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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https://youtu.be/EKbMQ8YkG2s

WHITE PLAINS WEEK

ON

THE FASNY HEARING COMING UP

JOHN SHEEHAN OF THE GEDNEY ASSOCIATION INTERVIEW

THE GROUP HOME COMMON COUNCIL TURNDOWN

THE CITY BUDGET

THE 25% 7TH AND 8TH GRADE OPT OUT RATE ON THE ELA ASSESSMENT

REBUILDING THE PLAYLAND NORTH BOARDWALK–READY BY THE FALL

TRUMP THE PRESIDENT–PETER KATZ’S WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITY

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Democratic Caucus. March 31, 2017:

After hearing from Astorino Administration officials and outside consultants, 8 Democrats on the Board of Legislators will not support the County Executive’s proposed ice skating rink project at Kensico Dam Plaza.

“The financial impact to taxpayers of this $24.7 million plus project is too high a price for Westchester County taxpayers to pay for a luxury item,” said Majority Leader Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining). “The County Executive’s most recent budgets have put our County’s financial and physical welfare in serious jeopardy.”

To date, various vital County needs which were included in the 2017 budget have been left unfunded.

“Each day our County roads continue to crumble while a massive backlog of capital projects grows, non-profits that thousands of Westchester taxpayers rely on for essential services have not received their contracts, and most of the police officers who were supposed to be hired have not been. In spite of all this, the County Executive is insisting that all of those priorities take a back seat to an ice rink.

We must be the adults in the room and show the difference between ‘nice to have’ and ‘need to have.’ This is the wrong move for Westchester County and we, as representatives sent here by the taxpayers, cannot in good conscience vote for it,” added Borgia.

“It was a struggle to get information on the project from the Administration and when we did it was clear the project had serious flaws. The County Executive’s handpicked consultants’ report said the County could expect an initial annual operating loss of approximately $400 thousand with varying levels of loss in perpetuity – and that is based on the best case attendance scenario,” said Legislator Ben Boykin (D-White Plains) “After preliminary projections of operating debt, the annual cost to the county per skater may range as high as $108, while the per-skater revenue will be closer to $14. With projected losses on a project that is financed through bonding and with repayment estimates ranging from 15 to 25 years, this rink is clearly not in best interests of Westchester taxpayers,” concluded Boykin.

“I am very happy we were able to save the County taxpayers from another of County Executive Astorino’s bad deals. Why would Westchester County decide to compete against itself in the ice skating business? Playland’s ice skating operation already has its own problems, this rink would only serve to exacerbate them while itself would be a money loser,” said Legislator Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers).

“Westchester County has a host of more important priorities. We are slashing services every year, leaving our parks unpatrolled, and other capital projects like Sprain Ridge Pool are still left unfinished. Nearly $25M for a luxury ice rink is a bad deal for Westchester taxpayers,” added Jenkins.

“As with every development I reviewed this proposal based on a cost versus benefit analysis,” said Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D-Somers) “In this case the cost is not commensurate to the benefit and so I can’t support the plan as currently proposed.”

A spokesman for the Democratic Caucus said 7 Democrats opposed the issue, along with Mr. Kaplowitz. The spokesman said that it was unlikely the rink proposal could come to a vote because 12 votes were needed for approval and if the 8 Democratics objecting held firm this would leave the County Executive proposal 4 votes short of approval.

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The blockbuster, swinging, swishing,loving, glamorous cast of Mama Mia! which opened the local outside NYC run of the 8th longest running Broadway musical last night. (All photos, courtesy Westchester Broadway Theatre by John Vecchiolla)

200^TH WBT PRODUCTION PULLS OUT THE SUPER TROUPERS! FIRES UP THE DISCO ROUND FOR MEGAHIT MAMA MIA! FIRST PRODUCTION OF HIT SHOW IN TRISTATE REGION.

Jennifer Swiderski as Rosie (left), Michelle Dawson as Donna Sheridan and Elise Kinnon as Tanya. reuniting as their trio once more. Ms. Swiderski does another great number with Brent Bateman, singing Take A Chance on Me, clowning with him in a most amusing sequence.

THE MOVE-YOUR-FEET, SWAY-YOUR-HIPS, SHAKE YOUR ABS, CLAP-YOUR-HANDS, SWISH YOUR SEQUINED GOWNS HEARTBEAT OF THE 80S THROBS AGAIN!

My Three Dads: The ingenue, Mariah MacFarlane as Sophie Ms. Dawson’s daughter, quizzing her three possible dads, left to right Xander Chauncey as the suave and earnest Sam; Kilty Reidy as Harry and Brent Bateman as Bill. MacFarlane just carries this difficult role with just the right gushing, sensitive, anxiety you’ll recognize in your young person.

MICHELLE DAWSON  SINGLE MOM  TRYING TO FORGET BRINGS DOWN HOUSE ON THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL! INGENUE MARIAH MacFARLANE PITCH-PERFORMANCE PERFECT AS DAUGHTER SEARCHING FOR HER DAD IN FIRST REGIONAL ‘MM” PRODUCTION.

WPCNR STAGE DOOR. THEATRICAL REVIEW BY JOHN F. BAILEY. FIRST RUSHES. MARCH 31, 2017 UPDATED April 3:

Remember how  “anthems” of ABBA, the Swedish pop group of 70S-80s Swingin? With their driving vibrance and intoxicating, swaying seductive beats and so-true-to-feeling lyrics that moved you into The Hustle and loving the nightlife,and brought back elegance and drama to going out?

Westchester Broadway Theatre has produced its 200th production and easily its most spectacular. WBT is bringing back ABBA’s magic brought to life in the 8^th longest running musical of all time MAMA MIA!, thanks to the hardest-working, best costumed, engaging cast we’ve seen in 16 years of reviewing WBT productions.

Mama Mia! weaves 18 of the top ABBA songs together into a surprising dramatic story about a daughter about to be married, trying to find out who her father was.

Maria MacFarlane plays the daughter Sophie to her mom, Michelle Dawson as Donna Sheridan. Sophie discovers her mother’s diary. In it, the mother wrote of three affairs with three different men about 20 years ago, just when Sophie was born. Sophie shocked invites the three men to her wedding on a Greek Isle where Ms. Dawson as Donna Sheridan has made a hotel a success.

The fun starts when Sophie’s girlfriends arrive, and then the men arrive. Highlights of the first act feature Sophie meeting and trying to figure out which of the three men is her father. Xander Chauncy as Sam Carmichael immediately senses he is her father, while Brent Bateman as Bill Austin, the Australian, and Kilty Reidy the banker, each deliver the befuddled regrets and concerns about their misspent time with Ms. Dawson 20 years ago.

Mom’s  girlfriends from her band of 20 years ago, played with zany swagger and savvy by vampy, beach boy aficionadoette, Elise Kinnon as Tanya, Jennifer Swiderski as Rosie, team with Ms. Dawson for a evocative Dancing Queen in Act One. While the intrepid ensemble of beach boy “help” is appreciated in a splendid and saucy routine with Ms. Kinnon as Tanya wowing the house with her tearing-off-the shirt off Connor Wince  as Pepper.

As Act One closes it seems as if Ms. Dawson as mom Donna just does not have the feelings for Sam Carmichael as she fights the highly believable, earnest Xander Chauncy’s  attempts to woo Ms. Dawson back are ripped with heartache.

In Act Two, the Mama Mia! turns on the color. Incredible costuming brings back the memories of when women looked great going out on the floor. Sequins galore, all you old hipsters!   The sets (by Steve Loftus) actually look like a Grecian Isle beach. The shimmer of the ocean on the scrim suggests the appeal of the past as well as its rapturous regrets.

Music! You got it.

Another word, on the rapport between Ms. Dawson and Mariah MacFarlane as mother and daughter. Their duet together in Act Two, Slipping Through My Fingers is splendid as the two strong women’s voices entwine and conflict in the emotion of mother watching her daughter grow away, making her own decisions, and daughter Ms. MacFarlane realizing what her mother has sacrificed to raise her. This duet leads into the song of the show, Winner Takes It All and touches raw memorable emotions all Mothers and Daughters can relate with.

Michelle Dawson after MacFarlane leaves the stage slides seamlessly into a dynamite stop the show Winner Takes It All, her strong contralto just killing the house! The audience on opening night  burst into  spontaneous roars, stopping the show when she just lays it on Mr. Chauncy’s Sam Carmichael her former lover with this shattering lyric—Look and wait for this one.

Rarely have I heard bravos and calls of admiration from a WBT audience like the one Ms. Dawson received after finishing this emotional woman’s song about the man who got away with this lyric:

I don’t wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all…

It is the show stopper song.  But wait there’s much more: the songs you love to move your body to:

GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!, STORM TROUPER (just to get me through the rest of the day), TAKE A CHANCE ON ME, LAY YOUR LOVE ON ME and the very funny I DO, I DO,I DO,I DO, I D0. That’s a marriage acceptance. The end of the second Act wraps it up with the strangest wedding you’ll see – a happy ending, even when all seems black.

But, wait you have to stay for the encore where the whole ensemble reprises a handful of the songs they’ve already sung.

Mama Mia! is a must-see! No excuses! It plays through June 25. The box office may be reached at 914-592-2268. Or go to www.BroadwayTheatre.com

ABBA-CADABRA! IT’S DISCO MAGIC1

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the White Plains City School District. March 29, 2017:

A total of 520 of 3,256 Students in Grades 3 to 8 in the White Plains City Schools “opted-out” of the New York State English Language Assessment Tests Tuesday, a total of 16%.

This is an increase of 3% from a year ago. Michele Schoenfeld, Clerk to the Board of Education said the increase was attributed to a large group of 8th grade students deciding among themselves “to convince their parents to let them opt-out of the test.”

A total of  205 Eighth graders of 542 in the 8th grade at the Highlands Middle School (38%) opted out according to district statistics.

In 7th Grade, 91 of 575 students in Highlands “opted out” (16%). (Highlands teaches all 7th and 8th graders in White Plains, while Eastview School instructs all 6th graders.

In the 6th Grade at Eastview School, known as the “Prepartory Academy,” that transitions 6th graders to the Middle School routine in 7th grade, 79 of 489 6th graders opted out (16%).

Between the 7th and 8th grades, the critical preparation time for getting into the academic rigor of high school, 296 of 1,117 8th graders taking the ELA TEST opted out–a total of 26.5%.

In the elementary schools, 3rd to fifth, the opt out rate was 9% in grades 3 to 5.

Some elementary schools opted out hire than others George Washington students were opted out by parents at a rate of 14%; Church Street Elementary,10%. Mamaroneck Avenue School, 8%; Post Road School, 6%, and Ridgeway School, 5%

An ethnic breakdown  of those who opted was not yet available.

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WPCNR ENVIRONMENTALIST. From Environment NY. March 28, 2017:

Today, President Trump will sign an executive order rolling back climate progress. The executive order instructs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rewrite the Clean Power Plan, the single largest step the U.S. has taken to limit climate change. The order also lifts the moratorium on federal coal leasing and limits on methane from fracking operations. The administration also initiated a process to reconsider the Social Cost of Carbon and the National Environmental Policy Act guidance on climate pollution. Heather Leibowitz, Director of Environment New York, issued the following statement:

“Calling climate change a ‘hoax’ won’t stop temperatures or sea level from rising. We can tackle the climate crisis by investing in science and clean, renewable energy, but only if we move boldly and quickly. Defunding science, undercutting clean energy, and doubling down on fossil fuels is sheer reckless folly.

“2016 was the hottest year on record, beating 2015 which was the hottest year before that.  The climate and clean air safeguards that President Trump is proposing to block would increase pollution and threaten our health and the planet. If fully implemented, the Clean Power Plan alone would have reduced our power plant emissions 32% by 2030 with huge health and environmental benefits for New Yorkers.

“Instead of accelerating this progress, the administration is proposing to endanger our health and threaten our children’s future. Blocking the Clean Power plan will lead to 3,600 additional premature deaths, 90,000 more asthma attacks in children, and 300,000 more missed work and school days by 2030.

“Millions of Americans have called for strong climate action, submitting more than 8 million comments asking the EPA to take action to cut carbon pollution from power plants. More than 600,000 of these comments came from Environment America’s members and supporters.
“More than 1100 health professionals sent a letter urging the President to support the Clean Power Plan, to limit carbon pollution, phase out drilling and mining on public lands, increase electric vehicles and set higher fuel economy standards for cars.

“We need to stop President Trump’s rollbacks of our environmental protections that will make us more dependent on dirty fossil fuels. Today’s actions by the administration threaten our health, our environment, and our treasured places.

“Despite the President’s dangerous and backwards energy agenda, the fact is the clean energy revolution can’t be stopped. Clean energy solutions like solar, wind and efficiency will reduce carbon pollution and clean up our air, protect our health including reducing asthma attacks, and promote energy independence.

“And, as our most successful climate programs face attack on the federal level, it is incumbent on states to double down on their climate commitments. We are calling on New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to keep leading the charge and push the progress we need to tackle the climate crisis and get 100% renewable energy.

“At a time when the federal government is stalling progress, we need Governor Cuomo to keep leading the charge on and double the strength of America’s most successful regional climate and clean energy program. New York is one of nine in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative which has helped cut power plant pollution in half and invested more than $2.5 billion in clean energy over the last decade. We need Governor Cuomo to act swiftly and boldly to double the strength of this successful climate program.”