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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THE CREEPING CORONA VIRUS DOUBLES INFECTIONS IN A WEEK

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SCROLL DOWN THE VIDEO WALL TO WHITE PLAINS WEEK TO VIEW THE NOVEMBER 13,2020 PROGRAM

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WPCNR STARS AND STRIPES. By John F. Bailey. Originally published November 11, 2015:

It is the 11th day of the 11th month, and the 11th hour. It is 1918. Armistice Day the day when World War I “The Great War to end all Wars” officially ended. Sadly, the way “The Great War” ended and subsequent reparations penalties on Germany, began a century of war 1920 to 2020:  the Spanish Civil War,  World War II, the Holocaust, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the 6-Day War,  the first Iraq War.  The Second Iraq War, the Afghanistan War still going on.

White Plains will hold a virtual Veterans Day Ceremony in City Hall viewable on the city website and Channel 47 Fios and Channel 75 Altice-Optimum. It will be viewable throughout the day.

Five years ago, in the White Plains Rural Cemetary, White Plains held its annual remembrance.the event, organized by the Mayor’s Veterans Committee, featured recollections and insights by keynote speaker USMC Staff Sergeant Alex Guzman.

That year, the Mayor’s Veterans Committee honored Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran Kevin W. Fischer. WPCNR reprints the words and pictures from that ceremony. All residents and visitors are welcome to join us in tribute to our veterans who have sacrificed so greatly to preserve and protect our freedom.

It is cold rainy miserable in White Plains this morning vaguely reminiscent of the trenchs of the Somme in that “Great War.” 

I wrote the piece that follows in 2013 that delivers some of the feelings of all Armistice Days

Wayne Bass, Commissioner of Recreation and Parks opens the Veterans Day Ceremonies Monday at the White Plains Rural Cemetary

WPCNR STARS AND STRIPES. By John F. Bailey. November 12, 2013:

I attended the Veterans Day Ceremony in White Plains Rural Cemetery Monday.  I met Ross Marsico,(above) the 90 year old  veteran of World War II who fought with the Third Army in France, Belgium and Germany. He was wounded by shrapnel, spent 45 days in a hospital THEN returned to active duty.

Mr. Marsico returned to the USA and spent 30 years as an active policeman in Harrison. He was honored as the 2013 Veteran’s Day Honoree

Mr. Marsico is a native of White Plains, just turned 90 yesterday, is an outstanding person to have the honor to meet. When he was asked questions how he felt about being  honored, he said he just represented all the other veterans and every day people who had served, that it was not about him. Then he teared up.

Veterans day makes you tear up.

Chaplain Bob Donnelly of American Legion Post 135 in the invocation observed that the gathering was there to honor persons who had written a “blank check to the United States of America, good for everything including their life in service to their country.”

Adele Zucker(above , Past President of Jewish War Veterans Ladies Auxiliary, said  Veterans day was to honor the veterans who came back and have contributed so much to their hometowns in addition to their military service. 

Chaplain Bob Donnelly noted that when he returned from the Vietnam war he was spat upon by a woman in an airport and called a baby killer, and observed today’s veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan  conflicts are much more respected.

Then came brief  inspiration remarks by the Mayor, Tom Roach, who proclaimed Monday Veteran’s Day in White Plains  and U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Jason Freeland(below)

Sergeant Freeland, in his most recent tour, was responsible for training Afghan army and police recruits. He is now head of recruiting for the Marines in White Plains. He mentioned how honored he was to be among the veterans attending, and how it was their and those like them who service that make it possible for him and today’s servicemen and women to perform and live up to the veterans’ example. This  truth was echoed again how you serve matters and it is an inspiration to those who come after you.

Mayor Roach with Commandant Jack Collins of American Legion Post 135  places the Mayor’s Veteran’s Day Board Wreath at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

The Home Defense Wreathis placed by members of the White Plains Police and Fire Department

Dennis Jones, left, places the White Plains Historical Society Wreath. Joan Steere , Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed the final commemorative wreath.

The White Plains Middle School Band played Anchors Aweigh, The Caissons Go Rolling Along, The Marines Hymn, Semper Fidelis (Coast Guard), and Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder (Air Force).

Crisp. Inspiring, evoking the rich traditions and pride and sacrifice of the American armed forces.

As the gathering left, the tent was folded, and the crowd drifted away, until another Memorial Day another Veterans Day.

I remained and watched the tombstones of the Revolutionary War Dead…names no longer readable on the stones, they still spoke as one.

Cemeteries like the White Plains Rural Cemetery inspire by the testimony of the simple stones, the tiny flags denoting veterans and the stones too of every day people of long ago who lived well. As I read their stones I wonder what their lives were like their thoughts, their actions in that long ago time.

Cemeteries are not places of regret, but, instead inspiration to ignite in us, with their  memories, to continue to work on our own lives and live up to the examples of persons like the veterans still with us and those who have departed.

Rifle Salute to the Departed Veterans by American Legion Post #135, was followed by Taps, played by Bob Freis

The veterans are getting older.

James Dwyer of American Legion Post 135 was scheduled  to read Flanders Field. He could not  due to illness according to Commander Jack Collins. This is the touching poem penned in World War I, Mr. Dywer would have read. He could not, so I will publish it for him.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders field

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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS UPDATE. From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. November 10, 2020:

 Most of us are aware of the danger of large, indoor gatherings when it comes to COVID.

They are where super-spreading happens. But viral spread is not limited to large group settings. I want to stress that small, indoor gatherings also pose a very serious risk.

Small gatherings are a significant source of spread. As COVID cases rise, we recommend limiting the size of any indoor gatherings you host or attend.

Thanksgiving dinners can be celebrated most safely if you limit the group to only your immediate household. If you are going to spend time with people outside of your household, there are steps you can take to mitigate risk:

Be outside as much as possible.

If indoors, wear a mask at all times that it is possible to do so. Open windows to increase ventilation if you can.

Keep six feet or more of distance and limit the amount of time you spend at indoor gatherings.

COVID spreads among strangers but it also spreads among friends. As the numbers continue to rise we must all double down and take this surge very seriously.  

Photo of the Day: A billboard outside the Javits Center in NYC reminding us to Mask Up (Photo by Nina Dudko) Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 

1. The statewide positivity rate rose above three percent yesterday. In the micro-cluster focus areas, the positivity rate was 5.59 percent. Excluding these areas, it was 2.56 percent. Of the 128,036 tests reported yesterday, 3,965, or 3.09 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations were at 1,548. Sadly, we lost 32 New Yorkers to the virus. 

2. The State’s investment in New York-based medical suppliers is already yielding results. When the Trudeau Institute and Adirondack Health wanted to expand rapid testing in the North Country, they had trouble getting the supplies and equipment they needed.

So the State connected them with Rheonix, an Ithaca-based manufacturer that Empire State Development has invested in. Thanks to this collaboration, the Trudeau Institute and Adirondack Health opened a brand-new lab in Saranac Lake that will be able to process up to around 160 COVID tests per day and yield fast test results for residents. The State’s investment in Rheonix is part of a series of strategic investments in strengthening New York’s medical supply chain. 

 3. As we continue the fight against a surge in COVID-19 cases, we can’t let flu season make matters worse. New York has launched a Flu Tracker, which displays daily and weekly flu data and provides timely information about local, regional and statewide flu activity. Take a look—and please get a flu shot if you haven’t already.  

4. In response to rising infection rates in the region, Syracuse and Albany Universities will switch to remote learning. The University of Albany switched to online learning today and Syracuse will switch next week. Yesterday, the State announced a Yellow Zone in Onondaga County, placing pandemic-related restrictions on the Syracuse area.

  Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: On the eve of her 30th birthday, Ariel Cordova-Rojas came across an injured swan while biking through the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge last week. With the ranger station closed, Ariel, a former employee of the Wild Bird Fund, took quick action to help the bird and used the New York City subway as her ambulance. Ariel and the swan rode the train up to Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn, where they met two Wild Bird Fund employees and brought the swan to the nonprofit’s clinic in the Upper West Side. The bird is now receiving care thanks to Ariel’s intervention.  

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo 

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. November 10, 2020:

Westchester County Executive George Latimer today proposed a $2.091 Billon 2021 County Budget that was balanced with no carryover of the dire deficit piled up in 2020.

This was made possible in part by federal covid-19 Aid that was not entirely used and carried over to 2021, preserving the present level of the County’s reserve fund, after it was spent for balance what is believed to a major portion of the deficit caused by Covid and County economic lockdown.

The estimated $80 Million deficit in sales taxes created by the devastating impact on sales tax revenues of the coronavirus combined withn the county’s optimism of the effect of the 1% sales tax increase revenues budgeted for ($147 Million) in 2020  was made up by several positive steps the county took to precut 2020 expenditures the last 5 months.

The “Voluntary Separation Incentive” proposed by the county executive resulted in 226 persons leaving county service August 1. Cuts of positions of approximately 55 persons (presumably taking the retirement program offered by the county in August in reaction to the plummet in county revenues) created part of the savings.

Increased mortgage taxes balanced some of the revenue due to the unprecedented boom in high priced real estate all summer long, but that was not quantified in today’s presentation. But is up strongly due to the increase in real estate prices for upscale homes.

The key to balancing the 2020 deficit was the Covid Aid the County received for Covid expenses. The county spent part of it for covid related expenses, hunger relief, the Business First progra health department expenses.

Fortunately for the county, all the Covid money was spent. The remainder went to the County Reserve Fund, which enabled the county to replenish  the Reserve Fund at the 2020 level, Mr. Latimer indicating that part of the existing 2020 Reserve fund was used to finish 2020 balanced.

The budget assumes there will be  a 20% cut in state aid. The budget in the official press release says “As a result this (2021) Budget must rely on drawing all of our projected increase.”

( Editor’s note: the projected increase in the reserves was created, by leftover covid surplus, sent to the 2020 reserves.)

Mr. Latimer said: “the county was able to secure direct Federal assistance under both the Families First and CARES Acts. This allowed the county to fund the additional costs that have arisen due to the pandemic as well as maintain essential county services.”

Going forward, Mr. Latimer said the county was budgeting $696 Million in sales tax revenues in 2021, (about $80 Million less , he said)than the  approximately $147 Million budgeted for 2020).

The estimated sales tax revenue in 2021  actually is in line with what the sales tax revenues should finish 2020 at according to WPCNR estimates at the last state sales tax report in October.

Latimer said the county expects to make $662 Million in 2020 through December, which he points out in the county budget news release as being $80 million below the $742 Million projected in 2020 that did not materialize.

The budget increases economic development money, housing assistance, and food insecurity programs by $5 Million each. There are no layoffs, no furloughs, no service cuts and no borrowing for pension funds.

The Capital Budget in the 2021 budget that appropriates $231.8 million in new appropriations for capital projects, the news release on the budget states. It includes $112 million to improve the environment including a food scrap recovery facility, 100 Hybrid replacement buses and electric vehicle charging stations.

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 WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. November 9, 2020:

Today, drug maker Pfizer announced early data from Coronavirus vaccine trials that the vaccine it is developing is more than 90 percent effective. This is great news.

But until a vaccine becomes a daily reality we must continue to be cautious. Until then, our job stays the same: Stop the spread. Each and every one of us. 

This task is as crucial now as it is difficult. Unfortunately, we expect COVID cases to continue to rise this fall and winter.

We are in a new, extremely difficult phase of this pandemic, and we must continue to safeguard our health and the health of our community by following the simple steps we know to be effective. It’s been months. We all have COVID fatigue but we cannot give in.

As our national numbers climb, New Yorkers must respond with more commitment to wearing masks, distancing and doing all we can to stop this powerful virus. 

Chart of the Day:

In our micro-cluster strategy, we implement different restrictions for each zone and have a clear criteria to determine when an area enters or exits a zone. Here’s what else you need to know tonight: 

1. We have made modifications to existing micro-clusters and added new ones. The Red Zone in Brooklyn changes to an Orange Precautionary Zone and there are new Yellow Zones in Erie County, Monroe County and Onondaga County, in areas of those counties that met the threshold for establishing these new zones. More information and the maps of current cluster zones can be found here.  

 2. The positivity rate in the micro-cluster focus areas was 4.32 percent yesterday. The statewide positivity rate excluding these areas was 2.69 percent. Of the 111,416 tests reported yesterday, 3,144, or 2.82 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations were at 1,444. Sadly, we lost 26 New Yorkers to the virus. 

3. It took just ten days for total COVID cases in the US to go from nine million to ten million. Unfortunately, the virus is surging across the country, almost without exception. The accelerating rate of new cases is especially worrying. I know we are all tired, but once again, we must treat this crisis with the seriousness it calls for.  

4. A Long Island country club lost its liquor license after hosting an illegal, super-spreader wedding. As we have seen time and time again, large gatherings can unfortunately turn into super-spreader events.

The State Liquor Authority has suspended the liquor license for the North Fork Country Club following a wedding which violated pandemic-related guidance. A total of 113 guests attended—more than double the number allowed—leading to 34 COVID-19 infections, and scores of people in quarantine. New York will not tolerate illegal and dangerous mass gatherings. 

Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: In Savannah, Georgia, six-year-old Bethany is helping the homeless in her neighborhood. In 2019, at age five, she started “Bethany’s Happy Bags for the Homeless,” which distributes bags with items that homeless people might need, such as protein bars, first aid, toiletries and more.

Bethany’s work has continued throughout the pandemic and it turns out that compassion runs in the family. Bethany’s aunt, Patricia, from Poughkeepsie, New York, volunteers for her local Medical Reserve Corps and serves as an EMT.  If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here. 

Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo