Westchester’s own Katrina Hacker of Dobbs Ferry Finishes 6th in US Figure Skatin

WPCNR RINK SIDE. January 28, 2008: Katrina Hacker, 17,  of Dobbs Ferry, outskated Kimmie Meissner, last year’s national Women’s United States Figure Skating Champion Saturday at the USFS Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Hacker, long a fixture at the Westchester Skating Academy was not selected by USFS to compete in the World Championships in Sweden in March because of her inexperience competing internationally. Ms. Hacker, a graceful and elegant skater is shown below skating last January in Albany at the Eliot Spitzer inaugural. 


Ms. Hacker finished sixth behind Mira Nagasu, Rachel Flatt, and the fourth -place finisher, Caroline Zhang who were too young to compete in the world championships. The third place lady Ashley Wagner, and the fifth place skater Beatrisa Lang and Ms. Meisner will compete for the U.S. in the worlds, even though Ms. Hacker defeated Ms. Meisner in the standings.



Westchester County’s Skating Pride left behind:  Katrina Hacker performing on the Albany Mall last January at the invitation of Silda Wall, the First Lady of New York State. File  Photo by WPCNR Sports

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Fenway Withdraws Paddle Tennis Location Plan Will Rebuild at former site

WPCNR SOUTHEND TIMES. From a White Plains CitizeNetReporter. January 28, 2008: WPCNR has learned that in private talks with Fenway Golf Club between the Soundview Neighborhood Association and the Fenway management that the country club has informed the neighborhood association it will not build new tennis courts in the location opposed by the residents. Instead, the club will erect new courts on the former location where they were on the club, before being torn down due to structural deterioration.

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Police: 4 County Officers in Ridley Matter. Video Tape Shows Incident

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From White Plains Department of Public Safety. January 28, 2008 UPDATED 2:45 P.M. E.S.T.: The White Plains Police have issued a statement, naming 4 Westchester County Police Officers who responded to the incident in which Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley was shot by police Friday afternoon in White Plains, and the statement reveals that video tapes of the incident are being analyzed.


The statement released by the White Plains Department of Public Safety this morning at 9:57 A.M.  comes 12 hours after and confirms in part, a  recorded statement made on News 12 television by an unidentified witness who appeared on camera shown from the neck down that described what he saw (and WPCNR quotes the witness from a recording of that telecast:)


“From what I can see, the police officer from Mount Vernon was under the impression that those officers knew he was a cop, because there was at one point a Westchester (County) cop behind him.  So as he (Ridley) was telling the guy (Jacobs) to “hold it, hold it,” he looked up and told the cops, “I have it, I got it, don’t worry I got it, and when he looked up and told the cops “I got it, I got it”  for the fourth time that’s when the county police officers all shot and he fell to the ground dead. I could see the gunfire coming out of the county police officers’ guns, from all the firing I thought, each police officer shot one time.” 


 It was not stated by the reporter, whether this witness had already given his impression of the events to the police.


The reporter on this story set up the recorded witness statement, in her on-air report, saying that the unidentified witness said Officer Ridley came out of the County Office Building with a Westchester County cop behind him, and that this policeman was joined by three county police officers from the Department of Social Services “with their guns drawn.” She also reported the man originally attacked, the witness said appeared handicapped and was helped by two samaritans. The witness interviewed was reported as having viewed the incident from the window of the Macy’s store where he was waiting for a bus.  


White Plains Police would not comment on the details of this News 12 report at the time, but issued a statement this morning, confirming 4 Westchester County officers were involved:


The police statement remarks that Anthony Jacobs, the lone man charged in the incident has also been charged additionally to the Assault 2nd Degree charge  with possession of a weapon . Police note that the man who was the original victim of the assault that began the sequence of events was on his way home from work. The police also invite witnesses of the incident to make themselves know at an operations van at the scene of the shooting.


Here is the official police statement in its entirety:



The City of White Plains Department of Public Safety is conducting a thorough and objective investigation into the incident that occurreed on Friday evening, January 25, 2008 in the area of 85 Court Street White Plains, NY. This investigation is being conducted in conjunction with the Westchester District Attorney’s Office. The department is analyzing extensive video of the area and the incident. We are conducting a full ballistic analysis and  reviewing the results of the Medical Examiner’s autopsy. To date, we have interviewed in excess of 35 witnesses and will continue to interview all possible witnesses. In this regard, we have placed the department’s communications vehicle in the area of 85 Court Street and encourage anyone who witnessed any part of Friday’s events to contact us either in person at the site or through telephone #914-422-6200.


 


Investigation has determined that 4 uniformed Westchester County Police Officers responded to the scene. The Westchester Police Officers at the scene were, in alphabetical order:


 


Police Officer Jose Calero


Police Officer Christian Gutierrez


Detective Robin Martin


Police Officer Frank Oliveri


 


The number of shots fired and who fired those shots is under investigation. Medical personnel were summoned immediately and arrived at Ofiicer Ridley’s side within minutes. Paramedics determined immediately upon their examination that he was deceased..


 


Anthony Jacobs will appear Monday morning in White Plains City Court and is currently charged with Assault 2nd degree a D-Felony and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd degree a C- Felony. His photograph is attached to this e-mail. The victim of the initial assault was a resident of the Bronx that was on his way home from work.



 

 

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Comptroller DiNapoli Rejects Need for NY Thruway Toll Hike


WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Office of the State Comptroller Press Office. (Edited) January 27, 2008: State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today released his audit of the State Thruway Authority and said the Thruway Authority should call off its proposed July 2008 toll hike.  DiNapoli also said the Thruway should postpone future hikes until it has conducted a thorough analysis of its expenses and operations and prioritized capital projects. The audit examined whether the calculations used in justifying proposed toll increases in July 2008, January 2009, July 2009 and January 2010 were accurate and reasonable.


 




“It’s easy to raise tolls, but the Thruway Authority should take a hard look in the mirror before it pushes another toll hike on New Yorkers,” DiNapoli said. “Toll hikes are not warranted until the Thruway Authority examines its own spending. The Thruway is too important to the upstate economy to unnecessarily raise tolls and drive up the cost of everything from milk to heating oil, not to mention the impact on commuters. The Thruway Authority manages the roads well, but it could manage its finances a whole lot better.”

DiNapoli said his office would engage in additional audits of the Thruway Authority’s operations and finances this year.

The Thruway Authority increased tolls five times prior to 2005: 1959, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1988. Since 2005, the Thruway has already increased tolls twice and is proposing four additional increases.  DiNapoli noted that while the recently implemented January 2008 toll increase might have been avoided, the proceeds of that toll increase are already legally pledged to pay for $2 billion the Thruway Authority has already borrowed.

The Thruway Authority Board is considering a series of toll increases that would take effect from July 2008 through January 2010. The board will be holding hearings on the proposed hikes. These proposed toll increases are expected to generate a total of $520 million in additional revenue. Thruway Authority officials say the revenue is needed to cover cash shortfalls projected over the next five years caused by a reduction in traffic growth and an increase in the use of E-ZPass discounts. Part of the revenue is also needed for the Thruway Authority’s $2.7 billion capital plan, which extends through 2011.

DiNapoli initiated the Thruway Authority audit in November at the request of several state and federal leaders.  A policy report on the Thruway Authority and two additional audits were also released today that examined uncollected tolls from E-ZPass violators (Report 2006-S-101) and financial practices at the state Canal Corporation (2005-S-66) .

The review of the Thruway Authority’s finances found:


    • Significantly Underestimated Federal Funding:   The Thruway Authority estimated that it would receive only $4.9 million in federal highway funding a year, even though its past average was $33.5 million a year. Auditors determined that the Thruway Authority could conservatively estimate an additional $125.3 million in federal funding between 2008 and 2012.
    • No Aggressive Cost-Cutting Measures:   The Thruway Authority plans to limit its annual operating growth to 3.5 percent but has not implemented serious cost-reduction measures. Auditors found that current efforts appear to be geared towards maintaining current levels of spending rather than reducing costs. In the absence of a comprehensive, top-to-bottom analysis of Thruway Authority operating expenses, it is unclear whether waste, inefficiencies and unnecessary costs are being incurred and at what levels.
    • Uncollected E-ZPass Tolls and Fees:   The Thruway Authority did not collect $27.5 million in unpaid tolls and penalties over a six-year period, according to a second audit also released today. While most of the delinquent motorists owed the Thruway Authority $20 or less, 82 violators (mostly businesses) owed $2,500 or more in unpaid tolls. One out-of-state trucking company was cited for 2,226 violations and owes $59,159 in unpaid tolls.
    • No Prioritization of Capital Projects:   Auditors identified $160 million in non-essential capital projects, such as rehabilitating maintenance buildings, noise barriers and pedestrian bridges, that could be delayed to save money. The capital plan contains 300 individual projects but no effort has been made to prioritize these projects even though some are clearly less critical than others.
    • High Spending on Non-Thruway Operations:  Since 1990, the Thruway Authority has spent more than $1 billion on non-Thruway operations such as the Canal System ($700.4 million) and mandated economic development projects ($61.4 million). Between 2008 and 2012, the Thruway Authority estimates it will spend nearly $395 million on the canal system alone.
    • Canal Corp Revitalization Projects Over Budget and Behind Schedule: Another audit released today found that the Canal Corporation was $17 million, or about 49 percent, over budget and at least two years behind schedule on various community revitalization projects that are part of the Canalway Trail.
The three audits contain a series of recommendations including:


    • Perform a comprehensive, top-to-bottom analysis of operations to identify where costs can be reduced. This analysis should always be performed prior to any proposed toll increase.
    • Use a collection agency or some other means to improve the collection of delinquent E-ZPass tolls.  
    • Evaluate the benefits of raising revenue through private sector advertising and sponsorship.
    • Include a reasonable estimate for future federal highway funding in funding projections.
    • Base all equipment replacement estimates on documented needs assessments.
    • Develop management reports showing the progress and dollars spent on each capital project.
    • Prioritize the projects in future capital plans to facilitate any adjustments needed in response to unanticipated funding shortages.
    • Identify the non-essential capital projects that are scheduled for 2008 through 2012, determine which of those projects can be deferred until after 2012, and determine how the Authority’s funding needs would be affected if the projects were deferred.
    • Document the basis for the inflationary increases in construction contracts.

DiNapoli recommended that the canal system be removed from the Thruway Authority’s operations and that a feasible, long-term solution for financing, managing and planning the future of the canal system be developed.

In its response to the audit, the Thruway Authority generally agreed with the facts of the audit but disagreed with many of the conclusions. The Thruway Authority noted that “the public review process has only begun and that the recommendations contained in this draft audit will be used, along with the public’s input, to shape a toll adjustment…” The Thruway Authority’s full response is included in the audit.


Click here to view the audit on the Thruway Authority’s proposed toll increases .


Click here to view the audit on uncollected E-ZPass tolls and fees .


Click here to view the Canal Corporation audit .


The policy report will be available shortly at www.osc.state.ny.us .

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