From the New Rochelle Humane Society:

Fanny Maye is a gorgeous blue-coated Pit Bull Terrier.

This 2-year-old spayed female has been waiting for a home for almost an entire year. She needs an adult home able to provide some daily exercise and love.

The New Rochelle Humane Society is open every day of the week—Thursdays, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the rest of the week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Contact the New Rochelle Humane Society for more information. They are located at 70 Portman Rd. in New Rochelle. Their phone number is 914-632-2925.

Drive sober this New Year's Eve, or risk getting pulled over and arrested, state police warn.

Troopers have planned planned 30 sobriety checkpoints, 10 saturation details, 18 underage drinking and sales to minors details, and 41 additional dedicated local DWI patrols from Dec. 14 through Tuesday night, police said.

The "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over National Crackdown," has more than 20,000 police agencies nationwide on board. In New York, multiple police units are targeting specific geographic areas, thanks to state traffic grants geared toward preventing tragedies during the holidays.
 
“The Holiday Season is all about the joy of families and friends, but each year the season turns to sorrows for some as a result of traffic crashes resulting from drinking and driving,” said State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico. “We are reminding holiday revelers to designate a driver or arrange safe transportation in advance to secure the happiness of the season for your loved ones.” 
 
Last year's holiday campaign resulted in 526 DWI arrests, and a total of 35,496 tickets, officials said.

Dozens of volunteers came to the Grace Church Community Center in White Plains Tuesday morning to prepare, serve and deliver a New Year's Day meal to several hundred needy residents throughout the county.

175 meals were taken by volunteers and delivered to those residents who could not make it to White Plains. Dozens more meals were served at the center, as well, and guests were also given to go meals and donated winter clothes to take with them.

2013 got off to a busy start at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center with the arrival of two babies early on New Year’s Day.

The first was Emiliana Lopez, the daughter of Claudia Ceja and Gabriel Lopez of Port Chester, who was born at 7:04 a.m.

She was followed at 7:51 a.m. by another baby girl (as yet unnamed) whose proud parents are Deepthi Narasipura and Praveen Umashankar of Elmsford.

Congrats to both families!

Information about maternity services at Phelps is available at www.phelpshospital.org.

Welcome to 2013! Let your young ones celebrate the start of the new year with some fun activities:

Three Kings Day/ Dia De Reyes, Wednesday, January 2, 7p.m. White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave., White Plains, NY. Bilingual story time for children and their families. Includes craft and a cookie snack. Call 914-422-1476 for more information.

Understanding ADHD: From Accurate Diagnosis to Family, Clinic & School Treatment Team, Thursday, January 24, 9 a.m. Westchester Jewish Community Services, 845 N. Broadway, White Plains, NY. To kick off its 70^th year of serving the community, Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) is sponsoring the Dr. Samuel Kahn Memorial Lecture – Understanding ADHD: From Accurate Diagnosis to Family, Clinic & School Treatment Team. Dr. Margarita Munoz-Dummit, a board certified adult, child and adolescent psychiatrist who has worked for WJCS for 15 years, will discuss the evidence used to diagnose ADHD and to differentiate amongst the types of ADHD.  Because clinics, schools and families need to form a team to work effectively with ADHD, Dr. Munoz-Dummit will describe the contribution of each part of the team. This free event open to the community.  Registration required. To register, go to www.wjcs.com/kahnlecture.  For more information, contact John Alterman at 914-949-7699, Ext. 374 or jalterman@wjcs.com. 

Polar Bear Run and Plunge at New York Sports Club, Saturday, January 5, 9 a.m. New York City Sports Club at New Rochelle, 175 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY. Everyone is a winner at the Tuff Kids Polar Bear Run & Plunge to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. In this challenging event, kids have a blast navigating through land and water obstacles and relays. After the event, cool down with food, games and prizes at the Polar Bear Party. It's a win-win for everyone—kids get active and money is raised for a good cause. Join us and work out to help out! Register: www.mysportsclubs.com/kids or call 914.636.2455

Jenny Murphy of Babies and Grand Music, Sunday, January 6, 2 p.m. White Plains Public Library, 100 Martine Ave., White Plains, NY. Music for babies and toddlers with parents or care givers. Come make music with Jenny Murphy. Lots of participation! Limited space - tickets distributed a half hour before the program. Call 914-422-1476 for more information.

A White Plains man allegedly observed selling cocaine in Tarrytown in March 2012 and found with 13 bags of cocaine and some marijuana in his possession was again arrested on a bench warrant on Dec. 21.

Tarrytown Police Lieutenant William Herguth reports that Andre Riley, 28, of Fisher Avenue, White Plains was originally charged on multiple charges including:

• Criminal possession of controlled substance
• Attempted criminal sale of controlled substance
• Loitering

Riley was found and arrested on March 7 on Sheldon Avenue near Meadow St. in his car. He had been sent to Westchester County Jail and later released with a court date. A warrant had been out for his arrest since he did not show up at court, Herguth said. The defendent turned himself into Tarrytown Police on Dec. 21 at 1:09 p.m. and was issued a new court date.

For further reading:

Menken Sworn in As Town Justice (Video)

New Bus Option For Commuters

Phelps Welcomes Two New Year Babies

Citing the need for a new start and stronger leadership, Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins has announced that he will run for Westchester County Executive in 2013.

A member of the Westchester Board of Legislators since 2007, Jenkins (D-Yonkers) joins New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson and White Plains legislator Bill Ryan in what is now a three-man race for the Democratic nomination. Incumbent County Executive Robert Astorino (R) is expected to announce his bid for another term later this year.

"As we start a new year together, our thoughts turn to what the year will bring. It's an opportunity for a new start, for new beginnings - a time to take stock of where we've been, where we stand, and how much needs to be done," Jenkins said to a crowd of supporters at the Crowne Plaza Wednesday in White Plains.

As chairman of the Board of Legislators, Jenkins has sparred with Astorino in the past, most recently with the adoption of the 2013 Westchester County Budget. While announcing his candidacy Wednesday Jenkins emphasized that reckless job and spending cuts are not the ways to get the county out of its recent economic slump. He vowed to restore funding to county programs he called vital and to find creative solutions to the problems the county must face.

"Your property taxes have continued to rise, your fees for county services have gone up, while your quality of life has gone down," Jenkins said. "Our county government is not doing more with less; it is doing less with less and shifting the burden to you in other ways."

Since winning the county executive seat in 2009, Astorino has fought to minimize tax rate increases and cut spending. Jenkins, meanwhile, has led the push from BOL Democrats to fight some of those cuts. The most recent budget debate featured key spending differences between the candidates, specifically childcare costs and funding for several county programs.

"The sky is not falling," Jenkins said. "There is no need to allow our roads and bridges to deteriorate; to reduce funding for parks and recreation and to stop caring for the poor and disabled."

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano (D), 89th District Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D), 90th District Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer (D) and 35th District State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins spoke on Jenkins behalf during the announcement.

"He always knew, as my colleagues have said, when to stand strong, when to pick the battle, when to back up, when to compromise, but you always knew you were going to have an intelligent, pragmatic, frank, honest, intellectual understanding of what the issues are, and at the root of all those issues were the good of the people of Westchester County," Stewart-Cousins said. 

Led by State Sen. Greg Ball, Putnam County officials are announcing that they will withhold records documenting the names and addresses of residents who possess pistol permits.

What some officials say they consider "standing up" for Putnam residents is a move that violates the law—and could lead to a court battle—according to Robert Freeman, executive director for the state Committee on Open Government.

The Journal News, a Gannett newspaper, filed a request for the information. A map naming Rockland and Westchester folks with gun permits was posted on the paper's website Dec. 22.

Since then, county leaders have received "hundreds of calls from Putnam residents" urging them "not to release these records," County Clerk Dennis Sant is quoted as saying in a statement given to Patch by Ball's office.

Ball is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday with County Executive MaryEllen Odell and County Clerk Dennis Sant "to announce that Putnam County will not be releasing the records of Putnam pistol permits to the Journal News."

This story, by John W. Barry of the Poughkeepsie Journal, appearing on LoHud.com, states that Putnam officials said in December they were compiling the data. 

Neither Odell not Sant were available for comment the morning of Jan. 2.

Freeman has heard from big-name news agencies such as the Today Show inquiring about this situation, and whether the law leaves any room for interpretation. He said he had not been in touch with any Putnam officials. 

"My hope is, of course, that someone will actually look at the law instead of being a renegade unit of government," Freeman said, adding that the information has been considered public record since at least 1965.

According to Ball, the map The Journal News posted was unethical—and "every person with common sense should be offended."

“I’m proud to stand with Putnam County and proud that Putnam won’t be releasing its pistol permit records," he said in a statement. "The asinine editors at The Journal News have gone out of their way to place a virtual scarlet letter on law abiding firearm owners throughout the region and I thank God that Putnam County has a clerk with the guts to stand up and draw the line here in Putnam County. This is clearly a violation of privacy, and needs to be corrected immediately."

Ball blogged about the issue on Patch Dec. 26.

Freeman said the law is just like any other, one that may be unpopular, like speed limits, but should be followed. To him, that's the "essence of civilized society"—following laws, "whether you like them or not."

"If we don’t like a particular law, what do we do? We make our case to our elected representativess and might engage in efforts to change the law," he said. "It seems to me that, unless that happens, we have to comply."

Yet here, he said, "You have a state senator saying 'I don't care what the law says.' Is that the best of role models?"

Once a request for records under the Freedom of Information Law has been denied, the applicant may appeal the decision with the head of the agency. If that request is also shot down, the matter could go to court. 

It's not uncommon for government agencies to go against the law and deny such requests, Freeman told Patch. In fact, it "happens every day." But more often, the opposite happens.

"Government agencies disclose every day over and over and over again," he said."But there are occasions when, at least in my view, government agencies may fail to comply with law."

In the statement released by Ball's office, Sant said he's protecting "the law-abiding gun owners here in Putnam County." 

“There is the rule of law, and there is right and wrong and The Journal News is clearly wrong," he said. "I could not live with myself if one Putnam pistol permit holder was put in harm’s way, for the sole purpose of selling newspapers."

The shooting that left 26 dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School reignited the national discussion on gun control and gun laws. The Journal News ignited a separate firestorm when it published, as it had in 2006, a database report of gun permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties. 

New York state police today issued final statistics for their statewide 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' enforcement operation that started Dec. 14 and ended on midnight Tuesday.

There were hundreds of accidents on state and local roads during that period, and 12 fatalities were reported.

Troopers were assigned to patrol both highways and secondary roads and target drunk driving along with other motor vehicle violations that could cause accidents.

Troopers manned sobriety checkpoints and were assigned to specific areas where higher then normal DUI accidents and arrests have taken place in the past.

They reported the following statistics from the operation:

• 33,000 total tickets issued, with more than more than 10,000 drivers ticketed for speed, not wearing seat belts or properly restraining children in vehicles.
• 538 people arrested for DWI
• 22 arrests for providing alcohol to minors and 12 penal law violations.
• 29 sobriety checkpoints and 10 saturation details manned by police.

In addition to the checkpoints and patrols, 12 underage drinking initiative details checked 14 bars and 120 retail establishments across the state.
 

The New Year didn't start well for at least six people charged with disorderly conduct near White Plains bars within hours of the ball drop Tuesday morning.

Among those charged was 23-year-old Jonathon Gafni of 17 Nottingham Way in Mahopac. Gafni was charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, as well as resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.

Police say Gafni was fighting with staff at The Porter House on Mamaroneck Ave. after he was refused entry because he was intoxicated. After breaking up the altercation at about 1:56 a.m. police say they asked Gafni to leave the area. 

Police say Gafni refused, grabbed a police officer and then fought off being handcuffed. Gafni was arrested and held for arraignment without bail.

Five other people were cited for disorderly conduct early Tuesday, according to police.

• A 36-year-old man was cited at about 1:15 a.m. near the intersection of Main and Court St. after police say he was spotted drinking a bottle of scotch and attempting to fight a public works employee. Police say the man also threatened a police officer before he was taken into custody.
• A 29-year-old woman from Yonkers was arrested outside of Hudson Grille at about 2:47 a.m. after police say she shoved another woman waiting in line, then fought staff members trying to throw her out of the bar.
• A 21-year-old man from Stamford, CT, was arrested after a fight in the parking lot at 25 Waller Ave. Police say the man refused repeated requests to leave the area. He was arrested at about 2:40 a.m. and booked on $100 bail.
• Police say two White Plains men, one 27 and the other 29, were arrested for fighting a security guard outside of O'Connor's Pub at about 2:11 a.m. Both were held for court.

Officials at The Journal News have reported threatening communications from the public to both the White Plains and Clarkstown police.

The complaints stem from the Hudson Valley newspaper's publication Dec. 23 of an interactive map and database with names and addresses of all Rockland and Westchester county gun permit-holders. The article was similar to one the Gannett paper published in 2006 but has received far more criticism. 

Among other complaints about the article, critics said it endangered either gun-owners or non-gun-owners and violated people's privacy rights. Many critics circulated the home addresses of TJN staffers around the Internet in retaliation. 

The Rockland County Timesreported Jan. 1 that after filing complaints with the Clarkstown Police Department the paper's officials hired "armed security guards from New City-based RGA Investigations" at the company's West Nyack offices on Crosfield Avenue through "at least" Jan. 2. The local police did not find the communications about which TJN complained to be threatening, the Rockland County Times said.

Police in White Plains, where the daily is headquartered, said they are investigating one or two threats that have been sent to police since the article was published.

Those investigations remain open, said Lt. Eric Fisher of the White Plains Police Department. He had no knowledge of whether or not TJN officials have hired armed guards for their Westchester Avenue offices.

"We are investigating a couple of complaints that were forwarded by their people," he said. "I don't know how many reports that they've had, but we are looking at a couple."

Fisher said he did not have specifics on what was said in the threats.

According to the New York Times, the publisher of The Journal News confirmed that armed security has been hired for both the Nyack and White Plains offices. 

The Journal News covers Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties. Officials in Putnam County, which was still compiling the data when the article came out on gun permit-holders in Westchester and Rockland, have since said they will deny the request the paper filed under the New York state Freedom of Information Law.

For further reading:

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Howson to Appear in Village Court Today

Indoor Farmers' Market Debuts in Pleasantville

From the SPCA of Westchester:

This petite girl who came in as a stray has a lot of energy in that small package!

You’d think Annie has greyhound in her based on how fast and quick she is!

Annie is very sweet and will be anyone’s best friend that gives her attention.

She is about 10-months-old and weighs about 25 lbs.

Annie would do best in an active home where she has a nice yard to play and run in.

We are calling her a mutt because she doesn’t really look like any particular breed…maybe terrier and hound, who knows!

See here for more information about the SPCA of Westchester or call 914-941-2896 ext. 22.

From the New Rochelle Humane Society:

This sweet 2-year-old was found in the backyard of a New Rochelle resident.

Upon arriving at our shelter, she appeared to be limping on her front right paw. A visit to the local veterinarian revealed an old injury to her shoulder.

Pumpkin Spice has recovered from this injury, but will likely always walk with a bit of a limp.

This sweet, beautiful girl is so affectionate and loving, she would make a wonderful companion.

Contact the New Rochelle Humane Society for more information or call 914-632-2925. They are located at 70 Portman Rd. in New Rochelle.

A cell phone robbery at the White Plains train station resulted in the arrests of five people, four of them younger than 18, police say.

Police questioned a group of five males in the area of the train station after someone reported a cell phone had been stolen just before 11 p.m. Saturday night. Police stopped the group walking east on Hillside Terrace and found the cell phone in that area later Saturday night, according to police. The owner of the cell phone identified the five as the people who took the phone, according to an arrest report.

Four youths were arrested, along with 21-year-old Jozef Prenaj, of 2009 Cruger Ave., in the Bronx. Prenaj was charged with second-degree robbery, a felony. A 16-year-old suspect who police say used a fake name while being processed was charged with second-degree robbery, a felony, and false personation, a misdemeanor. Both were held for court.

The three other suspects were processed and released to their parents.

Planning is already underway for the 2013-14 White Plains City School District budget, and there are two public hearing scheduled for anyone who wants to get more involved.

Public budget forums are scheduled for January 16 and March 20 at in room B-1 at White Plains High School. The meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the public. Each meeting will be an opportunity for interested parties to learn more about the budget and provide input.

The public vote for the 2013-14 budget will take place on May 21, 2013. 

For further reading:

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Shapiro Purchases The Cap for $11.5 Million

5 Charged in Cell Phone Theft at Train Station

A Port Chester man was charged with driving while intoxicated during a traffic stop on South Broadway Wednesday night in White Plains, according to police.

Antonio Vega, 24, of 96 Purdy Ave., was stopped for speeding at about 9:18 p.m. as he turned from East Post Road to South Broadway in White Plains, according to an arrest report. Police say Vega's eyes were glassy and say they could smell alcohol on Vega's breath during the traffic stop.

Vega refused field sobriety and blood-alcohol tests, but was charged with felony driving while intoxicated at the scene. He was processed at police headquarters and released on $750 bail.