New Rochelle resident Jabari Skeene is in Camp Shelby, Mississippi preparing to deploy to Kuwait in April.

Skeene's unit, New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment, is one of several New York State Army National Guard soldiers who are heading to the Middle East. Also mobilizing are the New York National Guard's 108th Infantry Regiment (Utica, NY) and 27th Brigade Combat Team (Syracuse).

Jabari Skeene lives on Lincoln Avenue in New Rochelle. On December 9th, the New Rochelle Fire Department responded to a "Christmas Tree" fire at his family's house at 147 Lincoln Avenue.

The 69th Infantry Regiment is known as the "Fighting Sixty-Ninth", a name said to have been given to it by Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. This unit is also the original owner of "Fighting Irish" nickname, which the University of Notre Dame inherited via chaplains who served with the unit during the Civil War.

The New Rochelle Board of Education has begun to implement the law originally drafted by New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin by publishing documents presented during meetings on the district's web site.

Paul Costiglio, spokesman for the district, tells Talk of the Sound the intent is to publish all the documents they get before the meeting in advance and then add additional documents as they get them.

The law went into effect on February 1, 2012.

The first New Rochelle Board of Education meeting under the new policy was held February 7, 2012.

Residents can now access all of the draft resolutions reviewed at board meetings as well as presentations and reports made by staff. There was a presentation by Dr. Rhonda Jones during the meeting. Costiglio says he will add that document shortly.

This is the City of New Rochelle with an important traffic advisory. A New York State Thruway Authority construction project will begin next week. There will be periodic lane closures in the vicinity of North Avenue near I-95 and our Transit Center, beginning with the closing of one block of Burling Lane. Closures on North Avenue itself will become more frequent starting in mid-April. We urge you to monitor conditions and make your commuting and other travelling plans accordingly.

For more information, visit www.newrochelleny.com/northaveconstruction.

Following is additional background about why this is happening and what is likely to occur moving forward.

The North Avenue bridge than spans I-95 has reached the end of its useful life, and must be replaced. The first phase of this project alone, which entails utility relocation, is expected to take about 18 months. Although at least one lane of traffic in both directions will be open for most of that time, frequent bottlenecks and delays will be unavoidable.

"Yesterday, we suffered a tragic loss in our community, as we learned that 14-year-old Eira Maghuyop of Yonkers took her own life. While the exact circumstances surrounding her death have not been disclosed, some media reports point to bullying as a contributing factor. I did not know Eira, but I am keenly aware that relentless bullying, and instances of cyberbullying in particular, have become all too frequent in our communities.

"Over the past several months, we have seen multiple tragedies in New York State involving teens grappling with the effects of cyberbullying. During that time, I've visited with students, parents, educators and advocates to learn more about how we can put an end to what has clearly become an epidemic.

"Today, I stand in solidarity with those who knew Eira, and those seeking to combat bullying in all its forms. Starting at 6 p.m., I will be deactivating my Facebook account for the next 24 hours.

Valentine’s Day marks the February calendar, but in tough economic times, there’s not a lot of love to go around in the world of government and politics. People are stressed and angry; some are unexpectedly unemployed, some are underemployed, and all are feeling the financial pressures of higher prices at the gas pump and costs for heating oil and natural gas even with an exceptionally dry winter. The commuter train service has been tolerable, but high property taxes remain the constant source of anger and frustration. And every day in the newspapers there seems to be another tale of official misdeeds, someone in office ripping off the system, while everyone else feels like they’re being taken advantage of. Where to begin to right these wrongs?

Get ready for commuter hell in New Rochelle courtesy of the New York State Thruway Authority.

The North Avenue Utility Relocation Project will begin next week. Over the next year and a half, utility lines carried by the North Avenue Bridge will be relocated in anticipation of demolishing the bridge in 2015. The bridge will then be replaced.

VOTE NOW: Will the Closing of North Avenue in May Have a Major Impact on You?

New Rochelle's traffic nightmare begins on February 23rd with minor street closings on North Avenue near the New Rochelle train station. By April, there will be complete lane closures on North Avenue and by mid-May the area around the train station at North Avenue (Station Plaza North, Burling Lane, and Garden Street. Parking in the area will also be closed off intermittently which will impact residences and medical offices along Burling Lane.

New Rochelle residents were warned by City officials to stay away from the area around the train station during the construction period which begins in earnest around May 15th and is expected to go on for 18 months.

UPDATE: See Editor's Note after the jump.

As I continue to involve my law firm with the internet world, I have come across some very useful legal links to websites and blogs. Here are a few that I check regularly:

– Are you a U.S. Supreme Court junkie? Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute is a terrific resource. Check out this link to review the latest decisions from the highest court in the land:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/

– There are so many other useful pages on this Cornell Law School site, but in particular, there is a link for New York law, which contains the NYS Constitution and statutes, Court of Appeals and Appellate Division decisions, and a lot more. Here is the link:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/states/ny.html

– Do you have questions about the NYS Civil Practice Law & Rules, better known as the CPLR? This blog has always been helpful to my litigation practice:

http://www.thecplrblog.com/

– I just added two RSS feeds to this Blog that you can find in the right column. The first is the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, and I always find it interesting:

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/

– The second is FindLaw’s Noteworthy Decisions & Settlements Blog: