White Plains and Valhalla region

A multi-alarm fire damaged the Rite Aid pharmacy in a shopping center on Saw Mill River Rd in Ardsley late Thursday night.Ardsley firefighters with help from several central Westchester departments, work at the scene of a fire at the Rite Aid Pharmacy on Saw Mill River Rd in Ardsley July 30, 2010. ( Frank Becerra Jr / The Journal News )

To see more photos from the fire in Ardsley click here.

Knollwood Country Club’s Mike Miller of Brewster hits out of the trap at the 10th hole during the quarterfinal round of the Metropolitan Golf Association’s 108th Met Amateur Championship at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale July 30, 2010. Miller lost to Cameron Wilson of the Shorehaven Golf Club, 1 up in Match Play.

Attorney James E. Johnson, the court-appointed monitor in Westchester’s fair housing/False Claims Act case, will appear in an Editorial Spotlight interview 11 a.m. Wednesday on LoHud.com.

Over the next seven years, Westchester must build 750 units of affordable housing, most of them in overwhelmingly white communities that have long shunned or discouraged such housing. The obligation arises from a consent degree brokered last year by the Spano administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and approved by the U.S. District Court. HUD entered the case after the nonprofit Anti-Discrimination Center of New York, a fair housing group, successfully argued in a lawsuit that Westchester had failed to discharge its fair housing obligations, despite accepting millions of dollars in federal funds and pledging that it had.

Under the agreement, the county must affirmatively market the units in Westchester and nearby communities with large non-white populations, though the housing will be available to all income-eligible populations. Johnson recently told the federal court that the county’s most recent plan for implementing terms of the consent decree “falls short of a true plan to comply with either the stipulation’s specific terms or its overarching goal of building a more integrated Westchester.”

Watch the interview at www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; to submit a question during the interview, engage the CoverItLive feature on the right side of your screen.

A national bio tech company that announced last summer it would bring its headquarters to Greenburgh, has now decided not to consolidate its operations in the town.

OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc., the largest bio tech company on Long Island, acquired a 43-acre complex off Saw Mill River Road in Ardsley (within the town of Greenburgh) last July.

The company planned to spend $95 million in acquisition and renovation costs at Ardsley Park. Company officials said they expected to bring 350 jobs to Ardsley Park, a number which would have increased to at least 600 in a few years. OSI was consolidating operations from Long Island, Colorado and New Jersey.

Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner said he was disappointed by the lost opportunity for more jobs and a boost the local economy. However, he said the town received more than $400,000 in building permit fees from the company.

OSI plans to close the facility next October and will do very limited construction between now and then, he said.

OSI was acquired by Astellas Pharma earlier this year.

Laura Cleare of Yonkers, and her sons Dante 10, left, and Xavier, 7, were among the over 100 people who attended a public hearing tonight on Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino’s decision to cut funding for child care at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. Photo by Seth Harrison

Look for the story at Lohud.com and in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. View additional photos from the public hearing on child care cuts.

The road at Martine Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard has been fully repaired, after a water main break punched a big, fat hole in the intersection last week.

“The road is completely paved and it’s being used,” Public Works Commissioner Joseph “Bud” Nicoletti said today.

Some sidewalk repairs are still going on, but all lanes have been opened, with only minor interruptions expected due to the ongoing construction.

Nicoletti said the rupture, which spilled 1 million gallons into the street, was likely caused by the water main’s unusual, inclined angle. The pipe was installed that way to accommodate other infrastructure, but that may have caused added stress on the piece. To fix the problem, the 40-year-old pipe section was replaced with a more durable material and better clamps, Nicoletti said.

“I’m confident that section of pipe won’t leak anymore,” he said.

The Greenburgh Police Department, Greenburgh Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Greenburgh Public Library are sponsoring a blood drive tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All donors during the month of  July will receive a coupon for a free carton of Friendly’s ice cream.

The library is  at 300 Tarrytown Road.

The Greenburgh Public Library staff invite civic groups and residents to help plant a community garden on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Scott Olivieri of Michael and Sons Nurseries in Elmsford has donated 10 knockout rose bushes and 10 azalea bushes for the project. The Parkway Gardens-Parkway Homes Garden Club, known for its annual show, will also donate plants to the garden.

All residents are welcome and should wear gardening gear. Refreshments will be served.

The Greenburgh Public Library is at 300 Tarrytown Road.

Continuing efforts to dress up empty storefronts around Greenburgh, the town’s Arts and Culture Committee will display “Recycling Nature: Painted Gourds” by Gail Wilson at 215 East Hartsdale Avenue until August 30.

The exhibit, which showcases Wilson’s use of botanical gourds, is visible in the store’s front windows during daylight hours.

The artist—also a quilt maker—runs her own business, Gail’s Corner, out of her native Mount Vernon.

Windows on Hartsdale is a beautification project of the Greenburgh Arts and Culture Committee.

A message from the Office of the Greenburgh Town Clerk…

The Office of the Town Clerk invites all residents to become acquainted with the new optical voting machines that will be used starting on Primary Day in September.

A demonstration machine will be available to the public, along with guidance and instruction from the Clerk’s Office on:
Friday, July 30, 11a.m. – 1p.m.
Monday, Aug. 2, 11a.m. – 1p.m.
Wednesday,  Aug. 4, 3p.m. – 5p.m.
Monday, Aug. 9, 11 a.m. – 1p.m.
Thursday: Aug. 12, 3 p.m. – 5p.m.
Monday:  Aug. 16, 11 a.m. – 1p.m.
Wednesday: Aug. 18, 3p.m. – 5p.m.

For any questions, call the Town Clerk’s Office at 914-993-1500 Ext. 5.

Greenburgh Town Hall is at 177 Hillside Avenue.