THREAT AGAINST WHITE PLAINS HIGH SCHOOL UNFOUNDED SUPERINTENDENT REPORTS.

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS.. From the White Plains Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Joseph Ricca. September 7, 2022:

Dear WPCSD Community Members and Staff: 

Wednesday evening, the district was notified of a possible/alleged threat made by a student against WPHS.  

The reported threat was focused on an alleged/possible act of violence against the school community.

As soon as the report was received, an investigation was conducted jointly by the district and the White Plains Police Department in accordance with our standard safety and security procedures.

Fortunately, the alleged threat was subsequently deemed non-credible and there is no threat to our school population. 

Please be aware that all comments that may suggest any possible threat to the safety and security of our school community will always be handled as a serious situation. Accordingly, any such statement comes with significant consequences, even if they are made jokingly and/or are deemed as not being credible.

The White Plains City School District holds the safety and security of all students and staff as our highest priority and recognizes the need to be transparent regarding incidents that may impact our school community.  

We will always act in a manner that maintains a safe and secure environment for our students and staff both inside and out of our buildings.  

We are appreciative for the swift action of the WPPD and the proactive vigilance of our school community members. As always, every member of our school community is encouraged to report any potential concern to the WPPD and/or school administration immediately.

 Finally, the WPPD will be present in and around the district today (Friday) to further reduce any possible concerns. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  

Respectfully, Joseph L. Ricca, Ed.D.Superintendent of Schools
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WESTCHESTER DISTRICT ATTORNEY BEGINS TRAINING ON RED FLAGS OF NEW GUN LAWS IN SCHOOLS FRIDAY.

Training sessions kick off with school district superintendents on

state’s new gun legislation, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs)

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the Office of the Westchester County District Attorney. September 7, 2022:

As schools welcome students back from summer, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office is launching new training sessions for superintendents on New York’s new gun laws that went into effect September 1, particularly, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), which school administrators and health practitioners, like school nurses and counselors, can apply for when they see students in crisis.  

The first session will be held Friday, September 9, 2022, with the Council of School Administrators (CSA) at Southern Westchester BOCES with superintendents representing southern Westchester schools. A second session with northern Westchester school superintendents is being planned. The Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health will also be present during these sessions. 

“Schools are one of our most valuable partners in the fight against gun violence and the engagement of school administrators is a critical investment in the safety of our school communities,” said Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah, who earlier this summer released a detailed Gun Safety Plan in the wake of the state legislature’s response to mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde followed by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning New York’s conceal carry law.

“These trainings are part of my Gun Safety Plan in action, and I’m doing everything in my power, as DA, and as a mother to school-aged children, to ensure New York’s new gun laws are used as effectively as possible.” 

A package of sweeping new gun legislation signed in June by Governor Kathy Hochul went into effect September 1 and includes gun-free zones and new age restrictions on semi-automatic weapons. The legislation also enhanced New York’s red flag laws. School officials are one of a few categories of people who can now apply for ERPOs—court orders that temporarily restrict individuals who pose an imminent risk to themselves or others from purchasing and possessing firearms.  

“It’s important that as educators and administrators we understand our new role in having a direct impact on the safety of our students and we’re proud to partner with the DA’s office so we can be equipped with the best tools,” said Dr. Jen Lamia, President of the Council of School Administrators (CSA) for Southern Westchester and Superintendent of Byram Hills Central School District.  

“We’re wholly committed to being central players in this timely dialogue with legal experts who can guide us on ensuring the utmost safety of our school communities,” said Dr. Eric Byrne, President of the Lower Hudson Council of School Administrators for Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties and Superintendent of Rye City School District.

Red flag law training with community stakeholders has been a cornerstone of DA Rocah’s agenda to keep Westchester County safe from gun violence. These trainings mark a continuation of a gun safety partnership between Westchester schools and the DA’s Office that began in 2021 with the launch of the Safe Storage Program, a countywide initiative with Moms Demand Action that provides valuable resources to families in every Westchester school district on New York’s gun laws and safe firearm storage practices.  

“There is nothing more important to me than the continued safety and protection of our students in Westchester County,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “Schools should always be a safe haven – a place where our young people can go to learn, develop and better themselves. It is our responsibility in government to partner with educators, administrators and law enforcement to guarantee the utmost safety of our school communities. I thank DA Rocah for her attention to this important matter.” 

Together with other county agencies, including the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health and the Department of Public Safety, the District Attorney’s Office will continue to expand training on New York’s gun safety laws to interested groups throughout the county. 

DA Rocah’s detailed Gun Safety Plan was recapped in the office’s Gun Safety Community Forum in July. A recording of the forum can be viewed at: Gun Safety in Our Community Virtual Forum – July 18, 2022 

The presentation slides from the forum are available at: https://www.westchesterda.net/images/stories/pdfs/gunsafety.pdf 

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ONE SHOT A YEAR? WE NEED TO STEP UP OUR GAME PLAN

DR. KATELYN JETELINA

WPCNR YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST BY DR.KATELYN JETELINA. September 7, 2022. Reprinted with permission.

Yesterday, the White House announced a new plan: one COVID-19 shot per year. The idea is this will decrease public confusion and increase booster uptake by aligning with the flu vaccine campaign. Reading between the lines, I think this is also a political signal to shift out of the SARS-CoV-2 emergency phase.

Will an annual shot plan work? Maybe. But there’s a lot that needs to align beforehand. And I certainly hope this doesn’t mean we are accepting our current state of affairs with vaccines.

Stars need to align

The annual COVID-19 plan largely follows our flu model: evaluate circulating strains and update the vaccine before the flu season. This model works for the flu for three main reasons:

  1. Flu is clearly seasonal. The predictability of the flu allows us to time vaccine recommendations so that vaccine companies can manufacturer and distribute by winter. A 6-month flu season also means that we really only need our flu to cover the winter months. In other words, the vaccine can wane, particularly among older populations.
  2. Flu mutations have direction. As I have written before, the flu mutates in a ladder-like pattern. This allows us to “predict” the direction the flu may be mutating.
  3. Flu has been around for decades, which has allowed us to develop and refine global surveillance systems to identify emerging strains.

SARS-CoV-2 is mutating 4 times faster than the flu.

It’s not seasonal nor annual.

It’s not mutating in a ladder like form.

And we do not have global surveillance systems in place.

We expect and hope that COVID-19 will eventually be like the flu but to assume that has already happened is premature.

I also think it is a gamble, as the virus continues to surprise us. To pivot the public—again—is risky.

The fall bivalent vaccine is also our first attempt to apply the flu model to SARS-CoV-2. This is our pilot. And we really need to see how the pilot works in the “real world” before making sweeping declarations, like an annual shot. We need the data, the time, and the humility to tell. Let’s first get through winter.

Up our vaccine game

The annual COVID-19 booster plan also means the White House has one goal: prevent severe disease and death. And our first generation vaccines can do this well. In fact, the first generation vaccines saved an estimated 20 million lives across the globe in one year.

However, we can and should do better.

This does not mean boosting our way out of the pandemic, but it means leveraging innovation and science to develop next generation vaccines that last longer and/or prevent infection/transmission. This would have immense, positive ripple effects. It would slow transmission. It would slow viral mutations. It would slow morbidity (long COVID-19). It could sunset the pandemic.

Next generation vaccines include:

  • Mucosal vaccines. Nasal and/or oral vaccines would provide more protection against infection and transmission (i.e., sterilizing immunity). Thirteen nasal vaccines are currently in development. These work very differently from our current vaccines, as they target “mucosal” immunity. Mucosal tissue is all over our body, including our nose and throats. In fact, it’s the largest component of our immune system and is one of the first defenses with the elements in the real world. By providing immunity there (instead of deep within our circulatory system) we can prevent infection in the first place. Clinical trial data is incredibly promising, especially when used as a booster (opposed to the primary series). This week, China approved the world’s first inhaled booster against COVID-19 called Convidecia Air.
  • Pancoronavirus vaccines. The next best thing to sterilizing immunity would be a variant-proof vaccine that lasts longer. As I’ve written before, there are several in development, but the one winning the race is from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research using “nanoparticle vaccine technology.” The vaccine presents a protein that looks like a soccer ball with many different faces. Each face presents instructions for a different part or version of a virus. We can include faces on it not just for SARS-CoV-2, but for other coronaviruses, too.
  • Flu and COVID-19 combo vaccines. At the very least we need one vaccine that contains both the flu and COVID-19 vaccine formula. Earlier this year, Novavax released data on the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its COVID-Influenza Combination Vaccine. Animal data showed this vaccine worked well, and currently 642 people aged 50-70 years old are in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial. If all goes well, a combo vaccine may be available by 2023 flu season. We need more options in case this one doesn’t make it through clinical trials.

These next generation vaccines are obtainable. We are well on our way, but this cannot be accomplished without investment from Congress.

It costs an estimated $1 billion to develop and test a drug or vaccine from start to finish. And it takes risk, as not every vaccine makes it through clinical trials. Money will move mountains in science and research. But we need a push from the public, and a push from the administration. We need an Operation Warp Speed 2.0.

Bottom line

The White House plans to have only one booster per year. This plan may (or may not) be a good one, as the stars would need to align for it to be effective. Regardless, next generation vaccines need to be a part of this conversation, as they are a critical solution for better health. We just need to fight for it.

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STATE SENATE CANDIDATE FOR DISTRICT 40 WESTCHESTER CRITICIZES REDUCED OVERTIME THRESHOLD BILL–SAYS WILL HURT NY FARMS IN FACE OF INFLATION, INCREASED COSTS.

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Gina Arena Campaign. September 7, 2022:

STATEMENT FROM GINA ARENA, CANDIDATE FOR STATE SENATE DISTRICT 40

On the Farm Laborers Wage Board’s recommendation to reduce the overtime threshold

“A board of unelected bureaucrats in Albany intentionally hurt our farms by pushing forward with this unaffordable mandate.

When I think of New York’s agriculture industry, I think of our local farms here in Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland. Fresh food – right here in the Hudson Valley. But the reduction of the overtime threshold will undoubtedly devastate these local farms.

Our New York Family Farmers are just barely holding on during a time of surging inflation and a broken supply chain. The last thing Albany should be doing is economically harming our food producers more.

Peter Harckham and Governor Kathy Hochul must immediately step in and stop this bad policy from moving forward. If they cared about our family farmers, they would.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: DISTRICT 40 COVERS Westchester & the Hudson Valley. New York’s 40th District includes the towns of Beekman, Pawling and the village of Pawling in Dutchess County, the towns of Carmel, Patterson and Southeast, and the village of Brewster in Putnam County, and the city of Peekskill, the towns of Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers and Yorktown, the town/village of Mount Kisco, and the villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson, Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow

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