WPCNR RINGSIDE. By John F. Bailey. March 23, 2007: Holly Holm, the Blonde Bomber won a generous unanimous decision from White Plains Ann Marie Saccurato in 10 rounds Thursday winning the undisputed women’s Welterweight Championship in a nationally televised bout on Fox Sports from the Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ann Marie took the fight to Holm the first eight rounds, hurting her in the 2nd and 7th, but was unable to take her out in the final round, though she tried. Holm tied up Saccurato consistently on the ropes when Ann Marie hurt her and would rally just enough to regain control of the rounds where Saccurato got in tight on her. Ann Marie getting leading with her right, hut Holm tied up her jab. The fight was scored very favorably for Holm, 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92. It was a lot closer than that. It was a real brawl, but Saccurato could not dent Holm’s defenses enough to make the difference. There were no knockdowns.
Robert Weisz Plans 150 Room Luxury Extended Stay Hotel on 1133 Westchester Ave
WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. March 23, 2007: Robert P. Weisz, the developer who bought buildings and upgraded them in White Plains “before it was cool,” as he said last night, with his purchase of 34 South Broadway, his revitalization of 75 South Broadway, 99 Church Street (now home to Berkeley College) and 120 Bloomingdale Road (the former Nestle building), hopes to trail blaze again by building a 4 story, 150-room luxury extended stay hotel with a restaurant on his 1133 Westchester Avenue site (located to the East North East of White Plains High School off the Havilands Manor neighborhood.
Weisz said he was also seeking, (as part of the Special Permit allowing the hotel), a day care center and fitness center in the 1133 Westchester Avenue complex.
He said that Ledgeworth hotels, owners of what he described as the highly successful Southfield Hotel on the north side of the Cross Westchester Expressway in Harrison was very much interested in running the property, but he had not selected a hotel operator as yet. Weisz told The CitizeNetReporter on departure that he expected it would take 18 months to construct the hotel.
Entry to the hotel would only be via Westchester Avenue, according to the Commissioner of Planning, Susan Habel who showed that 1133 Westchester Avenue was the only area that had the amount of available square footage to fit in a hotel of that size. Hotel is at bottom of picture, with entrance coming in from Westchester Avenue, lower right of picture. 1133 Westchester complex is at top.
She noted two other office parks along Westchester Avenue. In addition to 1133 Westchester being eligible for extended stay hotels, the properties of 95 to 1025 Westchester Avenue, 1111 to 1129 were eligible, Habel said, but those properties did not have buildable land for a hotel. Those office parks would have to remove buildings to put together space for the hotel, she said. Habel said that the zoning legislation creating the Special Permit for Mr. Weise’s hotel would be on the April 4 agenda. Previously hotels have only been allowed in the central business district of White Plains. The new Special Permit would allow Weisz to create White Plains first extended stay hotel.
Verizon Confirms Negotiations Peak. Programming Up to City Wishes
WPCNR CITY HALL WIRED. By John F. Bailey. March 22, 2007: Heather Wilmer, a spokesperson for Verizon today said she could not comment on whether or not Verizon had reached agreement in principle with the City of White Plains on a franchise agreement, because until the Public Service Commission approves the franchise agreement between the city and Verizon the contract is still considered to be “in negotiations.”
Wilmer said that at the public hearing that the Common Council is about to schedule for a future date at this evening’s work session, the terms of the agreement would be made public. Asked if Verizon would provide a full schedule of time slots for new programs on its public access network, or simply pick up the feed from White Plains Public Access (currently fed to Mr. and Mrs. White Plains on the Cablevision network — Verizon’s arch rival)– Wilmer said that would be up to the city of White Plains and what it considered its needs were. This appears to give the city the option of expanding public access programming substantially if they want that.
Asked what kind of access networks Verizon has provided to the 29 franchises it has negotiated through New York state to date, Wilmer said “It varies depending on the needs of the community and what it wants to run. We’d work with them (the city).” She did point out that that was still “in negotiations.”
Wilmer could not say how many homes would be covered by the new Verizon fibre optic cable channel. She said that after the public hearing (about to be scheduled) that the franchise agreement if approved by the city would go to the Public Service Commission for approval, which she expected would take two months.
WP Pays $10.44 a Student a Day to Bus 4,162 Students. New Ro Uses Private Buses
WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. March 22, 2007: At the Board of Education hearing on the budget Monday evening, the district was taken to task by several members of the audience for spending more money per student than the New Rochelle school district, which serves 4,000 more students. The cost to educate one student in White Plains is approximately $25,000 a year compared to $17,000 a year to educate one student in New Rochelle. This prompted a look into the cost of transportation between the two districts by WPCNR
New Ro Supplements its Private School Bus Transportation to Elementary Students with Bee Line Bus subsidies for Grades 6-12. Photo, WPCNR News
The Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors pointed out that New Rochelle had a larger class size ratio, and White Plains offered more programs, and programs for the disabled, and White Plains paid more benefits that New Rochelle does. Board of Education member Donna McLaughlin stated that New Rochelle used county buses to transport their students, which White Plains does not do, as a reason why White Plains cost per student overall was higher than New Rochelle. This is not really the case.
In White Plains buses from White Plains Bus Company transport students to the five White Plains elementary schools and two Middle Schools, and private schools. Once a student advances to the high school, they are responsible for their own transportation, either by rides from parents, cabs, or by paying to ride the school bus to the high school each day.
Who Rides the Bee Line in New Ro? And They Are Reimbursed.
In New Rochelle, middle school students ride the Bee Line buses because the Middle Schools and New Rochelle High School are on a Main North South route through New Rochelle, Ms. Skau told The CitizeNetReporter. Skau said that New Ro’s Grade 6 bus riders are 100% subsidized by her school district, and the Grades 7 to 12 students are all subsidized at a lower reimbursement for the costs of riding the Bee Line buses to and from Middle School and the high school.
Transportation to White Plains High School is not subsidized in any way by the school district for the 2,000 students that attend there.
WP Pays $10.44 Cents a Bused Student Every School Day. $11.44 Next Year.
You could take a cab.
According to the most recent edition of Facts & Figures, published by the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association, based in Larchmont, White Plains reports it is busing 4,162 students in 2006-2007, (3,821 to public, 341 to non-public schools).
The Transportation Budget for 2006-2007 is $7,914,692. Based on 182 days of school, this has Mr. and Mrs. White Plains paying $1,901 per bused student – which computes to $10.44 a day – slightly less than a round trip cab ride across White Plains to White Plains High School. (Splendid Taxi charges $5.80 to take you from Merritt Avenue on the White Plains West Side to White Plains High School.)
In New Rochelle, Facts & Figures reports, New Ro is busing 6,203 students of its 11,000 population (5,500 to public schools, 703 to non-public schools). Their Preliminary Transportation Budget for 2007-2008 is $11,673,527, New Ro’s Ms. Skau reports. Doing the basic math, WPCNR sees New Ro paying $1,882 per student for busing their 6,203 students next year which works out to $10.34 per student bused a day.
In the White Plains Preliminary Budget for 2007-2008 their Transportation Cost is budgeted to rise $755,308 to $8.67 Million. That computes to Mr. and Mrs. White Plains paying $2,083 per bused student next year or $11.44 a day per student a $1.10 more than New Rochelle.