Cold turkey commute. Don’t even think about lighting up while waiting for your Metro-North train. Doing so could get you kicked off the platform, up to $50 in fines or a trip to jail.
The MTA‘s new ban on outdoor smoking starts today, following a months-long grace period the agency gave smokers to get used to the idea. The ban, which had a soft launch in November, prohibits smoking on Metro-North and Long Island Railroad outdoor platforms, as well as ticketing and boarding areas.
The ban does not apply to Metro-North stations in Connecticut.
Violators have gotten away with just warnings since November. But after several months of leafleting, signs, announcements and electronic alerts, the MTA now expects passengers to play by the rules.
We hear a fundraiser at the Red Hat in Irvington raised about $30,000 last week towards efforts to find Lauren Spierer. Friends, family and supporters paid $150 per person to attend.
The 21-year-old Indiana University student from Edgemont disappeared June 3rd in Bloomington, 242 days ago.
More information at findlauren.com twitter: #newsonlaurens
U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, who represents most of Westchester and parts of Rockland Counties in Congress, made fast friends with a group of New Rochelle High School seniors during a classroom visit Monday, inviting them to meet again online Tuesday night during President Obama’s State of the Union address.
“I don’t want to talk at you,” Congresswoman Lowey, a Democrat who represents New York’s 18th District, said. ”I want to have a conversation.”
Lowey’s visit to teacher Darren Gurney’s AP macroeconomics class was a precursor to the virtual Facebook and Twitter chat with students she has planned for before and after the President’s speech. Students can participate by going to Lowey’s Facebook page or using the hashtag #LoweyChat on Twitter.
She also will meet with New Rochelle High AP government students in Washington later this week.
Lowey reiterated several times her commitment to staying non-partisan during the classroom discussion, which touched on her priorities: creating jobs, investing in education and tax relief.
She did, however, come right out and say how important she thinks it is for young people to get involved in their government as soon as they are old enough.
“It’s sad to me that in this great country of ours such a small percentage of people vote,” she said.
“Whatever you do with your life, I hope you will take some time for public service because it is very rewarding.”
Shopping carts are rolling away. Cars are shaking. Hold onto your hats — and just about everything else. The strong winds that blew into Westchester this morning, prompting a National Weather Service Wind Advisory, are expected to stick around at least through midnight.
The gusts could reach up to 50 miles per hour, according to the Weather Service, meaning travel could be hazardous.
Flight delays at area airports were already growing long by early afternoon. Flights at La Guardia, for example, were running an hour and 40 minutes behind schedule at 1 p.m. The speed limit on area bridges, including the Tappan Zee, had reportedly been reduced.
Although the winds are expected to die down overnight, forecasters are calling for a weekend that feels like winter. The Weather Service forecast calls for sunny skies with a high of 37 on Saturday and just 29 on Sunday. Temperatures are expected to bounce back a bit on Monday, the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, to a high of 39.
Submitted by the Sound Shore Medical Center, New Rochelle:
Sound Shore Medical Center (SSMC) was pleased to be the site of community service projects for two area Girl Scouts. The Gold is the equivalent of the Eagle Scout designation. Since the Scouts are members of Troop #1870 in New Rochelle, they decided to approach SSMC about being the recipient of their efforts.
When Laura Zoe Gerkis of Larchmont, a senior at the School of the Holy Child, and Alexandra Karounos, a senior at Edgemont High School in Scarsdale presented their ideas to Medical Center administrators, they received enthusiastic support.
Having experienced cardiac arrest at age 13, Laura was initially at SSMC before being transferred to New York Presbyterian and ultimately Children’s Hospital in Boston. In appreciation for the immediate care at SSMC and wanting to provide a project that benefitted Sound Shore Medical Center, Laura chose to refurbish the Pediatric Clinic Waiting Room. In addition to painting and decorating, including providing window treatments, Laura furnished the room with a flat screen TV, a DVD player and age-appropriate DVD’s. She also provided kid-sized table and chairs, book shelves along with books and games.
Alexandra Karounos’ project involved the Ludington Adult Day Services Center at Sound Shore Medical Center. While the medical and social needs of frail elderly and those with chronic conditions are served by Ludington, art is an important outlet and one that helps with expression and brings great pleasure. Upon learning of the art rooms’ need for refurbishing, Alex knew she had found her community service project. It incorporated everything she hoped to accomplish, including providing a cheerful and fun environment for the registrants as well as staff.
Laura is the daughter of James and Agathy Gerkis of Larchmont, NY. After graduation, she plans to attend college where she hopes to earn degrees in Elementary and Special Education. Alexandra is the daughter of Paul and Rosa Karounos of Scarsdale, NY. Her future includes college and a degree in marketing and accounting.
Search crews on Tuesday started the arduous task for searching through an Indiana landfill for clues to the whereabouts of Edgemont’s Lauren Speirer, the Indiana University student who has been missing since June. Trash from IU ends up at the Terre Haute landfill, the search of which could last two weeks according to LoHud.
Indiana’s News Center has been covering this story. In addition, her parents spoke aloud for the first time in weeks.
It’s been two months since Edgemont’s Lauren Spierer was last seen in Bloomington, Indiana, where the 20-year-old attended Indiana University.
Now, Indianapolis TV station WHTR is reporting (video below) that the Bloomington Police Department, which is working with the FBI, has requested a warrant to search an Indiana landfill for signs of Spierer.
A missing person poster of Lauren Spierer, 20, is posted on a sign post outside her apartment building in Bloomington, Ind., June 7, 2011. ( AP Photo)
INDIANAPOLIS – A woman’s body found in Indianapolis Sunday is not that of the missing Edgemont woman at Indiana University, Lauren Spierer, the Marion County, Ind. coroner said Tuesday.
Lauren Spierer’s parents today called on their daughter’s friends – several of whom were with the Indiana University student from Edgemont before her disappearance — and their parents to disclose any information they have been harboring.
Speaking four weeks after 20-year-old Lauren was last seen, Robert and Charlene Spierer said they will stay in Bloomington to assist police, who have called off a massive search for Lauren in favor of one focused on investigative leads.
The latest on this case shows friends of the missing women retaining lawyers of their own.
Friends reflect on Spierer, now missing two weeks, in LoHud.
The search for Edgemont High School Graduate Lauren Spier in Bloomington, Indiana, which was featured on “America’s Most Wanted” over the weekend, now focuses on possible drug use.
From "America's Most Wanted"
According to reports, Police for the first time today acknowledged that they have received information that college student Lauren Spierer may have overdosed on cocaine and that the student or students who were with her panicked and disposed of her body.
A missing person poster of Lauren Spierer, 20, is posted on a sign post outside her apartment building in Bloomington, Ind., June 7, 2011. ( AP Photo)
Bloomington police Capt. Joe Qualters was asked by a reporter about these “rumors” during a morning media conference.
His reply: “Have we heard information along those lines? Absolutely.”
But he said detectives have not ruled that, or any other possibility, out in their investigation into the missing student.
“It’s absolutely critical for us to be open minded,” he said. “There is no shortage of information coming in.”
The 20-year-old Indiana University sophomore, a graduate of Edgemont High School who has a rare heart condition, vanished early June 3 after a night of partying.
Update: Police say they believe the missing Indiana University sophomore from Edgemont (Greenburgh) could be the victim of foul play.
“We certainly feel like there could be foul play involved,” Bloomington police Lt. Bill Parker said at a press conference Tuesday. There have been no breaks in the case, however.
According to CBS News, police have a cell phone, keys and purse belonging to Lauren Spierer, a 2009 graduate of Edgemont High, though they don’t know whether Spierer simply forgot them after a late night out.
Spierer’s disappearance has mobilized communities from Bloomington to Westchester. A Scarsdale synagogue that the Spierer family attends is holding a prayer vigil for her Tuesday night.
Previous Story:
An Indiana University student from Greenburgh remained missing this morning, four days after she was last seen, as her parents took to the national airwaves to plead for help finding their daughter.
According to LoHud, Lauren Spierer, a 20-year-old fashion student, has not been seen since 4:15 a.m. Friday morning a few blocks from her Bloomington apartment.
Spierer’s parents, Robert and Charlene, are in Bloomington, searching for their daughter, along with Bloomington police and a growing group of volunteers. The couple appeared this morning on NBC’s “Today” show asking for help.
“She didn’t just disappear. Somebody knows where she is,” Charlene Spierer said on the show.
The Spierer family has set up a website with information at www.iuhillel.org.
For those of us who can’t wait for Spring (uh…everyone…?), we’ve compiled a garden checklist to help combat winter blues, indoors and out.
Plan ahead Now’s a great time to assess your garden. Perhaps you want to add some plantings or move things around. Some people keep a notebook or take photos during the growing season. These are really helpful when staring out at your snowy white canvas.
Order seed starting kits, vegetable and flower seeds from catalogs, if you like starting from scratch.
Peruse magazines for gardens that you like, See how you can incorporate some of the ideas into your own property.
Heavy snow can break the branches of evergreens. Give plants a dusting off after a heavy snowfall.
Maintenance You may be tiring of the snow cover that’s been hanging around since Christmas, but the snow is actually a protective, frosty blanket, insulating the plants below. During winter’s home stretch, we may get days that swing between warm(ish) and arctic. That will be the time to check on your newer plantings, making sure the warming and re-freezing has not heaved them above the soil line. If you see that’s starting to happen, try to push them back in and cover root zone with extra mulch.
Prune away storm-damaged branches, which can tear the bark off shrubs and trees.
After a heavy snow, take a broom and brush off the shrubs and tree branches that are bent under the snow’s weight.
Take cuttings of forsythia, pussy willows, cherries for forcing indoors. Late February, early March is the time to prune most shrubs and trees, before they start to leaf out.
Indoors Sun-loving houseplants are probably looking a little sad right now. Shorter days=sadder plants (and people!). Make sure they are in a southern-facing window.
Houseplants grow more slowly during winter, so increase the time between waterings. The single biggest killer of houseplants is overwatering.
Clean the large, smooth-leaved houseplants with a damp, soft cloth. Or give them a shower. They are probably a bit dusty by now, which interferes with photosynthesis.
Inspect for insect pests. Browning leaves are a good indication you have spider mites. Look for fine spider webbing between the leaves or between the stem and leaves. The mites are easily killed by spraying them with a homemade soap solution. Simply add a teaspoon of dish liquid detergent to a 12 or 16 ounce spray bottle filled with water. Shake, then spray. The soap smothers their soft bodies. You may have to apply two or three times, whenever you see the webbing again.
It’s a good time to repot plants, especially if it’s been more than a few years since the last transplating. Plants do best in terra-cotta pots because the clay is porous, which allows for water and air exchange. If your old clay pots have a white, powdery mineral deposit on the outside, you can clean them by soaking the pots overnight in a solution of 1 gallon of water, 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup bleach. Or, remove as much as you can with a wire brush and then apply linseed oil. This will make the mineral deposits invisible.
Go over your gardening contracts carefully. Many companies apply pesticides and herbicides. They are required to supply you with a materials data safety sheet for each product they apply. One note from this organic gardener: data sheets only cover the labeled, “active” ingredients. Ninety percent of most products are “inert” ingredients. The composition of inert ingredients are considered “proprietary information” and do not have to be disclosed. Many of these “inerts” are more dangerous than the labeled ingredients. Of course, you can always hire a landscape company that practices organic controls. Keeping your property in a natural balance is the best way to ensure a healthy environment.
Catherine Wachs is a Larchmont-based landscape designer. Her company, The Lazy Gardener, creates low-maintenance, high-style designs for residential and commercial properties.
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