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)
WPCNR MARKETPLACE. From Johny Nelson, Labor Market Analyst, New York State Department of Labor. (EDITED)January 22, 2009 UPDATED 5:25 P.M.: As of December 31,2008, according to the New York State Department of Labor, there were 464,800 persons employed in Westchester County and 28,100 unemployed, an unemployment rate of 5.7%, up from 5.2% in November, according to statistics provided WPCNR by Johny Nelson, Labor Market Analyst with the New York State Department of Labor. In Rockland County, the unemployment rate is 5.5% where currently as of December 31, there were 145,400 employed and 8,400 unemployed.
Early today, Gustaff Herman, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York State annnounced in White Plains that the New York State number of unemployed persons statewide had risen by 49,300 persons to 7% in December , up from 6% in November, and 5.7% in November. Gustaf Herman, Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York State told WPCNR that the Westchester and Putnam unemployment percentages were not broken out at this time.
Statistics circulated by Mr. Nelson to media late Thursday afternoon, report that the number of persons employed in the Hudson Valley Region which includes Westchester County, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster Counties decreased 9,500 or 1.2 percent, to 758,000 for the 12-month period ending December 2008.
Private sector employment at 758,000 is the lowest November job count since 2005. Industries that were once resilient at the onset of the recession has now begun to show some marked weakness.
Despite all the financial woes, construction had continued to perform admirably up until 4th quarter 2008. For December 2008, the sector recorded a mere growth of 0.4 percent. For the same period last year they posted a growth of 1.3 percent and 6.3 percent the year before last.
Professional and business services sector which is highly sensitive to economic trends had also been performing well up until recent months. The sector has now begun to show signs that it’s not immune to the National recession. Employment in the sector declined by 2.2 percent. For the same period last year they posted a growth of 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile the financial crisis has begun to wreak havoc on the auto dealers in the region. Over the past year, five car dealers have closed operations as a result of tightness in credit.
Analyst observations:
Persistent economic woes- housing, credit and financial crises, along with a slew of layoff announcements at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 all point to a troublesome period for job seekers in the region. For December 2008, Private sector employment in the area declined by 9,500 or 1.2 percent. The construction and professional and business services industries which had been quite resilient in early 2008 have begun to show marked weakness, clearly a sign that the National recession is finally impacting the region.
WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. January 22, 2009 (EDITED): Larry Schwartz, who has served the Spano Administration from the start in top positions, is leaving his job as deputy county executive to take a high-level position in the administration of Gov. David A. Paterson.
Schwartz, a resident of White Plains, will serve as first deputy secretary to the governor, reporting directly to Paterson and Secretary to the Governor William J. Cunningham III as they work to address the range of issues affecting New YorkState.
Susan Tolchin, previously Director of Communications and Chief Advisor to the County Executive, Andrew Spano, will succeed Mr. Schwartz as Deputy County Executive. Ms. Tolchin’s position as Chief Advisor to the County Executive will not be filled. Tolchin is first in line to succeed the County Executive should something unexpected happen to Mr. Spano and he be unable to perform his duties.
The position of Director of Communications will be shared jointly by Donna Greene and Victoria Hochman, currently members of the Communications staff.
Schwartz, who originally held the title of chief advisor and then became deputy county executive in 2002, has essentially been chief operating officer for Spano, overseeing the daily operations of WestchesterCounty government. He played a critical role in the development and approval of the $1.7 billion annual operating budget, as well as all of the CountyExecutive’s intergovernmental operations. He also aided in the financial rescue and recovery of the WestchesterMedicalCenter.
“I thank the county executive for giving me the opportunity to serve in county government and the people of this county,” said Schwartz. “Now I look forward to new challenges and serving the people of New YorkState.”
Tolchin became communications director for the county in 1998, overseeing all public information efforts and media relations. She was additionally named chief advisor to the county executive in 2002, overseeing the operations of various county offices and departments.
Before that, from 1980-1993, she was elected to seven terms as town clerk for the Town of Greenburgh, Westchester’s largest town. She has long been active in civic affairs. She is currently a member of the board of the Westchester Arts Council, the Westchester Jewish Conference and the Jewish Community Center on the Hudson.
Said Tolchin, “I thank Andy for giving me his opportunity and for having faith in me. I have been proud to work for an administration that is open and ethical and to work for a county executive who really cares about the people of Westchester. Larry and I have been more than just co-workers. We have been very close friends, and I will miss him tremendously.”
WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From The County Clerk. (EDITED) January 22, 2009: The rate of initiated foreclosure actions slowed over the last 12 months. Westchester Countystatistics released by the County Clerk’s Office today show the number of initiated foreclosure actions have been steady the last two years and have kept pace in 2008 numbering 2,166 in 2007 and rising 2% to 2,206 more foreclosure actions in 2008. The rate of foreclosures continued steady, but is down sharply from 2005, and 2006. Foreclosure proceedings in the county grew 50% from 2005 to 2006 and 40% from 2006 to 2007.
Contributing to Westchester foreclosures slowing were the foreclosure reform measures signed into law last August. One part of the new state legislation requires lenders to send pre-foreclosure notices to borrowers at least ninety days before an action is started.That notice encourages the homeowner to seek help and provides contact information for local government-approved housing counselors.
“The measure not only mandates lending reforms for the future,” began Idoni, “but also provides immediate help to residents in danger of losing their homes.”And while 2008 statistics show an overall increase in foreclosure filings, they also reveal a significant drop in foreclosure actions filed in the last four months of 2008:
Filings Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total
“The slowing of foreclosure filings is good news, but Westchester residents are still losing their homes and need help,” warned Idoni.“Without proper counseling, this respite will only be temporary.”Idoni urged local residents at risk of foreclosure to contact Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO),a non-profit housing agency with offices in White Plains and Mount Vernon.
A trained counselor can be reached at (914)428-4507 or visit www.wroinc.org for more information.
The Westchester County Clerk is the Clerk for the Supreme Court where foreclosure actions are heard.Please note that the commencement of a foreclosure action does not mean that a Westchester home will be lost to foreclosure.Filing a foreclosure action in the Westchester County Clerk’s office is the first step of a process which could result in the loss of a home or building.
If a foreclosure is granted, the home or building is sold at a foreclosure auction and the proceeds of the sale are used to pay off the loan.However, some homeowners enter into a repayment plan, secure a modified loan, refinance with another lender or sell their home on their own to avoid foreclosure. The office of the Westchester County Clerk is located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in White Plains and is open Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 8 a.m. until 5:45 p.m.For more information, please call 995-3070 or visit www.WestchesterClerk.com.
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From The Superintendent of Schools. January 20, 2009: Timothy P. Connors has released the laundry list of school budget suggestions voiced by about 100 citizens at last Thursday evening’s First School Budget Community Forum at White Plains High School at which the district announced it was seeking to cut the school budget $9.2 Million. Here is the Superintendent’s cover letter. To see the suggestions, click “Read More.”
January 16, 2009
Dear Friends of Education,
On behalf of the Board of Education and the Administration, we thank you for joining our budget forum last evening.
The attached are the recommendations you made that the Board of Education and I consider as we develop our preliminary budget.Your suggestions were thoughtful and informative and will be helpful in our deliberations.
We look forward to seeing you at our next budget forum on February 25th at 7:30 p.m. at White Plains High School.
Sincerely,
Timothy P. Connors
Superintendent of Schools
WORK SESSION #1
1.What are the programs and/or services the school district should reduce or eliminate?
Programs
Can we afford the Newcomer Center?
Some languages (especially at WPHS) i.e. german, latin
Elementary Summer School
Provide Pre-K program on an eligibility based method
Reduce or eliminate programs with lower attendance/enrollment
Reduce or eliminate out of district conferences
Try to bring back students being sent to other schools at taxpayer expense – Get services back in-house
Reduce non-teaching programs
Eliminate programs that are limited to a small population
Evaluate elective offerings
Eliminate free Pre-K to families that can pay
Eliminate programs that don’t work
Fewer Arts programs – how you spend money
Fewer sports
Is WINGS program necessary?
Streamline Special Education programs in Elementary Schools (maybe only 3 out of 5 schools)
Services
Can we afford the freshman sports teams?
How do we better coordinate non-varsity level sports with City?
Winter/Summer Enrichment and Bussing costs
Transportation
Field trips/Costly transportation
Streamline amounts of bus routes
Return to neighborhood schools – reduce busing
Go to neighborhood schools
Increase mileage for transportation – .25 to .5 miles
Eliminate 2:00 bus at Highlands/Eastview
Consultants
Reduce consultant costs – reduce amount of consultants – use inside staff
Review Staff Development training costs ( stop outsourcing)
