White Plains and Valhalla region

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino says he will not be employing the security detail used by his predecessor Andy Spano. That detail included three bodyguards who shadowed Spano, even for travel, and racked up hotel and meal expenses beyond the thousands in payroll and benefits.

Find out how much he proposes to save taxpayers in a special report from Jorge Fitz-Gibbon exclusively in print editions of The Journal News on Sunday.

This week, we debut In the News, a semi-regular feature in which we take to the streets of our Lower Hudson Valley communities and talk with folks about the issues of the day.

In our first segment, we asked people in White Plains about Arizona’s controversial new immigration law.

Take a look:

A corresponding feature will appear in print editions of Sunday’s Journal News.

School board interviews
Candidates in select contested school board races are invited to discuss the issues in interviews webcast LIVE on LoHud.com. The schedule follows. Because of the vast number of races — and the impossibility of crafting a schedule that meets everyone’s family, work and campaign needs — we appreciate efforts by candidates to make their scheduled hour. Westchester candidates are asked to confirm their attendance by contacting editorial assistant Brenda Ross, 914-694-5030 or bross@lohud.com; Rockland candidates are asked to contact Rockland Opinion editor Nancy Cutler, 845-578-2403 or ncutler@lohud.com.

Candidate questionnaires
If you are running for school board in Westchester, Rockland or Putnam, we want to hear from you. Please send your full name, home address, daytime phone numbers and e-mail address to elections@lohud.com. In both the subject line and body of the e-mail, be sure to indicate your school district. The information will be used by our news and editorial staffs to contact and correspond with candidates. Additionally, the e-mail address will be used to send candidates a username and password for a questionnaire; responses will form the basis of our online election guide for voters.

How voters can participate
Watch the interviews at www.Lo­Hud.com/editorialspotlight; to ask a question during a live session, engage the “cover it live” feature. Video of completed interviews — including Eastchester, Chappaqua, Scarsdale and East Ramapo — may be found in the “on demand” menu at www.LoHud.com/editorialspotlight. Only candidates may attend interviews.

Westchester
May 3
Bedford, 1:30 p.m.
Katonah-Lewisboro, 2:30 p.m.

May 4
Lakeland, 1:30 p.m.
Port Chester, 2:30 p.m.

May 5
Ossining, 1:30 p.m.
Briarcliff Manor, 2:30 p.m.

May 6
Byram Hills, 1:30 p.m.
Hendrick Hudson, 2:30 p.m.

May 10
Peekskill, 2:30 p.m.
Harrison, 4 p.m.

May 11
New Rochelle, 2:30 p.m.
Mount Vernon, 3:30 p.m.

Rockland
May 1
Nanuet, 10 a.m.
Clarkstown, 11 a.m.

May 4
Nyack, 10 a.m.
May 5
Pearl River, 10 a.m.

Directions are available here.

White Plains became the first city in the state to have a pay-by-cell parking service. The program allows people to pay for their parking and extend their time using their cell phones. But, the added convenience comes with a cost of 35 cents per call.

To use pay-by-cell, users will first have to set up an account with Verrus, the company providing the service, and link a credit card to the account.

The city held a press conference for the launch this morning with Mayor Adam Bradley, Parking Commissioner Albert Moroni and Rick Ammiratio, executive director of the White Plains Business Improvement District. (Photos courtesy of the city of White Plains.)

Bob, my neighbor, was getting rid of some yard debris the other day and, since he knows I’m always visting White Plains’ recycling center on Gedney Way, he asked me how late it was open on Saturdays.

(Resident Chris Kulk, after emptying a barrel of lawn debris at the city’s recycling center on Thursday afternoon, heads over to the next station to pick up some mulch.)

I told Bob that, if he got there by 3 p.m., he’d be fine.

Turns out the center is open until 4 p.m. on Saturdays, and until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. It’s closed Sundays. It opens each morning at 8:30 a.m., one of the guys who works there told me.

And they encourage residents (not businesses) to drop off grass clippings, small branches or other yard debris. The city will pick up those items from your curb on Mondays or Tuesdays, depending on which day your garbage is picked up, but the Gedney Way center is another option.

The recycling center, next to the Gillie Park tennis courts and athletic fields near Mamaroneck Avenue, also accepts paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and metal recyclables. And electronics and metal. I got rid of some old rusted sheet metal covering my old basement entryway there on Saturday.

Meanwhile, if you have something to carry it in, you can pick up mulch, compost or logs.

The “stations” – to pick up mulch, compost and logs; and to drop off yard waste and metal – were expanded last year. They’re separated by those big concrete block walls you can see in the photo above.

The folks who work there are friendly and accommodating, and will direct you to the drop-off sites.

They get crazy busy on Saturdays, particularly at this time of year.

The Mount Pleasant Police Benevolent Association is hosting its annual Chief Paul J. Oliva Memorial Run/Walk on Sunday to benefit Autism Speaks. The 9 a.m. event starts at the town Community Center, 125 Lozza Drive (off of Columbus Ave.) and features a 5-kilometer run and 1-mile walk. Participants will receive free T-shirts while they last, and refreshments. There will be awards for the top male and female finishers along with raffle drawings and prizes.
Race Day registration begins at 7:30 a.m., with entree fees of $20 for adults and $15 for children under 10. Proceeds go to the Autism Speaks organization, which works to change the futur for all who struggle with Autism Spectrum disorder. Find out more by loging on to www.autismspeaks.org. For more information on Sunday’s event, contact Mount Pleasant Police Detective Tom Frawley at tfrawley@mtpleasantny.com  or 914-742-2361.

Arbor Day, the national tree-planting celebration, is actually on Friday, but a bunch of Post Road Elementary School first-graders are getting a head start on the holiday today with help from the White Plains Beautification Foundation and the city Department of Public Works.

At 1:15 p.m. today, the youngsters will planting a Princess Dogwood tree donated by the foundation,  at the newly-landscaped school grounds. The city is promoting Arbor Day to educate kids about the importance of caring for trees.

Also on hand will be a state forester, to present the city with a flag recognizing its tree planting program. White Plains has received “Tree City USA” recognition from the state Department of Environmental Conservation for the past 27 years.

At left, Toni Browne of Mount Vernon takes a “Grip Test” during the 42nd Annual “Salute to Seniors” at the Westchester County Center April 28, 2010. Browne was among several thousand senior citizens at the event, taking in information on health and at home caregiving, as well as enjoying live entertainment, a craft fair and samplings of healthy foods. Click here to see a gallery of photos from the event.

I raced over to The Ritz this morning to find three workers taking down the granite monument that’s stood in front of the towers for two years. Developer Louis Cappelli built the Ritz sign on a city-owned traffic island during his $650 million construction of The Ritz hotel and residential towers. He fought to keep the sign there and even sued the city over it. Now, with a new mayoral administration in place, Cappelli finally agreed to take down a sign that has annoyed Common Council members and city officials alike.

The crew had been taking apart the sign since around 8:30 a.m. today. When I arrived two hours later, there wasn’t much left but the foundation, broken concrete and a few granite facade pieces stacked nearby.

As workers jack-hammered the foundation and wheel-barrowed concrete chunks away, someone from inside The Ritz showed up bemoaning my picture-taking. With his ear glued to a cell phone, he told the workers not to say anything to me and he walked away. The guy is in the back of this shot, by the luggage cart.

Cappelli told me a few weeks ago he came to an agreement with the city to have the island beautified with flowers and lighting, and he may be able to keep a tree already planted there.

This just in: Two Men and a Truck brings its “Movers for Moms” program to White Plains this year in an effort to collect items for women living at the White Plains & Central Westchester YWCA this Mother’s Day.

The Movers for Moms program is partnering with 103.9 WFAS FM to raise awareness and collect simple treasures like slippers, small cooking items and toiletries for women residing at the White Plains YWCA. The items will be delivered May 6 to women at the shelter who may not be expecting gifts this Mother’s Day. It’s a community effort that encourages all to get involved by donating small items to celebrate all women and mothers on Mother’s Day.

“It is easy to see the importance of giving women at the YWCA gifts this Mother’s Day,” said Jennifer D’Ambrosio, director of marketing and promotions at WFAS FM. “This program is a great way for the community to get involved and bring smiles to women who may not have expected gifts this year.”

Over the past 80 years, the White Plains & Westchester YWCA has been offering hope, shelter and assistance to women and children. The Movers for Moms program raised over 6,000 items last year for local shelters during its efforts in Michigan, headquarters of Two Men and a Truck, and aims to raise record numbers in New York.

Donations can be dropped off items at the 103.9 WFAS drop box, located at 365 Secor Road in White Plains, or at the local Two Men and a Truck office at 130 N. Main St. in Port Chester.

For more information or how to get involved in the program, call (914) 305-2192.