Sound Shore

Cleveland Avenue: Pasquale Romeo, 43, of 2 Cleveland Court in New Rochelle, was arrested for threatening another city man with a claw hammer during a dispute over snow plowing on Cleveland Avenue, police said. Police said Romeo and the 48-year-old New Rochelle victim argued about where the suspect was plowing snow from his truck at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
Police said the victim complained to them of being threatened by Romeo. Romeo was arrested by New Rochelle police and charged with second-degree menacing, a misdemeanor. — Will David

May Street: A 28-year-old city man and the superintendent of a May Street building were arrested in connection with a party held in a vacant apartment there because there was alcohol served and children were in attendance, New Rochelle police said. There were 38 teenagers ranging in ages from 15 to 17-years-old at the 18 May Street Party, New Rochelle Detective Captain Joseph Schaller said. Police were called to the apartment building on a noise complaint at 9:46 p.m. Friday. When police arrived they found the party in full swing. Teenagers were there and alcohol was being served, Captain Schaller said. Juan Valencia, a resident of the building, sponsored the party in the multi-family house, Captain Schaller said. He was given permission to have it in the vacant apartment by the superintendent, Vargas Ramirez, 34, who resides in the building. Both men were charged with first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child, a misdemeanor. — Will David

Neptune Avenue: Jose Lopez, 28, of 25 Neptune Ave. was arrested for third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for attacking his sister at 12:54 a.m. Sunday in their apartment. Police said the 20-year-old victim was hit in the face and bit during the assault. The assault resulted from a domestic dispute in the house, police said. — Will David

Locust Avenue: New Rochelle police are investigating a burglary at a Locust Avenue apartment. A resident of the apartment told police that she left home at 4:50 p.m. and returned at 7:45 p.m. Saturday to find jewelry missing. When the woman returned home she told police the door was opened. The woman told police that she locked the door with a dead bolt lock before leaving. — Will David

Chauncey Avenue: A 32-year-old New Rochelle man was assaulted and robbed of his wallet containing $150 as he walked on Chauncey Avenue, police said Monday.
The victim was walking on Chauncey Avenue near Mount Joy Place when he was approached from behind by three men who hit him  and rifled through his pockets after subduing him at 4:12 p.m. Saturday. — Will David

Castle Place: A global positioning system was stolen from a 2007 Jeep Wrangler that was parked on Castle Place, New Rochelle police said. The Jeep was parked on Castle Place between 4:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday. A front passenger window was broken to gain access into the vehicle. — Will David

Port Chester Trustee John Branca has declined the Conservative Party’s nomination to run for mayor, the village clerk said today. That leaves one challenger, Republican nominee and fellow Trustee Bart Didden, against Democratic Mayor Dennis Pilla.

The Conservatives have until Wednesday to make their choice. The party’s “committee to fill vacancies,” typically made up of three people, will decide how to fill the slot, Clerk Joan Mancuso said. Branca, a former mayor, won the Conservative endorsement by a party vote of 20-19 last week over Didden, who is a registered Conservative.

But theoretically, the slot could be filled with yet another person. Could we see a return of the mysterious candidate “Fluffy”?

Update: Branca said today, “I felt I could be much more effective as a trustee,” adding that he was mindful of the long hours required of him as mayor and the fact that he will soon turn 65. He was not making any endorsements yet. “I’d like to see how the campaign unfolds,” he said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced legislation Monday that would cap annual increases in local property taxes at no more than 2 percent annually, unless local residents vote to override the cap. Budget experts say that a tax cap will surely force big cuts by schools, because so much spending is mandated by — but not necessarily funded by — the state and federal governments. What is your take on the issue?

MAMARONECK TOWN
Hilltop Road: Someone tried to pass a $4,210 check using a Mamaroneck town man’s name at a Chase Bank branch on Jan. 25. The attempted fraud was reported Jan. 26.

MAMARONECK VILLAGE
Halstead Avenue: Two passenger-side tires were punctured on a car parked in a 600-block private lot between Jan. 21 and 22. Damage was about $500.

NEW ROCHELLE
Main Street: Police said Armando Haro-Serdeneas called a New Rochelle man threatening to kill him then went to his house around 1:30 p.m. Jan. 27, forced his way in and swung a foot-and-a-half long wooden dowel at the 37-year-old victim. Police said Haro-Serdenas was still swinging at the victim and hitting things when police arrived. Haro-Serdenas was charged with second-degree attempted assault, a felony, fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree aggravated harassment,  misdemeanors.
Odell Place: Small tools and a flashlight were stolen from a 2004 Chevrolet Malibu between 10 p.m. Jan. 26 and 4 p.m. Jan. 27. The passenger-side window was smashed to get into car.

RYE
Ridgewood Drive: Someone stole a wallet, cash, credit card, passport, watch and laptop computer from a Connecticut man’s unlocked car while it was parked on the street between dinner time Jan. 25 and 6:30 a.m. Jan. 26.

Here’s a look at opinion content published in The Journal News on Saturday, Jan. 29, Sunday, Jan. 30 and today, Monday, Jan. 31:

Saturday, Jan. 29
Egypt: Commentary
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin assesses the unrest in the Middle East and what it may mean for the development of a Palestinian state.

Gun safety: Commentary
In a Community View, Karen Leitner of White Plains argues in favor of legislation introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-Long Island, that would target high-capacity ammunition clips, like the one used by Jared Lee Loughner in Tucson, Ariz.

Sunday, Jan. 30
Pensions: Editorial
We comment on a report from our Albany Bureau about that details the number of double-dippers — state employees who collect salaries and pensions simultaneously — and argue that New York’s policy makers are overdue in creating a defined-contribution pension system. We write:

Today’s Albany Bureau report on double-dippers — that is, state employees collecting salaries at the same time they are collecting pensions — is the kind of expose that makes public-employee union leaders cringe and taxpayers call their real estate agent and movers.


It also helps clarify, once again, why New York’s public-employee pension system, a grab bag endlessly stocked by taxpayers and generously dispensed by favor-currying politicians, needs to be scrapped, not merely tweaked.


The report by Bureau Chief Joseph Spector, with assistance from Journal News/LoHud.com database editor Cathey O’Donnell, details how some 2,100 state employees collected salaries and pensions last year, with 35 of them taking home more than $200,000. …

MAMARONECK — Earlier this month we brought you the story of a Mamaroneck woman who plans to build a youth center for impoverished children in India by selling reprints of their artwork here in New York. Truike Boekholt-Daly, who lives in the village with her husband and 7-year-old twins, recently got to tell her story again on New York’s WCBS radio.

LARCHMONT — A Sherwood Drive resident who heads the village budget committee was recently named chair of the New York State Bar Association’s business law section.

Paul Silverman, 64, a partner at the Manhattan firm McLaughlin & Stern, LLP, took the helm of the 4,421-member business section on New Year’s Day. The section allows older lawyers to mentor younger attorneys.

A bio provided by the NYSBA says Silverman specializes in “corporate reorganization, commercial litigation, creditors’ and debtors’ domestic and international strategy, and forensic investigations.

”

PHOTO:  Larchmont resident Paul Silverman was recently named chair of the business law section of the New York State Bar Association. (photo courtesy of NYSBA)

The Editorial Board will host two LIVE Editorial Spotlight interviews this week on LoHud.com:

• At 1 p.m. Tuesday, candidates for the Westchester County Board of Legislators’ vacant 12th District seat discuss their candidacies and the issues. Democrat MaryJane Shimsky and Republican Nicholas DeCicco are seeking the office, vacant since Thomas Abinanti was elected to the state Assembly.

• At 1 p.m. Thursday, Westchester Residential Opportunities officials Geoffrey Anderson, executive director; Marlene Zarfes, fair housing director; and Laura Neil, communications director, discuss fair housing in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. WRO released a study last week that revealed discriminatory conduct in all three counties.

Watch the sessions at http://www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight. To submit a question or comment, engage the CoverItLive blogging feature on the right side of your screen.

MAMARONECK — Anna Murray had a lot of candles to blow out.

On Jan. 16, the longtime Mamaroneck resident celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at the Jewish Home Lifecare Sarah Neuman Center, a nursing home on Palmer Avenue.

The centenarian was born on Jan. 16, 1911, in Pennsylvania, one of six children of Concella and Antonio Vitetta. In 1943, she married Alfred Murray but was widowed just 19 months later, when he succumbed to tuberculosis. She never remarried and has no children.

Murray has lived at the Sarah Neuman Center for the past 14 years.

State Assemblyman George Latimer joined Murray’s nieces and nephews to wish her happy birthday there Jan. 16.

PHOTO: Mamaroneck resident Anna Murray celebrates her 100th birthday with relatives and staff at the Jewish Home Lifecare Sarah Neuman Center Jan. 16. (photo courtesy of Jewish Home Lifecare)

A spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said this morning that the October fatal shooting of a New York City man during a fight with a Pelham Manor police officer is still under review.

Steven Reed said that the office is waiting for analysis of forensic evidence in the matter of Wardell Johnson’s death during a struggle in a Bronx backyard with Officer Kenneth Stretz.

Pelham police said Stretz had tried to stop Johnson who was illegally riding an ATV on the Boston Post Road. Johnson fled into the Bronx, leaving the ATV near Baychester Avenue with Stretz in pursuit.

During a struggle in an Edson Avenue backyard, Stretz’s gun went off, fatally wounding Johnson. Stretz’s pepper spray and baton and gun were found in various parts of the backyard.

The Bronx District Attorney is evaluating what if any culpability Streitz has in the death of Johnson.