WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR EAST SIDE STORY. From New York Presbyterian Hospital. (EDITED) March 8, 2022:

NewYork-Presbyterian announced today that it will establish a state-of-the-art, multi-specialty ambulatory care facility in White Plains, bringing an even broader range of its  ambulatory, primary and preventive care services to the communities of Westchester County.

(Editor’s Note: WPCNR has learned from a reliable source the property was recently purchased BY NYPH for $83.5 Million. The project is subject to approval by the White Plains city government.

At this point there has been no confirmation or rendering of the proposed project and no formal presentation of whether the hospital plans to renovate the existing buildings or demolish them and build a new structure(s). WPCNR has requested clarification.

In response to a WPCNR question, a spokesperson for NYPH issued the following statement: ” At this time, we don’t have anything further to say regarding it – just what was in the press release.”

Featuring care from Columbia Doctors clinical teams, this new facility will give patients convenient access to increasingly in-demand specialties for adults and children, all close to home. The facility will be located in the former West Park office complex, recently purchased by NewYork-Presbyterian, which is situated on a 25-acre campus at 1111-1129 Westchester Avenue in White Plains. 

NewYork-Presbyterian plans to offer a wide range of outpatient services in the new facility, which is expected to house centers of excellence in areas ranging from women’s health to cancer care and neuroscience, wellness services and resources, and facilities including imaging, endoscopy suites, exam and diagnostic rooms, and ambulatory procedure rooms.

“NewYork-Presbyterian is proud to be expanding access to our world-class care across Westchester,” said Dr. Steven J. Corwin, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian. “We understand the importance of having high-quality, comprehensive health care services available close to where you live and work.  We look forward to continuing to provide the best care to our patients and neighbors in Westchester.”  

The new White Plains facility will build upon the exceptional health services currently offered by NewYork-Presbyterian in Westchester. NewYork-Presbyterian operates three hospitals in the county – NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital and the NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health Center – and partners with a broad network of ColumbiaDoctors medical group practices throughout the area.

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS MONITOR.  From New York State Covid Tracker. Analysis by John F. Bailey. March 7, 2022:

The number of Westchesterites coming down with Covid last week went up for the first time in six weeks from Sunday February 27 to March 5,

Infections for the week went up 20% from 597 the previous week to 754. The rise cannot be attributed  directly to Governor Kathy Hochul’s Sunday February 27 announcement that masks did not have to be worn in businesses or schools (with school masklift policy taking effect March 2).

Previously, the last six weeks Westchester had reduced weekly infections from 26,000 to an 8-month low of 554 the week before last.

Pressure to relax the mask mandate in business and schools increased significantly the last two weeks and number of infections cited by the New York State Health Department had declined to the point where the Health Department and the Governor had the confidence to lift mask requirements in businesses and schools.

The CDC advisory that persons did not have to wear masks outdoors apparently gave persons a lot of confidence because few persons were masking outdoors on the Playland Boardwalk last week when this reporter walked there. Last week in a restaurant I attended with  wife and a friend of ours the only persons wearing masks in the jammed restaurant (on a Tuesday evening)  we walked in wearing masks and saw no one other than hostess and server personnel wearing masks. It was shocking to see.

The numbers in the chart at the top of this column could reflect the return of persons from the school vacation week in Westchester last week bring in the disease from elsewhere, but that is speculative.

The coming weeks in March will  test vaccine effectiveness in slowing the disease the last six weeks.

The March NCAA Tournament will pack bars with viewers. The St. Patricks Day holiday will continue socializations. The masklift in schools will have 5 days a week for 4 weeks in March to be tested as to whether students and parents will not inflate positives.

Westchester now enters a period exactly similar to last year when relaxed social distancing procedures were not affected in the spreading thanks to vaccinations arrival, supressing the spread of the disease enough so schools could open for in-school learning again.

As parks opened, and outdoor activities increased in June, new infections ran an average of under 30 in that month.

New infections began to go up slowly in July  after the July weekend, then grew to 150  a day average  in August.

The infections continued to creep up steadily and gaining momentum to 200 a day in September after Labor Day. They declined to around 75 average a day in October  then climbed in November back to 175 then to 300 a day in the week after Thanksgiving.

 Then the onslaught of infections started 2 weeks later after Thanksgiving, with  11,450 infections the week before Christmas, followed by 26,002 infections the week after Christmas; 25,294 the first week of this year and Westchester cut infections  the last 6 weeks until this week when the county went up to 754 for the week Saturday.

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WPCNR THE SUNDAY BAILEY.  News & Comment by John F. Bailey. March 6, 2022:

$4.29

That was the price of a gallon of unleaded regular at Sunoco in Peekskill NY Saturday afternoon on March 5.

Is our besotted, distracted leadership in Washngton in both houses of congress, the White House the Supreme Court  jesters in their  marble columned sanctuary of isolation and pontification, and the Federal Reserve stat  followers,  aware of what this self-inflicted inflation virus is doing to every day Americans? Right here right now?

Take gasoline alone.

Companies in the New York metropolitan area want workers to come back to work and end zooming employment. Well, to do that the vast majority have to drive. Another myopic organization the MTA feels the high price of gas will bring covid-fearful workers back to mass transit. Maybe,  baby.

The higher gas goes the more it  will constrict the economy.

Gas isn’t the only thing going up.

The cost of obtaining needed products according to the inflation watchers is up 25%.

The precious recovery that the politicians are once again jawboning about making possible by lifting covid prevention mandates  with vows of reinstituting covid restrictions if the virus spreads again will skid to a deflating halt.

That will kill the recovery if there really is one going on.

The recovery will stop because with inflation on necessities, gas, fuel oil, heating oil, inflated “Delivery” expenses of electricity, especially in the summer heat wave that’s sure to come.

Yet, the only people talking about inflation are opponents of the Democratic majority in congress.

Inflation is the signature rhetoric of a Republican Party as out of touch with reality as the Democrats.

If American businesses continues ratcheting up price of their goods to maintain their profit margins in the face of demand,  whining they have a lack of supply of critical components of the products, oh, that is O.K.?

Where is the congressional committee on that issue?

Do we really think a 1% rise in interest rates will stop inflation? Please, it is money to be paid back later by companies in the future meanwhile we face Wiemar Republic (Germany in the 1920s) inflation.

Really, it is time to stop wasting time harassing Donald Trump out of spite.

The New York D.A. said  he would not prosecute Trump for alledgedly misstating assets this week because he felt his prosecutors could not prove intent to deceive. So, if a New York D.A. says there is nothing there, there’s nothing there.

Any conviction obtained  on Mr. Trump, though is a finesse that will not stand. We know it would be overturned by the hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, decide-no-evil Supreme Court.

Trump is dead politically.

He like Mitt Romney spoke the truth about himself through his own mouth he has handed the floundering Democratic leadership of the party (please lead?) a priceless nugget.

 His admiration of Mr. Putin, should be the red herring to make every person vote for any person opposing a Republican.

I have a dream.  

It is a marvelous spot. Run Trump on Fox News admiring Mr. Putin and put up a picture of a Urkranian refuge say “Would you put America in the hands of this man, again?” 

Or run spots of Putin and Trump together: The announcer-spokesperson saying “What were they talking about? Do we know? What did they say and what did they decide?”

Or make the spot with Muppets—one as Mr. Trump and one of that lovable strong smart Leader discussing plans for the future of our two countries and how they can work together.

Ahhhh but I digress.

Inflation.

With the oil companies jacking the price of gasoline because of the price of crude oil being speculated up and “supply uncertain,” this is unbelievable.

At this rate of price increase,   (40 cents a gallon in week  for cash regular you could hit $5 a gallon by April, $6 a gallon by June when the cost of gas always goes up for summer vacations. That is going to affect the driving vacation market. It is going to skyrocket air fares (jet fuel will go up). It will drive up food transportation costs raising food prices. Cooking steak out will be expensive. Seafood will rise due to marine gas increases for the fishing boats.

 All of a sudden the Washington that never seems to see what is going on and the speed at which a trend can accelerate, because they are always churning in political discord and power aggrandizing, will not know what to do. Democrats will be portrayed as confused and unable to govern, not like Republicans who are decisive and will have a slogan like “FINISH THE JOB, AMERICA” or something equally obnoxious but appealing.

First, in my opinion, you have to hold business accountable for reckless price gouging, raising prices, firing staff and not bringing them back, and though not all companies have done this, the responsible company will not be hurt while the profit horders and extorter companies will be.

There should be an emergency summoning to Washington of corporate titans demanding the reasons for the price increases, documenting it and showing whether supplies (lack of) really caused it and give them April and May to stabilize prices.

If inflation rate does not go down, tell them you will establish price and profit controls. To my understanding, profit controls have never been instituted.

Corporations are essentially cowards they do what they do because they can and by buying politicians they insure sympathetic treatment.  Well they deserve no sympathy now. They are killing us. (Con Ed seeks a 14% increase in their electric rates, are they serious?)

The government bailed banks, airlines, corporations out with our money.

Now record earnings are being experienced.

Many corporations trimmed workforces to stay profitable during the pandemic, and did not bring them back. They were not supposed to do that. There was no enforcement of their cruel rapacious conduct. Now they are reaping stockholder windfalls with their cavalier price increases.

The President has the right to impose such a Price and Profit control. President Richard Nixon invoked them in 1971 before the Presidential election .

The Cato Institute arguing against the wage and price controls that Nixon imposed talks about it here in the time when inflation was only 1%. 

Now it is running 25%! Perhaps now would be a good time to bring the new robber barons under control?

You can read about the Nixon Price control action and how it was done at the Cato Institute website:

https://www.cato.org/commentary/remembering-nixons-wage-price-controls

Price controls (above) combined with rationing lowered inflation in World War II, and kept it half the amount it was in World War I. You can read the complete arguments on price control effectiveness here on Economics Help:

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/621/economics/price-controls-advantages-and-disadvantages/

Inflation is more and more being voiced as a problem especially by Republicans. If price controls are not brought up by the Democrats to stop this egregious windfall profit taking in the face of adversity, the Republicans will, invoking the Nixon precedent. If they do that, they will solidify their campaign in the fall with a legitimate issue that will rile up their supporters and seduce independents.

Do something, Washington!

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AFFIRMS NO MASK POLICY EXCEPTIONS.. NOTES ERROR IN STATE SCHOOL COVID INFECTIONS REPORT ON WHITE PLAINS

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey March 5, 2022:

There will be no increase in the Proposed School Budget Property Tax Rate Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Ricca announced in his Friday Noon virtual Update Facebook Friday.

The Superintendent said the proposed budget to be introduced to the Board of Education planned a new capital spending program to upgrade all buildings grounds, athletic facilities across the school district properties, which will be funded by debt obligations being retired and then renewed on to continue modernizing the district at no cost to tax payers in the 2022-23 budget. Details are expected to be provided Monday evening at the regular Board of Education Meeting.

He also affirmed nuances of how the district no mask policy is being implemented (after six months of the school district “masking policy”) and the exceptions going forward. The complete 41-minute meeting can be seen on the White Plains City School District Facebook site on this link:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=2207872909352087

He began the the 41 minute update from his office at Education house with thank you’s to school district staff and County Executive George Latimer and Commissioner of Health for helping the White Plains District get to this point and strongly reinforced the policy that student violence in school and promotions of student and staff violations in social media posts highlighting incidents violating such conduct in school facilities were banned by the District Code of conduct. He warned that students and anyone associated with the district would face unavoidable consequences in the future as a result of such violations that would affect their future success or lack of it.

During the question and answer period of the public tuning in to the virtually-held briefing, a parent questioned the number student positive covid cases at Mamaroneck Avenue School. Dr. Ricca said this was an error due to an input error (assumed to be from the state), and said it would be corrected. As of March 3 (Thursday) of this week, the state had reported 22% 1,734 of White Plains 7,964 students, teachers and staff had tested positive for covid through February 28. The correction would be forthcoming, Dr. Ricca said.

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