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Westchester Now

Newsday Westchester's news blog, covering snippets of government, politics, crime, transportation, education and local events in Westchester, Rockland and the Hudson Valley.

Sen. Greg Ball quells speculation about run for Congress

State Sen. Greg Ball (R-Patterson). (Oct. 12, 2012)

Photo credit: Xavier Mascarenas

Sen. Greg Ball (R-Patterson) wants to be perfectly clear: he's not running for Congress. Well, at least not until the current legislative session is over.

The two-term lawmaker, known for his conservative views, sent out an email blast Monday attempting to quell speculation that he would be seeking to challenge incumbent Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-Cold Spring) in the 2014 elections.

“I...

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Noam Bramson and Ken Jenkins united against Rob Astorino

New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, left, prepares to

Photo credit: Xavier Mascareñas

Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) announced on Monday that he will co-chair the county executive campaign of New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, his former rival for the Democratic nomination for the post.

“During the past four months, Noam Bramson and I waged a hard-fought campaign for county executive,” Jenkins wrote in an e-mail to supporters on Monday...

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Judge Judy's mommy instincts surface in defense of Putnam DA son

Judy quot;Judge Judyquot; Sheindlin speaks to media about

Photo credit: Timothy O'Connor

TV star Judy "Judge Judy" Sheindlin said her "motherly instincts" kicked in when she found out about the criticism leveled at her son Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy by Sheriff Donald Smith regarding Levy's actions during an investigation into the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl.

Levy's former live-in trainer, Alexandru Hossu, 35, an undocumented immigrant...

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Garrison station sign gets makeover courtesy of Metro-North

A southbound train pulls into the New Rochelle

Photo credit: Angela Gaul

A rusting old Garrison railroad station sign that predates Metro-North's 1983 beginnings and was all but forgotten has been given a place of honor.

At the urging of Putnam County Legis. Barbara Scuccimara, Metro-North workers restored the sign, which had been tucked out of sight behind a bench on the river side of the railroad's tracks.

"It is our great pleasure to be a good neighbor...

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Virginia Perez, Westchester County legislator, faces Dem primary challenger

Democratic legislator Virginia Perez represents Westchester's 17th District

Photo credit: Photo by Courtesy of Virginia Perez

Retired social worker Jose Roman on Wednesday said he would challenge Westchester County Legis. Virginia Perez (D-Yonkers) in a Democratic primary in September.

Roman’s announcement puts a face on a long-expected challenge to Perez, who came under withering criticism from fellow Democrats last year after she cast a decisive vote in favor of Republican County Executive Rob Astorino’s budget.

Astorino’s...

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Bernard Charles campaigns at Hasidic Jewish rally against Internet 'evils'

Rather than attending a community forum hosted by

Photo credit: Angela Gaul

It seems school board member and Spring Valley mayoral candidate Bernard Charles had a better place to be Thursday night than an NAACP forum -- a place where there were far more voters to whom to make his campaign pleas.

Rather than attending a community forum hosted by the NAACP, Charles was spotted at Rockland Boulders stadium where thousands of Hasidic Jewish men and boys gathered to hear...

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NYPIRG makes nice with Greenburgh's Feiner

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner helps kick off

Photo credit: Lili Holzer-Glier

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner couldn’t believe he was included in a recent NYPIRG study that found almost 104,000 violations in New York politicians' campaign finance disclosures.

“I'm going to reach out to the Board of Elections to determine if it was a computer error, a Board of Elections error or my error,” he wrote in an email to Newsday, adding that, for him, keeping track of...

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Shake Shack coming to Grand Central before end of year

Shake Shack

Photo credit: Handout

Metro-North is shaking up the mix of eateries at Grand Central Terminal, where it racked up record-breaking revenue last year.

Before the end of the year, Shake Shack, the burger, fries and, oh yeah, shake joint, will replace Zocalo, a Mexican restaurant that has been in litigation with the MTA for several years, officials said Wednesday.

The Danny Meyer chain, which among other...

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Antler Alert: It's deer season on the NYS Thruway

Thruway officials are warning Hudson Valley drivers to

Photo credit: Richard Harbus

Beware of Bambi. It's deer season, folks.

The New York State Thruway sent out its twice-a-year "Antler Alert" Wednesday, warning motorists that May and June are months when deer are more likely to wander near highways. (October and November are also big months for roaming deer).

Some 2,000 deer vs. car collisions occurred on the Thruway last year, despite dozens of deer crossing...

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NJ Transit's Pascack Valley Line goes ticketless

This electronic ticket was generated using NJ Transit's

Goodbye, punch. Hello, tap.

Every week or so I take the zombie train from Pearl River to Penn for journalistic repointing and managerial face time at our Manhattan office.

I take the 5:22 a.m. on the Pascack Valley Line and I'm easy to spot. I'm the shambling, coffee-spilling wreck with the nine-months pregnant computer bag.

But today, NJ Transit's pilot digital ticketing made...

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