Sound Shore

The Westchester Children’s Museum will be participating in Family Day hosted in The Castle Gallery at The College of New Rochelle on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. WCM is collaborating with Pop-Up Adventure Play, an international nonprofit advocating for children’s hands-on and self-directed play, to promote art activities using recyclable materials. Members of WCM’s Education Committee will serve as “Playworkers” for the event. The gallery is located at 29 Castle Place in New Rochelle.

The Pelham Art Center is hosting a free “All Age Art Workshop” on Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. to celebrate the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos).

“In the Mexican culture, death is addressed through many cultural and religious rituals. The indigenous people of Mexico, as well as many modern Mexicans believe that the souls of the dead return each year to visit with their living relatives – to eat, drink and be merry.  In Mexican tradition, this is a day to remember the dead and to celebrate by preparing special foods in honor of those who have departed. On this day the streets near the cemeteries are filled with decorations of flowers and “calaveras,” skeletons and skulls made of candy. To celebrate, families make altars and place offerings of food, candles, incense, yellow marigolds (known as “cempazuchitl”) and most importantly, photographs and mementos of the departed soul are placed on the altar.”

The workshop will be led by folk artists Zafiro Romero-Acevedo and her mother Aurelia Fernandez Marure. Participants will create vibrant memorial altars with Mexican paper crafts and art materials provided by the Art Center. After the workshop, there will be a performance by Telpochcalli Traditional Mexican Performing Arts and Theater in the courtyard.

The Pelham Art Center is at 155 Fifth Avenue, Pelham. For more information call 914-738-2525 or email info@pelhamartcenter.org

MAMARONECK — Village Mayor Norm Rosenblum and trustee Lou Santoro said they have been endorsed by two labor groups — the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 235 and the New York State Laborers’ Political Action Committee-State Fund. The Republican-line candidates are seeking re-election and face challenges from trustee Toni Ryan, who is running for mayor on the Democratic line, and her running-mate, newcomer Scott Dufault. The election is Nov. 8.

Looking for a fright? Pelham Memorial High School’s senior class is giving part of the school the haunted house makeover, decorating 10 rooms in themes inspired by horror(-ish) movies like “The Shining” and “Sweeny Todd.”

The (temporarily) scary school will be open Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. A source tells us the themed rooms will be appropriate for kids 10 years of age and older. For younger kids who aren’t quite ready to handle the ol’ murderous barber (that’s Mr. Todd) routine, there’s the game room, where they will find games, snacks and refreshments.

The event is $5 and open to the public.

St. Vincent’s Abby Wasserman and Sally Eaton were named leaders of the hospital’s new Crisis Response and Prevention Team, set to begin in early December. Saint Joseph’s, the owner of St. Vincent’s, recently was selected to receive a Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health grant to develop the team following a competitive proposal process.

“We are assembling a very talented and experienced group of professionals for our new crisis prevention and response team,” said Saint Joseph’s President and CEO Michael J. Spicer. “We look forward to the launch of this exciting new program.”

Wasserman has served as clinical director of community liaison at St. Vincent’s since 2006. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She did her pediatric training at University of Washington in Seattle, her general psychiatry training at Johns Hopkins and her child psychiatry training at Harvard. She is board-certified in pediatrics, general psychiatry and child/adolescent psychiatry.

Since 2008, Eaton has served as program coordinator of the WestCARES program at St. Vincent’s, which provides clinical case management services for seriously mentally ill clients, integrating psychiatric treatment, housing, social and vocational services. She has had a broad range of experience in a variety of mental health settings, including Silver Hill Hospital and the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Community Counseling Center. She has a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University and an additional master’s degree in education from the College of New Rochelle.

The Crisis Prevention and Response Team will launch in December, with mental health professionals who will be available around the clock. During the daytime on weekdays, a mobile team can be dispatched anywhere in Westchester. During other hours, county residents will be able to talk by phone with team members who can help.

It’s no surprise that Monday night’s debate between New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson and his Republican challenger, Councilman Richard St. Paul, turned nasty. The two have been sparring for months at City Council meetings.

But the format of the debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New Rochelle and held at City Hall, all but guaranteed the tone would sour. Instead of answering questions from a moderator, each candidate asked questions of the other, then was given a chance to respond to his own question. That meant each inquiry was a mix of gotcha and softball.

A political organization that advocates for fiscal responsibility and spending cuts is backing eight candidates for the Westchester County Board of Legislators — they’re all Republicans and except for one, are all challengers.
New Yorkers for Growth, led by former Larchmont Mayor Liz Feld,  on Tuesday said its supporting candidates that will help County Executive Rob Astorino streamline county government.

“He has come a very long way in a short period of time, but he needs allies who support him,” Feld said, standing alongside several candidates at the Mount Kisco Train Station.

All the candidates said taxes are the number one issue in this campaign and incumbent Democrats, who hold a 12-5 super-majority, have contributed to making Westchester the highest taxed county in the country.

Astorino needs legislators who won’t simply override his policies and proposals, Feld said. There were 247 alone on the budget, she said.

The eight New-Yorkers-for-Growth-endorsed candidates are:
District 2: Peter Michaelis (Somers, Bedford, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Lewisboro, Pound Ridge)
District 3: Michael Smith (Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, North Castle)
District 4: Terrence Murphy (Yorktown, New Castle, Somers)
District 5: Iris Pagan (White Plains, Scarsdale)
District 6: David Gelfarb (Harrison, Rye Brook, Port Chester)
District 7: Suzanna Keith (Mamaroneck, Rye, Larchmont, Harrison, New Rochelle)
District 9: Susan Konig (Cortlandt, Croton on Hudson, Ossining and Briarcliff Manor)
District 10: Sheila Marcotte  (Eastchester, Tuckahoe, New Rochelle.)

A spokesman for the group said they were only endorsing challengers, except for Marcotte since she’s relatively new and won a special election.

Here’s a look at opinion content published today in The Journal News:

Rockland County budget: Editorial
We comment on the 2012 budget proposal advanced Tuesday by Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef. The proposal would, among other things, defund the county’s nursing home and hospital complex, lay off as many as 800 county employees and ask homeowners for a one-time $160 surcharge. We write:

… Vanderhoef’s proposal makes the kind of hard choices that Rockland has somehow managed to duck — for years. Lawmakers now get their chance to vet the county executive’s proposal and to re-shape the budget plan; taxpayers get to weigh in as well. A final budget must be in place by Dec. 7.

(more…)

Another year brings another day of free legal and financial advice in Westchester County for senior citizens and their families.

The 12th Annual “Senior Law Day” will take place at the Westchester County Center  in White Plains. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., residents can attend two of 18 workshops – including two in Spanish – offering advice on estate planning, income tax laws and other laws affecting older residents. Among the new topics this year will be an update on how New York’s new Marriage Equality Act impacts planning for same sex and unmarried couples. Elder law attorneys and certified public accountants will offer free 15-minute one-on-one consultations.

To sign-up for Senior Law Day, call (914) 813-6400 or register online

Richard St. Paul, the Republican nominee for mayor of New Rochelle, said Monday he plans to stay in the race despite public calls from party leaders that he fold his campaign.

“I look forward to speaking with the district leaders about my candidacy, about my personal struggles,” St. Paul said. “They (his struggles) have not affected my ability to be an advocate for the district or an advocate for the city.”

St. Paul, who represents City Council District 4, owes thousands of dollars in back child support, medical bills and attorney fees to a 3-year-old daughter he’s never met and her mother. Records show he owes thousands more to a creditor.

Last week, James Maisano, a Republican Party leader and member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators said, “Protecting the integrity of the Republican Party in New Rochelle is more important than Richard St. Paul’s campaign.” He went on, adding, “Richard needs to end his campaign immediately and address his serious personal issues. We all must remember that the best interests of New Rochelle must always be the priority for all political parties and candidates.”

Doug Colety, chairman of the county party, said had party leaders known about St. Paul’s problems, they would not have nominated him. Colety said “There’s a lot of concerns about Richard’s candidacy. … I think it’s a problem.”

Party leaders have scheduled a meeting for Friday night to discuss rescinding their endorsement of St. Paul’s candidacy.

St. Paul has said his personal problems are not fodder for public discussion. He would not say whether he told party leaders about his “struggles,” as he described them, when he first met with them to plan his run against Democrat Noam Bramson, the incumbent.

Asked if would attend a candidates’ forum tonight, he said, “I have planned on it.”