Sound Shore

A Pelham Middle School student has written a song to raise awareness for autism. It was commissioned by the organization Autism Speaks, which is one of the leaders of Autism Awareness Day on Saturday.

Owen Saunders, a sixth-grader, composed the music and melody for “Light it Up Blue” in November. His mother, who works in the music business, wrote the lyrics. At the beginning of this year, Saunders, his brother, Wyatt, and a bunch of other Pelham students recorded tune. Watch a video here. (Look for the “Introduction Video” heading in the lower right of the page.) That’s Pelham’s Harriet Palmer, in seventh grade, singing the opening lines.

A full account of the story will appear in tomorrow’s Journal News. Meantime, set your DVRs for about 8:40 a.m., when the kids will appear on WPIX to perform their song.

(From left, that’s Owen Saunders, Justin Limardo, Wyatt Saunders, Noah Dulock [hidden], Nicholas Dulock, Harriet Palmer, Megan Lahn, Julia Fratpietro, Alex Deland and Diane Deland. Photo provided.)

A Port Chester High School teacher with an unusual resume is receiving kudos for dedication — thanks to one of his students.

Steven Gibaldi worked in the New York City Corporation Counsel’s Office before coming to Port Chester 15 years ago. He teaches American history and created an environmental studies course. He is a resident of North Salem and has served on the New York City Audobon Society’s board of directors.

Student Jennifer Garcia nominated Gibaldi as an “educator of distinction” through the National Society of High School Scholars. Students who join the society may nominate one of their teachers for the honor via the NSHSS website.

Gibaldi, 52, worked in the areas of labor, environmental and constitutional law before switching careers. The turning point came when he had an opportunity one summer to teach natural history to adults in the Black Hills of South Dakota, he said. “I kind of felt like I had a calling for it,” he said this week.

I have a story in today’s Journal News about the progress of the code-enforcement push in Port Chester. The effort, particularly as it targets illegal and unsafe housing, has been one of the village’s top priorities. The results — including updates on court proceedings against property owners, a so-called “wall of Shame” — are being published in detail on the village website. To see the stats yourself, look for the reports and “case trackers” in the lower left corner of the Port Chester Code Enforcement page.

New Rochelle Youth Lacrosse, a nonprofit sports program for kids in grades 1-6, will hold a scholarship fundraiser Saturday in memory of Eric Tutera, “the epitome of a team player,” who died in 2008. The information is at www.nrlax.com.

Tutera, at 28, died in an accident in Hong Kong harbor, where he had traveled on a business trip. He was a former captain of the New Rochelle High School lacrosse team, said his coach, Pat Swift.

According to a fundraising letter, “some of Eric’s greatest assets were his deep-rooted friendships, leadership and his drive to achieve success.”

Pelham High School Varsity Swimmer, Julia Doherty, right, gets classmate, Jake Amerelli, left, to sign a petition to save the Pelham swim team at the high school.

Pelham High School Varsity Swimmer, Lissy Schauer, gets fellow classmate, Brendan Kleinberger to sign a petition to save the Pelham swim team at the high school. Due to budget cuts the Pelham school board plans to the cut the 12 member Girls’ Varsity swimming program. ( Carucha L. Meuse / The Journal News )

Click here to see an online gallery from the Swim fight against the school budget.

MAMARONECK — The school district has adjusted the lights at Mamaroneck High School’s new Memorial Field to reduce glare into the surrounding neighborhood, according to an email message from Superintendent of Schools Robert Shaps.

School officials have also taken steps to ensure the lights are on only when teams are using the field and plan to enforce a 9 p.m. curfew, the superintendent wrote in his message to the community today.

“We appreciate your patience as we become settled with our new lighting system and work out some of the wrinkles that come along with any new venture,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, we brought you the story about neighbors being fed up with the lights illuminating their yards and homes almost nightly.

CBS New York followed up with a story on Wednesday.

The schools chief’s letter today:

March 31, 2011
Dear Community Members:

It has been nearly a month since teams began to practice and play on the renovated Memorial Field. The lights allow us to extend the field usage for evening practices, games and events for the entire community. So far, user reviews have been very positive.

We have had some adjustment issues and have taken steps to address them. On Tuesday, our lighting installer spent several hours at the field adjusting the direction of several of the lights, resulting in a significant reduction in glare from the field. We also have implemented procedures to help ensure that the lights are on only when teams are present and that we enforce our 9 pm curfew.

The District is charging a fee for the use of the field and the lights for events that are not sponsored by the District. These fees will recoup the costs of the lights and field maintenance and will also help the District replace the field surface at the end of its life cycle.

We appreciate your patience as we become settled with our new lighting system and work out some of the wrinkles that come along with any new venture.

I hope to see you this Saturday at the field dedication at 5:30 pm.

Sincerely,

Dr. Robert I. Shaps
Superintendent of Schools

Good Thursday morning. Here’s a look at opinion content published today in The Journal News:

Superintendent salary caps: Editorial
We cast a glance south and west to New Jersey, where a new cap on school superintendent salaries supported by Gov. Chris Christie has education leaders fleeing over the border. Our own Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed a similar cap. We write:

MAMARONECK — La Maree Smokehouse is voluntarily recalling a shipment of Norwegian smoked salmon from food supplier Portier Fine Foods due to possible contamination with a potentially fatal pathogen, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The toxin, Listeria monocytogenes, “can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” the FDA wrote in a press release. “Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”

No Listeria-related illnesses have been linked to any product produced by La Maree, an upscale smokehouse at 436 Waverly Ave.

The recall was the result of a routine sampling by the FDA. The company has ceased production and distribution of the product as both the FDA and the company continue their investigation as to what caused the problem.

The Westchester Hebrew High School Drama Society will present “Leslie & Greg: A Delightful Love Story That Might Leave You In Stitches” — an original play written, staged and performed by WHHS students — at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Monday at 856 Orienta Ave. in Mamaroneck. The play expands upon a muder mystery, “The Livingstead,” that students performed last year. To purchase tickets, call (914)-698-0806 ext. 310 or visit www.whhsny.org.

PHOTOS: The cast of “Leslie & Greg,” an original play by students in the Westchester Hebrew High School Drama Society, pose with director Rebecca Rabinowitz (front, center) during a recent rehearsal. (photo courtesy of Capitol Photo and Sons, Jacob Madwed)

MAMARONECK — In an angry email Wednesday, the GOP mayor blasted Democrats on the village board for not notifying him earlier about a closed-door meeting planned for 10 a.m. Thursday and compared their recent talks about hiring new legal counsel to backroom dealings at “Tammany Hall.” Democrats contended that they had done enough to keep Mayor Norman Rosenblum in the loop — and that he shouldn’t be accusing others of lacking transparency.

The exchange came after the deputy village clerk notified the public about the scheduling of the “emergency meeting” in an email blast around 1:50 p.m. Wednesday.

Less than an hour later, Rosenblum sent an angry missive to the board, with village officials and reporters CC’d, demanding to know who had requested the meeting “with a notice of less than 24 hours.” He also accused Democrats of excluding him and GOP Deputy Mayor Louis Santoro from their discussions about hiring new attorneys to advise the village’s land-use boards.

“It would be appreciated if the majority of the Board of Trustees avoid the appearance of Tammany Hall / Boiler room mentalities and continue this executive session as currently scheduled [next Monday,] well before this sham of an ‘emergency meeting’ and allow the full Board of Trustees to attend and participate,” Rosenblum wrote.