Council Cuts Mayor’s Budget $2M to $158.2M. 80 Fired.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. May 28, 2009 UPDATED 3 P.M. E.D.T.: The Common Council this morning at11:17 A.M. voted 5-2, with Mayor Joseph Delfino and Councilman Glen Hockley opposed and Councilpersons Boykin, Lecouona, Malmud, Power and Roach in favor to enact a $158.2 Million budget for fiscal year 2009-10. The council also voted to eliminate the funding for the payment of David Birdsall as Acting Budget Director, and enacted an unspecified number of job cuts of full and part-time personnel.


Melissa Lopez, of the Mayor’s office reports to WPCNR that 55 part-time jobholders and 25 full-time employees of the city have been cut beginning July 1. WPCNR asked for a list of the jobs being cut by department, and for a list of the names of the individuals. Lopez issued this statement: “The Mayor’s Office wishes to respect the privacy of these individuals.  If you would like their names, I would recommend you file an FOI request.”


Ms. Lopez said a list of the positions by department was being worked on but it “would take awhile.”


The members of the Common Council voting in favor of the cut, trimming the Mayor’s budget $2 Million from his proposed budget of $160.2 Million, spent two hours telling the morning television audience how hard they had worked on the budget to begin to repair the city finances and keep the city fund balance at the $5 Million level. Councilman Tom Roach, Rita Malmud, Dennis Power described the Mayor’s original budget as “unbalanced,” “unacceptable,” “impractical,” because it proposed using up $11.4 Million in undesignated fund balance. The Council-enacted budget today, keeps the fund balance at the $11.9 Million level by adding new revenues, cutting expenses, and borrowing $2 Million for undetermined “settlements or court-ordered expenses.” 


Councilperson Tom Roach commented that a long term structural financial plan was needed to repair the city’s finances going forward, bringing expenses in line with revenues, and he predicted substantially more “pain” in developing the 2010-11 city budget. He described the cuts the council made as “turning the battleship around.”


Councilperson Milagros Lecouna said she looked forward to a new Mayor where the council would be a part of the budget process.Lecuona also noted that if the council were to consider raising the sales tax another 1/4%, part of the increase should be spent on creating affordable housing and acquisition of open space.


Dennis Power, promised the council would do much more next year (in terms of financial adjustment). He said the council might have to look at raising the sales tax, and alluded to the council having to look at the White Plains Performing Arts Center (which filed papers with the IRS this month, disclosing it was $700,00 plus in debt as of last June), and seeing what it could do to keep the WPPAC a “viable organization.” Power said separate commercial and residential tax rates for White Plains was a legislative priority, that he hoped would be passed. Mr. Power also suggested that the city might revisit the possibility of developing the railroad station area in the future


The council members, criticising in turn, this morning  the “one-shots” the majority of members at this morning’s table  had voted for in past budgets to balance the Mayor’s  spending that lead to the current year deficit, did not allude at any time to projected union settlements to come that will affect city budgets the next few years in these revenue-challenged times.


The lone councilman in support of the budget was Glen Hockley who said he was not in favor of any job cuts that hurt families. He also quoted Commissioner of Public Safety Frank Straub as saying downtown safety would be compromised, considering that during the summer, according to Hockley the city averaged 30 arrests on both Friday and Saturday nights in the downtown. Hockley also quoted Straub as saying and fire response time to the southend of town slowed by inactivating two pieces of equipment.


Mayor Joseph Delfino defended his budget as “balanced,” and noted that had the Common Council enacted the  1/2 per cent sales tax he had asked for two years ago, (the council would only go for a quarter per cent) the 1/2 per cent would have brought in the $12 Million which the Mayor said was equivalent to the $12 million gap the council was now closing.


Delfino in a bitter close to the meeting, often appearing on the verge of tears on television, said the revenues of the city were not broken, but “splintered,”: and said his budget was an attempt to fix that.  He saluted his Acting Budget Director, David Birdsall for his terrific efforts. He cut off shouts from the floor over the restoration of $50,000 to the library budget. He called the restoration of the $50,000 to the library a political move.


Delfino in his final soliloquy accused the council of laying a 33% tax increase on the citizens. Councilman Tom Roach interrupted the Mayor’s speech pointing out it was not a 33% tax increase, but a 6.5% increase, and the increase in the tax increase was a third, not an overall 33% increase.


Delfino closed saying to White Plains he has always been “a servant,”  not a politician.

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Bagels, Biallies, and Budget Breakfast This Morning.

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. May 28, 2009: The Common Council meets at 9 A.M. today to consider the passage of the proposed $158.2 Million city budget for 2009-2010. The Special Meeting on what is the city’s first “Decision Morning on the Budget” is planned to be televised on the Verizon Government Access Channel 46 and the Cablevision Government Access Channel 75 in the first Common Council meeting to be televised using the newly installed wiring between City Hall Common Council Chambers and the White Plains Cable Commission Public Access Studios on  Lexington Avenue. The budget is about $2 Million less the Mayor’s proposed budget.


 

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Mystery Poll Measures Bradley-Hockley, Hyland vs. Ryan Races

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WPCNR BACKROOM BULLETIN. By John F. Bailey. May 27, 2009: The calls are going out to Democrats in White Plains. They’re asking very interesting questions about how voters feel about Councilman Glen Hockley, and the darkhorse candidate, Bob Hyland in a race against County Legislator William Rayn, and they want to know how you feel about them.


 


The telephone call executed by a private research firm begins by asking how the respondent thinks White Plains is doing, then gets personal, asking if Mayor Joseph Delfino has done a good job or poor job, and asking you to name some of the Mayor’s accomplishments.


 


It asks should Mayor Delfino be reelected, and whether the person knows who Adam Bradley is. It asks if Bradley would make a good mayor.


 


Then it gets interesting, asking who you would vote for in a Glen Hockley-Adam Bradley contest for Mayor. It asks your opinion of Mr. Hockley.


 


The next question references the County Legislator for District 5 Race where White Plains’ Bill Ryan occupies that seat. It asks in a possible race between Mr. Ryan and Bob Hyland, the local restaurant owner of The Sports Page, very active in local business circles, who would you vote for, Mr. Ryan or Mr. Hyland.


 


Who is paying for the poll is not clear at this time.


 


As of today, White Plains Republicans have nominated no one to run for Mayor, the Common Council or Mr. Ryan’s County Legislature seat. A question to Brian Maloney, the White Plains Republican Leader, as to whether the Republicans will not contest any of the local seats has not been answered as yet.

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College Credit Program Begun. Alberto Minota Pioneers It.

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From White Plains City School District, Michele Schoenfeld (Edited)  May 26,2009: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr.  Margaret Dwyer spoke about the new Advanced College Experience Program at last week’s Board of Education meeting  She said the program reinforces the district’s Strategic Plan in that it allows students to pursue their aspirations. Six classes, to be piloted next year at no cost to the district, will provide college-level classes in which students can earn  SUNY credits. 



 


Dr. Dwyer introduced teacher Alberto Minota, with (l to r)Catherine Barrera ’08, Arlende Diaz,’08, and Anayeli Flores ’09, who have participated and benefitted from such a class created by Mr. Minota.  Minota  has already been conducting such a class and presented three of his students to explain the experience.



 


Minota said “These students are the pioneers of the University/College Accreditation, the sixth component of Proyecto BBRAVE. They are the very reason why our affiliation with Westchester Community College ACE program has come to fruition. They are the very reason why I have asked them to be here tonight — to celebrate our students’ successes and their efforts to create the path for hundreds of students who will participate through English, Italian, Mathematics, Social Studies and Proyecto BBRAVO.


He thanked Joan Kass, former Coordinator of WorLD Languages in the district; Teresita Wisell, Director of Admissions at Westchester Community College; Dr. Saul Yanofsky, Dean of Special Programs at WCC, Leroy Dixon and Ivan Toper, Assistant Principal and Principal, respectively, for their support of his program.


School Report Card


Commenting on the New York State District Report Card, Timothy Connors, Superintendent of Schools said White Plains Schools are doing well, with progress across grades 3 through 8. He thanked Dr. Dwyer for her leadership, the Coordinators and the staff,and said White Plains was headed in the right direction.


 


Departures


            Resignations for the purpose of retirement were accepted from Jody Cole, Coordinator of Health & Physical Education; Ronald Palladino, Coordinator of English; and Lawrence Kilian, Coordinator of   Testing, Evaluation and Funded Programs.


            Teresa Niss received an interim appointment as Elementary Assistant Principal at Post Road School, effective until June 30th.  Ms. Niss had been Coordinator of Art and Music and Mr. Connors said he has confidence in her administrative experience and familiarity with the Post Road staff.


 


     PUBLIC HEARING/PRESENTATION ON THE 2009-2010 BUDGET:  Assistant Superintendent Fred Seiler reviewed the $185,778,149 budget proposed for a public vote on May 19th.  He provided information on staffing reductions, new program initiatives and summaries of expenditures  and revenues.  This is the lowest budget increase in the history of the district and the lowest tax levy in at least 25 years, with a tax rate increase of 2.41%. 


 


 Comments from the public concerned non-resident students in school here, suggestions to reconsider the decision to combine the positions of Coordinator of Health and Physical Education and Athletic Director; the use of consultants; the need to hold the line on teachers’ salaries, and appreciation for focusing on the Strategic Plan and for dealing well with difficult decisions.


 


     RECOGNITION:  Mr. Connors congratulated Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship winners Anshu  Hemrajami and Minuse Thelusma, and Jandon Foundation Scholars Jeanie Chen and Carolina Montenegro.  He also recognized 14 students who received Scholarships for Academic Excellence from the New York State Education Department:  Thomas Bastone, Evelyn Berger, Jeanie Chen, Caroline Couzens, Michael Dapice, Laura Demarte, Isabella Fante, Cameron Glass, Julia Maguire, Celina Mariano, Rebecca Neubardt, Benjamin Oppenheim, Keren Schieber and Zachary Schwartz.


 


            The district was presented with a 20th Anniversary Plaque from the New York State Insurance Reciprocal for being a founding member of this insurance consortium.


 


            Board members commended students and staff for many recent activities, including New York State Music Association events, the Post Road School Open House, Portfolio Day at the High School, the Middle School’s production of “Wizard of Oz,” the ballroom dancing performance at Post Road School, the National Honor Society Induction, and the Loucks Meet, among others.


 


            Since this is National Nurse Appreciation Week, School Nurses were recognized for the  outstanding work they do with our students.


    


 


     DONATIONS:  The Board accepted several donations with sincere appreciation:  $1,000 for the High School Athletic Department and $1,000 for the Swim Team from Dana and Sunny Jo Comfort; $500 from Fred’s Restaurant, in honor of Dr. Heidi McCarthy, for the Special Education Program; grocery bags from Stop & Shop for Mamaroneck Avenue School’s Earth Day Project; and a tree from SAVATREE for the Arbor Day celebration at Mamaroneck Ave. School.


 


            Mr. Connors also thanked Junior Achievement of the Hudson Valley for their 30 volunteers who presented a program based on the Social Studies curriculum in each grade level at Mamaroneck Avenue School.


 


     PERSONNEL:  The Board approved a retirement incentive ($15,000) for Managerial and Confidential employees who retire on or about July 1st of this year, similar to those offered to the Administrators and Supervisors and the Civil Service Employees Associations.


 




 


 


     UPCOMING MEETINGS:  


                                                            May 28:          Special Meeting, Education House, 7:30 P.M.


                                                            June 8:                        Regular Meeting, High School, 7:30 P.M.


                                                                                        Recognition of 25-Year and Retiring Staff Members


                                                           


 

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The City Tax Tomorrow

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. News & Comment By John F. Bailey. May 26,2009: On Thursday morning, the Common Council will meet at 9 A.M. to pass a $158.2 Million city budget, after quietly administering  about $10 Million in spending cuts, job cuts,  fee increases, and fund shifting to cut Mayor Joseph Delfino’s submitted budget of $160.2 Million by $2 Million.


 


The council held the city property tax to a 6.5% increase moving the tax per $1,000 of assessed value from $147.47 this year to$157.06  in the fiscal year beginning in July.  Their “cutting and feeing” saves the city  from using up their undesignated fund balance for another year, by creating $10 Million of “savings” while funding a to-be-decreed increase for the city firefighters, which most likely will be handed down by an arbitrator next January.


 


 



 


The council deliberations were “monitored” by Assemblyman Adam Bradley, the Democratic nominee for Mayor, who presently has no opposition from the Republican side. WPCNR telephoned Brian Maloney the standard bearer of the Republican City Committee posing the question of whether the Republicans would not run any candidates for Mayor or Common Council. So far Mr. Maloney has not informed WPCNR of Republican contention policy.


 


Bradley, speaking to WPCNR last week,  praised the Common Council refusal to increase the sales tax another ¼%. He said he stood by the savings of fund balance, and said he felt confident that the hotel tax of 2% would pass the state legislature that would add to city revenue. He expressed optimism that a separate property tax rate for commercial properties and a separate property tax rate for residential properties would pass the senate in time for next year, which if enacted could dramatically slow the tax refunds (certioraris) that dropped the city assessed value $5 Million this year, and threatens to drop the assessment roll considerably more in 2010-11 if not addressed.


 


Next year, if city sales tax continues flat and development remains at its present standstill, the  city faces another revenue-challenged year.  In order to fund the expected labor settlements, the city will be forced into another year of painful cuts in the city workforce. Mr. Bradley faces daunting decisions in creating the 2010-11 budget.


 


To continue services as they are, more fees and more revenue must be found by either slicing costs, cutting back on capital projects, or increasing taxes substantially. If the shortfall between revenue and expenses matches the $10 Million the city faced this year, a one-time tax increase of 30% would be needed for the residents to keep paying for the services they are accustomed.


 


What would that mean?


 


To generate the $11 Million the city needs in 2010-11, a 30% tax increase would be needed, raising the per $1,000 of assessed value tax rate to $188/$1,000 as opposed to the $157 per $1,000 Mr. and Mrs. White Plains will start paying next year.


 


In July, Mr. and Mrs. And Ms. White Plains who own median priced homes in the $650,000 to$700,000 range, will pay $2,900 in city taxes, up $176.


 


In July 2010, they will, if  the city has to enact a tax increase of 30%, the owners of that same house will pay $3,473 to the city in property taxes,or $573 more.


 


That of course may not happen if  sales tax shoots up, development resumes promptly, and housing inventory is cleared out, and home prices rise, like this year.


 


Now that is the bright side. If that separate Commercial Tax Rate is not passed by the legislature, assessments are going fall like a rock next January, making this year’s surprise $5Million drop look good.  Any further erosion in assessment will mean an automatic tax increase just so the city can keep pace with their loss – then they have to fund the labor settlements.


 


To their shame, the Common Council (unless they asked this behind closed doors), never asked for projections of  what further tax roll declines would mean next year.


 


 


That is unintelligent. It’s crossing-your-fingers on the budget.


 


The City School District whistled past the taxpayer’s graveyard by not cutting their budget at all. They slowed the rate of increase, yes, but that is not what they needed to do.


 


Everybody’s favorite Board of Education – the optimists who had a “free cut” year when they could have slashed their budget deeper – but they did not cut. They increased their budget  $1.4 Million. (At least the Mayor and the Common Council cut their budget year to year.) To be fair, they slowed the rate of increase, finally looking at WPCNR projections which showed the budget hitting $200 Million if they kept up their steady 7% growth-in-the-budget pace.


 


 This was the year the school district could have slashed the budget down into at least the high $170 Million range, and should have, with an outgoing superintendent, allowing their new Superintendent the ability to increase the budget, mend fences with its irritated teaching force, rather than facing the unpopular task of pushing out highly-paid school administrators. But, alas they did not.


 


A $10 Million drop in assessments is likely next year, if you look at equalization rate history.  (This is not the first time WPCNR has pointed this out, people.) 


 


In 2002-2003, when the state equalization rate nose-dived from 6.35 to 4.71, two years later, this lead to a decline of  $13 Million in  city assessed value.  In 2007-2008, the equalization rate fell from 3.34 to 2.75. We should be seeing the fall out from this next January, when companies which filed certiorari claims like crazy and received massive refunds and assessment reductions three years ago, come back for another round, in addition to new filers.


 


This would mean the school district and the city face mutual tax increases of proportions never before seen. If taxpayers feel squeezed now, just wait.


 


Say the city loses $10 Million off next year’s tax roll. This drops the roll to $275 Million. That means that the city loses $1.6 Million in property taxes. To make that up alone, the city has to increase the tax rate from $157.06 to $162, a 3% increase. Plus maintain services. Plus pay for water tanks. Rolling stock. Where will that come from if the White Plains economy does not turn up sharply?


 


The School District faces Financial Armageddon.


 


 Right now the just-passed 2009-10  School Budget demands $515.15 per $1,000 of assessed value. If assessed value declines $10 Million to 276.8 Million, the school district loses automatically $5 Million in revenue – before inflation, salary increases, benefits increases, retirement fund increases—the rest of “the works”  take effect.  They have to hike your tax rate $20 to catch up with that lost assessment revenue!  The new tax rate next year, if assessments decline $10 Million (perish the thought), will be $535/ $1,000 of assessed value. 


 


That means that median priced home of $650,000 to $700,000 would pay $8,300 in school taxes, up $315 if the school budget stays at $185.8 Million (the 2009-10 figure) and it will be more when you add in all the add-ons. That is why the school district should have cut more expenses this budget year.


 


The School Board President said the new Finance Committee will be taking a closer look at the school budget earlier. They better start July 1.


 


The Common Council may want to think about jacking that tax increase to at least 15% to ease the pain next year.


 


Or, maybe all will work out right.


 


Maybe, baby.


 

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White Plains Employment Rebounds 3rd Consective Month.

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WPCNR MARKETPLACE. From New York State Department of Labor. May 26,2009: More residents of White Plains found more jobs last month, posting thecity’s third straight drop in the number of unemployed residents, according to the New York State Department of Labor Statistics.


 


At the end of April,  of 31,500 residents in the White Plains “workforce,”  6% (1,900) were unemployed, down from  2,000 unemployed (6.4% of the workforce)  in March, and  down from 6.7% (2,100 of the 31,500 workforce) in February. Previously the 6.7% unemployed level was the highest percentage of WP unemployed in 15 years.


 


White Plains continues to lead the Westchester “recovery”in unemployment.


 


 In April, 6.5% of the Westchester County workforce of 494,600 persons, 32,200 persons were unemployed. In March, 7.1% of the county was unemployed, representing 35,400 persons.

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Memorial Day with World War II Bomber Pilots

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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. By Carl Albanese. May 26, 2009:





In Honor of all who serve our great nation, have served our great nation and continue to serve our great nation of American Freedoms and Liberty.


From our Founding Fathers of Liberation and Freedom as a New Nation to every individual who served, fought and died for the foundations of Freedom, Liberty and Democracy, serving all human existence and civil rights for mankind.



The best honor one can express on Memorial Day is to thank a Veteran for being a Veteran, place an American Flag on the grounds that a Veteran rests in eternity, shake the hand of a Veteran and welcome him or her home.



Honor him or her, thank him or her and never forget the luxury you share and enjoy was at the pride an honor of all those who died, served, fought and guaranteed the privilege we have to be an American, a people of a free nation.

 


B-17 PILOTS with their “baby.”
Photo by Carl Albanese.




The greatest honor I had this Memorial Day weekend was to sit inside a WW II B25 Bomber all alone one on one at the Palm Springs California Air Museum and listen to three WW II Veteran Bomber pilots and crew tell me of their historical experiences serving in WW II and the battles they fought in for the freedoms of the world.



An Honor and privilege myself and son will cherish and respect in honor of our great American Veterans.



Honor and respect those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and democracy, so we can enjoy the luxury and freedoms we all have as a great nation as Americans.



Honor our Veterans on Memorial Day.

 


The “Old Ironsides” of Our Time: The aircraft carrier Intrepid. She served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. At rest in New York Harbor. Photo by Stephen Sisler. Used with permission



The Tradition Continues: The destroyer, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in port for Fleet Week. Photo by Stephen Sisler. Used with permission.



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Downtown Johnny On Pace for 44 Homers.It’s Bud Ball!

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WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By “Bull” Allen.  May 23, 2009. It happened again. Last Sunday  “Downtown Johnny” Damon, or “Downtown Damon” (sorry, John Sterling, you can’t use that!)  the diminutive lead-off man with the Bronx Bombers, 36 years of age, homered for the tenth time  in 37 games Sunday afternoon to win the Yankee game off the pathetic Minnesota Twins bullpen. Is this telling us something? Yankee Stadium II has 82 homers through its first 21 games — doubling the homer count from last year!  The pace is set for the new ballyard to double it’s homer count over last season.


 



Yankee Stadium II. Photo by WPCNR Sports


 


 


 





Damon at age 36 has never hit more than 17 home runs in one season in his career, playing most of it in Fenway Park.  He is now after 37 games,  7 away from his career high for a season. He is on a pace to hit 44 home runs in 2009.Babe Ruth at age 36in 1929,  only hit 46. So Damon is matching   the Babe at his age after 37 games.


 


After 50 years baseball are we seeing the second coming of Wally Moon who blooped 11 Moon Shots over the Los Angeles Coliseum 250 foot screen?


 


 Damon is blasting them like mortars  to the opposite field,  to the power alleys, up up into the new right center field Yankee Stadium jet stream.  He is tagging those taters, blasting to the bleachers. Duck,  upper deckers! If he clears the line of the façade at Yankee Stadium II,  the ball will carry to the Throgs Neck Bridge—and there is even a carry when there is no wind in the stadium. Is an investigation of the stadium called for?


 


Looking at the major league leaders, “Downtown Johnny” is not alone. As of the beginning of the week, the numbers leap out!


 


“Downtown Damon”  is  behind Carlos Pena of the Rays (13)who is clocking circuit clouts at a 55 homer a year pace. Antonio Gonzalez of the Padres has bombed 15 – a 64 homers pace. And it has not even begun to get hot yet. Albert Pujols of the Redbirds is on target for 58. Alphonso Soriano (man was thata bad Yankee trade!) of the Cubs has turned into Ernie Banks, looking at a 55 homer season.  Dunn of the Nationals, 99 homers; Bruce of the Reds, 90 homers. Eight sluggers have 10 homers.


 


Instead of the athletes on steroids, the clueless hucksters of major league baseball have pumped that well known steroid into the 2009 baseball. 


 


Is Horsehide Homer Mone Hormone  Use  Up?


Baseballs suck up the roids.


 


The baseball detectives, Universal Medical Systems of Solon, Ohio will soon give us the answer as to whether  HHMH (Horsehide Homer Mone Hormone)content is up!


 


The feckless sportswriters have not noticed this?


 


Homeruns are wayyyyyy up  in the major leagues. The ball launches off the bat whether it is hit off the end of the hickory or the fists, as if shot from a slingshot.


 


Part of the reason is the new maple bat that’s harder — and breaks more easily. It puts a charge into the ball according to Universal Medical Systems. Dan Zavagno, the bat and ball analyst of UMS says if you hit the ball with the sweet spot on the maple bat — it magnifies the monster mash.


 


The major league strike zone has shrunk to the size of a postage stamp: belt to knees and supposedly  no corners. Pitchers have to throw batting practice pitches to get a strike! This makes it all the easier for the hitters. Jacked ball, pitchers condemned to pipe the ball to get a strike. It’s home run derby in the major leagues. Even the peerless Manuel Rivera is getting lit up. Of course there are the small ballparks, too. The steroid use, is another cause.


 


The baseball as hand grenade, the stingy strike zone aid the homerun derby edition of baseball has been aided and abetted by the worst pitching in baseball history.


 


Few teams have two good starters. Few pitchers on a staff can come in and put the ball where they want to. Too many try to slip the lamb chop past the wolf and BOOM! It’s gone.


 


But, who cares.


 


It’s all good, isn’t it?


 


The solution: I know what Don Drysdale and Warren Spahn and Sandy Koufax would do – hit more hitters, pitch high and tight. Of course baseball does not allow that any more. The pitchers get warnings and ejections. You have to let one pitch send a message. The time to send that message is when the game is on the line. Save the “Duster” for when the slugger is coming up with a chance to win it. But, short of escalating the violence level of the game, the pitchers have to get some illegal pitches.


 


The clandestine pitchers union has to comb the rest homes where the pitchers stay before they join that great rotation in the Heaven League. They have to learn the spitball, the emery ball, the Vaseline ball, where to nick the ball to get that extra dip, sharper drop. It is a case of survival. Or, even learn a legal pitch: the knuckleball.


 


Of course the vast majority of pitching coaches in the bigs today never pitched well enough in their own careers to learn the craft of the knuckleball and screwball, perish the thought of using the tactical nuclear weapons of pitching: the “doctored” ball.


 


These pitches of course are only to be used in big spots when you have the hitter in a key spot and the tobacco juice is dripping  off the hairy-backed bomber’s bicuspids anticipating a fastball inside or down or curve away. That’s when Gaylord Perry, Burleigh Grimes, and the masters of the spitter, or the dripper would throw it, confounding the hitter. It is good to throw it on the last pitch of the At Bat because it can be immediately rolled out to the pitcher’s mound obscuring “the evidence.”


 


The mediocre pitcher, the journeyman pitcher, the rookie rushed to the desperate rotations of today has no shot because of the hitters’ casino baseball has turned into.


 


The pitcher coming up today has to take destiny into his own hands. He’s not getting much advice other than having his arm strength diluted by pitch count madness (which counts for pitching coaching today). The knuckler, the knuckle curve, a change-up are not being mastered—and they are legal.


 


As Warren Spahn, the greatest lefthander of them all told Roger Kahn in the book The Head Game, after winning his 300th game in 1961: “I ignore the upper half of the strike zone. These days I throw only below the waist. Of course if  a batter has a profound weakness – say he can’t hit a high, inside fastball—I’ll still throw to that spot. But a batter with a profound weakness doesn’t last in the major leagues.”


 


On analyzing hitters, Spahnie confided to Kahn, on pitching to batters he had never seen before, “A man who drops the front shoulder when he cocks the bat is a high ball hitter. If he drops the back one, he’s a low-ball hitter. After he takes one swing you know whether he has quick wrists. All this is important but pretty elementary. When you’ve pitched against a batter a hundred ties, you know all about him, but you have to remember, he knows all about you, too. Then the fun starts. It’s cat and mouse.”


 


Stan “The Man” Musial, the greatest Cardinal of them all – a Spahn nemesis told Kahn in the same book that pitchers have to adjust, like Spahnie did: “Spahnie knew everything about his profession, and he was smart enough to change before he had to. In the early years he had the good high fast ball, a nice change, terrific control inside the strike zone, but only a fair curve. A lot of pitchers would have stayed where they were. Not Spahn. He began tinkering with a screwball, and as the fast ball began to go, he’d come at you with the screwjie (Editor’s note: screw ball, breaking down and in to lefthanded batters, and down and outside to right hand hitters, mastered by Carl Hubbell).


 


“He’d thrown it low and away from righthanders, but down and in to left-hand hitters, an unusual pitch. Lots of left-hand hitters like’em low and inside. Spahnie got away with it. Then came the slider.”


 


Today’s pitchers need to adjust better, pitch smarter, and work on their control. How would Spahnie adjust to the livelier ball? You know he would, because he did. The ball of the 40s when he first came up was not as lively as the ball of the 1960s when he finished up and was still winning twenty games.


 


Good luck, hurlers!


 


…and another thing–


 


Today Major League Baseball and Fox Sports said they are moving up World Series Games by a half-hour, so kids and see more of the Series night games. But, in reality the reason is the ratings hit rock bottom last fall, due to two small market, no-glamour market teams in the Series. (MLB is desperate to get Los Angeles,New York, Boston, Chicago into the World  Series this year.)


 


Come on.. the ratings are down because the games last 4 hours and end way too late when started at 8 PM. The problem is Major League Baseball is sleeping with the networks and does anything they say to the detriment of their own sport.


 


The networks do not want to lose any of their pro football revenues and audience, so they for years demand baseball play the series at night.


 


If baseball had a real commissioner who loved the game, that commissioner would  play the games during the day, say 6 to 9 PM like the Super Bowl does — and that would work, the games would end on the East Coast at 10 P.M.  But, Nooooooooooooooo — FOX, CBS, NBC want baseball after the NFL doubleheaders are over — and at night for prime time during the week — regardless of weather or location.


 


That’s not right and never has been — another Bud (Selig) legacy. But, Bud is not entirely to blame. When Bowie Kuhn sat in 20 degree weather in his suit coat decades ago, it showed you who ran baseball telecasts — the networks. And, that’s got to stop.


 


Baseball should recapture its network rights and put all their big games on their own Major League Baseball network at the times they want, and open up the advertising audience.

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White Plains — Center of the Universe — for a Day

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WPCNR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY. By the WPCNR Roving Photographer. May 22, 2009: A caravan of networks from everywhere converged on the U.S.Court House in White Plains yesterday for the first court appearances of 4 alleged terrorists arrested and charged with massive national publicity and White Plains was at the center of it all. Even President Obama chose to get into the act in Washington. The Roving Photographer caught the giddy media feeding frenzy at the Fedhouse at its apex. If you don’t like crowds don’t get involved with a possible terrorist cell.



The Camel News Caravan. No, they were not there to cover the redevelopment of Winbrook.



A Platoon of News Snipers



Where  Would the U.S. Auto Industry Be Without Law Enforcement’s Demands for Vans? Lots of Them.



News Gathers in Action: Smothering a High (now low) Profile spokeshead.



News on the Go: Keeping up with a fast-moving, important Redhead.


Even the Good Humor Man Was there: Moving a ton of Chocolate Eclairs — the distinguished choice of news gatherers. Where was the Sabretts Man — and Starbucks?


 


 

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Council Cuts, Fees, Borrows to Filet Mayor’s Budget by $2M—Holds Tax Up to 6.5%

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER. May 22,2009: The Council is set to approve a $158.2 Million Budget  next Thursday morning for the fiscal year 2009-10, beginning July 1,2009, which preserves the city undesignated fund balance and appears to keep the fund balance at $11 Million. The council also decided to float $2 Million in bonds to preserve part of the fund balance through borrowing, to take care of court-required payments of an unspecified nature, perhaps the labor settlement expected in January, certiorari refunds, or whatever. It is not specified what the $2 Million is for.


 


In papers filed with the City Clerk the 09-10 budget is described by Acting Budget Director David Birdsall as totaling $158.2 Million. No city Commissioners, the Mayor or Common Council will receive increases according to Council President Benjamin Boykin, in a statement to WPCNR News. The cut is approximately $2 Million lower than the Mayor’s budget of $160.2 Million submitted April 1.


 


The council budget keeps the tax increase at 6.5%, meaning a $2,902 tax bill for the $650,000 to $700,000 White Plains home, $178 more than last year’s tax of $2,724. If your home is worth more than that, you’ll pay more.


 


Absent a explanatory news release from City Hall, WPCNR has pieced together what the council apparently did to restore the $11.2


 


 



 


 


The Council has increased the Library Fund about $300,000, but declined to restore all of the $6 Million budget the library receives this year, despite a strong protest and plea staged by around 25 persons at the public hearing on the budget. The Library Fund receives $5.5 Million in the new budget.


 


*  They cut $1 Million from the Reserve for financing, whether this is still in play is not clear.


 


* They are creating $2.5 Million in new revenues from taxi medallions, and increased fees.


 


* They expect revenue from a new 2% hotel sales tax (according to the budget papers available at the City Clerk office). Assemblyman Adam Bradley reports to WPCNR should be enacted and signed by the Governor. The exact amount the hotel tax will raise, along with a 50% share of the city’s television cable fees will pick up maybe about $1 Million.


 


* They have raised $2.8 Million from the 6.5% tax increase.


 



  • They have taken a page out of the City School District Budget Playbook and agreed to issue $2 Million in bonds for unspecified court-ordered obligations, which could be certioraris, or the possible 3% labor settlement with the fire, police, CSEA and Teamsters which will be decided, according to the firefighters union by January.
  • They have saved $1.9  Million in job cuts, but it is unclear who or how many will go, that is being left up to the Commissioners of Departments. Two who will go are the Acting Budget Director, and one Parking Commissioner, according to the Council thinking as of last week. That may have changed.

 


This all creates $10.2 to $11 Million in savings, borrowing, tax increase and fees to avoid slashing the city “rainy day fund,” the undesignated fund balance, which WPCNR believes is being held at $11.2 Million. It does however set a precedent: borrowing to balance the budget, something White Plains has not done ever.

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