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)

Introducing the New White Plains CitizeNetReporter

Posted on June 6, 2013 by John Bailey

WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT FROM JOHN BAILEY, The CitizeNetReporter

Thursday at 5 P.M., the format of WHITE PLAINS CitizeNetReporter was upgraded to a more user-friendly format, using Word Press, hosted by Hosting Matters of Jacksonville, Florida. As your Editor these last 13 years, I thank you for your patience during this two week period while our new server has incorporated software upgrades. The most unique feature you may readily see in the right column is immediate access to thirteen years of White Plains CitizeNetReporter stories, month-by-month, so historians can refresh their memories on what really happened to bring White Plains where it is today. As I work into this new format, stories will resume with their usual timeliness and exclusivity.

WHITE PLAINS WEEK, my television program on channels 45 and 76 can be seen anytime at allaround the world on it’s website, www.whiteplainsweek.com

David Buchwald Announces Engagement to Lara Samet

Posted on May 20, 2013 by John Bailey

David Buchwald November, 2011 on the White Plains Week program.

WPCNR PERSONALITIES. May 20, 2013:

New York State Assemblyman White Plains own David Buchwald has announced his engagement to Ms. Lara Samet, a litigation attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Ms. Samet is a native of New Jersey and resident of Manhattan. She is a graduate of Duke University (magna cum laude) and NYU School of Law (cum laude).

Assemblyman Buchwald is a native of Westchester County and a resident of White Plains, where he served on the City’s Common Council for three years prior to his election to the Assembly in 2012.

He now represents the towns of Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mt. Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, and Pound Ridge and half of the City of White Plains.

Assemblyman Buchwald is a graduate of Yale University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Law School (cum laude). For the six years prior to serving in the State Assembly, he was an attorney in the tax department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

The couple has not set a wedding date, though they are looking at the first half of next year.

April Sales Tax $$ Soft Off 3%. City Needs Boffo Finish to Avert $$ Shortfall

Posted on May 17, 2013 by John Bailey

WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. May 17, 2013:

White Plains Sales Tax Colllections were down 3% in April from the amount collected last year according to state Department of Taxation and Finance figures reported to WPCNR this week.

Two months ago, in March, receipts were $10,000 shorty of March 2012 receipts, and gave the impression an upturn in retail activity was beginning after the sales tax receipts had declined at a 2% pace for four straight months.

The city has earned $41.6 Million in sales taxes through April, 2% off last year’s collections.

Westchester County,in contrast is up 4% through the first four months of 2013, about $6 Million ahead.

If the city equals the sales tax receipts it collected in May and June last year ($8.1 MILLION for the 2 months) the city will gross $49.8 MILLION about $1.1 to $1.2 MILLION less than it collected in 2011-12-producing a 2% decline.

If May and June are softer, the city transfer of $5 Million to the Fund Balance Stability Fund with which they used to cover salary and labor raises for 2012-13, and plan to do so in the 2013-14 and beyond, this may present a problem.

The city has been extracting money from the Fund Balance Stability Fund to cover city wage increases.

In a related development, Moody’s after reviewing the city budget announced they have removed the Negative Outlook they have given White Plains bonds in their credit ratings, according to City Council President Beth Smayda. Smayda said the removal was based the city policy of not bonding for tax certiorari refunds and restoring the fund balance by devoting a portion of sales tax receipts each year to the stability fund.

Employment Gains Slowly Through Hud Valley Region

Posted on May 16, 2013 by John Bailey

WPCNR LABOR LEDGER. From the New York State Department of Labor. May 16, 2013:

For the 12-month period ending in April 2013, private sector employment in the Hudson Valley Region increased by 10,200 or 1.4 percent. Employment gains were strongest in trade, transportation and utilities (+4,400), followed by educational and health services (+2,900), leisure and hospitality (+2,800), professional and business services (+2,700), and other services (+900).

Meanwhile, job losses were centered in information (-1,300), natural resources, mining and construction and manufacturing – both down 800 jobs respectively, and financial activities (-600). The government sector shed 3,200 jobs over the year.

The regional economy continued to expand in April 2013. Private sector job growth was spread throughout the region. Percentage wise, Kingston posted the strongest job growth (+2.7 percent); followed by Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown (+2.3 percent); and the Putnam-Rockland-Westchester labor market area (+1.0 percent). Sullivan County (-0.5 percent) was the only area in the region that experienced a decline in private sector job count.

Overall, regional private sector job growth is broad-based, with more industries reporting job gains than losses. Trade, transportation and utilities, up 2.5 percent year-to-year in April, is the region’s leading job generator. It added 4,400 jobs – its strongest job growth in 2 years. The supersector benefited from strong hiring in retail trade, as the latter accounted for more than 90 percent of the overall gains.