Every so often you have to forget about fancy French pastries and dig into the real stuff.

The Harrison Bake Shop gives you plenty of it. The unassuming bakery, located in a Harrison  strip mall, boasts the best old school favorites around –  fresh bread, butter cookies, birthday cakes and apple-filled pastry that is “one of the best treats I’ve had in a long time,” according to one customer.

The shop is as good for a weekend-morning-not-even-close-to-healthy-cake-and-coffee run as it is for party catering, which they’ll do with a mere day’s notice.

Undeniably delicious.

Harrison Bake Shop, 357 Halstead Ave., Harrison. 835-1151.  No Website.

Know a Cool Find? email us!

Photos by Jacqueline Silberbush

Pelham police may have a suspect in the recent armed robberies that have taken place in Pelham, Larchmont, Mamaroneck and Harrison during the last month, according to published reports.

Kyle Taylor, 23 of New Rochelle and Mt. Vernon was arrested by Pelham police Feb. 15 following a traffic stop at Lincoln Ave. and Second Avenue. Yonkers police had a warrant out for his arrest in relation to robbery with a handgun.

A Beretta 9 millimeter handgun was recovered on an adjacent lawn near where Mr. Taylor was apprehended. The weapon matches the description of the weapon used in the other robberies.

photo: arenamontanus on flickr

This morning Larchmont resident Gregg Goldshall and some of his neighbors found this injured hawk on Echo Lane.

“We got the hawk off the road, it hopped on its one good leg,” he wrote in an email.

Someone called the Village Animal Hospital, where Sandra Blanco has a wildlife license. She says she contacted Animal Nation and the hawk is now at Rye Harrison Animal Hospital, which handles exotics, and is being treated.

Have a pet you love, that needs a home or just know a great one? Submit a photo and we’ll feature it in “Pet Project”

If you’re sticking around, there’s plenty to do. Here are some suggestions from the Journal News to do with kids, and as always, watch our Coming Up column.

If you’re leaving for the break, listen up:  In light of a marked increase in local break-ins, police say prep the house to make it look like you’re not away.

Speaking at a crime prevention workshop last week, Town of Mamaroneck police urged residents to create a “vacation plan” that includes steps like putting house lights on timers and stopping mail and newspapers. Alerting neighbors to your departure is another wise move, they said.

In addition, the Town also has a “dark house” program that under which residents can notify police that their house is going to be vacant so they can keep a closer eye on it. Residents in other municipalities can request police drive-bys as well.

Holidays, vacations times and summer breaks are burglars’ biggest opportunities, police said.

photo courtesy audobon center on flickr

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.

Mamaroneck Train Station

The armed robberies that targeted Metro-North commuters in Mamaroneck Village and Harrison last Thursday — as well as similar crimes in Mamaroneck Town, Pelham and possibly New Rochelle — are likely related, police say.

The robber behind the Thursday incidents, which occurred one hour apart, could have taken the train between crime scenes, police say.

Each incident involved individuals walking home from train stations being robbed at gunpoint by someone described as a male, 5’10 to 6″0″ with a medium build wearing a mask over his face and dark clothing.He was carrying a black or silver handgun, police say.

Police from around the area, as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, are joining forces to nab the robber or robbers.

New York Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,5oo for information that will lead police to the individuals responsible for the two most recent robberies as well as the earlier ones. Anyone with information regarding any of these robberies is asked to contact NYS Crime Stoppers at its hotline number 1-866-313-TIPS.

Meanwhile, Larchmont residents report that the rash of home burglaries in the Village also continued late last week when a Birch Lane family became the latest victims of a home invasions that started in December. Police have not confirmed that report.

Photo by June Marie Sobrito

Harrison Train Station

Mamaroneck Village And Harrison police report two more armed robberies involving local residents walking home from a train station at night.

According to Mamaroneck Village Det. Sandra DiRuzza,  at about 8 pm, a 59 year old man reported he was approached from behind on Stanley Avenue and robbed at gunpoint. The suspect demanded his (undisclosed) property and fled on foot with it. The victim called 911. He was unharmed.

In Harrison an armed robbery was reported on the South Road Bridge about 9:00 pm Thursday near the train station. Police say the same man is assumed to be involved in the two robberies last night, and possibly all of them. Harrison police say he wore a light colored bandana mask and had a silver handgun.

“Ours does appear to be similar to the crimes in Mamaroneck, Pelham, New Rochelle and Harrison,” said DiRuzza.

The suspect, like that in recent similar crimes in the Town of Mamaroneck, Pelham and New Rochelle (see summary below) is described as approximately 6 ft tall and approximately 185 lbs; in those crimes he was wearing all black including a black mask covering his face.

• On January 12th a Pelham commuter was approached from behind while walking home from the train on Cliff Avenue at 12:10 a.m.
• On January 17th a Mamaroneck commuter was approached from behind on Glenn Road near Chatsworth Avenue at 10:20 p.m.
• On January 29th, two females, one a student at Iona College, was followed into a building on Eastchester Road and White Oak Street at 4:45 a.m.
• On January 31st a commuter was approached while walking home from the train on Monterey Avenue in Pelham at 8:20 p.m

The Town of Mamaroneck held a crime prevention workshop this week.

Crimestoppers has offered a reward for any information. Anyone with information is also asked to call the Village of Mamaroneck Detective Division at 914-825-8541.

You may recall our conflicted feelings about the new M-8 rail cars on the Metro-North Red Line.

Your chances of riding a cleaner, more comfortable | more sterile, computer-voice   train between Connecticut and Grand Central just increased. Metro-North and the State of Connecticut added more new cars to the New Haven Line.

As of Monday, 78 new cars are operating on the line — enough to cover about 24% of regular weekday rides.  The new M-8 railcars will cover an even higher percent of weekend travelers.

It will be years, though, before the entire existing fleet is replaced.  There are a total of 380 new cars on order. More sticky floors to enjoy for years to come.

No Hunting: Cranberry Lake Reserve, West Harrison.

submitted by Catherine Wachs

Free “Floada” vacation with “gentile” and good hearted man. Excellent cook.

Seen in a Harrison grocery store and submitted by jphresh.

Submit your funny, ironic, weird, ridiculous, etc. local photo by email or to our looppool on flickr, and we’ll post one at the end of most every weekday.

PCRA Girls Varsity team

It started, about ten years ago, with a few neighbors who wanted to take advantage of the coastline and do some rowing.

Now the Pelham Community Rowing Association (PCRA) is the only community rowing program in all of Westchester, and its competitive high school rowing team draws students from Mamaroneck High School, Pelham Memorial High School, Ursuline, Harrison High, Fordham Prep, The Masters School and Scarsdale High School and others.

They hit the fall’s largest regional regattas including Head of the Charles, Head of the Housatonic and Head of the Fish. PCRA took home the prestigious Joe Marfuggi Cup as the most outstanding youth program at the Head of the Riverfront Regatta in Hartford, according to spokeswoman Jean Ippolito.

She added that this year also marked PCRA’s most successful college recruiting and admission season to-date. Seniors gained early decision admittance to Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Williams College, Syracuse University, and University of Virginia, among others.

The New York State Scholastic Rowing Association (NYSSRA) awarded the Varsity Team the coveted Scholar Athlete designation for maintaining a team-wide grade-point average of 90% or above during the highly competitive fall season.

PCRA rows out of Glen Island State Park on the 1964 Olympic Time Trial Course that they share with the New York Athletic Club.

For more information about Pelham Community Rowing Association email jippolito.ny@gmail.com.

What gets your attention first:  The sculpted waterfall?   9 huge remote controlled skylights?  Or the reference to this home being “honored by the renowned Neuberger Museum of Art?”

Maybe it’s that the taxes on this six bedroom are $31,000: It is on a very secluded acre of “stage lighted” land and adjacent to a 14 acre nature preserve.

The Neuberger tells us it was part of an art house tour about four years ago. “The owners had an interesting art collection and the house was unique,” said a spokeswoman.

Take a look at the listing in theLoop’s Real Estate Listings Marketplace.

Big chain drug stores may have their place, but after a stop at Trotta’s Pharmacy in Harrison there is no way you’re going to want to go back to one.

It may not be pretty, but built on the waning art of providing quality and customer service, the store has real, live pharmacists willing and able to help patients manage their meds. Trotta’s stocks beauty products, health-related stuff and groceries as well.

One customer said she’d “give Trotta’s 10 stars if I could.”

Free delivery and online shopping for in-store pickup is available seven days a week. And Trotta’s offers customers a pharmacy discount program that has absolutely nothing to do with insurance companies.

Trotta’s Pharmacy  15 Halstead Avenue, Harrison. trottaspharmacy.com

Photos by Jacqueline Silberbush

Each Tuesday, we will feature photos of one of the towns that help define us. Submit your photos to our looppool on Flickr!

photos: Jacqueline Silberbush

Skate sharpening at Blue Line

Need your skates sharpened? Or just want to come in, sit down on one of the chairs from an old stadium, and reminisce about that championship hockey game back in 1983?

Either way, this is your place. LAX players, too, find Blue Line Sports on Halstead Avenue in Harrison a great resource, focusing on those two sports and old fashioned service.

The store may seem small, compared to an all-sports warehouse store, but Blue Line is actually one of the largest suppliers of hockey gear in Westchester and Connecticut, and works with most of the youth organizations.

There’s a second location at the Darien, CT. ice rink, so if the Harrison store doesn’t have what you need, they’ll have it delivered to you.

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.”

Photo courtesy of Paul Costiglio

This video shows what was happening above ground in Eastchester Friday when a water main broke, causing water in houses as far away as Larchmont and Harrison to turn dark brown.

A 30 inch pipe that supplies water to the Town of Mamaroneck, Village of Mamaroneck and Larchmont is being repaired.  Check Westchester Joint Water Works for updates.

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.

Passengers have been getting on and off trains at the Harrison Station since the building was built way back in 1889 by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, which served the area at the time.

The Richardsonian Romanesque-style station is made of rock-faced brownstone, with hipped and gabled roofs. The station originally sat closer to both the tracks and Harrison Avenue. It was moved about 230 feet to the east and 85 feet to the north in 1926 to make room for another train line, the Port Chester extension of the New York, Westchester & Boston Railway, which by that time was owned by the  New York, New Haven and Hartford (NYNH&H.)

Both railroads are integral parts of Westchester County history, and helped to further the county’s growth as an easy commute to New York.

(The current use of the Quaker Ridge station of the NYW& B was profiled here recently.)

Oppenheimer with daughter and granddaughter at last election party (photo:theLoop)

Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck) will not run for re-election and will retire at the end of her term after 28 years in the New York State Senate.

Oppenheimer, 77,  writes on her website the decision came because she learned she will need extensive shoulder replacement surgery:

“It had always been my plan to seek re-election in November and continue to serve the people of this district.  When considering my responsibilities as Senator, the extensive effort that will go into rehabilitation and physical therapy following my surgery, and the added work of the hard fought campaigns I always wage, it became clear to me that I could do only two of those three important tasks.”

Already there is speculation that the race for the seat, an important Democratic stronghold, will become a contest  between Assesmblyman George Latimer, a Democrat from Rye, and Bob Cohen, a Republican who lost to Oppenheimer in 2010 by about 700 votes.

Links:

• Albany Watch (from LoHud.com)
• Capitol Confidential
• City Room
• State of Politics
• The Caucus (NYT)
• The Daily Politics
• The Empire Page
• The Politicker

More coming

The New York Times has an interesting piece on the Platinum Mile, reporting that,

“the Platinum Mile area — which takes in nearly four miles of I-287 in White Plains, Harrison and Rye — is struggling to find a new identity in a troubled economy and reduce its vacancy rate, now at 19 percent, up from 13 percent in 2002.

There are 1500 small breweries in the U.S., and while the brand new Craftsman Ale House in Harrison doesn’t profess to have the fruit of them all, owners Joe Vicidomini (“Director of Hoperations”) and wife Liana plan to rotate as many through as possible.

There are eight draft beers available at a time, by the glass at the bar, or by the growler (photo above) to take home. In bottles and cans look for everything from Ithaca Flower Power to Speakeasy Prohibition Ale and Flying Dog In-Heat Wheat Hefeweize.

“Drink local, drink craft,” is their mantra. Don’t look for any Bud Lite here.

A great selection of Burgers and Salads for $10.

At the former site of Anthony’s Bar and Grill. The Craftsman Alehouse, 235 Harrison Avenue, Harrison. 914.630.7484.  @thecraftsman

Zaid-Al-Doori (courtesy Binghampton University)

The New York Daily News reports an 18 year old former Harrison track star, now a freshman at Binghamton University, was beaten by a New York City subway conductor on Sunday for putting his feet on the seat.

Iraqi-born Zaid Al-Doori immigated to the United States in 2008 and helped lead Harrison’s High School track team to competitive success.

The story of this journey from war-torn Baghdad to American track star was featured last year in the Journal News.

Marshlands Conservancy, Rye

The Parks will stay!

The Westchester Board of Legislators (BOL) restored funds in the 2012 county budget  to keep six nature centers open as well as the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester.  (See our previous coverage.)

According to the Board, after a day and night of negotiations with members of the BOL’s Republican caucus and with County Executive Astorino, the BOL’s 2012 County Budget was passed by a vote of 16-1.

In addition to restoring funds for the nature centers, the BOL also saved other community environmental programs including capital project funding for bridge repairs and flood mitigation, restoring funding for the Greenburgh Nature Center, and the County’s deer management program.

This budget now goes to the County Executive who may veto any additions to the budget or the entire thing, and has 5 days to decide. A final budget must be accepted by Dec. 27.

Coming up at the Marshlands:

Birdfeeders Made Easy-- how to make them and which ones attract interesting birds. Sunday Dec. 11 at 2 PM.

Survival in the Woods!–  A naturalist will show you what to do if you get stuck in the woods! Sunday, Dec. 18 at 2 PM.

Photo credit: Don Sutherland

Just before the high profile ejection of Hollywood star Alec Baldwin off an American Airlines flight bound for New York, three women were kicked off an Air Tran flight to Westchester Airport in White Plains, according to the Associated Press.

The report says, “…the first woman was escorted off the flight after complaining to a flight attendant about how he handled her overhead baggage. The second one said she was removed after asking for help with a broken seat. And the third said she was shown the door after complaining about the removal of the first two.”

Here’s the breathless local “exclusive” from a TV Station in West Palm:

photo: Hyku

Read Wildlife Sanctuary, Rye

Six nature centers, including Rye’s Marshlands Conservancy (173 acres) and the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary (179 acres) will close under a plan in the County’s 2012 budget.

Both preserves are important bird sanctuaries and migratory flyways that also protect diverse habitats and species.

In addition, the budget eliminates funding for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester (saving $990,000), which provides local horticulture, gardening, and ecological and conservation information to the public, as well as youth programs.

Judith A. Myers, a member of the the Environment and Energy Committee and Majority Whip of the Westchester County Board of Legislators is livid.

“I totally disagree with the proposal by the county executive (Executive Rob Astorino-R) to cut the funding for the six nature centers,” says Myers. “To remove the naturalists and curators, as proposed, is irresponsible and short-sighted. They provide the eyes and ears to prevent vandalism and destruction of sensitive environmental areas, as well as education to all residents.”

The four additional nature centers slated for closing are:  Cranberry Lake Preserve in West Harrison, Croton Point Nature Center, Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, and Trailside Nature Museum inside Ward Pound Ridge preserve in Cross River.

Overall, the proposed budget calls for a 5 percent reduction in spending for Parks and Recreation, bringing expenses down to $48 million from $51 million in 2011. Parks has 26 layoffs or 9 percent of the department.

There have been two public comment sessions on the proposed 2012 budget to date. On Tuesday December 6, the third and final public hearing on the 2012 budget will be held at the Board of Legislature Chambers, 8th Floor Michaelian Office Building, White Plains at 7 PM.

Photo: Mockba1

Of 531 Members of Congress, including all U.S. Senators and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)  ranks #20 in personal wealth, with an average net worth of  $41,210,018 , according to data prepared by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Lowey represents New York’s 18th District, which includes Lower Westchester and part of Rockland Counties.

The New York Daily News recently reported Lowey has the “highest privately funded travel tab of any New York rep.”

Times are good for the 12 term Congresswoman.

Lowey’s husband, Stephen, is a partner in a White Plains law firm.

photo: US House of Representatives

The Maxwell Avenue Yard Facility in Larchmont remains closed through Saturday following the apparent accidental death of a Town of Mamaroneck Department of Public Works employee there at 7:15 Friday morning.

Robert DelVecchio, 35, had been an employee of the Department since 2002. He was a 1994 graduate of Harrison High School.

Witnesses say a Town dump truck was backing up in the yard when DelVecchio was struck by the truck. The truck was towed away by investigators late this afternoon.

Town Supervisor Valerie O’Keefe and Town Administrator Steve Altieri were at the Facility about 3:00 pm Friday and said the accident is under investigation by both the Town of Mamaroneck Police Dept. and Westchester County Police Accident investigation unit. They expressed their deepest sympathies to the family of DelVecchio, who they say was known as “Bobbie,” though friends say it is Bobby. DelVecchio’s Facebook page lists his position as MEO, believed to stand for maintenance engineering operations. DelVecchio was responsible for maintaining the Town’s lights.

Amy, a friend who said she knew him for 15 years said, “He was a great guy. He was always out to help others in anyway he could. He was a real care taker.”

Maxwell Yard, which is between the shopping area that includes New York Sports Club, Jay’s Wines and Embassy Cleaners and the on-ramp to I-95 in Larchmont, is used both as a garbage and recycling center for the Village of Larchmont and the Town of Mamaroneck, as well as for storage of Highway equipment.

Story in LoHud

[mappress mapid="65"]

Updated results throughout the day here.

For unofficial election results click here.

Polls will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 8 from 6 a.m.-9 p.m.

For a list of polling locations near you, please enter your address information on the Vote411 website here

Below is a rundown of who is running for what:

We also thought we’d share a little known fact that may help you prep before you head to the polls: Registered voters in the Villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck are eligible to vote in Town of Mamaroneck elections, too, because they receive Town services. In fact, the lone candidate for Town Supervisor, Nancy Seligson, is a Larchmont resident.

Here is a look at the candidates:

Westchester County Legislator—District 7: 

Incumbent Judy Myers (Democratic, Independent, Working Families: Majority Whip.  7th District’s County Legislator since February 2005.  Previously served 6 years on the Mamaroneck Town Council

Suzanna Keith (Republican, Conservative): Rye City Council: 2010-2014; Deputy Mayor ’10

Village of Mamaroneck Mayor:

Norman Rosenblum (Republican, Conservative, Independent): Rosenblum is the incumbent Mayor

Toni Pergola Ryan (Democratic): Ryan is currently an elected member of the Board of Trustees

Mamaroneck Village Trustee:

Louis Santoro (Republican, Independent, Conservative): Santoro currently serves as a Village Trustee

Scott Dufault (Democratic): Dufault is challenging the incumbent

Mamaroneck Town Council—Two open seats:

Incumbent Phyllis Wittner (Democratic): Served Four terms on the Mamaroneck Town Council; chair of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Coastal Zone Management Commission, founder and former chair of Long Island Sound Watershed Inter-municipal Council.  Worked in marketing and merchandising. Wrote financial planning book titled “Home Learner Financial Records.” 80 years old, has lived in Town 48 years.

Abby Katz (Democratic): Worked for a division of Young & Rubicam for four years, then implemented financial/accounting software for software development companies for 14 years. Treasurer of Murray Avenue PTA, on Hunger Talk Force.

Seth Marcus (Republican): Full member of Zoning Board of Appeals in the Town of Mamaroneck. Attorney, principal and co-founder of Leffler Marcus & McCaffrey,

Town of Mamaroneck Supervisor

Nancy Seligson (Democratic): Uncontested. Elected  councilwoman in the Town of Mamaroneck since 2000.  She is a member of the Westchester County Board of Health.  She is currently the New York Co-Chair of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee of the Long Island Sound Study.  Ms. Seligson is the past president and board member of Save the Sound.  She chaired the Westchester County Committee on Nonpoint Source Pollution of Long Island Sound and the County Environmental Management Council.

Town of Mamaroneck Justice

Jean Marie Brescia (Democratic): Uncontested

Town of Mamaroneck Clerk:

Delores A. Battalia (Democratic):Uncontested

A previous article looked at the Democratic slate in Rye.

– Photos of recent debate by Jacqueline Silberbush

Please click on thumbnails.

Vote illustration by Alan Cleaver

We received this  from the County Executive’s office: 

“Westchester County has been awarded a $41,000 federal grant to design the restoration of a section of the Mamaroneck River corridor in Saxon Woods Park in the towns of Harrison and Mamaroneck, County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced today.

The grant, from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the Long Island Sound Study, focuses on restoration of a 700-foot section of the river near the vehicular bridge into the park’s southern entrance off Mamaroneck Avenue. A related project currently under construction is restoring the river corridor northward from the bridge for approximately 1,600 feet to the Hutchinson River Parkway. Together, these will result in nearly 14 acres of restored river corridor.

While the project’s main focus is to filter storm water pollutants and support greater biodiversity, it will also increase the ability of the river’s floodplain to absorb more storm water runoff that would otherwise contribute to flooding.

“The river segment is presently covered with invasive plants that have degraded water quality and adversely affect both the environment and the aesthetics of the area,” said Astorino. “This area will be cleaned up and the area replanted with appropriate native plants, grasses and shrubs. This will also, even in a small way, help to curb flooding.”

The project is one of more than three dozen storm water management and natural resources restoration projects that havebeen completed to date under the leadership of the county’s Planning Department. These projects have leveraged county funds with state and federal grants and appropriations as well as some municipal funding.

Construction on the current project is expected to be completed in the summer of 2012. This project was undertaken as part of the 2008 Long Island Sound Consent Order agreement between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the county.

After the latest project has been designed, the county will submit a second grant application next year for project construction, which is expected to be about $300,000. Construction on the new project would likely begin in 2013.

These projects are largely designed to improve water quality and absorb and store flood waters as well as to improve the appearance of project sites and enhance fish and wildlife habitats.

The Mamaroneck River corridor restoration at Saxon Woods Park will improve the appearance of the corridor along Mamaroneck Avenue and is expected to provide a natural water filter along the river before it runs into Long Island Sound.

The river segment is presently overrun with dominant invasive plants, largely porcelain berry and other vines, that have displaced native plants, including trees. The project will result in the removal of invasive and/or non-native plants. The river corridor will then be re-planted with native herbaceous and woody plants, including perennial grasses, sedges, rushes and a variety of wildflowers as well as shrubs and trees. The stream corridor will also be seeded with a native riparian seed mix.

– Photo of Mamaroneck River courtesy of June Marie Sobrito

Whitson’s Culinary Group, which provided lunch services to schools in the Mamaroneck School District until 2010, overcharged dozens of school districts for lunches, according to an investigation by the State.

Whitson will pay more than $1.6 million in fines and restitution to the state and the districts, including 14 in Westchester and Rockland, the state attorney general’s office announced Wednesday. Blind Brook and Harrison were also overcharged, according to the settlement report.

According to the Journal News, an investigation by the Attorney General’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau found that Whitson’s Culinary Group of Long Island overcharged 30 districts and education providers for lunches between 2002 and 2010. The company received “off invoice” rebates from vendors but did not pass the savings along to schools, violating contracts and state and federal regulations.

The $1.6 million civil settlement includes full restitution for districts, $800,000 in fines and changes to the company’s rebate program.

photo: chidorian

At Saturday’s Fishing Rodeo at Harbor Island , kids from kindergarten to 8^th grade came out to try their luck in the 20^th annual competition sponsored by the Village of Mamaroneck Recreation and the Harrison-Mamaroneck Rotary Club.

With the nearby soccer fields soaked with water, cancelling the day’s games, all of the action was down at the fishing pier behind the beach pavilion.

This is a popular spot for all sorts of fisherman.  My son Max who participated but didn’t win, says it’s an unlucky place, sour grapes perhaps.  But regardless, the Rodeo event provided clams for bait and decent casting weather.

Every day can be a fishing day if you’re a ‘fishhead’ like the owner of the Harbor’s bait and tackle shop, Molly Roze, likes to call kids like Max.

He and his fishing buddies have been spending time at Larchmont’s 22 acre Sheldrake Lake in the 60 acre expanse of the former reservoir off of Weaver Road.  It’s known that the perch are abundant right around the hour where the mosquitoes are also feeding.  A note of warning for the drivers of these avid anglers; bring your own chair and use the facilities beforehand.

Or you can opt to hang at the creek behind the Mamaroneck train station where not only do the carp come-a-bitin’, but the eels do as they thrash their way through the garbage sitting bedside left by weary travelers.  Make no mistake, these American eels are actually edible, even if you would rather get a hook in your eye than eat one.

You could drive to New Rochelle to the lovely Paine Lake, 2 acres of pond run by Parks and Recreation but nestled in a suburban enclave of pricey homes that cause these passer by-ers to wonder why you’re just hanging around their ‘hood in your car.

We used to fish off the dock at our own Greenhaven Beach in Rye, but when Hurricane Irene took out our pier, we could only go out in waders during low tide, when the smelliest of fish made the whole sport rather questionable.

Last week we went to the pier at Rye’s Playland.  Instead of being immersed in the pursuit of striped bass, I was distracted by the grieving family, all dressed in white flowing clothes, carefully handling a small altar table filled with fresh flowers that were thrown into the water along with what appeared to be ashes.  Without wanting to intrude even mentally you couldn’t help but think it was a whole new twist to Jersey’s swimming with the fishes.

But like the great, troubled famed fisherman Ernest Hemingway believed, ‘fishing was healing’.

Even if this includes catching what was considered the elusive (a whopping ten pounds) catfish like Max did this summer in the Chesapeake, sitting on it until we came in from a boat ride, and then asking the neighbor fisherman to behead it because no one amongst had the guts, or rather the experience, to do it.

The Fishing Rodeo should be a popular thing.  I think with the Jewish holiday weekend there were less kids then there might have been and evidently the fish were in the know; it was the first year that no one actually caught a fish.  The first prize went to Mike Barbieri, and then two other boys for catching crabs.

Oh well.  Like the nature guy Henry David Thoreau liked to say, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

Kim Berns is a writer and interior designer living in Rye. photo: Bob Bruskin, Harrison Mamaroneck Rotary Club

Last year's crop yields a happy customer

The veggies are coming today.

The lawn at St. Thomas Church on Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck will be a multi-colored pumpkin and gourd fest every day in October.

From a church press release:

“On Saturday, October 1st, volunteers will transform the lawn in front of the Parish Hall into a patchwork quilt of pumpkins and gourds.

The annual Pumpkin Patch is a cooperative effort among four Episcopal Churches: St. Thomas, Mamaroneck, St. John’s, Larchmont, Trinity/St. Paul, New Rochelle, and All Saints, Harrison.

All proceeds will go to the local outreach programs of these churches. Thanks to this annual event, thousands of dollars have been given to charitable organizations in our area.

The Pumpkin Patch is a favorite destination for families, especially those with young children. Come by and you will find children of all ages, carefully selecting their own, special pumpkins. The Pumpkin Patch at St. Thomas has become a tradition, not only for the sponsor churches, but for the Village of Mamaroneck as well.

St. Thomas Church and the Pumpkin Patch are located in Mamaroneck at the corner of Boston Post Road and Mount Pleasant Avenue.

The Pumpkin Patch is open from October 1 to October 31 from 12 – 5PM on weekdays and from 10AM – 6PM on weekends. Prices for the pumpkins vary depending on size.”

Judy Myers (left) and Suzanna Keith

While many people ask why we even have a County Legislature, when Westchester is layered with so many forms of government, you can’t say you’ve never heard of Legislator Judy Myers.

She’s the only name on the ballot for a 4th term serving  Rye, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, and parts of New Rochelle and Harrison (the 7th District) she’s known for overriding the veto of a Children’s Museum at Playland, helping secure the turf field in Larchmont’s Flint Park, and those endless constituent coffees with Rep. George Latimer.

However…Myers will be opposed by the write-in campaign of Suzanna Keith, Rye City Councilwoman.

Polls are open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Click here for a full list of polling locations.

For the unofficial results after 9 p.m. click here.

Adele Mancuso

Services will be held Sunday and Monday for the former Larchmont resident killed this week while driving on I-95, who is being remembered as “a caring woman who gave to everyone and anyone who needed help.”

Visitation for Adele Zullo-Mancuso, who most recently lived in Harrison, will be held from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at Coxe & Graziano Funeral Home, 767 E. Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck. Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Gregory the Great Church, 215 Halstead Avenue in Harrison, followed by interment at Ferncliff Cemetary.

Mancuso, 62, died instantly Tuesday when a tractor-trailer lost two wheels and slammed into her car. She was driving to her sister’s Connecticut home with her 84-year-old mother, Larchmont’s Constance Casalina, who was not seriously injured.

Mancuso worked for many years as a home health aide, focusing her work on homebound seniors and Alzheimer’s patients. She was also president of the local Widows and Widowers Club.

The 2011 Best Places to Live ranking is here (CNN/Money) and most of us are not. What do they know? In the area, only Mamaroneck and Harrison make the top 100. Neither Larchmont nor New Rochelle were even considered for the rankings…Larchmont, perhaps because it was considered part of Mamaroneck due to the schools, but why not New Rochelle?  Rye?  Scarsdale?

Here’s their opinion:

New York:

U.S. Top 25

From the Junior League of Westchester on the Sound:

For 60 years, the Junior League of Westchester on the Sound (JLWOS) has helped women and children in the Sound Shore area in countless ways.  Beyond its community projects and volunteer efforts, JLWOS funds the initiatives of other non-profit organizations through monetary grants.  This year, thirty-four applications were received totaling more than $117,000 in grant requests.  After close evaluation of all applications, JLWOS awarded $60,000 in grants to twenty organizations throughout the Sound Shore area.  Decisions were based on each program’s merit, effectiveness in meeting a documented need, and compatibility with the Junior League’s mission.  The full list of awards is as follows:

Boys & Girls Club                           $2,500   New Rochelle

With the grant, the club will provide the Music Technology Institute program in which children learn to play an instrument, write their own song, and record it. The children will also have the opportunity to attend a live musical performance.

Cancer Support Team                      $1,000    Sound Shore

Funds will be used to support and increase distribution of Chemo Comfort Kits to Cancer Support Team patients. The kits provide cancer patients with products that help manage nausea, mouth sores, hair loss and the other side effects of chemotherapy.

County Harvest                                $2,500   Sound Shore

County Harvest rescues excess food from restaurants, caterers, supermarkets, bagel shops, beverage distributors, and private clubs and delivers it to soup kitchens, food pantries and homeless shelters. Grant monies will be used to purchase supplies needed to rescue excess food for donation.

Family Services of                            $2,500   New Rochelle

Westchester (Sharing Shelf)

The Sharing Shelf aims to fill the gap in efforts to collect and distribute clothing and other items for families in need. This grant will go to help defray costs of moving the location from Rye to New Rochelle as well as purchasing shelving units and supplies for the new warehouse.

Furniture Share House                    7,500     Sound Shore

The mission of the Furniture Share House is to collect gently used furniture from the public and redistribute it free of charge to needy families in Westchester. Monies have been awarded to in form of a partial grant to fund the purchase of 30 mattress sets for the ―Mattresses for Moms‖ Program.

John F. Kennedy Magnet School     $1,000    Port Chester

Literary magazines can highlight the importance of writing and encourage each child to find his inner author. This grant will cover publication of the JFK literary magazine, The Kennedy Kronicles, and provide every student with a copy.

John F. Kennedy Magnet School     $1,395     Port Chester

Funds to support the school’s nutrition garden that provides students with hands-on instruction about the life cycle of plants and vegetables.

Harrison Youth Council                  $2,500   Harrison

The Harrison Youth Council was founded to provide a broad range of mental health and social services to at-risk children, teens and families. Funds received are being used to assist the Harrison Youth Council in bringing to the community renowned national parenting expert on bullying prevention, Dr. Joel Haber.

Legal Services of Hudson Valley      $2,000   Westchester County

The organization provides legal counsel in civil matters to low-income individuals where basic human needs are at stake. Grant monies will be used to assist clients in emergency situations by providing transportation and meal vouchers to victims.

My Sister’s Place                           $7,500       Westchester County

This grant will fund a county-wide conference called Love Shouldn’t Hurt, which features a large group presentation as well as small break-out groups.   Students will have the opportunity to explore aspects of teen dating violence and, alternatively, healthy teen relationships. The conference is expected to be held in the Sound Shore area.

New Rochelle Campership Fund       $3,529    New Rochelle

JLWOS funds will pay for over 20 needy children to have a summer camp experience. Children will attend one of the non-profit summer camps serving the New Rochelle community.

New Rochelle YMCA                        Provisional Project    New Rochelle

JLWOS will use our fall provisional class to help refurbish the childcare room in the New Rochelle Family Courthouse.

New Rochelle Youth Bureau            $5,000   New Rochelle

Funds will be used to support the Community Tutorial Center that will train thirty high school students as Peer-to-Peer tutors. The center will provide academic assistance to sixty 3rd – 12th graders.

Open Door Family Medical Center   $1,000    Port Chester

This grant will allow Open Door to host a series of self-defense classes for 25 Latina women and teen girls in their Port Chester location.

Pace Woman’s Justice Center          $2,000   Westchester County

Funds will pay the partial cost of language translation services for domestic violence victims with limited English proficiency.

Pajama Program                                $5,000   Westchester County

Funding will provide new pajamas and books to more than 300 pre-teen and teenage children in the Sound Shore area.

Port Chester Town of Rye               $1,000 Port Chester, Rye

Council of Comm. Services

Funds will support the intergenerational, cross-cultural, oral history project for youths and seniors in the community. This social development program created by Susan Perlstein, founder of ―Elders Share the Arts‖ suggests that the positive bonding to an adult will help reduce the risk of youth being involved in problem behaviors.

Pregnancy Care Center                   $2,000   New Rochelle

The center reaches out to distressed pregnant woman to support her through her unplanned pregnancy with education, housing, counseling and other services in order to ensure they reach a point of self-sufficiency. The monies granted are to purchase two new four-seat strollers for the Elinor Martin Residence for Mother and Child.

Sound Shore Medical Center           $5,000   Sound Shore

This grant will be used to create Girls Night Out, a social support group for women with breast cancer and survivors. The group will meet once a month with the goals being (1) to provide a respite from the daily stresses of breast cancer by providing recreational activities; (2) to provide a social support network for breast cancer survivors; and, (3) to provide current medical information to assist in improving quality of life.

Westchester Children’s Museum      $5,076    New Rochelle/Port Chester JLWOS grant will provide equipment and allow the WCM to hire Barbara Allen, an accomplished musician and educator, for a series of drumming workshops for children participating in the Museum Without Walls program at the Port Chester Carver Center and the Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle.

WestCOP                                       $2,500       New Rochelle

Scholarships for Head Start eligible children for a 9-week summer program to continue the federally funded early childhood program that is not funded through the summer months.

A History of the Junior League and JLWOS

The Junior League is an international organization of women devoted to working together to improve the communities in which they live. The Junior League was originally founded in New York City in 1901 by Mary Harriman to help improve the lives of those living in settlement housing, with the first project at the College Settlement on Rivington Street in today’s Lower East Side of Manhattan. By 1921, Mary’s league was emulated in over thirty locations across the United States, and even went international with the creation of a Junior League in Montreal, Canada. To date, there are 292 Junior League chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Today, the Junior League is an organization of professional women working together to continue Mary Harriman’s vision of improving their communities.  The Junior League of Westchester on the Sound is proud to share a tradition of working to improve our Sound Shore community with so many other women worldwide.

The earliest beginnings of what is now the Junior League of Westchester on the Sound was formed in 1933, during a time of financial and global crisis in the United States, as a group of women who had moved to the suburbs from New York City, looking for a way to connect to and improve their new suburban community. Their first projects centered on improving area hospitals by sewing layettes and rolled bandages, establishing the Welfare Fund for the community, and creating a library for pediatric heart patients to use. While the League was originally known as the Eastern Westchester Unit of the Junior League of New York, in 1950 when the Junior Service Group of New Rochelle joined with the Eastern Westchester Unit, a Junior League charter was officially granted. This marked the beginning the Junior League of Larchmont, which eventually expanded to also include the Sound Shore Communities of New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye, Rye Brook, and Port Chester.  With this expansion, the Junior League of Larchmont eventually became the Junior League of Westchester on the Sound.  Similar to other Junior Leagues the mission of JLWOS is to “promote volunteerism, develop the potential of women, and improve the Sound Shore communities, through the effective leadership of trained volunteers.”

Currently, the Junior League’s main fundraiser is the Golden Shoestring thrift shop, located on Larchmont Avenue in Larchmont. Through these fundraising efforts, JLWOS is able to donate $30,000 in grants annually, as well as a scholarship to students who demonstrate a natural willingness to volunteer in the Sound Shore Community.  This year JLWOS awarded the scholarship to Thomas “Tucker” White, a senior at New Rochelle High School, in the amount of $4,000.  Tucker provided more than 1500 hours of community service including restoration work in New Rochelle parks such as Wildcliff Manor, Hudson Park, and Wykagyl Wetlands.

JLWOS President, Dana Diersen Buehrer, has been working on archiving the vast history that the League shares with the sound shore community. Dana said of her experiences with the League during it’s 60^th anniversary, and her hard work commemorating our past “It has been a wonderful experience to help our League celebrate it’s rich history through researching our archives and highlighting past projects and community initiatives. Our volunteers have made, and continue to make, a difference!”

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.
• Start growing seeds. Some helpful tips here.
• 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.