PRESORTED

STANDARD
PERMIT #3036
WHITE PLAINS NY

VOL. IV NO. XXXVII Thursday, April 15, 2010

Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly

Nitrogen Pollution
Is Choking
Westchester

Where is the DEC? story on page 6

Photo Courtesy of United Nations Environment Programme

City Haul - Mt. Vernon’s Brazen Criminal Syndicate

story on page 3
w w w. w e s t c h e s t e r g u a r d i a n o n l i n e . c o m
PAGE 2 The Westchester Guardian
From Our Readers ………………………………………………………….......…..2, 18
City Haul – How Mt. Vernon Officials Plunder the Public Purse …………..... 3
From the Editor – “The Eleventh Hour” …………………………..………………..4
Point-Counterpoint – “In Praise of the Tea Party” and “Tea Party Hate
Speech” ……….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….……. 5, 18
Abady - Reactive Nitrogen Pollution Crisis .……………………………………..6-7
Deskovic - Lessons from the Caravella Exoneration – Part I …..………..….. 8-9
Wilson - Getting a Jump Start on College …………………………………… 10-11
The World Traveler – Uptaken …..…………………………………………….. 12-13
Westchester Blotter …………………………………………………………………… 14
West Harrison Pharmacist Charged in Dispensing Scheme …………...….. 14
IBM Executive Pleads Guilty in Massive Insider Trading Case ….......…… 14
Rogue Sleepy Hollow Cop Charged with Witness Tampering ………….....14
Community Calendar ………………………………………………………...….. 16-17
Classifieds/Legal Notices …………………………………………............………… 20
Ackerman – Shimmering Stars ………………………………………………… 22-23
Thursday, April 15, 2010
from Our Readers
Opposite Reactions To Our Easter Editorial
To the Editor:
Your attack on Pope Benedict is just nothing more than the typical
Catholic-bashing that is so popular in the media these days. Why do
you harp upon a few priests who misbehaved but not ministers of oth-
er faiths? The Church is a large institution that has branches in many
countries and has thousands of priests. The Pope cannot supervise all
of them. Your paper and everyone else piling on should give him a
break.
Anonymous
[No location given]
To the Editor:
I am a Catholic who was born and raised in Westchester. I was edu-
cated in Catholic schools, including college, and until recently, I was
active in my local church. Your editorial about the international sex
scandal in the Catholic Church and the crisis of leadership in the Vati-
can upset many people I know, but I believe they are all misguided.
Contrary to their view, your editorial was extremely well informed, co-
gently written and compelling. Only someone who respects the Church
could present such a bold and yet honest critique. My hat is off to you.
I cannot include my name because doing so would risk bringing down
on my head the wrath of my family members, friends and neighbors.
But many Catholics agree with you.
Anonymous
Yonkers, New York
In Memory of a Beloved Artist
To the Editor:
On Sunday, April 4th, 2010, the New York Times carried this obitu-
ary: “Alvin Most (Al), artist, teacher, husband to Doris, father to Chet.
You will be missed.”
Alvin was a friend of mine and a colleague in the Fine Arts. I met him
twenty years ago when I was the Curator at the West Room Gallery in
Yonkers. In 1991, I curated and organized an exhibition of four artists
at the WRG, known at that time as the Yonkers Education Cultural
Arts Center. Alvin Most was an exceptional and unique artist. He had
exhibited in New York in the 1950s, and in 1959 he was selected by
the four directors of the major New York museums, like the Whitney,
MOMA, The Metropolitan and the Brooklyn, as one of the forty most
promising American artists under age 35, for a show at the National
Arts Club.
Most was born 9/17/1924 in New York City and attended local schools.
An athletic scholarship took him to New York University where he played
varsity basketball. When an eye injury ended his ball-playing days, he turned
to his next love: art. He held a B.S. from NYU and an M.A. from City College
of New York.
continued on next page 18
 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 3

C i t y Ha u l
How Mt. Vernon Officials Plunder the Public Purse
By Sam Zherka Franklin Avenue, 29 Union Lane dollars. It’s criminal, and these were always losing files and cut-
In our April 1st issue, The Guard- and 12 East 3rd Street. guys should be in jail. This is why ting deals behind closed doors.
ian exposed Mt. Vernon Mayor, Tax records obtained by The Mt Vernon is the poorest city Buildings Commissioner, Ralph
Clinton Young, who has surround- Guardian reveal that Horton in Westchester County and the Tedesco, is a criminal. The city has
ed himself with criminals, includ- owes $76,889.35 in tax arrears highest-taxed city in the state,” he been looking the other way and
ing his close friend, Craig Jones, dating back to 2007. The Guard- said. covering for him for a long time. I
twice accused of raping two young ian was informed by a represen- Meanwhile, The Guardian ob- want the entire world to know.”
girls, ages thirteen and fourteen, tative of City Comptroller, Mau- tained documentation proving The Guardian spoke to several
and Director of Civil Defense, An- reen Walker, that, unless Terence that Buildings Commissioner, sources inside the Department of
toine Lowe, previously arrested on Horton pays the arrears, he will Ralph Tedesco, former treasurer Public Works who refused to be
the corner of Vista Place and West be treated like any other citizen
1st Street in Mt. Vernon for solic- in default, sued for tax foreclosure
iting an undercover vice cop pos- and his properties sold at auction.
ing as a crack-addicted prostitute. “This is the worst I have ever
seen” said John, a local business
man known to The Guardian who
refused to identify himself by last
name for fear of retaliation. “This
administration is shady and out-
right corrupt. This city is falling
apart. If Clinton Young gets re-
elected, I’m closing up my busi-
ness and leaving.” Terrence Horton - DPW Commissioner
Antoine Lowe - Civil Defense Director Horton and Department of of the Mt. Vernon Democratic named for fear of losing their jobs.
Public Works Supervisor, Rudy Committee, and a personal friend One source said he visited Hor-
The Guardian just obtained a re- Persaud, were caught red handed
cording in which Lowe threatened of the Mayor, engaged in bid rig- ton’s home and saw a white crys-
using DPW employees to do ma- ging for demolition projects ap- talline substance he believed was
our newspaper. In a conversation sonry work at their homes. Per-
with Mt. Vernon community ac- proved by the Mt. Vernon City cocaine.
saud resides at 312 East Lincoln Council.
tivist, Samuel Rivers, Lowe said: Avenue. He erected a decorative In addition, Horton stands ac-
“They’re messing with people who wall on the taxpayers’ dime with- In addition, Tedesco stands ac- cused of stealing $60,000 of paint
are crazy and don’t give a f___. out a permit from the Mt. Vernon cused by several local business- purchased by Mt. Vernon from
Other people got guns, too.” Department of Buildings. men of attempted extortion and Wakefield Paint Supplies in the
The Guardian contacted Lowe soliciting bribes. John Star, op- Bronx. The Commissioner has
for comment. He yelled “Get off erator of an African catering hall, 150 employees. Yet, for unex-
my f__ing phone” and hung up. claims Tedesco tried to shake him plained reasons, Horton person-
down for money, and when he re- ally picked up some 5,000-6,000
Mt. Vernon Commissioner fused to pay, Tedesco shut down gallon cans in a Mt. Vernon truck.
of Public Works, Terence Hor- his business then located at 46-48 The whereabouts of these cans of
ton, brother of City Councilman, Mt. Vernon Avenue. paint is presently unknown.
Steve Horton, is licensed to carry
a handgun despite having once Bobby Brown, owner of demo- Mayor Young and his adminis-
been convicted of Criminal Pos- lition contractor, Bazooka, Inc., tration act like members of disor-
session of a Firearm for which did business with Mt. Vernon for ganized crime. One wonders why
he was sentenced to three years DPW Worker at Rudy Persaud’s house many years. He told The Guard- D.A. Janet Difiore and U.S. Attor-
probation. Horton is a real estate Samuel Rivers was unequivo- ian his experience with Clinton ney Preet Bharara have not taken
developer and operates as QFI, cal in condemning the Young ad- Young’s administration has been action against this Mt. Vernon ca-
Inc. He owns several Mr. Vernon ministration’s corruption: “This “a complete nightmare.” Brown bal of criminals.
properties, including 434 and 440 is a terrible abuse of tax payers’ said of Young’s lieutenants: “They
PAGE 4 The Westchester Guardian
from the Editor
The Eleventh Hour
Public reaction to the Easter editorial came as a surprise. Neph-
rologist, Julio Cavalo, M.D., head of Westchester’s Independence
Party, said he “didn’t like it” because the editorial could be read
as “an attack on the Church.” It was unfair, he said, to single out
priests who sexually assaulted children when perversions are
found among clergymen of all faiths.
One anonymous reader agreed. Another anonymous reader
vehemently disagreed. He was so fearful of being discovered he
extracted a promise his letter would be destroyed and no attempt
made to discover his identity, lest he be ostracized by friends and
family. (See “Our Readers Respond” on page 2.)
There are 400,000 priests in the world. Clearly, the majority
minister faithfully and remain celibate without harming children
in their congregations.
Yet, the reality is that thousands of Catholic children were vio-
lated – not by a neighborhood thug, but by a priest, the one per-
son they were entitled to admire and embrace with unconditional
trust. These children were violated again when the Vatican pro-
tected not them, but the deviants who molested and sodomized
them.
Vatican leaders are not ignorant. They are intellectually sophisti-
cated men well aware of the psychological makeup of pedophiles.
The sad truth is that, even after being discovered, prosecuted and
punished, the majority will offend again. Pedophilia cannot be
cured. Studies reveal that, in a twenty-five year period, pedophiles
re-offend more often than rapists. The stubborn recidivism of pe-
dophiles led to enactment of sex offender registration laws.
Predatory priests cause their victims incalculable pain. But that
pain was magnified exponentially when Rome essentially did
nothing about it.
All week long, the Vatican insisted the pope played no role in the
cover-up. However, on April 9th, the Associate Press published a
1985 letter written in Latin to Oakland Bishop, John Cummins.
The letter was signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. At the
time, the pope was head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, the Church’s doctrinal watchdog. The letter
concerned a California priest named Stephen Kiesle.
In 1978, Kiesle pled guilty to sex crimes after tying up and mo-
lesting two boys in a San Francisco church rectory. By 1981, the
Oakland diocese submitted a petition to have Kiesle defrocked.
At the time, Ratzinger was head of the Church office in charge of
disciplining errant priests. Ratzinger would have none of it. In-
Thursday, April 15, 2010
stead, he sat on the case for four years. California church officials
wrote Ratzinger at least three more times about Kiesle. The Vati-
can says the file has been lost.
In 1982, Cummins warned Ratzinger that allowing Kiesle to re-
main a priest would foment more scandal than defrocking him:
“It is my conviction that there would be no scandal if this peti-
tion were granted and … there might be greater scandal to the
community if Father Kiesle were allowed to return to the active
ministry.” The pope ignored him. Rev. George Mockel wrote to
Cummins about Ratzinger’s missive: “My own reading of this let-
ter is that basically they are going to sit on it ....”
As Kiesle’s fate was being weighed in Rome, the priest volun-
teered as a youth minister at a California church where he had
been associate pastor from 1972-75.
Finally, Ratzinger responded to Cummins in 1985. He directed
that Kiesle not be expelled, but instead, given “as much paternal
care as possible.” Kiesle was not stripped of his priestly powers
until 1987. By then, it was too late.
Kiesle was arrested in 2002 and charged with thirteen counts of
child molestation. In 2004, he pled to a felony charge for molest-
ing a child in his home and was sentenced to six years in prison.
He is now a registered sex offender.
Lewis Van Blois, an attorney for six Kiesle victims, interviewed
the former priest in prison: “When asked how many children he
had molested over the years, he said ‘tons,’ and bragged he was the
Pied Piper and tried to molest every child that sat on his lap.”
The AP obtained documents last week which revealed the Vati-
can stalled action in cases involving two predator priests in Arizo-
na. The pope did nothing about Michael Teta in Tucson, despite
repeated pleas from an Arizona bishop that Rome defrock the
man. Likewise, the bishop alerted Ratzinger about Msgr. Robert
Trupia characterized as “a major risk factor” for sex crimes.
According to Irwin Zalkin, an attorney representing other
Kiesle victims: “Cardinal Ratzinger was more concerned about
the avoidance of scandal than he was about protecting children.”
Catholic liturgy refers to the “body” of the Church. Like a hu-
man body, the Church can suffer from disease before it succumbs.
For those who recognize the value of the Church and the good
it does for millions around in the world, the urgent question is
whether, at this eleventh hour, the pope cares more about saving
the Church than himself.
The Vatican’s response provides a clue. It called the AP reports
“absolutely groundless.”
Sam Abady
 The Westchester Guardian
In Praise Of The Tea Party
By Sam Zherka
Over the years, both Democrats and Repub-
licans have shown the American people that,
as far as these politicians are concerned, run-
ning our nation is just big business -- a busi-
ness larded with corrupt, back-room deals to
benefit special interests, favored contributors,
well-heeled lobbyists, and large corporations.
The hard working men and women paying the
freight are left behind.
The TEA Party (acronym for “Taxed Enough
Already”) is a grass-roots campaign by Ameri-
cans of all cultures, nationalities, creeds, races,
religions and political persuasions. They are
Democrats and Republicans, Independents
and Conservatives. They are hard-working
Americans who rise every morning and go
to real American jobs to earn real American
money to pay their real American bills and rear
real American kids in pursuit of the American
dream they once knew. They are white, black,
brown and yellow, once happy-go-lucky citi-
Tea Party Hate Speech
By Fred Polvere
Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff, is
a new leader in the TEA (Taxed Enough Al-
ready) Party movement. Mack is a proponent
of unlimited gun rights and has a following
among militia and libertarian groups. He was
hired by Friends of Liberty to forge a coalition
of right-wing groups.
Mack has been speaking at “liberty confer-
ences” across the country in an attempt to
rally and unite the disparate factions of TEA
Party supporters. At a Spokane, Washington,
rally attended by John Birchers, Oath Keep-
ers, supporters of Glen Beck’s “9/12 Project,”
and a variety of militant militia groups, Mack
felt constrained to proclaim to the sea of white
faces: “This meeting is not racist.”
Mack explained they all had a common en-
emy: The Federal Government. In his illogical
rant, Mack actually blamed Washington for
mucking up desegregation in the South. He
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Point-Counterpoint
zens until they woke up and realized their fami-
lies’ future is in dire jeopardy.
Critics say they are reactionary racists. Noth-
ing could be further from the truth. TEA Party
activists are soccer moms, waiters, firefighters,
teachers, bartenders, bank tellers, construction
workers, laborers, factory workers and small
business owners. They are the every-day Joes
who are the backbone of this country, the men
and woman who put their lives in harm’s way as
soldiers and police officers, folks who take their
kids to school, ball games and the movies. They
love America for its most precious asset and
their sacred birthright: Freedom and Liberty.
They do not hate immigrants, but they resent
illegal entrants stealing public resources. They
are fair and forgiving, but tired of casting their
votes year after year to support politicians who
lie to them. They worked hard to purchase their
cars, homes, furniture and to put food on the
table. They struggle to pay their rent and mort-
gages and worry about losing what they have
opined that a county sheriff could have done
a much better job. Referring to the day Rosa
Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white
passenger, he said: “Imagine the local sheriff,
rather than arresting Ms. Parks, escorting her
home, stopping to buy her a meal at an all-white
diner.”
Now, one can imagine anything from flying
pigs to free drive-in beer-stops on highways,
but imagination is no substitute for fact. The
reality of the segregated, Jim Crow South is not
in dispute. In many counties, blacks were the
majority and yet, not a single black was reg-
istered to vote – and not for a lack of trying.
When blacks showed up to register, the regis-
trar’s office would close. Blacks who attempted
to register were intimidated with job dismiss-
als or violence. No local sheriffs came to their
defense. No local sheriffs threatened to arrest
election registrars who refused to allow black
citizens the right to vote.
These same local sheriffs, however, were quick
PAGE 5
worked so hard to attain.
Most importantly, they are fed up with high
taxes soaring ever higher with no end in sight.
They are Americans being stripped of the
American dream which is slowly becoming
the American nightmare.
TEA Party supporters are average folks who
are afraid -- afraid for their families, their
children, their jobs, and their homes. They are
angry and demand to be heard.
The TEA Party supporter is me and you.
Participate in your local Tea Party Rally on
Tax Day, Thursday April 15th. The White
Plains TEA party will convene at the County
Center on Central Avenue in White Plains be-
tween 4-7 P.M.
Bring signs and show our elected officials
America belongs to Americans, not the poli-
ticians.
to arrest anyone suspected of miscegenation,
a felony in southern states until 1967 when
the Supreme Court outlawed these offensive
race-mixing laws in Loving v. Virginia.
The idea that some imaginary, “ideal” sheriff
would come to Rosa Parks’ aid is an outright
fantasy. Many southern sheriffs were mem-
bers of the Ku Klux Klan or Klan sympathiz-
ers.
Richard Mack’s claim the Spokane rally was
not racist just as falsely imagined. The John
Birch Society and many of the militia groups
in attendance at TEA Party rallies have his-
tories steeped in racism, an ugly side of the
movement which showed itself in our na-
tion’s capital the day before the House vote on
health care reform.
On March 20, 2010, as Rep. John Lewis (D-
GA), a true hero of the civil rights movement,
and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) were leaving
continued on the page 18
PAGE 6 The Westchester Guardian
Reactive Nitrogen Pollution Crisis
By Sam Abady
Former Vice President, Al Gore, made Acar-
bon footprint@ a household phrase. Gore won
a Nobel Prize for his film, AAn Inconvenient
Truth@ about anthropogenic (human-gener-
ated) global warming caused by burning fos-
sil fuels to heat homes and propel cars and
trucks.
Meanwhile, a more immediate and urgent
problem has escaped public concern: nitrogen
pollution. State environmental officials appear
asleep at the switch.
Nitrogen gas constitutes roughly 78% of the
atmosphere. It is present in all protein mol-
ecules, DNA, RNA and chlorophyll. Soil ni-
trogen is vital for plant growth and frequently
used in fertilizers.
Nitrogen Pollution -- More Urgent than
Global Warming
According to two new studies just published
in Science magazine, ATransformation of the
Nitrogen Cycle: Recent Trends, Questions and
Potential Solutions,@ and AImpacts of Atmo-
spheric Anthropogenic Nitrogen on the Open
Ocean,@ human output of so-called reactive
nitrogen is rapidly polluting our lakes, rivers,
streams and reservoirs, and killing the world=s
oceans.
Increasingly, the planet’s nitrogen exists as
reactive nitrogen or in activated compounds
such as ammonia, rather than as non-reactive
N2, an inert gas. Scientists raised a red flag
about reactive nitrogen decades ago but policy
makers turned a deaf ear. Apparently, state of-
ficials are likewise hard of hearing.
Peter Liss, biochemist at England=s Univer-
sity of East Anglia, a world leader in pollution
and climate science studies, concludes the
Anatural nitrogen cycle has been very heavily
influenced by human activity over the last cen-
tury.@ Liss believes humans have impacted the
nitrogen cycle even more than the carbon cy-
cle at the heart of the global warming contro-
versy. Whereas global warming is contested by
a small but vocal and increasingly influential
minority of scientific skeptics, there is genuine
consensus about the global threat from reac-
Thursday, April 15, 2010
tive nitrogen.
The “nitrogen cycle” is the natural process
by which atmospheric nitrogen is “fixed” by
bacteria and incorporated into soil. It is then
chemically altered by other bacteria and used
by plants to grow and returned to soil as plants
decay. A small amount is released back into
the atmosphere. This cycle has persisted un-
changed for millions of years. Now, however,
it is being radically altered by human interven-
tion.
Liss=s study tracked the dramatic growth in
human-produced reactive nitrogen: fifteen
metric tons emitted in 1860, 156 tons in 1995,
and 185 tons by 2005.
Although these quantities pale in compari-
son to global CO2 emissions B some twenty-
seven billion tons each year B the impact of
reactive nitrogen is magnified by what Uni-
versity of Virginia biogeochemist, James Gal-
loway, calls Athe nitrogen cascade@ caused by
two primary culprits: crop fertilizers and cars.
By mass, nitrous oxide, as a greenhouse gas, is
300 times more potent than carbon dioxide in
destroying the ozone layer. Unlike CO2, NO2
stays in the atmosphere for a hundred years.
Nitrogen Fertilizers -- A Devil’s Bargain
On the one hand, nitrogen fertilizers are es-
sential to modern agriculture and helped bring
about the Green Revolution, a phrase coined
in the 1960s to describe the transfer of agricul-
tural knowledge and technology to the Third
World. This transfer increased crop yields and
reduced hunger for millions worldwide, espe-
cially in India and African nations deficient in
soil nitrogen.
A 2007 U.N. Environmental Programme re-
port tellingly titled “Too Much or Too Little of
a Good Thing,” http://www.whrc.org/policy/
PDF/Reactive_Nitrogen_sml.pdf, analyzed the
problem. Activated nitrogen fertilizers are
synthesized by mixing nitrogen and hydrogen
with iron sulfate as a catalyst to make ammo-
nia from which nitrogen fertilizer is derived.
Without these fertilizers, much of the world=s
poor populations would starve. Yet, ever in-
creasing Third World populations consume
the activated nitrogen and convert it into hu-
man waste which drains into land, rivers and
eventually, the world’s oceans.
Developed nations are still the major reac-
tive nitrogen polluters by their extensive use
of fertilizers and fossil fuels to heat homes and
power the transportation sector of industrial-
ized economies. Nitric oxide is expelled from
automobile tail pipes into the air, settles in
soil, runs off into water which then flows into
coastal systems and oceans, and is evaporated
back into the atmosphere where it falls to earth
as acid rain.
The worst damage is caused by algae blooms
which starve the oceans of oxygen and de-
stroy fisheries and other aquatic life. Reactive
nitrogen has already killed entire swaths of
ocean. To date, scientists have identified over
four hundred dead zones worldwide, and there
may be many more. The Gulf of Mexico dead
zone now stretches 5,800 square miles. The
Long Island Sound dead zone has persisted for
the last twenty years.
Dead zones develop by eutrophication, i.e.,
too much nitrogen or phosphorus is deposited
in water where they act as hyper-nutrients for
surface plankton, most of which is algae, and
cause it to multiply rapidly leading to “algal
blooms” sometime called “brown tide” or “red
tide.” These vast numbers of algae starve the
oceans of oxygen, a condition called “hypoxia,”
i.e., insufficient oxygen, and create dead zones
in seas which normally support the greatest
amount of aquatic life, as there is relatively
little ocean life distant from coastal regions.
Oceanic nitrogen also pollutes the air be-
cause it is converted to nitrous oxide, a green-
house gas.
Mohegan Lake
In Westchester, nitrogen pollution is all
around us. For example, Mohegan Lake near
Peekskill was once a clear and clean recre-
ational lake stocked with fish. Zoning changes
permitted rapid residential development above
the lake in an area previously set aside as wet-
continued on next page
 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE7

Concentration of Reactive Nitrogen Pollution Worldwide

lands. As a result, nitrogen and phosphorous tive water into the Hudson, and was cited sev- of Watershed Assessment and Management,
from sewage and lawn fertilizers flowed down- eral times by the federal Nuclear Regulatory acknowledged that DEC does not collect
hill and choked the lake with oxygen-depleting Commission. data specifically about nitrogen pollution in
algae, turning it into a dark slimy mess. The Westchester -- Are DEC Officials Asleep at Westchester, and that DEC’s limited focus on
algae killed off the fish and underwater plants. the Switch? nitrogen concerns marine bodies of water like
Mohegan Lake is now regularly dredged, and the Long Island Sound.
air pumps were installed to re-oxygenate it, all The Federal Clean Water Act mandates all
states periodically test water quality and iden- Similarly, Dr. Gopal Sistla, DEC’s Director of
at great cost. the Bureau of Air Quality and Research, and
tify “Impaired Waters” in reports to the federal
The Nuclear Alternative -- Indian Point Environmental Protection Agency. States must staff scientist, Dr. Kevin Civerolo, confirmed
There are presently more than 100 nuclear develop a “Total Maximum Daily Load” of spe- that DEC has no air chemistry testing for ni-
reactors in the United States. Nuclear power cific pollutants restricting waterbody uses. trogen pollution in Westchester. At present,
enthusiasts promote reactors because they DEC performs NO2 testing only in New York
This editor spent over an hour and twenty City and Buffalo.
do not produce much nitrogen to harm wa- minutes speaking with five different repre-
terways. The argument is specious, however, sentatives of the Department of Environmen- Prof. Galloway, a member of The Interna-
because nuclear reactors inflict enormous tal Conservation. No one at the agency could tional Nitrogen Initiative, http://www.initro-
thermal damage on waterways and deplete identify a single chemist or other DEC official gen.org/, believes reactive nitrogen pollution
fish larvae by sucking up river water into plant tasked with measuring and reporting nitrogen can be reduced by fifty-three tons per year or
cooling systems. Just last week, the New York pollution in bodies of water in Westchester, or 28%. Yet, state officials are paying scant atten-
Department of Environmental Conservation even someone knowledgeable about the issue. tion to the problem.
refused to grant Entergy, the utility that runs No data specifically about nitrogen pollution of When the environment is healthy, nitrogen is
the Indian Point reactor in upper Westchester, Westchester’s reservoirs, lakes, rivers, streams inert and the government reactive. Tragically,
a clean water permit. Indian Point draws 2.5 or coastal areas is found on DEC’s website. these days, things are the other way around.
billion gallons of Hudson River water into its Indeed, nitrogen pollution as an independent
reactor cooling systems every day -- twice the environmental issue is not listed anywhere on Concerned Westchester residents should
daily water consumption of New York City the agency’s comprehensive website. contact Governor Patterson’s office, their state
-- and expels it back into the Hudson as hot representatives in Albany, DEC’s Tier III offices
water. This heated water causes massive death In its current draft report to the EPA, the at (845) 256-3000 or Thomas Rudolph, DEC’s
to fish, plankton and fish larvae. Research re- DEC does report that Moriches Bay in Suffolk Regional Water Engineer in White Plains at
vealed Entergy has destroyed up to 60% of County, for example, is impaired by “extensive (914) 428-2505, and demand that DEC col-
some species that would otherwise thrive in algal blooms (Brown Tide)” caused by “elevat- lect data on reactive nitrogen pollution in
the Hudson. ed nitrogen levels,” and identifies other bays Westchester, and develop plans to abate the
throughout Long Island with excess nitrogen. problem here, lest more Westchester waters
Also, the threat of radioactive leakage is ever The report is silent about nitrogen pollution end up like Mohegan Lake.
present. Over the last twenty years, Indian in Westchester bodies of water. Jeff Myers,
Point has leaked small quantities of radioac- an environmental engineer in DEC’s Bureau
PAGE 8 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010

Lessons from the Caravella Exoneration -

Part 1 physical evidence to determine if the two
On March 25, 2010, DNA tests proved Prosecutors sought the death penalty.
Anthony Caravella did not commit a mur- Fortunately, the jury voted 11-1 for life are consistent. Instead, courts typically say
der or sexual battery for which he spent imprisonment. Caravella was released in inconsistencies go to the “weight” of evi-
twenty-six years in a Florida prison. Pros- September following a negative DNA test, dence, not its admissibility at trial, and leave
ecutors secured his conviction based on a but required to wear an ankle bracelet and it to juries to sort out the contradictions.
coerced, false confession extracted from keep an 11:00 P.M. curfew pending further
confirmatory tests. These were done, and In Caravella’s case, however, the stark in-
him when he was but fifteen years old. consistencies between his false confession
Caravella is mildly retarded with an IQ of on March 25th, all charges against him were
and physical evidence in the case was a
67. dropped. The judge declared Caravella was
red flag which should have alerted the trial
actually innocent and apologized on behalf
According to his defense attorney, Diane judge to exclude the confession from evi-
of the State of Florida and its criminal jus-
Cuddihy, police repeat- dence at trial.
edly hit Caravella dur- All police should be re-
ing a lengthy interroga- quired to videotape sta-
tion. The majority of his tionhouse interrogations
statements contradicted from beginning to end
facts police knew from with clear views of both
their investigation. Like- the suspect and his inter-
wise, his later statement rogators. Had that hap-
contradicted five other pened in Caravella’s case,
statements the then teen cameras would have cap-
made over the course of tured police coercion and
an interrogation lasting made it clear police were
seven days. feeding him the informa-
For example: Caravella tion about which he then
said the victim, a wom- “confessed.” Likewise,
an of fifty-eight, was “a Anthony Carvella huging his attorney after his exoneration the presence of cameras
girl”; that she was taller would have prevented
tice system. police from hitting the boy, a fact they con-
than he, which was not true; the murder
weapon was a butcher knife, when in fact, veniently omitted from their trial testimony
The tragedy of this case is that DNA test-
it was a steak knife; three other juveniles ing was not necessary to understand a mis- which persuaded the jury to convict.
participated in the stabbing, but later, that carriage of justice had occurred based on the Studies by psychologists about false con-
he acted alone; he never choked the victim false confession of a retarded boy. Courts fessions reveal that suspects with mental
who, in fact, had been strangled; there was are traditionally concerned only with the illness or other mental deficiencies try to
no chair at the crime scene in an elemen- constitutional requirement that confes- compensate for their limitations by being
tary school, when, in fact, a chair was at the sions be voluntary, not physically coerced. cooperative with their interrogators. Cor-
scene. Cuddihy noted police fed her client To date, courts have paid little emphasis to rective legislation is needed to insure such
other details about the crime by the time interrogation techniques employed by po- people are provided with an attorney prior
he made his fifth “confession.” lice to extract false confessions. Likewise, to questioning. Waiver of the right to have
courts do not measure confessions against an attorney present during questioning is
 The Westchester Guardian
not meaningful if the person be-
ing questioned lacks the mental
resources to understand the sig-
nificance of the right he or she is
waiving.
Likewise, special care must to
be taken when police interrogate
juveniles, as they are particularly
vulnerable to making false con-
fessions. It should be mandatory
that juveniles have an attorney
present during questioning, not
just a parent, as the law in most
places currently requires.
Sadly, the failure of the trial
judge in Caravella’s case is by
no means rare. The bench and
bar must inaugurate programs
to educate judges about the
variables which recur in wrong-
ful conviction causes, including
false confessions, to put a stop
to this terrible injustice.
Prosecutors must remember
their duty is to seek justice, not
merely win convictions. Surely,
the Florida prosecutors who se-
cured Caravella’s conviction had
to know his confession was bo-
gus. Yet, in their zeal to convict,
Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 9
they put an innocent boy away
for twenty-six years and ruined
his life. He can never get those
years back again.
Police officers who strike
suspects should be prosecuted.
Although beating suspects is
illegal, and can be prosecuted
under state and federal law,
these laws are rarely enforced.
Lastly, and most impor-
tantly, Caravella’s case illus-
trates the unacceptable risk
the death penalty poses to
our criminal justice system.
Had the jury voted to ex-
ecute, Caravella would have
been put to death as an inno-
cent man. He was lucky that
the jury voted to spare him
and put him in prison for
life instead. Had they voted
for death, he would not have
lived long enough to have
been cleared, and the state’s
fatal mistake in convicting
an innocent man would have
been buried forever along
with his dead body.
PAGE 10 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010

Getting A Jump Start On College

by Catherine Wilson
This week, high school seniors tionally, summer sessions were activities like excursions to the not affiliated with any college.
anxiously await acceptance no- offered only to college students Cotswolds and London on eve- They simply rent campus facili-
tices from colleges and univer- who took courses unavailable nings and weekends. The two- ties. Students considering these
sities. For many applicants, get- during winter and spring semes- week program costs approxi- programs should investigate
ting in is a long shot. Popular ters, or those intent on graduat- mately $5,000 for tuition, room, them to determine if interest-
public colleges like SUNY Bing- ing early, or those who needed board and round-trip airfare. ing classes are offered, whether
hamton accept but one in twelve to fulfill additional course re- courses qualify for college cred-
applicants. For New York’s most quirements for programs like For many, however, atten- it, and the credentials of those
elite colleges, acceptance is pre-med. dance at elite schools abroad is teaching the courses.
even more difficult. Last year, cost-prohibitive. For these stu-
for example, Colgate Univer- In recent years, however, a dents, there are many options at Some colleges do not offer
sity received 7,814 applications growing number of colleges U.S. colleges. For example, the programs specifically geared
from fifty states, D.C. and 123 here and abroad now offer pro- University of Maryland offers to high school students, but do
countries, and admitted 2,461 grams to high school kids hop- a three-week “Young Scholars” allow high school kids to sign
or 31.5% with an average GPA ing to improve their chances for program with college-credit up for normal, college summer
of 3.73 and average combined admission. Faced with increas- courses in things like “Land- classes. This enables the student
SAT scores of 1397. Moreover, ing cutbacks, fewer grants, and scape Architecture,” “Interna- to get to know faculty and ad-
applicants must stand out be- lower alumni donation rates, tional Politics” and “Contro- ministrators, giving them a leg
yond high grades and top stan- many colleges opened their versies in Archaeology,” plus up when applying for admission
dardized test scores. Colgate campuses in summer to gener- activities, workshops, and semi- to that college a semester or two
rejected several hundred vale- ate new revenues, and buildings nars. Students live on campus later.
dictorians and students with and resources that otherwise and formally register with the
laid fallow in years past now college. They experience all as- Many New York colleges fall
perfect test scores.
hum with high school students. pects of collegiate life, from into this category. For example,
In the college admissions living in traditional-style resi- Skidmore College in Saratoga
sweepstakes, local students face Programs vary by college. For dential halls to eating meals in Springs allows high school kids
competition from their peers high academic achievers, one campus dining halls. Program to enroll as full-time students
nationwide, international stu- popular option is summers ses- mentors supervise students to for the summer. Skidmore ad-
dents and displaced workers sions at elite British universities insure their security, and ac- vises applicants to “study what
hoping to bolster their academ- like Oxford and Cambridge. This company kids on weekend field they want to study, not so much
ic credentials and employabil- adds international experience trips, social activities, seminars, what they think they ought
and a prestigious label to their
ity. As a result, an entire cottage and other events. The three- to study” in order to explore
industry of college admissions applications. Oxford’s “Summer week program costs $3,000 for “an area where you feel your
consulting has sprung up to Academy” is open to students tuition, room, board, and all ac- strengths lie” or to “delve into an
help students get into the col- aged 16-19. Each morning, tivities. The University offers up unexplored subject to challenge
lege of their choice. students take elective courses to $800 in financial aid to quali- your perceptions and discover
ranging from drama to public fied students to offset program new fields of knowledge.”
While results are never guar- speaking, and in the afternoons, costs.
anteed, college summer pro- participate in sports like row- Likewise, SUNY schools now
grams represent an increasingly ing or cricket. Students also Some summer programs, like offer summer programs to high
popular strategy to catch an have access to private tutoring, Summer Institute for the Gift- school students. For example,
admission director’s eye. Tradi- SAT preparation, and cultural ed, are run by organizations Alfred University has a spe-
 The Westchester Guardian
cialized program in astronomy
designed for kids interested in
pursuing college education in
the physical sciences or math.
The program is staffed by Alfred
Physics Department faculty and
covers topics like variable star
photometry, asteroid astrome-
try, imaging of nebulae, clusters
and galaxies, solar activity, lu-
nar and planetary science, solar
flares, stellar evolution, galactic
structure, cosmology and spec-
troscopy, etc.
Like their Maryland and Ox-
ford counterparts, the SUNY
Alfred program is not all work
and no play. Alfred assures
students that, when they are
not in classes, “students enjoy
planned recreational activities
which may include indoor and
outdoor games, movies, a visit
to nearby Foster Lake for pic-
nics and campfires, swimming,
hiking, social gatherings at the
Terra Cotta Coffee House, and a
farewell party on the last night.”
The week-long program is avail-
able to students in grades 10 –
12 and costs $895 for tuition,
materials, room, board, and all
activities. For some parents,
that’s less than the home costs
to feed and entertain their teen-
ager for a week.
Likewise, Syracuse University,
SUNY Geneseo, Ithaca College,
and Sarah Lawrence in Bronx-
ville all have high school sum-
mer programs. Westchester
Community College offers an
art portfolio development pro-
gram for teens sixteen and up
who plan to apply to art schools.
Some colleges, like SUNY Bing-
hamton and Brooklyn College,
even offer summer courses to
Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 11
middle school students.
Applying to these summer
programs is often more costly
than applying to colleges. Many
summer programs charge a
non-refundable $100-250 ap-
plication fee, and often, the fee
is not applicable to the cost of
the program. In addition, some
colleges do not guarantee an ap-
plicant will be able to take his or
her preferred courses. Students
should select summer programs
with care as these programs are
relatively new, not regulated by
the state Department of Edu-
cation, and many high school
counselors are unfamiliar with
them.
For some kids, a taste of real
college life is often enough to in-
spire them to study harder dur-
ing the school year. Others may
defer college for a year or two un-
til they feel they are truly ready.
Some may decide a particular
college is not for them after all.
For more information, parents
and students should log onto
www.summeroncampus.com
which provides links to many of
the summer programs, includ-
ing sports camps and non-col-
lege-affiliated programs in New
York.
PAGE 12 The Westchester Guardian
The World Traveler
I looked back over past columns to review keep in mind the site features U.S. destina-
the numerous websites I utilized when pre- tions only, but covers all fifty states.
paring for travel. Next time, I’ll share the
results of this review regarding my plans for
France at the end of this coming May.
***
Last year, I wrote exclusively one week
about one of my favorite websites, www.
yelp.com, and referred to it at least once or
twice thereafter. It is not a travel website
per se, but is very useful when research-
ing things to do about any destination you
have in mind. For example, look up “The
Museum of Natural History,” and you will
find user reviews and related links to other
area things to do under the Google map on
each page.
The site www.uptake.com (“your first
step to a great trip”) may have taken a page
from www.yelp.com because it has a simi-
lar feel and functionality, including em-
bedded maps. Uptake.com is meant to be
a travel site, and partly, a meta-website. As
stated on its home page, it “searches 5000
travel websites and 20 million opinions at
once.” Not surprisingly, many of the opin-
ions are those of Yelpers. Travelers must
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Uptaken
The user is greeted with a clear, simple
homepage. First, you are prompted to type
in a “what” and “where” in separate box-
es, though the “what” is not necessary to
yield search results. The site prompts you
with lots of ideas: try options like “family
things to do” in “the Adirondacks.” After
you choose a place, whether it be an exact
location, a county, state, region, and the
like, Uptake.com will suggest ideas on but-
tons below. There are thoughtfully practi-
cal ideas, like “just get away” (my personal
favorite), “family vacation,” “romantic get-
away,” “pet friendly,” “feelin’ broke,” “his-
torical,” and “girls getaway”.
With tongue firmly in cheek, I tried “fee-
lin’ broke” in Mt. Kisco to put it to the
test. Like Google, it will search and sug-
gest on the fly. The familiar and unfamiliar
came up. The familiar included Lyndhurst
(house), the John Jay Homestead, Van Cor-
tlandt Manor, Rockefeller State Park, and
Katonah Art Center, with links to their re-
spective websites.
What I did not expect were Cedar Lane
Dog Park and Pace University Aquatics.
This last one does not belong there. As
one reviewer pointed out, “It’s definitely
not cheap.... e.g. $245 for an 8-week ses-
sion of 30-minute classes.”
Uptake.com has useful blogs on many
subjects such as vacations, beaches, res-
taurants, hotels, lodging, attractions, as
well as the travel industry generally.
With tongue removed from cheek, I can
highly recommend this site for finding
what you seek, and perhaps what you’re
not seeking that may provide an unexpect-
ed, refreshing experience. Often, it’s not
the tried-and-true destinations, but in-
stead, the never-considered idea that truly
makes me admire creators of sites like this.
For example, thanks to this website, I de-
cided to reserve a camping spot at a New
York State Park on Long Island this sum-
mer, and not too soon, indeed. I had not
realized how much the park had to offer
or its beauty, and plans to vacation there
simply faded from my bucket list. Sound
familiar?
As the reader can discern, I’ve been tak-
en in by www.uptake.com, a superb source
of information about many travel options.
 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 13

It has gone international ***

since I last visited it. The site
Travel Quotation of the Week
has a surfeit of ideas. You can
always find something to fit I travel in so many different
your travel budget and han- ways; I travel high, I rough it... it
kerings. I suggest using it in all depends on who I travel with.
conjunction with www.kayak. ~Diane von Furstenberg
com which is great for finding
and booking transportation.

wheelsportcenter.net . newrocyamaha.com
PAGE 14 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010

Westchester Blotter
West Harrison Pharmacist Charged in Dispensing Scheme
West Harrison, New York, pharmacist, Scott Burko, age forty-
seven, was charged this week in White Plains federal court in a
bizarre, three-year conspiracy to dispense Prednisone, a non-an-
abolic steroid used to reduce inflamation in bronchial tissues to
treat asthma and interstitial tissues to treat arthritis and other joint
disorders.
Prosecutors allege that Burko dispensed the drug – which is not a
drug of abuse – eighty-one times in ten milligram doses to fictional
patients from April, 2005 to the end of March, 2008.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years
in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Eighty-one individual
counts of fraudulently dispensing the Prednisone carry a maximum
sentence of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

IBM Executive Pleads Guilty In Massive Insider Trading Case

Last week, Robert Moffat, Jr., a former senior executive at Armonk-
based, International Business Machines Corp., pled guilty to securities
fraud involving the largest hedge fund insider trading case in history.
Moffat passed inside information to a Danielle Chiesi about a forth-
coming business deal in involving Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., a com-
puter chip maker and one of Intel’s main competitor. Moffat was IBM’s
Senior Vice President and Group Executive in its Systems and Technol-
ogy Group, and learned that AMD planned to spin off its manufacturing
business into a separate entity because AMD needed a license from IBM
to do the deal which involved certain IBM technology.
Chiesi worked for New Castle Partners, an equity hedge fund group
affiliated with JPMorgan Chase. The pair were overheard on federal wire-
taps. Moffat assured Chiesi the deal was going down, giving her a chance
to make a killing on trades of IBM and AMD stock. Ironically, New Castle
never realized a profit due to turmoil in the markets caused by the 2008
fiscal crisis.
Moffat, who lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut, faces up to twenty years
in prison and a $5 million fine. He will be sentenced on July 26, 2010. His
guilty plea marks the 11th conviction in the feds’ ongoing insider trading
investigation.

Rouge Sleepy Hollow Cop Charged With Witness Tampering

Sleepy Hollow police detective, Jose Quinoy, previously charged with
federal civil rights violations based on the savage beating of two hand-
cuffed suspects in police custody, was charged last week with witness
tampering after he tried to induce a witness to lie about the beating inci-
dents on October 17th and December 17th, 2006.

Quinoy faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison on the

new charge, and ten years on each count based on the beatings.

Quinoy, age thirty-seven, lives in Tarrytown.

sca 718.665.2659 Francesca linopress@aol.
a

The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 15

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PAGE 16
COMMUNTIY CALENDAR: FREE Listing for events that are free and open to all. Page Editor & Designer: Marike
Thurs. April 15 Fri. April 16
Ecology: Moss and Lichen Lab
Slide Show & Lecture highlights
the beauty of mosses and lichens
and their amazing lifestyles.
Free. 7:00pm Westchester
County Parks Dept. Cranberry
Lake Preserve, Old Orchard
Street, North White Plains, NY
10603. 914.428.1005 (F/U hike
on Sat., April 17 @ 1p.m.) Co-
sponsor:Central Westchester
Audubon Society. westchester-
gov.com/parks/naturecenters
Support Group meets once,
monthly: Support Connec-
tion, Inc., an NFP org. offer-
ing free support services to
people affected by breast and
ovarian cancer. Facilitated by
a trained peer counselor who
has experienced breast can-
cer. Topics pertaining to living
with breast cancer through all
stages of diagnosis, treatment
and post-treatment. 7:00 – 8:00
PM FREE - Pre-Registration
is Req.Putnam Hospital, 670
Stoneleigh Avenue, Carmel, NY,
914-962-6402. info@support-
connection.org
supportconnection.org
_____________________
Neuberger Museum of Art,
SUNY Purchase offers a
program for individuals with
Alzheimer’s Disease and their
family members or care part-
ners. Specially trained docents
guide visitors through exhibi-
tions for a shared, positive so-
cial experience. FREE. Limited
space; reservations are req.:
914.251.6110.
neuberger.org
The Westchester Guardian
Sat. April 17 Sun. April 18
Wii Fun Friday Kids Compe-
tition takes place on the big
screen in The Trove’s Galaxy
Hall. For boys and girls in
grades 1 to 5. Additional Infor-
mation: Limited Seating/Arrive
early: tickets are given out on
a first-come, first-served basis
30 min. before the start of the
program. FREE/Hrs: 4:30 pm
White Plains Public Library 100
Martine Ave.,White Plains. Info:
Reference Desk 914-422-1480
whiteplainslibrary.org
________________________
River Lovers Pot Luck Dinner
& Meeting. 6:30pm Join River
Lovers and learn what’s hap-
pening on our natural heritage
river. 6:30 p.m. Free; West-
chester County Parks Dept.
Croton Point Nature Center,
Croton Point Park, Croton Point
Avenue,Croton-on-Hudson, NY,
914.862.5297
riverlovers.org
________________________
Gardening: Lyndhurst Car-
riage House April 16-17,The
Gilded Cage; 10am – 4pm.
Presented by the Garden Club
of Irvington-on-Hudson. Show
honors Victorian era & Lynd-
hurst: flower arrangements,
Victorian horticultural specimen
favorites, terrariums, topiar-
ies, landscape and horticultural
photography; conservation ex-
hibit. One exhibition class will
includes a display of hats from
the Lyndhurst costume collec-
tion. Maintenance of the Rose
Garden at Lyndhurst has been
the principal project of The Gar-
den Club of Irvington, a GCA
affiliated Garden Club, for more
than 40 yrs. Show open to the
public at no charge. Reg Charg-
es apply to tours of mansion:
lyndurst.org
Mon. April 19 Tues. April 20
Gardening: Lyndhurst. April
16-17, The Gilded Cage – Flow-
er Show held in the Carriage
House. Show open to the public
at no charge; Reg Charges ap-
ply to tours of mansion.
lyndurst.org
________________________
Jazz Singer: ‘Michelle LeBlanc’
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm @ Mt. Kisco
Public Library, 100 Main St. Mt.
Kisco. Presented by Friends of
the Mount Kisco Library. Free
mountkiscolibrary.org
_______________________
Bird Watching: 9:00am. Learn
binocular and field guide use,
tips on field marks, shape and
behavior that will help you
start on a lifelong hobby. Bring
your own binoculars and field
guides if you have them. West-
chester County Parks Dept.
Marshlands Conservancy,
Rte.1, Rye, NY. 914.835.4466
westchestergov.com/parks/
naturecenters
Gardening: Wave Hill FREE
adm. every Tues. and Sat. morn.
9AM to Noon year round. Spon-
sored by Target, providing public
access to the arts in our com-
munity. Ongoing gallery exhibi-
tions, Family Art Project listings
and more on Target Free Days.
West 249th Street and Inde-
pendence Ave. (front gate) 675
West 252nd St. (mailing) Bronx,
NY 10471-2899. Sat.: Free 9am
- noon year-round. Parking (ef-
fective May 1, 2008) Onsite: $8
per vehicle. Free offsite parking
nearby w continuous, comp.
shuttle van. wavehill.org
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Fourth Annual Autism
Information Fair: Interventions,
Services & Supports avail. for all
ages. Visit over 75 information
stations and participate in all
new programs. Sunday 11am-
3:30pm. FREE. Westchester
County Center 198 Central Ave.,
White Plains, NY 10606
navigatingthespectrum.org
Earth Day Celebration Ken-
sico Dam Plaza, Valhalla.10a.
m-4p.m. Greener, sustainable
living ideas; live music; local
farmers market; Free adm. &
parking. Annie and the Natural
Wonder Band; Jeff Boyer: “The
Attainable, Sustainable energy
Show,”- fun experiments and
visual effects show young au-
diences how wind and solar
energy are transformed into us-
able “green” power. The Solar
Punch band will use solar en-
ergy exclusively. 914.813.5425
or westchestergov.com.
______________________
Ecology:Mushrooms & Lichen
Often overlooked, fungi and li-
chen are legion; their importance
incalculable. Walk with natural-
ist Taro Letaka and change the
way you walk through the forest.
Bring a notebook. Sun. 2 p.m.
FREE. Marshlands Conservan-
cy, Rte. 1, Rye westchester-
gov.com/parks/naturecenters.
______________________
Family Farm Fun at Muscoot
Farm: 1-3p.m. Katonah. Join
farm staff in playing old fash-
ioned games & having fun.
muscootfarm.org
Support Group 10:15 -
11:15am meets once monthly.
Support Connection, Inc., an
NFP org. Free support services
to people affected by breast and
ovarian cancer. Facilitated by
a trained peer counselor who
has experienced breast can-
cer. Topics pertaining to living
with breast cancer through all
stages of diagnosis, treatment
and post-treatment. 3rd Monday
of each month-10:15 – 11:15
AM Free - Pre-Registration is
Required Mahopac Public Li-
brary, 668 Route 6, Mahopac,
NY 914-962-6402 info@sup-
portconnection.org support-
connection.org
_________________________
Child Enrichment: White
Plains Public Library. 4:00
- 6:30 PM. Spend 15 minutes
with a reading coach. Learn to
read better and improve your
school work. First through fifth
grade with parent. Register
beginning the previous week.
Registration Ends: 4/19/2010 at
4:00 PM Rosemary Rasmussen
914-422-1476.
whiteplainslibrary.org
3rd Annual Wheelchair Bas-
ketball Tournament: Hosted
by the Barrier Breakers from Ce-
rebral Palsy of Westchester. Ex-
hibition Game at 7:00 p.m. The
NY Rollin Knicks vs. the Bulova
Nets. 6pm Free Westchester
County Center 198 Central Ave,
White Plains , NY 10606. Joan
Colangelo 914-937-3800 X 215
Westchester County Center. E-
mail: joan.colangelo@cpwest-
chester.org.
Gardening: Wave Hill FREE
admission every Tuesday and
Saturday morning from 9AM to
Noon year round. Sponsored
by Target to providie public
access to the arts in our com-
munity. Ongoing gallery exhibi-
tions, Family Art Project listings
and more on Target Free Days.
West 249th Street and Indepen-
dence Avenue (front gate) 675
West 252nd Street (mailing)
Bronx, NY 10471-2899. Free
all day Tues. during off-peak
months (November–April, July
& August); Free 9am - noon
during peak months (May, June,
September, October); Sat.: Free
9am - noon year-round. Parking
(effective May 1, 2008) Onsite:
$8 per vehicle. Nearby offsite
parking is free with continuous,
comp van service. wavehill.org

Email Submissions for County Calendar to editor@westchesterguardian.com Attn: Marike
Wed. April 21
Downtown Music @ Grace
Church, White Plains 1:00pm.
Take the A Train: The Earl
Brown Quartet with flutist Pa-
mela Sklar. Classic Jazz. Free.
Mamaroneck & Main.
gracewhiteplains.com
Music at St. Paul’s Church,
Mt. Vernon:1pm. Series of solo
and ensemble performances
featuring a variety of instru-
ments, styles and sounds of
music. Programs run about
50 minutes, and include brief
talks on the history of St. Paul’s
N.H.S. Bronx Opera, selections,
accompanied by organ. FREE.
National Historic Site, 897 S.
Columbus Avenue, Mt. Vernon,
New York 914-667-4116
nps.gov/sapa
The Westchester Guardian
Thurs. April 22
History Lecture: 7:30 p.m.,
Lincoln and his connections
to New York, Bruce Museum
Life-Size Lecture Series Harold
Holzer, Senior Vice President
for External Affairs, Metropoli-
tan Museum of Art, and Curator
of Lincoln and New York at the
New-York Historical Society,
Free to Museum members; $5
at the door for non-members.
Reservations are strongly rec-
ommended: 203.869.0376. One
Museum Point, Greenwich.
brucemuseum.org
_____________________
Medicare 101 County Office
Building 9 S. First Ave., 8th
floor, Mount Vernon 10 a.m.
to noon. Learn the basics of
Medicare (Parts A, B, C and D),
Medigap insurance and more.
Programs are free but reserva-
tions are requested. To sign up,
call the Medicare Information
Line at 914.813.6100. senior-
citizens.westchestergov.com
______________________
Traumatic Brain Injury Sup-
port Group: 6:30-8PM Burke
Hospital White Plains for sur-
vivors of traumatic brain injury
& caregivers. Wood Pavilion,
Bldg. 7 Rm G-41 785 Mam Ave.
Janet Goodman 914.587.2237
jgoodman@burke.org
Fri. April 23
Star-Gazing & Public Lecture:
8:00-8:30 PM Telescope Ob-
servation: 8:30-10:00PM, Co-
lumbia University, Pupin 301
David Helfand: The Universal
Timekeepers:Reconstruct-
ing Pre-History Atom by Atom
Astrophotography Slideshow:
8:30-10:00 PM
outreach.astro.columbia.edu
Star-Gazing: Hudson River
Museum Free Friday Nights
@ 6:30 pm, New Star Show
Departure. Space journey half
a century into the future: il-
lustrations, graphics, & video,
produced at the Museum’s plan-
etarium. Learn the realities of
space travel befor departing via
orbital shuttle. What challenges
do humans face as we step be-
yond Earth? What dangers must
be overcome? Are there places
we will never see in person?
Your destination is a secret until
takeoff and may surprise you!
Ages 8 +; 511 Warburton Ave.,
Yonkers 914.963.4550 hrm.org
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sat. April 24
Birding: Marshlands Conser-
vancy. First Spring Migration
Bird Walk: Series; early morn-
ing bird walks on alt. Saturdays
and Sundays during spring
migration. Birds tend to arrive
in an area on almost the same
date each yr., depending upon
their species. Bring binoculars
Sat. 7:30am. Free. Rte 1 Rye.
914.835.4466 westchester-
gov.com/parks/naturecenters
________________________
How To Think Like a Tracker
Edith G. Read Sanctuary,
Playland Park, Rye. Learn to
see animal tracks and clues as
we investigate nearby fields and
forests. Discover how the land-
scape influences animals and
how animals impact the land.
An intermediate level program,
for ages 12 and up. Saturday 1
p.m. Free: 914.967.8720.
westchestergov.com/parks/
naturecenters
_______________________
Tilly Foster Farm: Spring
Fling April 24-25 10:00 am
– 3:00 pm. Hudson Valley Draft
Horse Assoc., plowing demon-
stration, sheep sheering, an-
tique tractors and machinery,
rare American farm animals,
student show and more! tilly-
fosterfarm.org
PAGE 17
great stuff on the web:
garrisonartcenter.org: Virtual Gallery
Worth the trip from Westchester; if you don’t
have time, take a culture break and visit their
online gallery.
pelham library.org Learning Express
Auralog This website rocks as an online
resource! Create online account to access
courses for adults and children. Courses in-
clude Algebra, GED; Occupational practice
tests; Workplace skill improvements, class-
es for students:elementary though college
and resources for Spanish speakers.Can’t
sleep? Use your library card to dowload a li-
brary book online!
portchesterlibrary.org Directory of im-
migrant services. Download E-books.
wowwwellness.org Women’s Health Spread
the Word! The WOW coalition seeks to ed-
ucate, empower, and advocate to improve
health outcomes and eliminate health dis-
parities among women of color in Northern
Westchester County.
PAGE 18 The Westchester Guardian
Tea Party Hate Speech con’t
the Cannon House office building, they encoun-
tered a crowd of TEA Party protestors scream-
ing over and over: “Kill the bill … Nigger.”
A short time later, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
was greeted by a “patriot” (they call themselves
patriots) who yelled “Barney, you faggot.” Fellow
“patriots” erupted in laughter. And then, yet an-
other black congressman, Emanuel Cleaver (D-
MO), was not only insulted with racial epithets
but spat upon.
Throughout American history, there have al-
ways been groups that spew hatred. But not since
the battles for civil rights have these groups been
mainstream. Now, they’ve re-emerged with a
vengeance -- not simply tolerated, but incited by
malignant speech from state and national leaders
of one of the two major parties of the American
political system -- the Republican Party.
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) has been a
leading instigator of violence. She called on all
Minnesotans to be “armed and dangerous on
this issue of the energy tax because we need to
fight back.” She was an originator of the false
“death panel” claims and questioned President
Obama’s patriotism. She even insinuated that
any members of Congress who disagree with her
are anti-American.
During Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-MI) speech on
the floor of the House, Rep. Randy Neugebauer
(R-TX) shouted “baby killer”-- even though Stu-
pak, to the consternation of many Democratic
colleagues, fought to insure that no government
funds are allocated for abortions.
From the supposedly “serious” and “influential”
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “Nancy Pelosi,
I think, has got them all liquored up on sake and,
you know, they’re making a suicide run here.”
Rep. Steve King (R-IA): “They intend to vote
Thursday, April 15, 2010
on the Sabbath, during Lent, to take away the
liberty that we have right from God…. This is an
affront to God.”
Sarah Palin: “It’s not a time to retreat. It’s a time
to reload.”
Rep. Paul Broun (R- GA), wishing he were back
in the segregated south: “If ObamaCare passes,
that free insurance card that’s in people’s pockets
is gonna be as worthless as a Confederate dollar
after the war between the states -- the Great War
of Yankee Aggression.”
I don’t blame TEA Partiers for their ignorance.
I admonish them, however, because they are be-
ing used by those who fuel members’ anger as
a way to make a buck. It’s not the fault of TEA
Party enthusiasts that media focuses on political
conflict instead of issues.
But I condemn most vehemently a Republican
Party for opening the floodgates of hate with its
vitriolic speech. This is a party that, for the last
six decades, protected health insurance company
interests at the expense of the public by scaring
people. This time, Republicans have gone too far.
They are willing to weaken both government and
the country just to possibly regain the majority in
the 2010 elections. They have incited and used
racists as their political henchmen.
Former Republican House Speaker, Newt Gin-
grich, likened passage of health reform to civil
rights legislation: “They will have destroyed their
party much as Lyndon Johnson shattered the
Democratic Party for forty years.” Clearly, Ging-
rich and his Party will choose to be on the wrong
side of history –- as long as they perceive it to be
politically advantageous.
(Note: Backlash to Gingrich’s statement has
been swift and severe. He has backtracked and
reinterpreted his own words saying he did “not
mean civil rights legislation,” but President John-
son’s Great Society Programs.)
from Our Readers con’t
Alvin taught art to children in Kingston and New
Rochelle school systems, and at N.Y.U. The blind
he taught were able to produce sensitive ceram-
ics. He also taught children in camp settings. His
love of nature was reflected in his work. He spent
much of his early life sketching at Bronx Botanical
Gardens. Lenoir Preserve and Marshland Sanctu-
ary became his later haunts. Travel would take him
to water, another source of inspiration. City Island,
Booth Bay Harbor, Cape Ann, Montauk and Sag
Harbor were some very special places to him.
Eva Medoff in the Yonkers Record, “Focus on The
Arts”, called his small oils, rich with luminous color,
“little poems.” Alvin Most was poetic, always. His
artistic passion was motivated by everyday experi-
ences, catastrophic events, nature and its changing
seasons, birds, sea life, flowers, biblical themes, the
circus, Mohegan Island, Cape Cod, Amish people,
and the architecture of old European and Latin cit-
ies.
My second exhibition at the WRG in 1993 was
dedicated to Alvin’s artworks. Another friend, Noel
De Gaetano, has shown Alvin’s works yearly at
NOEL Fine Art Gallery in Bronxville since 1994.
As a result The New York Times dedicated a few
columns to Alvin’s artwork on Sunday March 20,
1994, with an article by William Zimmer entitled
“Finding an answer to who is Alvin Most.”
Alvin would not work under the direction of
some New York art galleries who approached him
over the years; he was a purist who insisted in do-
ing only the works in which his passion believed.
He could only trust a few colleagues and friends
and remained an isolated artist in Yonkers, missing
all the opportunities for national prominence that
came his way. He preferred to collaborate with oth-
er artists who recognized his quality work; Alvin
never gave into commercial interests, a true poet
and a purist man, almost obsessed by his perfec-
tionism which is evident in his creations.
Biagio (Gino) Civale
StudioCivale@msn.com
Beauty Salon
Booth’s for Rent
 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 19

Public Service Announcements

w w w. w e s t c h e s t e r g u a r d i a n o n l i n e . c o m
Public Service Announcements - Library News
PAGE 20 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 21
PAGE 22 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Ides of April:

Mercury Stations Retro grade, the Sun-Enters Taurus
The Explosive Pluto Station It’s a time when we need to move slower, double
check our work, and be patient with communica-
The devastating suicide bombings in Moscow, a tion and transportation glitches.
7.2 earthquake (and aftershocks) in Baja Califor-
nia, a 7.7 quake in Sumatra (Indonesia), increased A planet’s “apparent” retrograde motion is just
bombings in Baghdad (with at least 50 fatalities and that: from Earth’s standpoint, the planet appears
180 injuries), a deadly explosion in a Washington to be sliding in reverse. But through centuries of
State oil refinery, a home that exploded into a pile of studying the phenomenon, astrologers have learned
rubble in South Amboy, New Jersey, a gang-related that retrogrades are significant in the charts of in-
wilding replete with shootings in Times Square, an dividuals and that the stations in particular do co-
underground explosion that shut down West 52nd incide with world events. A “station” is the precise
Street in Manhattan, and the most deadly mining moment that a planet appears to stop and change
disaster (West Virginia) in the U.S. in twenty-six direction, and it is very powerful. With the excep-
years, following one in China which miraculously tion of the Sun and the Moon, almost all planets
many survivors were rescued, and scientists at the spend a certain amount of time retrograde annu-
Large Hadron Collider successfully crashing sub- ally (with Venus, it happens every eighteen months
atomic particles into each other, these are but a and with Mars, approximately every two years).
few of the (mostly) disturbing manifestations of the Pluto is retrograde nearly five months each year.
Pluto station of April 6th, and what a hit parade it Pluto stations are notoriously reliable in their de-
is! liverance of volcanic activity, bombs, earthquakes,
and the eruption of intensely powerful emotional
What exactly is a “planetary station” and what if energy on a personal and collective level, but this
anything should you or could you do about them in particular one takes the cake, and as of this writing,
the future? my assumption is that there will be more stories of
this nature before it is all over.
By now, just about everyone has heard about
Mercury Retrograde, the planetary event that hap- When a Pluto, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, or Sat-
pens thrice yearly and lasts for between 21-24 days. urn station is at hand, it is best not to dive into a
flurry of activity and to think twice about major
trips, moves, and attending “big crowd” events that
could get out of hand. In other words, err on the
side of caution. Life does and should go on, and as-
trology is not meant to paralyze us but to inform
and empower us. Use the language of the stars for
timing and as a means to help decide when to leap
and when to take it slow.
Mercury Retrograde begins at the stroke of mid-
night on April 18th. The “station” is in effect on the
17th and 18th, and travel those days should be ap-
proached with extra caution and on an as-needed
basis. There could be extra delays and issues on the
road and on the tracks, less so in the air (since this
Mercury Retro is in an earth sign – Taurus). Com-
puter freezes and issues with telephones and Black-
berries are likely as well, so just chill.
Tax Day, which falls on the 18th, has the Moon in
Taurus and is close to the mercury station. It would
not surprise me if a significant amount of the work
submitted could fall prey to computer glitches,
errors, and some of it may even get lost. For the
record, the Moon squares Mars at 7:36 AM and
conjoins Mercury at 5:55 pm, so later in the day is
better for filing than the morning.

ARIES: Looking out for number
one does have a downside, espe-
cially if that is all you have been up
to of late. On Sunday, rather than run
hither, thither, and yon for no ap-
parent reason, see if there’s a group
within your community that can use
a hand. Helping them somehow does
you a world of good. Mercury in re-
verse in your 2nd house of income
may force you to take a few financial
steps backward and to regroup. Not
to worry, the Sun lights up that sec-
tor of your chart and for the next 30
days supports you along practical
lines. Don’t fight it.
TAURUS: When, if ever, is going
back on one’s word justified, and if
so, in what way can you compensate
for the backsliding and make it right
for all concerned? One way is to lend
your formidable life-force and win-
ning smile to the good works of a
group or organization whose efforts
you respect and are in alignment
with. This is your time of year, you
know, and when the Sun enters your
sign on the 20th for a month, your en-
ergy will pick up, especially after your
birthday. You may be able to handle
what you previously thought was im-
possible. Let bygones be bygones.
GEMINI: Mercury Retrograde
periods are rarely seamless but they
always present an opportunity to re-
view and revise our way of thinking
about things and if we’re smart (and
Geminis ARE), we get to fix situa-
tions with no one being the wiser. The
last time your quixotic ruler was in
reverse exclusively in the sign of Tau-
rus was in 2003. Think back to that
year and see if and how anything that
transpired at that time is still play-
 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010 PAGE 23

ing out in your life today. You’re in a
place to dig in deep and quietly shift
things at a profound level. Go with it,
as this will lay the groundwork for a
fabulous Summer and Fall.
CANCER: There’s safety in num-
bers and along those lines, this week,
your greatest sense of security comes
via the company you keep. The 24
day Mercury retro period which be-
gins on April 17 is in your communal
11th house. One or two pals that you
haven’t seen for a spell may come out
of the woodwork. At this time, you’ll
be moved to re-evaluate your circle
of friends: Who amongst them is
worth their salt, and who is just plain
window dressing. Not that there’s
anything wrong with having a few
surface players in the mix, but know
that you’re nurtured and sustained
by substance and gravitas.
LEO: As shallow as it sounds,
keeping up appearances this week
will make all the difference in the
world, especially when meeting with
those friendly folks who sign off on
the financials. Venus at the top of
your chart is in a happy alliance with
Jupiter in your 8th house of banks,
lenders, and shared resources over
the weekend. If you need to apply
for a loan and your bank is open on
Saturday, all the better. If not you can
mail or submit the paperwork then.
The Retrograde in your career house
is indicative of one step forwards/
two steps backwards mojo regarding
overall career direction but that will
smooth out in four to six weeks.
VIRGO: Staying enthusiastic about
your life and work when you’re not
sure that those you’re aligned with
have their hearts in the right place
is a challenge. But whether or not
your ‘work peeps’ are coming from a
place of integrity, for the sake of your
well-being, YOU must. During this
Mercury retro period, you’re encour-
aged to carefully and thoroughly take
stock of what motivates you to keep
on keeping on. Yes, you have bills to
pay and other obligations, but if you
can’t face yourself at the end of the
day, feeling that your energy’s been
invested wisely, it’s time to start look-
ing elsewhere.
LIBRA: This long-ish Mercury ret-
ro (April 17-May12) will focus you
on analyzing and adjusting deeply
entrenched financial habits and the
core-beliefs about money, supply,
and the lack of fairness with how
sources flow in this society. Though
you’re capable of wielding tremen-
dous influence on your environment,
you can’t change the entire world in
one fell swoop, but you CAN change
yourself. If approached with the will
to dig deep and transform what hasn’t
worked for you along economic lines,
this is your chance to fix it once and
for all.
SCORPIO: No man (or woman)
is an island you know, and every so
often we must tend to those pesky
terms of endearment and mend any-
thing between ourselves, a partner,
a BFF, or significant other that’s in
disrepair. The focus for the next few
weeks for Scorpio is on relationships
(personal and business) and the nu-
ances of communication that keep
them healthy and thriving –or not.
It is imperative for you to have pa-
tience and to listen in between the
lines. Also, if you feel that you haven’t
been understood, be diplomatic but
emphatic about being heard.
SAGITTARIUS: Though you
thrive on forward and ever-accelerat-
ing motion, even you galloping cen-
taurs need to slow down and revisit
and review the nitty gritty details of
your day to day existence. For the
next four weeks, your health, diet,
and relationships at work and with
subordinates must be given your
undivided attention. In the health
department- have your thyroid and
throat area checked. Are you saying
everything that needs to be said or do
you assume that you’re surrounded
by mind-readers? At work, be patient
during this period of reorganization.
It’ll all work out in the end.
CAPRICORN: This particular
mercury retrograde (April 17-May
12) could be especially sweet as it
will undoubtedly bring back a love
connection or tow for a chance to
capture what was lost in the shuffle
way back when. And whether you’re
available or not, re-establishing con-
tact will not only nourish your soul,
but it could be very helpful career-
wise. Don’t force anything that you
know in your gut isn’t right. And
even if you’re not in any particular
mood for romance, the energy will
get your creative juices flowing again.
Be open to establishing new connec-
tion son your beat.
AQUARIUS: If you haven’t spruced
up your abode in a while, or see too
many deferred projects everywhere
you look, now’s the time to tend to
all of them. During this Mercury
Retro (April 17-May 12), the focus is
on the value of your home, how you
feel when you’re in it, and taking time
with family members –by birth and
by choice- to clarify misunderstand-
ings and to reinforce the ‘gold’ that
exists between you. Aquarians don’t
especially relish intimate deep talks,
and prefer to keep things on a truth-
ful but impersonal keel. But going
outside of your comfort zone will be
so worth the trouble.
PISCES: Your best medicine this
week could come by way of some
‘quality time’ with a sister or a sweet
neighbor whose genuine fondness
for you makes you feel like you’re
on top of the world. That plus a little
focus and some elbow grease will
enable you to get to the head of the
class so to speak. The Mercury ret-
rograde which begins on April 17th,
could coincide with some road work
or repairs in the hood that slows or
interrupts your commute. Allow for
extra time to get to and fro between
now and the middle of May. Repair
any sidewalks or walkways on prop-
erty that you own.

April 15: Moon in Taurus

April 17: Moon V/C @ 12:57 am, enters Gemini @ 2:08 am; Venus sextile Jupiter @ 4:43 pm

April 18: Mercury Stationary Retrograde @ 12:06 am; Sun sextile Neptune @ 4:17 am

April 19: Moon V/C @ 6:21 am, enters Cancer @ 7:39 am

April 20: Sun enters Taurus @ 12:30 am

Taurus Ingress of The Sun
April 21: Moon V/C @ 10:07 am, enters Leo @ 11:42 am, First Quarter Moon @ 2:20 pm
April 20, 2010, 0:29:48 am EDT
New York, N.Y. Moon V/C = Void of Course, A time to disconnect, best for spiritual not earthly pursuits
Solarfire Chart courtesy of Astrolabe
PAGE 24 The Westchester Guardian Thursday, April 15, 2010