Orange & Rockland plans to visit Blauvelt homeowner Maureen O'Neill today, but this time the visit will be welcome.

O'Neill was one of many residents who protested when O&R cut down trees in her backyard as part of a tree removal program meant to prevent power outages. Residents complained that more trees were cut that necessary [...]

Speaking of Hillside (see my last post), it appears developer Edmund Lane is holding his ground when it comes to his plans for Hillside Commercial Park.

"If the town's going to court, then go to court. If they want to waste the taxpayer's money, then waste it," Lane's lawyer, Donald Brenner, said yesterday.

Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner [...]

It's been just about a month since Pearl River homeowners formed Residents United to Save Hillside. But already the group has hired a lawyer, launched a website and held several well-attended meetings.

Now, the group has plans for a fundraiser on May 21.  It will be held at The Saloon in Pearl River. Proceeds will go [...]

Here is the statement that Nyack Mayor John Shields gave at the start of a community forum Wednesday that was organized to discuss recent gang-related violence and ways to help young people:

Rockland County is a large, diverse community that must strive to meet the needs of its diverse constituents. The recent fight on Franklin [...]

Whoa! Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner is asking for some big bucks to party at his 50th birthday soirée June 7.

For a quarter page in the birthday "playbill" and one reserved seat, you gotta fork up $250. It's $500 for a half page and two seats, and $1,000 for a full page and two seats.

Want the [...]

Residents United to Save Hillside (RUSH) is keeping the pressure on to try and stop a commercial park from being built along Route 304 in Pearl River. The group has launched a website that states its case against the proposed development and lets people know how they can help. It can be found at www.rushpearlriver.com.

The [...]

Nyack will hold a community forum Wednesday to talk about the gang fights that took place on village streets last month involving between 40 and 50 teenagers.

The meeting was supposed to be held Monday, but was changed to accommodate the schedules of public officials. Nyack Mayor John Shields, the Nyack Village Board of Trustees, Orangetown [...]

Maureen O'Neill didn't consider herself an environmentalist and kept out of public affairs until about a month ago, when a group of trees were cut in her backyard. Since then she's been one of the key residents who have railed against Orange and Rockland Utilities' tree removal program.

It's been that kind of issue. The tree [...]

Marvin Baum believes congratulations are not in order. Browsing through Orange & Rockland's press releases, the Valley Cottage resident learned that The National Arbor Day Foundation named the company a "Tree Line USA Utility" in January. The designation recognizes national leadership in caring for trees while meeting service objectives.

In a letter to O&R, Baum [...]

Is Nyack Mayor John Shields back on the market? Looks that way.

The 64-old mayor, whose hobbies include cooking, working out and resolving parking conflicts, was featured in a photo in a recent singles-themed issue of New York magazine. In the photo, Shields is standing at a phone booth and an arm is extended over his [...]

Representatives from the state's Public Service Commission are coming to Rockland County to talk about a controversial tree-removal program that has upset many local homeowners. (See posts below.) The event is sponsored by State Sen. Thomas Morahan and assembly members Ellen Jaffee and Ken Zebrowski.

The community forum takes place Monday, April 28, from 6 [...]

The New York State Department of Labor sent a letter to the Orangetown Mighty Midgets and the South Orangetown Little League this week warning them that they had to pay prevailing wage to workers building concession stands at town ballfields.

This letter comes after at least one worker complained to the state that they weren't paid [...]

Responding to complaints from dozens of homeowners about a tree-clearing program, the Orangetown Town Board took action last night. The board passed a resolution asking the state's Public Service Commission to stop removing trees from transmission right-of ways until there is a full public review of the program. The board also asks Orange & Rockland [...]

The Good Friday Agreement, which ushered in a new era of peace of cooperation in Northern Ireland, turned 10 years old Thursday. That's a cause for celebration for Irish Americans in the area, many who left their home county because of poverty and violence linked to the long-standing sectarian conflict.

It's also a cause for celebration [...]

Unhappy homeowners are calling and writing The Journal News to complain about chainsaw-wielding crews clearing their backyards.

Their gripe — Orange and Rockland's hired crews clear-cut through a number of backyards, leaving tree stumps and tree debris in their wake. Not pretty.

In its defense, O&R was only doing what it was supposed to do. In [...]

A reliable tip came in about the state Department of Labor's investigation into the construction of ballfields in Orangetown. Looks like more than one worker may  have filed a complaint to the agency about being paid less than the prevailing wage. We'll continue to follow the story. Any more tips, please send this way.

The rule of the Nyack Parking Authority is over, at least for now.

The Nyack Village Board yanked its lease with the agency, a move that stripped it of its power and basically left it an organization in name only.

Some residents cheered the end of the authority's role in Nyack. The agency has attracted its fair [...]

Here is a link to the four-page consent decree and settlement of a taxpayer lawsuit against the Nyack Parking Authority.

In the settlement, signed March 18, the authority agrees to give more public notice on matters related to spending and to comply with the law that governs public authorities.

Two taxpayers who filed the lawsuit had [...]

The Nyack Parking Authority settled a taxpayer lawsuit last week alleging that the agency abused its powers and mispent taxpayer money when it bought $424,900 in parking meters without bidding. The Authority said it settled to avoid a long, expensive legal battle, and not because it did anything wrong.

In the settlement, the Authority agreed to [...]

There's peace in Ireland, but that doesn't mean Irish Americans should put up their feet and relax, according to Gerry Adams, president of the Catholic-backed Sinn Fein party.

Adams said the Irish in the US should keep up the pressure to make sure that Northern Ireland follows through with power sharing that was outlined in the [...]

Yankees announcer John Flaherty gave a shout-out to Pearl River during a spring training game Sunday against Cleveland.

Flaherty, who grew up in West Nyack and now lives in Pearl River, talked about how great the hamlet's St. Patrick's Day parade is every year. Though he was busy working, he said his wife and daughter marched [...]

By now, many of you have heard about Riverspace's grand plans to raze several blocks on Main Street in Nyack and replace it with a new arts, retail and residential complex with a parking garage. The art center's board envisions a group of staggered buildings that preserve a Main Street charm, none higher than four [...]

Nyack dog owners fighting for off-leash hours at Memorial Park stressed that they always clean up after their dogs and that the dogs and their owners benefit from socializing and exercising at the park.

But those reasons weren't enough to shake the ick factor for some critics. The opposition's argument went something like this: you can [...]

The letters and phone calls to spare Joe Byrne of Pearl River from extradition apparently did not help. A friend of the Byrnes reports that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice signed the extradition order from Ireland yesterday. Joe Byrne will be asked to turn himself in on or before Feb. 29.

Byrne is wanted in connection [...]

Thanks for your feedback about the new Nyack meters, which I blogged about here last week. Readers wrote and called to tell me they were ticked off that the meters were installed with little notice and no signage, and that they got tickets anyway.

Nyack's Mayor John Shields believes that new signs, installed Friday, will put [...]