Yonkers Tribune

White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley On the Level with Narog and Aris

New Rochelle, NY --   There are so many issues that have come to light over the past week, that Richard Narog and Hezi Aris will open the February 1st show with a quick summary of the events that transpired. After the 10:20 am break, we will focus our attention toward White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley until 11:00 am, when the show ends on WVOX-1460 AM on your radio dial and worldwide on www.WVOX.com. Joining the panel will be The Westchester Guardian reporter Nancy King. The Westchester Guardian Publisher Sam Zherka will come before the microphone on  February 8th, and a mystery guest, certain to exhibit a minimum of four to eight personalities during a one hour show on February 15th is certain to have everyone in stitches.

The Hezitorial: IG Schorr’s Report on Parking Facility Services Rendered without Payment in Favor of Majority Leader McDow Relegated to Review by Yonkers Board of Ethics By Hezi Aris

Download Councilwoman Pat McDow and YPA - Ethics Board Referral

It was in May of 2010 that the Yonkers Tribune, tipped off to the many years Yonkers City Council Majority Leader Pat McDow utilized a parking spot to store her unregistered, unlicensed BMW at no cost, requested an accounting of her conduct. An acid-tongued blogger tipped us off. Thank you again. It took months for the Yonkers Parking Authority to reveal in their response that they were unaware of the non-payment for services rendered. The Chairman of the Yonkers Parking Authority is Yonkers Deputy Mayor William “Bill” Regan. Today, January 31, 2011, Yonkers Inspector General Dan Schorr made his finding known. The preeminent ethicist within our borders, deflected the political hot potato to the Yonkers Board of Ethics to relegate final judgment over the matter. I.G. Schorr’s action exemplifies his ineptitude as Yonkers Inspector General. Mr Schorr futher reveals his lack of will and intestinal fortitude to right the wrongs permitted under the Amicone / Regan Administration to which he has become their overpaid “boy.” Mr Schorr earns $200,000 per annum inclusive of benefits.

Ed Koch Commentary: The Muslim World is On Fire By Ed Koch

Next week, I will be taking a 2-week vacation.  My commentary and film reviews will not be arriving until I return.  It is my first extended vacation in years.  Hopefully, I will return reinvigorated.

The Muslim world is on fire.  Mobs are filling the streets of Cairo;  the people of Tunisia have forced out its dictatorial president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali; and in Lebanon, Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, has been responsible for the fall of the government led by Saad Hariri, son of a former prime minister who was murdered by a huge car bomb.  Syria and Hezbollah are suspected of committing the terrorist act.  Hezbollah now is the major supporter of the new prime minister, Najib Mikati. 

Westchester Guardian Reports: Yonkers City Council Meeting of January 25, 2011 By Martin McGloin

 

Jackson List: Tonight on PBS, Chautauqua Institution By Prof. John Q. Barrett

Chautauqua Institution is a beautiful lakeside Victorian village/campus located in the southwestern corner of New York State.  During its summer season, Chautauqua is the site of intellectual and cultural programming of all types.  Many prominent Americans and others in every field of endeavor have appeared before Chautauqua’s special audiences in its gorgeous venues.

Eye On Theatre: Molly Sweeney By John Simon

Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney, revived by The Irish Repertory Company, is a terrifyingly beautiful play. What Yeats wrote, in the very different context of the Easter Rebellion, “a terrible beauty is born,” nevertheless applies here too. Friel is one of Ireland’s—indeed the world’s—great dramatists, and this is one of his best plays.

It is the story of Molly Sweeney, a 41-year-old middle-class wife in Ballybeg, County Donegal (a small town Friel invented), who became blind in her tenth month. But her quixotic husband, Frank, insists that she would recover, although there have been only twenty such cures recorded in history.

The Hezitorial: Political Agendas Dissolve Choice and Gut Freedom By Hezi Aris

The lands are ancient; steeped in history, religion, civilization, and social impact. It is among those lands that my parents chose to have children. I am one of their progeny. Many years after that birth, recently celebrated 61 years later, my focus has attended to Yonkers. Still the connections across the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea tug as tightly as ever. The self-immolation by Mohammed Bouaziz in the city of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, on December 17, 2010, was emblematic of the frustration of the unemployed university graduate who came to symbolize government abuse, lack of economic opportunity, and little choice that took place in Tunisia.  Bouaziz’s final protest over the  official harassment of his street-side produce business was the catalyst that has since embroiled the en
tire Middle East, from Morocco to Yemen. As distanced as we may believe we are from the desperation our Arab brethren, whether Coptic Christian, Zoroatrian, Bahai, or other faith have endured, we are not that far removed.

Budget and Municipal Operations Committees Scheduled

The public is advised of a joint meeting of the Budget and Municipal Operations Committees scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 5:30PM in the Yonkers City Hall Council Chambers, 4th Floor. 

The following items will be on the Agenda: 

DEIS Notice of Completion for the Proposed Buena Vista / Teutonia Project

Yonkers, NY, 29 January 2011 -- Attached is an amended DEIS Notice of Completion for the proposed Buena Vista / Teutonia Project.  The public hearing was previously scheduled for January 12, 2011 but had to be cancelled due to inclement weather.  This is a revised notice reflecting a new public hearing date of February 9, 2011.  The written comment period also has a revised date of February 25, 2011.

Download DEIS Completion and Public Hearing Notice SECOND REVISED WITH NEW DATE

Breaking News: State Legislature Puts $36.3 Million Back In to Yonkers Public Schools’ Budget

Fulfills Promise Given by Yonkers State Delegation

Albany,  NY, 28 January 2011  -- The City of Yonkers' State Delegation announced the passage of S. 2026/ A. 2289 in the Senate and Assembly this week, which allows the Yonkers Public Schools access to $36.3 million in this fiscal year. The legislation extends several provisions of a budget bill that was vetoed by Governor David Paterson in July of 2010. The veto put $36.3 million out of reach for the Yonkers Public Schools, which threatened to eliminate pre-kindergarten, transportation and other school programs in the City of Yonkers. 

DiNapoli Proposes Pension Forfeiture Bill

Calls for Severe Penalties for Abuse of Public Trust

Public officials stand to lose pension benefits if they commit a felony related to the performance of their duties under a bill proposed today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. DiNapoli’s bill also imposes a penalty up to twice the amount a public official benefitted from the commission of a crime committed in the course of his or her public duty.

In Memoriam: Hon. Guy Velella Dies

The Bronx, NY -- Former Bronx State Senator Guy Velella died yesterday, January 26, 2011, at the age of 66 after a painful batttle with lung cancer. He served over three decades in the state Legislature.

Senator Jeff Klein said, “Senator Velella will be remembered in my district for his dedication and service to the community. I’m a Democrat and he was a Republican. But, when it came to our mutual constituents, we worked together and never let partisanship trump people. My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Velella’s family during this difficult time.”

Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson said, "Senator Guy J. Velella will truly be missed.  For the 28 years that he represented the residents of The Bronx and Westchester County, Senator Velella was a tenacious advocate for his constituents, and his activism extended far beyond those two counties.  He fought for all New Yorkers.

"During my terms as Councilwoman in the City of Mount Vernon, Senator Guy Velella was our representative.  There were many times when we worked closely together, and the advice and guidance that he provided to me was invaluable, especially when I was elected to the Senate.  Political differences were not of the utmost importance – serving our constituents was what mattered most.  He showed me the ropes and was not only a colleague, but also, a friend.

"I would like to extend my sincerest sympathies to his family members, and let them know that the legacy he left will be remembered far into the future."

 

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Current Commentary: Paying People Not To Work By Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFP®

To economists and the business-savvy elements of the public, the recent recession is history. But some who lost their jobs more than a year ago are still sitting at home — and getting paid to do so.

In 25 states workers are able to collect unemployment benefits for 99 weeks, thanks to emergency measures enacted by Washington after the widespread layoffs and job losses in 2008 and 2009. Ordinarily, unemployed workers receive only 26 weeks of state-paid support.