Sound Shore

The Journal News/LoHud.com Editorial Board holds endorsement interviews with candidates in key contests on the Nov. 8 ballot. Voters may watch LIVE online at www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; questions can be submitted via our CoverItLive live-blogging feature.

The following endorsement hearings are scheduled:

Tuesday: 2 p.m. Stony Point supervisor (Geoffrey Finn vs. William Sherwood*).

Tuesday: 3 p.m. Rockland Legislature:
« District 1 (Mike Diederich Jr. vs. Douglas Jobson*)
« District 2 (Dian Cifuni vs. Michael Grant*)
« District 3 (Jay Hood Jr.* vs. Ricky Sanchez)
« District 4 (Michael Parietti vs. Ilan Schoenberger*).
« District 8 (Denet Alexandre vs. Toney Earl*).

Wednesday: 1 p.m. Putnam County Executive (MaryEllen Odell vs. Alan Schneider)

Wednesday: 3 p.m. New Rochelle mayor (Noam Bramson* vs. Richard St. Paul)

Oct. 11: 1 p.m. Rockland Legislature
« District 9 (Christopher Carey vs. Christopher Martone)
« District 10 (Harriett Cornell* vs. York Kleinhandler)
« District 11 (Robert Milone vs. Frank Sparaco*).

Oct. 11: 3 p.m. Rockland Legislature
« District 13 (Jacques Michel* vs. Aron Wieder)
« District 14 (Aney Paul vs. Henry Stewart)
« District 16 (John Murphy* vs. Eliot Tozer)
« District 17 (Guy DeVincenzo vs. Nancy Low-Hogan).

Oct. 12: 1 p.m. Westchester Board of Legislators
« District 1 (Michael Kane vs. John Testa*)
« District 2 (Peter Harckham* vs. Peter Michaelis)
« District 3 (John Nonna* vs. Michael Smith)
« District 13 (Samuel Rivers vs. Lyndon Williams*)

Oct. 12: 3 p.m. Westchester Board of Legislators
« District 4 (Michael Kaplowitz* vs. Terrence Murphy)
« District 5 (Iris Pagan vs. William Ryan*)
« District 6 (Dan Brakewood vs. David Gelfarb vs. Mark Jaffe)
« District 7 (Suzanna Keith vs. Judy Myers*).

Oct. 18: 1 p.m. Clarkstown supervisor (Alexander Gromack* vs. Ralph Sabitini).

Oct. 18: 3 p.m. Orangetown supervisor (Andrew Stewart vs. Paul Whalen*).

Oct. 19: 1 p.m., Westchester Board of Legislators
« District 9 (Catherine Borgia vs. Susan Konig)
« District 10 (John Fitzpatrick vs. Sheila Marcotte*)
« District 12 (John Russo vs. MaryJane Shimsky*)

Oct. 19: 3 p.m., Westchester Board of Legislators
« Districts 14 (George Kevgas vs. Bernice Spreckman*)
« District 15 (Gordon Burrows* vs. Delfim Heusler vs. Ted Moustakopoulos)
« District 17 (Jose Alvarado* vs. Carmen Gomez Goldberg vs. Virginia Perez)

Oct. 25: 1 p.m. Rockland County Sheriff (Matthew Brennan vs. Louis Falco III vs. Timothy O’Neill).

Oct. 25: 3 p.m. Ramapo supervisor (Marino Fontana vs. Robert Rhodes vs. Christopher St. Lawrence*).

Oct. 26: 1 p.m. Yonkers mayor (John Murtagh vs. Mike Spano).

Oct. 26: 3 p.m. Mount Vernon mayor (Ernest Davis vs. Maureen Walker).
(* denotes incumbent.)

Interviews for Westchester and Putnam candidates take place in our White Plains office, 1 Gannett Drive. Interviews for Rockland candidates take place in our West Nyack office, 1 Crosfield Ave. Candidates needing more information can contact Nancy Cutler at ncutler@lohud.com or 845-578-2403.

Voters guide
The 2011 local elections determine who represents you on the county, town and village level. Visit www.lohud.com/candidates to find out who’s running, and where the candidates stand on the issues.

Calling all candidates
The Journal News and LoHud.com wish to hear from candidates vying in local Westchester, Rockland and Putnam elections.

Please send us an email including your full name, home address, daytime phone number and an active email address to elections@lohud.com. In both the subject line and body of the email, be sure to indicate which office you are vying for. The information will be used by our news and opinion staffs to contact and correspond with candidates. Additionally, the email address will be used to send candidates a questionnaire that will form the basis of an online guide for voters.

Hurricane Irene is gone but not forgotten along the East Coast, where it shattered lives and property. The bad news is, due to climate change and rising sea levels future storms could prove just as challenging and exceedingly worse. Join an Editorial Board discussion about big storms and their nexus with climate change and rising sea levels, land-use planning and development, and public infrastructure, at 2 p.m. today on LoHud.com. Joining the discussion are:

» Larry Levine, staff attorney and water expert with the National Resources Defense Council

» Thomas Vanderbeek, Rockland County Department of Planning commissioner.

Watch LIVE at www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight and submit questions and comments via CoverItLive.

At 2 p.m. today on Editorial Spotlight, health advocates discuss how New York lags in establishing a “health insurance exchange,” as required by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The exchanges provide a “marketplace” for individuals and small groups to compare and join health plans. Blair Horner of the American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey, Bill Ferris of AARP and Elisabeth Benjamin of Community Service Society explain best practices for setting up the exchanges, and how state legislators’ lack of action could leave New York out of the running for federal grants.

Watch LIVE at www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight, and join the discussion by engaging the “CoverItLive” feature. To view the discussion later, go to www.lohud.com/ editorialspotlight and click “videos” and choose the video from the menu.

The Editorial Board will host two Editorial Spotlights this week:

• Proponents of marriage equality promise a full-court press in 2011 to make same-sex marriage legal in New York. An interview on the battle is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday.

• Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-Mount Kisco, defeated a two-term incumbent in November, helping the GOP to gain a majority in the House. She has been in the thick of the chamber’s party battles. Hayworth discusses the issues at 1 p.m. Wednesda.

To watch the Editorial Spotlight interviews, go to www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; to ask a question or comment, engage the “CoverItLive” blogging feature on the screen.

Drs. Lynn Sykes and Klaus Jacob of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades will discuss earthquakes and Indian Point in an Editorial Spotlight today at 1 p.m.

Sykes was the lead author of a 2008 report that outlined the risk of earthquakes in the greater New York area, including near the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

To watch, go to www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight. To submit a question or comment, engage the CoverItLive blogging feature on the right side of your screen. To watch the interview later, visit www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; click the videos button and select the video from the menu.

The Editorial Board invites readers to watch and participate in three Editorial Spotlight interviews next week:

• 1 p.m. Monday: White Plains mayoral candidates in Thursday’s special election meet with the Editorial Board. The election was called after Mayor Adam Bradley resigned amid two scandals. Running are: Democrat Thomas Roach, now acting mayor; Republican Bob Hyland; and independent Glen Hockley.

• 1 p.m. Tuesday: Dr. Lynn Sykes of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades discusses earthquakes and Indian Point. Sykes was the lead author of a 2008 report that outlined the risk of earthquakes in the greater New York area, including near the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

• 1 p.m. Thursday: Representatives from the French-American School of New York talk about the private school’s plans to build a $60 million campus for up to 1,200 students at the former Ridgeway Country Club in White Plains. The plan has run into opposition in the community and on the Common Council.

To watch, go to www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight. To submit a question or comment, engage the CoverItLive blogging feature on the right side of your screen.

To watch the interview later, visit www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; click “On Demand” and select the video from the menu.

Watch an Editorial Spotlight interview at 1 p.m. today with John Conrad and Chris Brown, principals from The TriCarb Consortium for Carbon Sequestration LLC.

TriCarb will be conducting tests in Rockland County on the possibility of using carbon sequestration in the Newark Basin. The partnership includes Poughkeepsie-based Conrad Geoscience Corp. and Houston-based Sandia Technologies LLC. Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades is consulting.

To watch, go to lohud.com/editorialspotlight; submit a question by engaging the “CoverItLive” blogging device.

The Editorial Board will host Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Inc. officials in an Editorial Spotlight to discuss the impact of U.S. House-backed funding cuts to the organization at 1 p.m. today.

Participants include Reina Schiffrin, president/CEO; Lisa Winjum, director, public affairs and advocacy; and Jessica Baily, communications manager.

To watch, go to lohud.com/editorialspotlight; submit a question by engaging the “CoverItLive” blogging device.

The Editorial Board will host two Editorial Spotlight interviews this week:

• Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Inc. officials will discuss the impact of U.S. House-backed funding cuts to the organization at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Participants include Reina Schiffrin, president/CEO; Lisa Winjum, director, Public Affairs and Advocacy; and Jessica Baily, communications manager.

• Candidates for Port Chester mayor will join us at 1 p.m. Thursday. Democrat Dennis Pilla, the incumbent, faces Republican Bart Didden, who was elected last year to the village board.

To watch, go to lohud.com/editorialspotlight; submit a question by engaging the “CoverItLive” blogging device.

The Editorial Board will host two LIVE Editorial Spotlight interviews this week on LoHud.com:

• At 1 p.m. Tuesday, candidates for the Westchester County Board of Legislators’ vacant 12th District seat discuss their candidacies and the issues. Democrat MaryJane Shimsky and Republican Nicholas DeCicco are seeking the office, vacant since Thomas Abinanti was elected to the state Assembly.

• At 1 p.m. Thursday, Westchester Residential Opportunities officials Geoffrey Anderson, executive director; Marlene Zarfes, fair housing director; and Laura Neil, communications director, discuss fair housing in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. WRO released a study last week that revealed discriminatory conduct in all three counties.

Watch the sessions at http://www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight. To submit a question or comment, engage the CoverItLive blogging feature on the right side of your screen.