Little Tor Elementary School in New City recently dedicated its peace pole, a hand-crafted monument that reads, “May peace prevail on Earth” in several languages. School officials said the languages that made up the peace pole represented the school’s diverse population. They are: Chinese, English, Gaelic, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Serbo-Croation and Spanish.

Today, [...]

So being the most awesomest and most userfriendliest newspaper company ever, we’re looking to create an interactive map that shows all you nice people where you can plug in your laptops and PDAs to get wireless access to the Internet. But we need your help. So far, I can think of about three in Rockland:

Panera [...]

Vinnie Reda, Rockland Republican Committee chairman, took a break from his Cocoa Beach, Fla., trip to read off the names of the Republican candidates vying for Clarkstown seats.

They are: Frank Borelli Jr. and John Miele for Town Board; Wayne Ballard, an incumbent, for superintendent of highways; and Duncan Lee and Thomas Mascola for town justices.

“I’m [...]

Upon returning to her Klein Avenue home after the nor’easter two weeks ago, a frustrated Jane Stormes discovers two new roomates. She e-mailed The Journal news with the tale. Her story after the break …

When Rockland’s sun gods and goddesses reveal their manis, pedis and bronzed tans.

With 70 degrees out and it being flip-flop weather, this reporter figured she’d stop by a few of the county’s grooming salons

and … er … talk in the third person…

Ashley Dechelfin, 18, a senior at North Rockland High School, shares her views in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre. She is the commentary editor for the high school’s monthly newspaper, the Rambling Raider.
Her article after the break…

SUFFERN — For Mary Hussain, finding shelter from the pouring rain is a matter of flexible scheduling.

At about 12:30 p.m. this afternoon, the 46-year-old woman who lives on a plot of land in Nanuet was seated on a bench at the Rockland Community College bus stop.

Snugly dressed in a fur-lined, aviator-style jacket, she looked as [...]

NYACK — Her sermon had those listening on their knees and weeping for God’s healing in their lives.
They asked to be restored from sexual, physical and emotional abuses. They asked to no longer feel hopeless and abandoned. They asked because she asked them to ask.
But the young woman preaching to the crowd of Nyack College [...]

WEST NYACK – From when he drops off his group of St. Dominic’s School students at 8:15 a.m. to when he picks them up at 2:15 p.m., Daniel Joseph has quite a bit of time to himself.

So what does the Brooklyn bus driver do to wile away the hours? Joseph — and other drivers like [...]

SPRING VALLEY — Route 59 this morning seemed a desolate and lonely place. Where you would typically see day laborers lining the streets in the hopes of landing a job, there was no one.

But the empty streets that were crowded the day before didn’t stop one man from his quest to recruit documented workers for [...]

The group of giggling girls today were hopped up on hot chocolate and mags like “Seventeen,� “CosmoGirl!� and the new “Grey’s Anatomy� zine. They had just gotten kicked out of the Barnes & Noble on Route 59 in Nanuet and were now taking over the retro orangey couches at the new Starbucks next door.

(Mikalea Breit, [...]

to make a low budget film look like a million bucks.
On the set of “Elan� today at the Haverstraw Marina, Spring Valley local filmmaker Michael Cesaire says if it weren’t for Rockland’s residents, he’d be spending thousands.

(Gianna Dazza, 21, a student at the Capri Cosmetology Learning Center in Nanuet, shows 6-year-old Gabrielle Kaufman her makeup. [...]

You can get an iced grande caramel drizzled macchiato within the gates of Beijing’s Forbidden City and now at the Rockland Plaza on Route 59 in Nanuet (the plaza with the Panera Bread).

The new Starbucks opens its doors to coffee lovers at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow.

The company’s goal this year is to open an additional 1,000 [...]

In a nutshell: Join a gym or local theater group, hang out in Nyack on Saturday nights and in New City on Friday nights or invite the family (because what’s more comfortable and social than family?) over to the new place for a home-cooked meal.
Those were some suggestions made today by Rockland’s residents.
Percy Kwong, part [...]

So last week I was covering the academic challenge at Suffern High School and ended up chatting about diversity (or the lack thereof) with a group of Spring Valley High School teenagers. With all 10 of Rockland’s public high schools present for the quiz-kid competition, and each group clustered together by their respective schools, the [...]

SUFFERN — You could say these Suffern High sophomores are a bit awestruck. To them, the brainpower of the starting members of their academic league is a subject of serious admiration.

“They’re extremely smart,� 15-year-old Tony George says.

“Amazing,� 16-year-old David Benjamin says.

“They’re really devoted,� 15-year-old Jordan Manos agrees.

It’s about 12:10 p.m. and the Suffern High library [...]

The Fellowship of Reconciliation’s delegation of “civilian diplomats� is scheduled to arrive back in the states tomorrow. But before they do, you can read about their experience on the FOR site, where they’ve been posting reports. Find it here: The Iran Initiative

Last month, FOR sent the delegation — a diverse group of 24 people — [...]

As most of you have probably heard, Captain America is killed in an issue on newsstands today. For a take on the superhero’s death, we spoke with Brian Cunningham, editor of Wizard, the comic buyers magazine based in Congers. Here’s what he had to say:

On how the Wizard staff took the news …

Well it’s a [...]

SPRING VALLEY — The three men stand huddled in the parking lot of a halal restaurant along Route 59, heads down, hands in pockets.

Every few minutes, at the roar of a truck approaching, they look up, the expressions on their faces nearly identical. It is one of curiosity and almost longing.

On a tip from TJN editorial page editor Nancy Cutler, this reporter decided to check out Coffee Spot Cafe, a recently opened coffeehouse on Route 303 in Orangeburg designed to lure the loungers, the gamers, the semi-gamers, the health-conscious and the caffeinated connoisseurs.

The café is easy to miss and takes a bit of extra care [...]

Was on the phone today with Jim Anderson, Upper Nyack trustee running for re-election, and talking on all matters drainage and budget when all of a sudden he stops mid-sentence.

I hear a garbled voice in the background. Some shuffling.

Anderson, who is in his car, begins what strangely sounds like haggling. Numbers are being tossed around, [...]

Clarkstown Town Board member Ralph Mandia wants to join the village of Nyack and eliminate the “N word.” In a memo to Town Supervisor Alexander Gromack, Mandia writes:

“Hateful, hurtful words like this should not be condoned in our community and formal action on the Board’s part will demonstrate our commitment to stop its use.”

If the [...]

So … (see how that one word is so conversational, good thing I came up with the whole beginning your blogs with the word “soâ€?) … so, been trying to track down a certain mayor running for re-election next month in Upper Nyack to get some candidate information. Been calling and calling the mayor’s office [...]

So was driving to Colton Elementary School in Spring Valley (to be featured in tomorrow’s paper – check it out! wohoo for blog plugs) and noticed construction at New City Gospel Fellowship has begun. You’ve probably seen it if you’ve gotten off Exit 11 on PIP northbound.
Photo below is along New Hempstead Road. Was [...]

The smell has inspired descriptive phrases like “baby’s diaper,” “wet wood, mildewy” and “a crate of dying animals.” Those new to the area are shocked by it while those who live in the county almost seem resigned to its cloying presence — most obvious during the spring and summer.
It is, many suspect, the Clarkstown Solid [...]