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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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. From the Columbia Journalism Review. August 23:

EDITOR: The following essay and research paper was sent to me by the Columbia Journalism Review. It reveals an embarrassment to journalism, and I feel it deserves attention:

IN MANY NEWSROOMS THERE ARE NO REPORTERS OF COLOR By Alex T. Williams

Last month I wrote about how editors have explained a lack of minority journalists in newsrooms as a “pipeline problem” (i.e., editors claim they aren’t hiring minorities because there aren’t enough minority applicants), but data collected from colleges and newsrooms across the country rejects this idea. The problem isn’t a lack of qualified candidates; it’s unequal hiring.

But there’s another problem: Minority journalists are more likely to leave journalism than their white counterparts. As a PhD student interested in the future of journalism, I wanted to study this issue from a new vantage point. So in addition to looking at retention rates in newsrooms, I also requested unpublished data from the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) to review how many reporters of color a typical newsroom employs. Even with low expectations, the results were surprising.

Illustrating what many journalists of color refer to as “being the only one in the room,” newspapers with a circulation of less than 50,000 typically employ 0 reporters of color in their newsrooms. While this number is frustrating for a number of reasons, I want to focus on the burden it places on reporters of color when they are hired, and how that burden may affect retention.

Take, for example, a passage published by Rebecca Carroll last year in The New Republic, in which she reflects on what it was like to work as a black journalist for 15 years before finally quitting the media industry:

At the start of each new job, where I was almost invariably the only black editor on staff (unless it was a black publication—I have worked at a few), I would be heralded for my “voice” (and the implicit diversity it brought), until that voice became threatening or intimidating, or just too black.

Now consider that for the last 30 years, ASNE has estimated a retention rate for newspaper employees. In 22 of those 30 years, the retention rate for minority journalists has been lower than Caucasians. In 2015, the difference was more pronounced than ever, with 78 percent of minorities being retained compared to 86 percent of white journalists.

Combine lower retention rates with unequal hiring, and the number of minority journalists in newsrooms hovers around 13 percent. Looking specifically at newspaper reporters in the 2015 ASNE census, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Americans are each under-represented compared to their portion of the population.

Graph by Alex T. Williams

To understand the cause of this imbalance, we need to look at the actual number of reporters of color, not just the percentage. We can analyze what a typical newsroom looks like by using the median number of reporters.

According to the ASNE 2015 census data, newspapers with a circulation of less than 50,000 typically employ 0 reporters of color in their newsrooms, as previously mentioned. But while larger newspapers are more likely to employ journalists of color, it’s important to note that out of about 1,400 daily newspapers in the US, approximately 1,250 of them have circulations less than 50,000. These smaller newspapers are often where young journalists begin their careers.

Graph by Alex T. Williams

These low numbers are troubling not only because of what they illustrate about the current state of diversity, but also because of the burden they place on minority reporters when they are hired.

At NPR’s Code Switch, Gene Demby recently interviewed Scott Page, a professor at the University of Michigan who studies how diversity improves decision making at organizations, to explore the pitfalls of “being the only one in the room.”

“One question you can ask is how many people of a particular group have to be in a room for them to speak,” Page said. That is, having a woman in a room doesn’t affect a whole lot if she doesn’t feel comfortable speaking up. And while he has found that the presence of just one member of a minority group in a room can positively influence the rest of the group to be more cognizant of their own language and behavior, that’s different from actually hearing out that person’s ideas.

What Carroll and Demby both point out is that it’s taxing if you are the lone dissenting voice in the room, particularly when you are forced to represent entire communities against the opinions of people who outrank you. Yet the common argument for more diverse newsrooms is improved coverage—which requires minority journalists to challenge and change the status quo.

Given this tension, a 2009 study on minority journalists is worth reviewing. The research team, led by Professor Katsuo A. Nishikawa, wanted to resolve a paradox: Why have some studies found that hiring minority journalists improves coverage of minority communities, while others have found no effect?

After interviewing 18 journalists, the authors concluded that journalists of color acted as “watchdogs” by pointing out stories that needed more nuance and improving the selection of new topics and resources. However, they explain:

A lone voice, asking the pointed question, waving the red flag, might well be drowned out by a chorus of often more senior and influential White voices … diverse newsrooms have the potential to transform the stereotypical, two-dimensional portrayals of minority communities into more accurate, multi-layered depictions. A critical mass of minority journalists committed to that goal, however, is necessary to bring about that transformation.

Since the typical newsroom at a newspaper with a circulation under 50,000 does not even employ one reporter of color, we are clearly a long way from realizing that transformation. And as a result, too often the status quo wins out, with talented reporters of color leaving the field in frustration.

 

If you’d like to get email from United States Project writers and editors, add your email address to our list and we’ll be in touch.

Alex T. Williams is a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania. His writing his been published by the Pew Research Center, Poynter, and The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage. Find him on Twitter@AlexT_Williams or on his website.

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WPCNR REALTY-GO-ROUND. By John Bailey based on data  Rand Realty, White Plains. August 22, 2015:

Mike Graessle’s Rand Realty sales report on the  April-May-June quarter is upbeat for single home sellers and condo owners, but owners of co-ops and multi-families cool off in price and consumer interest.

Mike writes  me “activity was way up in the second quarter. My colleagues agree the market (in White Plains) seems the busiest that it’s been in years. Even with all that demand coming into the market, we’re not seeing yet any significant impact on prices. I can tell you that in the field we’re definitely seeing pricing start to creep up, with the return of ‘multiple offer’ situations and bidding wars. My guess is, it’s just a matter of time before prices start to escalate.

The data for White Plains in the 2^nd quarter for closed sales indicates 8 more single family homes sold in this year’s second quarter compared to last year (52 to 44). In the first quarter this year 39 homes sold a 33% increase for the first six months

Average price declined in the second quarter to $669,549, down 7% and the median selling price (meaning half sold above for prices higher, half lower) was $613,750. Average days on the market was 5 months. Average discount from original price was 2.4%. In the first six months of 2015 the median price dropped 24% ($805,000 to $613,750).

Condominiums appear to making a slight recovery in White Plains, sales up 20% in the first six months of 2015, and prices up, too. The average selling price of a condo in the second quarter was $686,786 on the 49 closings an increase of 20%. In the first six months of this year the average price of closed condo sale was $536,310—up 28%  Sellers on average had to discount their sale price almost 7%. Condos selling took an average 5 months to move.

Sales of Co-ops which had been reasonably brisk in the first quarter, dipped  13%. Nevertheless in the first half of 2015 38 Co-ops sold…29% higher than the first half of 2014.

Prices on Co-ops softened. Average Co-op selling price ($179,267)   dropped 9% from last year’s second quarter highwater mark of $196,668. The average price for a co-op in the 2015 first half was $187,116 a 4% decline the first half 2014. The mean selling price for a co-op in the second quarter was $160,000 off 14%.The mean co-op selling price for the first half was $181,500 down 12% from the first six months of 2014. Co-op owners, on average had to cut about 8% from their original price, and had to wait 5 and a half months to sell their co-ops.

Only 1 multi-family home sold in the second quarter, compared to 7 in the first quarter, and for those 8 owners of the co-ops it is taking 9 and a half months to sell. The average price of a multi family the first six months was $459,063, down 48% from the first six months of 2014. The median price for the first half for the 8 Multi-Families  was $420,250, a decline of  43% from the first half of 2014.

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WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. August 18, 2015:

Earlier today, John Murphy, the former Chief Executive Officer of Oak Rock Financial, LLC (Oak Rock), was sentenced in federal court in Central Islip, New York to 97 months of imprisonment.

In December 2013, Murphy pled guilty to bank fraud after admitting that he had been lying to various financial institutions and investors regarding Oak Rock’s financial health since January 2009.

The sentence was announced by Kelly T. Currie, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Diego Rodriguez, Assistance Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).

“By making fraudulent representations with respect to Oak Rock’s financial position, Murphy caused financial institutions and private investors to suffer millions of dollars in losses,” stated Acting United States Attorney Currie. “Those who defraud others will be held accountable for their actions.” Mr. Currie expressed his appreciation to the New York State Department of Financial Services for its assistance in the investigation.

Oak Rock, a financial lending company located in Suffolk County, New York, secured lines of credit for businesses throughout the United States.

During his time as Chief Executive Officer, Murphy misled banks about the state of Oak Rock’s financial health by providing them with false documentation concerning businesses that failed to make timely payments on their loans or that were in default.

Murphy, who was compensated $600,000 a year, failed to address the defaulting loans and instead operated Oak Rock as if it were a sound financial organization through lies and deception. Specifically, he defrauded the banks by changing delinquency dates to make it appear that loans were current; booking fictitious payments, thereby creating fictitious accounts receivable; and falsifying delinquent accounts receivable by copying data from timely paid accounts so that the defaulting loans appeared to be timely paid and stable. These misrepresentations caused Israel Discount Bank, Oak Rock’s primary lender, as well as other financial institutions and private investors, to sustain losses totaling in excess of $93 million.

The charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Leonard D. Wexler.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Michael P. Canty is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

• JOHN MURPHY
• Age: 65
• Nesconset, New York

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. August 14, 2015

Visitor spending in Westchester hit a record $1.74 billion in 2014 and is on pace to top that number in 2015, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced today. Since 2010, tourism has added $8.3 billion to the county’s economy.

“These numbers show the growing popularity of Westchester as the ‘Meet Me’ destination in the Hudson Valley,” Astorino said. “Whether for business or pleasure, Westchester is attracting more and more visitors and that’s great news for our economy.”

In 2014, visitor spending supported 23,681 jobs in Westchester, 6 percent of all jobs in the county. At the same time, tourism generated $207.7 million in revenue for the county and local municipalities, representing $600 for every household in the county. Overall, visitor spending grew 14 percent – more than $200 million – over five years. Westchester’s tourism industry, which ranks third in the state behind New York City and Long Island, represents 52 percent of all visitor spending in the Hudson Valley region.

Natasha Caputo, Director of Westchester County Tourism & Film, said upcoming attractions for the fall season will add to the momentum of Westchester’s tourism industry.

The fall season’s various events and activities include:

American Gold Cup. Rated as the United States’ No. 1 competition by the North American Riders Group, the American Gold Cup returns to Old Salem Farm September 9-13.

Circus Latino! A 90-foot “Big Top” tent with the sound and energy of Brazilian and Ecuadorian bands combined with the artistry of aerialists and acrobats, at Edge-on-Hudson on September 18-20.

SOWE Music Festival. Featuring three stages of world class rock, dozens of top national and regional artists, beer, wine food trucks, carnival rides and more, this festival takes place on September 19 at Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck.

White Plains Jazz Fest. A four-day jazz and blues celebration featuring seven live music concert events, located at venues throughout downtown White Plains on September 24-27.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From the New York State Education Department. August 12, 2015:

The State Education Department today released the results of the 2015 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math Tests.

Overall, students statewide have made incremental progress in ELA and math since 2013, the first year assessments aligned to the more rigorous learning standards were administered in grades 3-8.

In ELA, the percentage of all test takers in grades 3-8 who scored at the proficient level (Levels 3 and 4) remained consistent in 2015 at 31.3 compared to 30.6 in 2014 and 31.1 in 2013.

In math, the percentage of all test takers in grades 3-8 who scored at the proficient level (Levels 3 and 4) increased by seven points in two years to 38.1 in 2015 from 36.2 in 2014 and 31.1 in 2013.

Progress for Black and Hispanic students held steady in 2015 ELA and math.

While the percentage of students scoring at the proficient level edged up slightly in both subjects, Black and Hispanic students still face a significant achievement gap.

English Language Learners (ELLs) also made small gains in 2015 in ELA and math but still lag behind their non-ELL peers.

However, in New York City, Ever ELLs— students who received ELL services in years prior to the 2014-15 school year but not during the 2014-15 school year—had higher levels of ELA and math proficiency than NYC students who never received ELL services (Never ELLs).

The statewide proficiency rates on the 2015 Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Tests closely match the proficiency rates of New York State students on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

[1] In May, the bipartisan group Achieve released Proficient vs. Prepared: Disparities between State Tests and the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress(link is external), which singled out New York for being the nation’s top “truth teller.”

More recently, the National Center for Education Statistics published Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto NAEP Scales: Results From the 2013 NAEP Reading and Mathematics Assessments(link is external).

The study found that New York measured its students against a bar as high as NAEP and in some cases, NY’s bar for proficiency is higher.

A study by Education Next(link is external) had similar findings: New York was the top-rated state for setting a proficiency bar that is roughly comparable and sometimes tougher to that set by NAEP.

“New York was an early adopter of higher learning standards and the assessments aligned to them, and our teachers have been working hard to help students meet these higher standards,” Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch said. “Now we have to make sure those teachers get the professional development and resources they need to help students continue to make progress—especially our Black and Hispanic students and English Language Learners who still face a discouraging achievement gap. The Board of Regents is committed to providing these resources to our teachers so our students graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful after high school.”

“The transition to new learning standards is not easy, and success isn’t instantaneous,” State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said. “Teachers across the state are working hard to help students reach the high bar we’ve set for them. In fact, we’ve increased seven points in math in two years. Thousands more of New York’s students are on track to graduate high school prepared to do more rigorous math. Now is the time for the state and districts to make certain that students move to the next level. It’s clear to me that we must do a better job of supporting our teachers and principals as they continue to shift their practice to the higher learning standards.”

The Department is committed to strengthening professional development opportunities for teachers and other educators to help them continue to transition to the college- and career-readiness standards.

Elia, the new State Education Commissioner, has begun and will continue to talk with teachers about how best to improve teacher training. Additionally, the Department will examine the data from the 2015 testing program to determine targets for enhanced professional development.

Elia said the Department will focus on finding resources to replicate the Strengthening Teacher Leader Effectiveness (STLE) program. STLE has been a central part of the effort to prepare teachers and school leaders to teach college and career ready standards. Since it began in 2012, approximately 500,000 students, 42,000 teachers and nearly 1,000 principals in 221 districts have benefited from the program.

2015 Results

While ELA performance for the Big 5 City Districts—New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers—held relatively steady between 2013 and 2015, all Big 5 districts had an uptick in math performance for 2015 compared to 2014 and 2013.

Low-need communities continued to outperform high-need communities in 2015 as they did in previous years.

However, New York City students made encouraging gains in ELA, with proficiency approaching statewide levels. This year, 66.4 percent of NYC students scored at Level 2 and Above and 30.4 percent scored at Level 3 and Above, compared to the statewide percentages of 66.4 percent and 31.3 percent respectively.

In 2015, ELA performance for Black and Hispanic students remained consistent with prior year levels, while math performance improved slightly.

In math, 21.3 percent of Black students scored at the proficient level this year, up from 19.8 percent in 2014 and 15.3 percent in 2013—a six point gain in three years. The percentage of Hispanic students achieving proficiency in math also jumped six points in three years to 24.5 percent in 2015, compared to 23.4 percent in 2014 and 18.5 percent in 2013. However, the achievement gap continues to persist statewide for Black and Hispanic students, as well as for ELLs. Current ELLs made small gains in ELA and math, yet they continue to lag behind their non-ELL peers.

In ELA and math, New York City Ever ELLs—students who received ELL services prior to but not during the 2014-15 school year—outperformed students who never received ELL services.

In ELA, 34.2 percent of NYC Ever ELLs scored at Level 3 or 4 in 2015, compared to 33.8 percent of NYC Never ELLs.

The difference was greater in math: the percentage of NYC Ever ELLs who met or exceeded the math proficiency standards (Levels 3 or 4) increased by 6.2 points in 2015 to 44.3 from 38.1 in 2014, whereas the percentage of NYC Never ELLs who met or exceeded the math proficiency standards was 37.3 in both 2015 and 2014.

Not Tested Count[2]

According to State data, approximately 80 percent of eligible test takers participated in the 2015 Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Tests; about 20 percent of eligible test takers did not participate in these tests and did not have a recognized, valid reason for not participating.[3]

“This year, there was a significant increase in the number of students refusing the annual assessments,” Chancellor Tisch said. “We must do more to ensure that our parents and teachers understand the value and importance of these tests for our children’s education. Our tests have been nationally recognized for providing the most honest look at how prepared our students are for future success, and we believe annual assessments are essential to ensure all students make educational progress and graduate college and career ready. Without an annual testing program, the progress of our neediest students may be ignored or forgotten, leaving these students to fall further behind. This cannot happen.”

“We must also do a better job of explaining to parents the benefits of higher standards and annual testing,” Commissioner Elia said. “Since I became Commissioner, I’ve made it a priority to establish a dialog with parents so they better understand why we test. Annual assessments provide important information about individual students for parents and classroom teachers and allow us to keep track of how all student groups are doing. This year’s results show our scores are not yet where they need to be, but we will work to ensure continued improvement.”

Department data show that students who did not take the 2015 Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Tests and did not have a recognized, valid reason for not doing so were more likely to be White, more likely to be from a low or average need district, and slightly more likely to have scored at Levels 1 or 2 in 2014. Students who did not take the test in 2015 and did not have a recognized, valid reason for doing so were less likely to be economically disadvantaged and less likely to be an ELL.

Instructional Reports and Student Score Reports

The assessment results tell educators and families how individual students are doing and where they need extra support. On July 1, the Department authorized the release of instructional reports based on raw score data for schools and districts to use for summer curriculum writing and professional development activities (http://boces.org/Portals/0/Web%20Docs/RIC%20Reports/3-8%20Common%20Data%20Views%20August%202015.pdf(link is external)).

SAMPLE TEST QUESTIONS

This month, the Department released 50 percent of the 2015 Grades 3-8 ELA and math test questions along with the answer keys, the standard(s) measured by the question, and the statewide percentage of students who answered the question correctly. To view the questions and other pertinent information go to: https://www.engageny.org/3-8/.

Individual student score reports will be available to schools to share with parents in the coming weeks. The reports provide parents with information about their child’s performance level (1, 2, 3, or 4) and their child’s performance compared to other children in the same grade across the state. To see sample score reports and to find resources for understanding the reports, use this link:http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/ei/eiscorereportscc.html.

New York State has completed five years of a 12-year phase-in of higher learning standards, which culminates in the requirement that students in the Class of 2022 and later pass Regents Exams aligned to more rigorous standards at the proficient/college- and career-ready level (Level 3 and Above). The Class of 2022 begins grade 6 this fall. For students graduating prior to 2022, students scoring at Level 2 and Above on the ELA and math tests are on track for current graduation requirements. Students scoring at Level 3 and Above are on track to graduate at the aspirational college- and career-ready level.

A summary of the test results as well as individual school and district results are available at:http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pressRelease/2015800/home.html.