Yonkers Tribune

Op-Ed: The Drudge Distort By MATT BARBER

 

You’re being manipulated. A well respected, highly influential news source has cast aside all journalistic integrity to shill for the liberal, GOP establishment candidate in this presidential race.

The New York Times, you say? MSNBC? The Washington Post? No. We all gave up on those “progressive” rags a long time ago.

Regrettably, the latest media outlet to assume a decidedly yellow hue during this heated primary cycle is the Drudge Report. It pains me to even write this. Drudge has always been both my first and last internet news stops of the day.

Joe and Josephine Citizen: My Endorsement of the Candidacy of Newt Gingrich By CARL PALADINO

 

Hey America.  Do you feel confused;  an uneasiness in your gut?  You can’t put your finger on why but for the first time in your life you actually fear the future. 

 

It’s good you are upset.  It’s called opportunity.  Engage!  Speak!  Don’t trust that someone else will do it.  In 21^st century politics you are played by the pros.  That’s why they make the big bucks.  It’s a science.  You are being socialized-- stripped of your dignity and security.  The middle class is being marginalized.   Wealthy power brokers complicit with Barak Obama are redistributing the wealth you earned.  The sub-prime crises and the Fed’s printing of money to buy our own bonds and pay our deficit has been a major redistribution of your wealth. 

Yonkers' Shortchanged Education System By Kelly Chiarella

This Op-Ed is intended to make sure that every Yonkers citizen is informed about the devastation that has occurred in our schools and is now about to be made much, much worse.  Yonkers Public Schools is looking at an 87 million dollar deficit for the 2011 – 2012 school year if our state and city legislators do not address our funding issues.- not 64 million as the mayor had stated. The disparity in state funding and the freeze in education aide does not address our increased enrollment, continues to include unfunded mandates, does not address the reimbursement rate for Prekindergarten, creates an inequality with neighboring towns, and continues to shortchange the Yonkers education system. The city’s lack of commitment to properly fund the education of each child adds to the reason for this deficit.

The Latest Terrorist Tactic: Litigation By Daniel Huff

On December 29, Scandinavian authorities arrested five terrorists planning an attack in Denmark. Almost as interesting as what they targeted is what they spared and the lessons it holds for future counterterrorism efforts.

The plot was to storm the Copenhagen newsroom of Jyllands Posten and murder its staff. It was the fourth attempt this year by Islamic extremists to punish the newspaper that published the Mohammed cartoons. But the terrorists are guilty of selective prosecution. They have yet to strike Politiken, which also published the cartoons, even though its offices are literally next door.

Firefighters: The Nan-e-torial By Nancy King

I have never written an editorial before and usually leave the task to Hezi Aris to cover under his Hezitorial column.  However the events of the last three days have prompted me to write my own Nan-e-torial.   Friday January 7, 2011, Rafael Roldan pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the death of Yonkers Firefighter Patrick Joyce and guilty to assault charges against Lt. Joe Murray and Firefighter William Kanych.  As a result of his plea deal, Roldan will receive a sentence of 20 years to life. Is that a good thing?  I suppose the fact that the jury and the family will be spared re-living the horror and the loss that occurred on October 2, 2009, is a good thing but it still doesn’t resurrect Patrick Joyce. But sadly enough, by the end of that day, I had received word that another media outlet was seeking the pictures of Mr. Joyce’s moment of death. It was also reported to me that this outlet was prepared to pay money for these photographs.  Obviously these were evidentiary photos that were to be introduced at the trial. and obviously, those photographs were more than likely taken by members of the Yonkers Fire Department when they were conducting their own internal investigation of a “job” that took the life of a member of their own department.

Murtagh's Press Conference By Joan Gronowski

"Yonkers Councilmember John Murtagh recently held a press conference to call for the Yonkers City Council to take a voluntary 5% salary cut, further boasting that he took a 10% cut in salary last year.   Although I cannot answer for my colleagues, I, myself, was not invited to this press event.  Moreover, Mr. Murtagh mentioned nothing of this concept to me during our city council committee meeting the evening before. 

"As Minority Leader, Mr. Murtagh was entitled to an additional stipend which he apparently declined to accept.  However, he did accept an additional staff person – also a “perk” for the Minority Leader – a fact that Mr. Murtagh has seemingly failed to address in his press release praising his frugality.  This second staff position went unfilled during the time I served on the City Council with the former Minority Leader, Councilmember Liam McLaughlin.  Yet, Mr. Murtagh, in the year prior to his conjectured run for mayor, and at a time when Yonkers faced one of its most financially damaging budget periods – decided to increase his staff.  While we were faced with once-a-week garbage collections, loss of firefighters and decreased police presence, Mr. Murtagh took on an additional staff member.  

Thoughts About The Season By Michael Edelman, Sam Zherka, and Hezi Aris

In this joyous holiday season with the New Year’s festivities only days away, it would seem to  behoove us to reflect on the greatness of our nation and what made it become a beacon of freedom throughout the world. In other words, although We may disagree with each other on various policies and ideologies, we all recognize that what makes Us the United States of America is an abiding respect for our differences. Unfortunately this last campaignseason saw a candidate nominated for a congressional seat in Westchester County whose writings and stated views contradict just about everything that brings us together.  After the Republican party’s first choice unexpectedly dropped out, Jim Russell offered to run against incumbent Congresswoman Nita Lowey. Having run and lost to her before, maybe it seemed like a good idea but it became immediately apparent that the choice was worse than a poor one. 

Eminent Domain Hurts Our Most Vulnerable Citizens By John Murtagh

The Westchester County Legislature is presently considering a law to curb the use of taxpayer money in cases where wealthy developers try to get the government to use the power of "Eminent Domain" to take private property for new development.  The County Board should pass this law quickly and local legislatures like our own City Council should do the same.

In a nutshell, the so-called power of "eminent domain" allows the government to take private land if it is necessary for a public purpose.  The landowner has to be compensated, but that is no comfort to a landowner who does not want to sell in the first place. Traditionally, a "public purpose" was understood to mean things like building roads, schools or hospitals that clearly had a necessary public purpose. In recent years, however, the term has been twisted to allow the government to take land from one private owner and turn it over to another, usually a wealthy and politically connected developer.  The required "public purpose" is usually justified by claiming that the new development will generate more taxes and jobs. Unfortunately, this entire process has led to widespread abuse.

Gangs: A Serious and Constant Threat to the Quality of Life in Our Communities BY ANTHONY C. MITCHELL

 The Westchester Chapter of the National Black Police Association, is an organization concerned about the well being of the citizens in our community of Westchester and the State of New York, with that being stated, we believe that gangs are a serious and constant threat to the quality of life in our communities and the safety our children and families.We feel it is time that our political leaders and legislators develop legislation to address the issue of gangs and gang violence. Gangs have destroyed the social fabric of our communities not just here in Westchester, New York, but across the country.

Setting the Record Straight BY ROGER VITOLO

Yonkers Firefighters Memorial

As a firefighter for the City of Yonkers, I feel a need to set the record straight. There has been a lot of talk in the press and from political hopefuls about payroll abuse of civil service workers, and “pension padding”. Sensational headlines like to point out civil service personnel, particularly emergency service workers, earning high salaries. If a firefighter or police officer earns well above their base salaries, you can be sure of one thing – he or she worked their rear end off doing it. No one is being paid any money that they are not earning. Overtime is necessary because there are not enough regularly scheduled members to do the work that needs to be done to keep the public safe. How overtime is dispersed among members of the department is of no cost to the City. When overtime must be worked, it is of no financial consequence when some members work more overtime than others. Whether all overtime is worked by one individual, or it is spread out among the entire department, the net cost to the city remains the same. Most often, those members who are pointed out as being paid high salaries are willing to work whenever they are needed, and do whatever work needs to be done. They spend countless hours away from their families, working graveyard shifts on holidays, or taking traffic details that no one else wants, just to try and make a better life. Their reward for such diligence is being vilified in the press and by politicians for abusing the system. 

Opponents of Microstamping = Puppets of the Gun Lobby BY JACKIE HILLY

New York Senators Skelos, Golden, Hannon, Fuschillo, Lanza, Valesky, Stachowski, and Aubertine All Say YES to the NRA and NO to Police on Microstamping: Playing Politics Over Public Safety

Law enforcement throughout the State were set back by the New York State Senate's failure to pass Microstamping legislation and their refusal to protect neighborhoods and communities across the State. New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV) urges all Senators from the State to enact Microstamping into law this session. This common-sense legislation was rejected by Senators acting as puppets of the gun lobby who have turned their backs on tens of thousands of New York's finest police officers and the citizens of New York.

New York Post Editorial Asserts Yonkers is the Athens of America

May 24, 2010, New York, NY -- What follows is the editorial published by the New York Post on May 22, 2010: 

Maybe Yonkers should change its name to Greece. Indeed, if you read yesterday's [“Padded Pensions Add to New York Fiscal Woes" By Mary Williams Walsh and Amy Schoenfeld] front-page New York Times story about Yonkers municipal pensions, you might think Yonkers is Greece.

Gubernatorial Candidate Redlich On the Level on WVOX-1460 AM

  New Rochelle, NY -- Gubernatorial candidate Warren Redlich will speak to On the Level hosts Richard Narog and Hezi Aris from 10 am through 11 am, this Tuesday, April 27, 2010, on WVOX-1460 AM on your radio dial and via Internet audio streaming technology at www.WVOX.com. Yonkers PBA President Keith Olson will open the show.

County Cutbacks Urgently Needed By Mary C. Marvin

 I want to commend the new Westchester County executive, Rob Astorino, for having the backbone and moral courage to confront the employee health-care issue. It is about time. Every employee in the public or private sector must be realistic and accept the new and permanent economic reality. The current health-care benefits paradigm is unsustainable and will ultimately bankrupt our county and local municipalities. Our Village of Bronxville, with the cooperation and foresight of all of our union and nonunion personnel, now has a substantial health-care contribution giveback by active employees and an even larger one for retirees. Our actions mirror what is happening in all businesses in the private sector.

Democrats Should Stop Saying "No!" to 15% Contribution Plan By County Legislators Jim Maisano, Gordon Burrows, Bernice Spreckman & John Testa

    Re "Lawmakers must end delay," Tuesday editorial:

The Republican members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators applaud the recent columns by the Editorial Board and Phil Reisman calling for immediate passage of County Executive Rob Astorino's proposal for 400 nonunion county employees to start contributing 15 percent to the cost of their health-care benefits. We also appreciate that the board's Democratic leadership was challenged for their delays and roadblocks on this important legislation.