Westchester Guardian

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

PERMIT #3036WHITE PLAINS NY

Westchester’s Most Influential WeeklyVol. V No. XXVIII Thursday, July 21, 2011

westchesterguardian.com

The Place to “Bee” in BedfordPage 4

Three KingsPage 7

Heroic HairPage 8

International Opera FestivalPage 9

GOP Slate in White Plains

2

Cuomo’s Gay CashPage 15

Piigs and PresstitutesPage 18

Men’s Homeless Shelter

Page 5Medicare

and

MedicaidAre Being

AbandonedBy President Obama and Both Political

Parties

By Ed Koch, Page 16

www.westchesterguardian.com

The WesTchesTer GuardIaN ThursdaY, JuLY 21, 2011

westchesterguard ian .com

Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly

Guardian News Corp. P.O. Box 8

New Rochelle, New York 10801

Sam Zherka , Publisher & President [email protected]

Hezi Aris, Editor-in-Chief & Vice President [email protected]

Advertising: (914) 562-0834 News and Photos: (914) 562-0834

Fax: (914) 633-0806

Published online every Monday

Print edition distributed Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

Graphic Design: Watterson Studios, Inc. wattersonstudios.co

Of Significance

Feature Section ...........................................................................2humor .....................................................................................2

Community Section ...................................................................3Northern Westchester .............................................................3Business ....................................................................................4community development ......................................................5Finances ...................................................................................6The spoof ................................................................................7Music .......................................................................................7eye On Theatre .......................................................................8Travel/sounds of Music ..........................................................9

Government Section ...............................................................11Mayor Marvin .......................................................................11campaign Tail .......................................................................12albany correspondent ..........................................................14

OpEd Section ...........................................................................15Letters to the editor ..............................................................15ed Koch commentary ..........................................................16Trend alert ............................................................................18

Legal Notices ............................................................................19

Featuresection

On the Level with Narog and ArisNeW rOcheLLe, NY – richard Narog and hezi aris go at it on

every imaginable topic this week. The co-hosts welcome your participation this Tuesday, July 19, 2011, and every week for that matter, on the On the Level radio show heard on the WVOX-1460 aM radio dial and on audio and visual streaming technology worldwide at www.WVOX.com from 10 – 11 a.m.

For those who live and breathe radio and politics, listen to hezi aris on Good Morning Westchester with Bob Marrone when he and host Bob Marrone discuss all things Westchester at 7: 37 a.m every Wednesday. Listeners and readers are invited to send a question to the co-hosts by directing email to [email protected] for possible use prior to any shows’ airing and even during the course of an interview.

RADIO

HUMOR

Put downs are not jokes in the purest sense of the word. Instead, they are caustic remarks made about

someone else, and are best said guardedly. They are recorded here with no estimate of the frequency of their use--or overuse:

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Not the sharpest tool in the toolbox.Not the brightest penny in the purse.Not the brightest bulb on the tree.One sandwich short of a picnic.One brick short of a load.One egg short of an omelet.One pickle short of a barrel.One Froot Loop short of a full box.You’ve heard of one brick short of a load? he’s

one load short of a load.* * *If brains were dynamite, he wouldn’t have

enough to sneeze.If brains were money, he couldn’t change a nickel.If brains were taxed, he would get a refund.If brains were lead, his would blow away.If brains were wood, his pet termite would starve.If brains were muscles, 98-pound weaklings

would be kicking sand in his face.If brains were gold, he wouldn’t have enough to

fill a tooth--on a mouse.doesn’t have his belt through all the loops.doesn’t have the brainpower to toast a crouton.doesn’t have all his dogs on the same leash.* * *The wheel’s spinning, but the hamster’s asleep.The gates are down the lights are flashing, but

the train just isn’t coming.The light is on, but nobody is home.The elevator doesn’t go to the top floor.The last 10 pages are blank.he’s the last one out of the starting gate.

does the work of three men: Larry, Moe and curly.

Put a quarter in a parking meter and waited for a gumball to come out.

Got fired by M&M for throwing away all the W’s.

called information to get the number for 911.* * *.donated his brain to science before he was done

using it.donated his brain to science; science sent it back.donated his brain to science; science is contesting

the will.donated his brain to science; they thought it was

a new strain of bacterium.When they handed out brains, he thought they

said drains and didn’t want one.has a brand new brain; it’s never been used.half his brain is missing; the other half is out

looking for it.a perfectly good brain is going unused.When he shakes his head you can hear his brain

rattle like a pebble in a tin can. * * *sharp as a blimp.Got an IQ that’s just about room temperature-

-on the centigrade scale.so dense, light bends around him.There’s nothing in the attic but cobwebs.If you gave him a penny for his thoughts, you’d

get change.The brightness knob is set at low.On the road of life he’s the one going the other

way.his ignorance is exceeded only by his stupidity. his shoe size, his hat size and his IQ are all the

same number.It’s a compliment to say he’s below average.

Continued on page 3

The Anatomy of Humor: Insult JokesBy The Westchester Jokester


www.wattersonstudios.com

www.WVOX.com


communitysection

HUMOR

CALENDAR

Continued from page 2Thinks red china refers to tableware.Thinks Latin americans speak Latin.could get lost in an empty closet.Not just a has-been, but also a won’t be.started at the bottom and went downhill

from there.hates the cotton in pill bottles; it’s so

hard to swallow. Often gets lost in thought; it’s unfamiliar

territory.If you put your ear to his head, you can

hear the ocean.six of his teachers filed a lawsuit against

his parents. Ordered a cheeseburger and added,

“hold the cheese.”a variant of the insult joke is the Yo

Momma joke, which has its cultural roots in “the dozens,” a West african oral tradition in which two individuals exchange taunts or ribald insults. The verbal sparring, typically directed at an opponent’s mother or other family member, continues until one contes-tant is unable to offer a comeback.

This format appears in other cultures outside the african community. In Britain, for example, the analogous usage is “Your Mum.”

The term “the dozens” is believed to have originated in the practice of selling by the dozen those Negro slaves who were maimed, infirm or too old and past their prime for useful work.

Yo Momma jokes became so popular they were used as the basis for a series that premiered on MTV in 2006 as

no-holds-barred competitions produced and hosted by Wilmer Valderrama. From Monday to Thursday, the show pitted the toughest trash-talkers against one another. contestants battled it out in front of a rowdy live audience of their peers. These episodes served to resolve a territorial rivalry, each side being represented by a team of trash-talkers. The four winners then came back on Friday for a Best of the Week show.

here are some examples of the Yo Momma genre of insult humor:

Yo momma so fat, when she steps on a scale, it reads, “One at a time, please.”

Yo momma so fat when she turns around, people give her a welcome-back party

Yo momma so fat, when her beeper goes off, people think she’s backing up.

Yo momma so fat, when she ordered a My size Meal at Mcdonald’s they gave her the key to the store.

Yo momma so stupid she got locked in a grocery store and starved.

Yo momma so stupid she went to disney World and saw a sign that said disney World--Left, so she went home.

Yo momma so ugly, when I took her to the zoo the guy at the door said, ‘Thanks for bringing her back.”

Yo momma so ugly the government moved halloween to her birthday.

Yo momma’s teeth so yellow, traffic slows down when she smiles.

The Westchester Jokester mines his voluminous collection of humor each week in the pages of The Westchester Guardian.

The Anatomy of Humor: Insult Jokes

This summer is sure flying by fast, so take a moment to grab a lounge chair, lie in a hammock or sit on your front porch

with a nice read, and what better read is there than this week’s “News and Notes…”

Three cheers for our friend Jon Ford as he and his strikedowncancer.org team raised around $5,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation ride for Kids at the Grand Prix New York in Mount Kisco. We had Jon on our radio show “The clubhouse”

a few days before the event, he was full of pride and energy then and we salute his hard work, way to go Jon!

and speaking of “clubhouse” guests, congratulations to our buddy Greg Bisconti from south salem as he just won the Westchester Golf association championship. Greg is the assistant pro at st. andrew’s.

after you have seen the final install-ment of the harry Potter series in theaters for the third time in four days, and you

Continued on page 4

News & Notes from Northern WestchesterBy MARK JEFFERS


PAGE 20 THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010

LEGAL NOTICES

Mission Statement� e Westchester Guardian is a weekly newspaper devot-

ed to the unbiased reporting of events and developments that are newsworthy and signi� cant to readers living in, and/or employed in, Westchester County. � e Guardian

will strive to report fairly, and objectively, reliable informa-tion without favor or compromise. Our � rst duty will be to the PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW, by the exposure of truth, without fear or hesitation, no matter where the pursuit may lead, in the � nest tradition of FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

� e Guardian will cover news and events relevant to residents and businesses all over Westchester County. As a weekly, rather than focusing on the immediacy of delivery more associated with daily journals, we will instead seek to

provide the broader, more comprehensive, chronological step-by-step ac-counting of events, enlightened with analysis, where appropriate.

From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where, why, and how, the why and how will drive our pursuit. We will use our more abundant time, and our resources, to get past the initial ‘spin’ and ‘damage control’ o en characteristic of immediate news releases, to reach the very heart of the matter: the truth. We will take our readers to a point of under-standing and insight which cannot be obtained elsewhere.

To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not neces-sarily better. And, furthermore, we will acknowledge that we cannot be all things to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentation of relevant, hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features and columns useful in daily living and employment in, and around, the county. We must stay trim and � exible if we are to succeed.

EmploymentExp’d drivers wanted. CDL & TLC Lic. needed.

914.663.1006 For Rent

OFFICE SPACE FOR RENTPrime Ossining loc - Rt. 9.950 sq. ft. & 500 sq. ft.

917.363.4366

Real EstateINVESTMENT

PROPERTY UNIMPROVEDMount Vernon - Commercial bldg lot, 9500 sq. ft. Corner bldg. Apts with stores. Must sell. $875K. Make offer.

914.632.1230

CLASSIFIED

BUSINESS

BUSINESS

Looking to the lessons of his so-called co-workers, d.J. haverkamp of Bedford realizes how far humanity could go if we only figured out how to work together. “It’s all for the greater good,” he says of Bee activity, and since our fortunes are so inti-mately tied to them, he’s doing what he can to strengthen their stock as a local beekeeper

“We set up honeybee colonies at people’s homes,” says this proprietor of The Bedford Bee.

With about 40 customers in the area, he buzzes in throughout the summer to maintain each hive. This means making sure the emergence of a new queen

The Place to “Bee” in BedfordBy RICH MONETTI

Continued from page 3still cannot seem to get the desire of flying around on a broomstick out of your system, check out the Quiddich exhibition Match on Monday July 25th hosted by the Bedford hills Free Library. This muggle friendly game will take place at 4pm on the Bedford hills elementary school field. For the exhi-bition purposes of the match, the playing teams will be the Bedford hills Blast-ended skrewts against the Mt. Kisco Manticores. Both teams will be made up of local high school and college students familiar with the game. There will also be a bake sale and donation table for visitors to help raise needed funds for the library. everyone is encouraged to come in some form of costume; I will obviously be a member of the Weasley family! For more information, contact the Library at 914-666-6472.

If flying around on a broomstick is not

your thing, there is a concert taking place in the sculpture Garden of the Katonah Museum of art beginning at 6:30pm hosted by legendary guitarist John scofield and featuring three talented musicians in the bebop and free jazz genres. For more information visit the Katonah Museum of art’s website.

dog and animal lovers of all kinds should attend an inspiring talk given by William Berloni at the Wolf conservation center in south salem on July 23rd from 1pm to 3pm. For more than 30 years, William Berloni and his company have been training animals for the stage. Mostly rescued from shelters, he prepares them for a life in the limelight. Pre-registration is required and the cost is $15 per person.

as the hot summer days continue on, I recommend you all check out the local farmers markets and bite into fresh and

juicy fruits and vegetables! If you are not sure where to look, try the chappaqua Train station, every saturday morning. There is a lot of free parking and after you shop around for fresh food you can always wander around downtown chappaqua, what a great way to spend a nice morning outside.

If Jazz is your thing, then you don’t want to miss the 5th annual Peekskill Jazz and Blues Festival on July 30th. This year’s cool lineup features Grammy-nominated Latin curtis Brothers Quartet and the award winning Tommy castro Band among others.

On July 27th the Bedford Village Memorial Pool is holding Making Waves, a high tech application of light and sound, and I thought it was going to be a huge splash party…

Good luck to Katonah author esmeralda santiago as she has just released her latest historical novel, “conquistadora.” she is heading down to her native Puerto

rico for a book tour. “The Leatherman show,” no, I didn’t

say “Letterman show,” even though dave’s band leader Paul schaeffer lives in the area, runs through september 3rd at the Pound ridge Library with artist susan Mccaslin and author dan de Luca, for details call 914-764-5085.

and don’t forget the spectactcular Peekskill celebration. This grand event has fireworks, festival food and local talent…sounds like a normal saturday night at my house. This year they’re adding hot-air balloon rides, I know I all ready have enough hot air, but this sure sounds like a lot of fun, call 914-736-2000 for more information.

happy Birthday to my youngest daughter claire, as she celebrates her birthday this week in high fashion seeing “harry Potter” for the 12th time, we hope we see you next week as well…

News & Notes from Northern Westchester

doesn’t have the hive swarming off to a new location, keeping diseases in check and harvesting honey at the end of summer.

But bees don’t hibernate or fly south for the winter so he has to make sure they have enough honey to weather the cold. “carrying the bees through the winter is the hardest part,” says haverkamp.

Not so easy either is figuring out the mystery behind the worldwide decline of the honeybee. On the other hand, the source of what’s called colony collapse disorder isn’t hard to find. “We as humans are just pushing the bees to their limit,” he says.

he points first to the role of industrialized beekeepers. Not breeding them for their honey making capabilities, beekeepers today are mostly in business to provide farmers with pollinators. This means crating bees up and shipping them across the country. “It puts a lot of stress on the bees,” he says.

Tied to that is the overall dwindling number of beekeepers. as a result, the diversity among bees is in decline. The genetics of our bees are becoming very similar and that means they all suffer in the long run, he says.

so, of course, what he’s doing as a local beekeeper lends itself to a solution that needs more soldiers but another type of gene manipulation is also impacting the state of bees. Genetically modified roundup ready crops eliminate weeds among crops on large farms. Now, he says, “There’s just less flowers for the bees to live on.”

In addition, the technology alleviating farmers of problem pests has unintended consequences that bees cannot ignore. Genetically modified crops can have toxins programmed directly into the chemical structure of plants. This acts as an insecticide and can kill the bees, he says.

Furthermore, the compromised condition of bees has not led scientists to a place where they can replicate the disorder. unfortunately, a cure cannot be arrived at until then. short of lifting the human behavior that’s

complicating all this, the direction we are heading could impact our food supply.

“If all the bees died tomorrow, there are still local pollinators,” he says. The problem is in the large mono crop fields of today, only half the flowers would be visited – thus cutting crop production in half, he adds.

On the whole, though, his customers can rely on a defi-nite stake when the bees turn in for winter. “everybody gets ten pounds of honey guaranteed,” he says.

Beyond that, Mr. haverkamp sells much of the honey produced back to his customers. This builds modestly upon the profits of his initial fee. “It’s a nice side business,” says haverkamp, who mostly makes his living managing a private estate in Bedford.

The honey aside, customers have varied reasons for keeping bees on their property. I have one woman who uses Bee venom to help treat her case of chronic fatigue syndrome, he says.

More commonly, local famers and gardeners are looking to improve the fruitfulness of their fields, while others ingest honey to help their allergies. “It contains pollen from local plants and so if you have an allergy to a local plant that helps build up a tolerance,” he says.

Continued on page 5


Lexington Capital Associates, LLC. 240 North Avenue

New Rochelle, NY 10801 Phone (914) 632-1230 fax (914) 633-0806

When was the last time you dealt with

Lexington Capital Associates?

With over 50 years experience, Lexington Capital Associates provides loans from $1m-$150m at some of the lowest interest rates available in the marketplace.

• For cash flowing loans- NO PERSONAL GUARANTEE• 30 year payouts• Int. only loans available

BUSINESS

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Continued from page 4Of course, customers can take or leave the

lessons he’s taken from observing bees and the same goes for understanding their inner workings. “some people are very interested and are watching to see if they can learn to do this themselves,” he says, “and other people just want to enjoy the bees and don’t care how we do it.”

either way, The Bedford Bee offers a bit of higher learning on bees at the John Jay homestead every saturday from april to November. In 13, three-hour workshops, he says, everyone can learn their own skills with

actual hives and then become beekeepers.all told, with our economy in almost as

frightening a decline as the bees, his busi-ness has not suffered. “It seems like a lot of people in the area are very interested in this service,” he says.

With all the bad news in tow for bees, that creates a buzz we can all get behind.

www.bedfordbee.com

Rich Monetti lives in Somers. He’s been a freelance writer in Westchester since 2003 and works part time in the after school program at Mt. Kisco Childcare. You can find more of his work at www.happystories.info.

The Place to “Bee” in Bedford

Bronx Borough President diaz requests Federal Intervention Over Muller center dispute

Bronx Borough President ruben diaz, Jr.,

addressed a letter to federal authorities in which he asserts New York city Mayor Mike Bloomberg has blatantly sidestepped stan-dard protocol to determine the adaptive reuse for the now vacant Muller army reserve center in the Wakefield section of The Bronx abutting the southern border of the city of Yonkers. at issue is diaz’s allegation that Bloomberg is promoting his own agenda by the creation of a 200-bed men’s homeless shelter at the center.

Based upon President diaz’s charac-terization of disregard of public sentiment by Mayor Bloomberg, President diaz asked the two agencies with purview over approving the Muller center plan, the united states department of housing and urban development (hud) and the Office of economic adjustment (OeM), to reject Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to use the facility for a men’s homeless shelter. President diaz also asked the two agencies to “convene a meeting amongst the parties to determine how, if possible, a conforming submission could still be provided.” If this doesn’t happen, diaz says, “I will have no choice but to pursue legal action.”

Yonkers Mayor Philip amicone sent a letter to Mayor Bloomberg urging his admin-istration to reconsider its “seriously flawed” shelter plan because of the negative impact it would have on Yonkers. The Muller center

is located approximately 82 yards south of The Bronx/ Yonkers border. “astonishingly,” Mayor amicone writes, the mayor’s plan “makes no mention of the proposed facility’s possible effects on our city nor our residents. For this reason alone, the plan to locate a homeless shelter at the Muller facility is seri-ously flawed and should be reconsidered.”

Notice of Mayor Bloomberg’s plans for a homeless shelter near The Bronx/ Yonkers border has been kept under wraps by Yonkers Mayor amicone, by Yonkers city councilman dennis shepherd of the 4th district, and Justin Tubiolo, just one of many prominent vocal members of The hyatt Neighborhood association.

When is Yonkers supposed to learn about this situation? after it’s a done deal?

Must Yonkers be kept ignorant of the prospect of a men’s homeless shelter only yards from one of our must lucrative business and residential districts by Mayor amicone, councilman shepherd, and The hyatt Neighborhood association. One would have thought Mayor amicone would have come to our defense, but no, he impotently takes a swing at Mayor Bloomberg and retreats from the scene, keeping Yonkers in the dark. Following orders from Mayor amicone, councilman shepherd does likewise. The hyatt Neighborhood association has likewise revealed its impotence by saying nothing?

President ruben diaz, Jr. has shown himself the defender of Yonkers’ concerns better than Mayor amicone.

Yonkers city hall has chosen not to respond to our inquiry.

Mayor Amicone Maintains Silence Over Men’s Shelter to be Built Near McLean Avenue

By HEZI ARIS

www.bedfordbee.com

www.happystories.info


Nobody likes to see a big chunk of change – 6 or 7 or 8 percent – get added to the bill at the cash register, but many states and localities need sales taxes to make ends meet. as I swipe my card, I tell myself that at least the money is doing some public good.

Well, maybe not.even as they struggle with falling sales

tax receipts in a weak economy, a growing number of localities are “sharing” sales taxes with the retailers who collect them. sharing has a nice, friendly sound to it. In kindergarten, our teachers compli-mented us for being good at sharing. But these deals, which are never reflected on the cash register receipts that consumers receive, are more like kickbacks.

Many of these incentives are arranged on a case-by-case basis. Oklahoma city, for example, recently agreed to return

up to $5.5 million to occupants of a new shopping center called The Outlet shoppes at Oklahoma city.

The city of aurora, colo., together with the state, offered Nashville, Tenn.-based Gaylord entertainment co. an incentive package that could average about $5.6 million a year for up to 30 years. all they ask is that the company proceed with its plans to build a 1,500-room hotel and entertainment complex near denver International airport. under the plan, 100 percent of the sales and lodging tax collected by the city of aurora from the hotel over the 30-year period would be returned to Gaylord. The company would get a break on its property taxes as well.

Last year, huntsville, ala., considered a plan that would have gone even farther than simply awarding sales-tax rebates for certain projects. under a resolution proposed to the city council there, any retailer that spent more than $30 million on construction costs would have been entitled to keep up to half of the sales tax it generated, up to a $2 million-a-year

cap. city council President Mark russell, who proposed the revenue-sharing system, said the incentive policy was necessary to meet retailer demands and compete with surrounding municipalities. The plan seems to have fizzled out, but it is nevertheless a sign that cities are begin-ning to rethink what sales tax means and what’s appropriate in trying to get it.

The city of Fillmore, calif., has developed one of the most convoluted systems of sharing sales tax with retailers. In california, municipalities receive an incentive from the state equal to 1 percent of the taxable sales generated within their borders. To increase its share, Fillmore has hired consultants to bring in busi-ness, paying them with 85 percent of the rebated state tax revenue from the stores they lure to Fillmore. The consultants, in turn, have taken to passing some of their earnings on to companies. The result is a triple kickback, with sales-tax revenue moving from retailers to the state to the city to the consultants and then back to the retailers.

In addition to outright incentives, 26 states allow retailers to keep a portion of the sales tax they generate as compen-sation for the administrative expenses associated with collecting the tax. a study by Good Jobs First found that, overall, states spend around $1 billion on sales-tax-processing rebates to retailers. Thirteen states have no cap on how much retailers can receive, which can allow large vendors to receive far more than they actu-ally spend on administrative expenses. a 2006 survey by Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP found that, while small retailers spend an average of 13.5 percent of the amount they collect in sales tax processing that money, large retailers spend only 2.2 percent. The extra rebates act as a hidden gift to these big-name companies.

as more sales go online, the tactic of sales-tax kickbacks is likely to follow. states have been battling for years to get online retailers to collect sales tax on their behalf. however, they have been blocked by supreme court precedent that requires companies to collect sales tax only in states where they have a physical pres-ence, or nexus. In response, states have generated all sorts of creative methods of determining nexus, including means that don’t seem to have anything to do with physical presence.

a proposed federal law, however, would allow states to abandon their quix-otic fight against the nexus requirement

by allowing them to demand that online retailers collect sales tax, regardless of where their operations are located. To participate in this new sales tax collection scheme, states would be required to join the streamlined sales Tax Project, which already counts 24 states as members.

In order to make the new law palat-able to online retailers, the states plan to give 0.75 percent of the sales tax collected from online sales back to vendors for processing costs. The rebate would be distributed disproportionately, with small vendors receiving more to offset their relatively higher administrative costs. But, despite the small percentage amount, if there is no cap, large retailers could bring in a sizable reward.

There is nothing new about states and municipalities competing to attract businesses. Major developers have long been offered packages including prop-erty tax abatements, income tax holidays, cut-rate municipal bond financing and publicly financed infrastructure such as freeway entrances, traffic signals and utility services. But in those cases, citizens are generally aware of how their money is being spent.

sales tax rebates, on the other hand, are hidden from citizens and consumers. Because of the rebates, retailers are allowed to label items with prices that don’t reflect the true amount they will get from sales. This gives them an unfair advantage over other businesses that have not negotiated such attractive revenue-sharing agree-ments. rebates may also make retailers too enthusiastic about sales tax collec-tion, leading them to collect tax on items which are, in fact, non-taxable. either ways, customers are done a disservice.

The main problem with the rebate programs, however, is that one city’s program can only be effective if the next city over has a less generous approach. The result is likely to be a constant escalation, with citizens, consumers and pre-existing businesses losing as states and municipali-ties race to hand over the most cash for new development.

But while cities and developers can team up to produce more shopping centers, they can’t produce more shop-pers. a surplus of retail development will simply lead to more vacancies.

If sales tax “sharing” is a good thing, let’s give it the credit it deserves: Let’s require that merchants and malls that receive these bonuses label the “govern-

Continued on page 7

FINANCES

Sales Tax KickbacksBy LARRY M. ELKIN

http://www.sofritony.com


Continued from page 6ment share” and “private share” of sales tax collections on every sales receipt.

If that feels like a little too much “sharing,” then let’s call these payments what they are – kickbacks of consumer dollars that are mislabeled as a tax – and outlaw them. They produce no net benefit to the public, and they reinforce our all-too-great cynicism about where our tax dollars are going.

Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFP®, presi-dent of Palisades Hudson Financial Group

a fee-only financial planning firm head-quartered in Scarsdale, NY. The firm offers estate planning, insurance consulting, trust planning, cross-border planning, business valuation, family office and business manage-ment, executive financial planning, and tax services. Its sister firm, Palisades Hudson Asset Management, is an independent invest-ment advisor with about $950 million under management. Branch offices are in Atlanta and Ft. Lauderdale. Website:www.palisade-shudson.com.

FINANCES

everybody’s doin’ it. Getting married, that is.

Gays, straights, whatever. No matter. Marriage is suddenly the “in” thing.

The rush to the altar is nowhere more prevalent than in NYc, where marriage resources are being strained to the max.

exhausted wedding planners are being worked off their feet. and they’re not the only ones. horses that pull the horse-drawn carriages (a traditional venue for marriage proposals) in central Park have been working nonstop. “Good grief,” one horse was heard to neigh to another, “just our luck that romance is in the air in the heat of summer. Phooey!”

Many bridal stores and tuxedo shops have already sold out their entire inven-tory. In those with some inventory left, fights (some ending in arrests and/or hospitalizations) have developed among those desperate to snag some wedding garments. smart shoppers are taking the precaution of outfitting themselves in full-body armor before venturing into such stores.

Orange blossoms, roses, carnations, and other traditional wedding flowers are in short supply. One florist commented to a customer, “Place your order now for your wedding bouquet, or you’ll be walking down the aisle holding a bunch of weeds.”

a hardworking organist bemoaned the fact that she’ll be playing the wedding

march hundreds and hundreds of times in the next few months. she’s hoping for a funeral or two “for a nice change of pace.”

Major league baseball games have been canceled, as Yankee stadium and citi Field have been hijacked as venues for mass weddings 24/7.

First comes love, then comes marriage. Or so they say. and divorce attorneys wait for the inevitable, as they watch the wedding boom with great anticipation. One commented, “It’s good for our long-term business outlook. With all these weddings, especially the hastily arranged ones, can a NYc divorce boom be far behind?”

stay tuned.

Learn more about The Farrelly Sisters - Authors online.

THE SPOOF

Gay Marriage in NY Approved; Marriage Boom Rocks NYCBy GAIL FARRELLY

Sales Tax Kickbacks

“Two in a row: Yet another fine blues outing from Golub” rating: 8

during the nineties, guitarist Jeff Golub’s was mostly known for his jazz, r&B, and pop recordings that have earned him a reputation for being one of the edgier and more tasteful players in the crossover jazz world. Golub’s solos give the impression that he is essentially a soul-jazz improviser, and not just a manufacturer of elevator smooth-jazz music. The fifty-six year old Golub has worked with Tina Turner, ashford & simpson, the J. Geils

Band, Peter Wolf, and spent eight years backing rod stewart.

I like the fact the Golub has chosen to follow up 2009’s “Blues For You” with another blues album that is a tribute to the three kings of the blues. I know it sounds a bit clichéd, but Golub definitely puts his signature on just about

each and every cover (there are new tribute tunes as well,) plus the addition of henry Butler’s piano is very welcomed, guest appearances by robben Ford and sonny

Continued on page 8

THE SOUNDS OFBLUEBy Bob Putignano

MUSIC

Jeff Golub “The Three Kings” Featuring henry Butler One entertainment Music

www.palisadeshudson.com

www.palisadeshudson.com


human hair, as we know, grows even on corpses; the 1967 musical Hair is resuscitated every few years and will not die. It has

been seen off and on Broadway, as a movie, semi-staged at encores!, over in London, outdoors in central Park, on Broadway again, then performed by a touring national company. This Hair would grow even on a cadaver, let alone in a perfectly respectable national company.

That is what we are getting now for a couple of summer months on Broadway before it resumes its travels. The current cast is assembled from understudies of the Broadway revival, which essentially repli-cated the Park production, augmented by members of the London mounting. Like human hair, the show with music by Galt Macdermot and book and lyrics by Gerome ragni and James rado, is

ubiquitous and very close to indestructible.

It was arguably the first rock musical and ancestor to the legion that derives from it. If you realize, as you most likely do, that it is about the counter-culture, long-haired hippies, free love, drug consumption, draft-card burning, and brief onstage nudity, you know pretty much all there is to know.

a tribe of Village hippies is fronted by Berger, a wild high-school dropout, and claude, a gentler draftee. Both are variously involved with the sensitive sheila and the pregnant Jeanie. claude’s reactionary parents also appear, as does Margaret Mead with a nerdy friend, hubert. There are also Mick Jagger-worshiping Woof and dreamy crissie, and such energetic blacks as donnie and

hud. some of the song numbers are “hashish,” “sodomy,” and “hare Krishna,” and such classics in the making as “Good Morning starshine” and the concluding “Let the sunshine In,” which, whether or not it snags the sunshine, lets in the audience in to dance onstage with the cast.

The original Berger and claude were ragni and rado, seldom equaled and never surpassed. even

so, central Park’s Berger, Will swenson, and claude, Jonathan Groff, deserve appreciative mention, the former repeating on Broadway, the latter replaced, some-what less charismatically, by Gavin creel. Now we have swenson’s understady, steel Burkhardt, and another rerturnee, Paris remillard, as impressive principals.

Various other roles are also well handled by Kacie sheik ( Jeanie), caren Lyn Tackett (sheila), Matt de angelis (Woof), Phyre hawkins (dionne) and darius Nichols (hud). all are fine, save Kaitlin Kiyan as a chrissy unable to equal the original’s shelley Plympton, who brought down the house with the nostalgic ballad, “Frank Mills.”

diane Paulus’s direction and Karole armitage’s choreography hit the spot; scott Pask’s deliberately ramshackle set and Michael Mcdonald’s circusy costumes are likewise assets. Kevin adams’s lighting is aptly unafraid of dimness and even a blackout, and the onstage orchestra does not miss a trick of Macdermot’s racy orchestration.

These days when the economic crisis significantly affects also our theater, it is invigorating to behold a cast of thirty aptly conveying multitudes. For Hair is really about a major societal phenomenon, about all races cohabiting in both senses of the word, about a youth movement that shook things up with pacifism, polymorphism and impudence, and which swept a generation and, indeed, a country.

Most of this the current production captures and commandingly conveys. Power to its people!

John simon has written for over 50 years on theatre, film, literature, music and fine arts for the Hudson Review, New Leader, New Criterion, National Review,New York Magazine, Opera News, Weekly Standard, Broadway.com and Bloomberg News. Mr. simon holds a PhD from Harvard University in comparative Literature and has taught at MIT, harvard university, Bard college and Marymount Manhattan College.

To learn more, visit the JohnSimon-Uncensored.com website.

Continued from page 7Landreth further enhance the blue motif.

highlights: “Let the Good Times roll” sets the bar high as the band soars through a powerful rendition of one of B.B.’s staples, Butler sings, but really shines on keyboards, the horn section is dead-on, and Golub blares away! Booker T. Jones and William Bell’s “Born under a Bad sign” written for and made famous by albert King is another fine example of how well this recording works. “In Plain sight” authored by Golub is a perky instrumental that also features the smart

fretwork of Louisiana’s sonny Landreth. another instrumental “side Tracked” was written by the entire band (Golub, Buttler, bassist andy hess, and drummer/vocalist Josh dion,) and could have easily been covered on one of Freddie King’s 60’s instrumental albums; it’s also aided with the appearance of special guest robben Ford. More high-speed antics ensue on the short (2:31) “everyday I have the Blues” where the horn section’s back on board, dion sings, and the entire band is lit. “Freddie’s Midnight dream” is a solid chestnut instrumental taken from Freddie’s ’65 collection “Freddy King Gives You a Bonanza of Instrumentals” which was reis-sued in its entirety in ’03 on the Japanese

P-Vine label. “stumbin’ home” another instrumental authored by Golub also feels retro and retains those early Freddie (or is it Freddy?) instrumental ‘60’s grooves. The album closes with what I thought would be anticlimactic. “The Thrill is Gone” is performed instrumentally complete with Mitchell Forman’s smart synth strings and string arrangements, it’s gorgeous, starts out slowly and sweetly builds in inten-sity, so much so, I think B.B. would be impressed. unfortunately the title track (while a bit cute) did not work for me,

Golub also employs some of his smooth-jazz friends, most notably euge Groove on tenor, and rick Braun on trumpet. chris Palmaro also fills in on B3.

high marks are deserved for co-producers Golub and Bud harner who have crafted a fine and fiery blues recording. “The Three Kings” should be a contender for one of the best blues albums of 2011; it’s also arguably more to the blues point than Golub’s previous blues outing. here is to more blues from the energetic and tasteful Golub, keep on playing the blues.

Note: Golub’s blues band does tour from time to time, and have appeared (with Butler) at NYc’s Iridium club. I missed them last year, but won’t make that mistake again!

Bob Putignano www.SoundsofBlue.com

MUSIC

The Sounds of Blue

EYE ON THEATRE

Heroic HairBy John Simon

www.SoundsofBlue.com


July 1st to September 2nd, the

Yonkers waterfront will be filled with the cool sounds of live

jazz, blues and more! www.YonkersDowntown.com

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:

Yonkers Downtown BID Jazz & Blues @ Dusk 2011

2011 Line Up

July 22nd Blues Buddha July 29th Yerbabuena

August 5th Luiz Simas August 12th The Eli Yamin Blues Band August 19th The Mala Waldron Project August 26th Joan Crowe & The Jesters of Jive

September 2nd Tom Flammia Quartet

Yonkers Downtown/Waterfront BID presents the Fifth Annual FREE

Jazz, Blues & More @ Dusk Summer Concert Series every Friday @ 6:30pm

at the Yonkers Waterfront Amphitheatre

Sound Associates Inc.

Domino Sugar of Yonkers

Key Bank

THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC

When you think of Jerusalem, opera is prob-ably not the first thing that comes to mind. Yet, maybe this connection is not as far- fetched as it

seems. In this city three thousand years ago King david built his palace. It’s said that he hung a harp (lyre) above his bed and when midnight arrived and the north wind blew upon the instrument, its strings vibrated and music would ring forth. have no doubt, here the sounds of music live on and I attended their 2011 International Opera Festival, which the city celebrated this past June.

On our drive from the airport to the city,

our view was of earth-colored fields dotted with low shrubs. Then, in the distance, we glimpsed the city of david - Jerusalem. We peered intently out of our van’s windows at

a skyline filled with spires piercing the sky - minarets, churches, mosques and temples that, until now, we’d only seen in photographs.

Jerusalem is the largest city in the country – a city holy to three religions: Judaism, christianity and Islam. declared a uNescO World heritage site in 1981, this is an exhilarating meeting of ancient and modern - where one retraces the steps of pilgrims who have journeyed here for thousands of years, where you find ancient and biblical contrasting with modern, hip, of the moment – and, somehow, it all creates a harmonious balance. In short, it is a city unique in the world. That evening we enjoyed a special treat. Our guide brought us up to Mt. scopus for an iconic, panoramic view of the Old city at twilight. The singular Jerusalem light was golden and pink and, inevitably, the city of david began to weave its special spell – a hard-to-define “some-thing” that turns everything into a truly memorable experience.

The next day was an official holiday, Jerusalem Day, which celebrates the reunifi-cation of Jerusalem; 44 years ago there was barbed wire dividing this city and today it is reunited. There was a feeling of exuber-ance, joy and abandon in the air as we made our way to the Western Wall, a remnant of the holy temple and the most sacred struc-ture of the Jewish people. There we found serene reverence, the space divided with men on one side, women on the other, all in prayer. as I was about to make my way to the wall to insert into a crevice a tiny piece of paper bearing my personal prayer, the quiet was pierced by loud, raucous singing. coming down the hill to the wall, a dozen youths, arms intertwined, belting out the words to the Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem. The young men found a chair and soon it was hoisted high with a pretty

teenage girl holding on for dear life as she was twirled around, the group dancing and singing Evenu Shalom Aleichem. celebration time was now!

spanning the first twelve days in June, this happy mood continued as some of Jerusalem’s most storied venues came

Continued on page 10

The Second International Opera Festival in JerusalemBy BARABRA BARTON SLOANE

View of Jerusalem

Opera di Verona II


Continued from page 9

alive with music. Imagine attending a gala operatic concert by the glorious voices of the arena di Verona opera company in a settling that was spellbinding – the Sultan’s Pools. This ancient site is in the valley of hinnom beneath the west side of Mt. Zion, and was part of the water supply of Jerusalem during the roman period. What an enchanting way to kick off our first concert! The evening was warm with soft breezes keeping things comfort-able. colored lights played on ancient columns bordering the pool creating an otherworldly atmosphere as an orchestra of 100 led by Giuliano carella performed famous opera favorites from Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Rigoletto and more. To hear a bit of the concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZkJ8A20etM&feature=player_embedded

during our Jerusalem visit we attended several other concerts. The next day we visited the Tower of David Museum. This complex is located at the Old city’s Jaffa Gate; it spans the centu-ries and its very stones are part of this city’s living history. The 500-year-old walls are

part of the Turkish citadel and its name comes from a tower so massive that early Jerusalemites ascribed it to their great King david although the builder was actu-ally the much-maligned King herod. The concert room was intimate and chairs were set up just a few feet from the performers, two sopranos and a mezzo soprano. These three young artists had voices that were strong and soaring. They performed Opera Sancta, highlighting such composers as Bellini, Mascagni, Puccini and donizetti. after the concert, we had the chance to meet and mingle with the singers and take photos, making this experience even more memorable.

That evening we were off to a perfor-mance of “A Meeting with Cleopatra” at the Austrian Hospice located in the Old city directly across from the Via dolorosa. This interesting venue was officially opened in 1863 and served as the residence of the austrian consul as well as a protective refuge for catholics and ashkenazi Jews. In 1987, after years as a lively pilgrim operation, the building was completely renovated and was officially reopened in March, 1988. The room where the concert was held was just off the hospice garden,

and on this warm evening its floor to ceiling windows were flung open to catch the occasional breeze. Just as the music was about to start, the room was filled with the mournful sounds of a muezzin singing the Adhan – the Islamic call to prayer. This was Jerusalem after all and there was a minaret very nearby. rather than close the windows we chose to wait till the muezzin had finished since his call to prayer was a beautiful and exotic concert of its very own. The music in our concert was arias and duets from three cleopatra operas by handel, Mattheson and hasse. a baroque trio directed by eithan schmeisser accom-panied two powerful and affecting voices: hila Baggio, soprano and shira raz, mezzo soprano. When the concert ended, we climbed many flights of stairs to the roof and enjoyed perhaps the very best view of the Old city, a heart-stopping sight and not to be missed.

Before we departed for home, our group attended an opera in a setting unri-valed anywhere in the world. Nearly 140 years after it premiered at the cairo Opera house in 1871, Verdi’s renowned opera Aida was performed in the shadow of Masada in the Judean desert! Our journey through Arad to the lowest place on earth was dramatic as our van maneuvered the winding roads on the banks of the dead sea towards Masada. The striking land-scape of the desert was dun-colored and desolate with barren hills, caves, moun-tain-high dunes, deep shadows, Bedouin villages and even a kibbutz.

Masada was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters that battled the romans.

It is a symbol of humanity’s continuous struggle for freedom from oppression and as of 2001 it is a uNescO World heritage site. No opera house could possibly compete with the simple beauty of this great outdoors and starry night sky. Masada, as the backdrop for the opera, was pure magic. as the first strains of music began with daniel Oren wielding the baton for the Israeli symphony Orchestra rishon LeZion and with the Israeli Opera chorus and hundreds of dancers and singers from around the world, this grandiose opera was returned to its ancient roots. The produc-tion was over-the-top glorious and - good news - opera will happen again next year: Carmen at Masada will take place June 7-10, 2012. Imagine the color, flash and sheer excitement of “Carmen” presented at one of the world’s most dramatic venues! Think I’ll make my reservation right now. You can, too, at www.carmen-at-masada.com.

Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, “Jerusalem of Gold,” is a beloved Israeli song. In it one sings “The mountain air is clear as wine and….is carried… with the sound of bells.” In the chorus the words are “Behold, I am a violin for all your songs.” From the ancient strains of david’s lyre up to today’s popular folk song, music rings forth. sounds of music in Jerusalem? Of course!

Travel Editor Barbara Barton Sloane is constantly globe-hopping to share her unique experiences with our readers; from the exotic to the sublime. As Beauty/Fashion Editor she keeps us informed on the capricious and engaging fashion and beauty scene.

The Second International Opera Festival in Jerusalem

THE SOUNDS OF MUSIC

DowntownNew Rochelle is

Open for Business

If you are an investor, business owner, retail store owner,or restauranteur interested in opportunities in DowntownNew Rochelle please contact the New Rochelle BID formore information.Call Ralph DiBart at212-866-0191 or 914-960-1460or e-mail [email protected]

www.newrochelledowntown.com

Gurdian_Open4BizNewRo_071511:Layout 4 7/15/11 3:08 PM Page 1

Aida at Masada

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZkJ8A20etM&feature=player_embedded



www.carmen-at-masada.com

www.carmen-at-masada.com


Near the close of the school year, all five second grade classes came to visit us at Village hall. We have been doing this for quite a few years now and I can say

the entire staff looks forward to their visit. My understanding is that it ties in with the social studies curriculum introducing students to the first level of their government/history in the form of their immediate community.

The children also visit our police department and after a valiant effort, I have

given up competing with our officers. On the second grade interest radar, learning about the history of the Village has proven to be no match for jail cells, police cars and sirens.

They are remarkable youngsters – so bright, attentive, inquisitive and sweet. They ask wonderful questions about government, terms, voting, etc. and being second graders they also ask important questions such as “do


Call 888.465.2500 Call 888.465.2500

Thursday 7/14Visit us anytimefrom 9am to 7pm.Please RSVP @[email protected]

1032 6th Ave. (bw 38th & 39th St.) 4th Fl, NYC | www.iaaprograms.com

- Rebecca B.

IAA has helped over 1,500 STUDENTS FAST TRACK their R.N. education

After being waitlisted for nursing school, I turned to IAA and they helped

me realize my dream to become a Registered Nurse.

Preparefor

Preparefor Nursing School

Infosession

despite a concerted effort by the New York state conference of Mayors to offer a concrete slate of legis-lative proposals that local

officials believed would help municipalities contain costs, none of the proposed changes were adopted by the New York state legis-lature. clearly, there is a disconnect between those in the trenches running local govern-ments and the people elected to represent municipalities.

except for the tax cap legislation, very little else was passed that will have any effect, positive or negative, on the Village. For example, bills were signed into law creating land banks for the purpose of developing blighted property, creating a new permitting process for power plants, allowing munici-palities to operate their ambulance services across municipal boundaries, and guaran-teeing reimbursement to municipalities when hazardous material spills occur.

The tax cap legislation signed into law caps year-to-year growth in municipal prop-erty tax levels at the lesser of 2% or the annual increase in the consumer price index. It will take effect in the Village’s 2012-2013 budget cycle and will remain in effect as long as the state’s rent stabilization law remains in effect since they were coupled to facilitate passage.

Of great importance to municipalities is that the cost of debt service is not exempted from the tax cap, making the bill a clear disin-centive for communities to do much needed infrastructure repairs such as road paving, drainage improvements, bridge upkeep and

tree replacement. The one saving grace for municipalities

is that the tax cap can be overridden by a 60% vote of the legislative body or the vote of three of the five Village Trustees. In contrast, school districts must conduct costly commu-nity-wide elections and garner 60% of the votes should they need to fund the school above the 2% tax levy limitation.

sadly, the tax cap was not accompanied by any mandate relief provisions requested by the mayors state-wide and avoided the big issues including pension, healthcare reform and binding arbitration reform. as a result, nothing in the bill will help to control the cost drivers now under the restrictions of a tax cap.

The mandate relief included in the cap was insignificant to say the least. For example, municipalities may now recover expenses associated with police officer training should an officer transfer to another force. communities are also allowed to now piggyback onto Federal contracts for computer software and professional services.

One included “mandate relief ” was to create a Mandate relief council with power to “recommend” the amendment/repeal of the over 70 unfunded mandates currently in force. In the interim, however, there is no freeze on the issuance of new unfunded mandates.

One particularly costly unfunded mandate that went unaddressed was the compulsory arbitration statute. under this statute, when a municipality reaches contract impasse with a police or fire union, the final

step is compulsory arbitration. a panel is brought in to make an independent decision that could result in a tax increase even though the panel members are not responsible for funding the award, are not directly impacted by the decision and are not accountable to taxpayers.

as I write this column, the deleterious effects of this statute manifested itself in nearby clarkstown in rockland county. a state arbitration panel awarded the clarkstown police union a retroactive 3.4% salary increase for 2009 and 2010 even as it conceded that clarkstown police officers were among the highest paid in the nation with an average salary of $142,000.

The town had requested a wage freeze and a health insurance co-pay based on their economic realities which included decreased mortgage and sales tax revenues, increased tax assessment challenges, and local opposi-tion by the taxpayers to a salary increase.

The panel ignored the wishes of the local citizens and based their decision on the fact

that, “the town possesses the ability to fund the increases awarded.” Of course, this can only be done by depleting reserves, raiding the fund balance which adversely affects a community’s bond rating which in turn makes future borrowing more costly, cutting services or raising taxes. No wonder so many people are fleeing New York.

The panel members then leave town never to be seen again, leaving the taxpayer left to foot the bill. The compulsory arbitra-tion clause also serves to stymie good faith negotiation and leaves communities unable to calculate costs with specificity and intel-ligently plan for the future.

We cannot continue to kick the can down the road and leave these problems for our children. I urge you to contact state legislators and demand that the interests of the taxpayers, the most important special interest group, are finally heard.

Mary C. Marvin is the mayor of the Village of Bronxville.

Kicking the Can Down the RoadBy MARY C. MARVIN

GOVERNMENT MAYOR MARVIN’S COLUMN

Governmentsection

Checking with Mom and DadBy MARY C. MARVIN


It appears that the republicans Party in White Plains has decided to take the city back from the democratic supermajority

under first, former Mayor adam Bradley and now, under current Mayor Tom roach. White Plains republican chair Brian Maloney has announced the following four candidates. Terrence Guerriere, Jim arndt, richard cirulli and Michael donnelly are running for seats on the common council. running for county Legislator in the 5th district against democrat Bill ryan is dr. Iris Pagan-Moncrieffe. Maloney has stated that the campaign slogan for these candidates is “Four Votes changes everything.” Indeed. To break the supermajority in the county Board of Legislators, republicans need to take back four seats. To break the democratic superma-jority on the common council, four votes are needed, as well. so without further adieu, let’s

take a look at the candidates.since dr. Pagan is the only female, we’ll

start with ladies first. a former President, and current Vice President of the Westchester Women’s republican club, dr. Pagan is no stranger to the party and politics. under her tenure as President of the Women’s republican club, membership grew from just a half dozen women to more than thirty. In addition to the social component, the club tirelessly works on the campaigns of candi-dates. during any given campaign you can stop into republican headquarter to see them busy at phone banking, rallying volunteers, and fund raising.

Professionally, dr. Pagan has been an educator for over twenty-five years earning both a Master degree and doctorate for Teacher’s college of columbia university. she is currently the educational coordinator of the White Plains Youth Bureau and previ-ously headed up suNY’s sTeP Program. dr. Pagan also joins the “Ladies List” of candidates running for county Legislator. Whether or not dr. Pagan has the mojo or not to beat seven term legislator Bill ryan will

be up to the voters. But it does seem that ryan himself may have lost his mojo along the way. he barely (136 votes) beat Bob hyland during the last election and the electorate themselves equate him with andy spano’s tax and spend policies. It also didn’t help that his personal assistant, Gary Kriss, was found guilty of using taxpayer money for his own hobbies. Voters tend to forgive and forget most of the time; that is, until someone touches their money. This sort of memory certainly could be helpful to dr. Pagan-Moncrieffe.

Turning to the White Plains common council, the strongest candidate and biggest potential headache to Mayor roach is Terrence Guerriere. Guerriere, who is President of the Gedney association (a neighborhood group), has been an outspoken critic of the common council’s handling of the FasNY debacle. a commercial real estate attorney, Guerriere is well versed in the language of the looped hole real estate contracts. It was under his watchful eye, the weakness of a plan which was accepted by the common council was exposed. as stated in an earlier article in The Westchester Guardian,

if allowed to go forward, the development of the ridgeway Golf course will not only impact the quality of life for those who live in it’s neighborhood but the lives of those who live two miles down Mamaroneck avenue in Mamaroneck. The development of the prop-erty will impact the flow of the Mamaroneck and sheldrake rivers which already flood the village on a regular basis.

Jim arndt will have a second go around for a common council seat as well. arndt who ran back in 2009 and was the lowest vote getter is an executive with hugo Boss. With over twenty years in retail he has got to know what people will “buy.” he would like to re-vitalize the West Post road corridor of White Plains, an area that has long been neglected by officials. heck, if he could figure out how to clean up that neighborhood, I’d elect him President of the united states.

rounding out the republican ticket are candidates Michael donnelly and richard cirulli. cirulli, who only moved to White Plains a couple of years ago, has an impressive educational pedigree including two Masters degree, and a doctorate in the areas of health services, administrative Public Policy and urban design. credentials one would suspect are perfect for a city that not only has an aging infrastructure but one that would like to keep developing economically. Michael donnelly comes to the campaign with a long history in construction and project management. again, good attributes to have when you want to keep the momentum of development going.


Continued from page 11I have a pet?” or “What is your favorite food?”

My favorite question this year was from a quiet young lady who asked if I thought my mom and dad were proud of me. Of course, I called them that night in albany just to check!

as a continuation of their community awareness, some of the classes did a walk about in our downtown tasked with coming up with ideas for businesses to fill our empty store fronts.

Mrs. rotach’s class sent me their results, complete with artistic renderings of their new store concepts. Mrs. rotach gave the students a very important caveat to distinguish between the needs and the wants of the Bronxville community, a distinction we as adults perhaps could reinforce in our lives.

she described needs as things we must

have in order to live a quality life. a want is something you would like to have but can live without.

armed with this distinction, the chil-dren came up with some wonderful concepts centering around themes of pets, sports equip-ment, food and clothing.

The following are some of their wonderful ideas: Landlords take note!

“sports are us” and “Flipping Gymnastics” are needed because everyone should get fit in the Village and one student noted they did not think this was currently true…

a great variety of stores that sold pets were suggested including a “Lots O’Pets”, “Parker’s Pet and Vet”, “Pets for People” and “e’s cat store.” “e” candidly admitted she wanted a cat store just because she loved cats. another student thought that pets could be a need “because it solves loneliness for old people and it is someone to play with if you

are an only child.”students wanted a shoe store that sells

shoes in their size. One fellow said it was defi-nitely a need because he is just tired of getting splinters! another young entrepreneur would open “shoetown Joe’s” because he thought his family wasted too much gas traveling to buy his shoes, and it was dangerous to play any sport without the proper footwear.

In the same vein, one student wanted a gas station on Pondfield road because he has to ride too far with his mom to fill up. he also suggested, in true entrepreneurial fashion, that an attached car wash could bring in added profits.

another second grader astutely rational-ized that a toy store was a need, surmising that without toys to play with, kids could get bored and then in all kinds of trouble…

a student citing the pain of sunburn and resulting damage to the skin very smartly sees

her “hats for heads” as a necessity in the Village. It just confirms our youngsters are really listening and learning.

a large number of children want a sporting goods store to buy all of their sports equipment. If there was an overarching theme, it was the dislike of time spent in the car driving to find the things they need. This group really wants to shop local!

One of the most ingenious stores proposed was “3,000 Inventions” stocking all the newest gadgets. Our student owner would be stocking items such as, “spy phones, jet packs and camera watches.” he believed keeping up with all new technology was an obvious need. I believe we have a future Bill Gates among us!

Based on my interaction with our second grade youngsters, I am confident that our Village will be in good hands for years to come and our business district will thrive with loyal

George WeinbaumATTORNEY AT LAW

175 MAIN ST., SUITE 711-7 • WHITE PLAINS, NY 10601

FREE CONSULTATION:

Before speaking to the police... call

Criminal, Medicaid, Medicare Fraud, White-Collar Crime &Health Care Prosecutions. T. 914.948.0044

F. 914.686.4873

Professional DominicanHairstylists & Nail Technicians

Yudi’s Salon 610 Main St, New Rochelle, NY 10801 914.633.7600

Hair Cuts • Styling • Wash & Set • PermingPedicure • Acrylic Nails • Fill Ins • Silk Wraps • Nail Art Designs

Highights • Coloring • Extensions • Manicure • Eyebrow Waxing

Checking with Mom and Dad

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Four Council Candidates and a Legislative Hopeful Round Out the GOP Slate in White Plains

GOVERNMENT MAYOR MARVIN’S COLUMN

By NANCY KING

http://www.ciaoeastchester.com


RIVERVIEW COURT47 RIVERDALE AVE., YONKERS, NY

914.798.9410

1 & 2 BR APARTMENTS AT A GREAT PRICE! 1 BR STARTING AT $1070 • 2 BRS STARTING AT $1279

APARTMENTS

• High-Rise Building and Views of the Hudson and Historical Yonkers• Nearby Public Transportation, Shopping/Restaurants, the Hudson River and only 15 min. away from NYC• Fitness Center On-Site• 24 Hours Access Control Patrol• Large State of the Art Laundry Room• 24 Hr. Maintenance• On-Site Management• Reasonably-Priced Indoor Parking On-Site, with Controlled Access• Resident Lounge• Business Center• Beautiful Courtyard in the center of the complex with well-appointed landscape areas

TTY # 800.662.1200 Riverview Court

Does Not Discriminate

On The Basis Of Disability.

OPEN HOUSE JULY 23RDOPEN HOUSE

JULY 23 RD

9 AM – 4 PM

15 MIN. FROM NYC

VIA

METRO NORTH!

Riverview Court

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

dennis robertson, the former Yonkers city councilman representing the 3rd district, succeeded by present incumbent councilwoman Joan

Gronowski, will re-enter the race. his initial announcement was peppered with exuber-ance and confidence in his abilities and his concern for Yonkersites drove him to return to the political fold upon his learning that councilwoman Gronowski would comply with her promise to serve but one term in office. It seems ever since robertson initially

departed the political scene, there was an ever-growing insistence that he return to political office. The outcry for his return to office was insistent.

Bolstering his resolve was the Yonkers city democratic committee hierarchy. Once his mind was set, he was totally immersed in launching his campaign effort; and he did. Yet one day, it all came to a screeching halt. It was a shock. Why? Truth be told, robertson was concerned he would have to satisfy the powers behind the men running for mayor rather than serve the people of Yonkers as equitably as possible. he chose to depart the

scene. It turned out his resolve to serve was too compelling. he will maintain his candidacy and seek the endorsement of the democratic Party through the primary election process.

This news is only now filtering to the man and woman on the Yonkers street. Michael rotanelli and Michale sabatino have learned of late of the changing demeanor among the party hierarchy. They too will maintain their effort to gain support from the democratic Party through the primary election held in septemeber and thereafter into the November elections.

Robertson’s Candidacy Resuscitated at Urging of PartyBy HEZI ARISContinued from page 12

democrats who are running in the White Plains common council race are incumbent chair Ben Boykin and fellow councilmembers Milagros Lecouna and John Martin. Joining them on their ticket is newcomer dennis Krolian, a longtime attorney in White Plains. Of course Bill “Boss” ryan will try to hold on to the very best part-time job Westchester county has to offer. This will be an interesting election season in White Plains indeed.

Nancy King is a resident of Greenburgh, New York.

help just may be on the way for county executive rob astorino. Popular rye city councilwoman suzanna Keith is chal-

lenging democrat and Majority Whip Judy Meyers for her legislative seat in district 7. district 7 encompasses Mamaroneck, rye, Larchmont, along with newly designated slivers of harrison and New rochelle. In questioning her as to why she has jumped into the race, Keith told The Westchester Guardian, “The message of less govern-ment spending, lower taxes and open government has long been ignored. The residents in this area of the county pay some of the highest property taxes.” No lie there. all you have to do is to look at the tax rolls in rye to see that there are families that are paying somewhere between 15K to 40K a year in property taxes. Keith believes that if taxes continue to rise, living in the sound shore communities will no longer be sustainable, especially for young families and senior citizens on a fixed income.

so it seems, suzanna Keith also puts her money where her mouth is. since she was elected to the rye city council, she was part of a team that was able to deliver a 0% tax increase for her constituents. Not bad for a political newbie; and who doesn’t want a fiscal conservative as a watchdog for their taxes. When I spoke to her recently she seemed contrite; concerned she couldn’t do even more to lower taxes because she doesn’t want to compromise services either. Mrs. Keith has also served on the Traffic

and Pedestrian safety committee since serving on the council.

suzanna Keith is also no stranger to community activism. When the united hospital volunteer Twig program closed upon the bankruptcy and subsequent closing of the hospital, Mrs. Keith was primarily responsible for not only resur-recting the volunteer program but spearheaded their fundraising efforts. The end result was that the Twig’s were able to donate three ambulances to rye, rye Brook and Port chester. she also served on the Playland commission from 2002-2006. When asked how she felt about the current turmoil concerning Playland and the planned children’s Museum, Mrs. Keith stated that she didn’t want to comment on either topic until the citizen’s commission turns their recommendations to the county executive.

Mrs. Keith does have an uphill batter however. democrat Judy Meyers has served district 7 since 2005. Like Keith, she is an environmentalist who has preserved open space, worked on flood control measures for the area, worked on rye Playland’s Master Plan and is a champion of incubating the children’s Museum. all are admirable accomplish-ments for any legislator. however in the early spring of 2011, Legislator Meyers found herself in the news after receiving an email about herself that was intended for a different recipient. While vaguely sexual in nature, most women in politics (yes, it’s still a man’s world) would have laughed it

off. Mrs. Meyers however made demands that went from demanding public apolo-gies to asking for Mr. astorino’s chief of staff to be terminated. and while her

accomplishments as a legislator speak for themselves, her behavior during e-mail gate makes her seem too emotional to be an effective lawmaker. It also makes newcomer suzanna Keith very attractive to those who like their elected officials to do the work of the people sans drama.

Nancy King resides in Greenburgh, New York.

Republican Suzanna Keith to Challenge Incumbent Judy Meyers in District 7By NANCY KING

GOP Slate in White Plains


CAMPAIGN TRAIL

New rochelle republican city councilmembers were so concerned about the

indictments against former Manager richard Fevang of the New rochelle department of Public Works, that they held a news confer-ence on the steps of city hall. But city Manager chuck strome minimized the 22 indictments, yet several democrats, including Mayor Noam Bramson (d), acknowledged the seriousness of the charges.

On June 27, 2011, Fevang was indicted on 22 felony and 44 misdemeanors charges because he submitted invoices on vehicle repairs for work that had not taken place. There are also allegations that he involved employees who assisted in the preparation of those seemingly phony invoices.

at the July 7, 2011 city council meeting, strome began by discussing the city’s

purchasing procedures. he assured coun-cilmembers that the city had “cooperated fully” with the Westchester county district attorney’s Office and had also completed its own internal investigation. In his view, this discussion was one of “semantics” because Fevang had resigned and no other employees were “under investigation.” Finance commissioner howard rattner added, “we do the best we can to monitor” situations, adding he and the city Manager were ulti-mately responsible. Guidelines for public bidding from the state and other nearby municipalities were reviewed and while New rochelle’s practices were considered more restrictive, improvements in the procedures were suggested. Three verbal estimates would no longer be acceptable. Instead, three written estimates (including by email or fax) would be necessary. spot-checking invoices will increase

form 5% to 10%. department heads, along with strome and rattner, will give greater scrutiny to purchase orders.

strome insisted there had been “no fiscal benefit to employees.” But councilman richard st. Paul (r) countered by ques-tioning whether Fevang “directed money to a company of his choice.” There was then an attempt to stop this discussion because strome said the “case was still open.” st. Paul asked if any “potential loss of money from other bids had been considered?” st. Paul continued by asking, “can we do better?” emphasizing “not everyone is following” city policy. he felt an outside audit was neces-sary to “review purchasing procedures” and to find weaknesses and strengths in the system. strome did not think an independent auditor was necessary. st Paul continued, six years were cited in the indictment, “Why would we think we wouldn’t have caught something in other departments?” strome again repeated that only 22 invoices are the subject of these indictments. st. Paul summed up, “We never received a total perspective. all departments should be checked and a report made on where the city can do better.”

after a lengthy discussion, councilman Lou Trangucci (r) turned the focus of the discussion to, “how can we create an environ-ment where people can come to (strome’s) desk?” because he is known to have an open door policy for employees. strome answered that “all levels of employees come to him,” and he believes most employees would feel comfortable coming to him. he acknowledged sometimes employees need an outlet beyond their immediate supervisor or commissioner. Mayor Bramson agreed with this “percep-tion” and suggested any employee should be able to go directly to chuck strome. st. Paul’s response was, “It matters how comfortable an employee feels.” he added, “Fevang had

directed others to do wrong, yet why didn’t they say anything?” strome emphasized the city did not have a separate investigation and, therefore no indication of any employees who did anything wrong. Nothing further should be done until the district attorney finishes her investigation. Further discussion led Bramson to say, the city Manager is “upset” and this is a matter of integrity. council member, Marianne sussman (d) reminded everyone about the seriousness of the matter. st. Paul again reiterated, “The buck stops here.” continuing, he said it was “not just” one individual who is involved, “We don’t know whether other employees were doing wrong,” adding that “vendors should also be investi-gated by the district attorney.”

after the meeting councilman Lou Trangucci noted the problem with democratic city councilmembers and the Mayor is they viewed this as more of a political than as a criminal investigation.

This problem has been going on for five years. Why weren’t the democrats doing something about it when they had a super majority?. This shows Branson is inefficient in formulating policies to protect the taxpayers.

Local resident Vince Malfetano said he “watched the whole council meeting on July 7,” which is reported here. “The tone and tenor of the city Manager strome, was so dismissive and patronizing to Mr. st. Paul, an elected official, that it made me wonder whether Mr. strome knows he is an employee and not the king of New rochelle. It makes one wonder, given the attacks and insults that must be endured if you ask questions, why anyone would want to serve as an elected offi-cial. councilman st. Paul’s courage in the face of such hostility is commendable.”

Peggy Godfrey is a freelance writer, and former educator.

Recent Indictments in New RochellePolitical or Criminal?By PEGGY GODFREY

aLBaNY, NY -- records show cuomo’s campaign received a check from the gay marriage lobbyist on May

3, 2011, the same day he announced it was a “different day” and he was optimistic gay marriage would pass, despite its defeat in 2009. rallies and a stepped-up effort began days later to lobby the senate’s republican majority, closely allied with cuomo, to provide enough votes to pass the historic measure.

Gov. andrew cuomo, who led the effort

to legalize gay marriage in New York received $60,000 in campaign money from one of the state’s leading gay rights groups, according to campaign finance records filed Friday.

Other legislators who were key to the passage of the same-sex bill received money as well.

The empire state Pride agenda’s check to the democrat was one of the biggest cuomo’s $5.5 million in contributions since January.

“Fundraising in albany usually peaks in March, the month before the budget is due,” said Bill Mahoney of the New York Public Interest research Group. “This year, the highly public battles over issues such as gay marriage, a property tax cap, and rent control kept the special interest spigots running into the summer.”


THE ALBANY CORRESPONDENT

Cuomo’s Gay CashBy CARLOS GONZALEZ


GOVERNMENT

Reacting to Pete Sherrill’s Op-Ed

I read with great interest and concern your Op-ed in the July 7, 2011, issue of The Westchester Guardian concerning the sad state of affairs in Mount Vernon.

Like yourself, I am a native son who was born, raised and educated in the city of Mount Vernon. Of the many points you brought out, you have, in my opinion, let out some items that may restore civility to a once great city. First, parents need to play more of a role in their children’s

education; seeing that they are in their residences on

school nights and seeing that their assignments are undertaken. In order for part of this to be accomplished a curfew should be established by city hall. secondly, suspensions by the school district should be established for unruly behavior.

Getting back to our once great city of Mount Vernon, did you know there were once twelve car dealerships here? Mount Vernon was also home to the Borden’s Milk company, the dual Turntable company, and scores of small factories.

Growing up here, there were three

movie theaters; once, there were five, now there are none.

concerning city hall, Mount Vernon was always full of politicians acting out like small time gangsters, only now the stakes and costs are higher.

What is needed is for all citizens to act up and stand up demanding a clean house.

It’s been stated that a fish rots from the head down; same with a city. Once the head starts to rot the rest will follow.

I wish you luck with your future endeavors and will support you while I reside here.

dennis FishbeinMount Vernon, NY

OP edsection

Family is the basic building block of our society and the well being of our children is the most important factor for any community to exist and grow. The overall deterioration of our

community is directly linked to the general decline of the family structure. For many young people, the concept of a supportive family life has been considerably damaged due to the significant number of children growing up in very dysfunctional situations.

Many negative issues affecting our community can be contained and reversed if there was more of an emphasis on


Reinvest in the Family Structure to Move Mt. Vernon Forward

By DAMON K. JONES

Continued from page 14such fundraising while issues are being

negotiated and debated is common and a concern of good-government groups, to include the League of Women Voters. cuomo campaigned last year on a promise to limit albany’s “pay to play” culture, part of which is addressed in an ethics bill he and the Legislature approved this year.

In april, cuomo had committed top staffers to organize the lobbying of supporting groups.

cuomo signed the legalization bill June 24, 2011, after he helped persuade four senate republicans to vote for it.

New York city Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who supports gay marriage, opened his wallet to those republicans voting for the measure who each received $10,300, the maximum contribution allowed by law.

National gay marriage advocates also provided almost $50,000 in dough to the senators.

“The mayor said he would support senate republicans who stood up — and he did,” said Bloomberg spokesman Micha Lasher.

sen. ruben diaz sr., a reverend who was

the lone democratic senator to vote against gay marriage questioned publicly if senators were for sale.

“If this is not a quid pro quo, please tell me what this is?” diaz said.

regardless, lip service on fundraising is bouncing off the shoulders of cuomo who according to filings has over $9.2 million on hand.

reTIrING The deBTsenate democrats are still hefty with their

debt from the 2010 elections now standing at $2.3 million. since senator Michael Gianaris (Queens) has been serving as chairman of the democratic senate campaign committee, he’s helped raise $1 million to reduce the amount that was originally at $3.3 million.

The ability to raise a large amount of money has elevated Gianaris as a powerbroker with his democratic colleagues, though many speculate next year the cash from gay rights advocates will dwindle significantly.

On another note Gianaris’ re-election campaign committee reported $171,334 as he raised just under $100,000 the past six months. however, the Queens democrat also has a second campaign account “New Yorkers for Gianaris” activated when he was consid-ering a run for attorney General. That account

has a whopping $1.4 million sitting in it. In comparison, senate GOP Majority Leader dean skelos reported having $1.6 million currently on hand.

With cash-strapped democrats looking to fund a field of candidates next year to regain majority, Gianaris can make the difference, but only with a price, of course.

he BeTTer sTaY PuT - FOr NOW

The people of New York are showing some love to andrew cuomo. But they really like him to stay focused on New York before moving on to higher office, according to a new sienna Poll. according to the poll cuomo has the highest favorability numbers of anyone in the state, with 71 percent of those polled viewing his job performance during his first legislative session favorably.

If Obama were to drop Joe Biden in the next election, only 39 percent would support the President adding cuomo to his ticket, whereas 51 percent say they would oppose the idea.

even better for cuomo, it seems that New Yorkers like him so much they are feeling better about their state. 48 percent of New Yorkers now say the state is heading in the right direction (while 40 percent say it is not). But cuomo-love only goes so far. The public is still

not a big fan of the Legislature up in albany, even though 48 percent say it is now, as a whole, less dysfunctional.

OMG, TeXTING Is NOW NO LOLGovernor andrew cuomo brought his

bill-signing tour to every pocket of the state on Thursday reminding taxpayers that the rules have changed regarding texting while driving. The distracted driving law makes it a primary offense to operate a motor vehicle while using handheld electronic devices for any purpose other than emergencies. The offense will cost $150 in fines and three penalty points against a license.

Illegal activity includes holding an elec-tronic device and composing, sending, reading, browsing, transmitting, saving, or retrieving data such as email.

The law does not penalize drivers using a handheld electronic device that is affixed to a surface or using a GPs device that is attached to the vehicle. The law also exempts police offi-cers, fire fighters, or emergency vehicle drivers while they are performing their duties. In addi-tion, a driver is exempt from the law if the driver is communicating or attempting to communi-cate with law enforcement, the fire department, or medical personnel during an emergency situation.

Cuomo’s Gay Cash


OPED

I’ve been told by a knowledgeable friend that doctors throughout the country are notifying patients that they will no

longer accept Medicare payments for services rendered because they believe those payments are inadequate. When a physician does not accept Medicare and the patient is not otherwise insured – which is common – the patient is required to pay the full bill. Many patients are willing to go out of pocket rather than lose the services of the doctors who currently provide their medical care.

I have also been told that if a Medicare patient who pays out of pocket is admitted to a hospital, the patient will no longer be covered by Medicare’s hospital coverage and will find the hospital billing him or her directly. This is crazy, since hospital bills often run not only into the tens of thousands, but often into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

These problems will likely get worse. President Obama’s universal health coverage law provides for a $500 billion reduction in Medicare funding over a 10-year period. It is reasonable to assume more doctors will leave the system and require patients to pay their bills out of pocket. This matter must be addressed. If we are to seek ways to penalize physi-cians who reject Medicare and Medicaid patients, we must be sure to provide reasonable fees for both programs.

For a time, the Obama administration appeared to agree, as reported in The Times of June 27, 2011: “alarmed by a shortage of primary care doctors, Obama admin-istration officials are recruiting a team of ‘mystery shoppers’ to pose as patients, call doctors’ offices and request appointments

to see how difficult it is for people to get care when they need it. The administration says the survey will address a ‘critical public policy problem’: the increasing shortage of primary care doctors, including specialists in internal medicine and family practice. It will also try to discover whether doctors are accepting patients with private insurance while turning away those in government health programs that pay lower reimburse-ment rates.”

The Times went on: “according to government documents obtained from Obama administration officials, the mystery shoppers will call medical prac-tices and ask if doctors are accepting new patients, and, if so, how long the wait would be. The government is eager to know whether doctors give different answers to callers depending on whether they have public insurance, like Medicaid, or private insurance, like Blue Cross and Blue Shield.”

The Times also reported: “Most doctors accept Medicare patients, who are 65 and older or disabled. But many say they do not regard the government as a reliable business partner because it has repeatedly threatened to cut their Medicare fees. In many states, Medicaid, the program for low-income people, pays so little that many doctors refuse to accept Medicaid patients. This could become a more serious problem in 2014, when the new health law will greatly expand eligibility for Medicaid.”

The Times reported, “The calls are to begin in a few months.”

I was therefore shocked to read in The Times of June 29, 2011, “The Obama administration said Tuesday that it had shelved plans for a survey in which ‘mystery shoppers’ posing as patients would call doctors’ offices to see how difficult it was

to get appointments. ‘We have determined that now is not the time to move forward with this research project,’ the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement late Tuesday.”

a telling line in The Times article was “The decision following criticisms from doctors and politicians represents an abrupt turnabout.” The Times reported, “having coverage is not the same as having ready access to care – a fact demon-strated in Massachusetts, which has come closer than any other state to the goal of universal coverage. a recent survey by the Massachusetts Medical Society found that about half of family doctors and inter-nists were not accepting new patients.”

Who deserves the greatest blame for this scandalous state of affairs? Is it the physicians, or the politicians protecting them, or the Obama administration which has flinched so often when legislating into law the current universal health care legislation? I believe it is the Obama administration and the congress who deserve the blame.

Continued on page 17Continued from page 16

The Obama administration flinched and gave in to the prescription drug industry depriving Medicare of the right to distribute prescription drugs to beneficia-ries and to seek volume discounts in drug purchasing. Volume discounts – which are used by the Veterans Administration – could save up to a trillion dollars over a 10-year period. The administration also flinched by not allowing a “government option” for healthcare coverage. Why is it the u.s. unlike every country in Western europe, canada and Japan and other countries, has been unable to successfully take on the special interests in the field of

medical care?The reports in today’s Times of July

5th are adding to the alarm that more doctors may join the movement not to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients since, “Obama administration officials are offering to cut tens of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid in negotia-tions to reduce the federal budget deficit, but the depth of the cuts depends on whether republicans are willing to accept any increases in tax revenues.”

The Obama administration defends the offer to further reduce federal funding to Medicare and Medicaid, with The Times reporting, “administration officials and republican negotiators say the money can be taken from health care providers like hospitals and nursing homes without directly imposing new costs on needy bene-ficiaries or radically restructuring either program.” add these proposed cuts to the $500 billion cut already in the Obama budget, and doctors and patients indeed have to worry. Based on past performance, the congress will not adequately finance these programs.

at some point, doctors who have families and expenses and a lifestyle may conclude that they can bear no further cuts to income and leave the profession, and they may be right. The federal govern-ment, like the health insurance industry, has the obligation to treat doctors fairly in setting fees if doctors are to accept those fees and be available. Putting a budget together requires setting priorities: surely Medicare and Medicaid are top priorities.

Of course, doctors have to be paid fair fees by the government, as do the insur-ance companies. If the fees are not fair, too low (doctors say some fees don’t pay the


Continued from page 15improving our families. In order for our chil-dren to meet the challenges of tomorrow, families must provide children with motiva-tion, morals, encouragement and leadership─ today.

The only way for our community to have thriving neighborhoods, a considerable crime reduction, and better schools is by making an exten-sive investment in the well being of our youth.

Many of our elected officials have failed

to rally the community to work on improving the central issues that affect a healthy family. again, the focus must be on the youth. In helping our youth become well-rounded individuals, elected officials should focus on collaborative programs that promote the value of learning while emphasizing life skills training, conflict resolution, and effective communication.

as the New York representative of Blacks in Law enforcement of america, I know

firsthand that many of these programs can be successfully conducted by utilizing a combina-tion of community volunteers, which includes faith-based collaborations, non-profits and other organizations.

To achieve any sustainable reduction in crime, our elected officials must engage in an aggressive plan to identify and promote social service programs that provide meaningful assistance for families in need. This is espe-cially critical to those families with children,

to prevent the youth from growing up being/feeling neglected and joining on to so-called gangs and engage in criminal actives. The offender of tomorrow is often the at-risk child of today whose needs are not being addressed.

as your councilman, I will utilize my networks and contacts and bring positive results in reaching out to youth to make them better citizens and stake holders for the future of Mt. Vernon.

The author is a candidate for the Mount Vernon City Council.

Reinvest in the Family Structure to Move Mt. Vernon Forward

ED KOCH COMMENTARY

Shamefully, Medicare and Medicaid Are Being Abandoned By President Obama and Both Political PartiesBy ED KOCH


Continued from page 16office costs), the federal government has an obligation to raise them. Of course, prescrip-tion drug companies have to be paid fair fees for their products. But when advertising costs are twice that of research and development, there is something wrong with the pricing of prescription drugs. The federal govern-ment has a role to play in fixing those prices. In canada, the prices require governmental approval, and are up to 50 percent less than those charged in the u.s. also many drug companies are indebted to the u.s. govern-ment for its basic research in developing drugs on which the companies profit. does the u.s. government and taxpayer receive their fair share of the profits that will ulti-mately be made?

What is lacking in this whole tawdry business is leadership on the part of the Obama administration. What is clearly present and regrettable is the political fear

displayed by that administration and the lack of courage on the part of the congress. What is shocking is the greed of the prescrip-tion drug companies. We, particularly those on Medicare, look to our doctors to work their magic and extend our lives. We look to the government to keep our Medicare programs viable. The poorest of our popula-tion on Medicaid are even more vulnerable and dependent on both doctor and govern-ment. however, doctors should not expect their medical practices to become simply charities borne by them. There are roles for government to assume, surely Medicare and Medicaid are appropriate roles for govern-ment to administer.

shamefully, Medicare and Medicaid are being abandoned by President Obama and both political parties.

The Honorable Edward Irving Koch served New York City as its105th Mayor from 1978 to 1089.

ED KOCH COMMENTARY

Shamefully, Medicare and Medicaid Are Being Abandoned By President Obama and Both Political Parties

http://www.honda.com


TREND ALERT

KINGsTON, NY -- “read all about It!” You couldn’t not read all about it! The media was full of reports about how happy stock market days

were here again. after a stormy start, June closed and July began with us benchmark indexes racking up their biggest weekly gains in two years on good news: the us manufacturing index had unexpectedly risen, and the beleaguered debt-burdened Greeks were bailed out yet again – piling un-payable new debt on top of un-payable old debt.

Yes, there was some concern, but, as The New York Times reported on June 25th, “Two years into the official recovery, the economy is still behaving like a plane taxiing indefinitely on the runway. Few economists are predicting an out-and-out return to recession … analysts generally expect the economy to pick up in the second half.”

The economists were forecasting

strong job growth for June. But two weeks later, when the numbers came in, the Bureau of Labor statistics reported that only 18,000 jobs had been created – not the 125,000 jobs projected … by those same economists who were also not “predicting an out-and-out return to recession.”

accordingly, without missing a beat, the Times changed its tune – writing new words to replace the old words they would never be forced to eat:

Feeble Job Numbers ShowRecovery Starting to Stall

defying economists Forecast for hiring,unemployment creeps up to 9.2% For the second consecutive month,

employers added scarcely any jobs in June, startling evidence that the economic recovery is stumbling … The government also revised downward the small gain for the previous month to 25,000 new jobs, less than half the original estimate. (The New York Times, 9 July 2011)

“dismal Jobs data rock us recovery” and “Worries Grow Over Jobs,” read the

respective headlines in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal on July 9th, dissipating the air of optimism that had recently rallied equity markets.

“employment!” More than factory orders, GdP, corporate profits, retail sales, durable goods … employment was the one big number that counted. There was no way to spin the consequences of 18,000 mostly low paying health care and hospitality jobs into the hopeful message implied by the 125,000 jobs forecast by most economists.

The equation was simple; the more people out of work, the less they consume. and in the united states, where consumer spending accounts for an estimated 70 percent of the GdP, without increased consumer spending, the economy was again recession bound.

Virtually overnight, one dire employ-ment report unraveled two years’ worth of government spin and media complicity. In april 2010, Vice President Joseph Biden promised, “we’re going to be creating between 250,000 jobs a month and 500,000 jobs a month.” and in august 2010, Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner declared that the “actions we took at its height [of the crisis] to stimu-late the economy helped arrest the freefall, preventing an even deeper collapse and putting the economy on the road to recovery.”

But almost a year later, talking on “Meet the Press,” two days after the devas-tating employment data was released, the new, revised Geithner forecast was, “Oh, I think it’s [the recovery] going to take a long time still. This is a very tough economy. and I think for a lot of people it’s going to be – it’s going to feel very hard, harder than anything they’ve experienced in their lifetime now, for some time to come.”

Like the Biden boast long-buried and un-exhumed, the Geithner state-ment, a direct contradiction of his former projection went unchallenged, given the usual free pass by the “Meet the Press” Presstitutes.

There was, and is, no “return to reces-sion.” as The Trends research Institute had been forecasting since the onset of the Great recession and the “Panic of ’08,” all those “bold actions” proudly cited

by Geithner were no more than financial Prozac – multi-trillion-dollar band aids, palliatives, placebos and cover-ups pack-aged as TarP, the american recovery and reinvestment act, Qe2, and so on. at best, the “bold actions” merely guided the Great recession into a brief remission, and that is all.

Global Ponzi It was a cover-up, not a recovery. and while the us may have been the first, it was not the only nation to try to fraudulently finagle its way out of a crisis and into prosperity. Like the us bailouts, the Greek survival package – praised as an important stopgap success only last week – has neither guaranteed keeping the Greek banking system afloat nor guaranteed it won’t default.

Now Italy has caught the conta-gion. Fattest of the PIIGs (acronym for Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and spain) – the eurozone’s third largest economy – with its 120 percent public debt to GdP ratio, Italy is bleeding red ink all over its balance sheet. Borrowing more to service its debt load and imposing draconian austerity measures to reign in government spending will, at best, provide a respite from the financial crisis … or, at worst, foment a revolution. (see, “Off With Their heads, 2.0, Trends Journal, autumn 2010)

Then there’s china, who panicked when the “Panic of 08” blew out their export driven economy, and, like the West, used cheap credit and huge stimulus packages to prevent a major economic contraction. While china’s crisis differs from the West’s in that it has large currency reserves and its debt is homegrown and home-loaned, it’s still debt and has to be repaid.

and unlike the West, which pumped trillions into just keeping its economies afloat, the chinese multi-trillion yuan infusions have created an immense, ready-to-pop property bubble. But this time, like the West, there will be no available fiscal or monetary government policies to re-inflate their faltering economy.

and as goes the us, europe and china – so goes the rest of the world. From India to Israel, Brazil to Bangladesh, chile to russia, no nation will escape the economic fallout and few will escape the political consequences.


Piigs, Presstitutes and the Global Meltdown

fun & free eventsit’s summer downtown

Music, Dance, Movies, Yoga & more!

3 Outdoor Dance & Music Parties on July 14th, 21st, and 28th with dance lessons at 6pm, and music at 7pm on Library Green.

2nd Annual “Jazz in July” New Rochelle Summer Festival on Friday July 8th at participating restaurants, and July 9th, and 10th at Library Green.

Disney Summer Hit Parade movies Mondays, from July 11th to August 8th at 6pm at the New Rochelle Public Library.

All About Animals Wednesdays, from July 6th to August 10th, 11am–1pm, at the New Rochelle Public Library.

The Wizard of Oz — Outdoor Movie on the Green and costume contest on Thursday, August 4th at Library Green at 8pm.

International Music & Dance Event every Tuesday, from July 5th to August 9th at 7pm at New Rochelle Public Library.

Yoga on the Green Fridays every Friday evening, July 8th to August 12th at Library Green.

For a full schedule of times and dates visit www.newrochelledowntown.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITORPlease submit your Letter to the Editor electronically, that is by directing email to [email protected] Please confine your writing to between 350 and 500 words. Your name, address, and telephone contact is requested for verification purpose only. A Letter to the Editor will be accepted at the editor’s discretion when space permits. A maximum of one submission per month may be accepted.


LEGAL NOTICESCLASSIFIED ADSAmkai LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/10/11. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 3/26/07 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 200 Business Park DR Ste 208 Ar-monk, NY 10504. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St Wilm-ington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Salinaro Vistas Consulting LLC Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 6/17/2011. Off. Loc.: Westchester Cnty. SSNY designated as agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, 1 Burnside Avenue, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706. Purpose: all lawful activities.

SG FIRE PROTECTION LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/31/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY de-sign. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 198 PARK AVE. W. Harrison, NY 10604 Purpose: Any lawful activity. Registered Agent: Gaetano Vitolo 198 PARK AVE. W. Harrison, NY 10604

FLEUR RESEARCH LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/14/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 100 Hickory Lane Bedford, NY 10506 Purpose: Any lawful activity.

MAK & GER LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/31/11. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 1/18/11 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 50 Manhattan Ave – 2H NY, NY 10025. DE address of LLC: 800 Delaware Ave PO Box 8702 Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of R. Jaundoo Realty LLC. Filed with the Secy. Of State of NY(SSNY) On 02/09/11. Office loca-tion: Westchester County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon Whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 4021 Paulding Ave Bronx NY 10466. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

TI VALDEZ LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 5/5/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Robert Valdez 17 Alpine Rd New Rochelle, NY 10804 Purpose: Any lawful activity.

QUICK CASH OF WESTCHESTER AVE. LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/18/2009. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 2712 East Tremont Ave Bronx, NY 10461 Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PUBMATCH, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 7/8/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Mr Jon Malinowski 277 White Street Buchanan, NY 10511 Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Pastor- Conduct worship service to congregation; Prepare and deliver sermons; Be available for personal discipleship and counseling. Req. MA in Divinity, Resume to: New York Great Faith Church 261E. Lincoln Avenue, Mt. Vernon, NY 10552

Prime Retail - Westchester CountyBest Location in Yorktown Heights1100 Sq. Ft. Store $3100; 1266 Sq. Ft. store $2800 and 450 Sq. Ft. Store $1200.Suitable for any type of business. Contact Jaime: 914.632.1230

Get Noticed Get Noticed

Legal Notices, Advertise TodayLegal Notices,

Advertise Today

1 column2 column

Office Space Available-Prime Location, Yorktown Heights

1,000 Sq. Ft.: $1800. Contact Jaime: 914.632.1230Deer Mngmnt seeks Lead Application De-veloper in Larchmont, NY to support analy-sis, design, impl & testing of new & existing bus systems & serve as lead programmer for custom app dev related areas incl software coding, database design, & report writing. Resumes to Deer Management Co LLC., ATTN: JAmbrosino, 1865 Palmer Avenue, Larchmont, NY 10538, Ref. job code: LAD-029. No calls/emails/faxes EOE.

TREND ALERT

Continued from page 18Yet, despite the widely available economic

facts and the ample evidence of faulty forecasts and failed government policies, the mainstream media continues to sell the public the big lie. By providing cover for the politicians and finan-ciers, the Presstitutes of the world – with their stable of “well respected” pundits – are accom-plices in promoting the egregiously transparent cover-up as a “recovery.”

Trendpost: after descending to $1,480 less than two weeks ago, as this is written, gold is flirting with $1,600. We see this surge as a recognition of the greater financial and socio-economic collapse we have been forecasting since the onset of the “Panic of ’08.” We hold to our forecast of “Gold $2,000,” and depending on how the coming crisis unfolds and the responses to it made by governments and central banks, $2,000 may prove but a temporary ceiling before climbing higher.

Learn more from Gerald celente, Trends Journal publisher, by contacting Zeke West, Media relations, [email protected], or calling 845 331.3500, ext. 1.

Piigs, Presstitutes and the Global Meltdown

ThursdaY, JuLY 21, 2011The WesTchesTer GuardIaN


http://www.sazonnyc.com

Westchester Guardian

Documents

Transcript of Westchester Guardian