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District 92 | News You Can Use
Happy New Year! I wish a joyful, healthy, and rewarding 2024 to all — and a very fun and safe New Year’s Eve celebration to kick it off.
Stay Safe from Drunk Driving Never drink and drive. Don’t let someone get behind the wheel if that person has been drinking. If you’re hosting a gathering, make sure everyone has a sober ride home. Call 911 if you see a drunk driver. Always wear your seat belt. It’s your best defense against impaired drivers. Recent data shows that December drunk driving deaths are near a 15-year high. Please keep in mind the dangers and consequences of driving drunk and do your part to keep our roads safe. If you’re celebrating and drinking this weekend, remember to plan ahead with a sober driver to take you home. If you’re the designated driver, it’s important to take the role seriously and don’t consume alcohol or use other drugs.
New York’s free “Have a Plan” app will allow you to designate a driver, call a cab or ride share, and to review the consequences of impaired driving. You can also use the app to report an impaired driver. “Have a Plan” is available for Apple, Android, and Windows smart phones.
Thruway Holiday Update
Most Lane Closures Suspended for the New Year’s Eve Weekend Free Coffee and Hot Tea for Thruway Travelers To ease travel during the busy holiday weekend, temporary lane closures for road and bridge construction projects on New York State highways will be suspended from 6 AM Friday, December 29, through 6 AM Tuesday, January 2. Some work may continue behind permanent concrete barriers for emergency repairs. The New York State Thruway Authority will also continue its tradition of offering free coffee and hot tea to travelers at 27 plazas along the Thruway from 11 PM New Year’s Eve through 7 AM New Year’s morning to promote safety and alert driving. Find more Thruway information and resources at thruway.ny.gov.
Metro-North Holiday Update
Extra New Year’s Eve Service on Subways and Commuter Rails Off-Peak Fares in Effect on Commuter Railroads The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is the best way to ring in the New Year in New York City as millions hit the roads to shop, eat, and travel. Most MTA agencies are operating on weekend or holiday schedules, while running additional trains for riders heading into the city for New Year’s Eve festivities. New Year’s Eve:
New Year’s Day:
For real-time service updates and information, customers can use the MTA’s official apps MYmta and TrainTime. Learn more at mta.info/guides/apps.
Bee-Line Holiday Update
Free New Year’s Eve Shuttle Service in White Plains, Yonkers, and New Rochelle There will be a special New Year’s Eve Bee-Line bus shuttle service to facilitate safe and convenient transportation for residents and visitors during the festive celebrations. All Bee-Line service remains fare-free through January 1. White Plains Shuttle:
Yonkers Shuttle:
New Rochelle Shuttle:
For more information visit Bee-Line Bus on the Westchester County website or call 914-813-7777.
Recently Enacted Legislation The Governor of New York has until the end of December to sign or veto bills that were passed by the Legislature during the calendar year. Conversely, legislation that was passed by both houses but remains unsigned by December 31 will expire without taking effect. So far this month, Governor Hochul has enacted these items from our 2023 legislative session: A.4282B – Even-Year Elections: Expands access to the ballot box and makes it easier to vote in local elections by aligning many county and town elections currently held in odd-numbered years with statewide and legislative elections that are held in even-numbered years. A.3484 – LLC Transparency Act: Creates a database of the beneficial owners of Limited Liability Corporations that is accessible to government agencies and law enforcement, allowing members of law enforcement and regulatory authorities to uncover misconduct. A.4023 – Fraud Protection for Low-Income New Yorkers: Requires stores accepting electronic benefit transfer cards to warn of skimming scams, in order to help prevent residents from falling victim to this practice and losing their SNAP benefits or cash assistance. A.7669 – Reducing Court Backlog: Increases the number of judges serving on certain courts, to help alleviate the current backlog of nearly 120,000 cases in jurisdictions across the State. A.3983 – Angelica’s Law: Decreases the number of prior license suspensions needed to qualify for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a class E felony; named for 14-year-old Angelica Nappi, who died in 2008 after a crash caused by a driver with multiple prior suspensions. A.5791A – Defining “Mass Shooting” in New York State: Aligns the State’s definition of “mass shooting” with that of the Federal Bureau of Investigations — as a shooting incident where there are at least four people murdered with a firearm, shotgun, or rifle — in order to facilitate emergency response measures and community access to emergency funding and resources. A.5088 – Task Force for Missing BIPOC Women and Girls: Establishes a task force on missing women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color — a cohort that comprised 43% of the more than 271,000 missing women and girls reported in 2022, per the FBI’s National Crime Information Center. A.7691 – Commission to Study Reparations and Racial Justice: Creates a new commission to examine the legacy of slavery and its lingering negative effects on people currently living in the State of New York, with the goal of issuing issue a report consisting of recommendations for appropriate action to address enduring inequities. A.6216B – Strengthening Rent Stabilization: Strengthens protections for rent stabilized tenants throughout New York State by making various changes to avoid improper deregulations or rent increases and improve enforcement of the rent stabilization laws. A.6115 – Lead Pipe Right to Know Act: Requires that information about the number and location of lead pipes be made easily available to the public, so that state and federal resources can be secured and efficiently targeted to support local efforts to remove all lead pipes impacting New York’s drinking water. A.2917 – Protecting Wildlife from Hunting Derbies: Prohibits the wasteful taking of certain wildlife by making certain hunting contests, competitions, tournaments, and derbies that allow for the take of large numbers of wildlife unlawful; does not ban hunting or fishing. A.7640 – Birds and Bees Protection Act: Protects New Yorkers and our insects and and other wildlife by prohibiting the use of certain neonicotinoid pesticides on treated corn, soybean, and wheat seed crops, as well as outdoor ornamental plants and turfs.
It’s been my honor to serve in this first year as your State Assemblymember. I look forward to representing the interests of our residents in the new legislative session, which opens on January 3, and I will continue to share the “news you can use” from Albany and across our communities in the year to come. If my office can be of assistance to you, please respond to this email or call 914-631-1605.
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COFFEE WITH “THE STORIES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE YEAR 2023” ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK, THE TRADITIONAL END OF THE YEAR REPORT WORLDWIDE ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS
YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEK
EVERY WEEK ON WHITE PLAINS WEEK
BEGINNING OUR 23 YEAR OF REPORTING ON JANUARY 1, 2024
33 STORIES IN 30 MINUTES
THE ISSUES AT LARGE
WHAT THEY MEAN
WHERE THEY ARE AT
WHAT’S AHEAD?
WHERE WHITE PLAINS IS AT NOW.
JOHN BAILEY, THE CITIZENETREPORTER
TAKES YOU MONTH BY MONTH
THROUGH THE SHOCKING YEAR OF 2023
THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE FAST-MOVING HARD-RIDING
NEWS REMUDA ROUNDUP
TONIGHT AT 8 ON FIOS 45 AND OPTIMUM CH 76 ON THE MOST IMPORTANT WPTV “PEOPLE TO BE HEARD OF THE YEAR”–STATE SENATOR SHELLEY MAYER HOSTS A HALF HOUR FORUM ON SCHOOL BULLYING AND DISRESPECT
A REBROADCAST OF OUR PEOPLE TO BE HEARD COVERAGE OF THE JULY 18 STATE SENATOR SHELLEY MAYER’S FORUM ON RESPONDING TO HATE IN OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR SCHOOLS, AND NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBOR
SEE IT ANYTIME ON WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG
State Cuts Cost of Living Increase for Caregivers of the Disabled. Please help the Angels of Our Time
WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. DECEMBER 28, 2023
Good afternoon,
All parents worry that their children are happy and safe. We have five children, but the worries for two of our children, our twins Lara and Bradley, are of different concern.
Lara and Bradley cannot talk, cannot walk, are virtually blind, and cannot feed themselves. Although physically, they can do almost nothing, they understand so much.
While not a minute goes by, we don’t worry about them; we know Lara and Bradley are safe and well cared for because of Richmond Community Services.
Richmond Community Services operates residences for individuals with a wide range of disabilities. Richmond also provides day programs where our children, like many others, are encouraged to learn and grow to the highest possible level of independence and receive loving attention from a fantastic staff. We have always felt so grateful & comforted that this incredible organization supports Lara and Bradley.
Every year, Richmond must rely more and more on charitable donations due to government funding cutbacks. Recently, Richmond was advised the expected COLA increase was halved, resulting in a loss of $1.7 million in critical aid directly affecting the care of the vulnerable population Richmond serves to protect.
How can we allow funding cuts needed to help the disabled segment of our population just because so many are not physically able to stand or speak for themselves? This is the reason we are again writing to ask for your help. We will continue to fight for Bradley and Lara and all the others fortunate enough to be supported by Richmond, helping them reach the highest possible level of independence.
Please help. You can donate online at https://richmondcommserv.org/give-now or mail contributions to: RCS Foundation, 272 N. Bedford Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549.
Our deepest thanks and heartfelt appreciation,
Terri & Steve Schottenfeld
Richmond Community Services Foundation Board
And our twins Lara and Bradley and all their peers Richmond supports, thank you too…