THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Senator Gillebrand Takes a Stand Against Attorney General Nominee Sessions.

Posted on February 8, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR WASHINGTON WIRE. From the Office of U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillebrand. February 8, 2017:

ON SENATE FLOOR, GILLIBRAND URGES COLLEAGUES TO OPPOSE SESSIONS NOMINATION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

Gillibrand: We need an Attorney General who will fight every day for equal justice and equal protection under our laws; Senator Sessions has no record of doing that

**WATCH Senator Gillibrand’s Speech on the Senate Floor HERE**

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand spoke on the Senate floor this morning to urge her colleagues to oppose the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions for U.S. Attorney General.

Below are Senator Gillibrand’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, I rise today to oppose the nomination of Senator Sessions for Attorney General.

And I’d like to preface my remarks with just a statement in recognition of the outpouring I’ve received from my state, from constituents.

I have letters, I have postcards sent – some with the Statue of Liberty – I have letters from every corner of my state, passionately writing about their views on President Trump’s nominations, particularly Senator Sessions.

I’d like to read one letter because I think it really summarizes the views of so many New Yorkers.

This constituent writes,

“As your constituent and as a Reform Jew, I strongly urge you to oppose the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.

“As the top law enforcement official in the country, the Attorney General has substantial power over the administration of key legislation that advances the fundamental rights of all people, regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, national origin. Senator Sessions’s firmly established record of opposition to the protection and the advancement of voting rights, LGBTQ equality, women’s rights, immigration reform, and religious freedom suggest that he would not fulfill the Department of Justice’s mandate to provide equal protection under the law for all people.”

The letter goes on to talk about his votes, particularly against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, when it was added as an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act.

He also talks about voting against the Violence Against Women Act.

“In the words of Leviticus 19:18, love thy neighbor as yourself. Guide us to stand up against bias, prejudice, and discrimination. We cannot place the responsibility of leading the Department of Justice, the federal agency directly responsible for ensuring equal protection, in the hands of someone whose record demonstrates insufficient commitment to key civil rights protections.

“I urge you to oppose Senator Sessions.”

Our country, Mr. President, desperately needs an Attorney General who will reject discrimination in all forms.

We need an Attorney General who will defend our civil rights and human rights – with no exceptions.

We need an Attorney General who will not be afraid to challenge the President if an order is illegal or unconstitutional.

Senator Sessions has not made it clear that he would use his power as Attorney General to stand up for the voiceless and the oppressed, or to stand up to the President when he’s wrong.

Already, in just a few weeks of this new administration, President Trump has begun to test the strength and limits of our Constitution.

He has challenged the separation of powers. He has lashed out against the free press. He has singled out individual religions – and even individual judges.

Now more than ever, we need an Attorney General whose commitment to defending our Constitution goes far beyond his commitment to any one particular President or one particular party.

Would Senator Sessions challenge the President when he needs to be challenged?

During the presidential campaign, when the tape was revealed of then-Candidate Trump bragging about groping a woman against her will, Senator Sessions said he thought it was a “stretch” to call it sexual assault.

He said, “I don’t characterize that as sexual assault.”

We need an Attorney General who knows very clearly what sexual assault is – and who cares enough to prosecute it.

Senator Sessions has voted to make our gun background checks system even weaker, and voted against limits on high-capacity magazines, and he opposed legislation to make interstate gun trafficking a federal crime.

We need an Attorney General who will stand up for victims of gun violence and their families.

Throughout his career in the Senate, Senator Sessions has voted against or spoken out against important legislation, so important to my constituents – the Violence Against Women Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Voting Rights Act.

These are important pieces of legislation that protect individuals from discrimination.

We need an Attorney General who will defend the rights of women, who will defend the rights of our communities of color, who will defend the rights of the LGBT community, who will defend the rights of Muslim Americans and all minorities.

We need an Attorney General who will fight every day for equal justice and equal protection under our laws.

Senator Sessions has no record of doing that, and I have no reason to believe that he will do that as Attorney General

So I oppose Senator Sessions’s nomination as Attorney General, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Right Here on the White Plains Performing Arts Center Stage Saturday at 8: Linda Eder–Broadway’s “Lucy” of Jekyll & Hyde–in Benefit Performance one Night Onlyu

Posted on February 7, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR STAGE DOOR. From White Plains Performing Arts Center. February 7, 2017:

A fundraiser this Saturday night for WPPAC showcasing one of the greatest voices of our time

Linda Eder’s diverse repertoire spans Broadway, Standards, Pop, Country and Jazz. As the tragic character “Lucy” in the Broadway musical Jekyll & Hyde, from composer Frank Wildhorn, Eder blew the roof off of New York’s Plymouth Theatre each night as she belted out signature songs “Someone Like You” and “A New Life”. Her Broadway debut, for which she was rewarded with a Drama Desk nomination, sent her already rapidly rising star blazing across the sky, securing her spot as one of America’s most beloved singers and dynamic live performers.

“What do we mean when we use the word perfection? The question arises every time I watch the pop singer Linda Eder….” Stephen Holden, The New York Times

Born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Brainerd, Minnesota, Eder began her career singing in her home state and eventually landed a gig at Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City. But it was her appearances on the 1987 season of Star Search, where she won for an unprecedented 12 weeks, that attracted the attention of audiences and record companies alike.

Eder launched her recording career in 1991 with her self-titled debut album and soon established a vital niche as America’s most popular and acclaimed new interpreter of pop standards and theatrical songs with 15 solo albums and 12 musical recordings. Those albums highlight Eder’s abundant vocal gifts as well as her skill for delivering dramatic, emotionally resonant interpretations of familiar songs while making them her own. She followed up with The Other Side of Me, a country pop blend of contemporary music – including a song written by Linda. And, in June 2010, Linda and Clay Aiken covered Roy Orbison’s “Crying” as a duet on Clay’s new album Tried & True.

The concert stage remains the mainstay of Eder’s career. She has performed for sold-out crowds in venues across the country and throughout Europe. She has been featured on numerous PBS television concert specials including Clay Aiken’s Tried & True; Hallelujah Broadway; Linda Eder: The PBS Concert; Best of Broadway: Broadway’s Leading Ladies; Best of Broadway: Love Songs; Jim Brickman plays The Disney Songbook; and more.

Eder has performed at many prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Town Hall, The Kennedy Center, Davies Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Wolftrap and the Ravinia Festival. Always touring in good company, her collaborations include the late Oscar-winning composer and pianist Marvin Hamlisch, Tony-winner Michael Feinstein and Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.

All proceeds to benefit the White Plains Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit arts organization. Contact WPPAC at 914-328-1600, Ext. 13.

New York State Senate: No Need to Background Check Uber Lyft Drivers.

Posted on February 7, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR NEWS AND COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. February 7, 2017:

The New York State Senate voted yesterday to approve Uber and Lyft to provide their essentially “gypsy cab” services statewide, with a 2.2% tax on each ride and Uber subject to regulation by the Department of Motor Vehicles There is one item that troubles me.

Taxi organizations point out that no fingerprint background checks are required to be a Uber-Lyft driver.

Depending on how thorough Uber is in vetting their drivers, you are at the mercy of the driver’s honesty or lack thereof (as with any corporate or business application).

The law the NY Senate passed,55-5, does not require fingerprint background checks of drivers.

I referee high school soccer and softball as a New York State approved official in both sports. I had to undergo fingerprint background checks for both sports before I could referee an inning or a minute of a high school sport.

Consider that the persons who use Uber and Lyft are very trustful and naive. You do not know who is driving a Uber cab. You do not know if they are former sex offenders, muggers, drug dealers, or mentally disturbed, and you do not know if they have been convicted of a crime, because there are no fingerprint background checks.

I have never taken a ride in a Uber cab or a Lyft cab for that reason.

The New York Senate Republicans who voted this bill, obviously are not aware that the new President is concerned about vetting immigrants coming into this country and has concerns about personal safety of Americans.

Calling up one of these “gypsy cabs,” is like hitch-hiking, you never know how good these drivers are, what they’ve been doing before they come and pick you up. Have they been drinking?Do they have a DWI conviction, is their drivers’ license valid, suspended, whatever? I assume Uber checks those. They better.

So far I know of no crimes committed by Uber or Lyft drivers against passengers. Obviously if a person is registered with Uber and a person they are riding is a victim of a crime, they’d be questioned. But, if the victim is dead. Well, no witness.

If referees in high school sports have to undergon fingerprint background checks. Persons who drive the public should, too.

As I recall the “gypsy cab” era in New York City, which is essentially what Uber/Lyft are, some of the gypsy cabs were unsafe, some of the drivers were not safe and the city cracked down on them for that reason.

So the Assembly when they undertake this bill must make applicants and present Uber and Lyft drivers subject to fingerprint background checks retroactively, too. The first person killed by an Uber or Lyft driver due to an traffic accident, a crime committed by a Uber/Lyft driver or their accomplice will result in lawsuit against the state you would not believe.

Could we have some common sense in the New York State Senate, please, and the assembly? Fingerprint background checks, please. What were they thinking of?

Mayor Thomas Roach Issues Statement on Immigration Issue.

Posted on February 6, 2017 by John Bailey

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. From the Mayor’s Office. February 6,2017:

The city website posted the following statement (dated January 28) from Mayor Tom Roach on the ongoing immigration issue and the city position:

The City of White Plains is a diverse, vibrant and welcoming community. As Mayor, protecting the rights of all those who live, work, and visit here is paramount.

In White Plains we recognize that immigration is part of our national story. It was an immigrant, Alexander Hamilton, whose command of artillery held off British and Hessian troops during the Battle of White Plains, allowing General Washington to preserve his army, and ultimately, our nation. The contributions of immigrants to our city and our nation have continued to this day.

The recent executive order issued by President Trump regarding “sanctuary cities” is of great concern. There is no clear definition of what constitutes a “sanctuary city” and therefore we do not adopt that term in White Plains. We believe it is more helpful to discuss our actual policies:

– Our police officers have not and will not inquire regarding an individual’s immigration status.

– We believe enforcement of federal immigration law lies with federal enforcement agencies not local police forces and we proceed accordingly.

– We adhere to the practices outlined by Attorney General Schneiderman in his recently issued guidance to local governments. We were pleased to have been consulted during the drafting of those guidelines.

Our practices represent proper community policing, focused on building and maintaining trust and cooperation between the police and the community. Studies have demonstrated that these policies reduce crime and create a safer environment for all.

All of our policies are in compliance with the law and the Constitution and we are prepared to defend them in a court of law if necessary. We are proud of our policies and will continue to protect the rights of all those within our borders.