Westchester Now
Newsday Westchester's news blog, covering snippets of government, politics, crime, transportation, education and local events in Westchester, Rockland and the Hudson Valley.
Mount Kisco clearing the field for new park
A legal path has been cleared for the construction of a new municipal park in Mount Kisco, at least when it comes to the county signing off on the project.
The new park would be about 6 acres and take up roughly half of the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester’s Main Street location. Mount Kisco wants to buy the parcel from the nonprofit organization for $600,000, said Brian Skanes,...
Read more »Spring Valley Fire Department gets $280K in federal funds
Photo credit: John Meore
The Spring Valley Fire Department was one of 12,000 applicants from across the U.S. selected to receive a hefty amount of funds from a competitive federal grant program, officials said Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters grant program awarded $280,000 to the volunteer department in the Rockland County village of about 32,000 people.
“At a time...
Read more »Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. to meet with feds again about his father's shooting death
Photo credit: Rory Glaeseman
Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. and his family's lawyers are scheduled to meet again Wednesday with federal prosecutors reviewing the shooting death of his father, a 68-year-old African-American man gunned down by a white White Plains police officer on Nov. 19, 2011.
Chamberlain Jr. had already met once last June with Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kennedy, a senior civil rights prosecutor....
Read more »Hudson Valley grad's blood-clotting invention goes viral
Photo credit: Handout
A 2010 Hudson Valley graduate has found himself on page 19 of the New York Post on Monday -- not for scandal or intrigue -- but for discovering a gel that one day could save soldiers' lives.
Joe Landolina, 20, of Pine Bush, and his business partners at Suneris Inc. have developed a gel patch that can be placed on a wound to quickly stop the bleeding. He has partnered with a cardiovascular...
Read more »Another round of winter, Timberlake's '20/20' released: Top 5 stories for March 19, 2013
Photo credit: AP
1) Will winter ever end? The Hudson Valley is expected to get up to 6 inches of snow Monday into Tuesday -- just in time to foul the morning commute. Last year on St. Paddy's Day, it was sunny and in the 70s. This year, temperatures barely cracked 40. Raise your hand if you're ready for spring! Oh, wait …. that starts Wednesday. 2) Local political contests may lack the glamour and glitz of state...
Read more »March Madness, stop and frisk, 'Dancing with the Stars': Top stories for Monday, March 18
Photo credit: AP
1) New Rochelle High's boys basketball team ran out of miracles, but the Iona College Gaels and their fans are hoping for one of their own after they were riveted to jumbo television screens Sunday evening to find out whom the Gaels would play in the NCAA Tournament. The answer: No. 2 seed and Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State in a West Regional game later this week.
2) A lawsuit over New...
Read more »Deer contraception plans under way in Hastings-on-Hudson
Photo credit: Getty Images
Now here’s something people don’t talk about every day: birth control for deer. But in Hastings-on-Hudson, it’s the hot topic on the agenda for Tuesday night’s regular board of trustees meeting.
Tufts University veterinary expert Allen Rutberg will be making a presentation that details his upcoming plan to dart deer with a contraceptive that can keep the animals from getting pregnant for up...
Read more »Ides of March: How Shakespeare popularized Julius Caesar's death date
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Today is March 15, a date also known as “the Ides of March," and associated with the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE.
Caesar, dictator of the Roman Empire, was stabbed to death at a meeting of the senate. His assassination was planned by as many as 60 conspirators led by senators Brutus and Cassius. Caesar's life and death was chronicled by Greek storyteller Plutarch, but it was another...
Read more »St. Paddy's revelry, moms on skates: Top 5 for Friday, March 15
Photo credit: Elizabeth Daza
1) Watch some local moms behave like NFL linemen! The first-ever Westchester County Suburbia Roller Derby match is slated for Saturday in Yonkers. Check out Newsday's video profile of the skaters, and grab your tickets early through the team's website. You can even knock back beers in double time -- VIP ticket holders get "skatetress service" during the inaugural match. 2) Need a job and...
Read more »Silenced East Ramapo public's only recourse is the polls
Photo credit: Faye Murman
The East Ramapo School Board president called community activists miscreants and labeled students the pawns of adults Tuesday, just before taking a step toward effectively silencing public comment with a policy change. And there's not much frustrated parents can do about it.
Daniel Schwartz said those folks had chosen to use public comment as "a vehicle of both intimidation and to harass,...
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