Sound Shore

The state Legislature convenes for its 2012 session just after the New Year. What issues do you hope they take up in 2012? What are your priorities for your representatives in the state Senate and Assembly? Replacing the Tappan Zee bridge? Pension reform? Mandate relief? What are your top issues?

Leave your answers in the comments below.

Mark your calendars: The MLK observance in Mamaroneck is set. Via press release:

Dr. James A. Forbes, senior pastor emeritus of New York’s Riverside Church, founder and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, and a leading civil rights advocate, will be the keynote speaker at the 25th public annual community celebration of the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 11th at the Hommocks Middle School Auditorium.

The event, hosted by the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Committee on Human Rights, with assistance of the Local Summit, will also honor 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. award recipient, and give a tribute to members of a local organization singled out for its special contribution to the community. Both recipients have yet to be announced. There also will be presentations and performances by students from Mamaroneck and Rye Neck High Schools and the Hommocks Middle School.

In 1989, Dr. Forbes became the first African American minister of the multicultural Riverside Church built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1937. He retired in 2007. Newsweek described him some years back as “one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world.” Before joining the Church, he was a professor for nine years at Union Theological Seminary.

In his talk, “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” Dr. Forbes is expected to examine racial economic discrimination and the loss to this country by the underestimation of minorities.

The cause of death of Brian Grobois, the New Rochelle psychiatrist who died while snowshoeing on Mount Rainier last week, is officially undetermined. The Pierce County, Wash., medical examiner’s office said a court order blocked it from performing an autopsy. Rabbi Reuven Fink, at Young Israel of New Rochelle, where the Grobois family worshipped, had said the family would try to prevent an autopsy, on religious grounds. The temple’s website said a funeral was held for Grobois on Monday in Jerusalem. According to U.S. Park Ranger Ken Worstell, Grobois fell into a stream, lost his way and “succumbed to the elements” as he spent a night outdoors. The temperature fell to 14 degrees.

Permits granting access to Paws Place Dog Park at Ward Acres are now available at the Parks and Recreation office at City Hall (515 North Ave.).

To get a permit, you’ll need a copy of your current New York State dog license and proof that your dog’s rabies shots are up to date. To qualify for the residency rate, you’ll need proof of residency. Call 914.654.2091 during business hours or click here for more information.

As a reminder, all dogs 4 months and older must be licensed. Renewals and licensing are handled by the Office of the City Clerk. Click here for more information about licensing your pup.

Photographs of shelter dogs from the New Rochelle Humane Society, taken by the freelance photographer Klara Hanakova, are being exhibited at the Mamaroneck Public Libarary through Jan. 11. The photographs are on display in the gallery space of the library located on the ground level.  The Mamaroneck library is located at 136 Prospect Avenue, Mamaroneck.

Good Thursday morning. Here’s a glance at today’s opinion content:

Payroll tax: Editorial
We comment on the news that the GOP-Controlled House voted 229-193 to reject a bipartisan compromise to extend a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for two months beyond January. Among those opposing the extension was Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco. We write:

… Both the payroll tax cut and unemployment measure are worth doing. The payroll tax cut passed in 2010 has meant savings of around $1,000 for those earning $50,000 a year; the extra cash has helped drive economic demand where raises from reluctant employers have not. Without an extension of the jobless benefits, some 1.8 million long-term unemployed will lose their safety net come January. The economy — for all Americans — would suffer, because the jobless spend their government checks, further fueling demand.

By one analysis, some 1.3 million jobs are tied to both measures, along with up to 1.1 percentage points of expected GDP growth. The impasse would also cost doctors big cuts in Medicare payments. The economy can withstand none of those shocks.

The House Republicans say they won’t budge until President Barack Obama prevails upon the Senate Democrats to return to work. Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, has said the Democrats won’t budge until the House Republicans OK the bipartisan agreement reached by the Senate. So they are stuck, and fitfully so, with the American people and the economy once again caught in the middle.

Port Chester’s Capitol Theatre will be revived next year as a big-name concert venue, recovering its legendary status in live music, according to entrepreneur Peter Shapiro. The stage has seen the likes of the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd and many nights’ worth of other acts. Built in 1926, the historic landmark fell into disuse during the 1980s and lately has been a venue for private events.

Shapiro, whose ventures have included Wetlands in Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bowl, is teaming up with concert promoter The Bowery Presents and General Manager Tom Bailey of The Blue Note in Manhattan.

We’ll have more at LoHud.com, and you can follow the developments at The Cap is Back website.

The public is invited to spend part of New Year’s Day with their newly elected officials.

The installation ceremony will be held at Town Hall, 1 Heineman Place, at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 1.

Ron Belmont will be sworn in as the next mayor/supervisor of Harrison.

Stephen Malfitano and Fred Sciliano will be sworn in as councilmen/trustees.

Town Clerk Jackie Greer will take the oath of office as well, and so will town justices Nelson Canter and Marc Lust.

Nurses from Mount Vernon Hospital and Sound Shore Medical Center, in New Rochelle, are protesting an expected hike in their contributions to their health coverage.

The nurses plan to hold an “informational picket” from 7:30 to 9 on Wednesday morning in front of Sound Shore Medical Center.

According to the New York State Nurses Association, comprehensive coverage is important for nurses because nurses are “likely to suffer from health problems developed while on the job.” The association also says robust coverage plans help lure qualified nurses to the hospital.

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

Shootings: Editorial
We comment on the two recent fatal shootings by police, both reportedly involving men with mental health issues, or who otherwise were in emotional distress, both involving allegations that the men attacked police officers, prompting the use of deadly force. One incident occurred last week in Spring Valley; the other on Nov. 19 in White Plains. We write:

… A basic question arising in both deaths, in Spring Valley a week ago and in White Plains Nov. 19, has been whether different police tactics might have brought about different endings. Civic leaders in both communities, however, have largely reserved judgment, pending the outcome of official inquiries. The investigating authorities should place a premium on prompt public disclosure, given the tragic circumstances and the public’s abiding interest.

The official inquiries will address the totality of circumstances confronting the officers involved in each of the shootings, ultimately arriving at a legal assessment or conclusion regarding their conduct, specifically whether the officers’ use of lethal force was justified. That is a highly fact-specific inquiry — reason enough to allow the investigations to run their course. “Everybody has to be patient,” said Spring Valley Police Chief Paul Modica. Like David Chong, the public safety commissioner in White Plains, he has promised a thorough inquiry, conducted in concert with the respective county district attorney offices.

Locales beyond these specific Rockland and Westchester communities will be watching with a keen eye to see how these cases unfold. Indeed, in other communities that have looked inward following such police shootings, important lessons have been learned about community support systems for people with mental illness who are in crisis, and about police training and tactics for dealing with such individuals — for the protection of responding police officers and the citizens they encounter. …