Headlines
Journal News gets Adam Bradley probe papers: Ethics board brought charges tied to landlord 05.19.12
The Journal News on Friday received almost 400 pages of documents relating to the city Board of Ethics' seven-month, $18,500 investigation into allegations that then-Mayor Adam Bradley used his influence to set up meetings between city officials and his landlord. Read More
Man tries to carjack both a White Plains parking officer and a delivery man, crashes city car 05.17.12
A city Parking Enforcement Officer was injured early Wednesday when, police said, a thug carjacked her vehicle while she was sitting inside, writing a ticket. Read More
Purchase College graduate's degree route went through Iraq, new GI Bill 05.17.12
The student commencement speaker at Friday's Purchase College, SUNY, graduation took a little longer than usual to earn his degree. But he got the job done, along with several others, since dropping out of a university in his native Florida several years ago. Fernando Octavio Gonzalez, now 29 and living in White Plains, joined the Army Reserve after his false start in Florida and became a chemical operations specialist. Read More
Hastings man robbed at gunpoint, iPod, Nintendo, X-Box gear stolen 05.16.12
Police are searching for an armed man who robbed a resident at his doorstep Tuesday night and fled with an iPod, Nintendo game system and X-Box accessories. Read More
White Plains YWCA staffers face lawsuit by 3 women who claim civil rights abuses 05.16.12
Three former YWCA residents are accusing staffers of violating their civil rights and retaliating against them when they complained about alleged abuses. Barbara Griffiths, Judy Johnson and Margaret Wall accused Lori Stanlick, the YWCA's associate executive director of housing and clinical services, and other staffers of race, national origin, disability and income-source discrimination in three federal civil rights lawsuits filed by the former residents. Read More
Valhalla: James Adams unseats William Rosenberg 05.16.12
Challenger James Adams defeated two-term incumbent William Rosenberg in the only contested race in the Board of Education elections. Also elected were Ronald Cavallo and Robert Ierace, who both ran for their seats unopposed. Read More
White Plains again extends development moratorium affecting French-American School plans 05.16.12
The Common Council has again extended a moratorium on open-space development while it considers a proposal to create special zoning that would place rigorous restrictions on projects such as the proposed French-American school. Read More
Mount Pleasant: McCabe takes Fowler's seat; D'Ambrosio, Grieco win 05.16.12
Challenger Thomas McCabe wrested a seat on the Mount Pleasant school board from incumbent Theresa Fowler on Tuesday, while incumbents Vincent D'Ambroso and James Grieco won re-election. Read More
Greenburgh: Brown, Bitterman, Williams earn seats; 2 incumbents lose 05.16.12
School board President Terry Williams and challengers Sonja Brown and Eric Bitterman were elected to the Greenburgh Board of Education on Tuesday, unseating two popular incumbents, according to unofficial vote totals. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain case: Groups call for cop review 05.15.12
The Westchester County chapter of Blacks in Law Enforcement, which includes minority police officers from throughout the county, called for County Executive Rob Astorino to create an independent review board to look at complaints against officers. Read More
Pleasantville police seek public's help to ID robber of Louie Linguine's restaurant 05.15.12
Pleasantville police are seeking the public's help in identifying a man who robbed Louie Linguine's Restaurant on Sunday. According to police, a masked man brandishing a pistol walked into the 160 Marble Ave. eatery about 10:45 p.m. Read More
Groups call for cop review 05.14.12
The Westchester County chapter of Blacks in Law Enforcement, which includes minority police officers from throughout the county, on Monday called for County Executive Rob Astorino to create an independent review board to look at complaints against officer Read More
Adam Bradley's probation violation case delayed; lawyer says judge's past rulings 'surprisingly unfavorable' 05.14.12
A probation violation case against former White Plains Mayor Adam T. Bradley was delayed again Monday, while a lawyer for Bradley suggested that the case's judge may not be completely impartial. Read More
17 charged with drunken or drugged driving in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam 05.14.12
Troopers charged 17 motorists with drunken or drugged driving after recent traffic stops and investigations in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, state police said. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. shooting death: NAACP wants federal probe of police 05.13.12
The NAACP and others called Saturday for a wide-ranging federal investigation into not only the police killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. but what they said was a pattern of police harassment of blacks in Westchester County. Read More
Mount Pleasant school board race focuses on school programs 05.13.12
The school district must look for ways to expand programs for students and control costs in a rocky economy, according to several candidates for the school board. Read More
Mom: 'I don't think I would ever switch my life' 05.13.12
It did not take Lennis Ortega a lot of time to find motherly wisdom. It just took her a lot of suffering. Read More
Valhalla school board hopeful eyes new courses for students 05.13.12
The school board must expand course offerings for students and negotiate contracts that account for possible future economic downturns, said a candidate running for the school board. Read More
Tax Watch: Vacant WestHELP units' deterioration reflects Greenburgh-Westchester relationship 05.12.12
Seven months ago, Greenburgh received the keys to the six-acre WestHELP complex at Westchester Community College, with 108 efficiency apartments and an administrative building that includes a suite of offices and eight classrooms. Read More
Pa. convict arrested in 1998 slaying of Bronx girl who had been in Hastings foster facility 05.11.12
A convicted killer in Pennsylvania has been charged in the 1998 slaying of a 14-year-old Bronx girl who had run away from the foster home a Hastings agency had helped her find. Read More
4 Greenburgh residents sue town, allege zoning errors may allow affordable housing 05.11.12
Four local residents are suing the town, alleging that officials failed to properly maintain and correct its zoning maps - errors that may allow a multifamily housing complex to be built on a lot the town said is zoned for single-family use. Read More
Thruway Authority chief Thomas Madison touts new Tappan Zee Bridge at NYC breakfast, says state has 'no intent' of raising tolls 05.10.12
Thruway Authority chief Thomas Madison promoted the new Tappan Zee Bridge project at breakfast with business leaders in Manhattan today, telling them that after 10 years, more than 430 public meetings, and $88 million spent on studies, Gov. Read More
White Plains officer: City ignores assault by assistant chief 05.10.12
A city police officer accused city officials Monday of ignoring his complaint that the assistant police chief threw a chair at him and said she was receiving preferential treatment. Read More
White Plains cops probe Elmsford man's stabbing 05.08.12
An Elmsford man was recovering today after police said he was stabbed in the abdomen and apparently walked to White Plains Hospital, where he underwent surgery early yesterday. Read More
White Plains cop takes complaint against chief to Common Council 05.08.12
A city police officer accused officials last night of ignoring his complaint that the assistant police chief threw a chair at him and said she was receiving preferential treatment. Read More
Cortlandt wins Westchester water taste test; Greenburgh, Elmsford runners-up 05.08.12
Cortlandt won today's Westchester annual municipal water taste contest. The Cortlandt Consolidated Water District's entry was judged tastiest by 45, 22 percent, of the 203 residents who sampled water from nine of Westchester's water suppliers in a blind test. Greenburgh Water District 1 water came in second with 40 votes and Elmsford third with 27 votes. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain's son: Discipline cops 05.08.12
Saying the use of racial slurs by police served to "antagonize and provoke" his father during a standoff with officers, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. on Monday night called for the suspension of all of the officers involved in the incident, which ended with the shooting death of the former Marine and retired Westchester County correction officer. At a standing-room-only meeting of the Common Council attended by more than 100, the younger Chamberlain said the use of the "N word" by police at the Nov. 19 incident "suggests the existence of a bias mentality" within the Police Department and called on Mayor Thomas Roach and the council to take action. Read More
Yorktown, Peekskill blotter: DNA solves burglary; pot bust at Yorktown High, much more 05.07.12
Police in Yorktown and Peekskill released information on several recent arrests. YORKTOWN Police headquarters: Elicer Olmo, 32, of Peekskill was charged with attempted third-degree burglary, a felony, on April 19. The charge stems from an Aug. Read More
Sleepy Hollow DPW truck burned, others vandalized 05.07.12
Sleepy Hollow Department of Public Works vehicles were hit by an apparent arsonist and thief Sunday afternoon, police said. Officers were sent to the vacant lot at the former General Motors Corp. Read More
Corey Foster's death: Experts say physical 'therapeutic hold' is last resort 05.07.12
The "therapeutic hold" in which officials claim that 16-year-old Corey Foster was placed moments before he died is the last resort in a program called therapeutic crisis intervention, which aims to talk down, rather than take down aggressive students. Read More
NRC to get quizzed on Indian Point in public forum 05.06.12
Residents who want to quiz federal regulators about the operation of the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan can do so on May 17. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain death: Feds will review White Plains police shooting 05.05.12
The Journal News has learned that the U.S. Attorney's Office will review "all of the available evidence" in the police shooting death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., "to determine whether there were any violations of the federal criminal civil rights laws," the office announced Friday. Read More
Home security camera helps nab Pleasantville burglar, cops say 05.05.12
A Pleasantville man faces a felony burglary charge after a suspicious homeowner who installed a security camera in his home saw the man in his residence while viewing the camera from work, police said. Read More
Audio suggests Chamberlain made threats 05.04.12
A highly agitated Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. repeatedly threatened to kill police officers and ignored dozens of orders to drop a knife during the hourlong standoff that ended with his death, according to police reports and audio recordings of the Nov. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain son: Death is latest case of Westchester cops cleared after killing black men 05.04.12
Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. said during a live interview on CNN today that he was not surprised at the grand jury's decision not to indict White Plains police officers in his father's shooting death, saying it was just the latest example of Westchester police officers being cleared after fatally shooting black men. Read More
White Plains cop's attorney: Chamberlain family distorted the facts 05.04.12
The drumbeat of protest began immediately after Kenneth Chamberlain was gunned down by a White Plains police officer. And it only intensified with the slaying of Trayvon Martin in Florida two months ago. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. case: key dates 05.04.12
Nov. 19 - Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., 68, is shot by police responding to a medical alert at his apartment shortly after 5 a.m. He dies at White Plains Hospital about two hours later. Read More
Kenneth Chamberlain case: Family to seek federal probe after grand jury clears cops in shooting 05.03.12
The family of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. said it would ask for a federal criminal investigation in the wake of a Westchester County grand jury's decision not to indict White Plains police officers in Chamberlain's shooting death. Read More
Chamberlain grand jury decision to be announced at 1:30 05.03.12
The Westchester County District Attorney's Office will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. today to announce the grand jury ruling in the Nov. 19 death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. Read More
Noon: Kenneth Chamberlain family lawyer on Phil Reisman radio show 05.03.12
Phil Reisman's guest on his WVOX radio show, "High Noon," today is scheduled to be Randolph McLauglin. He is the attorney representing the family of Kenneth Chamberlin Sr., the White Plains man who was killed in an encounter with police. "High Noon" airs Read More
White Plains community news 05.03.12
The Westchester Jewish Community Services' Parent Child Home Program kicked off the Week of the Young Child with Musical Fun and Story Time at The Trove at the White Plains Public Library. Read More
White Plains school news 05.03.12
Some 41 authors and illustrators will be featured at the Post Road Elementary School's author/illustrator fair this evening. The event is held every other year. The school is at 175 W. Post Road, and the event is open to the public. Read More
Scarsdale burglary suspect misses court date, gets arrested again 05.03.12
A burglary suspect released without bail over the weekend who failed to show up in court Wednesday has been arrested after the same judge who freed him issued a warrant for him, police said. Read More
CAP cadets from White Plains, Somers, Cortlandt honored at ceremony 05.03.12
An Air Force major general presented awards to three local cadets in the Civil Air Patrol last week. Austin Rivera, a college student from White Plains, was honored with the Spaatz Award at the April 27 ceremony at the American Legion Hall in Armonk. Read More
James Cooke sentencing: Prosecutors say the bad in the life of Lindsey Bonistall's killer outweighed the good 05.02.12
In an emotional closing argument, prosecutors today asked a jury to make the punishment fit the crime and recommend that James E. Cooke Jr. be put to death for the 2005 rape and murder of Lindsey M. Bonistall. Read More
Scarsdale burglary suspect freed without bail skips court appearance but is arrested again 05.02.12
A burglary suspect freed without bail over the weekend who failed to show up in court today has been arrested after the same judge who freed him issued a warrant for him, police said. Jose Vidal-Serrano of 205 W. Read More
Legionaries of Christ puts 2nd Westchester property up for sale 05.02.12
The conservative Roman Catholic order the Legionaries of Christ once had big plans for Westchester County, including a university in Mount Pleasant and a seminary in New Castle. Now the Legion is retrenching and preparing to say goodbye to Westchester. Read More
White Plains band students wait 1 more week for classroom's new air test 05.02.12
Eastview Middle School band students will be spending at least another week and maybe more on the stage while the air in their old room is tested one more time for hazards. Read More
Westchester legislators reject Greenburgh plan for vacant units; shouting match follows 05.02.12
A county legislature committee rejected the town supervisor's proposal to turn a vacant homeless complex into a school for the developmentally disabled and advised him to create a plan that fits the terms of the existing lease. Read More
Sheldene Campbell of Pomona, convicted in fatal White Plains hit-and-run, in vegetative state 05.02.12
Pomona woman Sheldene Campbell, convicted in December of murder for going on a fatal hit-and-run spree, is now in a vegetative state and probably never will recover, making it unlikely she will ever be sentenced for the crime that killed one woman and injured another. Read More
White Plains false-arrest suit holds closing arguments today; woman cites race in stun gun use 05.02.12
Closing arguments will begin this morning in the case of a Brooklyn woman who accused a White Plains police officer of malicious prosecution, false arrest and excessive force after he used a stun gun on her outside of a bar. Read More
Narcy Novack trial: Alleged hitman says defendant played a key role in murder plot 05.01.12
Narcy Novack never met with Alejandro Garcia to plan the attacks on her husband and mother-in-law. She never paid him any of the money he got for carrying out the assaults. Read More
Public hearing tonight on Pleasantville schools' $45 million budget 05.01.12
Property owners in the Pleasantville School District are invited to learn more about a $45 million budget proposed for next year that would raise the tax rate by 1.8 percent at a forum tonight. Read More
Greenburgh may hire lawyer in wireless antenna dispute 04.30.12
The Town Board is planning to hire an attorney to help negotiate an agreement and avoid a potential lawsuit with a wireless company whose plan to install antennas throughout the town has been stalled. Read More
Rep. Nita Lowey endorses increased protections for reproductive health clinics; Westchester hearing tonight 04.30.12
U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey and abortion rights advocates called today on Westchester legislators to pass legislation beefing up protections for people entering reproductive health clinics. The White Plains and Valhalla region blog has more on Rep. Read More
Greenburgh wants leaves bagged for curbside pickup 04.30.12
A new law approved by the Town Board will require residents to bag leaves for pickup, a move expected to save the town more than $100,000 a year. Read More
Tasters rate restaurants 04.29.12
Carmen Gaskin of White Plains spent Saturday afternoon eating her way through restaurants around town in support of her god-daughter. But she didn't have go to the eateries - they came to her. Read More
Love-triangle killer Sheila Davalloo gets 50 years for 'demonic act' 04.28.12
A former Pleasantville resident was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison in the killing of the other woman in a workplace love triangle a decade ago in Stamford. Read More
Frank Straub, former White Plains public safety chief, quitting Indianapolis job under fire 04.27.12
Frank Straub, White Plains's former public safety commissioner, is resigning as the public safety director of Indianapolis after more than a year of criticism over the city Police Department's handling of evidence in a fatal crash involving an officer. Read More
Lindsey Bonistall trial: State rests in death penalty phase for Cooke 04.27.12
State prosecutors rested their penalty-phase presentation Thursday, seeking the imposition of the death penalty against James E. Cooke Jr. for the 2005 rape and murder of Lindsey M. Bonistall of White Plains. Read More
