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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS REPORT. By John F. Bailey. November 9, 2020:
Westchester County tested 6,606 persons for Covid-19
Saturday November 7, and 225 tested positive moving the county infection (positive
test results) to 3.4%. This rate of infection is higher than Manhattan’s
(1.7%), The Bronx (3.2%), Brooklyn (1.9%), Queens (2.3%) Nassau County (1/2 %) .
WPCNR believes this is the highest infection rate 3.4%
Westchester has experienced.
County Executive addressed the numbers in a new conference at 2 PM. Here is his message on the seriousness of the new infection rate.
Westchester County Executive on the 3.4% Infection Rate of Covid-19 Monday afternoon. Roll the video by clicking on the white > arrow in the lower left of the video freeze
In the course of his report, County Executive Latimer reported the number of Westchester persons being hospitalized with Coronavirus went from 44 on November 1st to 84 today which he said indicated the virus infections were growing, but not approaching the double digit rates the county saw in the spring.
He ended the Covid briefing attributing the rise in the infection rate to more social gatherings in residents’ homes.
He addressed Port Chester being designated a yellow zone by Governor Cuomo, and outlined that restaurants could remain open but limit seating to 4 persons a table (no tables of 10 for example), Churches had to limit services to 50 persons and and the maximum number of gatherings indoor or out is limited to 25 persons.
Mr. Latimer urged Port Chester residents to tests available Tuesday 10 am to 6 PM at Open Door Family Health Center and you must call to make an appointment.
Tuesday, November 10: 10 a.m. -6 p.m.
Those who wish to make an appointment should call 914-995-7425 or click here to do so online. Walk-ins will only be accepted on a limited basis.
He urged all to wear masks and practice social distancing but did not outline any penalties of any kind for not wearing a mask in the County.
As part of the briefing he announced awarding of $10 Million to Westchester businesses victimized by Covid, the first to receive the $49,000 grant of the Business First program, was Jazz Forum in Tarrytown
Yes, we averted an unmitigated disaster. It is doubtful that either our democracy or our planet would have survived another four years of Donald Trump.
But can they survive another six years of Mitch McConnell, two of them as Majority Leader? If democracy requires an informed citizenry, is a democracy even possible when tens of millions of voters (and at least one member of Congress). QAnon claims that “the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles”?
Add to that the fact that we are in the middle of the worst public health crisis in over a century and the worst economic collapse in nearly a century. Joe Biden was on the inaugural platform with Barack Obama the last time a Democratic administration was charged with fixing the devastation wrought by a departing Republican administration, but the damage is far greater today.
Since February 2020, the economy has shed over 10 million jobs and 235,000 Americans have lost their lives to a pandemic that was exacerbated by President Trump’s colossal incompetence and callous indifference. By comparison, “only” some 3.8 million jobs were lost in the eight months before Obama and Biden were inaugurated.
Moreover, when Biden and Harris are inaugurated on January 21, 2021, Democrats will have a reduced majority in the House and “Dr. No” will remain in charge of the Senate. In 2009, by contrast, Democrats controlled both Houses of Congress, which enabled them to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) and prevent a second Great Depression. When Obama left office, only Clinton and Reagan had created more jobs during their terms.
Some things remain constant, however. You can bank on Republicans becoming deficit hawks the second a Republican passes the presidency to a Democrat, usually after having exploded the deficit and crashing the economy. Although they aided and abetted George W. Bush in doubling the deficit, Republicans got religion as soon as Obama took office and didn’t shut up about the deficit until Donald Trump was elected, at which point they fell silent again. Expect more selective amnesia and shameless hypocrisy once Biden takes office.
And expect that Republican will continue to deny four decades of empirical evidence establishing that tax cuts do NOT “pay for themselves” and are in fact a very inefficient way to stimulate the economy, especially when the vast majority of the cuts go to the wealthiest Americans.
For example, every quarterly report issued by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the LEAST effective job creator in ARRA was tax cuts to the wealthy. More recently, the Trump tax cuts of 2017 were found to have had little stimulant effect and to have fallen wildly short of paying for themselves.
It’s clear that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have their work cut out for them. They have promised to reach out to Republicans and work for all Americans. We need to have their backs if Republicans revert to form and put party over country over planet.
My fellow Americans, the
people of this nation have spoken.
They have delivered us a
clear victory. A convincing victory.
A victory for “We the
People.”
We have won with the most
votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of this nation — 74
million.
I am humbled by the trust
and confidence you have placed in me.
I pledge to be a President
who seeks not to divide, but to unify.
Who doesn’t see Red and
Blue states, but a United States.
And who will work with all
my heart to win the confidence of the whole people.
For that is what America
is about: The people.
And that is what our
Administration will be about.
I sought this office to
restore the soul of America.
To rebuild the backbone of
the nation — the middle class.
To make America respected
around the world again and to unite us here at home.
It is the honor of my
lifetime that so many millions of Americans have voted for this vision.
And now the work of making
this vision real is the task of our time.
As I said many times
before, I’m Jill’s husband.
I would not be here
without the love and tireless support of Jill, Hunter, Ashley, all of our
grandchildren and their spouses, and all our family.
They are my heart.
Jill’s a mom — a military
mom — and an educator.
She has dedicated her life
to education, but teaching isn’t just what she does — it’s who she is. For
America’s educators, this is a great day: You’re going to have one of your own
in the White House, and Jill is going to make a great First Lady.
And I will be honored to
be serving with a fantastic vice president — Kamala Harris — who will make
history as the first woman, first Black woman, first woman of South Asian
descent, and first daughter of immigrants ever elected to national office in
this country.
It’s long overdue, and
we’re reminded tonight of all those who fought so hard for so many years to
make this happen. But once again, America has bent the arc of the moral
universe towards justice.
Kamala, Doug — like it or
not — you’re family. You’ve become honorary Bidens and there’s no way out.
To all those who
volunteered, worked the polls in the middle of this pandemic, local election
officials — you deserve a special thanks from this nation.
To my campaign team, and
all the volunteers, to all those who gave so much of themselves to make this
moment possible, I owe you everything.
And to all those who
supported us: I am proud of the campaign we built and ran. I am proud of the
coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse in history.
Democrats, Republicans and
Independents.
Progressives, moderates
and conservatives.
Young and old.
Urban, suburban and rural.
Gay, straight,
transgender.
White. Latino. Asian.
Native American.
And especially for those
moments when this campaign was at its lowest — the African American community
stood up again for me. They always have my back, and I’ll have yours.
I said from the outset I
wanted a campaign that represented America, and I think we did that. Now that’s
what I want the administration to look like.
And to those who voted for
President Trump, I understand your disappointment tonight.
I’ve lost a couple of
elections myself.
But now, let’s give each
other a chance.
It’s time to put away the
harsh rhetoric.
To lower the temperature.
To see each other again.
To listen to each other
again.
To make progress, we must
stop treating our opponents as our enemy.
We are not enemies. We are
Americans.
The Bible tells us that to
everything there is a season — a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow.
And a time to heal.
This is the time to heal
in America.
Now that the campaign is
over — what is the people’s will? What is our mandate?
I believe it is this:
Americans have called on us to marshal the forces of decency and the forces of
fairness. To marshal the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great
battles of our time.
The battle to control the
virus.
The battle to build
prosperity.
The battle to secure your
family’s health care.
The battle to achieve
racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country.
The battle to save the
climate.
The battle to restore
decency, defend democracy, and give everybody in this country a fair shot.
Our work begins with
getting COVID under control.
We cannot repair the
economy, restore our vitality, or relish life’s most precious moments — hugging
a grandchild, birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter
most to us — until we get this virus under control.
On Monday, I will name a
group of leading scientists and experts as Transition Advisors to help take the
Biden-Harris COVID plan and convert it into an action blueprint that starts on
January 20th, 2021.
That plan will be built on
a bedrock of science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy, and
concern.
I will spare no effort —
or commitment — to turn this pandemic around.
I ran as a proud Democrat.
I will now be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn’t
vote for me — as those who did.
Let this grim era of
demonization in America begin to end — here and now.
The refusal of Democrats
and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not due to some mysterious
force beyond our control.
It’s a decision. It’s a
choice we make.
And if we can decide not
to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate. And I believe that this is part
of the mandate from the American people. They want us to cooperate.
That’s the choice I’ll
make. And I call on the Congress — Democrats and Republicans alike — to make
that choice with me.
The American story is
about the slow, yet steady widening of opportunity.
Make no mistake: Too many
dreams have been deferred for too long.
We must make the promise
of the country real for everybody — no matter their race, their ethnicity,
their faith, their identity, or their disability.
America has always been
shaped by inflection points — by moments in time where we’ve made hard
decisions about who we are and what we want to be.
Lincoln in 1860 — coming
to save the Union.
FDR in 1932 — promising a
beleaguered country a New Deal.
JFK in 1960 — pledging a
New Frontier.
And twelve years ago —
when Barack Obama made history — and told us, “Yes, we can.”
We stand again at an
inflection point.
We have the opportunity to
defeat despair and to build a nation of prosperity and purpose.
We can do it. I know we
can.
I’ve long talked about the
battle for the soul of America.
We must restore the soul
of America.
Our nation is shaped by
the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses.
It is time for our better
angels to prevail.
Tonight, the whole world
is watching America. I believe at our best America is a beacon for the globe.
And we lead not by the
example of our power, but by the power of our example.
I’ve always believed we
can define America in one word: Possibilities.
That in America everyone
should be given the opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God-given
ability will take them.
You see, I believe in the
possibility of this country.
We’re always looking
ahead.
Ahead to an America that’s
freer and more just.
Ahead to an America that
creates jobs with dignity and respect.
Ahead to an America that
cures disease — like cancer and Alzheimers.
Ahead to an America that
never leaves anyone behind.
Ahead to an America that
never gives up, never gives in.
This is a great nation.
And we are a good people.
This is the United States
of America.
And there has never been
anything we haven’t been able to do when we’ve done it together.
In the last days of the
campaign, I’ve been thinking about a hymn that means a lot to me and to my
family, particularly my deceased son Beau. It captures the faith that sustains
me and which I believe sustains America.
And I hope it can provide
some comfort and solace to the more than 230,000 families who have lost a loved
one to this terrible virus this year. My heart goes out to each and every one
of you. Hopefully this hymn gives you solace as well.
“And He will raise you up
on eagle’s wings,
Bear you on the breath of
dawn,
Make you to shine like the
sun,
And hold you in the palm
of His Hand.”
And now, together — on
eagle’s wings — we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us
to do.
With full hearts and
steady hands, with faith in America and in each other, with a love of country —
and a thirst for justice — let us be the nation that we know we can be.
Christopher Burdick told WPCNR Saturday afternoon that absentee ballots cast in the NY Assembly District 93 race, which Mr. Burdick currently leads by 11,000 votes, will not begin to be counted by the Westchester County Board of Elections until after November 10.
This sets the stage for a replay of the long wait for absentee ballots to be counted that decided the Democratic Primary contest for District 93 Mr. Burdick won that primary officially 37 days after the election due to the delay in counting 100,000 absentee ballots cast in that June 22 primary. This was essentially due to a long counting delay due to lack of counting personnel.
The count in June was slow as reported by other participants in that primary race. Hopefully the Board of Elections has learned from the June experience and added personnel so they can complete all absentee ballots for all contests before Thanksgiving, which would be 15 days after the 10th, which would be a significant improvement. If they take as long as June to count them, we will not have the result until approximately December 9.
However they may have just as many as 100,000 absentee ballots to go through and as many as 137,000, according to a Board of Elections statement last week to News 12.
Here is Mr. Burdick’s statement on his contest District 93 absentee ballot situation:
” Thanks for your e-mail. My understanding is that they will wait to count the absentee ballots. All absentee ballots must be received by the BOE by November 10. I do not know how many are to be counted since we do not know how many will have been received by the cut-off.
As of November 1, the BOE had received and sent out requests for 19,919.
Unofficial results show me in the lead through in person voting (early voting and November 3) by approximately 11,000 votes (30,265 to 19270).
We anticipate that my lead will increase when the absentee ballots are counted given the distribution by party of the requests for absentee ballots. Democrats requested 11,324 and Republicans requested 3,185.
IT WAS AN INDIAN SUMMER BEACH DAY AT RYE BEACH RYE NEW YORK USA. IT ALMOST LOOKED LIKE HUNTINGTON BEACH! IT WAS 77 WABC “ROLL YOUR BOD” DEGREES AND SUNNY CHIME TIME!ALL THAT WAS MISSING WERE THE SURFBOARDS. CLICK THE WHITE > ARROW, BOTTOM LEFT TO GO TO THE BEACH.
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From Chris Burdick, Assemblyman Elect NY Assembly District 93. November 7, 2020:
Wistful Thoughts About Leaving the Supervisor’s Post and What’s Next.
Many in the community have kindly expressed their regrets that I no longer will be Town Supervisor come January 1, when I become your Assemblymember, succeeding David Buchwald (very big shoes to fill).
I am flattered and humbled by the kind words regarding my tenure as Supervisor, and it has been my distinct honor to serve the community in this role.
From the time that I first ran for NYS Assembly, I assured the community that, if successful, the Town would be in good hands following my departure as Supervisor. I am very confident in that view.
We have a highly capable Town Board, superb department heads, and dedicated and hard-working employees who deliver a high level of services to the community. That will continue.
So what happens on January 1? The process is set by state law and our town code. The Town Board has three options following the vacancy in the office of Supervisor. The Board may:
1. appoint a successor to fill out my term (which expires on December 31, 2021);
2. call a special election; or
3. leave the post vacant. If the Board declines to appoint a successor or call a special election, then the Deputy Supervisor — pursuant to state law — takes on all of the authority of Supervisor, but does so while retaining the title of Deputy.
In any event, there will be an election in November 2021, as there normally would be, to determine who fills the position come January 1, 2022.
Our Town’s counsel, Eric Gordon, provides the attached memorandum (click link to read), which delves into further detail.
Between now and December 31, I will be working to ensure a smooth and orderly transition. The Town Board will be meeting in work session at a special meeting on November 24, during which I will discuss projects and initiatives underway and my thoughts on how to keep them moving forward. read more > -2- These include: a Phase III for sewers in Bedford; Bedford Village parking; implementation of the 2030 Climate Action Plan; Buxton Gorge Preserve; Capital Plans; Town budgets (keeping them under the Property Tax Cap while providing high quality services); implementation of plans and recommendations of the Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Advisory Committee (IDEAC) and the Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Committee; and cell towers and wireless coverage to fill gaps in service/insufficient capacity. These are just some of the topics that initially come to mind. I expect it will take a couple of work sessions. I also should mention that while my successor will be handling storm-related power outages, potholes, speed humps and the myriad matters of a local nature, I will be on hand to field any concerns you have at the state level. I will also work closely with my successor and the Town Board to ensure their success and your confidence in the leadership of the Town.
I also wish to emphasize that I am not going away. Bedford is my home. I am not moving to Albany, but only will be commuting there when the legislature is in session and meeting in person (during the pandemic the legislature has been meeting virtually).
We have a wonderful town here in Bedford. I am absolutely confident that together we will ensure that Bedford’s future is brighter than ever.
WPCNR SATURDAY CORONAVIRUS REPORTFrom Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. November 7, 2020:
Uptick in cases in PORT CHESTER. The Department of Health is coordinating with the Westchester County Department of Health and Open Door Family Medical Center to provide rapid testing at a new site.
Rapid testing will be available at the Open Door medical clinic in Port Chester, NY on Saturday, November 7, from 9am – 2pm; Monday, November 9, from 10am – 6pm; and Tuesday, November 10, from 10am – 6pm. Residents must make an appointment—either online or by calling 914-995-7425.
Public health experts predicted that with the arrival of fall, we would see COVID infections rise—and that is indeed the case.
The challenge for our state, like all other states, is managing the increase.
Today, we announced modifications to our existing micro-cluster zones in response to the latest metrics.
Micro-cluster zone maps have changed in Brooklyn, Rockland County and Orange County in response to declining positivity rates.
The Yellow Zone in Far Rockaway has been removed.
However there is a new Yellow Zone in Westchester County. Micro-cluster zones in Queens – Kew Gardens/Forest Hills, Broome County, Steuben County and Chemung County remain unchanged.
Maps of each micro-cluster zone and further details are available here.
As we identify outbreaks, we will continue to take quick action to contain and eliminate them. As always—we need your help, too. Wear a mask. Get tested. Stop the spread.
Map of the Day: Brooklyn’s Red Zone has new boundaries, as does its surrounding Yellow Zone. All of NY’s micro-cluster maps are available here.
Here’s what else you need to know Saturday morning on COVID-18:
1. The positivity rate in the micro-cluster focus areas was 3.16 percent yesterday. The statewide positivity rate excluding these areas was 1.84 percent. Of the 160,705 tests reported yesterday, 3,209, or 1.99 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations were at 1,321. Sadly we lost 18 New Yorkers to the virus.
2. SUNY colleges and universities will conduct exit testing for in-person students before sending them home for Thanksgiving.
Students who go home for Thanksgiving will then be required to stay home and switch to remote learning for the rest of the semester (instead of returning to campus for the short period between Thanksgiving break and the winter holidays). We are asking private colleges to consider adopting similar plans.
3. Buffalo Bills fans will have to wait to attend in-person games. Unfortunately, due to an uptick in COVID cases in Western New York, it would be dangerous to allow fans to attend games at Bills Stadium.
Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: To help handle the stress of the pandemic, a mother and daughter from Trumansburg started a daily tradition of visiting State Parks to hike and unwind in the great outdoors. The duo, Amy Dawson and daughter Elizabeth, went on 200 consecutive hikes before their streak ended this fall. The Dawsons logged 593.8 miles of trail while writing about their hiking journey. If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here.
Governor Cuomo Announces New Guidelines Allowing Out-of-State Travelers to “Test Out” of Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine
The new protocol is effective beginning,Wednesday, November 4.
Travelers Must Get Tested Within Three Days Prior to Landing in New York, Quarantine for at Least Three Days Upon Arrival, and Get a Test on Day Four of Arrival
If Travelers Receive a Negative Test On Day Four of Quarantine They May Exit Quarantine When They Receive Negative Result
States that are Contiguous with New York Continue to Be Exempted from Quarantine Protocol — Essential Workers Also Continue to be Exempted
Travelers Who Were Only Out of State for Less Than 24 Hours Do Not Need to Quarantine but Must Get a Test on Day Four of Arrival Back in NY
All Travelers Covered by The Advisory Must Continue to Fill Out Traveler Health Form Upon Arrival Into New York State
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced new guidelines allowing out-of-state travelers to New York to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Travelers from states that are contiguous with New York will continue to be exempt from the travel advisory; however, covered travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form. Essential workers will continue to be exempt as well. Click here for more details.
