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County Legislator Ed Day, a former NYPD Chief and Commander of Detectives, has been helping out at the sheriff’s department a little these days.
The New City Republican issued a press release today saying he “has formally requested that the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department review and assess the merits of procuring the cutting edge ‘Child Exploitation Tracking System’ software, also known as CETS, in order to enhance Rockland County’s investigative efforts against those sexual predators using the internet to victimize our youth.”
Late last month, Day was announcing a formal proposal that the sheriff look at using and inmate reimbursement software program called “Pay For Stay” that is used by some Midwest counties to get county jail inmates to pay for some of their expenses.
Rockland County Sheriff James Kralik, in both of Day’s press release (Ed’s a press release expert, btw) expresses interest in the ideas and thanks the legislator for his help.
Now, Ed Day is interested in lots of issues. And, he’s a real idea man—that’s hardly a bad thing. He’s well-known for his frenetic schedule and his accessibility to constituents. And law enforcement is his bread-and-butter. But, well, is he missing the uniform?

Now that Gov. Eliot Spitzer has announced his resignation, and that Lt. Gov. David Paterson will take over the ship of state on Monday, I’ll post a brief conversation I had yesterday with Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, who was on the GOP ticket in 2006 for lieutenant governor.
Vanderhoef often crossed paths with Paterson on the campaign trail, and in previous discussions about that experience, Vanderhoef had expressed a positive impression of his former political foe. “He’s very amiable, even in our two-hour debate, it was the proper tone for a debate … he talked about how they were going to pay for things and state policy,” Vanderhoef said during a call yesterday as we anticipated Spitzer’s resignation at some point, pushing Paterson into the governor’s seat.
“He has a wit and a good sense of humor and he’s likable; those are good traits that can be helpful to him in his new test if he becomes governor.”
Vanderhoef pointed out that the lieutenant governor is used to smooth over legislative relations, a switch from the job Paterson will soon find himself in. “Now, he’s there to argue his case for executive budget-making. The differentiation is, he has to provide the executive leadership and not the diplomatic leadership.” The Republican would not comment on whether he believed Paterson was up to that task, but has contrasted his former political adversary’s amiable approach with Spitzer’s steamrolling attitude.
Prior to today’s announcement, Vanderhoef had said Spitzer, as a candidate and as attorney general, emanated a certain attitude. “There’s a set of rules for him and he’s always operated that way.”
After today’s Spitzer press conference, Vanderhoef’s press release made the proper note that it was a “sad day” for our state, and offered his pledge of cooperation with the soon-to-be governor.

So what’s taking Gov. Eliot Spitzer so long to find the door?
It can only be that he’s trying to cut some deal related to his involvement with a prostitution ring.
That’s pretty sad, right up there with Bill Clinton’s finger-wagging denial of having sex with a White House intern.
Clinton looked us all in the eye and flat out lied to every one of us only later to be forced to admit an inappropriate—and wrong, he would add—relationship outside his marriage.
No, Spitzer hasn’t lied to us. But even his sketchy statement yesterday, with his wife by his side, contained an admission of “acting in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my — or any — sense of right and wrong.”
He went on to apologize to the public, saying he had promised us better.
Indeed, he had.
And an overwhelming percentage of voters bought the promise and hoped for reform, a reshaping of state government that hasn’t been in touch with residents’ needs for decades.
Instead, we got ego-driven hubris that created even stronger logjams in Albany.
We got missteps that embarrassed the state almost from the oath of office.
And yesterday we all got humiliated, watching another very private, personal tragedy played out in public because an official thought the ruled didn’t apply to him.
That’s a lesson many have learned the hard way at Spitzer’s hand in his days as attorney general.
How quickly the teacher forgot.
Delays now can only mean he’s twisting and turning, trying to find a back door, a loophole, that can provide some level of escape.
Considering how rigid he once was as a prosecutor, it’s wrong for him to hope someone will offer him a break.
It’s time to just go.

Does the public deserve answers from Gov. Eliot Spitzer?
Most certainly we deserve leadership. Spitzer gave a brief statement of apology this afternoon in New York City, “I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public whom I promised better.” He said he would “dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family” and had canceled his public schedule for the day.
“The sheriff of Wall Street” who morphed into a “steamroller” of a governor, ended his one-minute press conference by saying, “I will report back to you in short order,” then again thanking attendees and high-tailing it out of there. As he walked away, he was repeatedly asked if he was resigning; Spitzer walked quickly strode out, and a metal door slammed behind him.
The governor, he of quick temper and dogged pursuit of corporate wrongdoers, has admitted a mistake. He has let down his family. He has not, though, let us know if our state leadership, hammering out a budget plan that will certainly pinch many, has, well, a leader.
In short order, indeed, today, the governor must either answer all questions, or resign. We don’t get it both ways, and neither does he.
Sources have identified Gov. Spitzer as “Client No. 9” who was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month.
How much time does Spitzer need to mend his personal life? That is a question for his family, and frankly, it’s none of our business.
How much time should he get to determine his political future? A New York minute. The state can spare no less for a leadership vacuum.

Are you heading to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pearl River Sunday? Be prepared: It’s going to be chilly (40 degrees predicted high) and though stepoff time is 1:30 p.m., if you forget to “spring ahead” in the early morning hours, it’s 12:30 p.m.

Think those factors will slow down the crowd that has topped 50,000 some years? Nah! And now, with TOR now running its 92 bus on weekends, and weekend service on NJ Transit, there’s more ways to get to the parade, according to this article by JN transportation writer Khurram Saeed.

I hope to make it, if I change my clock, bundle up, find a parking space. Oh, yeah, and wear green.

What do Riverspace Arts in Nyack and the Tappan Zee Bridge/Interstate 287 Project Team have in common? Ambitious plans, great skepticism.

After attending Monday night’s Riverspace Arts discussion about a very early-in-the-stages plan to overhaul of a 4-acre area downtown, I was approached with optimistic, pessimistic and just plain skeptical comments that anything this big, this, could it be, sensical, could actually happen?

Like the discussion about the TZ Project Team open houses, the ambitious plans were often met with disbelief that it could happen at all. Or, the reaction was that the plans was going be shoved down Rockland’s throat and would be one that wouldn’t fit our county’s needs. Maybe so, but to minimize the chances, shouldn’t we be in there, helping shape the change?

Sure, both carry significant price-tags that, so far, have lots of money questions left unanswered.  Yet, “experts” in both situations insist the current status is unworkable. (With the bridge, we see that with the work crews every day.)

Now, these are very different projects, for very different purposes. Yet, for both, it’s interesting how hard it is to start a discussion when we get stuck in wrapping our minds around big change. I’m sure we’ll find out how that works in November, too.

Tough weekend for Rocklanders who drive through New Jersey. First, tolls on the George Washington Bridge (as well as the Lincoln and Holland tunnels) went up. Now, to cross the GWB during “peak times” it’s $8. (“Peak times” are weekdays from 6-9 a.m. and 4-7 p.m., and weekends, noon-8 p.m.)

Also, though New Jersey’s had a ban on using handheld cellphones while driving since 2004, this past weekend, it became a “primary” offense, meaning it was reason alone to pull you over and give you a ticket. The offense carries a $100 fine but no points. New York’s had a ban on using handheld cellphones while driving since 2001—the first state to ban them. I am sure you’ve all seen how well that works.

So, when you go to Jersey to fill up as gas prices rise, keep your hands off the phone, and steer clear of the GWB if your EZ-Pass account is running low.  (The TZ, at $4.50, is a bargain!)

You know what’s really cool? Saturday’s “What’s Really Cool” conference at 1:30 p.m. at Finkelstein Library. The event, for girls grades 7-12, is hosted by the Mental Health Association of Rockland, the American Association of University Women, the county Youth Bureau and POW’R Against Tobacco.

I was lucky enough to attend a couple years ago, and watch the hard work and dedication of MHA staff and AAUW volunteers who really got the girls to talk about important, and tough, issues. Youth Council members did some skits. (Uh, I helped clean up, because that was really all I was qualified for…) Topics change every year, but it all comes down to teaching good decision making, confidence and self-trust, which is often in short supply among young women.

Look at today’s article to find out more.

I was a high school kid from the South Bronx when I first got a look at the Bear Mountain Inn. My school and a couple of others, including one from Long Island, had bused us up to the country for our Senior Field Day. I loved everything about the place.
I didn’t make it back until the 1970s, after I was married, and over time the Inn became one of the places we liked to go with our parents and in-laws for Sunday Brunch. After they were gone, we continued going there with the kids as they got older.
Several years back, when the Inn closed for renovations, that ended and we found other places for Mother’s Day and the like.
If you’re like me, every now and then, you get to wanting more than a bagel on a Sunday morning.
And sure, there are plenty of places that serve one form or another of brunch. But few measure up to a trip to the Bear Mountain Inn and a journey back in time for a walk in the sunshine around the field where we tossed a Frisbee and played touch football that June day in 1965.
So when State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash came calling on the Editorial Board with Jim Hall, who replaced her as executive director of the Palisades Interstate Parks Commission—which oversees the Inn—I had to ask when I’d next be able to enjoy Eggs Benedict and a Belgian waffle at the inn of my youth.
Don’t call for reservations any time soon, was the simple answer.
The more complete and complex answer is that they didn’t have all the money needed to renovate the entire building at once, so they decided to do it in stages. During the process, Hall says, they found that the pieces didn’t work well together. Add to that the impact of the Wicks Law, which requires multiple contractors on state projects of a certain size, and there are built-in delays.
The first floor of the Inn is pretty much finished after extensive renovation that uncovered plenty of unanticipated issues that needed costly and time-consuming solutions.
The commission is out to bid—can you believe it—on the demolition for the second floor and for an operator for the restaurant that will eventually exist there.
How long will it all take?
Well, Hall said, it could be the end of the summer.
That’s 2009, not the one coming up.
It could be possible to open the first floor—with the gift shop, hiker’s lounge and meeting room—before the rest of the restoration, but there’s also something to be said for holding off and having a Grand Re-opening, Hall said.
So, I asked, “I’m better planning for brunch in the fall of 2009?”
That’s a good guess, I was told.
But that’s if everything goes smoothly.