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 WHITE PLAINS AFTER DARK. By John Bailey. February 28, 2008: Ci Ci (Lael) Calloway, daughter of the jazz legend, Cab Calloway, performed an informal runthrough of a benefit show she will be performing in April at the North End Restaurant Thursday evening in prepartion for a gala benefit she will be staging there in April  to raise funds for the renovation and restoration  of her father’s home on Knollwood Road in Westchester.

Heidi-Heidi-Ho…once more. Cab Calloway’s daughter, Lael “Ci Ci” Calloway reprised her father’s old standards in a runthrough of a benefit for restoration of her father’s former home in Westchester.  She performed in the intimate North End Restaurant Thursday evening and intrigued hipsters with her father’s unique riffs that just get you moving.

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Ms.Calloway with a commanding voice and warmth towards the audience, performed her renditions of her father’s famous standards, “Tain’t Necessarily So,” and of course, “Heidi-Ho”  and others accompanied by video of her father performing in the past. The benefit  show featuring Ms. Calloway now in runthroughs, will be hosted by The North End on North Broadway in White Plains in April in an effort to turn the Calloway residence where she grew up into a museum. Ms. Calloway recalled for the audience the many famous names in music whom she met growing up as a child there, including Lena Horne and Duke Ellington.

PARTNERS:  Serena Russell, left, and Barbara Cantatore, owners of the North End with Ms. Calloway inbetween sets. Ms. Russell said the idea for the benefit came up in casual conversation with Ms. Calloway on a visit to the restaurant.

Serena Russell, partner in The North End, said the idea for the Calloway House Restoration Project”  benefit occurred when Ms. Calloway had dinner at the North End and struck up a conversation with Ms. Russell. Ms. Russell said she was very excited and behind the project of establishing the Knollwood Road residence place in America’s musical history.

Calloway’s voice filled up the room with its power, range and command, and brought back the toe-tapping “scat” style her father made famous. White Plains residents will be able to hear that never-to-be-forgotten style at her complete show in April in the uniquely intimate North End restaurant. For details on the benefit, contact the North End at 914-993-9333.

Ms. Calloway showed off her range in her breathy contralto.

Brenda Starr, left, and Serena Russell digging the scene.

Your peripathetic pavement pounding reporter notes that the North End bar could become a habit. The sea food fancier should try the oysters at the bar. They were terrific, big and juicy, plump, white, glistening. They were served arranged on their shells  which surrounded around a  festive red zesty, tasty, mouthwatering sliced red pepper dressing in the middle the oyster platter.

The sliced red pepper slaw taste intermezzo between  mouthfuls of oyster,  set the stage for each smooth luscious sliver of the monster oysters  to slide right down your throat. The unique idea of the red pepper slaw showcased the subtle sensuality of the oysters. The oysters from the North End Kitchen were detached but laying in the shell, too (how oysters should be served), so the go-down-easies  could be smoothly slid into the mouth without loss of any part of them. The reporter lost his objectivity and devoured most of the slaw when this shot was taken. Forgive me.

Ms. Calloway’s performance showed the North End could become a place to get into some good sophisticated jazz on a regular basis combined with, if the oysters are any indication — a place that unlike any music place I  have been in — serves great gourmet food. The North End’s chef is formerly the chef at the leading independent seafood restaurant in Philadelphia, The Striped Bass.

David Kurdys, the restaurant General Manager said  top chefs from New York and other cities are coming to White Plains because it was becoming much harder for chefs to own their own places in Manhattan because the real estate is so expensive. He said the chef wanting to make a name for himself has to get into a chain, working with corporate management. Once that name is made, he said, they like the idea of coming up to Westchester to have their own place. He said the food product comes from the Hudson Valley so it made sense for them to come on up here, and establish their own niche. 

He predicted the county would be seeing more name chefs coming up to Westchester in the future.  

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WPCNR ADAM IN ALBANY. From Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. February 28, 2008: Assemblyman Adam Bradley’s (D-White Plains) legislation renaming the state’s spinal cord injury research fund and board to honor late actor and activist, Christopher Reeve, passed the Assembly today. The legislation also creates a check off box on personal income tax forms for individuals to donate to the fund, without reducing their amount of tax due.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Board of Legislators. February 28, 2008: Federal lobbying will be the order of the day when Chairman Bill Ryan attends the annual Legislative Conference of the National Association of Counties (NACo) beginning on March 1^st. Ryan along with representatives from across the country will meet with federal officials to discuss issues confronting county government, including health care, transportation, public safety and housing, among other priorities.

Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, William Ryan. May, 2007.

During the conference, Ryan will meet as part of NACo’s 34-member Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) Steering Committee to which he was recently reappointed. LUCC members, collectively, represent 130 million people living in the 100 largest counties in the United States.

“As second vice president of the New York State Association of Counties, I recognize the tremendous importance of county government and the challenges we face in delivering needed high-quality services,” said Ryan, who was first appointed to the LUCC Steering Committee for 2006-2007.

Ryan will also be assuming another major responsibility as part of the NACo’s newly-formed County Hospital Task Force. He was appointed due to his involvement in saving the Westchester Medical Center from financial collapse and closure in 2004. Since then, Ryan has served as the only elected official on the Financial Improvement Committee (FIC), which implemented the successful turnaround plan and continues to guide the hospital.

“Pulling the medical center back from the brink of financial ruin, equipped me with first-hand knowledge on dealing with a health care facility in crisis,” Ryan said. “I am anxious to participate in the work of this important and timely hospital task force. I look forward to bringing valuable information home to Westchester for our consideration.”

As a part of the 10-member task force, Ryan will help promote NACo’s focus on the health care crisis and its impact on metropolitan counties. Members will discuss and share best practices and lessons learned in county hospital operations, identify common issues and, where appropriate, submit recommendations to the NACo Health Steering Committee regarding legislation.

The National Association of Counties is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Founded in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,066 counties.

The organization advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government,  improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Department of Communications. (EDITED) February 28, 2008: The Northern Westchester Watershed Committee released its Highway Deicing Task Force Report this month. The report documents existing conditions in the Croton Watershed, describes the environmental impacts of road salt and alternatives and provides strategies to decrease the use of road salt without sacrificing safety.

Some communities have already begun installing computerized salt monitors on their deincing equipment to limit the amount of salt and deicing chemicals that can work into the county watershed sources.    

“The health of our water bodies is of vital importance to Westchester,” said County Executive Andy Spano.  “This report shows us how to improve record-keeping on alt usage and how to protect our natural resources through best management practices.”

In 2006, Spano, the watershed committee and Alex Matthiessen, president of Riverkeeper, focused attention on the effect road salt can have on water quality. In response, this task force was created to protect natural resources while providing for the safety of the traveling public. The task force concluded that the general public lacks an understanding of the impact salt and other deicing chemicals have on water quality.

The report was distributed to municipalities, and some have already begun to implement recommendations.  For example, the towns of Somers and North Castle will be fitting equipment with computerized salt spreaders to monitor and control  the amount of salt spread on roads.

Funding for further implementation and possible expansion of the report will be discussed at future NWWC meetings.  The report is available online by clicking on the stormwater tab at http://www.westchestergov.com/planning/environmental/.  For more information, contact Christina Anderson, environmental planner, at (914) 995-3782 or cca1@westchestergov.com.

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WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK By Fastpitch Johnny. February 28, 2008: The New York Times sports section ran a column today – banner head – about softball and baseball being eliminated from the Olympics beginning in 2012. The column detailed the efforts of the USA Softball backed organization, Back Softball to lobby the International Olympic Committee “at the cost of millions of dollars” to lobby reinstate softball and baseball to the quadrennial games.

Connecticut Brakettes in NPF Playoff Action, 2006.

Well, it is about time The Times, which devotes reams of copy to bicycling, golf NASCAR, an amateur basketball team called the Knick-Knacks actually covered softball. Four years or so ago when the National Pro Fastpitch league had a very good professional fastpitch softball team in Montclair, the Juggernaut, The Times never covered their games, never included standings of the NPF in their records section and never listed them as a sporting event. When this reporter called the sports editor of the Times to ask why, I was told it was not a sport anyone was interested in.

The Times ignores the NPF completely.

Now that the interests and continued “power and influence” of  the USA Softball organization has been threatened by softball being booted out of the Olympics, now the Times and USA Softball is making an effort to enlist Times support.

It is a little late.  But as a father of a softball player and ice-skater, as a fan of the indefatigable pioneers of professional softball, the National Pro Fastpitch league, which has survived for about a decade now, thanks to their commitment, sweat and dedidcation of its athletes, I applaud Mr. Vecsey’s column.

However, he is overlooking the great disgrace of USA Softball – they exist only for themselves and the aggrandizement of their organization which has not pushed or promoted the development of professional softball. Sure, their Olympic stars of their softball team have served as role models, and growth of the sport, but that’s it!

USA Softball exists only to promote one team – Team USA for its promotional tours during the summers – and exerts a selfish and athlete-exploitative influence on softball.  The NCAA by contrast has groomed fastpitch softball, even to the point of getting ESPN to cover its finals.  The NCAA softball stance has made a great deal of difference in the growth of the game.

USA Softball for the last seven years has stood in the way of promoting a career in professional softball for its best players. USA Softball insists on interrupting the National Pro Fast Pitch season for their tryouts for the USA team, and world competitions (for just a handful of players they control). They take away the better stars from the National Pro Fastpitch teams for their exhibition tours of Team USA, and they refuse to “partner” in a growth-friendly way with the National Pro Fastpitch league.

Had USA Softball been really focused “on the kids” (as the old organization line goes), they would have supported NPF financially, become partners and aided the league by giving it USA Softball branding. But they have not done that. Living wage contracts for professional players in fastpitch softball in a league that would sustain itself and grow was not in the mission or interest in USA Softball, which is a disgrace and shows where the minds are on the folks who run USA Softball. It is all about them, and their control of the sport.

How can I make such a charge? USA Softball tried to start a competing tour with the NPF with a series of exhibitions in the last two years, competing with the NPF for players. It did not work out.

Mr. Vecsey’s column today notes how baseball has  developed the World Baseball Classic. Well, this is nice, but baseball is an established sport.

Frankly, considering the doping scandals and the judging scandals, the Olympics has lost a lot of luster and prestige. Who knows that we have even scratched the surface of Olympic competitive corruption?

The USA Softball organization has to get over the Olympics and stop exploiting softball players for their benefit, which is what they do.

USA needs to look for the long term future of softball. The professional league will not grow unless USA Softball supports it and gets over the Olympic fixation. USA needs to partner with the pro league and promote it fully with stars of whatever USA Team is put together being released to the pro league as a step up. Because, frankly any NPF team can beat the USA Team on any given day. The games are close. NPF teams are the best competition the USA Softball team faces.

Spending “millions” to get softball back into the Olympics is not the way to grow softball. Put the millions into the Pro Fast Pitch league, or merger with it and set up your own USA Softball League, incorporating the successful NPF towns: Akron, Chicago, Allentown, Washington, New England, and now Rockford.  

If USA Softball cared about building professional careers playing softball this is what they could do.

Now, to make a living in softball, once they are off the Olympic Team or out of college, great softball players have to play for semi-pro teams like the Stratford Brakettes, coach softball on the college or school levels, work in clinics, or if they are stars on the USA Team, sign endorsement deals and conduct clinics. They do it because that is the only way they continue playing and contributing to the sport they love.

If the Mets and the Yankees had really cared they would have helped the New York Juggernaut when they were playing out of Montclair, New Jersey.

But, no one cares about the girls in USA Softball or their futures or building a professional league – least of all The New York Times.

ESPN for example never even covers softball even when they are televising it! But plenty of coverage is given to poker and NASCAR.

So, can we expect a little more from the Times in covering National Pro Fastpitch teams this year, Mr. Vecsey? The Standings, maybe? A list of results each day? Batting leaders? Schedules?

Today the Times listed the results of the Dubai Tennis results; the Zagreb Indoors Tennis, the player transactions of Major League Soccer, the NBA, the NFL, and the NHL. Does anyone except the superfan read those?

In the new touchy feely era of saving softball, the least the Times can do is give the girls who play fastpitch for pay, and who are really building the sport by signing autographs after every game, making appearances in communities, and holding down full-time jobs in the off-season — some coverage.

You might give the Philadelphia Force a call, who begin play in June in the NPF and have developed a wonderful following out in Allentown, PA.  Contact them at 1-215-875-2800, and they will be overjoyed to give you a story about softball now, the state of pro softball, and how their players are pioneering the sport like the players in the old Negro Leagues did for fifty years.