Hey everyone, I’m heading off but our new MoJo, Ben Rubin, will be hosting the week in review podcast from now on. Check out his very first one below and feel free to leave a comment!

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Nanuet mourns teen, prays for friend
Spring Valley cop accused of corruption
Ex-Ramapo cop indicted on federal charges
For [...]

I’m back again with the latest Week In Review podcast. Remember, you can view this podcast on your iPod or mobile phone through iTunes.

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Spring Valley man in good condition after colliding with police car in Central Nyack
Rockland legislators, administration quarrel over confusing budget numbers
Spring Valley man gets 2 to 6 years [...]

Hi there, I’m back again with the latest week in review podcast. Take a look below and feel free to leave a comment.

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London stakeout pays off in arrest of New Square fugitive
Airmont woman denies she put son in oven
64 years later, Ed Peterson gets his purple heart
Rockland looking to contact, offer [...]

Last week Tuesday was a fun day for the Heart of the Hudson Girl Scout Troop 40603. Seven girls were awarded with certificates for their efforts to improve recycling throughout Clarkstown.

The girls noticed that many public spaces in Clarkstown don’t have recycling bins. So they pitched an idea for officials to place bins at all [...]

Check out the podcast below for this week’s top stories:

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Tappan Zee suicide prevented
TZB bridge suicide victim ID’d as Yonkers woman, 49
Immigrant’s life in ‘wonderland’ turns tragic
Mom remembers slain 7-year-old daughter
Truck driver faulted in Valley Cottage crash
Kids learn about service, nature in county cleanup
Consumers pay green to go green
Earth Day is celebrated [...]

John Maloney is in the middle of a busy weekend. The Clarkstown Councilman was selected to receive communion from Pope Benedict XVI today and to help give communion at Yankee Stadium tomorrow.

“It’s, I think, very special,” Maloney said. “I’m very happy about this great opportunity.”

Maloney said he was ordained by the Archdiocese of New York [...]

Thanks for stopping by for the Rockland Week in Review, where we look back at the biggest Rockland stories of the past seven days.

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Pearl River man remembered for love of family, friendship
25 arrested in Nyack cocaine raid
Couple, both 18, charged with Pomona home burglary
Residents have two more weeks to fight tree clearing
Rockland [...]

Some of you might remember how several residents on a Congers street were fuming when they found out that Orange and Rockland Utilities planned to remove 50 to 70 trees in their neighborhood. I wrote about it last summer and staff writer Hannan Adely recently wrote about similar issues in Orangetown and Clarkstown:

Trees come down; [...]

The West Nyack Free Library is planning a program on Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to support soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program is called “Operation Home Front” and it encourages people to get involved in two programs sponsored by the United Service Organization. There’s Operation Phone Home, which distributes free phone [...]

Podcast file:

Top stories
Two men die after jumping from Tappan Zee Bridge
Fire burns couple out of their new home in Airmont
Mirant says it will raze Stony Point station
Rockland county exec talks economics, nursing home during address
Demolition of Nyack Icehouse under way

Palisades Center mall stories
Palisades Center reshapes Rockland
Megamall replaces county’s downtowns
Mall a magnet for white-collar [...]

The Clarkstown Town Clerk’s Office will be holding mobile office hours on Sunday, April 6, for people who can’t make it to Town Hall during regular business hours. If you need a dog license, handicapped parking tag or other services, you can find Town Clerk David Carlucci at the Rockland County Youthfest at the Rockland [...]

Don’t forget that the monthly Nanuet Civic Association meeting will be held this Thursday, April 3, same time, same place – at 7:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Nanuet Public Library. At the meeting, Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack will talk about new projects in the hamlet, including an update on the plans to [...]

Podcast file

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Paterson calls for cooperation, confidence in state government
Lower Hudson vigils mark 5 years of war
Feds fault patient care at RPC
Former Clarkstown soccer coach gets prison for raping girl
Costco’s ‘secret’ riles rival gas stations
Nanuet Costco welcomes wave of visitors to bargain gas station
Animal experts warn against Easter pets

Podcast file

Flash video

Spitzer’s resignation:
Spitzer joins a list of govs to quit early
Residents say Spitzer right to resign
Spitzer resigns; Paterson to take over Monday
Call girl at center of gov’s sex scandal
Paterson looks to steady state government
Paterson says he’s ready to govern
Spitzer legal woes mount
Spitzer resigns, felled by prostitution scandal
LoHud women divided over whether Spitzer should resign

Other [...]

Podcast file

Flash video

For Palisades native, war trauma ends in suicide
An evening rush to forget, after building collapse
Some bridge tolls, train tickets increased over weekend
Boy, 15, indicted on attempted murder
Karben to fight DWI charge
Pump malfunction, clog blamed for sewage spill in Ramapo

The water was freezing cold but Barbara Noyes and about 150 others at yesterday’s Penguin Plunge were warmed by the energy of the crowd. “Some of the people were just so excited and lit up, lit up that they were helping,” she said. “It was really great.”

Noyes, a Blavelt resident and an officer with the [...]

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‘Truth’ hurts for Piermont couple on reality show
News of Rockland couple’s fight travels globe
Rapper who spoke of cocaine use in New City charged with possessing the drug
Former prosecutor offered choice of jail or prison if she admits having sex with teenagers
Rockland artist, mother of county exec, dies at 86
Retailer’s closure mutally agreed

On Sunday, I covered a Black History Month celebration at the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Nyack, where about 100 people listened to prayers, speeches and songs about their ancestry. Check out this audio podcast for a sampling of the event. Also, I posted a link to the story I wrote below.

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Black History Month celebrated [...]

Jodi Ann Ballard, the wife of Clarkstown Superintendent of Highways Wayne Ballard, died early Monday morning after a long battle with breast cancer, officials said. She was 48. A memorial service was held this afternoon at the Nanuet Hebrew Center.

Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack, who attended the service, said the synagogue was packed with about 700 [...]

Some of you may have noticed camera crews and trailers on Route 303 in West Nyack about a week or so ago. It turns out Fiesta Sunrise, a Mexican restaurant, is going to be featured on Kitchen Nightmares, a reality television show on FOX, where a chef and his team help failing restaurants get back [...]

Yes, it’s true. Clarkstown Supervisor Alexander Gromack will give a state of the town address at the New City Chamber of Commerce meeting this Wednesday. In fact, Erika Moschetti, who works in the supervisor’s office, said the supervisor delivers his speech to civic associations and other neighborhood groups every year.

So, if you missed it [...]

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Few see big changes with Fidel Castro gone
Local Pakistanis take pride in ‘free and fair’ elections
Lowey says she’s ‘feeling great’
Teacher calls 911, saves woman
Spring Valley trustee wants police at meetings for safety

On Saturday, I spent a few hours with the family of fallen soldier Justin Garcia as they celebrated his son’s first birthday. Relatives said Vincent Justin Garcia, or, little Vinny, as the family calls him, has many of his father’s mannerisms. I shot some photos and video at the party so you can check it [...]

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25 years in Sloatsburg courtroom shooting
Torah saved, but fire badly damages Orthodox Jewish day school in Ramapo
Local soldiers prepare for Iraq deployment
Winter storm causes accidents, outages, flooding in Rockland

Last Sunday, I covered a ceremony honoring Beatrice Agnew, a well-known figure in Palisades. Agnew, 84, served as the director of the Palisades Free Library for 40 years but recently passed away. The ceremony featured touching speeches from close friends and family members who gave details on Agnew’s life. Fortunately, I brought my digital recorder [...]