Page 10 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE...Shifting Gears Pg. 11 BOOKS Hanging Captain Gordon Pg. 8 Felix Protests Cats Pg. 8 BUSINESS Citibank Opens Yonkers Financial Center Pg. 1 Villarina’s

WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNEOctOber 26, 2006

The Hezitorial

VOlume 1 • Number 8

BRIEFING

LLC

A & EJames Joyce’s The DeadPg. 8

Poet Thomas LuxPg. 8

Tuned InPg. 8

AUTOMOTIVEShifting GearsPg. 11

BOOKSHanging Captain GordonPg. 8

Felix Protests CatsPg. 8

BUSINESSCitibank Opens Yonkers Financial CenterPg. 1

Villarina’s Grand Open-ingPg. 10

CUISINEThe WesFoodie’sPg. 10

EDUCATION PTA Council of New RochellePg. 7

Huguenot Children’s LibraryPg. 7

EpIpHANy pARKZuri A. StanbackPg. 3

THE HEZITORIALAyatollah Spencer and His Political JihadistsPg. 3

LAWWomen’s Health and Wellness Law UpheldPg. 7

LETTERSPg. 3

IN MEMORIAMCarl A. VergariPg. 1

Op-EDCallaghan Offers RewardPg. 6

City Hall Names McLaughlinPg. 6

EnergyPg. 4

Ethics Reform EffortPg. 3

The Handiwork of Political OperativesPg. 1

H.O.N.E.S.T.Y.Pg. 4

A Look Ahead To AlbanyPg. 1

Mike Spano Attacks Assembly MajorityPg. 6

A Pass For HillaryPg. 1

Henry J. SternPg. 4

The View From AlbanyPg. 5

The Solution For Our EconomyPg. 5

pOLITICS My Record of ReformPg. 1

pOTpOURRI Chabad of RivertownsPg. 8

New Rochelle FD Dem-onstrate Safety RopesPg. 11

see A Pass For Hillary pg.4see Politcal Operatives Pg. 4

By Robert Novak

Posted Oct 19, 2006 on Human Events Online, the online version of The National Conservative Weekly.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- John Spencer, the former mayor of Yon-kers, N.Y., dropped into Wash-ington Tuesday to get briefed by conservative think tank experts in preparation for two debates against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. No national Republican or Bush ad-ministration official conferred with Spencer, the party’s Senate nomi-nee. That signifies Clinton is get-ting a free pass to pursue both na-tional party-building and her own presidential ambitions. “I’ve been stabbed in the back,” Spencer told me. He had been urged to run by party leaders but then re-ceived no support from them, fi-nancial or otherwise, at either the national or state level (not even from the Republican governor of New York). Trying to campaign in the Empire State with a ludicrously small budget of half a million dol-lars, Spencer is unknown to 75 per-

By Jason GooljarHARTSDALE, NY -- As the elec-tion in November draws near. I’m reminded of the handiwork of one of the most notorious political op-eratives any party has ever known. That man is none other than Karl Rove. He is the reason to not be over confident, because you never know what he’s capable of orga-nizing and doing on behalf of the Republican Party. He’ll use fear and tactics of dividing the elector-ate to gain a favorable outcome. In the book Bush’s Brain by Moore & Slater; I have observed the follow-

The Handiwork of political Operatives

cent of New York voters. He will get rare statewide television exposure, Friday night and Sunday morning, in the only two debates accepted by Clinton. With the McCain-Feingold cam-paign reform severely restricting funds for political parties, the White House and Republican National Committee (RNC) have concentrat-ed on supporting the party’s incum-bents, who are needed to keep GOP control of Congress, rather than helping long shot challengers. That means the Republicans are play-ing defense, permitting Clinton to crisscross the country raising an es-timated $20 million in party funds. The absence of a viable opposition enabled her to go to Miami last Fri-day for a $10,000-a-plate dinner funding the impoverished Florida Democratic Party. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, chairman of the National Republican Senato-rial Committee (NRSC), met Spen-cer when he came to Washington in May 2005 to explore a Senate campaign. “You have a compelling story,” she told Spencer. A Vietnam War combat officer, recovering al-coholic and a self-made business-man, he was a unique mayor in New York who governed effectively as a tax-cutting conservative. Clinton in the Senate has voted against tax cuts while her state has lost 74,000 jobs amid national prosperity. Once he decided to run, Spencer cleared out potential opponents for the Republican nomination (Ed-ward Cox, Richard Nixon’s politi-cally inexperienced son-in-law, and Jeanine Pirro, the former district at-torney who attracts bad publicity).

see My Record of Reform Pg. 5

In Memoriam: Carl A. Vergari

see Carl A. Vergari Pg. 9

Citibank Celebrates Opening of Yonkers Financial Center

Page 3Weakened Faith

Page 9Bullies In Medicine

Page 10

YONKERS, NY -- As part of its commitment to provide superior products and services and expand its retail distribution network, Ci-tibank last week celebrated the opening of its new full-service Fi-nancial Center in Yonkers. “Citibank is thrilled to open this new Financial Center in Yonkers,” said Robert Fraioli, Manager of the Financial Center. “We are proud to be part of this community and to provide innovative financial prod-ucts and services to meet all our customers’ needs.” To commemorate the opening, Ci-tibank presented a $20,000 grant to the Greyston Foundation to support its efforts. “We are proud to provide this grant to the Greyston Founda-tion ” said Robert Fraioli, Financial Center Manager. “At Citibank, we are committed to helping make a difference in the communities where we work and live.” The new Citibank Financial Cen-ter provides solutions for consumers and small businesses to help them

meet their financial goals; innova-tive products and services include personal and business banking, investment accounts, mortgages and insurance. The new Financial Center also offers all clients the opportunity to complete Citipro, a complimentary financial needs check-up program that focuses on helping them achieve financial bal-ance. Citibank’s Yonkers Financial Cen-ter offers four ATMs and is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Thursday from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Representatives will be able to assist customers in English and Spanish languages. Consumers are offered around-the-clock banking using onsite ATMs, online banking, and telephone banking services.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com

Mayor Amicone conducts ribbon cutting at official grand opening of Citibank’s Yonkers Financial Center.

Former Westchester District At-torney Carl A. Vergari died peace-fully on October 15th from injuries suffered in a fall in September. He leaves behind his loving wife of 59 years, Genevieve Lindemann, who he married in Fargo, North Dakota on December 26, 1947. He also leaves his beloved daughter, Jeanne Martinelli, his son-in-law, Yonkers City Court Judge Michael A. Mar-tinelli, his daughter-in-law, Jane D’Apice Vergari, his four grand-

children, Bohn Vergari, Jr., Carl Andrew Vergari, Jeanette Martinelli Ligniti, Michael Martinelli, Jr., and all who knew him affectionately as “Boss.” His beloved son, Bohn C. Vergari, predeceased him in 2002. Carl lived a remarkable life. He was respected and loved not only by his family and wide circle of friends, but by his colleagues and adversar-ies alike. His life was marked by an commitment to honesty and justice

A pass for Hillary

Left to right: NYS Assemblyman George Latimer; Kathy Yoon (CNR stu-dent); Araba Adjei-Koranteng (CNR student); Terri Eberle Boyle, Direc-

tor of Government Relations at CNR; and Bethany Bellino (CNR student).

NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Last week, for the second consecutive year, New York State Assemblyman George Latimer visited The College of New Rochelle’s Main Campus to help raise awareness of domestic violence; October is the Domestic Violence Awareness Month nation-wide. CNR’S Campus Ministry and Student Services departments are collaborating to support the domes-tic violence awareness efforts of the New York State Legislature, as well

NYS Assemblyman George Latimer Visits The College of New Rochelle’s Main Campus to Raise Awareness

of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking

as to learn how to effect changes to human trafficking laws and advo-cate for peace and justice issues. Assemblyman Latimer is also co-sponsoring a state-wide bill against human trafficking. At 7 PM on Thursday, October 26, Campus Ministry and CNR’s Pax Christi Chapter, “Peacebuilders,” will co-sponsor an event entitled “Stuck in Traffick” to educate the community and advocate for enslaved people throughout the world.

By Senator Nick Spano

During the 2005-2006 Legislative Session, the State Senate passed a number of important reform bills --- almost all of which were signed into law by the Governor and, made many significant changes to its own Rules. This session was not only an extremely successful, but a person-ally gratifying one as well. During the last Session, the fol-lowing reform bills were adopted by both the Senate and the Assem-bly and signed into law by the Gov-ernor.

My Record of ReformAccomplishments2005-2006 Legislative Session

This is a very important reform measure establishes the procedure for implementation of a contin-gency budget on the first day of the fiscal year in the event the legisla-ture has not finally acted upon all appropriation bills submitted by the governor. In addition, it enacts provisions relating to appropriations for pub-lic education; submission of finan-cial plans; requires use of separate schedules; multi-year financial plan changes; provides for additional

By Senator Jeff KleinAs we approach the start of the 2007 legislative session, I’d like to provide a brief overview of some of the important issues I plan to ad-dress in the State Senate. In addi-tion to property tax relief, improv-ing public safety and ensuring that we provide quality healthcare to our residents, I plan to introduce the following pieces of legislation:

A Look Ahead to AlbanyJanuary 2007

see A Look Ahead to Albany Pg. 6

OCTOBER 26, 2006pAGE 2 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

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Shifting GearsRoger Witherspoon

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View From AlbanyAssemblyman George Latimer

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Ayatollah Spencer and His political JihadistsEpiphany Park • The Hezitorial • Op-Ed • Letters to the Editor

Letters To The Editor

By Hezi Aris

There was a time when Republicans and Democrats would work toward the benefit of their community. The apron strings of decorum were maintained by party affiliations. Those days have long ago faded from the political horizons. Witness the dysfunction of the Yonkers City Council. Potential, though disappointing Democratic wunderkind Chuck Le-snick, Yonkers City Council Presi-dent, squandered his leadership potential by pandering to every interest group in the city; satisfying none. His comedic antics defy rea-son. One day it’s a “charette,” the next it is a charade. In the upcoming contentious issue of accepting Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone’s designation of Edmund Hartnett for the soon to be vacant position of Yonkers Police Com-missioner, Lesnick has expressed a desire to have the public become part of the appointment process. Were it to come about, Lesnick could painstakingly feign interest in public opinion, relegate the pro-cess of public input into the scrap heap, and then claim the charade had value. If Lesnick wants to change the function of the Yonkers City Coun-cil, which is designated to simply advise and consent, let him promote the passage of a resolution to amend the Yonkers City Charter. Anything less is simply disingenuous. Let’s face it folks, when you call the City Council President’s office

to find that the person who picks up the telephone is not familiar with the name of Adam (Brill), Lesn-ick’s Chief-of-Staff, as I did last week, you know you have a loose ship. Worse still, how much of tax payer’s money is spent on remuner-ating her ineptitude? Or is it obfus-cation? $50,000, perhaps $90,000? Only Chuck knows. Minority Leader Pat McDow is of-ten a cohort to “crime” perpetrated by Lesnick, evidently in deference to Yonkers Democratic Commit-tee Chairman Ken Jenkins, while Councilmember Dennis Robertson, one-time supporter of Amicone, has placed his bets upon the atrophying influences of the disHonorable John Spencer. Ayatollah Spencer shares his spiked Kool-Aid with Minority Leader Liam McLaughlin, who has adopted the political guerilla tactics of his former and present mentor, as witnessed by his stalling approval of the Yonkers Capital Improvement Budget. By conducting their sub-terfuge of the Yonkers City Coun-cil and Yonkers Mayor Amicone by any means possible, McLaugh-lin and Robertson serve Ayatollah Spencer by dismissing the constitu-ency that they have sworn to serve, proving the adage that once they have attained political office they do as they please, forgetting the electorate in their hubris. Councilmember Sandy Annabi seems more focused on her future political career potential than the agenda at hand; likely cajoled by the fact that she is often dismissed by the ever-changing power strug-

gles of the City Council. Councilmembers Dee Barbato and John Murtagh, having so of-ten given voice to public concerns seem to be suffering from a newly discovered political strain of laryn-gitis, exacerbated by the political arm twisting and horse-trading ses-sions demanded of them to secure their own political viability. Lest City Hall succumb to their own spin, they too, are standing on the wrong foot. Too often City Hall throws resolutions, legislation, and development project requests for last minute approval. The Hope VI project, a process for which win-ning designation was long sought and finally won years later by Municipal Housing Authority Ad-ministrator Peter Smith is further stalled by the lack of forthcoming responses by the Amicone Admin-istration. Corporation Council’s last minute briefings, unanswered ques-tions, and the Taliban Jihadist duo at play, the Hope VI deadline dates may lapse into a calamitous situa-tion which would pit the City of Yonkers against HUD. Thank you all. While Ayatollah Spencer and his band of political Jihadists hide their true colors in the City of Hills, the people of Yonkers suffer. The game is up; its time to serve the public good. When Democracy was designated with a capital “D,” society overall believed in the principals and the process by which candidates were elected, and/or re-elected to office. The candidate spoke with author-

ity about the agenda chosen to be espoused. The titular head was ex-pected to give expression and sub-stance to the tenets of the platform to which those in support would di-rect their effort toward the political cause. Baby boomers often romanti-cize the Kennedy years, reliving the germination of their involvement in politics for the very first time. The baby boomer generation painted a broad brush stroke of cynicism of their parents’ political ties. Many would immerse themselves into the political milieu energized by the words of John Kennedy, validated by the moral compass expressed by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., empowered by the challenge to the status quo in the words of Malcolm X, the masses that gravitated about the 1960’s musings of Daniel Ben-dit-Cohn in the street riots of Paris, among other luminaries. These people, among so many others evaluated the conditions of their time and emerged with var-ied avenues toward change, based on their reflective genius and their charismatic oratory. These people infused their world with facets not often congruous to an evolution of the status quo; they mesmerized followers to the wisdom of their repertory of thought. They capti-vated a wide audience by their se-ductive soliloquies. They defined their unique cerebral acumen by wrapping it with exuberant and flamboyant strings of intense lead-ership qualities that today are too often lacking among the discourse of the world stage.

In attending the wake of former Westchester District Attorney Carl A. Vergari, among the many digni-taries drawn to pay respect to a man and his family from far and wide, I felt the immense loss of his pass-ing, having never met the man, re-lying on the impression of respect he had garnered by living his life, and conducting his good offices that are best defined as compassionate, just, and honest. His passing cries out to those among us who could don those attributes with such elo-quence. In our daily struggle to raise the bar toward plateaus of excellence, we often hear of the need for men-tors, those whom we may emulate in differing endeavors. Attempts at finding those mentors for the chil-dren we educate is a continuing and worthy search. Focusing on that is-sue and so many more, equally rel-evant, many will agree that we no longer have the luxury of time to focus on all that we need to excel at or near our potential. We are inun-dated with so much responsibility, contending with so many concerns over family, community, employ-ment, taxes, health, and more, that we may have chosen an easy way out. The loss of political leaders may have exacerbated our moving to-ward that choice. Our leaders left us stranded. Many did so because the became the poster children of our ills; not the issues that concerned our society so much, as being less that we had hoped for. They no

In the race for state Comptroller. in an article, “Hevesi’s rival inches up in poll,” (The Journal News, Cara Matthews, 10/19/06), cites recent statistics in this race with Christopher Callaghan gaining in voter polls. This increase in voter support is attributed to Alan Hevesi using “a government employee to chauffeur his wife.” While Hevesi paid $83,000 for this to the government, according to Cal-laghan, Hevesi still owes $211,000. Another compliant lodged against Hevesi was that he used his office staff was campaign workers. But there is one additional thing that should be mentioned about Alan Hevesi. He allowed gay mar-ried couples from other jurisdic-

Mr. Morris, I have been the Chairman of the Yonkers Board of Assessment Review for the past 30 years and as a result of seeing first hand the many abuses to the taxpayers of this City by the past two admin-istrations I have sent reams of paper and countless complaints to your office requesting Mr. Hevesi to investigate the activities of the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA) and the Com-munity Development Bureau with regard to the spending of Federal and State funds. I have written Mr. Lijoi, Mr. Hancox, Frances Smith, and Mr. Fiore in addition to Mr. Hevesi. Aside from an occasional letter I have not succeeded in getting anyone to do anything for the homeowners of this city. A city with a history of incompetence, misfeasance, malfeasance, constant fiscal issues, declining property values, year in and year out; NO

one cares! I have made a special issue of the nValley Technology Center. The story is well known and well docu-mented. It has been a scam from day one. Exemplified by the origi-nal Public Hearing Notice by the YIDA which supposedly described the proposed projects. In its face, the notice bears little resemblance to what the building was being developed for; and to me, that is fraud. Government, both State and Federal funding in various forms, total to date, $21 million plus of what the IDA invested which may or may not be included in that figure. Word has it that a past client of the YIDA is going to purchase the building for $10 million. That is a loss of $11 million in taxpayer funds. Can you let this go unchal-lenged?

Sidney G. SlovesYonkers, NY

An Open Letter To State Comptroller Hank Morris

The Race for Ny State Comptroller

tions to have marriage pension benefits. It is improper for Hevesi to use sleight of hand to recognize these marriages because our state only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman. He shows disrespect for the citizens of our state because this benefit redefines marriage without regard for our New York State law. A vote for Christoper Cal-laghan who does not support these unlawful gay marriage benefits is a vote for honesty and integrity in government. John Booth, New Rochelle, NY

By Matthew Cossolotto The current ethics inquiry into the Congressional page scandal in-volving former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and how the leadership handled possible evidence of im-propriety brings back some rather unpleasant memories for me. In 1989, as the aide to then-Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas) who helped to compile and edit his book, “Re-flections of a Public Man,” I was called as a witness in that ethics investigation. Looking at the Foley investiga-tion from afar, and taking into ac-count the dismal record of ethics enforcement in recent years, it’s disheartening in the extreme that so little seems to have changed since my up-close-and-personal encoun-ter with the ethics process on Capi-tol Hill. There have been many calls for ethics reform in Congress over the years, but almost nothing has been done. The most important principle to codify in any proposed ethics reform is to make the investigation independent from political self-in-terest. This requires a separate of-fice, as has been proposed by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and others. In this connection, the current in-quiry into the Foley case should be conducted by an independent coun-sel of some kind. Another key principle is to insu-late staff — and pages for that mat-ter — from the threat of retribution for telling the truth. Staffers know a great deal about what’s going on in their offices. But under the current system, they have no incentive to come forward. They are not guar-anteed confidentiality if they report wrongdoing, so they have a tenden-cy to simply look the other way. Having been there, done that, I want to raise my voice today for a thorough ethics overhaul on Capitol

Former Hill Staffers Should Head Up Ethics Reform Effort

Term “Congressional Ethics” Need Not Be an Oxymoron

Hill. And I believe former Congres-sional staffers should spearhead the reform effort. I think it’s time to form a bipartisan association of former Congressional staff for eth-ics reform. Why former staffers? Clearly, former staffers have the benefit of knowing how the system works on Capitol Hill while also having the luxury of being somewhat insulated from potential positive induce-ments and negative consequences that could affect current staff. So our perspective could provide in-valuable insights as the next Con-gress considers various options for ethics reform. Let’s face it: Any effective eth-ics probe relies heavily on truthful testimony from both Members and staff. I have to believe, for example, that many staff members of former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) knew something odd was going on between their boss and all those defense contractors. You don’t sud-denly start living like something out of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” without your staff catch-ing on. But where is the incentive for staffers who know or suspect wrongdoing to come forward? Congressional staffers serve at the pleasure of their bosses. Because decisions regarding employment,

promotions and pay rest solely with the House Member or Sena-tor, staffers are subject to being punished or rewarded depending on how they testify. There is no such thing as any effective whistle-blow-er protection on Capitol Hill. For-mer staff can appreciate the ethical bind in which current staffers too often find themselves caught. We know all about the “go along to get along” ethic. All of this strikes at the heart of the integrity of any ethics inquiry, and therefore must not be swept un-der the rug. Here are seven sugges-tions I think should be considered as part of a sweeping overhaul of the ethics process on Capitol Hill.• Congress should get serious about educating all Members and staff about standards of conduct. There should be mandatory ethics ori-entation and education programs. Ultimately, the goal of meaningful ethics reform is to prevent unethi-cal behavior from occurring in the first place.• Congress should declare that it demands the truth from employees who become ethics witnesses. To enforce this “Truth in Testimony” rule, Congress should punish those found to have knowingly lied to Congress. As a corollary, the use of threats and/or vilification to impede others from telling the truth — or to discredit their testimony when they do — must be strictly forbidden.• Congress should outlaw the spec-tacle of a single attorney represent-ing multiple witnesses. Even if out-right perjury never occurs, such a practice at the very least gives the appearance of orchestration of tes-timony. To avoid the appearance of col-lusion and obstruction, ethics rules should clearly discourage witnesses from discussing their testimony be-

see Ethics Reform Effort Pg. 4

Evans-Novak Political Report • NYCivic • Op-EdOCTOBER 26, 2006pAGE 4 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

ing tactics that Karl Rove has used to his advantage in the past. You will most likely see the similarities if you look closely at some of the Republican campaigns of this year. 1. Attack, attack, and attackKarl Rove believes in staying on the attack at all times. When you have to explain yourself, it basical-ly means that you have lost. Thus, you attack and make the other side stay on the defensive and have to deny or explain why they did some-thing. Or make them deny a rumor. A way to counter this, I feel, is to not directly answer the offensive but rather counter with an offensive of your own. An example could be the following.Question from Reporter to Candi-date:Is it true while in college you ex-perimented with illegal drugs?Answer:That question, I find is irrelevant. When my opponent, as Governor, is responsible for the cutting of drug rehabilitation programs that would have helped millions in his state.2. The two pronged campaign at-tack structureKarl Rove has designed the high road and low road campaign. The candidate can stay above the fray and run a “positive campaign”. One in which they talk about the issues and improving a state or country. The second prong of the attack comes from the surrogates who will get into the mud. When Bush ran against Ann Richards for Governor he employed this tactic. Vicious whisper campaigns were waged against Richards stating that she may be a lesbian. When it finally made it’s way into the mainstream; Richards got on the defensive which meant she was put in check. When she then tried to counter at-tack Bush he released a television commercial saying that Richards was going negative on him directly and that it was a sad day, because he wanted to remain above all the attacks. Checkmate.3. Shaping policy according to trends.While Bush hated that Clinton and Gore supposedly stuck a finger in the air to see which direction the wind was blowing, Rove sort of did

The Handiwork of political Operatives

But Spencer was not permitted the luxury of an unopposed primary. K.T. McFarland, long ago a speech-writer for Henry Kissinger who had been considering a congressional candidacy as a liberal Republican, suddenly entered the race with sus-picious financing from Lionel Pin-cus and other Clinton backers. Even after Spencer’s landslide primary win over McFarland on Sept. 12 eliminated the pretext for neutrality, big name New Yorker Republicans did not help. Rudy Giuliani, his former mayoral col-league, has not endorsed him (per-haps because Spencer, in a debate with McFarland, said Giuliani was too liberal for him to back as presi-dent). Spencer has been awaiting an endorsement from his old friend Gov. George Pataki (perhaps be-

A pass for Hillary

fore or after testifying.• Congress should create an inde-pendent, nonpartisan Office of Eth-ics Ombudsman to answer ques-tions and receive complaints, on an anonymous basis if need be, from staff and Members regarding ethics matters.• Each chamber should establish an independent Office of Special Investigator to be the investigative arm of its ethics committee. Such an office would enhance witness confidence in the ethics process.• Lastly, Congress should continu-ally remind staff and Members that they have an obligation to Congress as an institution and to the public. Under the present system, Members and staff alike often are tempted, I fear, to look out for their own per-sonal and partisan interests. True ethics reform requires us to rise above parochial interests and rec-ognize the importance of higher

Former Hill Staffers Should Head Up Ethics

Reform Effortprinciples and the common good. To restore public trust and con-fidence in the ethics process, the next Congress should swiftly enact far-reaching ethics reform. Forming an association of former Congres-sional staff to press for strong eth-ics reforms could be an important impetus in the reform effort.

Matthew Cossolotto, author of HabitForce!, is founder and presi-dent of New York-based Ovations Internationa, Inc. (www.ovations.

com). Direct e-mail to or [email protected] telephone, 1-914 / 245.9721. He provides

executive-level speechwriting and coaching services and conducts “Unleash Your Podium Power”

and “Harness Your HabitForce!” workshops. He is a former assis-tant to House Speaker Jim Wright

and legislative aide to Representative Leon Panetta.

from Pg. 3

By David A. PatersonNEW YORK, NY -- Something is changing in our national political conversation. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that it happened, but suddenly, it seems, everyone is talking about the environment. Re-porters are writing about it. Even President Bush is getting into the act. Maybe it’s the high gas prices. Maybe it’s the resurgence of Al Gore. But Americans are slowly waking to the new reality – the be-ginning of the end of the era of oil. As shocking as that may sound, we knew this day was coming. Jimmy Carter put the issue front and center thirty years ago and implored the nation to begin conserving energy. And now, six years into the Bush presidency, our failure to think long term has begun to take its toll. Oil is getting harder and more expensive to extract. Most agree that oil production reached its peak in 1970 when we were producing 9.5 million barrels per day. Currently, we are produc-ing about 5.1 million barrels per day. After the production of oil slips below half of the peak produc-tion, it’s neither energy efficient nor profitable. In other words, it takes as much energy to bring the oil out of the ground as it would to realize energy benefits from the oil that’s actually drilled. We are working just as hard as before, yet getting much less for our effort. That means that by sometime in the middle of next year, oil will no longer be a cost effective source of energy. We must develop alterna-

Energytives - preferably lots of them. Our future energy landscape must be both diverse and renewable so we never again find ourselves in the bind we are in now. So, what do we do? Clearly, New Yorkers cannot wait for leadership from the Federal gov-ernment any longer. First, we must immediately reduce New York’s energy consumption so we can protect our environment and conserve what we have left. Sec-ond, our state must invest in and develop reliable domestic sources of renewable energy such as wind and solar, which will reinvigorate our research and development community and help bolster our economy. The creation of a revolving loan fund is a good place to begin our stepped up conservation efforts. The funding could allow for the retrofitting of older buildings, making them more energy effi-cient, cutting down energy bills, and saving New Yorkers money. Net metering laws, which allow businesses and apartment build-ings to sell back to the utilities excess power they generate from renewable energy must be ex-panded, as well. We must also increase funding to weatherize homes for lower-income fami-lies to help them cut their energy bills. Meanwhile, we must quicken the pace of our development of renewable energy so that we can begin to take advantage of the economic benefits it can provide for our state. New York already

has a head start. Right now, renew-able energy provides 19 percent of New York’s total energy usage, compared to 6 percent nationwide. But we must go further. That means providing incentives to encourage the installation of so-lar panels on large commercial ven-tures, in public housing, in schools, on or near appropriate municipal buildings, and near industrial sites and development. We also need to make it easier for new wind farms to connect to the electric grid, and streamline the state approval pro-cess. Cellulosic ethanol also deserves further investment and support. Us-ing this farm-based fuel instead of gasoline in our cars could replace an estimated 3.7 million barrels per day of crude oil. And New York’s farmers, businesses and universities can play a critical role in develop-ing these new alternative fuels. Our

research community is one of our greatest assets – we want to give them the tools to succeed in solv-ing this critical problem for the en-tire country and make New York’s renewable energy industry the na-tional leader. We can no longer afford to dance around the energy challenges we face. There are no quick fix solu-tions and no immediate replace-ments for the big role oil fills in our lives. A forward thinking, creative energy policy, exploring multiple solutions is the only course for New York State. The solutions are out there and it will take time, com-mitment and some sacrifice to find them, but New Yorkers will be the beneficiaries in the long term, as will the nation.

Senator David A. Paterson is run-ning for Lieutenant Governor of

New York State.

By Henry J. Stern NEW YORK, NY -- One of Ed Koch’s favorite stories goes back to the Depression, when he and his father checked hats in his uncle’s restaurant in Newark, in the hope of receiving a tip of a nickel or pos-sibly a dime. Part of his job was to shout periodically, “Don’t forget the hat check boys, we only work on tips.” The effectiveness of his appeal was measured by the amount the customers left while picking up their hats and coats. We tell the story because, sev-enty years later, we too are asking for funds. Fortunately, they are not for food or rent, but they do provide the necessary staff to help research these articles, to respond to inquiries, to sponsor forums and to investigate municipal issues. We hope you digest the invitation and, if you cannot attend personally, please send us some plankton, a necessary nutrient. Tribe Grows The Stern family has news of its own to report. Our son Jared was married last Sunday (October 7) to Stephanie Rooks. Link here to the New York Times account of the happy event. From the Capital to the Courtroom With regard to current events, the indictment of Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin is appalling, with re-gard to the scope and enormity of his alleged crimes. While some labor leaders are far from saints, others are generally honest. This indictment has been heralded for many months. It was preceded by McLaughlin’s decision not to run again for the Queens Assembly seat he has held since 1993, and by his recent withdrawal from the Presi-dency of the NYC Central Trades and Labor Council. A few years ago, McLaughlin was considered a mayoral candidate. Whenever we read a story like this indictment, we ask ourselves sev-eral questions. One is how many more people like this are there with important jobs in labor, business, law or politics that just have not yet been uncovered for the thieves they are. Two is that the variety of illegal acts committed here was so wide that many people must have known of them, and why didn’t anybody speak up about them. If someone did drop a dime, how long had the crimes gone on before whosoever they may be came to the authorities, The United States At-torney for the Southern District of

Southern District Indicts McLaughlin

Non-Election Draws NighJuicy Links

New York deserves credit for mak-ing the case. Years ago politicians were prosecuted primarily in the Eastern District (Long Island). Last week’s Sun provides a complete rundown on the Rogues Gallery in Albany. It is noteworthy that they all come from three counties with relatively strong political machines: Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Link the chart. Deep Blue The New York State non-elec-tion rolls along, with the Democrats content with running out the clock, and the Republicans unable to get traction anywhere, except for their personal mishaps and primary at-tacks on each other. After twelve years in Albany, Governor Pataki has left his party a wreck; Senator D’Amato may, or may not, try to put it together again. Most likely he will be too busy lobbying the fu-ture powers that be to recapture his dominion over the New York State GOP. Two GuysThe Sun’s lead story Monday, by Jacob Gershman, discusses the Spitzer-Silver relationship. It is a fascinating article, and you should link to it in case it goes off-line. We plan to offer our own observations on the subject, but will put that off for a short while. Cyber Culpa We really hope that our computer service has been fully restored. Our internet provider, who has been faithful over the years, assured us they did no harm. We apologize to our readers for the occasional ir-regularity in service; we are not one of the major customers of any ISP (internet service provider.), but we get through most of the time.

Mr. Stern is president of New York Civic (www.NYCivic.org) and a blogger

on public issues. He was New York City’s Parks Commissioner for fifteen

years under Mayors Koch and Giuliani.

from Pg. 1cause in the same debate, Spencer said Pataki was not an “excellent” governor). The worst news for Spencer after the primary came from Washing-ton. The RNC said there was simply no money to spend against Clinton. The same was true of the NRSC, notwithstanding Sen. Dole’s enthu-siasm a year earlier. Seeking money outside official channels, Spencer’s agents approached Washington fund-raising superstar Jack Oliver, who had brought in $1 billion all told for George W. Bush’s politi-cal operation. But Oliver respond-ed that he needed an endorsement from Pataki, who as of this writing has remained silent. Nobody can really imagine John Spencer defeating Hillary Clinton no matter how much his party sup-

ports him. But with the creative po-litical consultant and pollster John McLaughlin setting the strategy for the Republican long shot candidate, life could have been made uncom-fortable for the taut-nerved senator and surely could have confined her to her home base. It makes no difference to the Re-publican Party’s national strategists that Spencer is a pro-life, pro-tax cut, pro-Bush Republican. The party establishment’s course is to concentrate on incumbent Repub-licans with any chance to survive, even if they are apostates to the de-gree of Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who could not bring himself to vote for the president’s re-election. The up-shot boosts Mrs. Clinton’s national aspirations.

something similar. When Bush did propose something such as the cut-ting of property taxes and funding of education through other means; Rove was known to crunch many polls and statistical data to see what could be the outcome. Also as Governor the policies that Bush co-opted sometimes were already being pushed through because his opposition in the legislature would already be working for it’s pas-sage. He would then get in on the action and sign a bill thus making him look good. Monitoring trends throughout an area was essential for the shaping of policy.4. Support must be there locallyWhen Karen Hughes went to New Hampshire for the primaries in 1999 she noticed that most of the volunteers were from out of state. Bush lost that primary to McCain. We saw something similar in 2003 in Iowa with the Dean campaign. A lot of the volunteers for Dean were from out of state. Therefore, it is in my opinion in order for a campaign to do well in a state it must have a statewide local organization on the ground. Then the out of state vol-unteers can come in to complement the campaign.5. Reading between the linesIn a memo Karl Rove once wrote about creating policies that actu-ally had alternative intentions than the ones overtly stated. An example would be like advocating for the pay raises of teachers that was re-ally about drawing the support of voters with children not the teach-er’s unions themselves. Another example would be like advocating for the appointment of women to cabinet level positions not to reas-sure feminists, but to draw in inde-pendent voters.6. Make the will of the big money donors, the will of the peopleIt is interesting as with Cuba how the Bush administration never thought of invading Cuba and re-moving Fidel Castro why is that? Rove actually said that the Cubans should rise up and remove Castro internally. However what was the difference with Iraq? Well I’m sorry but Cuba does not have the oil Iraq has. Nor is Cuba a threat to an ally like Israel that Iraq is. So how do

we make invading Iraq the will of the people? This was done simply by making Iraq the villain. We are good, they are bad. We love free-dom, they do not. In the book they say that Osama was hiding and they could not get to him so Saddam was basically a substitute. Of course you all heard the rest of the drumbeat to war, the weapons of mass destruc-tion and etc. Personally I think India or Pakistan could have been consid-ered more dangerous than Iraq was back then. Let’s not forget about North Korea! Finally why bother yourself with Democratic values like social security, jobs and health care that the Democrats could run circles around you on. Just use the war card no one thinks of all those issues when we are at war with the war President.7. Destroy the future of the Demo-cratic PartyIn Texas Rove targeted the up and comers in the Democratic Party with vigor. We all know about the dirty tricks he employed. What’s worse was the view of the Repub-lican Party was not to punish the person who carried out the dirty trick; the goal was to contain the media exposure once that person is caught. What the GOP could not stand was disloyalty in reporting the dirty tricks. Rove will dig and dig and dig until he finds something on you. He even will go after peo-ple on the GOP side who threaten his power. Fellow strategists like himself who have been victims; are now not able to get work with GOP candidates forcing them to switch to the Democratic party.In closing, these are some of the methods that Karl Rove has em-ployed. Should we adopt these Rovain policies to use for the pro-gressive majority? Other than build-ing local organizations of the party structure in the states and some-times staying on the offensive, I say no, we do not need to stoop to this level. We should however, expose these tactics whenever possible. Which is why it is so important to support progressive media.

RIVERDALE, NY -- Congressman Eliot Engel, running for his tenth term in Congress, was endorsed by the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion (WCLA). The nine-term Congressman has also been endorsed by Planned Par-enthood and NARAL Pro-Choice New York. In a letter to the Congressman, advisedly written Saturday, Octo-ber 21, 2006, Catherine Lederer-Plasket, WCLA President said, “I am pleased to inform you that the Board of Directors of WCLA-Choice Matters has endorsed your candidacy for U.S. House of repre-sentatives.”

Engel Standon Freedom of

Choice EndorsedThe group also said that Congress-man Engel’s name would be high-lighted in the Pro Choice Voter, to be mailed to approximately 70,000 households in late October. Rep. Engel said, “I am proud to be endorsed by this distinguished group. I have always believed in a woman’s right to choose, that is a private decision between a woman and her medical and religious ad-visers. Government should not in-trude in what is essentially a private and personal matter.”

By Audre Caponetto

Honor(high regard or respect; integrity): Something that seems to be lacking among many politicians. Why?

Ordinary(familiar, unexceptional, common): What many politicians have be-come or are. Why?

Negative(expressing denial, or refusal): It seems many politicians find them-selves doing this more often than not. Why?

Extraordinary(not ordinary, going far beyond the ordinary; unusual, remarkable): It seems most politicians are anything but this. Why?

Sheer(very thin; transparent): It seems many politicians end up becoming this. Why?

Take(to accept [an offer]); slang...taking bribes): Many politicians end up doing this. Why?

you(the person or persons spoken to; a person or people generally): You, the voters are responsible for each and every politician that has been elected. You can make a difference and you can hold them accountable for their actions. Good, bad or in-different.

Politicians seemingly will prom-ise to be the very best and to do many positive things for their con-stituents. Somewhere along the road they become tainted, having accepted favors, and it never seems to stop. Ten thousand here, three hundred thousand there, grown children of politicians advancing in public positions ( Yonkers Po-lice Department); jobs in political dumping grounds ( New York Pow-er Authority), among various other agencies; money accepted for oth-ers advancements. Some of these transactions cannot be linked by a paper trail, being kept under wraps by seemingly unrelated transactions that are known nonetheless; while others eventually come out in the wash. Is it insecurity that prompts this appalling behavior? Is it the “wan-nabe” syndrome? Is it a desire to finally be someone? Let me leave you with this. Never compromise your ideals or your beliefs. Lead with your heart and your wisdom. Be true to yourself. How many Politicians out there live by this age-old adage?

H.O.N.E.S.T.y.from Pg. 1

Op-Ed • PoliticsOCTOBER 26, 2006 pAGE 5WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

I have often wondered why things seem to come in threes: in fairy tales, it’s The Three Bears with Goldilocks, and The Three Little Pigs and the Wolf; races start with a three count (ready-set-go) and the musical scale is always represented as Do-Re-Mi. You learn the alpha-bet by your A-B-Cs; the list goes on and on (and on). Thus, it is a com-mon habit to divide things into three parts - the left, the center, the right; yes-no-maybe. And for my purpos-es in analyzing New York State on the cusp of an election which will bring us a new Governor, the Three Faces of New York State: The City. Upstate. The ‘Burbs. Understand-ing the task of the next Governor and the State Legislature is to un-derstand how different these sec-tions are; how expectations, demo-graphics and aspirations differ from Buffalo to the Bronx to Brookhaven (L.I.). THE CITy: There is only one City - New York City. 8+ million people shoe-horned into five boroughs, with a life and a style that makes it “world class” - the pride not merely of the state or even the country, but of the world. City dwellers barely acknowledge the role State government plays in their lives; they work on the na-tional and international levels; they possess the greatest concentration of wealth, culture, media, finance, publishing, advertising, and taxi-

The View from AlbanyThe Three Faces of New York State

cabs on the planet. For those who live in sections of the Outer Bor-oughs, and parts of Manhattan, too, they worry about street crime, but not about property taxes. They have terrific mass transit, but deteriorat-ing public school buildings. They have the highest concentrations in the state of people of color; people who are poor; The City is the mecca for immigration in our state, despite the other pockets where immi-grants may reside. Their problems are big ones, of a size and scope that dwarfs any discussion of need anyplace else in the state. Residents know they are in a special place, and cannot believe anyone would leave the City to move upstate (i.e. Westchester!) and lose the 24/7 en-ergy of The City. New York City is as close to a city-state as the U.S.A. possesses - not counting of course Washington, D.C.THE ‘BURBS: The refugees who leave the City, in one generation or the next, has swollen the hamlets of Long Is-land and the Hudson Valley into a megalopolis in its own right. Over 3 million on L.I. and another 2 mil-lion in the Hudson Valley create a state-within-a-state that is like New Jersey and Connecticut in size and feel, but within the borders of New York State is the smallest of the three pieces. From Montauk to Middletown, with Mamaroneck in the middle, Suburbanites enjoy the

safest streets, the highest economy, and home values, and pay the high-est property taxes. As a region, our schools outperform everyone else, as do our school taxes. Upstaters often see us as spoiled little rich kids - and City dwellers see us as urban escapees who take from the City vitality but do not give back our “fair share” to the running of the City. We have lots of smaller governments, and we seem to like it that way, where police, fire and sanitation services are delivered by people we know. We join forces with The City in caring about mass transit, but we part company by running small, lean local govern-ments without big bureaucracies. In the classic Upstate-Downstate paradigm, we are the same as City people to the Upstaters, and we are upstaters to the City people.UpSTATE: Traveling north to Albany, and then in a circuitous route from there to Glens Falls, Ticonderoga, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Water-town, Syracuse, Auburn, Ithaca, Corning, Elmira, Owego, Bing-hamton, Hancock (never made it as far west as Buffalo or Rochester), one sees hundreds and hundreds of small towns and communities, most hanging on economically by a thread, with a far better remem-brance of yesterday than believing in the promise of tomorrow. The economy - the businesses and jobs

- of Upstate is in crisis, and it is the dominant feeling wherever one goes. There is resentment to the wealth and privilege found down in The City and The Burbs; there is a sense of Upstate being forgotten, unheard in the corridors of power. There is the sense of being mis-understood and even consciously ignored, when their problems are simple and unaddressed: we need jobs so our people can live and thrive here. Despite the first strike of brutally cold winter weather, Up-state was once the United States’ most innovative, energetic core for manufacturing, agriculture and in-dustry. Gloves from Gloversville; rugs from Amsterdam; every town had its dominant industry. Now, ex-cept for college students in Ithaca, racing enthusiasts in Saratoga, and prisons wherever they may be, Up-state is starving and thirsty for jobs - and for hope. These are the three faces of the state we live in. When we advance an idea, from our Sound Shore Sub-urban perspective to protect the watershed of L.I. Sound, we hear opposition from business interests upstate that assert more jobs will be lost; from the City, uninterested silence as voters there don’t place environment issues high on their lists. When upstate talks about cut-ting labor costs, The City fights to avoid sacrificing hard-won gains for working men and women of la-

bor. And so it goes. The next Governor, and the Legis-lature needs structural reform, and plenty of it, but do not be deceived. The greatest need in Albany is to build political will to act on behalf of all three sections of New York, in the face of sure regional interests at war with each other and the par-tisan desire to make political hay out of that conflict. Gridlock comes

primarily when one vetoes any idea that doesn’t directly benefit their home section, or costs that section money and/or attention. We will need the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of Job, and the charisma of David to untie this three-part knot that wraps around the throat of our State government.

By Assemblyman George Latimer

My Record of Reform Accomplishmentsdebt reporting; revisions of finan-cial plans and capital improvement programs; establishes earlier time frames for certain actions (quick start); creates the health care re-form act fund; provides for report-ing of journal voucher transactions; changes the date of the fiscal year; creates the New York state inde-pendent budget office; provides for procedures relating to appropria-tions and reporting for information technology projects; provides for revision of information by the ex-ecutive to reflect legislative action on the executive budget and con-tingency budget; relates to amounts held and transferred to and by the tax stabilization reserve fund and establishes the fiscal stabilization reserve fund; and provides that the budget shall include a current ser-vices budget projecting the cost of continuing levels of activities and programs authorized for the current state fiscal year as well as provi-sions of law scheduled to take ef-fect through the conclusion of the ensuing state fiscal year. Although I voted for this impor-tant bill, I was not a one of its co-sponsors because at the time that it was introduced I had not yet been sworn back into the Senate.

<><><> I cosponsored two important reform bills to protect the voting rights of all voters by including vot-ing machine specifications in State law, thereby preventing voters from being disenfranchised because of technical efforts made by boards of elections during voter identifica-tion procedures, establishing vot-ing protecting for disabled voters and requiring HAVA funding to be distributed to localities based on the number of registered voters.

<><><> I was pleased to vote for this re-form legislation that was introduced by Senator Winner at the request of the Governor because it slammed closed the loophole that allowed state employees to escape ethics in-vestigations by simply leaving their jobs. In addition, it extends the author-ity of the state Ethics Commission to pursue action against an elected official, public employee, candidate and political party chair for one year after he or she has held or run for public office.

<><><> I was proud to be a cosponsor of this important reform measure that institutes a five-point plan to strengthen school district finan-cial accountability. It requires the adoption of additional and expand-ed fraud prevention and deterrence measures and increases awareness of these issues among school board members. In addition I also cospon-sored legislation that allows for the expenditure of the $2.9 million ap-propriation that was contained in the 2005-06 State budget. The ap-propriation was for the comptroller to develop and implement a multi-year school district audit plan for every school district, BOCES and charter school in the State.

<><><> I was pleased to vote for this very important reform measure that was introduced by Senator Winner at the request of the Governor. This law requires any lobbying practices directed at state agencies, the Leg-islature, the unified court system and state or local authorities that involved expenditures of more than $5,000 to register and file informa-tion with the state Lobbying Com-mission.

<><><> Two additional reform measures include one that enables public re-cords to be requested via electronic mail and another that authorizes the request of the payment of court costs under certain conditions in freedom of information litigation.

<><><> Perhaps the most significant re-form bill deals with the issue of Medicaid Fraud. I cosponsored this new law because it is expected to produce a savings of tens of mil-lions of dollars across New York State, including a projected sav-ings of $14 million in Westchester County alone. This legislation creates a new, independent Office of Medicaid Inspector General by consolidat-ing responsibilities and staff from six agencies into the new Office and empowering the Medicaid In-spector General with the ability to detect, investigate and recover im-proper Medicaid payments; Provides county governments with new incentives and access to information to become active part-ners in the fight against Medicaid fraud; Enhances the capacity of the De-partment of Health and Office of Medicaid Inspector General to fight fraud with new, state-of-the-art technology; The legislation also establishes new protocols and procedures to ensure the effective sharing of in-formation and evidence regarding Medicaid fraud between the Office of Medicaid Inspector General, the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, county governments and district attorneys; Requires health care institutions to implement corporate compliance programs and allowing providers to

request advisory opinions to ensure proper billing practices; and creates new Health Care Fraud ‘offenses’ to aid in the criminal prosecution of Medicaid fraud.

<><><> Both Houses also passed two other reform bills however both of these measures were vetoed by the Governor. S. 4896/A. 8997 would have im-proved electronic accessibility of information subject to FOIL by di-recting agencies to design informa-tion retrieval methods that permit maximum public access.

<><><> S. 8414/A. 11995 is important budget reform legislation that I co-sponsored. It would have improved timeliness and enhanced transpar-ency and accountability in the state budget process, as well as con-trolled spending, eliminated deficits and reduced gaps by changing the fiscal year, creating an Independent Budget Office, requiring reviews of transfers between appropriations not approved in budget. In addition it would have insti-tutionalized the public conference committee process, established more performance measures, ex-tensive multi-ear financial plans, adopting only balanced budgets and increasing the Rainy Day Re-serve Fund.

<><><> Finally the Senate passed two ad-ditional, important reform mea-sures that I cosponsored. S. 8333 would limit the amount and type of debt the State can issue and S. 8334 would establish that at year’s end, a portion of any general fund cash surplus shall be transferred to the debt reduction reserve fund.

***** Both the Senate and the Assembly

from Pg. 1 made great strides during the 2005-2006 Session to make changes to their own operating Rules. The Senate reformed its Rules as fol-lows: Eliminated Party Line Voting – We eliminated the party line vote and now require members instead to vote individually on all bills be-fore them. Ended Proxy Voting in Commit-tees – We now require members to cast their votes directly either through their personal attendance at committee meetings or, in extraor-dinary cases, by submitting to the committee chair a signed official committee voting sheet that indi-cates their approval or disapproval on each bill considered at that day’s committee meeting. Expanded Committee Reports – This rules change requires that both a Majority and Minority report be prepared to accompany each bill reported from committee that includes additional information, in-cluding the committee’s action and recommendation and legislative history. Minimized Committee Meetings Off the Floor – Senate commit-tee meetings held off the floor are now strictly limited during session and we encourage more regularly scheduled committee meetings so more members, and the public, can attend. Formalized Committee Staff Hir-ing Practices – Senate policy was formalized regarding the hiring and firing of committee staff by Senate committee chairs. This autonomy already existed, but this action will formalize the practice in the official Senate personnel policy. Expanded Public Forums and Hearings – Any member on a stand-ing committee may call for a public

forum on an issue within the juris-diction of the committee. Increased Minority Representa-tion on Standing Committees – The number of Majority and Minority members on Senate standing com-mittees was changed to increase Minority representation. Expanded time for Debate - Sena-tors have a total of 4 hours to dis-cuss each bill being debated by the Senate. Eliminated the Majority Leader’s “Star” – We eliminated the Major-ity Leaders ability to ‘star’ a bill. Therefore the Majority Leader is no longer able to unilaterally block floor action on any bill until one day after the “star” was removed. Messages of Necessity – This rules change requires the sponsor of a bill subject to a Message of Neces-sity to explain and give additional information on the need for such a “Message” to help the public better understand the nature of the emer-gency and the critical importance of speedy action on the legislation. Conference Committees - Senate policy encourages expanded use of Joint Conference Committees on the state budget and other legisla-tion. Senate Sessions on Statewide TV – In 2006, the Senate began the live broadcasting of Senate sessions on statewide cable television.

***** In the upcoming Legislative Ses-sion, please know that the Legisla-ture is poised to continue to make those changes that will create more transparency in government, greater participation and a renewed confidence by all residents of New York State.

By Mike SpanoNew York’s high property tax bur-den has a crippling effect on hom-eowners. The Tax Foundation re-cently stated, “the median tax paid for an owner-occupied house in Westchester was $7,337 last year, tops in the country.” I have a plan to reduce the tax burden placed on homeowners throughout New York State. This plan includes enhance-ments to the STAR Program, ad-ditional reforms to protect tax dol-lars from waste and fraud in the Medicaid system, and several other measures aimed at saving taxpayers money in the future. What I call the “Save NY Homes

Mike Spano’s plan to provide Additional Tax Relief to yonkers Homeowners

Plan” will provide significant prop-erty tax relief throughout New York State while also enacting several policies aimed at saving property taxpayers millions over the next several years. These proposals save the average homeowner $704 annu-ally, as well as the average senior citizen homeowner $1,170 annu-ally. Specifically for Westchester County, this plan would save the av-erage homeowner $1,682 annually, as well as the average senior citizen homeowner $2,568 annually. STAR Excelsior – Although I ini-tially helped create the STAR pro-gram to provide school tax relief; I recognize that current benefits have not kept pace with present day costs for property taxes and home values. As a result, I propose providing $1.75 billion in additional tax relief by immediately indexing the Basic and Enhanced STAR exemptions to the current median housing value in the State. This would increase the current STAR exemptions hom-eowners receive by 70 percent. • This bill indexes the Basic STAR exemption ($30,000) and En-hanced STAR exemption ($50,000) to the current median housing value ($188,300) in New York State (it is important to note that these exemp-tions will continue to be adjusted

upwards to reflect regional costs in the downstate region). • In 2006, the basic ex-emption would be approximately $50,841 (27% of $188,300) and the enhanced exemption would be approximately $84,735 (45% of $188,300). In the future these exemptions would increase or de-crease yearly based on a percentage of the median house value in New York State.• The funding for this pro-gram would come from cutting discretionary funding in the State Budget (pork projects), any budget surpluses, and from current rev-enues.Co-STAR Program – Mike Spano supports providing $287.2 million in county property tax rebates to se-nior citizens through the creation of a Co-STAR program. • Senior Citizens who are eligible for Enhanced STAR would also be eligible for a Co-STAR assessment exemption. The Co-STAR assessment exemption is equal to the current Enhanced STAR exemption. This exemption will be phased-in over the next five years.Medicaid Reform - Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse is estimated to cost New York taxpayers nearly

$4.5 billion annually. I therefore propose the following legislation to save New Yorkers from this cost burden: • Crackdown on Medicaid fraud recovery and reporting by strengthening a county’s ability to pursue Medicaid fraud and make it easier for individuals to report abuse.• Continue to strengthen the Office of the Medicaid Inspec-tor General by maintaining the in-creased funding and staffing levels outline in the State Budget.• Require the State and counties to return the savings achieved from the elimination of waste and fraud in their Medicaid programs directly to homeowners in the form of property tax rebate checks.Restriction on Unfunded Mandates – Unfunded mandates placed on lo-cal governments and school districts require these taxing jurisdictions to increase their tax levies on prop-erty owners. To stop this burden, I propose requiring any state man-date imposed on a municipality or school district that costs more than $10,000 a year (or has a statewide additional cost of $1 million) to be funded by the state.

By Jim Faulkner

YONKERS, NY -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through 12,000! Unemployment stands at 4.6%, down 2/10 of a per cent from two months ago. I just bought gas on Central Avenue in Yonkers for $2.31, down from $3.29 only a few months ago. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But it could - and should - be better. Congress needs to take several actions to make permanent improvements. Since I just mentioned gas, let’s start there. We are dependent on foreign oil. Every day, we import (on average) 14 million barrels of oil. At 42 gallons to the barrel, that’s 588,000,000 gallons each day. Our domestic oil wells produce slightly less than 40% of our oil usage.The oil producing nations have us, quite literally, over a barrel. They can increase or decrease production and increase or decrease prices as they see fit. And we’ll continue to buy their oil because we need it to run our economy. Obviously, we need to do every-thing that we can to reduce our oil imports. This includes developing solar power, wind power, ethanol, hydropower, nuclear power - every possible source. The problem with

The Solution for Our Economy

this is that most of these technolo-gies will take close to a decade to fully implement and even then we’ll still need oil for the manufac-ture of plastics, to heat our homes, to manufacture fertilizer, to produce enzymes for medical purposes and to produce cosmetics, among many other usages. Yet we have vast unexplored oil reserves in the United States. These exist in the area between Cuba and Florida, Alaska, Pennsylvania (ever wonder where Pennzoil got its name?), Long Island Sound, Cali-fornia - on and off shore, Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico. Since we are barred from further drilling or ex-ploration, we probably have oil in many more areas where we haven’t yet looked. In fact, we have more oil in this country than exists in all the countries from which we import oil. Why then don’t we develop our oil resources to end the importation of foreign oil? At the same time we would eliminate the possibility of leaks from oil liners (such as the Exxon-Valdez) transporting the oil to us. And, even more importantly, we would positively alter our bal-ance of trade with the rest of the world.

See Solution for Economy Pg. 6

Op-Ed • PoliticsOCTOBER 26, 2006pAGE 6 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

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All notices and submissions must be received by the Thursday prior to the next week’s Thursday

published date.

To place an Obituary Notice, Card of Thnaks, In Memoriam, Special Notice, or Lodge Notice, please direct e-mail

to [email protected], or send a fax to 1-914 / 378.0008.

Protecting Our Children from the Dangers of Underage Drinking & Tobacco UseAccording to the International Insti-tute for Alcohol Awareness (IIAA), underage drinking alone cost the citizens of New York $3.6 billion in 2001. These costs include medi-cal care, lost productivity, and the pain & suffering associated with the multiple problems and injuries resulting from the use of alcohol by minors. I have proposed legislation which would modify existing law to require merchants who sell al-cohol or tobacco products to use advanced ID scanner technology to validate driver licenses and non-driver ID cards presented as proof of the buyer’s legal age. The original state law, which I wrote and introduced in 1999, encouraged the use of the scanners but did not require them. This new legislation will make the scanning devices mandatory, and make it easier for merchants to identify counterfeit IDs - thus reducing the occurrence of both underage drinking and to-bacco sales to minors. Ensuring Doctors Have the Author-ity to Decide What Services Are Medically Necessary for Cancer Screening Procedures.

As the health insurance industry continues to clamp down on the coverage of ancillary medical ser-vices, this legislation will allow a medical doctor to decide what addi-tional services (pathology, anesthe-siology, etc) are in the best medical interest of his or her patients dur-ing cancer screening procedures and mandate appropriate insurance coverage. Recently, many national insurance carriers have proposed policies to cut costs by refusing to cover the services of anesthesiolo-gists during routine colonoscopy. By risking greater patient discom-fort and reduced testing efficacy,

A Look Ahead to Albany

Our present representative, Mr. En-gel, has no plan for energy, even though he sits on the House En-ergy Committee. The facts are that the only substantial step Engel has taken on energy independence is to sign on as a cosponsor to a Re-publican sponsored bill (Rep. Jack Kingston [R-GA]) entitled Fuel Choice for American Security Act. This act is intended to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by about 15% within ten years. Mr. Engel would have you believe that the bill is his and that it is the solution. Neither is true. Next, let’s look at taxes. The Fed-eral Income Tax and the IRS have become a morass, a boondoggle, a swamp, whatever words you choose to use. Whichever words they are the conclusion remains the same. We must find a new, more practical way to raise revenue and perma-nently eliminate the Income Tax. I believe that the Fair Tax should be our solution. The Fair Tax was created by first asking the American people what they wanted out of a tax system, and then having a team of respected economists design a tax system that met those demands. The Fair Tax replaces the income tax and all other federal income-based taxes with a national consumption tax. The Fair Tax is levied only once, at the point of purchase on new goods and services. (Some would call this a sales tax on new items only). The simplicity of the Fair Tax frees Americans from our current overwhelming tax code and un-shackles the U.S. economy.

The Fair Tax:• Abolishes the IRS• Closes all tax loopholes and brings fairness to taxation• Maintains our current Social Se-curity and Medicare benefits• Brings transparency and account-ability to tax policy• Allows American products to compete fairly• Reimburses the tax on purchases of basic necessities• Enables retirees to keep their en-tire pension• Enables workers to keep their en-tire paycheck For more information visit the web page: www.FairTax.org or call 1-800-FAIRTAX. I believe that the

The Solution for Our EconomyFrom Pg. 5

Fair Tax distributes the tax burden fairly throughout our citizenry. It prevents taxpayers from becoming “criminals” for misstating income or deductions. It would lower prices for goods and services And, very importantly, it would make our goods and products less expensive on the world market and reverse the trade deficit. Lower-in-come persons and families are pro-tected through use of a “prebate” which would cover all purchases up to the federal poverty level. The prebate would be paid in monthly payments to registered households. A social security number would be necessary for registration. Mr. Engel’s only articulated plan for taxes is to eliminate the tax cuts instituted over the last six years.This means that those present in this country illegally would not only pay the tax on purchases, but would not receive the prebate, ef-fectively ensuring that they would not only pay their fair share of taxes but would actually pay a higher rate than those who are registered for the prebate. Which brings us to the third point, illegal immigration. Our twelve million illegal immigrants place a severe strain on our social services including schools, hospitals, medi-cal systems, emergency services and many, many others. At the same time, they do not, by

and large, pay taxes. Although some have obtained taxpayer identifica-tion numbers, most have not, either because they don’t wish to pay or because they fear that it will expose them to deportation. And, practically, we can’t deport them. We don’t have the police and the transportation necessary to do so. If we did deport them, we wouldn’t have enough people to replace them in the workplace. Remember - our unemployment is only 4.6%. I would hope that Mr. Engel has a plan for this situation but, sur-prise, he doesn’t. All he has done is criticize the legislation proposed by others. But then, that’s his history. I’m still waiting to hear what leg-islation he has sponsored and had passed which addresses any major issue in his 18 years in office. And that includes both Republican and Democratic administrations.The first thing we need to do (af-ter sealing the borders) is to set up a guest worker system, allowing those illegal immigrants who reg-ister to remain in this country for a limited period of time and then return to their own country. Upon registration, they would be required to pay their unpaid back taxes. The Department of Labor would then monitor the work situation and allow additional guest worker permits as they are needed by our economy. Under no circumstances should those who came here ille-gally be granted a path to citizen-ship other then as provided by ex-isting law. Those who do not register should be jailed when found and then de-ported with no opportunity to return - ever. With these people brought into the system, albeit temporarily, they will be paying taxes, whether it be through the Income Tax or, hope-fully the Fair Tax. By adding the taxes received from the guest work-ers to our economy, implementing the Fair Tax and ending our impor-tation of foreign oil we will balance our budget while simultaneously ending our trade imbalance. Give me the chance to be Your New Voice for a New Congress. The 17th C.D. includes the North Bronx, Riverdale, all of Mount Vernon, South Yonkers, West Yon-kers, parts of Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown and the Southern half of Rockland County.

Jim Faulkner lives on Warburton Avenue in Yonkers. More informa-

tion is available online at www.jimfaulkner.org.

Jim Faulkner, the Republican, Independence, and Conservative

candidate for Congress in the 17th C.D. solicits your comments by e-mail: [email protected]; send snail mail to: Friends of Jim Faulkner, 316 Warburton Avenue, Yonkers NY 10701; or telephone

1-914 / 426.4944.

such policies may undermine the accuracy of these important test results or even discourage patients from undergoing the crucial di-agnostic procedures necessary to catch cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages. Protect utility customers in the event of extended power outages. In light of the poor response by util-ity giant Con Edison during this summer’s tropical storm Ernesto, I am proposing legislation which would allow the state to sanction providers who fail to make diligent efforts towards restoration of ser-vice or reasonable efforts to com-municate with their customers dur-ing an emergency by requiring the provider to provide rebates of up to $250 per customer to compensate for food spoilage and other outage-related expenses. State regulations require service providers to make every effort during a major service outage to inform the general public of the details of the outage, includ-ing the areas affected and a sched-ule for expected service renewal, but there is currently no penalty for non-compliance. With all the positive change that is taking place in New York State, I am looking forward to an excit-ing and rewarding year at the State Capitol.

J. Christopher Callaghan offered a reward for any information leading to the whereabouts of State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi.Callaghan said that the prize would be a Callaghan for Comptroller t-shirt and the undying appreciation of New York’s voters.Callaghan said that the re-ward would also be offered to anyone who could pro-vide information leading to the recovery of a cartridge containing sensitive State employee data which was lost by the Comptroller’s

Callaghan Offers Reward

office earlier this year. The Comptroller’s office had said at the time that they were “focused” on finding the cartridge.“They might want to ‘fo-cus’ on finding their boss,” Callaghan said. “The vot-ers are looking for him.”Callaghan said he would be happy to hear from Hevesi himself, and willing to de-liver the prize in person.“I’ll bring him the shirt and while we’re both in the same place, we can de-bate,” Callaghan said.SOURCE: J. Christopher Callaghan for Comptroller

YONKERS, NY -- City Hall al-leges that Minority Leader and Budget Committee Chair Liam McLaughlin has caused delay to this year’s capital budget for more than six months. City Hall warned that “McLaughlin has no immedi-ate plans to act on the crucial fi-nancial legislation,” warned key administration officials warned. “The delay tactic is holding up im-portant projects throughout the city and is costing taxpayers potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra costs,” they continued. “One of the City Council’s most fundamental responsibilities is to approve operating and capital funds for each budget year,” Deputy May-or Bill Regan explained. “Unfortu-nately, Councilmember McLaugh-lin has single-handedly derailed the process of approving the capi-tal budget, which is preventing us from moving forward on projects throughout the city. More impor-tantly, this delay is costing taxpay-ers as our costs continue to escalate while Councilmember McLaughlin fails to act.” The capital budget is developed

City Hall Names McLaughlin for Blocking Funding for Important City projects

McLaughlin’s Stalling Tactics Said to Drive Costs Higher on Crucial Projects, Among Which are School repairs, Road Pavings, and Purchase of New Police and Fire Equipment

each year when city departments request funding for infrastructure improvements and equipment up-grades such as school rehabilitation, road repaving, sidewalk repair, and new police and fire equipment. The requests are then submitted by the administration to the City Council in the annual Capital Improvement Program, known as the CIP. McLaughlin’s committee received the $78.2 million CIP—which in-cludes $67.4 million in city fund-ing—when Amicone submitted his budget to the City Council in April; it has been sitting idle ever since. The City Council passed the 2007 operating budget in June. “Perhaps what’s most disturbing is that Councilmember McLaughlin has only convened a single meeting over the past six months to discuss the CIP,” said Regan, who attended that sole budget committee meeting on October 4, 2006, at which the CIP was again delayed. A review of the 2007 capital pro-gram shows that McLaughlin’s inaction is affecting projects rang-ing from minor improvements to neighborhood parks to major safety concerns such as maintaining roads and water lines. The Board of Edu-cation, for example, is awaiting ap-proval for $15.8 million in capital improvements to school facilities that have been identified by the state as being in serious need of repair. “I can’t understand how Council-member McLaughlin can in good conscience hold up money specifi-cally earmarked for rehabilitating classrooms and other school facili-ties. There’s nothing controversial about providing safe, clean class-

rooms and playgrounds for the chil-dren in our public schools system,” Regan said. In another example Regan noted that $2 million in road paving proj-ects have come to a complete halt due to lack of funding. “This is un-acceptable considering the fact that the city receives more requests for street paving than any other ser-vice. We have a long list of streets, many of them in Councilmember McLaughlin’s own district, that are waiting to be paved,” Regan con-tinued. Fire Commissioner Tony Pagano explained escalating costs in the Yonkers Fire Department while the CIP is pending approval. “A new fire truck takes 18 months from the time we order to the time we put it into service, which means we have to project costs more than a year in advance. If we don’t receive funding approval soon for our new equipment, the price will go up ap-proximately $50,000 for each new rig.” There are currently four fire trucks pending approval in the CIP. Public Works Commissioner John Liszewski said a number of critical projects and equipment purchases in his department are now in jeop-ardy, including emergency vehicle replacement (many of them snow plows), repairs to the city’s water system, and street drainage projects for Underhill, Rumsey and Forthill Roads. “These capital needs aren’t fluff projects; they are critical to maintaining and improving core city services,” Liszewski said. “The budget committee has had ample time to review and analyze every component of the CIP,” said

YONKERS, NY -- October 20, 2006 -- “Mayor Amicone should complete the open projects from the last two CIP’s before asking the Yonkers taxpayer to take on more

Regan. “The administration has been more than patient in trying to accommodate this lengthy review process, and we have filled all re-quests for information. The longer the council waits to approve the CIP, the harsher the consequences will be for the residents of Yon-kers.” “Yonkers is a major city. We have dozens of public buildings, hun-dreds of miles of roads, thousands of acres of parks, and the list goes on and on. Failure to adopt a CIP this year is simply not an option. The mayor and the City Council have an obligation to maintain the city’s infrastructure. The mayor has lived up to his end of the bargain; now it’s time for Councilmember McLaughlin to get out of the way so the City Council can do the same,” Regan concluded. A select list of projects in the 2007 CIP follows:

* School Rehabilitation - $15.8 mil-lion* New Education Equipment & Technology - $3 million* Sidewalk Replacement - $2 mil-lion* Road Paving - $2 million* Fire Department Equipment - $5.4 million* Police Department Equipment - $5.4 million* Snow Removal/DPW Vehicles - $3.5 million* Neighborhood Park Rehabilita-tion - $2.3 million* Water System Upgrades - $16 million* Emergency Sewer Repairs - $1 million

“Regarding the press ReleaseIssued by Mayor

Amicone’s Assistant.” - Liam McLaughlin debt,” wrote Minority Leader Liam McLaughlin

“His proposed increase in debt ser-vice would result in a hefty tax in-

crease for Yonkers residents,” con-tinued McLaughlin.

“As Budget Chair, I must safe-guard Yonkers Taxpayers’ from this

spendthrift Mayor,” concluded Mr. McLaughlin.

YONKERS, NY – Continuing his commitment to provide additional tax relief to Yonkers residents, Mike Spano, R-I-C, Yonkers called on the Assembly Majority to stop holding up additional cost saving measures for New York’s residents. Spano stated, “Skyrocketing home energy costs are forcing our work-ing families and seniors to chose between heat, groceries and vital prescription medicines. Lowering the cost of home energy is a top concern among Yonkers’ residents and is also one of my top priori-ties.” The Assembly Minority has cre-ated legislation known as the Tax Relief on Energy Act (A.9388) that has sat in the Majority-controlled Ways and Means Committee since

Mike Spano Attacks Assembly Majority

Failure to Pass Important LegislationProviding Additional Financial Relief

the opening of the 2006 Legislative Session. “This important legisla-tion would provide all New York-ers much needed energy cost relief through lowering energy taxes and providing energy tax credits for alternate fuels and energy efficient appliances,” said Spano. Assembly Bill A.9399 sponsored by Assemblyman Roy McDonald, would also create a 10% income tax credit for energy efficient home improvements and products. This legislation has also been held up in the Assembly Majority-controlled Ways and Means Committee since the opening of the 2006 Legislative Session. “My opponent claims that she wants to save Yonkers residents money but what she does not tell you is that Shelly Silver and his Assembly Majority has consistently blocked legislation to provide additional re-lief to New Yorkers. These are the same people who are financing her campaign and the same people who would control how she votes when it comes to tax relief,” Spano con-tinued. Reducing the tax burden, providing affordable healthcare to all and en-hancing education funding, remain Mike Spano’s top priorities. For additional information, visit

the Mike Spano for NYS Assembly 2006 Website, or call Mike Spano’s campaign headquarters at 1-914 /

963.0161.

From Pg. 1

Education • LawOCTOBER 26, 2006 pAGE 7WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

ElEct JIM FAUlKNERto coNgREss!

A NEW VOICE FOR A NEW CONGRESS.

For real solutions to taxes, energy, education and immigration, elect JIM FAULKNER to Congress in the 17th C.D. on the Republican, Independence

and Conservative lines.www.jimfaulkner.org

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- About 40 people gathered at the New Ro-chelle Public Library Wednesday night looking for information on how to find funding for non-profit organizations, and they weren’t disappointed. “Enrich Your Non-Profit” was the title of a two-hour seminar featuring four experts in the field who were generous with their advice, sharing some of their secrets and offering plenty of en-couragement for non-profits in need of funding. The free workshop, “Enrich Your Non-Profit Organization” was co-sponsored by the PTA Council of New Rochelle, the New Rochelle Public Library and the City School District of New Rochelle. Joyce Goldklang, the PTA Council’s Vice President for Charitable Outreach, and Barbara Davis of the New Ro-chelle Public Library, acted as the evening’s moderators. The speak-ers included Dr. Fred Smith, As-sistant Superintendent of Schools, who provided an overview on how to write a grant proposal; Barbara Hammitt, Manager of Prospect Re-search at Iona College, who spoke about identifying individual do-nors; Sharon Rothman, Supervisor of the Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center at the White Plains Public Library, who offered

Workshop Shares Top Fundraising Tips for Non- Profit Organizations

Free Event Co-Sponsored by the PTA Council of New Rochelle, New Rochelle Public Library and City School District of New Rochelle

Fred D. Smith, Ph.D.(L) Assistant Superintendent of Schools with Joyce Goldklang, Vice President for Charitable Outreach of PTA Council, at the New Rochelle Public Library. Ms. Goldklang is also Administrator of the

New Rochelle Council of Community Services.

(L to R) Fred D. Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent of Schools; Joyce Goldklang, Vice President for Charitable Outreach of PTA Council and Administrator of the New Rochelle Council of Community Services; and

Barbara Hammitt, Director of Research and Project Management at Iona College.

Kim Trozzi (L), Co-President of Isaac E. Young Middle School PTA, and Linda Fosina, Co-President of PTA Council, attended the grant writing

workshop.

tips on navigating the Foundation Center database, which is available on line; and educational consultant Dr. Margaret Olson, who walked the group through the elements of a successful grant proposal. Dr. Smith began the evening by pointing out that today more than 88% of the donations received by non-profits come from individual donors and not corporations and

foundations. That said, he talked about the process of writing a suc-cessful grant proposal, stressing the need for non-profits to spend time on assessing their needs and gath-ering data that support those needs. “Prepare a statement that substan-tiates your need, and have data in hand that demonstrates your ability to deliver,” he noted. Barbara Hammitt picked up on

the theme of individual donors, and discussed the various databases that are available free on the internet, while Sharon Rothman focused in on the Foundation Center website and how to use it. She explained that the website, at foundationcen-ter.org, offers tutorials on proposal writing and budgeting, funding re-search, and foundations as well as an online librarian for reference as-sistance. The website also provides contact information on 86,000 grantmakers of all types. Free ac-cess to the website is available at White Plains Public Library. Dr. Margaret Olson, president of Olson Consulting Group in Os-sining, New York, wrapped up the evening with a solid presentation on how to put together a grant pro-posal, offering her own insights into what works and what doesn’t. “You need to demonstrate that you know what you’re doing and that if they give you the money you will deliver,” she said. The PTA (Parent Teacher Associa-tion) Council consists of the Presi-dents of each of the ten PTAs in New Rochelle plus a representative of each PTA unit. The non-profit group meets monthly to coordinate efforts between the schools to sup-port children and education in the City of New Rochelle.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- Angela Taylor has been elected President of The Partnership for the Huguenot Children’s Library, the non-profit organization responsible for creat-ing the county’s only freestanding children’s library, located in New Rochelle. Joining her on the Ex-ecutive Board are Rebecca Lowell Edwards, who will serve as Vice-President, Treasurer Yan Mui and Secretary Lori Hall Armstrong. Taylor, who is also Membership Chair for the League of Women Voters, is the mother of two boys and runs a business, Westwood Interiors, with her husband Tom. Rebecca Lowell Edwards is Vice President of Douglas Gould and Company, and the mother of two children. Yan Mui is an active member of the Webster School PTA and has been the coordinator of the PHCL’s Summer Fun program for the last two years. And Lori Hall Armstrong is an attorney and politi-cal consultant who is the mother of a two-year-old son. The PHCL Board of Directors for 2006-2008 includes immediate past President Lori Morrow as well as Lisa Bonalle, Judy Fraioli, Geoff Garfield, Theresa Kump Leghorn, Catherine Rogers, Angela Stenroos and Dr. Catie Stern. Lisa Bonalle served previously as Vice President, and Geoff Garfield was immediate past Treasurer, while Theresa Kump Leghorn was a founding member of the PHCL who served two terms as President. Judy Fraioli has been a Gala committee member and has worked with Catherine Rogers and Angela Stenroos on program-

Past and current members of the PHCL Ecexutive Board (L to R): Current Treasurer Yan Mui, former Vice President Lisa Bonalle, former Treasurer Geoff Garfield, former President Lori Morrow, current Vice President Re-becca Lowell Edwards, current President Angela Taylor, current Secretary

Lori Hall Armstrong, and former Secretary Colleen Davis Gardephe.

The PHCL’s new Executive Board members are (L to R) Treasurer Yan Mui, Presidnet Angela Taylor, Vice President Rebecca Lowell Edwards,

and Secretary Lori Hall Armstrong.

New Board of Directors for partnership for the Huguenot Children’s

LibraryPHCL Planning for Library’s

10th Anniversary

ming at the HCL, while Catie Stern brings her experience as a pediatric psychiatrist to the Board. Serving on the Advisory Board for 2006-2008 are Dawn Alfaro, Bar-bara Barbaria, Anna Bruno, Gwen Clayton, Leslie Demus, Linda Fosi-na, Mickie Fosina, Ammie Felder-William, Colleen Davis Gardephe, Michael Handler, Thomas A. Leg-horn, Cristina Ortolani, Angela Picardo, Kate Gordon Ronan, Sue Girardi Sweeney, Marc Wager, M.D., and Catherine White. “I am very excited about the dy-namic group of people who have agreed to serve on the PHCL Board and Advisory Board,” said Angela Taylor. “As the PHCL enters its 10th anniversary year we have a lot to celebrate, but at the same time we are looking ahead to make sure the Huguenot Children’s Library grows and changes in response to the needs of the community and its families.” The Partnership for the Huguenot Children’s Library is dedicated to inspiring a life-long love of reading and learning through outstanding library services for all of the chil-dren of New Rochelle; the PHCL works to enhance the excellence of the Huguenot Children’s Library and to promote and advocate for exceptional children’s library ser-vices within the New Rochelle Pub-lic Library system. The Huguenot Children’s Library is located at 794 North Avenue, at the corner of East-chester Road; the telephone number is 1-914 / 632.8954.

HAWTHORNE, NY – Last week the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, upheld the Women’s Health and Wellness Act. The six judges on the court voted unanimously to uphold this law, which requires insurance plans to cover reproductive health services including osteoporosis exams, pre-scription contraceptives, and breast and cervical cancer screening. The Court of Appeals decision in Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany v. Gregory V. Serio states that the object of the Women’s Health and Wellness Act was: “to make broader health insur-ance coverage available to women and, by that means, both to improve women’s health and to eliminate disparities between men and wom-en in the cost of health care.” “This is a momentous day for the women of New York,” said Reina Schiffrin, President/CEO, Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic. “By

Women’s Health and Wellness Law Upheld Catholic Charities Lawsuit Fails

upholding this law, the Court has affirmed - unanimously - that wom-en across the state deserve access to services that promote prevention and health, including contraception and cancer screen-ings. This law promotes public health and helps to eliminate discrimination against women.” Catholic Charities sought special rights to discriminate against women employees by denying them access to needed health insurance coverage. Catholic Charities unsuc-cessfully challenged the Women’s Health and Wellness law in two lower New York Courts. On No-vember 25, 2003, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that the

law protects women from discrimi-natory health insurance policies. The Appellate Division, Third Judi-cial Department affirmed that deci-sion on January 11, 2006.

The Women’s Health and Wellness Act, which went into effect January 1, 2003, makes vital preventive health care ser-vices and treat-ment available to more women by requiring health insurance plans to cover

osteoporosis exams, prescription contraceptives, and breast and cer-vical cancer screening. The law helps to end discrimina-tion against women in insurance coverage by enhancing access to reproductive health care including

contraception. While birth control is the most widely used prescription drug for women of reproductive age, a study released by the Guttm-acher Institute indicated that it was routinely excluded from insurance plans. Nearly half of large-group insurance plans failed to routinely cover any reversible contraceptive method. Consequently, women of reproductive age were forced to pay as much as 68 percent more for out-of-pocket medical care than men. New York’s Women’s and Health and Wellness law exempts employ-ers engaged in purely religious ac-tivities, such as seminaries, from having to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees, who in all likelihood share their employ-er’s religious beliefs. A similar ex-emption in California’s contracep-tive coverage equity law was also upheld in the courts.

Art & Entertainment • PotpourriOCTOBER 26, 2006pAGE 8 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

YONKERS, NY -- The Museum Middle School’s Young Poets So-ciety (YPS) will present “Poetry Slam II” featuring original works by students on Friday, October 27, 2006 at 10:30 a.m. Students on all grade levels have created and will recite poetry around this month’s themes: Halloween, the fall season, Columbus Day, and Polish, German and Italian heritages. The “Poetry Slam” began as a cel-ebration of Black History Month, combined with the requirements of the New York State English

Museum Middle School presents “poetry Slam II”

Language Arts standards. “Poetry Slam” has blossomed into a month-ly event at the school taking place the last Friday of every month. The coordinators for Poetry Slam II are Museum Middle School Princi-pal, Dr. Catherine Mayus, School Librarian Ann Mastropolo and Teacher Michael Walpole. Museum Middle School is lo-cated at 565 Warburton Avenue in Yonkers. More information on the program can be obtained at the Mu-seum Middle School website: mu-seum.ypschools.org.

SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY -- Ron Soodalter will be speaking and sign-ing copies of his new book, Hang-ing Captain Gordon, at Philipsburg Manor on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is free of charge.

Learn the Story of the Only United States Citizen to be Hanged for Slave Trading

Author of Hanging Captain Gordon to Speak at Philipsburgh Manor on Thursday, Nov. 9The book is a dramatic account of the only man in United States his-tory to be hanged for the crime of slave trading.Mr. Soodalter, who lives in Chap-paqua, N.Y., said, “The story-with-in-a-story indeed tells the tale of the hapless slaver, but it also provides a picture of our government’s shame-less refusal to put an end to the hor-rific — and illegal — slave trade.” The book is the culmination of re-search that began nearly 40 years ago, prompted by an assignment given to him during a university course about President Abraham Lincoln. He spent years working on the book and said, “The more research I did, the more outraged I became.” “I spent countless hours in front of microfilm readers, deciphering the newspapers and journals of the pe-riod, until I had put together a reli-able chronology of the events relat-ing to Captain Nathaniel Gordon

and his unique fate. I was captured by the drama of the story: a young Yankee sea captain with a beautiful wife and son, caught in the machin-ery of a government determined to hang him as a slaver.” Philipsburg Manor, a property of Historic Hudson Valley, continues to attract national attention for its new interpretive focus on the little-known story of slavery in the north during the colonial period. The site’s tours and programs reflect the daily lives of the 23 enslaved in-dividuals known to have lived and labored there. Philipsburg Manor is the country’s only fully staffed liv-ing history museum to focus on the history of northern slavery. For in-formation: www.hudsonvalley.org.The event is co-sponsored by the Westchester Civil War Roundtable. Hanging Captain Gordon was pub-lished earlier this year by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.Historic Hudson Valley is a network

of six historic sites in Sleepy Hol-low Country and the Great Estates region; Washington Irving’s Sunny-side; Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, a historic site of the National Trust; Philipsburg Manor; the Union Church of Pocantico Hills; Van Cortlandt Manor; and Montgomery Place Historic Estate.

By Gail Farrelly

NEW YORK, NY -- Furious felines mobbed Grand Central Station last night as Felix the Cat led them in a protest against the creation of so-called “hypoallergenic” cats. The outraged Felix, looking quite spiffy in a new designer plaid vest, an-nounced to the crowd, “Why should we cats change our make-up, just to please humans? Who cares about their scratchy throats, hives and sneezes? It’s not our problem.” Felix explained that Allerca, a San Diego company, is taking orders for allergy-free cats to be delivered next year. He said that this company, in its attempts to genetically engineer a low-allergy cat, happened by ac-cident to find animals that were NATURALLY allergy-free. Felix doesn’t find this “natural” method of breeding as appalling as actually using genetic engineering to create low-allergy and allergy-free cats. He urged the crowd, “Tell them to keep their big fat paws off our genes; we cats like our genes just the way they are.” A few kittens in the crowd took catnaps during Felix’s speech; but on the whole, the cats were quite attentive. They meowed loudly in agreement when Felix questioned why breeding programs were con-centrating on cats and molding THEM to fit the needs of humans. “Why not start with the human spe-cies?” he suggested. “You know, breed owners who know how to

Felix Leads protests Against Creation of“Allergy Free” Cats

provide kinder, gentler treatment for cats. That’s the way to go.” Most of the human commuters were quite sympathetic, cheering on Felix as he spoke. There were a few hecklers, but they were quickly “run out of Dodge.” Well, sort of. Here’s what happened. Hearing complaints against their beloved Felix, some of the feline protest-ers turned into catzillas -- hissing, spitting, and baring their teeth at the anti-Felix hecklers. With liberal use of their claws, some of the cats even made attack moves, chasing after the human “offenders.” The frightened commuter hecklers ran for cover and then in desperation jumped on ANY train (no matter the destination!) leaving immedi-ately from Grand Central, so that they could escape the wrath of the furious felines. Mission accom-plished! The whole charade gave the cats lots of laughs, thinking of the hapless commuters ending up at destinations quite far from where they had planned. They’d be travel-ing long into the night -- a fate the catzillas felt these rude humans de-served! Present in the crowd were repre-sentatives from the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. They provided support for Felix’s position by handing out pocket-sized packages of Kleenex. Also protecting their turf were Pfiz-er Inc. representatives, who distrib-uted free samples of Benadryl. Felix’s speech ended on a positive note. He invited everyone in the crowd to participate in snacks: peo-ple-shaped cookies for the cats and cat-shaped cookies for the humans. Tails were wagging and hands were clapping as Felix shouted, “Power to the cats.” He sent the crowd on its way with this quote from Ellen Perry Berkeley: “As every cat own-er knows, nobody owns a cat.” The story above is a satire or paro-dy. It is entirely fictitious.

YONKERS, NY -- The Yonkers Public Library proudly announces a new initiative in partnership with Poets House and the Sarah Law-rence College MFA Program in Poetry. The first program will take place at the Grinton I. Will Branch, 1500 Central Park Avenue, on Oc-tober 30, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. when award-winning poet Thomas Lux reads from his work and that of his favorite poets. Admission is free. Mr. Lux is the author of ten books of poems, most recently The Cra-dle Place, and seven Limited Edi-tion books that have earned him, among other awards and prizes, the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Prize. He has been further honored with the Bank of New York Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is on the faculties of Sarah Lawrence and of Georgia Tech. Earlier in the day, students from

Award-Winning poet Thomas Lux Reads His

Favorite poems Students from Roosevelt High School will

read and perform their own work as part of this program

Roosevelt High School in Yonkers will attend an intensive poetry and performance workshop at the Will Branch with Mr. Lux and Sarah Lawrence College MFA students. The Roosevelt students will then join Mr. Lux on stage as part of the evening program in the spacious auditorium of the Will Branch; they will be reading and performing their own work. Over ten years ago, Poets House, a 45,000 volume poetry library and literary center at 72 Spring Street in the SoHo area of Manhattan, de-veloped the Poetry in The Branches initiative in partnership with the public libraries of New York City.

For travel directions to the Will Branch, go to http://www.ypl.org/. For further information call Ms. Lindsay at 1-914 / 337.1500, ext.

307, or Poets House at 1-212 / 431.7920.

SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY -- The Sleepy Hollow St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, Inc. has announced that the Grand Marshal of the 11th An-nual Sleepy Hollow – Tarrytown St. Patrick’s Parade to be held on Sun-day March 11, 2007 will be Mary Holt Moore, (Pearl River, NY) a descendent of Irish patriots and a woman who has devoted her life to the preservation of Irish culture. Mary Holt More is a descendent of General Joseph Holt, a leader of the 1798 Irish Rebellion in County Wicklow, and a cousin of Sean Mac-Diarmada of the 1916 Irish Upris-ing. Her parents, Ann O’Rourke of County Leitrim, and father Charles A. Holt Sr. of County Wicklow, Ireland were Irish patriots who pur-sued the cause of Irish freedom. Mary, born in the Bronx, NY and a graduate of Hunter College where

Sleepy Hollow St. patrick’s Day parade

Committee Names Mary Holt Moore Grand Marshall

she founded the Hunter College Gaelic Society, and received her M.S. Degree from the College of New Rochelle. She was Vice-Chairperson of the Tri-State Chapter of the Irish Amer-ican Solidarity Day Committee and cultural chair of the Irish American National Unity Conference, a mem-ber of the Emerald Society of the Board of Education in New York City, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the County Leitrim and County Wicklow Societies. She has served as the President of the Bronx Gaelic League and Council of Gaelic Societies of New York. She was the second woman to be honored as the Grand Marshal of the New York City St. Patrick’s Pa-rade. Mary is married to Thomas A. Moore (retired Deputy Chief FDNY), and together they have passed down their love of Irish his-tory and culture to their eight chil-dren and 20 grandchildren. Serving as Ms. Holt’s Aides are: Mary Forde, Rita O’Shea, Cath-erine Courtney, Alice Droogan, Ken Tierney, Andy Murray, Barry Clarke and Rob Sullivan. The Sleepy Hollow Saint Patrick’s Parade Committee is proud to hon-or this daughter of Ireland who has given so much of her time and love to preserving the culture of Ireland.

Learn more by visiting www.shsaintpatrickparade.com

YONKERS, NY -- “Ghosts and goblins, witches and their brews, they will all be there for you!” when the senior class at Saunders Trades and Technical High School pres-ents their 2nd Annual Halloween Haunted House on Friday, October 27, 2006 from 6:00-9:00 p.m., 183 Palmer Road in Yonkers. Join costumed Saunders students on a guided tour of their Haunted House filled with scary creatures

Get Frightened at Saunders’ Halloween

Haunted Houseand ghosts galore, for older children who will explore the Birthday Party Gone Wrong, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the eerie Graveyard. Younger trick-or-treaters can enjoy rooms filled with Pirates and a Hal-loween Town. Face Painting and Halloween refreshments will be available for sale, and a DJ will play spooky Hal-loween music. Admission to this event is $7 per person. Tickets will be sold at Saunders’ Open House on Thurs-day, October 19th from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and at the door the night of the event. A coupon worth $2.00 off the price of admission is avail-able on the Saunders Trades and Technical High School website: saunders.ypschools.org. For more information, call 1-914 /

376.8150.

DOBBS FERRY, NY -- Conducts Shabbat prayers at 9:30 a.m., fol-lowed by Kiddush. “Shabbat Ad-venture,” special children’s servic-es conducted on the last Saturday of every month, from10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.; everyone who attends on Oc-tober 28th is entered into raffle for an iPod Nano Women’s Round Table, coffee and Torah, discusses the book “Towards a Meaningful Life”, every Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. Jewish Arts Program, for children ages 7-12, every Tuesday, 4:45 - 6:00 p.m. Musical Mommy and Me with Bobby Doowah, Fall session started October 25th, and every Wednesday thereafter from

Chabad of the Rivertowns10:15 - 11:00 a.m. Parsha class, discuss weekly Torah reading, ev-ery Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Bat Mitzvah Club, a cool club for girls ages 11-13, includes crafts, learning and fun, meets every third Thurs-day from 4:45-6:15 p.m . Tanya class, Jewish Mysticism, every Friday at 8:30 a.m. First Friday of month, Shabbat Dinners, 6:30 p.m. November 3rd- cocktails and hors d’oeuvers, no charge, please call to RSVP.

Chabad of the Rivertowns is located at 303 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, NY at 1-914 / 693.6100,

www.chabadrt.org.

Actors, dancers, musicians and technical designers from the Pur-chase College School of the Arts join together as the Purchase Rep-ertory Theatre presents one of the most lauded new musicals of the last decade, James Joyce’s The Dead, October 27 - November 4 at the Purchase College Perform-ing Arts Center. Eleanor Holdridge directs the production, with a Tony award-winning book by Richard Nelson, music by Shaun Davey in-spired by the folk music of Ireland, and featuring the Senior Acting Company. Performances are October 27, 28 and November 2, 3 and 4 at 8 PM, and October 29 and November 4 at 2 PM. Tickets are $20, $15 seniors. Subscription series are $35 for Thursday and Saturday matinees and $50 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday matinees. For more infor-mation or to order tickets, call the Box Office at 1-914 / 251.6200. Purchase College is located at 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY.The musical is based on Joyce’s classic short story from his cel-ebrated Dubliners collection. At

purchase Repertory Theatre presents

Award-Winning Musical of

James Joyce’s The Dead

the turn of the 20th century, three generations of friends and fam-ily gather at the Christmas party of Gabriel Conroy’s music-loving aunts in Dublin to eat and drink. This year, a guest’s song awakens a memory of Gabriel’s wife and revives a long-buried passion. The play is a haunting glimpse into the souls of two people who learn first-hand how hard it is to truly know one another.Eleanor Holdridge has directed over eight plays for Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Mass., as well as the Off-Broadway produc-tions of Cycling Past the Matter-horn, The Imaginary Invalid and Mary Stuart. She also has many re-gional credits to her name. She has been a resident director with New Dramatists in New York City, artis-tic director of the Yale Cabaret in New Haven, and founder and artis-tic director of the Red Heel Theatre in Philadelphia. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her MFA in directing from Yale University.

For more information, call 1-914 / 251.6830.

In Collaboration with the Purchase College Conservatory Of Music

By Tom Bock

ELMSFORD, NY -- Meatloaf, the artist, has become a rock icon with his Bat Out of Hell 1 & 2 series. For those who may be thinking this is probably more of the same, clear the cobwebs, move your breakables to a safe place and crank up your sound system into double-digits. Surprisingly, he’s dishing up a very different meal and you’ll need to be ready for what he’s offering! At the Meatloaf press conference held in NYC, I walked into the converted church and was over-whelmed with sight and sound. The lead song for this trilogy series, The Monster Is Loose, was unveiled from a thunderous bank of speak-ers. The new, corresponding video was playing on a movie screen hung from the stage. Everything about this afternoon would prove to be refreshingly different. The first thing you notice is the signature Meatloaf “sound” is gone. Sure, it’s his voice, but the music is edgier and harder rock. Desmond Child, the producer of artists such as Kiss, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and others, accomplished this amazing feat through intensive involvement.

Tuned In: MeatloafBat Out of Hell III

“Bat Out of Hell albums are really renegade records; when they come out they are never like anything else,” he said. Seven songs were written by Jim Steinman, who produced Bat Out of Hell 2 and wrote for both Bat Out of Hell 1 and 2. Fortunately, the two have finally resolved their legal differences and are back together on Bat Out of Hell 3. I think the payoff is obvious. Other collabo-rators, which include Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue, John 5 of Marilyn Manson and Marti Frederiksen, an Aerosmith songwriter, impact the sound and mood of this CD. All in a positive way. Making her U.S debut on this CD is Marion Raven. Child said of Raven, “She’s mystical, she’s dark, she’s icy but she’s warm; she’s fun but she’s also really deep. She was meant to do it.” She has a superior voice and provides the perfect bal-ance to Meatloaf. Also coming back is Todd Rungren, who most of you will recognize as a well-known art-ist in his own right. Rungren, as you may recall, was the producer of the original Bat Out of Hell 1 album. This CD is a welcome and long overdue evolution of the Bat Out of Hell series. The release date is October 31, Halloween. Add this to your “Bat” series or just pick it up because it rocks. Either way, it’s a different dish this time around. There’s no trick needed with this Halloween treat, it’s simply deli-cious.

Tom Bock is the entertainment reviewer for the

Westchester Times Tribune.

House of Worship • In MemoriamOCTOBER 26, 2006 pAGE 9WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

and by a fierce desire to always do the right thing. Carl was a man of courage, con-viction, charisma and compassion. He possessed a keen intellect and an unbridled curiosity that embraced eclectic interests in current events, politics, sports (especially the Yan-kees and NY “football” Giants), literature, and history. He was a voracious reader and an amateur historian of the Roman Republic and Empire who loved to regale his family - especially his grandchil-dren - with seemingly first hand ac-counts of ancient events and lore. Carl was a renowned prosecutor, setting national standards for a modern law enforcement office. An active officer and director in the Na-tional DA’s Association, he eagerly compared notes with peers so his Westchester County office would always be on the cutting edge of professional criminal prosecution. He presided over the expansion of the office from 14 to 111 assistant district attorneys, established the local court bureau to make law en-forcement consistent throughout the county and also developed one of the first DNA labs in New York. Carl created a ground breaking Do-mestic Violence unit and he was very proud it developed into and continues today as a national stan-dard. His unwavering mores set the professional standards for his assis-tants and investigators that echo to-day as his legacy to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office that he loved beyond measure. In addition, Carl was an enthusiastic advocate on behalf of Soviet Jewry making many trips to Israel and the former USSR as a state guest seek-ing a resolution of this issue. Dur-ing the course of those visits, he conferred with Israeli Prime Minis-ters Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir and others. As a result of his successful work on behalf of this important cause and for his many personal and professional contribu-tions, Carl was honored by numer-ous Jewish organizations including United Jewish Appeal, State of Isra-el Bonds, and B’nai B’rith. He was happy to accept these awards using his proficiency in Yiddish. Carl was most proud of his Italian

heritage and his family’s Roman roots. Born to immigrant parents, his father, Frank Vergari, was a World War I Purple Heart recipi-ent who came to the United States when he was 14, and his mother, Teresa, was a leading figure in Yonkers Democrat politics. Carl was proud to be a founding father of the Columbian Lawyers Asso-ciation of Westchester County and to have served on the board of the Enrico Fermi Scholarship Fund. Both organizations are wide reach-ing service groups providing for the continuation of Italian American educational and cultural awareness through scholarships and other out-reach programs. Fluent in Italian, his clear tenor voice could often be heard above the crowd lending mer-

riment to a family party or softly singing a grandchild to sleep. A true Renaissance Man, he was an award winning painter and his creations hold honored places in his friends’ and family’s homes. He was a tennis and squash enthusiast who developed a love of golf which he often exclaimed didn’t love him back. Never letting it get the best of him, he continued to play at West-chester Country Club, and, after his retirement, at Breakers West. His happiest moments were competing with his children and grandchildren, often requesting additional ‘senior’ strokes for himself. Carl Vergari was a member of “The Greatest Generation” that lead the United States to victory over fas-cism and Nazism in World War II. He served proudly as a Captain in the Marine Corps Second Divi-sion and saw action in the bloody invasion of Saipan, the Battle of Tinian and elsewhere in the Pa-cific Theater. Like his comrades, he never discussed the battles in which he fought - no matter how gently pressed. It was on a much needed furlough back to the States in the spring of 1945 that he was

introduced to his future wife, Gen-evieve, who was living in Yonkers with a graduate school friend, Jean Romano D’Apice. Carl attended Fordham University, graduated from St. John’s Universi-ty School of Law and earned a Mas-ters of Law in Tax from NYU. He joined the Manhattan DA’s office under the renowned stewardship of the legendary Frank Hogan and was eventually promoted to head the Rackets Bureau. He was later appointed chief counsel to the NYS Investigation Commission (SIC) where he successfully prosecuted organized crime. In 1968, Gover-nor Nelson Rockefeller appointed him District Attorney of Westches-ter County where he remained for over 26 years - the longest serving DA in the history of the county. He was reelected 6 times and was the largest vote getter every time - often with more than 65% of the vote! Carl Anthony Vergari, a man’s man, the hardworking immigrant’s son from Yonkers, led by example and was followed with respect, trust and devotion. One has only to look at those who were mentored by him and who went on to do great things in their own right as dedicated judg-es, district attorneys and elsewhere in the legal community to see his legacy of a life dedicated to public service. By any standard, his life was a great success, but perhaps the words of R.W. Emerson say it best: “To laugh often & much...to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to earn the approval of honest critics and en-dure the betrayal of false friends...to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others...to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition...to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived...this is to have succeeded.” He succeeded beyond measure. God’s blessings and God’s speed Pop!

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Carl’s name to the Columbian

Lawyers Association of West-chester County Scholarship Fund

(CLAW Scholarship Fund), 800 Westchester Avenue, Suite 608,

Rye Brook, NY 10573.

In Memoriam: Carl A. VergariFrom Pg. 1

Texts: Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; Hebrews 3:12-19; Mark 10:17-22 I have never found any place that promised that being a Christian was easy. We didn’t get any special dis-pensation from getting sick, falling into sin, or fighting with our loved ones. I can’t find the place in Holy Scripture that gives children the right NOT to go to school or church just because they’re faithful believ-ers in Jesus Christ. And we didn’t get coupons for free breakfasts at Denny’s. Instead, we got the hard-ships of life that, at times, seem overwhelming, especially when a loved one dies or something so monstrous and evil happens in our world that our hearts ache. Christianity is tough. You have fight the urges to do bad things and try your best to stay on the straight and narrow. We do that because of what our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ gives to us: the power inside each of us to overcome the hard-ships of life because our God is walking with us. Our trust in God is always in a spiritual war with the sin that tries to drag us away from Him, the one who loved us beyond all measure - loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for your sins and the sins of the person sit-ting next to you and for the sins of the entire world. When bad things happen, the sin that impacts all of us tries to wrench us away from the one who saved us. Sadly, sometimes it hap-pens. Even to people like me. When my mother died when I was 18, I got mad at God - and the sin inside me cheered. When a friend was killed a few years later, I got mad at God - and the sin inside of me partied. And as I watched over and over again the spread of evil in this world that seemed to have no end, I questioned God - and that which tore me away from our loving and gracious God raised a glass and toasted my doubt. But through the hardships of doubt and questioning and anger, I stand here today with an assured heart and a faith that is strong. “For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Hebrews 3:14 The writer of Hebrews presents to all of us a wonderful expression of the difficulties of faith. We don’t know for certain who wrote this letter or sermon found in the New Testament, but it provides us with a magnificent link for all of us to ponder this Sunday morning: when our spiritual ancestors failed God and fell into sin, God’s promise never changed. He promised them

and us that He would save us from our sins. In the days of the Old Testament before the coming of our Lord Je-sus Christ, God showed His eternal anger toward sin by punishing those who committed the sin. His people were punished as they were defeated in battle, made slaves in Egypt, and when they were taken from their land. They were forced to walk in the wilderness for 40 years follow-ing the lead of Moses. Those who rebelled against God and Moses, God’s chosen leader for His people, lost their lives during that 40 year journey. Even Moses Himself was punished by God when He failed to listen and Moses was unable to en-ter the Promised Land. And through their days, through the hardships they faced, God never wavered from His promise. The people even-tually came back to their Lord and followed Him. But when our Lord Jesus came down from heaven to take on hu-man flesh, He became the one who suffered the punishment for sin. He was beaten and spit at, rejected and cursed, flogged and crucified. He was nailed to a cross where He cried out in agony asking why His Father had forsaken Him. And when He gave up His last breath, the earth shook. The curtain in the Temple - the curtain that separated God’s people from His most holy of places - was torn. Our Lord Jesus stepped behind that curtain to make the final payment for the sin of the world. His precious and holy blood flowed from his veins cleaned us all of our sins. And by faith alone in Him who came and died for us, the promise of God is as real as any-thing we can think of. Faith alone in Christ saves us. It saves everyone who believes. Not the work we can do here on earth. Not the number of prayers we re-cite at any given time. Not even the number of pages of the Bible we read everyday. It is by Faith alone, built by the Word of God alone, sal-vation offered by the grace of God alone. But again, there aren’t any guar-antees that our faith will remain strong at all times. It happened to me during the early to middle 1990s when all those bad things happened to me and I started to doubt. Yes, I stopped attending church every Sunday. I poured myself into my work, dealing with some of the lowest forms of politicians you can ever imagine. My faith and trust in God became secondary to every-thing else. To use some Luther-like terms, my god became me. Yet our Lord used my hardships and my

failings to gently guide me. My faith didn’t die - it just got weak. It got deceived by sin. See, I wasn’t being fed by our Lord by His Word. Without this nourishment, I gave myself over to my sinful thoughts. I gave myself over to the notion that as long as I have this generic God feeling, ev-erything in my life - both on earth and in the afterlife - would be OK. A weak faith will do that to you. And as you look around this place this morning with empty pews and missing loved ones - both family and friends - who are doing things for themselves today rather than being fed by our Lord’s Word and His precious body and blood, they, too, are facing the same weakness of faith I succumbed to more than a decade ago. And with weakness of faith - or as the writer of Hebrews says today, calling the weakness “the deceitful-ness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13 - we can all too easily fall into the pattern of putting God last and you first. As a church, that is our challenge. As those who are fed by the Lord in His Word - both heard and vis-ible in His Sacrament - we try our best to compel those in our lives to put God on their list of things to do. Weakness of faith is a terrible thing, because it so easily can lead you to do things that God doesn’t want from your lives. Take a moment and look around. Stand up if you need to. Pews are empty. Think about those in your lives who aren’t here and would benefit from hearing about their God, even for a few minutes. We have a God who loves and cares for His people. He cared so much He gave His Son to die for you. And through the power of God where our faith is borne, we receive the forgiveness of sins. With the ex-ception of rejecting the Holy Spirit, which is the rejection of faith, no sin is unforgivable, regardless of what those television evangelists and some hard-headed people who wear priestly robes say. Christ died; your sins are forgiven. And when we think about all those in our lives who are not here and who haven’t heard the Word of God to receive the strengthening of faith this week-end, well, we know our mission. And it won’t be easy. No one ever said that telling the Gospel story would bring immediate benefits and more people in that door. No, we know better. We place our trust in God and pray for His guidance and strength. And He promised to hear and answer.Amen

“Weakened Faith”By pastor Anthony Iovine St. Joseph’s Cemetery

209 Truman Avenue

All Souls Day MassThursday

Nov. 2, 200611 A.M. at the cemetery!

“…we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.” (Romans 6:5)

Why a Catholic Cemetery?Partly because of our heritagePartly because of our historyMostly because of our Faith

This will be the first time in over 75 years that we will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the grounds of our parish cemetery.

We have arranged for a heated tent on the site of the former Chapel.

Take Nepperhan Ave. all the way to the end, past St. Anthony’s R. C.Church, our cemetery will be on your left.

It is 3.5 miles from our parish church. For more information call the parish rectory at 1-914-963-0730

or the Cemetery Office at 1-914-963-0780.

Classified • Real Medicine • Potpourri • The WesFoodie’sOCTOBER 26, 2006pAGE 10 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

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By Evan S. Levine, MD FACC YONKERS, NY -- We’ve all grown up knowing the bullies in the neigh-borhood- the biggest kid on the block who picked on the children in the neighborhood, the family that let their big dog roam about fright-ening their neighbors. We usu-ally think of bullies as big impos-ing figures, with too much hubris, testosterone (I do believe the world would be a lot safer if women ran it), and apathy to know right from wrong. Believe it or not, there are plenty of bullies roaming the halls of our finest medical institutions as well; usually small, unimposing fig-ures, that I suspect were unpopular in school and perhaps were even bullied by others. I guess, once bul-lied as a child they’ve become a nasty bunch of senior doctors bent on imposing their will on others. As a medical student, a resident in training and even as an attending I’ve come across a bunch of these

Real MedicineBullies in Medicine

types. In my book I wrote about how a chief of a department told his staff to send heart surgery patients to specific heart surgeons even though he admitted that only in uncompli-cated cases were those surgeons as good. In a memo he even wrote, “In uncomplicated cases, there are clearly no significant differences in mortality statistics among the major surgeons at this institution”. And I am sure there were many doctors who were so intimidated by this bully, and his memo, that they sent patients to perhaps lesser qualified surgeons. Over the years doctors and nurses have come to me to tell me that they were told by doc-tors in charge not to send patients to me, not because of the quality of my work but because some se-nior physicians decided other doc-tors (often doctors that worked for them) should be getting the work. Residents have been told by senior doctors that they might not get ad-mitting privileges at a hospital if

they joined with a group of doctors (doctors that this bully did not like) and medical r e s i d e n t s have had their charts reviewed or even told they needed to re-peat a year - not because they did not do a reason-able job- but in my opinion because they were not liked by a senior faculty mem-ber. As you know by now, I con-sider myself the ultimate i c o n o c l a s t , and, I enjoy helping just about any-one I come across - except a bully.

So, not long ago, when one of the senior bullies walked past me in

the hallway I decided not to recognize him and walked right by. Be-lieve it or not, this prompted him to call ( talk about hu-bris) another senior associ-ate to ask why I slighted him in the hall-way. After he was told, “Because he hates you”, I received a call from his office (of course not from him per-sonally) to set

up a meeting to find out why I hated him. Can you imagine this doctor

was in charge of hundreds of other physicians? A few years ago, after unsuc-cessful attempts at coercing some doctors that worked for the hospital to send patients to the doctors that worked under him, a chairman of the department of cardiology took part in spreading rumors that I was actually paying some doctors to send patients to me. After I had words with him and threatened to sue him he backed off but did admit that he spoke to some doctors in an effort to have them send patients to the doctors that work for his depart-ment – “to support those who do work in an academic environment”, he told me. That academic doctor left his academic position and now works for a pharmaceutical com-pany. Whether it is a classmate, a neigh-bor, or a doctor with great power and responsibility it seems to me that some of us allow our selfish-ness, our hubris, and our arrogance

to bully others. Dr. Evan S. Levine is the author of “What Your Doctor Won’t (or Can’t) Tell You,” available on the www.evan-levinemd.com Web site. In the introduc-tion to his first book, he writes: “I am an insider. Like many troubled insiders in other professions, I could just keep my mouth shut and look the other way. But it is high time someone blew the whistle. I want to tell you what you may have suspected for years. We doc-tors have been silent for too long. Too many of us are scared; scared to rock the boat, scared of retribution, scared of do-ing damage to our livelihoods. Some are more interested in getting rich than they are in helping their patients get well…But not all of them. There are still many brilliant and caring physicians, yearning to make people healthy and happy. You just have to know how and where to find them.”

If you have any questions about your prescription drugs, please direct your inquiries by e-mail to [email protected].

Jack 8. KirbyThe heat of a sip flushes the lips and reluctant tongue as it washes down towards the dark of the throat. Muscles unclench releasing the last of the day’s irate contractions and the remaining traces of blunt tele-phone hours. Splash into the chest with a hot pain and then welcome emptiness. Good tea. It’s hard to avoid haiku-like prose when describing tea – and why try? Tea in fact originates from and re-mains deeply associated in the West with Asian cultures. All true tea is from the Himilayan native Camel-lia Thea, a member of the Thea-ceae family of plants. The leaves of either the Camellia assamica or Camellia sinensis (or a hybrid of the two) form the basis for all tea. The two varieties are commonly referred to as Indian and Chinese teas, respectively. As tea comes from Asia, and the West came to know the pleasures of tea on its early expeditions East-ward, Tea’s history is, of course, intricately connected to colonial-ism. It wasn’t until the late 17th century that tea drinking became popular in England. But oh when it did, the British East India Company engaged in a most egregious drugs-for-tea scheme that was as dark and indecent as anything afoot today. The scheme gave rise to the Opium

The WesFoodie’s: Eating in the Burbs Tea

Wars. There was also that regret-table tax put on tea in the American colonies and the reaction to it that forms a notable part of tea lore in this country to this day. Tea has seen to the survival of its species through ingenious execu-tion of a dual strategy of public and private existence. Tea is both a cultural phenomena and a most private experience. As with the dog (another species unessential to mankind’s basic needs that survives nonetheless by virtue of its place in culture writ large along with its place in the most personal chamber of the human thumping muscle), tea has assured its future along side our own. Modern America was, on the whole, not particularly discerning about its teas. Industrialism brought with it a rank selection of bagged teas with little flavor and virtually no nuance. Much of “tea” in the bags is actually the leftovers of far supe-rior leaf teas that are swept up from production floors. Those “tiny little

tea leaves” are really nothing to be excited about. It’s the dust of real tea too plentiful for the trash bin. In the 1980’s herbal “teas” were wide-ly marketed together with flavored black teas. The 80’s herbals were basically the same floor sweepings with some fruit peels for taste. As for alternative rock music, the

1990’s were good for tea. Like a “Nevermind” of the palate, The Re-public of Tea’s loose leaf selections and round bagged leaves brought the good stuff to the masses at just the right moment. In addition to writing a great memoir/case study on starting their tea company, “The Republic of Tea” (if you’ve ever even thought of starting your own food business you have to read this book!), Patricia and Mel Ziegler, the couple who founded Banana Republic, and Bill Rosenzweig, the guy who did all the work, un-derstood that America was ready to stop gulping and start sipping (to paraphrase the Republic’s Ministers as they called themselves – hokey, indeed, but endearing in a nerd-cum-millionaire sort of way). It’s unreasonably hard to find good loose tea for sale at local stores. Beware of any shop that stores or displays its tea in glass or clear plastic jars. Sunlight causes tea to lose its flavor. If they store it in transparent containers it is a clear

sign they don’t know what they are doing. But the Internet has some really great tea vendors. Two of my favorites are the Assam Tea Company (for black teas) and Ada-gio (for green teas and tea making equipment). The folks behind the Assam Tea Co. travel to tea estates in India and

have brought back a most astound-ing array of fine black teas. Among my favorites are the Full Leaf Dar-jeeling and the Satrupa Golden Pe-koe. The F.L. Darjeeling is like no other Darjeeling I’ve had. Usually these teas have a slight mustiness to them. Not the Full Leaf. This is a bright tea with definite fruity notes. It is full and has a slight depth to its aftertaste. It’s a wonderful tea. The Pekoe is bold and heavy. It has the sought after dark malt and smooth finish of a great breakfast tea. Adagio has some very unusual and worthwhile green tea blends. One of the best is the Mandarin Green. Large green Camellia leaves are tossed with dried orange peel. The complex slightly vegetable flavor of the tea leaves are heightened by the bright sweetness and tang of the orange. It’s a nice tea to sooth at the end of a long day. Green tea has less caffeine than black tea (which generally has half as much caffeine as coffee), making it a good choice for before bed sipping. Adagio also has a terrific little one cup brewing device. It’s a plastic case that when placed on top of your tea cup au-tomatically releases a well strained stream of tea into the cup. Ingenious indeed, they call it IngenuiTea.

The Assam Tea Company: www.tfactor.us

Adagio: www.adagio.com

Jack 8. Kirby, The WesFoodie, named “Westchester’s No. 1

Foodie” by Westchester Maga-zine, blogs about food in Eating in the Burbs (www.wesfoodie.com). When not eating his way round

the Burbs, The WesFoodie can be found bemoaning the exponential

growth of waistlines in direct proportion to sleepless nights of

childrearing and other immutable laws of mid-life in the suburbs.

Election Inspectors WantedWestchester County is in need of Election Inspectors willing to work at various polling sites on Election Day. Pay $225. We are especially in need of poll inspectors who are profi-

cient in both English and Spanish.Election Inspector Requirements: Must be at least 18 years of age Must be enrolled in either the Republican or Democrat Party

Hours are from 5:30 A.M. – 9:30 P.M. If you are interested in becoming an Election Inspector,

please contact our Election Inspector Department: Nancy Meehan (Republicans) 1-914 / 995.5702 Nelson Lohse (Democrats) 1-914 / 995.8568

Bi-lingual Election Inspector CoordinatorsOlga Rivera (Republican) 1-914 / 995.8559 Bill Clark (Democrat) 1-914 / 995.8145

Villarina’s Market Celebrates Grand OpeningGourmet Take Out and Prepared Foods

L to R: Mark Penunzion, George Ondek, Patty-Moe Patierno conduct ribbon cutting at 1859 East Main Street, Mohegan Lake, NY 10547914-603-3527.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- The Iona Preparatory School student drama group, the Prep Players, will per-form Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller from Novem-ber 2nd–4th. All performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Smokey Joe’s Café is a musical theatrical revue showcasing thirty nine pop standards, including rock

The prep players Launch New Theatrical Seasonwith Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller

and roll, and rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The lon-gest running revue ever on Broad-way, it features some of the all-time greatest songs, including “Jailhouse Rock,” “Stand By Me,” “Fools Fall In Love,” “Hound Dog,” and so many more. Thirty students will take to the stage and show off their

singing and dancing skills like nev-er before! All shows will take place in the Tully Gymnasium at Iona Prepa-ratory School, 255 Wilmot Road , New Rochelle, NY 10804 . Tickets will be available at the door ($10 general admission, $8 students and seniors.) For a list of the cast and a list of past productions go to http://

theprepplayers.tripod.com.Iona Preparatory School, located in New Rochelle, NY is a private sec-ondary school owned and operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in cooperation with the

Archdiocese of New York .

Visit the school’s website at http://www.ionaprep.org.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- This an-nual competition was created 13 years ago to offeraspiring young female artists nationwide the op-portunity to showcase their two- and three-dimensional works. This year, CNR received 122 submis-sions from students at 37 schools in New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and

13th Annual High School Women Artists Exhibit Displayed at The College of New RochelleOct. 29 to Nov. 12; Nov. 12 Awards Ceremony and Reception at 3:30 p.m.; Exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

Louisiana. Locals schools represented in-clude: Academy of Mount St. Ur-sula (The Bronx), Preston High School (The Bronx), Convent of Sacred Heart (Greenwich, CT), and The Ursuline School (New Rochelle), as well as local high schools in New Rochelle, Pelham, Mt. Vernon, Scarsdale, Edgemont,

and Mamaroneck. The annual event is sponsored by the College’s Office of External Relations, Media & Photographic Services Department, and the Art Department of the School of Arts & Sciences (SAS). High school art teachers are responsible for the nomination of participating stu-dents.

Mooney Center Exhibit Hall at The College of New Rochelle, is located at 29 Castle Place in New Rochelle, NY 10805. Hours are Monday-Thursday from 9:30 am to 9 pm, Friday, Sat-urday and Sundays from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. For additional information, call

1-914 / 654.5548.

Automotive

Roger Witherspoon is the official automotive columnist for the

Westchester Times Tribune and YonkersTribune.com.

OCTOBER 26, 2006 pAGE 11WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

Shifting GearsFamily Values and the Open Road

By Roger Witherspoon

PENNSYLVANIA -- The sun was warm, the road was dry and the hard top of the Volvo C70 sport sedan was folded in the trunk, providing an unobstructed, entrancing view of the riot of fall colors in Pennsylva-nia’s Allegheny Mountains with no hint of pending trouble. The speedometer hovered around 75 as the car entered a wide turn on the two-lane highway when sud-denly a tire blew out on the car a few yards ahead in the left lane, causing it to fishtail wildly as the driver fought for control. There was no room to stop.I swerved sharply to the right – with one set of wheels on the gravel shoulder and the other in the grass – and drove smoothly around the struggling motorist, watching him slowly regain control as he faded in the rear view mirror. I pulled away, again enjoying the fall scenery and making a mental note to thank the Volvo engineers who installed four-wheel stability control on the hard-top convertible. While many sports cars these days have traction control, which alternately slows or speeds the front wheels as needed to maintain control of the car under trying con-ditions, the C70 has independent controls for all four wheels, making for an easy, smooth, safe transition between the highway pavement, the gravel, and the grass. Volvo has al-ways had a reputation for making safe family cars. The C70 is part of their modern push to make ex-tremely safe cars with pizzazz. And

in that effort, the 2007 sport con-vertible succeeds. The C70 is not the boxy, sturdy, family car of yesteryear. It is sleek, with flowing lines and accents more in keeping with the image of Mer-cedes sports car styling than the picture of the family sedan. It looks like a racer, though street racing is not in keeping with the Volvo mind-set. Taking off will not rock you back in your seat – the C70 goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 7.4 seconds, a modest launch for a road runner. But, once started, the turbo-charged engine kicks in, providing a gravity-augmented power ride as

the world slides by at 150 miles per hour. With the top up, the C70 is a two-door compact sedan which could either hold two tall adults in front with the seats pushed back, or four average adults in reasonable com-fort. In this mode, the trunk could easily hold four sets of luggage. In convertible mode, the hard top separates into three sections, folds into the trunk, and takes a bit more

than half the space. That still leaves room for a large suitcase or a couple of overnight bags. Inside, the C70 has most of the elements you would expect in a sports car with a price tag pushing $45,000, and a few touches that are distinctly Volvo. The décor is two-toned leather, which is supple, thick, adjustable and, in front, heated if desired. On long trips, the heated lumbar support eases the passage of the miles. Part of the design seems aimed at the Ikea crowd. The instrument cluster on the dash is a thin, curving metal panel falling from the dash to

the center console, just behind the gear shift. The look is stark, and an acquired taste. Behind the panel is a dish capable of holding small items, such as electronic toll passes. But it is difficult to see behind the panel and awkward for the driver to reach. The panels on the two doors are long, shallow, and partitioned into three sections – each too small to hold much. But there are deep compartments built into the walls

beside each rear seat which aug-ments the car’s storage capability. Notably missing on the test car is a navigation system or satellite ra-dio, something which one might expect in a sports car in a price range shared by Audi, Mercedes and BMW. These are available as options, however, for an additional $2,400. Volvo pairs Sirius Satellite Radio with their navigation sys-tem because their direction system uses a satellite GIS link, rather than purely rely on the less efficient DVD map. Volvo makes up for the dimin-ished audio choices with increased

volume. The sound system for the AM/FM radio and in-dash CD player has 12 speakers, five 130-watt amplifiers – including one in the center console – and two sub-woofers which double as rolling vibrators when the bass is cranked to the max. And on a warm fall day, with the top down and the sound of the Temptations reverberating off the hillsides, cruising in a C70 is dif-

ficult to beat.

2007 Volvo C70 Convertible MSRp: $44,750

EpA Mileage:

City: 21 MPG Highway: 29 MPG Combined Mileage: 22.4 MPG performance/ Safety:0 – 60 MpH: 7.4 SecondsTop Speed: 150 MPH

2.5-Liter, 5-cylinder, turbo-charged, aluminum engine pro-ducing 218 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque; front-wheel drive; 6-speed automatic transmis-sion with electronic manual mode; front independent strut suspension with anti-roll bar; multi-link rear suspension with anti-roll bar; 4-wheel power assisted disc brakes; anti-lock braking system; 17-inch alloy wheels; traction and dynamic stability control; curtain side impact airbags; front and rear fog lights; headlamp washers.

Interior/ Comfort:

Tilt, telescope, leather padded steering wheel; fingertip audio and cruise controls; AM/FM stereo ra-dio with 12 speakers, 5 amplifiers and 2 130-watt subwoofers; 6-disc in-dash CD changer; heated front seats; power retracting hard top.

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- All 160 members of the New Rochelle Fire Department will now be able to safely extricate themselves from certain emergency situations, thanks to a $15,840 donation earmarked for the purchase of fire safety ropes by Cappelli Enterprises. New Ro-chelle firefighters demonstrated how to use the new ropes by exiting a third-floor window of a building and lowering themselves via the ropes to a second-story roof directly below them. Within the next month, all mem-bers of the New Rochelle Fire Department will have their own rope, which fits into a pouch small enough to fit into the pocket of the firefighters’ jackets.

New Rochelle FD Demonstrate Use of New Fire Safety Ropes

Image Left(L to R): Lieutenant Tom Moriarty (in window w/ tie)Lieutenant Matt Amoroso (in window observing)

Image Below (L to R): Firefighter Michael Walsh, Firefighter Robert Zaccagnino, Firefighter Dave Guiliano, Fire Commissioner Raymond Kiernan, Joseph Apicella, Executive Vice President, Cappelli Enterprises, Fire Captain Robert Benz, Firefighter Frank Rainone

OCTOBER 26, 2006pAGE 12 WESTCHESTER TIMES TRIBUNE

www.SenatorSpano.org