Yesterday and today, The Journal News and LoHud.com has published a series of articles written by staffer Laura Incalcaterra regarding property tax exemptions in Rockland.

Who has them, why they exist and possible solutions to the property tax problem in New York have all been addressed in several articles, all of which are available through the [...]

Shortly after I started working in the Rockland newsroom more than seven years ago,
I was taught a truism by my fellow staffers: If it's Greek Festival weekend, it must be raining.

I laughed, but year after year discovered that it didn't much matter what meteorologists predicted, if it was Greek Festival weekend, it was most likely [...]

OK, before I explain any further, I just have to share this wonderful photo shot by Bob Rooney of Suffern at the United Hospice of Rockland's annual spring gala Sunday.

No, you're not imagining things. That is a photograph of town supervisors Alexander Gromack (Clarkstown), Howard Philips (Haverstraw), Thom Kleiner (Orangetown) and Phil Marino (Stony Point), [...]

A public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday (June 5) where you can see architects' plans and hear about plans to revitalize downtown Nyack.

The project is called The Riverspace Downtown Project, and you can find out lots about it on the group's website (a page on the Riverspace website).

The meeting will be at [...]

This was where I was going to tell you all about how Penny Jennings, the founder of Adults Caring For Teens Inc., has been named a 2008 New York State "Woman of Distinction."

But my colleague, Rockland Editorial Page Editor Nancy Cutler, beat me to it on the In Focus: Rockland blog. So I'll just [...]

Confusion abounded this morning, the first rush hour affected by the Coach USA / Short Line bus strike.

Why?

Well, for starters, the bus company didn't advertise to its customers that there might be a strike.

Then, many folks who read our article yesterday about the strike the other day were confused by it, and I can understand [...]

UPDATE: Coach USA/Short Line bus drivers went on strike as of 12:01 am this morning, forcing the company to cancel transportation into Manhattan for nearly 1,000 Rockland commuters.

About 240 drivers, mechanics and ticket agents who belong to Local 225 of the Transport Workers Union of America  failed to reach a contract with Hudson Transit Lines, [...]

The Memorial Day parade in New City this year will take a detour from its decades-old route.

For 60 years, the parade has stepped off at the intersection of Collyer Avenue and South Main Street, heading up Main to the lawns of the county courthouse.

But safety concerns have prompted the town to make the change, moving [...]

An e-mail this afternoon from Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun reminded me that Grievance Day is a week from tomorrow.

No, it's not a day where you get to just complain about anything and everything; it's the deadline for folks to file formal grievances on their property tax bills.

Calhoun included a link to a helpful pamplhet: "Fair Assessments: [...]

Our Data Desk has posted two new databases with all sorts of info useful to Rockland residents.

First off, relating to today's story about how many schools and districts in the Lower Hudson Valley, including some in Rockland, received high marks from the state Education Department for their academic performance and for closing the achievement gap.

Here's [...]

The other day, The Journal News and LoHud.com ran an article on how much money various state Senators and Assembly members had gotten in what are technically called member items, but more colloquially called pork.

Our data desk has put together a searchable database that you can access here.

Rockland's lone state senator, Thomas Morahan (R-New City), [...]

In case you missed it, Rockland Editorial Page Editor Nancy Cutler has an interesting look at the politics underlying the case of Avrum David Friesel, a fugitive for 11 years before the London Metropolitan Police captured him earlier this week.

Friesel, the former New Square village clerk and a son of the village's only mayor, fled [...]

Our Data Desk today updated LoHud's database with March's existing home sales for most New York counties, as reported by the state association of Realtors.

You can find the database here.

Basically, as has already been reported in The Journal News and on LoHud.com, existing home sales dropped 38.6 percent in Rockland from a year earlier, while [...]

All together now: Awwww!

Meet Nyack, the new lion cub at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (totally cool place —  go if you're ever out that way!):

This photo, shot by Ken Bohn for the San Diego Wild Animal Park, is of four-month-old Nyack (to the right). That's his cousin, Ingozi, he's saying hi to.

A boy, Nyack [...]

I reminded you this morning that work to move a gas main under Route 59 in Central Nyack was starting today and would continue for a couple weeks.

Guess what? Once Orange & Rockland Utilities tore up the road to get to its gas main that was supposed to have been causing drainage problems in the [...]

Starting at 8:30 this morning, two westbound lanes on Route 59 will be closed near the Mountainview Avenue entrance to the New York State Thruway in Central Nyack. As a result, traffic will be down to one lane in each direction for a half-mile stretch daily for two or three weeks. Work each weekday will [...]

To commemorate Earth Day, the Great American Cleanup starts this weekend and other events will be held through the week next week.

You can read this article by staff writer Laura Incalcaterra about the events, but here's a quick list:

Saturday

• The Palisades Community Center, 675 Oak Tree Road, holds an Earth Day Fair from 10 a.m. [...]

My colleague, Cathey O'Donnell of the Data Desk, put together this cool map showing where all the Catholic schools are located in the Lower Hudson Valley, in commemoration of Pope Benedict's imminent arrival in our region.

Click on one of the markers to find out details about each school, such as its location, enrollment or website.

Interesting [...]

The annual community-wide chometz burning will take place from 6:30 to 11:47 a.m. Friday, April 18, according to the Chabad of Greater Monsey blog.

For the uninitiated, chometz (also spelled chametz) is leavened food you're not allowed to eat during Passover. Observant Jews rid their homes of all chometz before the eight-day holiday begins, this year [...]

OK, not me, given my phobia of deep water, but maybe you?

The Palisades Region of New York State Parks is holding Lifeguard Qualifying Exams for seasonal employment this year.

About 120 lifeguards are hired to work at pools and beaches in Rockland, Orange and Ulster counties each year.

The exams will be at 9 a.m. April [...]

Here's the latest Week in Review podcast. Beneath the video are links to the related stories, as well as links to downloadable PDFs of each article (the links expire once our articles move into the paid archives) and video, where available. Thanks for stopping by.

Download:

Fleetwood Elementary cheating: link here, pdf here.

Immigration forum: link here, pdf [...]

Unhappy with your property tax assessment?

The state has released a packet that explains all the criteria for challenging your assessment, as well as the forms you need to fill out to do that. You can download the pdf here. (Hat tip to the town of Ramapo for disseminating this info.)

As promised earlier, here's a full list of Rockland's recipients of 2008 Community Development Block Grant funds:

• Spring Valley: $250,000 for the reconstruction of a park at Jay Street and Kennedy Drive.

• Ramapo: $150,000 to construct a handicapped-accessible pavilion and restrooms at Manny Welder Park.

• West Haverstraw: $100,000 for sidewalk replacement, lighting installation and landscaping [...]

This morning, county officials are announcing which programs throughout Rockland will receive money through the Community Development Block Grant program.

Commonly known as CDBG (hey, it's a lot shorter!), the grants are from the federal government's Department of Housing and Urban Development and distributed through the county Office of Community Development. HUD established the program in [...]

The Rockland Coalition for Peace and Justice is holding an extra vigil tonight, marking the 4,000th death of in the U.S. military since the war in Iraq began.

The vigil will run from 7 to 8 tonight at the corner of Cedar and Main streets in downtown Nyack, next to the Riverspace Theatre. (It's suggested that [...]