Sound Shore

For two decades and counting, the City of New Rochelle’s finance gurus have earned a gold star for excellence. Last week, the Government Finance Officers Association awarded the city a certificate of achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. This is the 21st consecutive year the city has earned the organization’s praise.

City Manager Charles Strome III said, “We commend our Finance Department for once again receiving such a distinguished honor. This award is a tribute to their professionalism and integrity.”

The Government Finance Officers Association has offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

UPDATE: I’ll be on the 8:43 from White Plains, due in Grand Central at 9:23. If you’re on the same train and going to the parade, let’s talk Giants!

Looks like I’ll be riding a train into NYC tomorrow morning to cover the Giants parade. If you’re among the Giants fanatics who will be doing the same, let me know what train you plan to take (I’m not sure yet whether I’ll take the Harlem or New Haven line) and where you plan to watch the parade. I’ll be looking to talk with folks from the area.

Write me at erauch@lohud.com if you’re interested in connecting. You can follow me on Twitter, too: @NPRauch.

From New Rochelle School District Spokesman Paul Costiglio, the following:

“On a recent trip to Washington DC, 33 AP US Government and Politics students from New Rochelle High School visited the White House, Supreme Court and were on the Hill in the House chamber for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ emotional resignation. The delegation also met privately with Congresswoman Nita Lowey. One student, Benjamin Helfand, was Representative Lowey’s guest at a meet and greet with House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi and then attended the State of the Union Address.

(Helfand and Pelosi. Photo provided.)

Yonkers Police said late Thursday afternoon that their investigation into the death of a 14-year-old Ursuline School student Tuesday night in a home on Newkirk Road “has not revealed any evidence to support that bullying was a factor in this incident.”

Police said their investigation remains open and asked anyone with relevant information to call the department’s Detective Division at (914) 377-7724.

Some media reports had suggested bullying triggered or contributed to the girl’s apparent suicide; an anti-bullying page on Facebook set up in her memory had collected more than 13,000 supporters as of Thursday afternoon.

Also, prior to the Yonkers police department’s statement, State Sen. Jeff Klein, citing the media reports, issued a press release noting his interest in anti-bullying efforts. Klein said he planned to deactivate his own Facebook page for 24 hours, starting Thursday at 6 p.m., to “stand in solidarity” with the girl’s friends and others who seek to combat bullying.

The Ursuline School, in a statement Wednesday, said it was “deeply saddened” by the death and had made extra counselors available to students and staff.

The Journal News generally does not identify the victims of suicides that occur in private locations or report in detail on such incidents.

The Ursuline School, an all-girls school in New Rochelle, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon in response to the unexpected death of one of its students.

The full statement reads: “The Ursuline School is deeply saddened by the loss of a fine young member of our school community. Today, we have visited our student’s family and offered comfort. We have held special assemblies for all of our students, who are in mourning. We have made available extra counselors to students and staff. Our hearts and prayers are with the young woman’s family in their grief.”

Anyone with additional information about the victim is welcome to contact Staff Writer Ned P. Rauch at 914.694.5063 or erauch@lohud.com.

Assembly members George Latimer and Amy Paulin will host a community meeting about the state’s 2012-13 budget on Wednesday at New Rochelle City Hall. The meeting, at which members of the public may air their thoughts on the budget for up to four minutes, will take place in the Council Chamber from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Written comments will be accepted until Feb. 24. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget calls from more than $130 billion in spending.

The pig’s still looking for a home. The New Rochelle Humane Society remains in care of Peyton, a 2-year-old potbelly porker it took off the hands of a group of Iona College students on Sunday. Click here for our initial story on Peyton’s adventure.

(Photo of Peyton the pig by Ned P. Rauch)

The New Rochelle City Council has appointed the members of its new Citizens’ Panel on Sustainable Budgets. Todd Kern, founder of 2Revolutions LLC, described as an “education design lab,” will serve as the panel’s chairman.

Mayor Noam Bramson, who announced the appointments on his website on Tuesday, proposed the idea of convening such a panel as he and the other members of council were in the final stages of passing the 2012 city budget. It had been a contentious process, with officials grappling with the state’s property tax cap and coming close laying off firefighters, crossing guards and other workers.

Bramson had suggested the panel as a means to identify the community’s priorities and develop new approaches to crafting the budget.

According to a separate news release issued Tuesday by the city, the group will be “tasked with analyzing service delivery levels and methods in the face of dwindling resources for 2013 and beyond.”

In addition to Kern, the members of the panel are Judith Berger, David Bieber, Michael Boyle Sr., Emily Bromberg, Kyran Cassidy, Matthew Costa, Michael D’Ambrosio, Jeffrey Hastie, Linda Kelly-Fauci, Bo Kemp, Todd Kern, Martha Lopez-Hanratty, David Peters, Ann Rolett and John Rorer. Bramson will serve on the panel as well.

The city’s release said North Avenue Research would provide consulting services on a pro bono basis.

The panel will have its first meeting in February and work through July.

Last summer, at the end of their fiscal year, officials at the New Rochelle Public Library admitted that shoddy bookkeping led them to overestimate the amount of cash they had by $300,000. Earlier this month, the library’s Board of Trustees posted on the library’s website the results of an investigation into the error, saying it was “due to an inconsistency in the designation and reporting of ‘restricted funds’ versus ‘assigned funds’ in the library’s Fund Balance.” The trustees said they had since reorganized internal staff; appointed board members with accounting backgrounds to oversee the budget process; and vowed to work more closely with the School District’s treasurer.

Peyton, the potbelly pig currently residing at the New Rochelle Humane Society, woke up Tuesday morning to a breakfast that included oatmeal, apples and a peanut butter-coated carrot. As explained here in this story, Peyton came to the shelter Sunday by way of a trio of Iona College students who rescued her from a man on Long Island who’d been keeping her as a pet but planned to dispose of her. (Apparently, Peyton didn’t get along with the man’s German shepherds.)

(Peyton the pig. Photo by Ned P. Rauch)

The Humane Society is looking for a permanent, more rural (and muddier) home for the pig and has been in touch with Farm Sanctuary, in Watkins Glen. It’s about four-and-a-half hours away, in the Finger Lakes region, and seems like it’d make for a happy home for a hog.