The Ursuline School in Mourning, Feb 1, 2012

"The Ursuline School is deeply saddened by the loss of a fine young member of our school community. Our hearts and prayers are with our student's family in their grief. We have visited the family and offered comfort. We have held special assemblies for all of our students, who are in mourning. We have made available extra counselors to students and staff. We appreciate prayers of support."

College of New Rochelle guard Alyssa Pechin has been selected as the HVWAC Basketball Rookie of the Week for the third time this season. The freshman from Yonkers, NY scored in double figures during a 1-1 week of conference play for the Blue Angels. Pechin accumulated 15 points, eight assists and six steals in only 11 minutes of action in a win over Vaughn. For the week, Pechin averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 steals and 5.0 assists.

The New Rochelle City Council has appointed fifteen citizen volunteers to serve on the Citizens’ Panel on Sustainable Budgets. Tasked with analyzing service delivery levels and methods in the face of dwindling resources for 2013 and beyond, the panel will convene in February and work through July to produce recommendations in time for next year’s budget considerations.

The panel brings together citizens with experience in finance, administration and other relevant fields and will be chaired by resident Todd Kern. Members include Judith Berger, David Bieber, Michael Boyle Sr., Emily Bromberg, Kyran Cassidy, Matthew Costa, Michael D’Ambrosio, Jeffrey Hastie, Linda Kelly-Fauci, Bo Kemp, Martha Lopez-Hanratty, David Peters, Ann Rolett, and John Rorer. Additionally, pro bono consulting services will be provided by North Avenue Research, a team led by New Rochelle resident Mark Grotevant.

Selections were made from a strong pool of applicants in at-large and council district appointments. Mayor Noam Bramson will also serve on the committee along with two rotating members of City Council.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that Tanisha Gomez (DOB 06/18/85) of 132-39 88th Street, Ozone Park, New York, pled guilty today to all counts of a nine count indictment that charged her with:

• three counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, class “B” Felonies,
• one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
• one count of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, a class “D” Felony,
• one count of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, an unclassified Misdemeanor in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,
• two counts of Driving While Intoxicated, unclassified Misdemeanors in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,
• one count of Reckless Driving, an unclassified Misdemeanor in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.

The Iona College Athletics Department, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, will host a Blood Drive on campus on Jan. 31, 2012.

The department invites anyone in the Iona Community come out participate in this goodwill effort. The blood drive will run from 9 am - 5 pm, and will be held on campus in the Hegarty Multi Purpose Room of the Hynes Athletics Center.

All donors will receive a coupon for a free pound of Dunkin' Donuts Coffee.

The American Red Cross and the MAAC joined together to create the MAAC Blood Drive Challenge as a fun and competitive way to emphasize the critical importance of donating blood. A trophy will be awarded to the school that draws the most donors.

MSG Varsity, Cablevision’s 24/7 HD network dedicated to all things high school, will televise the White Plains HS vs. New Rochelle HS boys basketball game Friday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m. on Cablevision’s iO TV channel 14.

The game will also stream live on www.msgvarsity.com/livecast, on Thursday, January 26 at 4:30pm. In addition to the full game coverage, MSG Varsity’s Westchester edition of “High School SportsDesk” (7:00 p.m. nightly on MSG Varsity) is THE place to tune into for ALL the latest highlights, interviews and scores from around Westchester.

MSG Varsity is available exclusively to Cablevision’s iO TV subscribers on channel 14; once broadcast, all games are also available on-demand on iO channel 614.

NOTE: New Rochelle citizens will gather at 10AM on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at New Rochelle City Hall to voice their outrage at the illegal and irresponsible garbage tax that will cost every New Rochelle home and apartment owner hundreds of dollars more in city taxes every year.

Shakespeare in his timeless tragedy Romeo and Juliet said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". In other words, regardless of what name you call something, it doesn't change what it is and it certainly doesn't change the way it smells. In the 2012 New Rochelle city budget, Mayor Bramson and the City Council hid a $223.00 tax for every single house and individual apartment in New Rochelle. They refer to this tax as a Garbage Fee but that doesn't change the way it smells or what it is…it stinks and it’s a tax.