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 VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By Bull Allen. July 26, 2008: It’s been two weeks now since Mount  Vernon football, basketball, baseball, track and all their other teams, learned that there will be no sports this year unless the $1.2 Million to run the sports program is raised privately.

Where are the New York megafranchises when you need them?

The New York Giants and Jets are building a new stadium. The Mets and Yankees are each building new stadiums. The Yankees are even getting a train station built for them. The Nets are getting a new arena in Brooklyn. The Devils have a new arena in Newark.  

Madison Square Garden (Cablevision-owned) mints money at the Garden and has delivered underachieving (out  in the first round, or bad intramural playground basketball for 12 years).

Where are these teams that ripoff the public with “mediocrity for more” (Giants excepted, but wait until they play the varsity schedule this year) ?

The Jets signed an untried player yester for $30 Million for 5 years. Come on. The Jets throwing around that kind of money – and they and the Giants can’t write Mount Vernon a $1.2 Million between them – before it’s too late?

The Giants are selling Season Seat Licenses — a disguised price increase.

The Steinbrenners, the Wilpons (who are very generous) could step up. Considering the money thrown at those two clubs for their stadiums (part of which they are paying for) But the football teams should.

Denzel Washington did.

The fact that none of New York’s sports teams has is a disgrace.

That Madison Square Garden isn’t even renting their ice to local hockey, figure skating and synchronized skating teams over in Greenburgh is another disgrace.

Fans should think twice before renewing season’s tickets and instead send the money to the Mount Vernon Educational Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 476, Fleetwood Station, Mount Vernon, NY 10552, write “Sports” on the memo section of the check.

Why should any fan care about all these sports clubs any more? They like nothing better than championing organized causes, they portrays them as “good citizens,” but – a simple act of contributing just a little to the community without expectation of getting something back is beneath them?

For that matter the National Football League, the NBA, and Major League Baseball itself could step up with a Million-‘Five. Considering the cost of the Super Bowl Party alone – a bacchanal of sickening proportions – the NFL should dig deep and be the first to step up.

Where’s a big play when you need one?

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COUNSEL, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, COMPLIANCE OFFICER (FRAUD)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Insurance as an employer that offers its employees a dynamic and friendly working environment, a stellar leadership team, and terrific employee benefits, including generous flexible hours scheduling and extensive leave benefits. 

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you and your membership, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Insurance as an employer that offers its employees a dynamic and friendly working environment, a stellar leadership team, and terrific employee benefits, including generous flexible hours scheduling and extensive leave benefits. 

The Division of Insurance is undertaking an effort to reach out to various community, educational and professional organizations with the aim of advertising our organization as one that is seriously interested in increasing recruitment results in diverse communities.  Our organization is especially interested in attracting qualified minority and women candidates for our management, legal, technical and professional positions.

Our agency is currently seeking qualified candidates for a number of positions, including a Counsel II, an Executive Secretary to the Board of Appeals and a Compliance Officer (Fraud Investigator).  These and other vacant positions are available at https://jobs.hrd.state.ma.us/recruit/public/3111/index.do.  Please provide this information to your constituencies.  If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Mary C. Carroll
Deputy Commissioner of Administration
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Division of Insurance
One South Station
Boston, MA 02110
Tel: 617-521-7362
Fax: 617-521-7717

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. From Pia Haas, Westchester Broadway Theatre (Edited) July 23, 2008: Listen up guys and dolls, WBT is doin a show, and what a show. This is Good News people!  In a summer where there has been no good news, this all changes on August 7 when WPCNR’s favorite movie, The Producers, and the stage hit of the same name opens up at Westchester Broadway Theatre for a three-month run.

“A little off the shoe tops, my good man, and make it snappy.”Bob Amaral as Everybody’s Favorite Producer, Max Bialystock with his haberdasher and everybody needs one. Mr. Amaral recreates the Nathan Lane role beginning August 7 at the Westchester Broadway Theatre.

The Producers , the smash musical opened at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001 and ran for 2,502 performances, closing on April 22, 2007. The show originally starred Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom. It won 12 Tony Awards, breaking the record held for 37 years by Hello, Dolly! which had won 10.  The Producers also broke the record for the largest single day box-office gross in theatre history, taking in more than $3.5 million. In 2005, the musical was adapted into a musical film, becoming a movie based on a musical based on a movie about a musical. It was directed by Susan Stroman starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprising their stage roles,

A gleefully vulgar play, The Producers is replete with “slapstick, corny jokes, Borscht Belt shtick, ethnic jokes, unsubtle dirty jokes, hummable melodies, opulent and entirely unmotivated musical numbers and vigorous tap dancing,”

The Play centers around Max Bialystock, played by Bob Amaral, a scheming, down-on-his luck theatrical producer, and Leo Bloom, with Joel Newsome, as  his mousy,  stage struck, accountant. It all starts when Leo points out that under the right circumstances, a producer could actually make more money with a flop than he can with a hit. “No profits” = “no need to pay off the backers”.  

The idea is hatched to find the worst play ever written, hire the worst director and the worst actors in New York,  raise two million dollars from little old ladies willing to invest in a play in return for a little affection,  and when the play closes on opening night,  run off to Rio with the money.  The chosen script, guaranteed to close in one night is “Springtime for Hitler, A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden,” written by a nutty neo-Nazi named Franz Liebkind.  Roger De Bris, the worst director in New York and a flamboyant homosexual to boot, agrees to do it, but only if the ending is changed so the Germans end up winning World War II!  The scheme seems surefire,  but anything can happen when the lights go up on Broadway!

The Producers  is adapted from Mel Brooks’ wacky 1968 film of the same name, which starred Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. The film was so brazen in its satire that the major studios wouldn’t touch it. Brooks finally found an independent distributor, which released it like an art film. The Producers went on to receive an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and became a smash underground hit   For The Musical, Brooks wrote music and lyrics for 17 new songs to go along with “Springtime for “Hitler and “Prisoner of Love” from his film score. Brooks asked his old friend, Glen Kelly to sign on as the musical arranger, and playwright, Thomas Meehan, who wrote the book for the musical, Annie,  to join him in writing the book for the stage. Tony  award winner, Susan Stroman, who worked on hits like Contact, Showboat, The Music Man, Crazy For You,  and Gypsy (here at WBT!), joined the creative team as director and choreographer.

BOB AMARAL returns to WBT in the role of everybody’s favorite producer, Max Bialystock. On Broadway:  Mr. Amaral has appeared in Lion King, Guys & Dolls, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  National Tours:  The Producers, Lion King, Annie Get Your Gun, and Wizard of Oz.Regional Theatre: Happy Days: A New Musical, Noises Off, Anything Goes, Triumph of Love, The Robber Bridegroom, Mike, Joseph.Dreamcoat, Good News, The Music Man, Guys & Dolls, and was Kromov in the S.F. Opera production of The Merry Widow.Television: Mad About You, N.Y.P.D. Blue, Babylon 5, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Any Day Now, Son of the Beach, My Two Dads, Major Dad, Empty Nest, Love & War, The Second Half, Brothers Keeper, and was Eddie Hayes in Rob Reiner’s Morton & Hayes.

JOEL NEWSOME  is the accountant, Leo Bloom  who returns to The Producers once more having performed the show on Broadway and on the National Tour. While on tour, Joel had the honor of playing Leo Bloom as well as Carmen Ghia. Other Broadway credits include the Tony winning revival of 42nd Street where he covered and performed the roles of Bert Barry and Andy Lee. Westchester audiences may remember Joel as Cosmo Brown in Singin’ in the Rain..

DAVID EDWARDS(Director) Appeared as both Max Bialystock and Roger DeBris in the First National Tour of THE PRODUCERS directed by Susan Stroman.  He has also directed the musical regionally, most recently at Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, New Jersey Westchester Broadway Theatre audiences will remember him as Don Quixote in MAN OF LA MANCHA, Albin in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, Scrooge in two different versions of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and most recently, in PHANTOM. 

TICKETS & INFORMATION

BOX OFF. RESERVATIONS          Call (914)-592-2222. Open every day at 10am.                   

                                                             Closing times vary, depending on show sched­ules.

GROUP RESERVATIONS:             Call 592-2225, Mon. thru Fri. 10am – 6pm

LUXURY BOXES:                            Call 592-8730, Mon. thru Fri. 10am – 4pm

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WPCNR Letter From Rio. By Captain Andy. July 22, 2008: John, well you wanted a report on the ground from your man in Rio. Here it is:

Rio from the Statue of Christ The Redeemer. Photo by Captain Andy. Used with permission.

Rio de Janeiro, Copacabana, Ipanima, the names are all so melodic, and cause  a flood of romantic notions to fill the mind.  So what is Rio really like?  Well here is the inside story. 

 A tour package was  arranged from Sao Paulo for three days in Rio.  Included were the hotel, and two days of a tour.  The description sounded just lovely.  A fellow would meet me at the airport, would transport me to the hotel.  The next  day I would join a tour of English speaking tourists all with an English  guide, opportunities to make friends and see a new city.  So far so good.  

So I arrive at the airport, and sure enough someone is there to greet me. But doesn’t speak a lick of English.  Go through the sign language, have no idea what this guy is trying to say.  After a long ride to the hotel, I find out that the only tour I will get is  on the last day. Hmmm.  Not what was booked.

Copacabana Beach.

So in the morning (not sure this is morning, kinda  still looks dark out  there)  I call the tour agency and ask about my tour.  Well it doesn’t start today.  But it could.  According to my schedule, it should. 

So  the fellow, his name is Costa tells me in broken English that they are doing a special tour for me at 2pm, and that I should be ready.  So I rent a bike and do some touring on my own, and at the prescribed hour, I show up in the hotel lobby. 

No special tour.  Costa shows up to tell me that the plan has changed, they now have a bus tour of people that I will be joining.  But they won’t be here for another 20 minutes.  In 20 minutes he tells me that the van broke down, and it will be more like 40 minutes.  So at around 3:15 a minivan shows up, packed with people to see the Christ statue.  But they need to make some additional stops at
other hotels to pick up more people.

Christ The Redeemer

View from the Redeemer

Suffice to say, this particular tour was called by Mr. Costa about 15 minutes before I was picked up.  It was full of Portuguese and Spanish speakers, no Englasia. The van had no air conditioning, but it did have convenient dark windows, so you couldn’t see anything outside.   And afterward, I was charged an additional $36 Reias for this tour.

In other words, Rio is like a cross between the Jersey Shore and Juarez Mexico.  Everyone here is out to separate you from your money.  I had been told not to wander about, and to leave all valuables in the hotel. 

Rio Street Scene

Now I know why.  There is everything from street beggars, to sidewalk sales people to the more sophisticated marketing by H.Stern, the jeweler here, who provides “free trips” to his headquarters to see how jewelry is manufactured. Of course you get a discount if you buy, and it is tax
free.  Everything here is a hustle.  Ask the hotel for an English speaking restaurant.  They give you a voucher with names to ask for, and when you get to the restaurant, there  isn’t going to be a soul who can speak one word of anything intelligible.

I understand there are English speaking hotels here, so naturally I booked through Sao Paulo, all in Portuguese.  No wonder this is working out so well…

So far, it is a barrel of laughs, but I am trying to rest a bit, which is fortunate, since I have
some down time for a day or so.

Hope politics are going well in White Plains.  Your man on the ground in Rio is signing off for now.  Stay tuned for further developments which will be broadcast as they occur.

Sunset on Rio Beach

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WPCNR TAXI STAND. July 21, 2008: The Mayor’s Office released a statement addressing issues brought to the attention by the union organization meeting held Saturday morning in Delfino Park reported on by WPCNR. Melissa Lopez of the Mayor’s Office issued a statement today saying the Taxi Advisory Committee  criticised Saturday for delay in addressing taxi drivers’ issue would be issuing a report shortly. Significant in the statement is an indication that fares would be increased if taxi ambience and protocols were upgraded on part of the drivers.

Here is the statement from Melissa Lopez of  the Mayor’s Office: