Sound Shore

Interested in the ways the wheels of government turn? A quintet of A.P. Government students from New Rochelle High School will present essays on the topic “We the People: An Open Letter to the President” to a panel of experts at the High School library on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 9 a.m.

The panel will comprise New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson; Errol Louis, CNN contributor and host of “Inside City Hall” on NY1; Margaret Morton, New York City’s deputy commissioner of Cultural Affairs; and Iona College professor Alex Eodice.

The New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence is presenting the symposium as part of Civics Week.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators last night  unanimously passed a law that bans deceptive pricing signs at gas stations.

It specifically affects stations that charge different prices for cash and credit card purchases and prohibits stations from misleading the public on those prices, which often differ by as much as 10 cents per gallon.

The bill was sponsored by Legislator Mike Kaplowitz, D-Somers.

Watch his segment below:

Purchase College students will be performing their own take on Vivaldi Dec. 11.

“This will be a concert like no other,” says Purchase Professor Laura Kaminsky, a composer and the artistic director of Symphony Space in New York. “An added bonus is that the students will collect food donations for families in need, true to the holiday spirit.”

Food contributions, in the form of canned and non-perishable items, will be donated to the food pantry of Born Again United Church in New Rochelle.

The performance is free and open to the public. It will take place at Cooper’s Corner Nursery in New Rochelle from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This concert represents the final project of the College’s new course, “New Modalities in Chamber Music,” taught by Kaminsky. Students in the course brainstorm innovative ways of presenting music in today’s changing society. Ranging from classical violinists to indie rock songwriters and jazz guitarists, the students bring their varied talents together for a live concert in the spirit of collaboration.

Cooper’s Corner Nursery is on Mill Road in New Rochelle. For directions and more information, call (914) 632-2647.

The Town of Mamaroneck Fire Department’s annual toy drive is on, and runs through Dec. 18. There’s also a skating event Dec. 11. Details below.

New Rochelle’s City Council on Tuesday decided to preserve six firefighter positions as well as New Rochelle’s 18 crossing guards in 2012, reversing cost-saving plans to cut the positions.

City Manager Charles Strome III told council members, who are finalizing the 2012 budget, the city would have to spend about $1 million less than anticipated on health insurance for its employees. As Strome explained, the state-determined health insurance rate increase would be about 5.5 percent, well below the 16 percent he’d allowed for in his proposed budget. He said that figure had been based on early estimates from state officials.

City Council members agreed to use the money to preserve the positions. Byron Gray, head of the firefighter’s union, called the reversal “unbelievable” and said, “Some anxiety has certainly lifted from my shoulders for awhile.”

The move will not affect the proposed tax-rate increase of 6.36 percent.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post mistakenly swapped “tax-levy increase” with “tax-rate increase.” It now reads correctly. Apologies for that.

With Thanksgiving gone, it’s now, officially, that time of year. New Rochelle will welcome the winter holidays with a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Holiday Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Party on Thursday at Memorial Plaza.

There will be caroling, prayers from leaders of a variety of faiths, the unveiling of a creche and a menorah, a recitation honoring Kwanzaa, the lighting of a tree and, finally, the arrival — on a firetruck — of Santa Claus.

The event, which is free and open to all, begins at 5 p.m. It will be followed by the Chamber’s annual holiday party at the Backyard Pub, at 463 Main Street. Price of admission is $20.

Representatives of a consortium of groups pressing for an extension of the so-called “millionaire’s tax” in New York discuss their effort in an Editorial Spotlight interview 1 pm. today on LoHud.com. Expected participants include:

» Dennis Hanratty, executive director of Mount Vernon United Tenants;
» Ron Deutsch, executive director of New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness;
» Rachel Estroff, ongoing organizer for Westchester For Change;
» Joe Mayhew, legislative/ political coordinator, Communications Workers of America District 1;
» Juanita Lewis, Westchester community organizer for Community Voices Heard.

To watch LIVE, go to www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; to submit a question, engage the “CoverItLive” blogging feature on the right of your screen.

Should New York’s “millionaire’s tax” be renewed? Answer our poll.

Democratic incumbent Catherine Parker has claimed the third open seat on the Rye city council after being in a virtual tie with Rafael Elias-Linero since the Nov. 8 election. She and two candidates from the rival “Best for Rye” ticket, incumbent Joe Sack and newcomer Laura Brett, are the three winners.

Elias-Linero had this statement:

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Although the margin between us remains a slim 4 votes, in fairness to both the City of Rye and Ms. Parker, I must consider the results of the re canvass on Monday to be decisive. So I congratulate Catherine Parker on her victory and wish her success during the course of her new term on the Rye City Council.

Port Chester is waiving late penalties on old parking tickets this month. If you have tickets more than 90 days old, now’s the time to pay the original amount. The amnesty ends Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Payment may be in person at the Parking Violations Bureau, 350 N. Main St., via mail postmarked by Wednesday, or online at www.portchesterny.com.

Something to think about while you’re getting into holiday shopping mode: Could you get by without plastic bags if you had to?

Rye is considering a ban that would stop retailers from using the ubiquitous plastic checkout bags that are hard to recycle and too flimsy to reuse. Larger, more durable plastic bags would still be allowed. So would the small plastic bags used for produce. The proposed ordinance is modeled on a three-year-old policy in Westport, Conn., and supported by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. It would be the first law of its kind in Westchester County.

Here’s the full story on LoHud.com. And you can watch Rye’s Nov. 16 public hearing, with a very detailed presentation and discussion, on this city website. Rye officials will discuss the idea again Dec. 7. If the law is passed, retailers will have a six-month grace period to learn about the ban and use up their inventory  of bags.

Let us know what you think of the idea.