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)

Maisano: Partisan News Sources A Problem for Creating an “Informed” Populace

Posted on December 1, 2014 by John Bailey

WPCNR MEDIA-GO=ROUND. From County Legisalator James Maisano. December 1, 2014:

The following is a thoughtful column from Legislator Maisano who passes this along from the Free Voter Blog

We started the Free Voter Blog because we are troubled by too many people getting their news only from sources promoting their political views – liberals only checking liberal websites and conservatives only checking conservative websites. Too many Americans are not speaking to each other about the issues of the day and are not even open to debate.

We believe this is bad for our democracy. It’s absurd to think that either the left wing or right wing is correct on every issue. That’s why the goal of the Free Voter Blog is to help stimulate a free and independent electorate. When people tell us they only vote straight Democrat or Republican, we believe this is an admission that they didn’t put much effort into following the issues and evaluating the candidates on the ballot. We can teach a four-year-old to just fill in the circles across only one party’s line on Election Day.

That’s why we found the above chart in the USA Today so interesting. It demonstrates how people are only following the news they politically agree with. The data comes from a thoughtful study conducted by the Pew Research Center, which found that, “When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives inhabit different worlds.” Here’s the link to this excellent Pew Research Center study: www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits

Therefore, the Free Voter Blog, which discusses issues in an open-minded and nonpartisan way, certainly fills an important need in our nation’s political discourse. Please join us for a more independent debate of the issues we face – everyone is invited!

WHITE PLAINS WEEK–ON THE NET NOW

Posted on November 28, 2014 by John Bailey

JOHN BAILEY, PETER KATZ , JIM BENEROFE

THE FERGUSON FIASCO

MEDIA IGNORES JFK’S ASSASSINATION.

MEDIA SENSATIONALISM CONTRIBUTES TO A RIOT

SCHOOL CURRICULUM HEAD’S REACTION TO TEST QUESTION RELEASE

THE HEARING THAT NEVER ENDS IS POSTPONED

CITY SALES TAX DOLLARS REMAIN SOFT COMPARED TO COUNTY.

STATE AUDIT OF WHITE PLAINS SCHOOL CONTRACTS MISLEADS, DISTRICT SAYS.

THE MIRACLE OF ORVIETO

SEE THE THANKSGIVING EDITION OF WHITE PLAINS WEEK

DOWNLOAD WPW AND PEOPLE TO BE HEARD ON THE NET NOW AT

www.whiteplainsweek.com

WHITE PLAINS CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION HEAD DISCUSSES DISTRICT REACTION TO COMMON CORE ASSESSMENTS.

Posted on November 27, 2014 by John Bailey

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. John Bailey Interviews Jessica O’Donovan, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. (PART 1) November 27, 2014:

In response to statewide furor over the state Common Core Assessment tests for the second straight year, half of the questions with answers that appeared on the English Language Arts and Math Assessments were furnished on the State Education Department website for use by school districts and teachers in August. Students’ individual answers to each question were not furnished.

JESSICA O’DONOVAN, with Jim Benerofe in October 2013

WPCNR interviewed Jessica O’Donovan, White Plains Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, by telephone Wednesday afternoon on her reactions and how the district is moving ahead with preparing for the 2015 State Common Core Assessments. Here is how it went:

WPCNR: Have you made an analysis of why this test (the ELA tests and the Math), is so difficult?

O’DONOVAN: I think we already knew the answer. Some of the question texts are incredibly hard. Well above grade level, and some of the questions are absolutely confusing, not well constructed. It’s really hard. I don’t think there are any surprises. Being able to Look at the test questions again (released on the State Education Department website) just confirmed what we already believed. The (assessment test(s) still has a long way to go before educators believe it’s a high quality, fair, accurate measure of truly what the students know.

That doesn’t mean we won’t continue to refine our practice, not just against the test, but against the (Common Core) standards. We certainly are going to look to the test to think about what we feel is missing in our own curriculum. There’s a really heavy emphasis (in the tests) on content area reading, so there are several passages in all the grades tests that really focus on science and social studies texts, so we know we need to continue to focus on our goal of literacy across the entire curriculum, but those are things we already knew.”

WPCNR: Do you know what each individual student scored on the test questions? Do you have individual students’ answers they chose on the assessments?

O’DONOVAN: “We can’t go back and say question 12 what did they get wrong, if that is not one of the released items. But we know their scale score.”

WPCNR: That’s what I meant, you can’t figure out what questions an individual got right and what questions they missed though they did miss a lot?”

O’DONOVAN: We cannot go back and identify…we don’t have the (complete) test in hand. We only have certain items in hand. But according to the state, you’re not supposed to be trying to quote prepare students for the test’ you’re not supposed to be able to ‘test prep’ so they (the state) do not feel that is a flaw. But if you look at any best practice, you’re always supposed to have the test in mind keep the final result of the test in mind and work backwards from there. That’s what caused backward design planning which has been considered best practice for decades in education.

So this (Common Core Assessment policy) kind of flips that on its head: Here are the standards, teach to the standards, teach to the standards, but everyone also knows you define the rigor of the standards in the way you assess (test) them.

So, honestly at this point our district feels we are doing a lot of great things. We do not feel the assessment tests are an accurate measure of what our students know and can do, like so many other districts. We will continue to be extremely focused at developing students’ literacy at all levels, but if we like so many other districts allow the ill-preparedness of the state the way they rolled out this entire initiative to dictate the climate of our school buildings we would be in utter chaos, and we’re not going to do that.

We know what needs to be done, we know what best practice looks like we know we need to continue moving students forward in their literacy development and that’s what we’re going to continue to do…with the tests in mind. We’re not going to ignore them. We’re just not going to allow the tests to dictate our daily moves.”

WPCNR published an in-depth analysis in August of White Plains 3^rd to 8^th Grade 2014 Assessment results, which may be viewed here:

http://whiteplainscnr.com/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=14839&action=edit

This in-depth interview will be continued

Photograph of the Day: MAJOR DEEGAN LANE OPENS AT THE TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE IN THE NICK OF TIME

Posted on November 27, 2014 by John Bailey

WPCNR PHOTOGRAPH OF THE DAY. November 27, 2014:

One week ago, the traffic reports on the radio were ignoring the incredible shutdown of one of two northbound entrance lanes at the beginning of the northbound Major Deegan Expressway which starts just after northbound-from-Queens traffic is moving off the Triborough Bridge.

Beginning November 17, Northbound traffic was back up south across the Triborough, down onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway creating about 45 minute delays. It made motorists late to work, and there were no Port Authority or NYPD officers supervising the vehicles attempting to merge. Have you ever seen traffic supervision by the NYPD at major construction in New York? I haven’t!

I reported this stealth construction (after sitting in its agonizing delay three straight days), three times to WCBS 880 and only on the third day did it surface on a broadcast report. What’s up with that? Do traffic reporters conceal incredible mismanagement in road construction taking place in rush hour to avoid making the DOT look bad…or whatever.

Happily on Monday the construction was completed and things were back to normal. The construction took one week to resurface.

Unfortunately finishing any road construction in White Plains in a timely manner does not happen. Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains was supposed to be repaved south of Post Road this summer. It has just started.

Saxon Woods Road was torn up in September as Con Edison takes its time installing gaslines, and a suspension smashing nightmare of temporary plates and fill-ins has made the neighborhood virtually a maze of aggravation. (See below:)

Could the city and Con Ed plan better?

Could Traffic reports be reported in more useful fashion by reporters who know New York traffic like Fearless Fred Feldman used to do when he pioneered helicopter traffic reports?

Here are things every motorist should know–that no traffic report will tell you:

1. The Hutchinson River Parkway northbound every weekday morning is bumper to bumper from the Bronx line to White Plains. This is never reported. Southbound is always moving unless there is an accident. And in the evening rush, the Hutch northbound is bumper to bumper from the Bronxline to White Plains, too!

2. The Bruckner Expressway is the best way to get into Manhattan via the Triborough Bridge anytime.

3. The BQE southwestbound into Brooklyn always floods under the underpasses and it has flooded that way since the 1950s. When are they going to fix that?

4. The Saw Mill River Parkway is the best way into Manhattan…do not even think about taking the I-87 Deegan southbound to get to the George Washington Bridge.

5.Leave early. Depart at 5:15 in the morning for a commute into Manhattan.

6. The Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges are rarely reported about on the traffic reports — especially on the weekends. My advice is always to take the Whitestone southbound into Long Island…

7. Best way to get down into Jersey if you work on the Jersey side is to take the Lincoln Tunnel and plan to hit it at about 6:15-6:30 A.M. Returning from the Jersey side in the evening is make your way up Weehawken and divert to 9W and take the Tappan Zee Bridge.

8.Best parking in Manhattan for Midtown is in Hell’s Kitchen off 48th Street and 10th access via West Side Highway at 48th Street…and go up 10th Avenue and park at the Skyline Hotel,cheaper and the walk into the theatre district is very pleasant.

9. The best route northbound in morning rush to White Plains is the Bronx River Parkway. Pick it up from the Bruckner Expressway at Exit 52. You can take BRP northbound to Scarsdale and exit at Garth Road, eliminating the one-lane shutdown north of that and follow Garth to the Scarsdale R.R. station, make right and follow eastbound to Route 22… (this avoids the Sprain problem, and the northbound Hutch perpetual problem northbound).