upcoming bid for re-election in November.  Bradley represents the 89^th Assembly district which includes the towns of Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, Pound Ridge, and most of the city of White Plains.

“Adam Bradley has been a thoughtful, effective and reform minded member of the Assembly.  He has delivered for the 89^th Assembly District, we need his independent thinking in the Assembly,” said Westchester Independence Party Spokesperson Dr. Giullio Cavallo.  “The Independence Party is proud to endorse Adam Bradley for re-election.”

“I am pleased to receive the endorsement of the Independence Party.  The Independence Party and I share many of the same goals — budget reform, political reform, and greater use of conference committees to avoid legislative deadlock” Bradley said. “This endorsement recognizes my hard work in the Assembly and the attempts that I have made to reform the process up in Albany.”

The Independence Party is now the third largest political party in New York State.

 “I am pleased that the Independence Party recognized that in the last two years, I have accomplished a great deal,” Bradley said. “There’s still more to be done, and I remain committed to making Westchester a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Fastpitch Johnny. July 22, 2004: The Maryland Storm struck with the long ball Thursday afternoon at Pomptom Lakes Field in Loudoun, Virginia on a humid overcast day, to hand the Hudson River Panthers (now 21-14) their first loss in bracket play in the 2004 PONY Nationals. A three-run natural homer  high far and gone over the right center field fence by big number 88 in the third inning after two singles, put the Storm on top 3-0. They added another run on two misplayed bunts. The Panthers came back scoring 3 runs in the 4th on a double error with the bases loaded by the Storm second baseman, but could not come back all the way and lost 6-3. After a torrential rain storm washed out the Thursday night card, the Panthers will play Friday morning to try and stay alive.

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WPCNR PRESS BOX. By Fastpitch Johnny. July 21, 2004: Ardlsey’s Maggie Goldberg’s diving backhand tumbling snare of  tailing liner in the left center field, choked off a 7th inning rally by the Fire and Ice Storm, enabling the Hudson River Parents to defeat the Fire and Ice Storm of Long Island, 5-3, this afternoon in 90 degree heat and humidity at  Loudoun Virginia’s Trailside Park complex at the 2004 PONY Nationals Tournament of Champions.

Ray Frederick and Joe Carrabello’s club plays Thursday afternoon in bracket play to see if they can keep their run going.

The Panthers won behind the pitching of Lagrange’s Michelle Barone who went all the way for the win. The Panthers, a first year team are now 21-13 on the season. Valhalla’s Meg Davidson drove in a run with a single in the first inning. Maggie Goldberg squeezed home a second run in the 5th and Brewster’s Danielle Baciano squeezed home another run in the 5th inning to make it 3-0. Three errors in the sixth gave the Panthers the runs they won by.

Barone went seven innings pitching out of a second and third situation in the 4th, and a basesloaded 1 out situation in the sixth. A runner was on in the seventh and 1 in, and the score 5-3 when the Storm’s big boppette blasted one high and deep to left center. Goldberg off at the Dong of the bat raced into left center launched herself parallel to the grass, glove stretched out backhanded got the drive in the webbing, tumbled to her back holding on. CATCH! She saved a certain triple and perhaps a homer by her “circle-it-in-the-scorebook” catch. Instead of 5-4 and tying run on third. It was two out. Runner on first.

It was the best catch in fastpitch this reporter has seen, ranking with the great play a Greenwich player made on White Plains Cyndi Carheghi four years ago in White Plains night game.

Danielle Basciano also made a great leaping one hand grab of a liner just behind second base on the grass for another great play.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. July 21, 2004: In his continuing effort to get electric rates reduced in Westchester, County Executive Andy Spano is once again urging the Public Service Commission (PSC) to put an end to the long-time practice of Con Edison’s  electric users subsidizing Con Edison’s steam customers in Manhattan.

            The Spano Administration will present testimony on this issue Thursday at 7 p.m. at a public hearing before the PSC at the Westchester County Center. The PSC hearing deals with rates the PSC proposes to set for its steam customers. Westchester has no steam customers. Over Westchester’s objections, the PSC proposes to continue, instead of to eliminate, the subsidies for steam customers.

 The testimony on behalf of Spano will be presented by Edward Gibbs, executive director of the Westchester County Public Utility Service Agency.

 This is just Spano’s latest legal effort to make sure that Westchester electric users are not unfairly charged. Earlier this year, after four years, Spano won his legal battle to put an end to a practice of forcing Con Ed’s Westchester electric ratepayers to subsidize Con Edison’s New York City electric ratepayers. 

 “Con Edison rates are high enough without Westchester residents and businesses having to pay more than their fair share,” Spano says in his prepared statement in the latest case involving steam customers. “We will continue to use every legal means possible to fight any and all overcharges.

As noted by Spano, “The electric customers should not be required to subsidize steam customers by approximately $100 million per year.” Of this, approximately $12 million would come from Westchester electric ratepayers, and the remainder from New York City electric ratepayers. 

He further states, “It is incontrovertible that Con Edison’s electric customers are being required to subsidize a steam system that is geographically limited and serves only a limited number of large customers in Manhattan.  It does not matter whether you call this a subsidy, transferred costs or rents by the electric system, it is in fact a subsidization of these large steam customers by electric customers, including those on low and fixed incomes.”

He argues that this subsidy is even more unfair when put in context of a request by Con Edison for a 9.2 percent increase in its electric rates for residential customers.

In November of last year, the PSC ordered a phase out of a long-time practice whereby Westchester’s Con Edison electric users were subsidizing New York City’s electric users. The order from the PSC came in response to a four-year-long legal battle initiated by Spano to change Con Ed’s rate structure.   Annually, Westchester had been paying overcharges of $100 million to $120 million.