Rockland’s eight school districts could receive a total of $11.4 million in state budget cuts under a plan by Gov. David Paterson to reduce the state’s deficit.

North Rockland, Clarkstown and East Ramapo each could receive spending cuts of $2.5 million or more under the governor’s proposal. Pearl River, which was supposed to receive $9.1 million from the state this school year, could see that figure drop by $578,890.

To see how your school district might be affected under Paterson’s proposals, click here: Proposed cuts for every school district.

Paterson also has proposed cutting state aid to municipalities. While no Rockland community would receive cuts this fiscal year, the county’s municipalities could see a total drop of $105,163 in state aid during 2009-10 under the governor’s plan.

To see how your community might be affected in the 2009-10 fiscal year, click here: Proposed cuts for every New York community.

Next week, the state Legislature will meet for a special session to discuss ways of reducing the state’s budget deficit, which could reach $2 billion. Paterson has proposed numerous cuts to the state’s budget, including health care and state aid to communities and school districts.

The 2008 campaign season officially kicks off Saturday for Rockland Republicans when the GOPers open their campaign headquarters in the Clarkstown Plaza strip mall off Main Street in New City.

A large McCain Campaign Headquarters banner will grace the storefront, along with a large sign for the Republicans favorite son, state Sen. Thomas Morahan, who is seeking another two-year term after three decades in government, from county legislator to Assembly and now the Senate.

Other candidates running in Rockland and the region will be promoted from the HQ, which will serve the Mid-Hudson Valley region.

Rockland GOP Chairman Vincent Reda, who matches Morahan in political longevity, said today that the 10 a.m. kick off will feature speeches from John McCain campaign officials, Morahan and other party dignitaries.

McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, is seeking the presidency on the Republican line against Barack Obama, the U.S. senator from Illinois running on the Democratic line. Unlike Rockland, where candidates run on multiple lines, the two major party candidates for president usually stick to their own party line.

While Labor Day is considered the traditional point when candidates put their campaigns into high gear, Reda said the Rockland GOP is starting a bit earlier because the national Republicans will be holding their convention during the traditional end of summer weekend. Reda is one of the GOP delegates from Rockland.

The national Republicans are gathering in Minnesota to annoint McCain as their candidate, a week or so after the Democrats do the same for Obama in Denver, Colo.

UPDATE:

Reda just called at 12 p.m. to say that Ed Cox, a top McCain campaign official in New York, will attend Saturday’s opening, as will the GOP chairmen of Westchester, Putnam and Orange counties. Cox also is the son-in-law of the late President Richard M. Nixon.

It’s December, and that means we’re gearing up for the annual Year in Review, a look at the 10 biggest news stories in Rockland in 2007.

The main criteria we look at is that the news has to be Rockland-specific, so the war in Iraq would not qualify, but news regarding the criminal military case stemming from the fragging death of U.S. Army Capt. Phillip Esposito would.

We’d love your thoughts and suggestions. Some stories we’re looking at so far, in no particular order:

• Election defeats of District Attorney Michael Bongiorno and Haverstraw Mayor Francis “Bud” Wassmer.

• Wyeth Pharmaceuticals celebrates 100 years in Pearl River.

• The rabbi banned from baking matzos on a converted bus in his backyard.

• Rats, roaches in Clarkstown North.

• Scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades share in the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

Three weeks after the Preserve Ramapo slate was swamped by the incumbent Democrats and their lock on the Monsey area bloc vote, plans are being made to seek criminal prosecution against those who tampered with the challengers’ election signs.

Preserve Ramapo activist Michael Castelluccio said the Rockland District Attorney’s Office and the state Board of Elections would be contacted because it seemed to Castelluccio that the tampering was meant to deliberately mislead voters.

Duplicates of Preserve Ramapo signs were posted on Election Day, some directing voters to the wrong ballot line and the wrong Web site.

Weeks earlier, bogus yellow and green Preserve Ramapo signs began popping up, calling the group Perverse Ramapo, and accusing it of having a racist agenda targeting the Jewish ultra orthodox community in and around Monsey.

The Ramapo town police investigated the most recent incident, and no charges were filed.

One of the people putting up the signs was Jacob Wagschal of Monsey, according to a police report obtained this week by The Journal News. Wagschal first told the police that the bogus signs were made by Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence “to throw off the Preserve Ramapo voters.”

“Wagschal then changed his story again,” the report stated, and he said “the signs were made by members of the community to help the supervisor’s election and that Wagschal and his friends were placing them throughout the town for the community and not for Supervisor St. Lawrence as Wagschal initially stated.”

St. Lawrence said he had nothing to do with the incident. He thought was a matter of people being foolishly overzealous.

I know it’s probably crushing to find out that Christina Jeng was taking much-needed time off this week and wasn’t able to do this week’s Week in Review podcast. But transportation reporter Khurram Saeed graciously volunteered and worked with photographer/videographer Peter Carr to produce this week’s installment.

After the break, there’s a list of links to related articles.

Here’s the podcast:

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Looks like a lonely two years for Denis Troy.

Come January, he will be the only Republican on the Orangetown Town Board, now that Denis O’Donnell and Thomas Morr have lost their seats to Democrats.

Morr was locked in a close race with Democrat Michael Maturo at first. But after poll numbers were readjusted and absentee ballots counted, Maturo came out the winner.

Not only have Democrats seized control of the board, but they have done so with a 4-1 majority. Town residents are waiting to see how the Democrats will use their new might.

Hey all,

Here’s this week’s review. Below the podcast, I’ve included links to the articles mentioned and the videos shown in the review. Check ‘em out and have a relaxing weekend.
Download:

Links to related articles:

Ramapo bloc vote decides Rockland DA and sheriff races
Zugibe ousts Bongiorno in Rockland district attorney race
Stony Point legislator takes slight lead after election night errors are caught
One more seat for Rockland Legislature Democrats causes power shift
Students at Albertus Magnus, Felix Festa recovering from MRSA
New Jersey man accused of Pearl River house burglary, as cops hunt second suspect

Links to related video:

Video: Burglary suspects sought in Pearl River

Over the past few years, Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence directed his clout Suffern’s way on numerous occasions, for what would seem to be the benefit of residents.

He worked to get Avon Products to keep its research and development operation going in the village. He arranged to acquire the Tilcon quarry as a way to reduce the threat of flooding in the Squire’s Gate neighborhood. He offered to pony up some town cash to help buy the Schwarz property and keep it from development. He also worked to keep power plants out of the nearby Torne Valley.

So why didn’t more villagers vote for St. Lawrence? Six polling places had him lagging Anthony Mele, his unsuccessful challenger, by 386 votes, 940 to 554, according to unoffical results still being verified this week.

Why?

These were sent to me by Legislator Doug Jobson, R- Stony Point. He is facing challenges tomorrow by Michael Diederich, a Democrat, and John Kezek, a Democrat running on the Working Families Party line.

It’s that time of year again – election season. Even when I’m indoors, typing up a story at my work desk, I can tell. That’s because I get all kinds of calls from people talking about signs. You know the ones – they’re usually red, white and blue with one name written in a huge font. Yes, campaign signs.

Ron Altman, a candidate for Clarkstown Superintendent of Highways, said many his signs have been missing.

“They’ve just been disappearing,” he said. “One was busted in half.”

Altman estimated about 200 signs have been missing so far even though they were on private property and followed all the local laws.

According to Joel Epstein, Clarkstown’s code enforcement officer, signs must be placed on private property with the owner’s permission. Typically, signs should be 10-feet away from the curb, but that could vary depending on the property, he said. The town has become even more strict after passing a sign ordinance a year or so ago that limits the types of signs that can be displayed.

Epstein said the Building and Highway departments have impounded anywhere from 500 to 1,000 signs so far this fall. Many were campaign signs but there were also real estate, weight loss and other advertisements in the mix. Officials perform “random sweeps” of the streets about once a week, he said.

“I think Clarkstown has been very thorough the best they can…to keep the rights of way clean all year long,” Epstein said. “It’s not like we’re out there with every available force all the time. We do the best we can and I think the town looks great.”

Some, like Nanuet resident, Vincent Pacella, would disagree. He said he has seen Pascack Road plastered with campaign signs for days at a time.

“They’re on the guard rail, the street signs, you name it, they’re all over the place,” he said.

And though Pacella said he would like to see the signs removed, he doesn’t think it should be the town’s responsibility. Instead, he would rather the candidates be forced to remove them.

“Something should be done but I don’t think we should be spending taxpayers’ dollars to remove these things,” he said.

Epstein said late October and early November tend to be the worst times of the year for campaign signs. But in just a few days, he said they’ll all be gone.

“The silly season is almost over,” he said.

The Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Action Fund endorsed the following candidates for Rockland County Legislature:
—Michael Diederich, D, District 1
—Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills, District 4
—John Fellas, D, District 5
—Legislature Vice Chairman William Darden, D-Hillcrest, District 8
—Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell, D-West Nyack, District 10
—Legislator VJ Pradhan, D-Nanuet, District 14
—Legislator Connie Coker, D-South Nyack, District 17

Carl Gilpatrick, president of the Civil Service Employees Association’s Stony Point unit, said yesterday that the union had endorsed Democratic candidates for November’s local election.

Those candidates endorsed by the union were incumbent Supervisor Phil Marino; Town Board candidates Luanne Konopko and Tom Brown; and Patrick Kennell, who is running against Republican incumbent Highway Superintendent Larry Brissing.

Republican Jerry Rogers is challenging Marino.

Louis Vicari and James White, both Republicans, as well as George Potanovic, a Friend of Stony Point candidate, are also running for two Town Board seats, which will be vacated by Town Board members Fred Bohlander and Tim O’Neill.

Every year, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters of Rockland County, we publish a Voters Guide with information on most candidates and any propositions Rockland voters can expect to find on the November ballot.

I say “most” because not every candidate responds to the League’s (repeated) requests for a response to their questionnaire. And, sometimes, someone does respond, but his or her e-mail or letter slips through the cracks into nothingness.

There was one such case this year, with Republican Haverstraw Town Board candidate John R. Lawrence Jr. He did respond to the League and they did receive his response. But when time came to send the information to The Journal News for editing and inclusion in the guide, his response got lost in the ether.

Today The Journal News’ editorial board heard from the County Legislature’s District 12 candidates: Legislature Patrick Withers, Airmont Trustee Joseph Meyers and real estate broker Larry Weinstein. The editorial board was there to get information for its endorsement. I was there to get information for my story on this race.

It’s certainly not a rule, but in the other meetings I’ve been to (this year and the two years previously) the candidates typically take care to turn off or silence their cell phones. Or maybe no one called them while they were being interviews. Who knows.

But today, Weinstein took two phone calls and made a third in the middle of the interview. The first call was picked up to tell the caller he was in a meeting and he quickly hung up.

Call No. 2 lasted a bit longer with Weinstein again telling the caller that he was in a meeting and then going so far as to ask to borrow Wither’s pen to write something down.

After telling us he was late for a closing—the meeting was running a half-hour late at that point—Weinstein then made a call to postpone his closing explaining that the meeting had run over.

All this was done seated at our table with Weinstein sitting across from us and in between Meyers and Withers. And the latter two were made while the other candidates were trying to answer their questions. On the third call, Meyers simply gave up and waited for Weinstein to finish his conversation.

*** NOTE TO READERS Reporters often sit in on these meetings, but we do not have any input in who the editorial board chooses to endorse. We are not asked for opinions nor are we allowed to give them. Because these are on-the-record interviews reporters attend for any news that may be discussed.

We’ve been holding endorsement interviews here at The Journal News, asking candidates for various county and town races to share their views and ideas with our editorial board.

I like to sit in on as many County Legislature interviews as I can:

a.) Because I cover the County Legislature
b.) Because it helps me to know where the current and future legislators are coming from.
c.) Because you just never know what’s going to come out of their mouths.

So I sat in today on the meeting with District 7 Legislator Philip Soskin, D-Monsey, and his Republican challenger, 19-year-old Israel Barouk. Normally it’s unnecessary to harp on a candidate’s age (Soskin is 74, to be fair) but Barouk had a hard time with some of the more specific questions.

When our editorial page editor, Nancy Cutler, asked the candidates to talk about taxes, Soskin spoke about how many people want taxes cut, but at the same time, residents want certain services that are paid for through taxes.

When Nancy asked Barouk if he could speak generally about taxes, Barouk’s answer was “No.” That’s it. Just “no.”

Barouk didn’t say much more than that on the following question about contract agencies. While Soskin spoke about the benefit of hiring outside agencies to perform services at a lower cost than the county could, Barouk’s answer to the same topic was “I pretty much have the same opinion as he does.”

At least it wasn’t “no.”

Barouk did go after Soskin for paying too much attention to the village of Kaser and not enough attention to the rest of the district, but Soskin had a lot more to say overall.

*** NOTE TO READERS Reporters often sit in on these meetings, but we do not have any input in who the editorial board chooses to endorse. We are not asked for opinions nor are we allowed to give them. Because these are on-the-record interviews reporters attend for any news that may be discussed.

Doug Hostetter, a Democrat running for Clarkstown Town Board, is planning a “Meet the Candidate/Campaign Fundraising Party” for Sunday, October, 14, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Hostetter, whose top two issues are controlled spending and preserving the environment, is running alongside incumbent Shirley Lasker. The event is to be held at Kristi Zea’s house at 495 Mountainview Avenue in Valley Cottage. For more info on the Town Board race, look for my story later this month on lohud.com!

Also, looks like Howard Gerber, an incumbent Democrat who is running for Clarkstown Town Justice, is holding a similar event at Romolo’s Restaurant in Congers this Wednesday, October 10, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more info, call 845-267-5003. Gerber, who has worked in the legal field for some 25 years, has been a town justice since January. You can read more about him and his top issues in a story I wrote before the primaries, which can be found here.

Ricky Sanchez, who finished second in the Haverstraw mayoral race in the Democratic primary, recently said he had not decided if he would support the winner, Mike Kohut.

Kohut, who got 385 votes in the primary, will run against Republican incumbent Francis “Bud” Wassmer in November.

To Kohut, getting support from Sanchez, who got 349 votes in the primary, appeared to be critical to beat Wassmer.

But Sanchez said he was seriously assessing which candidate he wanted to support, indicating that there was a chance that he might pick Wassmer.

If Sanchez decided to support Wassmer, he would have to explain his reasoning to his supporters because people may still remember the public scuffle in 2002 between Wassmer and Sanchez, when he was a village trustee.

Over the past several weeks, members of the Orangetown Civic Association have hit the pavement to try and collect signatures to get two propositions on the November ballot. The organization wanted a public vote on measures to require term limits and to require mandatory referenda on any bonding over $1 million. But two things got in the way.

First, the Civic Association learned that term limits can’t be imposed through a referendum. Only a town board can vote to impose term limits, state officials told Civic Association co-founder Carol Silverstein.

Second, the group didn’t get enough signatures on the bonding referendum to meet the Oct. 1 deadline.

Silverstein said members had collected close to 500 names in support of each measure and would keep collecting. They will sumbit signatures to the Town Board on term limits to deliver a message from the public.

On the bonding issue, they will try to get enough names to force a special election so the public can decide.

Blauvelt business owner Paul Valentine announced today that he filed a lawsuit today, challenging the primary results which put him two votes behind Legislator Connie Coker, D-South Nyack, in the Independence Party primary.

Coker had received the support of the party, but Valentine mounted a write-in campaign. He said earlier this week when the final vote tally was announced, he with 30 votes to her 32, that several voters had told him they received inaccurate information when trying to write in his name on the ballot.

That inaccurate information, Valentine said Tuesday, led to voters either writing his name on the wrong line or not voting for him at all.

In a news release issued today Valentine said he would prove in court that 15 votes for him were not counted.

No matter the outcome, Valentine, a Republican, and Coker will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.

Sure enough, a man was caught bicycling up to the lawn, stealing a sign and riding off into the night.. er.. early morning… 5:50 a.m. this morning to be exact. Do you recognize him?

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Preserve Ramapo, a grassroots organization who advocates against overdevelopment and the administration of Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, is now offering a $500 reward for anyone who can identify the thief on wheels.

The headquarters, which Dent owns and donates to Preserve Ramapo, is located at 272 McNamara Road. Dent said other signs have gone missing in the neighborhood and suspects they were taken by the same man. Dent said he has also filed a police report.

Anyone who recognizes this man can send an e-mail to preserveramaposign@gmail.com

Michael Mandel said he will not challenge the results of the Conservative primary for Orangetown Town Board that show him losing by one vote.

Sometimes when candidates loses by a tiny (or not so tiny) margin, they ask for a recount or file a lawsuit.

For instance, Republican Paul Valentine said he was considering a legal challenge in the Independence Party primary race in District 17, which he lost by two votes to Legislator Connie Coker, D-South Nyack.

But Mandel said he was satisfied that the Board of Elections did a proper count. He said he personally went over the votes, and they looked legit.

“I was up there and we went over all the election forms from all the election districts, and the numbers all jived,� he said.

Mandel won’t be on the November ballot, but said he plans to launch a write-in campaign.

Fellow reporter Hannan Adely and I have been waiting for the last couple of hours for absentee and affidavit ballots totals to be released in a few local and county races.

Tick, tick, tick…

The Board of Elections told Hannan yesterday (and this morning!) that they would beging counting the ballots at 2:30 this afternoon. So we sent a photographer to capture the paper shuffling. And Hannan and I have been waiting to call and get reactions from the candidates. Especially close is an Orangetown Town Board race between Thomas Morr  and Michael Mandel in the Conservative Party separated currently by one vote

But then the computer broke down there. And then our photographer, Angela Gaul, had to leave. And I just placed a phone call to the board and found that Commissioners Ann Marie Kelly and Joan Silvestri were behind closed doors and no one had come out yet.

The office closes at 5 p.m.—though I know Kelly and Silvestri aren’t the type to shoot out the door when the little hand hits 5.

And other than us, I imagine there about a half a dozen candidates out there who are also waiting for that door to open. We’ll get back to you on the results.

The Ramapo Democrats appear to be an efficient bunch. In less than 24 hours after their convention on Wednesday night, campaign signs were seen on roadsides touting their full Town Board slate.

The convention was held to pick a candidate to replace the late Harry Reiss on the board, and Itamar Yeger, a New Hempstead village trustee, was the overwhelming favorite of the committee.

Yeger’s name was on the roadside signs by the following morning, a feat that may bring to mind the craftsman at the British Open who begins engraving Tiger Woods’ name into the Claret Jug before the tournament concludes.

Rockland County Legislator Connie Coker is doing something a little bit different to promote herself in the upcoming election. Instead of doing the palm card, glossy mailing, bumper sticker or pen-with-her-name-on-it bit, Coker’s drawing on a bit of life experience.

She’s handing out scrubs. Yup- as in the medical kind. But I guess it’s only natural given her career as a nurse midwife.

(Photo by Peter Carr/The Journal News)

The cranberry-colored scrubs, which she showed me at a recent candidates’ forum, say “Midwife Legislator Connie Delivers” on the front and “Rx: Vote for Legislator Coker” on the back.

Coker said she got the idea from the California Nurses Association who designed similar scrubs to promote filmmaker Michael Moore’s most recent movie, “Sicko.”

Coker, D-South Nyack, is being challenged by Republican businessman Paul Valentine.

Coker supporters can buy the scrubs for $15. Call 845-348-1525 for more information.

As the election nears, it appears that more calls come in to point out a possible abuse of governments’ money or a conspiracy.

Today’s call was about Haverstraw Highway Department’s dump trucks transporting dirt from a construction site on Railroad Avenue to the highway garage.

The caller, Louis “Butch” Babcock, a Republican who is running for town supervisor against Democratic incumbent Howard Phillips, said that it wasn’t appropriate for the town to use its manpower and equipment to haul the dirt, and that the town was doing a favor for the contractor, Scafidi.

I called Highway Superintendent Frank Brooks, a Democrat, to ask what was going on. Brooks said it was a common practice for the town to accept clean fill material from construction sites so the town could use the dirt for its parks and the golf course. Brooks said his men worked for about two days to transport about 450 square yards of dirt because it was a good deal for the town. He said clean fill material would have cost about $12 to $16 per square yard if the town had to buy it.

Babcock then said he believed that the highway department had many other important jobs to take care of other than hauling the dirt. He also said the contractor was one of the contributors to the Haverstraw Town Democratic Committee. I checked the committee’s financial disclosure reports on the state Board of Elections’ Web site, but I didn’t find the name as a donor.

Please let me know if I missed it.