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It’s a Great Day to Have a Coronavirus Test at Calvary Baptist Church. Call 1-833-422-7369 for Appointment TODAY.
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MIDHUDSON VALLEY MOVES TO PHASE 2
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WPCNR CORONAVIRUS NEWS. From Benjamin Boykin, Chair, Westchester County Board of Legislators. June 9, 2020:
Westchester County will begin Phase 2 reopening under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s New York Forward reopening plan on Tuesday, June 9, as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 epidemic.
Businesses that will be able to begin reopening in Phase 2 are:
- Offices
- Real Estate
- Certain In-Store Retail
- Vehicle Sales, Leases, and Rentals
- Retail Rental, Repair, and Cleaning
- Commercial Building Management
- Hair Salons and Barbershops
- Outdoor and Take-Out/Delivery Food Services
Safety mandates will continue to be in place for each of these industries. For example, in Phase 2, offices must limit occupancy to a maximum of 50%, maintain a minimum of 6 feet of distance among individuals, and, if a six-foot distance cannot be maintained, acceptable face coverings must be worn.
A full list of mandatory and recommended practices are available on an industry-by-industry basis at https://forward.ny.gov/phase-two-industries.
Pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Orders, the following businesses remain closed:
- Indoor Malls — however, any stores without their own external entrances may continue to operate via curbside pickup as in Phase 1
- Indoor on-premise restaurant and bar service
- Large gathering/event venues
- Gyms, fitness centers, and exercise classes, except for remote or streaming services
- Video lottery and casino gaming facilities
- Movie theaters, except drive-ins
- Places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, including but not limited to, locations with amusement rides, carnivals, amusement parks, water parks, aquariums, zoos, arcades, fairs, children’s play centers, funplexes, theme parks, bowling alleys, family and children’s attractions.
As with Phase 1, reopening businesses must develop a written Safety Plan outlining how the business will prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.
Industry-specific Safety Plan templates for Phase 2 businesses are available at https://forward.ny.gov/phase-two-industries.
For more information and guidance about the New York State phased reopening plan, please visit: https://forward.ny.gov.
Please forward this e-news to family and friends who may be interested in this information.
NYC REOPENS
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WPCNR MONDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 8, 2020;
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the MTA is accelerating construction on $2 billion in capital projects during this period of reduced ridership caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The projects include:
- Launching the rehabilitation of the F Train’s Rutgers Tube with the contract awarded in July – four years ahead of the original schedule;
- Accelerating 11 ADA stations, including adding 24 new elevators;
- Rehabilitating the 138th Street Grand Concourse Station, which will be completed one month early in October 2020; and
- Accelerating repairs of steel and concrete defects and leaks within the 2/3, 4/5 Train’s Eastern Parkways Line in Brooklyn and shaving 10 months off the project by increasing work up to 25 percent during overnight closures.
Governor Cuomo also announced the launch of the ‘It’s Up to Us, New York’ Campaign on MTA buses and trains and billboards across the region as well as on billboards throughout the state and through an integrated social media campaign to remind New Yorkers to do their part to continue fighting the COVID-19 virus.
The Governor also reminded New Yorkers that masks are mandatory when riding public transportation systems and that New Yorkers should follow all guidelines and protocols when riding, including maintaining social distancing to the extent possible, using hand sanitizer and observing decal guidance.
The Governor also announced that as New York City reopens today, the MTA is continuing to take unprecedented steps to keep riders and workers safe, including cleaning and disinfecting trains and buses daily – the largest and most innovative cleaning effort in its history.
Since May 6th, the MTA has performed 30,000 station cleanings and disinfections and 500,000 subway car cleanings and disinfections. The MTA is also piloting the use of proven UV light technology to clean subway cars and crew facilities.
The Governor also announced the state is deploying over one million masks, as well as 25,000 gallons and 500,000 2-oz. bottles of sanitizer to the MTA for reopening.
“New York City and the MTA are reopening, and today I took a ride on the 7 Train because if the subway isn’t safe for me, then I wouldn’t ask anyone else to go on the subway,” Governor Cuomo said. “The MTA has done phenomenal work – the subway cars are cleaner than they have ever been in my lifetime and they are disinfecting the cars every single day. And during this period of reduced ridership, the MTA has also smartly increased their construction so fewer riders were inconvenienced and accelerated $2 billion in capital projects.”
WHITE PLAINS SCHOOL BUDGET VOTE DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 16TH. DROPOFF ABSENTEE BALLOT DEADLINE IS TUESDAY TOMORROW AT 5 PM. AFTER TOMORROW, YOU MUST MAIL IN YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT. VOTES WILL NOT BE COUNTED UNTIL JUNE 16
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. JUNE 8, 2020:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo extended the deadline for school budget absentee ballots to be received from June 9 to June 16, because of printing delays in districts across the state.
Dr. Joseph Ricca Superintendent of Schools for White Plains, clarified some questions on how this affected White Plains in a brief interview with WPCNR this morning:
(WPCNR )1. The absentee ballots have to be mailed in correct? They cannot be dropped off past 5 o’clock tomorrow?
[JLR] Ballots can be dropped until 5PM tomorrow. Thereafter, must be mailed.
(WPCNR:) Or can they be dropped off at ed house up to June 16, 5 PM?[JLR] Please see above.
(WPCNR:) 3. Will results be delayed being counted until June 16?
[JLR] Yes
(WPCNR) 4. Or will results once half the absentee ballots are in and Yes’s have substantial majority, be announced sooner than June 16…?
[JLR] No counting may take place until the 16th at 5PM
(WPCNR) 5. If budget fails, when would revote take place?
[JLR] We did not receive any guidance on re-votes
New Hospitalizations Set New Low
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Confirms 1,108 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 377,316; New Cases in 45 Counties
WPCNR SATURDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BREIFING. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 6, 2020:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state has reached the lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of total hospitalizations was down yesterday to 2,603 from a record-high of 18,825 during the peak of the pandemic, and 35 people in New York passed away due to COVID-19, down from a record-high of 800 just eight weeks ago.
Governor Cuomo also announced places of worship will be permitted to reopen with 25 percent occupancy with all social distancing protocols in place during phase two of reopening. Places of worship in the seven regions that have already entered phase two – the Capital Region, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, the Southern Tier and Western New York – can reopen beginning tomorrow, June 7th.
The Governor also announced he will issue an Executive Order allowing commercial buildings to conduct temperature checks for anyone entering the building as office workers begin to return to the workplace.
The Governor also announced New York City remains on track to enter phase one of reopening on Monday June 8th. The percent of positive COVID tests per day in New York City has dropped from a high of 57 percent per day to 2 percent per day. New York Forward guidance for phase one reopening can be found here.
The Governor also announced that in anticipation of New York City’s reopening, the state is deploying over one million masks, as well as 25,000 gallons and 500,000 2 oz. bottles of sanitizer to the MTA.
“The reopening of the economy is a valve – we said we were going to open the valve incrementally and then watch the metrics, and our metrics today are all very good so we’re going to open the valve more than we originally anticipated,” Governor Cuomo said. “We now have the lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths from coronavirus since this pandemic began – which is great news – so we are going to accelerate the opening of temples, mosques and churches and allow these places of worship to open with up to 25 percent capacity in phase two. But people still have to stay smart and follow all the necessary precautions and guidelines because if the metrics start to change, the reopening will have to be slowed down.”
Finally, the Governor confirmed 1,108 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 377,316 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 377,316 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:
| County | Total Positive | New Positive |
| Albany | 1,953 | 12 |
| Allegany | 51 | 0 |
| Broome | 613 | 8 |
| Cattaraugus | 92 | 0 |
| Cayuga | 100 | 2 |
| Chautauqua | 99 | 2 |
| Chemung | 137 | 0 |
| Chenango | 133 | 0 |
| Clinton | 97 | 0 |
| Columbia | 412 | 1 |
| Cortland | 41 | 0 |
| Delaware | 85 | 1 |
| Dutchess | 3,995 | 11 |
| Erie | 6,429 | 70 |
| Essex | 38 | 0 |
| Franklin | 23 | 0 |
| Fulton | 222 | 3 |
| Genesee | 206 | 1 |
| Greene | 246 | 4 |
| Hamilton | 5 | 0 |
| Herkimer | 122 | 7 |
| Jefferson | 75 | 0 |
| Lewis | 20 | 0 |
| Livingston | 121 | 0 |
| Madison | 325 | 2 |
| Monroe | 3,167 | 50 |
| Montgomery | 98 | 2 |
| Nassau | 40,853 | 56 |
| Niagara | 1,109 | 10 |
| NYC | 206,511 | 571 |
| Oneida | 1,127 | 50 |
| Onondaga | 2,375 | 46 |
| Ontario | 220 | 1 |
| Orange | 10,508 | 24 |
| Orleans | 254 | 7 |
| Oswego | 114 | 2 |
| Otsego | 74 | 1 |
| Putnam | 1,274 | 4 |
| Rensselaer | 499 | 2 |
| Rockland | 13,315 | 18 |
| Saratoga | 501 | 5 |
| Schenectady | 710 | 4 |
| Schoharie | 54 | 3 |
| Schuyler | 12 | 0 |
| Seneca | 61 | 0 |
| St. Lawrence | 209 | 2 |
| Steuben | 251 | 5 |
| Suffolk | 40,278 | 39 |
| Sullivan | 1,411 | 2 |
| Tioga | 134 | 0 |
| Tompkins | 171 | 4 |
| Ulster | 1,714 | 3 |
| Warren | 257 | 1 |
| Washington | 240 | 0 |
| Wayne | 123 | 1 |
| Westchester | 33,924 | 70 |
| Wyoming | 89 | 1 |
| Yates | 39 | 0 |
76 Years Ago this morning thousands were landing, dying, on the Beaches of Normandy on D-Day, 1944 to drive back the Nazi Terror of the Evil Third Reich. They Lie Here United in Death.
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WPCNR MILESTONES. June 6, 2020:
It is 76 years today since allied troops died and lived on Normandy beaches in the largest military operation in history to turn the tide against Nazi Germany, the ultimate evil Third Reich.
It is a day to remember, reflect. Examine ourselves. Would we have the courage those men and women did? Do we have their believe in truth, justice and the American Way?
I thought in preparing my simple news program, what kind of a visual should I put up to remember those brave who faced massive, withering fire hitting them and killing them instantly on those beaches? Should it be the sobering pictures of the wounded? The sobering lineups of corpses in the sand? An empty soldier’s helmet upside down on the beach? The overhead awe-inspiring photographs of the landing?
I chose this: thousands of crosses to remember who died together fighting tyranny and evil because you must always fight tyranny and evil and hate together. You cannot negotiate with it. There is no excuse for it then and certainly not today.
The crosses are all the same.
There are thousands of them in graveyards like the one shown here. The horror of sacrificed humanity, all the same in death, united in death, whether black, latino, Brit, American, Canadian, Australian, no matter their nationality, creed, religion. They were all equal in death comrades in death.
Next time you hear the speeches of hate and prejudice and superiority, please remember this picture and this day.
| Seventy-SIX years ago this morning, thousands of troops stormed the beaches in Normandy, France in the largest invasion in history. The bloody assault against a heavily defended coastline, requiring incredible courage and sacrifice (certain deaths) of allied troops, landing craft, paratroops, signaled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich and the evil regime of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. The quiet beaches of Normandy today. The hundreds of rows of white crosses in cemeteries around the little town bear silent eternal testimony and tribute to the sacrifice of those brave men and women who fought, died, and triumphed this day 75 years ago today. |
We can in no way, or through any motion picture know what any veteran experienced that day. The veterans who still are with us do not like to talk about their combat experiences. And they do not.
One veteran of D-Day, asked what he thought of Saving Private Ryan, the movie of a few years ago depicting the landing and the realism of it, said the real D-Day was worse. However, veterans we have interviewed remark that they think of their combat experience every day. It is always with them.
The great battle was at its height this morning. Horror. Hell. Suffering beyond imagination.
It is inconceivable to me that I could ever be able to do what these men and women did. I would like to hope I could have. However, the veterans have.
They left ordinary lives as teenagers office workers, factory workers, farmers, accountants, and what have you and were able to go to war and “rise to the occasion,” or as they say today, “step it up to the next level.” The highest level.
Rising to the occasion is hard. Stepping it up to the next level is hard. Giving all in vain is heartbreaking.
Today their sacrifices should be remembered.
SATURDAY COFFEE WITH WHITE PLAINS WEEK THE JUNE 5 REPORT THIS MORNING 8:30 AM-CH 45 FIOS COUNTYWIDE, IN WP, CABLEVISION CH 76 — THE REOPENING, THE SCHOOL BUDGET & ABSENTEE BALLOTS, THE LOOTING, THE SITE PLAN EXTENSIONS, ERIC LARSON –WILL IT WORK.
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U.S. MAIL SLOW ON ABSENTEE BALLOT DELIVERY IN WHITE PLAINS NY USA– LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS REPORTS. PICK UP AN ABSENTEE BALLOT AT ED HOUSE MONDAY OR TUESDAY.
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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the League of Women Voters. June 5, 2020:
We have been advised by the White Plains School District that absentee ballots for the June 9 Annual Budget Vote and School Board Election have been mailed. For various reasons they have been slow to arrive at people’s homes but they are being delivered.
If for some reason you do not receive a ballot and are eligible to vote, then a ballot may be obtained in-person at Education House (5 Homeside Lane) during business hours until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday June 9.
Completed ballots must be received either by mail or deposited in a special ballot box at Education House no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday June 9.
The League will send updates as necessary.
THIS JUST IN! DROPPING OFF BALLOTS ON WHITE PLAINS SCHOOL BUDGET BALLOT DAY ALLOWED TUESDAY! JUST ANNOUNCED.
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