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STATE SENATOR SHELLEY MAYER WANTS TO KNOW YOUR ISSUES — PLEASE FILL OUT HER SURVEY
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LOOK FOR THIS SURVEY IN THE MAIL.
NEW YEARS NEWS: EVEN YEAR ELECTIONS PASSED IN NY. FREE BEELINE BUSES TO AND FROM WHITE PLAINS FOR NEW YEARS EVE BALL DROP
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District 92 | News You Can Use
Happy New Year! I wish a joyful, healthy, and rewarding 2024 to all — and a very fun and safe New Year’s Eve celebration to kick it off.
Stay Safe from Drunk Driving Never drink and drive. Don’t let someone get behind the wheel if that person has been drinking. If you’re hosting a gathering, make sure everyone has a sober ride home. Call 911 if you see a drunk driver. Always wear your seat belt. It’s your best defense against impaired drivers. Recent data shows that December drunk driving deaths are near a 15-year high. Please keep in mind the dangers and consequences of driving drunk and do your part to keep our roads safe. If you’re celebrating and drinking this weekend, remember to plan ahead with a sober driver to take you home. If you’re the designated driver, it’s important to take the role seriously and don’t consume alcohol or use other drugs.
New York’s free “Have a Plan” app will allow you to designate a driver, call a cab or ride share, and to review the consequences of impaired driving. You can also use the app to report an impaired driver. “Have a Plan” is available for Apple, Android, and Windows smart phones.
Thruway Holiday Update
Most Lane Closures Suspended for the New Year’s Eve Weekend Free Coffee and Hot Tea for Thruway Travelers To ease travel during the busy holiday weekend, temporary lane closures for road and bridge construction projects on New York State highways will be suspended from 6 AM Friday, December 29, through 6 AM Tuesday, January 2. Some work may continue behind permanent concrete barriers for emergency repairs. The New York State Thruway Authority will also continue its tradition of offering free coffee and hot tea to travelers at 27 plazas along the Thruway from 11 PM New Year’s Eve through 7 AM New Year’s morning to promote safety and alert driving. Find more Thruway information and resources at thruway.ny.gov.
Metro-North Holiday Update
Extra New Year’s Eve Service on Subways and Commuter Rails Off-Peak Fares in Effect on Commuter Railroads The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is the best way to ring in the New Year in New York City as millions hit the roads to shop, eat, and travel. Most MTA agencies are operating on weekend or holiday schedules, while running additional trains for riders heading into the city for New Year’s Eve festivities. New Year’s Eve:
New Year’s Day:
For real-time service updates and information, customers can use the MTA’s official apps MYmta and TrainTime. Learn more at mta.info/guides/apps.
Bee-Line Holiday Update
Free New Year’s Eve Shuttle Service in White Plains, Yonkers, and New Rochelle There will be a special New Year’s Eve Bee-Line bus shuttle service to facilitate safe and convenient transportation for residents and visitors during the festive celebrations. All Bee-Line service remains fare-free through January 1. White Plains Shuttle:
Yonkers Shuttle:
New Rochelle Shuttle:
For more information visit Bee-Line Bus on the Westchester County website or call 914-813-7777.
Recently Enacted Legislation The Governor of New York has until the end of December to sign or veto bills that were passed by the Legislature during the calendar year. Conversely, legislation that was passed by both houses but remains unsigned by December 31 will expire without taking effect. So far this month, Governor Hochul has enacted these items from our 2023 legislative session: A.4282B – Even-Year Elections: Expands access to the ballot box and makes it easier to vote in local elections by aligning many county and town elections currently held in odd-numbered years with statewide and legislative elections that are held in even-numbered years. A.3484 – LLC Transparency Act: Creates a database of the beneficial owners of Limited Liability Corporations that is accessible to government agencies and law enforcement, allowing members of law enforcement and regulatory authorities to uncover misconduct. A.4023 – Fraud Protection for Low-Income New Yorkers: Requires stores accepting electronic benefit transfer cards to warn of skimming scams, in order to help prevent residents from falling victim to this practice and losing their SNAP benefits or cash assistance. A.7669 – Reducing Court Backlog: Increases the number of judges serving on certain courts, to help alleviate the current backlog of nearly 120,000 cases in jurisdictions across the State. A.3983 – Angelica’s Law: Decreases the number of prior license suspensions needed to qualify for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a class E felony; named for 14-year-old Angelica Nappi, who died in 2008 after a crash caused by a driver with multiple prior suspensions. A.5791A – Defining “Mass Shooting” in New York State: Aligns the State’s definition of “mass shooting” with that of the Federal Bureau of Investigations — as a shooting incident where there are at least four people murdered with a firearm, shotgun, or rifle — in order to facilitate emergency response measures and community access to emergency funding and resources. A.5088 – Task Force for Missing BIPOC Women and Girls: Establishes a task force on missing women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color — a cohort that comprised 43% of the more than 271,000 missing women and girls reported in 2022, per the FBI’s National Crime Information Center. A.7691 – Commission to Study Reparations and Racial Justice: Creates a new commission to examine the legacy of slavery and its lingering negative effects on people currently living in the State of New York, with the goal of issuing issue a report consisting of recommendations for appropriate action to address enduring inequities. A.6216B – Strengthening Rent Stabilization: Strengthens protections for rent stabilized tenants throughout New York State by making various changes to avoid improper deregulations or rent increases and improve enforcement of the rent stabilization laws. A.6115 – Lead Pipe Right to Know Act: Requires that information about the number and location of lead pipes be made easily available to the public, so that state and federal resources can be secured and efficiently targeted to support local efforts to remove all lead pipes impacting New York’s drinking water. A.2917 – Protecting Wildlife from Hunting Derbies: Prohibits the wasteful taking of certain wildlife by making certain hunting contests, competitions, tournaments, and derbies that allow for the take of large numbers of wildlife unlawful; does not ban hunting or fishing. A.7640 – Birds and Bees Protection Act: Protects New Yorkers and our insects and and other wildlife by prohibiting the use of certain neonicotinoid pesticides on treated corn, soybean, and wheat seed crops, as well as outdoor ornamental plants and turfs.
It’s been my honor to serve in this first year as your State Assemblymember. I look forward to representing the interests of our residents in the new legislative session, which opens on January 3, and I will continue to share the “news you can use” from Albany and across our communities in the year to come. If my office can be of assistance to you, please respond to this email or call 914-631-1605.
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COFFEE WITH “THE STORIES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE YEAR 2023” ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK, THE TRADITIONAL END OF THE YEAR REPORT WORLDWIDE ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
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JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS
YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK
EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK
BEGINNING OUR 23 YEAR OF REPORTING ON JANUARY 1, 2024
33 STORIES IN 30 MINUTES
THE ISSUES AT LARGE
WHAT THEY MEAN
WHERE THEY ARE AT
WHAT’S AHEAD?
WHERE WHITE PLAINS IS AT NOW.
JOHN BAILEY, THE CITIZENETREPORTER
TAKES YOU MONTH BY MONTH
THROUGH THE SHOCKING YEAR OF 2023
THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE FAST-MOVING HARD-RIDING
NEWS REMUDA ROUNDUP
TONIGHT AT 8 ON FIOS 45 AND OPTIMUM CH 76 ON THE MOST IMPORTANT WPTV “PEOPLE TO BE HEARD OF THE YEAR”–STATE SENATOR SHELLEY MAYER HOSTS A HALF HOUR FORUM ON SCHOOL BULLYING AND DISRESPECT
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A REBROADCAST OF OUR PEOPLE TO BE HEARD COVERAGE OF THE JULY 18 STATE SENATOR SHELLEY MAYER’S FORUM ON RESPONDING TO HATE IN OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR SCHOOLS, AND NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR
SEE IT ANYTIME ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
State Cuts Cost of Living Increase for Caregivers of the Disabled. Please help the Angels of Our Time
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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. DECEMBER 28, 2023
Good afternoon,
All parents worry that their children are happy and safe. We have five children, but the worries for two of our children, our twins Lara and Bradley, are of different concern.
Lara and Bradley cannot talk, cannot walk, are virtually blind, and cannot feed themselves. Although physically, they can do almost nothing, they understand so much.
While not a minute goes by, we don’t worry about them; we know Lara and Bradley are safe and well cared for because of Richmond Community Services.
Richmond Community Services operates residences for individuals with a wide range of disabilities. Richmond also provides day programs where our children, like many others, are encouraged to learn and grow to the highest possible level of independence and receive loving attention from a fantastic staff. We have always felt so grateful & comforted that this incredible organization supports Lara and Bradley.
Every year, Richmond must rely more and more on charitable donations due to government funding cutbacks. Recently, Richmond was advised the expected COLA increase was halved, resulting in a loss of $1.7 million in critical aid directly affecting the care of the vulnerable population Richmond serves to protect.
How can we allow funding cuts needed to help the disabled segment of our population just because so many are not physically able to stand or speak for themselves? This is the reason we are again writing to ask for your help. We will continue to fight for Bradley and Lara and all the others fortunate enough to be supported by Richmond, helping them reach the highest possible level of independence.
Please help. You can donate online at https://richmondcommserv.org/give-now or mail contributions to: RCS Foundation, 272 N. Bedford Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549.
Our deepest thanks and heartfelt appreciation,
Terri & Steve Schottenfeld
Richmond Community Services Foundation Board
And our twins Lara and Bradley and all their peers Richmond supports, thank you too…
FORCE OF INFECTION: WHAT’S GOING AROUND THE COUNTRY
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Hi — I hope you and yours are staying well as we round out 2023. I wasn’t going to post this week but checking the data is such a longstanding habit that I couldn’t resist a quick update. Briefly: Influenza-like illness is increasing quickly, with 5.1% of visits to the doctor for fever and cough or sore throat, up from 4.4% the week prior. The entire Southern region and most of the Western region are seeing very high levels of activity. New England is also heating up, with New York City in the very high category and other jurisdictions at moderate or high. The Midwest still looks pretty good, but activity is definitely increasing there as well.
Outpatient influenza-like illness activity. Source: CDC Covid-19 activity is also rising. The number of new weekly hospitalizations has climbed to over 25,000, up from a recent low of around 15,000 (note: this data is as of December 16, so it’s a little out of date). However, we are still far below last winter’s peak. The Midwestern and Northeastern regions have the highest rates of hospitalization, and those regions also have the highest wastewater concentration. People over the age of 70 are still at highest risk of hospitalization.
Source: CDC RSV activity is still high across the country. That’s all for today, just wanted to make sure you have the latest. See you next year! |
FREE BUSES ON NEW YEARS EVE
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County Executive George Latimer Announces Special New Year’s Eve Bee-Line Bus Shuttle Service to Ensure Safe Celebrations in Westchester County
(White Plains, NY) – Westchester County Executive George Latimer is pleased to announce the implementation of a special New Year’s Eve Bee-Line bus shuttle service to facilitate safe and convenient transportation for residents and visitors during the festive celebrations on December 31, 2023.
The Bee-Line bus shuttle service will operate in three key areas – White Plains, Yonkers, and New Rochelle – providing reliable transportation options for individuals looking to enjoy the New Year’s Eve festivities responsibly. Latimer has already announced that Bee-Line buses will be running fare-free through January 1.
Latimer said: “As we bid farewell to 2023, it’s crucial that all in our community enjoy the New Year’s Eve celebrations responsibly. This special free Bee-Line bus shuttle service aims to make the festivities more accessible, allowing residents and visitors to travel conveniently and safely. A sincere thanks to our Bee-Line bus drivers and DPW/T workers for their efforts in advancing this initiative.”
The three shuttles lines are as follows:
White Plains Shuttle:
· Route: Start at White Plains Trans Center, R/T Lexington, L/T Main St., R/T Mamaroneck, L/T Maple Ave., L/T Bloomingdale Rd., L/T Westchester Ave, L/T Broadway, R/T Martine back to Trans Center.
· Service Hours: Buses will begin service at 7 PM and run approximately every 20 minutes.
· Last Bus: The last bus departing from White Plains Trans Center will be at 1 AM.
· Bus Stops: Buses will stop at all existing bus stops along the designated routes.
Yonkers Shuttle:
· Route: Start on Central Ave. opposite Raceway, L/T McLean Ave., L/T Bronx River Rd., L/T Yonkers Ave, L/T Central Ave to opposite Raceway.
· Service Hours: Buses will begin service at 7 PM and run approximately every 30 minutes.
· Last Bus: The final bus leaving Clark Street (Yonkers Casino) will be at 1 AM.
· Bus Stops: Buses will make stops at all existing bus stops along the specified routes.
New Rochelle Shuttle:
· Route: Start at New Rochelle Intermodal Center, R/T North Ave, R/T Huguenot St, L/T Pintard at monument onto Main St. L/T River Ave (Echo Avenue), L/T Huguenot St, R/T North Ave, L/T Into Intermodal Center.
· Service Hours: Buses will begin service at 7 PM and run approximately every 20 minutes.
· Last Bus: The last bus departing from New Rochelle Intermodal Center will be at 1 AM.
· Bus Stops: Buses will make stops at all existing bus stops along the designated routes.
With this effort, Latimer is emphasizing the importance of providing accessible transportation options for the community, ensuring that everyone can celebrate responsibly and safely as we welcome the New Year.
COVID INFECTIONS IN NY METRO AREA: 23,211 LAST WEEK. 3,315 A DAY
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY RECORDS 6TH CONSECUTIVE WEEK OF RISING COVID CASES:
WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL REPORTS 71% OF ADMISSIONS TO BEDS FOUND WITH COVID.
WPCNR CORONAVIRUS SURVEILLANCE. Statistics from New York State Health Department. Observation & Analysis by John F. Bailey. December 27, 2028:
The week before Christmas December 17 to December 23, 23,111 persons tested positive for covid, an average of 3,851 a day in the New York City Metropolitan area.
The statistics reflect that the Mid Hudson Region of Westchester, Orange, Rockland Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan and Putnam counties rolled up 4,107 new cases 684 a Day with Westchester County leading the county with an average of 263 a day. Westchester had more than half the Mid-Hudson cases last week.
Long Island reported 7,110 cases (Nassau and Suffolk Counties) Dec 17 to 23rd or 1,015 a day,
The two Long Island Counties Nassau and Suffolk County with 7,110 cases combined with the Mid Hudson 7 counties , 4,107, flooded the 9 counties surrounding New York Cith with 11, 217 new cases in 6 days, December 17-23. (Covid cases are reported with a 3 day lagl)
In fact the suburban counties have 11,217 cases almost equally the 11, 994 cases of the 5 boroughs of New York City. The Mid Hudson Region new cases in the week before Christmas were 94% of New York City total cases (all 5 boroughs).
This super spread of the Mid-Hudson counties and Long Island is striking, because the 7 Mid Hudson Region counties and the 2 Long Island counties only have 45% of New York City population.
The rate of spread during the socializing before even the Christmas weekend travel started has
Westchester County on target for a 7th consecutive week of sharply increased cases from December 1 through December 23, Westchester County was reported by the New York State Health Depart today. The 3-day lag in reporting makes the figures on new cases even worse. There are much more to come into January.
The Covid positives of the entertaining and mixing and mingling over Christmas Weekend have not even been recorded yet. Significantly the covid in the air is getting much higher reports Sunday through Friday especially last week.
Sunday Dec 17: 185
Mon. Dec 18: 330
Tues. Dec 19: 301
Wed. Dec 20: 336
Thurs. Dec 21: 327
Fri. Dec 22: 231
Saturday Dec. 23: 128
TOTAL IN 7TH WEEK: 4.,993 IN Westchester County
No one is talking about this trend. Not the Governor’s office. No State Senator or State Assembly, No County Executives. No Mayor or County Legislator.
Just because they are not talking about it does not mean you should not be aware of Covid in the air in the company you keep.
Rough estimates indicate we could December between 8,000 infections for the month in the county to as many as 12,000 or more if this rate of spread is not substantially reduced.
Locally, the White Plains Hospital saw its steady influx of new patients admitted being found with covid continuing.
From December 8 through December 22, The New York State Department of Health recorded White Plains Hospital admitting 150 patients to beds and of the 150 , 106 or 71% tested positive after admission.
CHRISTMAS DAY PAST IN WHITE PLAINS
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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. December 25, 2005: Today the Roving Photographer captures a tradition — Christmas Morning in America — more specifically — White Plains.
Christmas Morning, 2005. Photo by the WPCNR Roving Photographer
The Yule Log from White Plains Bake Shoppe. Photo, WPCNR Roving Photographer.
Christmas Treats. Photo by WPCNR Roving Photographer.
Kitten’s First Christmas. Bela The Christmas Kitten. Photo, WPCNR Roving Photographer.