PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY: COUNTY AWARDS $12,000 SCHOLARSHIPS TO 3 WHITE PLAINS HIGH GIRLS.

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Winners are Maria Angelica Garcia, Alisa Choubay, and Reyna Chavarria, who will attend Mercy College, Fordham University and SUNY/Cobleskill respectively.  They are shown in the attached photo with Guidance Counselors Jeffrey Hirsch, left, and EnriqueCafaro, right.

Three White Plains High School seniors were awarded Jandon Scholarships by the Westchester County Board of Legislators in collaboration with the Jandon Foundation. They will receive $12,000 each, to be awarded throughout the course of their four-year collegecareers.

These awards are made to academic achievers who meet financial eligibility guidelinesestablished by the Jandon Foundation.  Students must have excellent academic records andSAT scores, involvement in extra-curricular activities and show evidence of good character.

 

 

 

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Councilwoman Lecuona Provides Background on the Matrix Study of the Department of Public Works

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Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona on her appearance on PEOPLE TO BE HEARD last fall.

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 1, 2015:

Pending receipt of a promised copy from the Mayor’s office of the Matrix Consulting report on the operations of the  White Plains Department of Public Works, WPCNR contacted White Plains Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona on her impressions of the report.

I asked her Monday morning what her feelings were about the report which was cited by Mayor Tom Roach as the basis for the removal of Mr. Nicoletti. Ms. Lecuona voted not to remove Mr. Nicoletti.

Ms. Lecouna in a statement to WPCNR was troubled writing:

“Yes, I read the report.
 
First of all, it was given to me as CONFIDENTIAL so I don’t understand why information was released by the mayor’s office to the JN (Journal News) without telling us that it had become a public document.
 
Second, a technical report of 218 pages requires addressing numerous and important questions that it generates.
No information sessions with the council were conducted. No discussions about the report did take place.
I, as a trained architect with more than 30 years of construction experience was never asked what I thought about it.
 
Third, I have great reservations about who, why, when and how the decision was made about hiring this specific Matrix consulting group from Illinois. Tax payers paid $41,000 for this investigation. 
 
Fourth, The consulting report primarIIy deals with engineering aspects of the DPW, yet this firm has no licensed professional engineers on staff.
Because of that, Matrix, after several months on the investigation had to hire a consultant who’s an engineer from Florida. And why a company in Illinois?Fifth, the numerous inconsistencies, misinformation, selection of projects as proof of some of this report’s findings only shows that Matrix didn’t fully understand the scope, quality, diversity and complexity of the work that the DPW in White Plains undertakes all year round.

 
I could keep on going……..”

 

 

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City Offers Planning Commissioner Position to Christopher Gomez Port Chester Planning and Development Director and He Has Accepted

 

Gomez-ChristopherHeadShot CHRISTOPHER GOMEZ Photo, Village of Port Chester

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 2, 2015:

The City of White Plains Common Council voted to approve Christopher Gomez, most recently Director of Planning and Development  for the Village of Port Chester to the position of Commissioner of Planning.

John Callahan, City Chief of Staff told WPCNR that Mr. Gomez had accepted the position and will be paid $145,000.

The Planning Commissionership has been vacant since January 15 when the city removed former Commissioner of Planning Elizabeth Cheteny for reasons not officially disclosed.

Gomez, 38, is a resident of Peekskill, NY, where he serves on the Peekskill Planning Commission, in addition to his full-time position with Port Chester.

He joined Port Chester as Director of Planning and Development in 2011 at a salary of $110,000, its first-ever full-time planner.

Prior to serving with the Port city, he worked for the Andrew Spano administration  as a member of the county Planning Department  for six years. His most notable accomplishment was designing the “Westchester 2025″ program.. Westchester 2015 is a computer application that works with local governments and communities to model what developments would look like and analyze infrastructure needed to support the new projects. He is considered an expert at computer modeling  what developments might look like with computer simulations.

Gomez is described by a professional who has worked with him in Peekskill and knows him from Port Chester as “a good man,” and a “good fit” for White Plains

According to the  letter from Mayor Tom Roach requesting Council approval of the hire, he is to begin work with the City of White Plains July 7.

 

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THE MAY 29 WHITE PLAINS WEEK EDITION TAKES YOU THROUGH THE NICOLETTI REMOVAL. COMPLETE ANALYSIS INSTANTLY ON www.whiteplainsweek.com

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Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti observes his own removal from his office in person Wednesday night–video of the public removal on WHITE PLAINS WEEK…with analysis by the White Plains Week News Team

Peter Katz, John Bailey, Jim Benerofe

WhitePlainsWeekkeysign

On

The Nicoletti Dismissal

Silence–then  City Efforts at Damage Control

The Playland Hearings on Standard Amusements Wind Down with Lots of Questions

and MORE–

ON THE NEW PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

THE COUNTY’S MOST RELEVANT NEWS INTERVIEW PROGRAM

YOU’VE GOT

WHITE PLAINS-SCARSDALE – HARRISON COUNTY LEGISLATOR

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BENJAMIN BOYKIN, COUNTY LEGISLATOR DISTRICT 5 ON PEOPLE TO BE HEARD THIS WEEK. LEFT TO RIGHT: JOHN BAILEY, PETER KATZ, MR. BOYKIN, JIM BENEROFE

BENJAMIN BOYKIN

 

ON

COUNTY ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

COUNTY POPULATION LOSS

THE PLAYLAND OPERATOR HEARINGS

THE NEED FOR REMOVING THE STIGMA ON “AFFORDABLE HOUSING”

BECAUSE THE COUNTY NEEDS IT.

AND MORE ON

PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

DOWNLOAD BOTH WHITE PLAINS WEEK AND PEOPLE TO BE HEARD

at

www.whiteplainsweek.com

 

 

 

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