THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

COUNTY ADVISORY DURING BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE

Posted on May 20, 2022 by John Bailey

WPCNR HEALTH ADVISORY. From the Westchester County Department of Health. May 20, 2022:

The Westchester County Health Department is urging residents to never dilute/water down infant formula in an attempt to extend their supply, try to make formula at home, or use milk or toddler formula to feed infants. While the FDA has announced plans to ease the national shortage of baby formula, it will take at least another six to eight weeks before an ample supply of formula is available on store shelves again.

Westchester County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler said: “I particularly caution parents that while it may be tempting to water down formula to stretch it out, it is not safe to do so. This practice can have severe consequences beyond malnourishment. As a pediatrician, I have personally seen an infant who suffered seizures due to an electrolyte imbalance caused by diluted infant formula.”

The Federal Government has issued the following links on their webpage to help families feed their babies:

Manufacturer Hotlines:

Gerber’s MyGerber Baby Expert : reach a certified nutrition or lactation consultant by phone, text, Facebook Messenger, web chat, or video call, who can help you identify a similar formula that may be more readily available.
Abbott’s Consumer Hotline: call 1-800-986-8540
Abbott’s urgent product request line : ask your OBGYN or your infant’s pediatrician to submit an urgent product request by downloading and completing the form – PDF
Reckitt’s Customer Service Line: call 1-800 BABY-123 (222-9123)

Community Resources

Locate your nearest Community Action Agency (CAA) . Your neighborhood CAA may be able to provide you with formula or connect you with local agencies that have formula in stock.
United Way’s 2-1-1 : dial 2–1-1 to be connected to a community resource specialist affiliated with United Way who may be able to help you identify food pantries and other charitable sources of local infant formula and baby food.
Feeding America : call your local food bank to ask whether they have infant formula and other supplies in stock.
Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA): certain HMBANA-accredited milk banks are distributing donated breast milk to mothers in need; please note that some may require a prescription from a medical professional. Find an HMBANA-accredited milk bank .

WIC-Eligible Families

Contact your local WIC office to identify or obtain additional sources of infant formula nearby.

General Guidance

Call your OBGYN or pediatrician to see if they have in-office samples or can suggest a similar formula that may be more readily available in stores and is nutritionally similar to your infant’s typical formula.
You should not water down formula, try to make formula at home, or use toddler formula to feed infants. Don’t discard formula unless it is expired or is part of the recall. Check your formula’s lot code to see whether or not it was affected by the recall.
You can find more guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics .

Additionally, locally the Health Department is notifying the public about the New York Milk Bank in Valhalla. The New York Milk Bank is the first comprehensive nonprofit milk bank based in New York State where breast milk is collected from carefully screened donors, pasteurized and distributed to infants in need. Women looking to donate breast milk can also reach out to the New York Milk Bank to provide excess breast milk to babies in need.

Clients of the Health Department’s WIC Program should contact their WIC clinic for support if their grocery store is out of their WIC infant formula. Yonkers WIC clients should call (914) 231-2510 and
Port Chester WIC clients should call (914) 813-7244.

The Department of Health will continue to monitor the situation and communicate with families. For more information, support and WIC eligibility, visit the Health Department’s website at https://health.westchestergov.com/

Posted on May 20, 2022 by John Bailey

COVID POSITIVES IN WESTCHESTER WEDNESDAY: 643, 35% MORE THAN TUESDAY.

Posted on May 19, 2022 by John Bailey

WPCNR COVID DAILY BULLETIN 11 P.M. EDT 05/19/22

WESTCHESTER COUNTY RECORDED 643 NEW COUNTY RESIDENTS POSITIVE WEDNESDAY 34% MORE POSITIVES THAN TUESDAY (480).

THE FIRST 4 DAYS THIS WEEK TOTAL 1,970, AN AVERAGE OF 492 POSITIVES PER DAY.

THE STATE’S 7-DAY POSITIVE DAILY AVERAGE IS A DAY FOR WESTCHESTER, AT THAT NEW POSITIVES PACE, THE COUNTY WILL HAVE 3,220 POSITIVES FOR THIS WEEK BY SATURDAY, DEPENDING ON THE NEXT THREE DAY POSITIVE TALLY.

LAST 4 DAY TOTAL OF 492 POSITIVES A DAY WILL YIELD 1,476 NEW POSITIVES THROUGH SATURDAY, CREATING 3,446 POSITIVES FOR THE WEEK WHICH WOULD MARK THE EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE WEEK OF INCREASES A WEEK.

THE 1,970 NEW COUNTY POSITIVE INFECTIONS AVERAGE 9.88% ON AN AVERAGE OF 4,787 TESTS PROCESSED PER DAY.

THE LOW NUMBER OF TESTS AND THE HIGHER RATE OF INFECTION ON THE LOW NUMBERS COULD MEAN THAT IF 10,000 PEOPLE WENT FOR TESTING WERE TESTED PERHAPS 1,000 A DAY WOULD BE POSITIVE WITH THE SAME 10% PER CENT RATIO THAT WOULD REVEAL AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PICTURE OF THE INFECTIONS AHEAD.

COUNTY POLICE MAKE PROGRESS IN CONTROLLING FENTANYL DISTRIBUTION IN WESTCHESTER

Posted on May 19, 2022 by John Bailey

Narcotics Reduction Program targeted large-scale fentanyl suppliers, sought to address rising overdose deaths in Westchester

WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From the Westchester County Department of Communications. May 19, 2022:

Beginning in June 2020, in response to the opioid epidemic and a rising number of overdose deaths, Westchester County Police launched a Narcotics Reduction Program that targeted large-scale suppliers of fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.

By leveraging the resources of the multi-agency Real Time Crime Center, collaborating with federal law enforcement partners, and utilizing precision policing strategies, the Narcotics Reduction Program has led to the seizure of significant quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine. Several dozen suspects have been charged by federal prosecutors with significant drug-trafficking crimes.

“Fentanyl is deadly, even in the smallest amounts. Its presence in a variety of illegal narcotics is a leading contributor to the overdose deaths we have seen in Westchester,” County Executive George Latimer said. “Reducing the flow of fentanyl into our County is literally a way we can save lives.”

Latimer said the County is focused on getting drug treatment to low-level drug offenders while targeting criminal investigations toward those who manufacture and distribute fentanyl and other narcotics in large quantities.

“Instead of investing time and effort arresting low-level users, most of whom would benefit more from treatment than incarceration, we have been able to leverage law enforcement intelligence and shared resources to directly target so-called ‘bigger fish,’ ” Latimer said.

Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason of the Westchester County Police said that the Narcotics Reduction Program utilizes investigators assigned to the Real Time Crime Center; detectives assigned to the County Police Narcotics Unit; federal agents from multiple agencies; and Patrol officers from the County Police Conditions Unit.

He said since June of 2020, investigators from the Real Time Crime Center have initiated narcotics cases that led to the seizure of:

· 453,422 bags of fentanyl packaged for individual sale;

· 94 kilograms of fentanyl packaged in bulk;

· 863 fentanyl pressed pills disguised as real prescription medication;

· 66 kilograms of cocaine;

· 41 vehicles equipped with aftermarket hidden compartments, and

· 27 firearms.

“Using cutting edge, precision-policing tactics that RTC has developed, as well as establishing a deliberate focus on inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing, the Narcotics Reduction Program has resulted in record breaking success,” Gleason said. “We would not be seeing these results without the invaluable assistance of our federal partners.”

Gleason thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for its partnership in the Narcotics Reduction Program.

“Because Narcotics Reduction Program arrests are predominantly prosecuted at the federal level, and because one investigation is often connected to another, the County Police are not able to share the fruits of this program on a day-to-day basis,” Gleason said. “We wanted to provide this update to the public to ensure them that we are hard at work, and very successfully at work, in the effort to keep fentanyl out of our communities.”

Gleason noted that the County Police also continue to work collaboratively with local law enforcement and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office on narcotics investigations.