THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 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)

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On — Bar Building Moves to Cappelli Beat.

Posted on November 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. November 2, 2004: Tenants in the Bar Building, 199 Main Street, the nationally recognized historical landmark in White Plains (on the State Register of Historic Places) are feeling the tremors of the beginning stages of construction of the 221 Main Cappelli Hotel & Condoplex this week. As one office holder said, “It’s about .8 on the Richter Scale.” The higher you are situated in the building the more you feel the thumps and bumps. Tenants WPCNR spoke with today said it was disconcerting, but they knew what it was. The effects have been felt for the last week and a half.

THE BAR BUILDING SHAKES AS 221 MAIN BEGINS. Photo, WPCNR News Archive.

Bruce Berg, Vice President of Cappelli Enterprises, explained that this jolting and tremors were the beginning of a long process and said the tenants could expect to feel the bumps of the construction “for some time.” He explained that equipment was removing the concrete foundations of the former Main Street stores.

He said that the thumps and bumps the tenants of the Bar Building tower were experiencing should lesson somewhat once digging of the Hotel-Condoplex began. Berg said that demolition of the Main street buildings had been completed and the excavating of for the Hotel and Condominium complex had officially begun. Berg assured WPCNR that the walls of the Bar Building would be shored up and that this process would be all around the perimeter of the Bar Building site.

Candidate Forums Need Reform

Posted on November 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By John F. Bailey. November 2, 2004: The forums presenting candidates this election campaign on the local scene need vast improvement. Incumbents get to dodge the issues and challengers are not held up to scrutiny as to whether they are familiar with issues and procedures. WPCNR attended two forums and these are my observations.

Dispense with the candidate’s personal opening statements. Have the moderator read a one paragraph bio supplied by the candidate. It will take 20 seconds each.

2. Impanel a series of serious, hard-hitting news reporters to ask the questions, and run the forum. (At least the networks do this.) The questions asked by the managers of these forums are just too general. The questions I heard this year showed a lack of understanding of the issues and what has taken place in government in recent months, and generally are too easy, enabling candidates in office to say, I did this this and this, and challengers to say, I think we need to do this — without saying how they would do that.

Invite officials affected by lawmakers’ decisions to submit questions.

Analyze the issues and break the forum up into sections on say, budget, health care, state mandates, education issues, aid to cities, sales tax, the future, etc.

Uncivilize them. In the interest of decorum the opportunities for candidates to exchange positions and pick up on untruths voiced by the other candidate, have been lost. I’d like to see some good old-fashioned Lincoln-Douglas stuff. Let the candidates respond to each other in point counterpoint style

Screen audience questions. Have an impartial panel screen out obvious personal vendetta type questions that draws attention to a questioner’s personal conflicts with government. One questioner in Mount Kisco brought up a beating they had received at the hands of police, for which they already had won a court judgment. The candidates on the panel had no jurisdiction over that kind of question.

Eliminate judge forums. These are a waste of time. Since judges cannot advocate, all they do is recite their illustrious biographies, and everybody leaves anyway when the judges come on.

Allow follow up questions by the opponent on topics. And a rebuttal to the follow-up. (As forums are formatted now, outrageous distortions go unchallenged, because of the format. The format protects incumbents at the expense of the challenger, and allows challengers to hide their lack of knowledge of the process.)

Let them go all night. (How about a Forum Marathon – We talk til you drop.) Limiting forums to an hour and a half, and trying to cover all offices, just because everyone wants to be done by bedtime, limits serious discussion.

Give us a new format. Circle people around the candidates in a mixer format and have an informal give and take session like a cocktail party. Mix in media with citizens and let all go at it. Candidates have to meet the people on a more informal basis.

Require candidates to divulge finances and where they get the funding for their campaigns, how many fundraisers they have had, and how much they have raised for their campaigns — could be communicated in a 20 second statement, too.

Do away with holding up signs to ask candidates to stop. Have gongs! It would add drama.

Publicize them to a greater extent.

Have more.

Turnout Continues Strong Locally. 70% at Selected Polls by 8 PM

Posted on November 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2004. November 2, 2004: White Plains appears to be turning out very strong on election day. As of 10 A.M., 30% of registered voters had voted at the CitizeNetReporter’s polling place at White Plains High School, with 9 hours to go there is a chance of a turnout close to 100%.

As of 7:45 P.M., in the White Plains High Polling place 706 of 1,013 had voted, that is about 70%/. In Lewisboro, farther up in the 89th district, at 10 AM this morning there was a line of 10-deep…predictors up district are predicting a record turnout.

Another observer from Mount Kisco noted that he voted at 6 in the morning and there was a line, the first time he ever remembers a line at that hour. Jim Benerofe, SuburbanStreet editor, also noted that at his polling place there was a possibility of 100% turnout.

The Other Gretzky A Guest on Johnny Vorperian’s BEYOND THE GAME on WPPA-TV

Posted on November 2, 2004 by John Bailey

WPCNR PRESS BOX. From WPPA-TV, White Plains Public Access. November 2, 2004: November will be a Hall of Fame Family Affair for White Plains Cable’s Beyond The Game SPORTS TALK show as host Johnny Vorperian interviews Brent Gretzky, Forward for the Danbury Trashers of the United Hockey League, (the only pro hockey in the tri-state area), and Dale Berra, son of Yogi, member of the 1979 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates (he played with the Bucs for 7 major league seasons), make Guest Appearances. Mr. Gretzky is interviewed Tuesday evening at 10 P.M. on WPPA-TV, White Plains Public Access Television, “The Spirit of ’76,” Channel 76.

Beyond The Game Host and Producer John Vorperian says, “Brent talks with cool composure about his playing in the National Hockey League, Austria, his current team, the Danbury Trashers and his after hockey plans of going into llaw enforcement. The one time I called him Mr. Gretzky, he cracked up laughing saying that’s not him, that’s his brother.”

BRENT GRETZKY, In TRASHER BLACK, Forward for the Danbury Trashers in Opening Puck Drop at Trashers-Adirondack Frostbite opener October 15. Brent is interviewed by Johnny Vorperian on Channel 76 tonight on White Plains longest running sportstalk show, (5 years) BEYOND THE GAME at 10 P.M. Photo by WPCNR Sports.