Sound Shore

If you like bright lights, stately boats or jubilant parades (and who among us doesn’t like at least two of those three?), then this Saturday night is your night.

The Lighted Boat Parade, a celebration of New Rochelle’s waterfront, will sail along the city’s shoreline from 8 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. The best public viewing areas are in Hudson and Neptune parks.

The parade starts at the New Rochelle Municipal Marina and glides west past Hudson Park to Glen Island.

The Rye City School District has announced the appointments of two assistant principals.

Ellen McDonnell, previously Rye High School’s Math Department Chair, has taken on the role of assistant principal with a focus on grade 6-12 mathematics. Robert McKiernan joins the district as assistant principal for guidance and student support services at Rye High School, a position formerly held by High School Principal Patricia Taylor.

In her two years as Math Department chair at the High School, McDonnell has led a department of nine teachers, taught integrated algebra and geometry classes, implemented the algebra lab program, taught in-service classes for new math teachers, and collaborated with teachers to prepare for the implementation of universal algebra in eighth grade. She will continue to teach two High School courses and work closely with both the High School and Middle School math departments.

“I am excited to serve the Rye City Schools and the Rye community in this new capacity,” McDonnell said in a news release. “I am looking forward to working with the excellent educators we have in the 6-12 mathematics program to improve student learning and increase opportunities for student growth.” (more…)

State Sen. Jeff Klein’s office sent over the lineup for upcoming concerts sponsored by the legislator along with the Bronx Council of the Arts and Arts Westchester, including events in Tuckahoe, Mount Vernon and Pelham.

All concerts are free and open to the public. For more information or to check on updates, rain dates and changes, contact Klein’s office at 800-718-2039.

This year’s headliner is Tony Orlando, winner of three American Music and one People’s Choice awards, best known for hits “Knock Three Times,” “Sweet Gypsy Rose” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.”

7 p.m. Aug. 2, “Just Nuts,” 49th Precinct Night Out Against Crime, at Pelham Parkway North and Wallace Avenue.

7 p.m. Aug. 3, “Strawberry Fields,” Veterans Memorial Park, Throggs Neck Expressway between Ellsworth and Schley avenues, Throggs Neck. Rain location is PS 14, 3041 Bruckner Blvd., Bronx.

7 p.m. Aug. 4, “Streets of the Bronx,” Loreto Park, between Haight and Tomlinson avenues, Morris Park. Rain location is PS 105 at 725 Brady Ave., Bronx.

7:30 p.m. Aug. 8, “The Bookends,” Pelham Gazebo, 20 Fifth Ave., Pelham. Rain location is Daronco Town House, 20 Fifth Ave., Pelham.

7 p.m. Aug. 10, “Risky Business,” Eastchester Town Hall, 40 Mill Road, Eastchester. Rain location is the Tuckahoe Community Center, 71 Columbus Ave., Tuckahoe.

7:30 p.m. Aug. 15, “Westchester Swing Band,” Pelham Gazebo, 20 Fifth Ave., Pelham. Rain location is Daronco Town House, 20 Fifth Ave., Pelham.

7 p.m. Aug. 17, “Strawberry Fields,” 1 Depot Square, Tuckahoe, in front of the Generoso Pope building. Rain location is Tuckahoe Community Center, 71 Columbus Ave., Tuckahoe.

7 p.m. Aug. 18, “Larry Chance and The Earls,” Bufano Park, Edison Avenue between Waterbury and LaSalle avenues, Pelham Bay. Rain location is PS 14, 3041 Bruckner Blvd., Bronx.

7 p.m. Aug. 24, “Alive N Kickin,” Gramatan Avenue and Broad Street, Mount Vernon. Rain location is the Mount Vernon Armory, 144 N. Fifth Ave., Mount Vernon.

7 p.m. Aug. 25, “Celtic Cross,” Van Cortlandt Park East, between 238th and 240th streets, Woodlawn. Rain location is St. Barnabas Elementary School, 413 E. 241 St., Woodlawn.

7 p.m. Aug. 29, “Alive N Kickin,” Ambroini Field, Winters and Centre streets, City Island. Rain date is Aug. 21 at the same location.

7 p.m. Aug. 30, “Tony Orlando,” Loreto Park, between Haight and Tomlinson avenues, Morris Park. Rain location is PS 105, 725 Brady Ave., Bronx.

Two years ago today, Long Island mother Diane Schuler inexplicably drove south in the parkway’s northbound lanes for 1.7 miles before colliding head-on with another vehicle in Mount Pleasant. The accident left 8 people dead and has been the subject of national conversation since.

Last night, HBO aired “There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane,” a documentary that explored that aftermath of the tragedy. The film paid particular attention to Daniel Schuler and his efforts to vindicate his wife, who was found to have both alcohol and marijuana in her system after the accident.

Did you watch the documentary? Did it change your impressions of the case? Why or why not?

In the wake of the crash, the Editorial Board hosted a panel on drunk driving and its consequences. A year later, we hosted a second panel. Here are those sessions:

2009 panel on the Schuler case and drunk driving:

2010 panel on the Schuler case and drunk driving:

HARRISON — A town Democratic district leader was arraigned this morning on charges she sent unauthorized pizza deliveries to the home of town Supervisor Joan Walsh.

Maria Polera — who ran for receiver of taxes on the same ticket with Walsh in 2009, but lost — pleaded not guilty to charges of theft of services and harassment, both misdemeanors.

She appeared in Harrison Town Court with her lawyer, George Galgano. The case was adjourned until Aug. 9 and Polera was released without bail.

Check back with LoHud.com for more on this developing story and read more Wednesday in The Journal News.

Good Tuesday morning. Here’s a look at today’s opinion content:

Norway massacre: Editorial
We comment on Friday’s violence in Norway, which left 76 dead, and the consequence of sustained anti-Muslim rhetoric. Anders Behring Breivik, the mastermind of the two massacres, authored a 1,500-page screed that drew on fears of Islam and its followers. We write:

There surely is no real comprehending or explaining the gluttonous violence Friday that left scores of innocents dead in Norway, yet it would be foolhardy to ignore the roadmap provided by the accused killer, Anders Behring Breivik. His 1,500-word manifesto is a tour of a twisted mind and at once a testament to the dangerous reach of a U.S. export — virulent, far-right, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Norwegian authorities are still sifting through the facts surrounding the slaughter on two fronts: a bomb blast in Oslo that shredded lives and tore open building fronts, and a 90-minute shooting spree at a Labor Party camp on the island of Utoya. The Norwegian Breivik has been blamed for the attacks; his manifesto, however, finds considerable inspiration from U.S.-based bloggers and Western writers whose stock in trade is Islamophobia.

An accounting in The New York Times attributes 64 quotations in the Breivik manifesto to American Robert Spencer, purveyor of the website jihadwatch.org, which is a running primer on “violent jihad,” “Islamic terror” and “Islamic imperialism.” For his part, Spencer draws inspiration from New York; his website links to the Spencer-featured documentary “The Ground Zero Mosque: The Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks,” which addresses the “planned Islamic supremacist mega-mosque at Ground Zero.” The blurb at Amazon.com, quoting one of the film’s collaborators, states it is “perfect for showing your skeptical friends and family what we’re really up against, and explaining to them how and why we must fight back.” …

More opinion
Here’s a glance at what our colleagues are saying today:
In Norway, evil beyond debate: Editorial, Newsday
State parks still popular, needed: Editorial, Poughkeepsie Journal
Drop surcharge on businesses: Editorial, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
A down-to-earth lesson in taxes: Editorial, Albany Times Union

New Rochelle residents are facing a headache as they cope with the closure of the bridge carrying Centre Avenue over I-95.

Work on the bridge, which is in need of repair, began last week and is expected to last about a month. Construction crews had hoped to keep one lane of traffic open, but a minor collision that did not result in any injuries prompted officials to close the bridge completely.

Drivers seeking access to Grove and Centre avenues are asked to use Webster Avenue or the Division Street Memorial Avenue bridges instead.

That headache, however, pales in comparison to the migraine looming in the not-too-distant future.

Did you know you can follow this blog, Sound Shore headlines and more at our related Twitter account? @SoundShore? Well you can!

And we know plenty of you out there are tweeting too. That’s why we’ve added a box to our sidebar where we are following the chatter by some of our more active local residents and organizations. Think you or your group should be added? Drop us a line.

Happy reading — and happy tweeting, to you and yours.

MAMARONECK — A New Haven, Conn.-based environmental group will sail an 80-foot-long boat into Mamaroneck harbor to give a presentation on its new “action plan” for preserving Long Island Sound next Monday.

Representatives from the nonprofit Save the Sound will discuss the two-year plan at 3 p.m. Aug. 1 in front of the docked “SoundWaters Schooner” in Harbor Island Park. There will also be educational displays and a free afternoon sail for people who register in advance, said Rebecca Kaplan, a Save the Sound spokeswoman.

Mamaroneck is the first stop on the group’s six-week tour, which includes visits to Port Jefferson (Aug. 8), Bridgeport, Conn. (Aug. 15), Old Saybrook, Conn. (Aug. 24), Mystic, Conn. (Aug. 27), Hempstead Harbor (Aug. 30) and Greenwich, Conn. (Sept. 6).

The action plan outlines steps the groups says should be taken to protect the health of the Sound while also promoting water-based industries and expanding public access to waterfronts.

Its four components are: protecting clean water; “creating safe and thriving places for all Sound creatures”; “building Sound communities that work”; and “investing in an economically vibrant Sound.”

A citizen advisory committee — representing businesses, municipal governments, environmentalists, civic groups and academic organizations in New York and Connecticut — hammered out the plan over the past two years.

Each part addresses a unique aspect of the Sound, according to Mamaroneck Town Councilwoman Nancy Seligson, co-chairwoman of the committee.

“From clean water and protecting wildlife to ensuring smart development along its coasts and investing in the local economy,” she said, “each of these components is vital to the health of our greatest shared resource, Long Island Sound.”

PHOTO: The Stamford, Conn.-based SoundWaters Schooner will be docked in Mamaroneck Harbor Aug. 1 for a presentation by environmental group Save the Sound. (photo from soundwaters.org.)

In the Town of Greenburgh, the only municipality in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties to perform same-sex marriages on Sunday, about a dozen couples took the plunge. (You can read more about that here.) Elsewhere around the state, the New York Times reported, “hundreds” of couples swapped rings and signed marriage licenses on the first day of legal same-sex marriages in the state.

But in New Rochelle, the seventh-largest city in New York, all was quiet. A staffer at the City Clerk’s office said there had been no same-sex marriages, no requests, no inquiries. For a city well-known for its diversity, that’s a bit of a surprise. Maybe, despite the heat, it’s just a city-wide case of cold feet.