BULLETIN–
“TEN DIGIT DIALING” IS IN EFFECT 48 HOURS AFTER IT WAS SUPPOSED TO START. NEITHER VERIZON OR OPTIMUM OR AT&T HAS GIVEN AN EXPLANATION TO WPCNR AS TO THE DELAY.
HOWEVER IF YOU MAKE A PHONE CALL THIS MORNING, AS I DID TO WVOX RADIO 1460 FOR MY MORNING REPORT AT 7:45 A.M.
IF YOU DO NOT DIAL 914 BEFORE THE NUMBER YOU WILL GET A RECORDED MESSAGE SAYING “YOUR CALL CANNOT BE COMPLETED AS DIALED PLEASE CHECK THE NUMBER AND DIAL IT AGAIN.”
SINCE I KNEW THIS PROCEDURE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN EFFECT AFTER SATURDAY MIDNIGHT, I REDIALED WVOX WITH THE AREA CODE AND RELIABLE ALWAYS AVAILABLE, RICHARD LITTLEJOHN THE PRODUCER EXTRAOADINAIRE ANSWERED “WVOX”.
SO IF YOU GET THE CRYPTIC MESSAGE I GOT WHEN YOU JUST DIAL THE USUAL 7 DIGIT NUMBER THAT’S WHY!
DIAL RESPONSIBLY. DIAL WITH THE AREA CODE YOU’RE CALLING
THE SERVICE WAS QUIETLY ANNOUNCED WITH NO REAL REMINDERS OR ALERTS EXPLAINING THE DELAY THE LAST 48 HOURS.
I FIRST LEARNED OF TEN DIGIT DIALING FRIDAY WITH THE WESTCHESTER PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP NEWSLETTER ARRIVED ANNOUNCING TEN DIGIT DIALING WOULD START BEGINNING SUNDAY AT MIDNIGHT.
IT DID NOT.
IT DID NOT KICK IN MONDAY AND STARTED THIS MORNING.
THE COMMUNICATION ON THIS WAS AMATEUR AND AT NO TIME YESTERDAY WERE THERE ANY MESSAGES FROM AT&T AND VERIZON OR OPTIMUM SAYING THE SERVICE WAS COMING AND IF YOU DID NOT HAVE A CALL GO THROUGH, YOU HAD TO DIAL 914. THE COMPANIES RELIED ON PRINT MEDIA.
WHEN I CALLED WESTCHESTER COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS THEY HAD NO EXPLANATION FOR THE DELAY AND COULD NOT SPEAK TO IT.
WHEN I CALLED AT & T MY CELLPHONE PEOPLE, I COULD NOT TALK TO A REPRESENTATIVE UNLESS I COULD RECALL MY PIN NUMBER FOR MY CELL PHONE ACCOUNT. UNBELIEVABLE..I’M CALLING ON THE CELL THEY HAVE TO KNOW IT’S COMING FROM MY HOME.
I CALLED VERIZON PUBLIC RELATIONS IN WASHINGTON. THEY REFERRED MY QUESTIONING THE CAUSE OF THE DELAY AND THE P.R. OFFICE REFERRED ME TO TWO OTHER P.R. PEOPLE WHO I WAS SUPPOSED TO WRITE VIA E-MAIL—DID THEY CALL ME. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
I CALLED OPTIMUM AND HERE I RAN INTO ANOTHER PROBLEM, AFTER A LONG VOICE MAIL THEY SAID I NEED A PASSWORD…WELL I HAVE NEVER BEEN GIVEN ONE.
AND THE PROCEDURE TO GET A TEMPORARY PASSWORD WAS MUDDLED BECAUSE THEY DELAYED IN SENDING ME THE TEMPORARY PASSWORD.
OPTIMUM HAS FOR YEARS HAD INCREDIBLE GOOD PERSONAL TECH ADVICE FROM A REAL PERSON WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES. NOW I HAVE TO GIVE A PIN NUMBER. I HAVE BEEN A CABLEVISION OPTIMUM CUSTOMER SINCE THE MID 1990S AND I GUESS THE NEW OWNERS HAVE NOT GOTTEN AROUND TO IT GIVING ALL US OLD RELIABLES PASSWORDS.
“HOW MANY PINS DO YOU HAVE DENNIS?”
DENNIS: OHHH ABOUT THREE.
THERE ARE TOOOOOOOOOOOOO MANY PINS TO REMEMBER…WHEN THINGS GO WRONG YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PIN LIST…BE WARNED BASEBALL FANS AND FOOTBALL FANS WHEN THE CABLE GOES OUT YOU NEED A PIN NUMBER TO GET EVEN TALKED TO BY YOUR MAJOR TELEPHONE-INTERNET PROVIDERS
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WEEK, DENNIS?
DENNIS: ELECTION DAY.
JOHN: THAT’S RIGHT—YOU WIN!
THE RED HOT 4-PERSON COMMON COUNCIL RACE IN WHITE PLAINS IS IN ITS LAST WEEK. PERSONS WANTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JOHN MARTIN, THE 10 YEAR COUNCPERSON, JUSTIN BRASCH,GOING FOR HIS SECOND 4 YEAR TERM, RICHARD PAYNE AND ALLAN GRAFMAN, FIRST TIME CANDIDATES FOR COUNCIL CAN SEE MY HALF HOUR INTERVIEWS WITH EACH OF THEM THIS WEEK LEADING UP TO ELECTION DAY ON THE WHITE PLAINS TELEVISION WEBSITE, www.wpcommunitymedia.org.
THE RACE NOW LEANS HEAVILY TOWARDS MARTIN, BRASCH AND PAYNE BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE LONG TIME RECOGNITION, PERHAPS MR. PAYNE THOUGH A NEWCOMER HAS JUST AS MUCH EXPERIENCE GOING IN BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN ON THE PLANNING BOARD AND IS ORGANIZATION CHAIR FOR THE DEMOCRATIC CITY COMMITTEE.
MR. GRAFMAN HAS NO COMMON COUNCIL EXPERIENCE AND PORTRAYS HIMSELF AS BRINGING A NEW PERSPECTIVE TO THE COUNCIL SHOULD HE BE ELECTED. HE POINTS TO HIS EXPERIENCE ON CORPORATE BOARDS AND ABILITY TO BRING CONSENSUS AND SUGGESTS THE CITY SEEK OUT BEST PRACTICES OF OTHER TOWNS AND CITIES TO SEE WHAT WORKS ELSEWHERE.
WE WILL SEE NEXT WEEK IF THE “NEW MAN” ADVANTAGE APPEALS TO THE VOTERS, IF THEY COME OUT.
WE ARE DOING WELL IN WESTCHESTER ON COVID, THROUGH SUNDAY TO SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 TO 23 THERE WERE 464 NEW CASES OF COVID, COMPARED TO 691 LAST WEEK A 33%DROP IN NEW CASES.
ON SATURDAY THERE WERE 76 NEW INFECTIONS. WESTCHESTER AVERAGED 66 NEW CASES A DAY LAST WEEK. THE SPREAD RATE BASED ON THE INFECTIONS OF 667 2 WEEKS AGO, IS 1 PERSON SPREADING THE DISEASE TO POINT 69 PERSONS, STILL SHOWING A SLOWING OF NEW INFECTIONS OVERALL DOWN 33% IN NEW INFECTIONS IN ONE WEEK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WESTCHESTER. THANK YOU DENNIS AND TONNY”
