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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Today A 20 percent chance of showers after 2pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming southwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight Showers likely, mainly between 2am and 5am, then rain likely after 5am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. East wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday Rain. High near 53. East wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. (National Weather Service)

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WPCNR THE POWER STORY. From Consolidated Edison Customer News. April 13, 2021:

Con Edison, obviously reacting to the ESCO marketing season that has resulted in an onslaught of mailings and hard sell phone calls promoting inexpensive green energy rates guaranteeing rates that are not true and have “caveats” the telephone salespersons do not tell you about, even when asked, has issued this warning in its Customer News insert newsletter with this month’s bill:

1. Real Con Edison employees wear a photo ID. They will give you their supervisor’s name and ask you to call 1-800-75-CONED to verify your identity.
2. Scammers can make it look like Con Edison is calling you on your Caller I.D.
3. If you ever receive a call asking for payment or other personal information (on your bill, what you pay, for example, a call this reporter has received often) related to your account, hang up and call us: 1-800-75-CONED. We would never demand payment via a prepaid debit card, gift card, bitcoin, Cash App or any digital wallet app like Venmo.
4. Don’t pay online unless you are certain you’re using Con Edison’s automated payment system. Con Edison payments can only be made through conEd.com and conEd.com/GuestPayment.
5. We do not charge for the installation of smart meters.
6. Report scams to your local police department.
7. Learn more about common scams at conEd.com/ScamAlert.

Some common phone scams are:

Pretend to be from Con Edison.

They may even manipulate your caller ID to display Con Edison’s name.

Threaten to turn off your power or gas within an hour.

Demand immediate payment—often by prepaid debit card.

From this reporter’s personal experience, independent energy companies known as ESCOS, each year attempt to switch Con Ed customers to their own ESCO power supply by offering you guaranteed rates or green rates lower than your present ESCO or if you are still getting both electricity and delivery of it (the Con Ed delivery charge). The ESCOS say their rate is lower, say it is guaranteed and ask you what your current con ed rate is. When you query them about how long the rate is guaranteed, I have had the ESCO sales people hangup. If you call their number, you are essentially accepting a switch. The ESCO mailings are also deceptive, trying to switch you by deceptively telling you to switch to green power, new low guaranteed rate. Do not do that. It switches your electricity supply provider.

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WPCNR PLAYLAND GO-ROUND. From the Westchester County Board of Legislators. April 12, 2021:

 The Board of Legislators, by a vote of 13-4, approved a bankruptcy court settlement with Standard Amusements regarding the management of Playland.

The settlement was negotiated by the County and Standard, the terms of which were previously approved by the bankruptcy court.

The agreement gives the County significantly improved terms compared with the 2016 agreement, which had become the subject of the dispute in Standard’s bankruptcy reorganization filing.

Under the settlement, Standard will invest millions more in rides and food and other improvements at Playland than under the 2016 agreement. (Editor’s Note: The County will invest approximately $120 Million in restoration of Playland infrastructure: the collonades, swimming pool, bathouse, upgrades to operating systems, more than double the County’s original Standard-County deal, rejected by the present administration as not paying the county enough of the profits.)

The settlement also gives the County significant new oversight over Standard’s operation of the park — controls that were not in the 2016 agreement.  These new oversight powers include the power to review and approve Standard’s construction plans, approval of new rides, new and more specific financial reporting requirements for Standard, and County approval of an annual operating plan for the park, among others.

The settlement contains new terms under which Standard can assign the contract to another company. 

The County will now have the ability to object to an assignment, and there are new requirements that any company that might take on the contract must have years of amusement park management experience and demonstrated financial wherewithal.

There are also improved financial terms for the County.  Under the 2016 agreement, the County shared only in Standard’s net profit and only after Standard recouped its capital investment.  Under the settlement, the County will be paid from the beginning out of gross revenue over $12 million. The County also will receive an annual fee starting at $300,000 in 2022, increasing to $400,000 in 2023 with annual adjustments thereafter.

In addition, under the settlement, if Standard fails to generate at least $12 million in gross revenue per year for four straight years, the County may terminate the contract.

The settlement also heads off expensive litigation in the future by hiring a commercial arbitrator, to be agreed to and paid for by both parties, to resolve disputes.

The settlement preserves crucial protections for workers. Any County workers at Playland now, not hired by Standard, or who do not want to work for Standard, will continue to be employed elsewhere by the Parks Department. Standard is committing to continuing to hire a diverse slate of young seasonal workers during the summer as well as older workers.

Chairman Ben Boykin (D- White Plains, Scarsdale, Harrison) said,

“The choice we faced in this vote was not between our theoretical best agreement or no agreement at all.  Our choice was between voting to approve this settlement, or voting not to approve this settlement and allowing Standard to assume the original contract in bankruptcy court. In approving this settlement, we are voting to give the County much better financial terms, more oversight over Standard’s work and operations at Playland, and more outside investment from Standard in this park which is a jewel in the crown of our Parks Department. Thanks are due to County Attorney John Nonna and his staff, our outside attorneys, Parks Department Commissioner Kathy O’Connor and First Deputy Commissioner Peter Tartaglia, and the chairs of our committees, especially Law and Major Contracts Chair Nancy Barr, and Budget and Appropriations Chair Catherine Borgia for their outstanding work in getting us to this improved place for County taxpayers and residents.”

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS MONITOR. By John F. Bailey. April 12, 2021:

Westchester vaccinations of the covid vaccine may be having a impact on number of new Covid cases per day in Westchester County.

As more vaccinations are given every day, new covid infections in the county through Saturday are down a full percentage from the close-to-over 4% infection rate averaged the last two months.

Westchester’s consistently close to 4% Covid has lowered five straight days pending reconciled Saturday and Sunday figures by both the New York State Covid Tracker Workbook and the Westchester County County Covid-19 Tracker.

The state Saturday figures comparison of positive cases to number tested has the Westchester infection rate lowering to .02 % (2/10ths of 1% — of those tested, 123,838.) The Westchester chart reported only 10,200 tested with 290 testing positive or 2.8% Today the state corrected the number of tests its Covid Tracker reported Saturday (128,838) to reflect the Westchester numbers of 10,200 tested with 290 testing positive, 2.8%. The original Westchester County computer-linked Covid Tracker was correct.

This is still big time turnaround despite Sunday Westchester tests showing 3.7% infections (on 6,944 tests administered, 254 infections.

The dramatic sustained decline in infection rate is significant.

Westchester had 4 straight days of 3% on the nose infection rates going into Saturday.

The county infection is now averaging under 3% through Saturday sitting on 2.8%. If the state really did 123,838 tests Saturday bravo because the 290 infections in Westchester Saturday that the state reported lowers the county infection rate to just about zero. But that would mean the state did ten times the usual number of tests (12,000) the are the average number of high end testing figures when tests are ramped up. But the trend is still down.

In today’s Covid briefing by County Executive George Latimer, said hospitalizations were dropping.

In a week the hospitalizations dropped from 230 2 weeks ago to 209 and now are at 192 hospitalized, down 28 in 2 weeks .

WPCNR thinks that new infections numbers that could (with a 4.3% hospitalization rate) be averaging close to a hundred hospitalizations or more a week, are not being hospitalized near that 4.3% rate or suffering as seriously from Covid to require hospitalization.

Mr. Latimer said the vaccinations records from the state show 280,207 Westchester citizens have had both shots and 418,642 (43%) have yet to get their second. (The vaccination figures updated from the state vaccine tracker.)

Mr. Latimer said “We are closing in on 50% of the county population being fully vaccinated.”

WPCNR estimates that the county could hit that number by the first week in May and be 75% vaccinated by the middle of May, or possibly sooner.

If the county facilitiees continued to vaccinate the 418, 642 who had already had one shot at 13,000 a day rate over the next 33 days that would get all 418,642 with one shot fully vaccinated. The bottom line at that pace is 698,849 completely vaccinated by May 15, working out to 72% of the county population (967,912).

The greater number of people vaccinated is having the expected effect of protecting more of Westchester from the disease and the new variant B-1-1-1-7.

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS ROUNDUP. By John F. Bailey From New York State Covid Tracker and Article from National Geographic. APRIL 11, 2021:

From Tuesday, April 6 through Friday April 9, Westchester County lowered the number of new Covid infections to below 3% for the first time in two months.

The 3% of the total 49,789 tested those four days yielded 1,482 covid positive persons, which can still mean 64 new hospitalizations by next week at a 4.3% hospitalization rate.

Previous to those four days, 25,042 people were tested half the 49,789 tested Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday and Friday, (and county persons testing postive had been 4.3% on April 5, 3.7% on April 4 and 3.6% on April 3. On those three days numbers of positive covid persons was 942, which could yield 40 hospitalizations next week added to the 64, meaning about a hundred new cases hospitalized. Saturday the 10th infection results will be out this afternoon.

The reduction of the infection rate by almost a full percent over three days is positive despite the 1,483 covid infections (because more persons were tested) is significant.

The troubling factor is how spreading of disease, either through Covid-19 or the new variant highlighted by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Friday is that the spread of the disease has spread ominously to the more lightly populated suburbs which are fueling the infection rate by no enforcement whatsoever accept voluntary restrictions recommended by the County Department of Health.

Notice the town by town figures on infections the past two weeks compiled by WPCNR from the Westchester County Covid Tracker by towns and cities. The town infections are rising.

THE NEW VARIANT B.1.1.7 PROFILE bY Dr. Sanjay Mishra.

The following article by Dr. Sanjay Mishra, Mishra, a child psychiatrist in Carmel, Ind., and a partner and medical director of Indiana Health Group, a large medical practice specializing in mental health was circulated to WPCNR.

This article appeared in Saturday’s edition of National Geographic and appears on the NG website. Dr. Mishra delves into the reasons why the new variant arriving in New York is perhaps more serious than the first Covid, requiring continued covid precaution:

“The coronavirus variant known as B.1.1.7, which studies show is both more deadly and more transmissible than the original version of SARS-CoV-2, is now the most common strain circulating in United States, and its growing prevalence has alarmed prominent epidemiologists.

Earlier in the pandemic, not many children were becoming infected with the coronavirus, and they did not appear to be major sources of virus transmission to other age groups. “That changed with B.1.1.7,” says epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “We’re now seeing substantial numbers of outbreaks in schools and in school-related activities.”

In a study conducted in the U.K., where this variant was first detected, more children were infected with B.1.1.7 than other SARS-CoV-2 variants, compared to older age groups. The same scenario is now emerging in the U.S.

A rapidly growing outbreak of COVID-19 in Carver County, Minnesota, has been linked to school-sponsored and club sports activities. In a study done by the Minnesota Department of Health, researchers produced a detailed map of COVID-19 transmission showing that the B.1.1.7 variant caused about a quarter of these cases. A similar outbreak was reported in Wisconsin, where all the children at a Dane County childcare center who tested positive were 6 years or younger.

The upside, if there is one, is that one study suggests younger children were less likely than adults to pass the virus to others. In addition, the current vaccines authorized for use in the U.S. are effective against B.1.1.7 and can help us reverse the course of the pandemic, as long as people also continue to limit exposure by following the current public health precautions and restrictions.

“If you need another reason to get vaccinated, here it is,” says William Schaffner, a physician and professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “Not only is it more contagious, but when you are infected with it, you’re more likely to get serious disease. And so we’re concerned about it.”

A more contagious virus enters the U.S.

In early December, as optimism was rising about the U.K.’s ambitious vaccine rollout, British scientists and public health officials were seeing a surge of cases in Kent County in southeastern England. While only 4 percent of those cases were sequenced, almost half were found to be the new variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Because this variant, now called B.1.1.7, is much more contagious, it spread quickly worldwide, and by December 29 the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment reported the first case in the U.S. However, several studies have now shown that B.1.1.7 likely entered the U.S. multiple times between November 2020 and January 2021—earlier than previously thought.

In early February, Karthik Gangavarapu, a graduate student at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, co-authored a study that predicted B.1.1.7 would become dominant in the U.S. by late March 2021.

“Based on what we had seen in other parts of the world with this variant, there was no reason for us to believe that this wouldn’t happen in the U.S., and I think, for most epidemiologists, this is not a huge surprise,” Gangavarapu says.

Currently in U.S., the number of cases caused by B.1.1.7 is increasing at a rate of about 7.5 percent per day.

Researchers believe the variant spreads so rapidly because B.1.1.7 accumulated a large number of genetic changes—17 in total—including eight in the virus’s hallmark spike protein. The spike protein attaches to the ACE2 receptor protein, which is found on the outer wall of 72 types of human cells. After the virus latches onto the ACE2 receptor, it can enter the host cell, make more copies of itself, and trigger infection.

By binding more tightly to the ACE2 receptors, “these mutations provide selective advantage to B.1.1.7, so that’s why now it is spreading everywhere” says Olivier Schwartz, head of the Virus and Immunity Unit of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. “It’s a kind of a Darwinian selection process.”

A study analyzing more than 100,000 people who had been infected with either B.1.1.7 or the original strain also shows that the new variant is more deadly.

When the researchers compared the two groups of patients, B.1.1.7 had greater mortality by somewhere between 32 and 104 percent, says team leader Robert Challen, a clinician at the University of Exeter in the U.K.

Some researchers believe that B.1.1.7 behaves so differently from the original strain that it can even be “treated as a separate epidemic,” says Ravindra Gupta, a professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge.

B.1.1.7 also been causing problems in other ways. It carries a couple of genetic mutations in the spike protein called deletions, because they eliminate part of the genetic code, that help this variant escape antibodies during the body’s immune response after an infection.

These deletions can also cause certain commercial testing kits to give a false negative result because they fail to detect its spike protein gene. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued recommendations to address possible false negative results that arise due to increasing prevalence of B.1.1.7 and other deletion variants in the U.S.

Implications for kids

The risk of B.1.1.7 to children, and subsequently to their families, may not arise as much from higher transmissibility, but from kids’ inability to maintain social distancing and masking and avoid contact sports, says Osterholm.

According to Schwartz, since the virus is more infectious for all age groups, children can now get infected more easily because of close contact in schools and day care. Then they can transmit more virus to each other, and to their families at home.

Because of increasing demand to reopen schools, there is now higher transmission of the B.1.1.7 variant among kids. That means more schools will have difficulty maintaining in-class learning.

The good news is that people who have been vaccinated, or people who were previously infected with another variant, have antibodies that will still neutralize B.1.1.7, says Schwartz, who led a study showing this to be the case. Already, vaccine makers are releasing clinical data showing that the available shots protect children age 12 to 15, and studies in younger children are forthcoming.

“The challenge is we’re not going to have nearly enough vaccine fast enough” to rein in the pandemic unless people stick to safety restrictions in the meantime, Osterholm lamented. “If we don’t limit our exposures to this virus, and try to defy viral gravity, we will not be able to do that.”