The Town of Pound Ridge is an active community with an energetic volunteer spirit. Volunteers provide an important public service and help ma…
In what feels like is becoming a trend, our elected officials once again voted unanimously to bring in outsiders/consultants to the Town of Bedford. At last Tuesday’s town board meeting, it was announced that they would engage Pace University in order to gain more working knowledge of divers…
Do you know what news to trust and share? Are you familiar with fact-based standards of journalism?
Frankly, I had a mixed reaction after reading Jackie Friedman’s recent guest column, “Will there be a train waiting for me?” (Jan. 6). Ms. Friedman movingly described her fears of rising anti-Semitism in the United States. In addition, in my opinion she is correct in tying the increasing fr…
The final stage of New York State Redistricting is underway: the redrawing of New York State Assembly districts. There is now an opportunity for community members to express their views about the composition of their Assembly districts.
Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagan signed into law Martin Luther King Jr. Day. At first, he was fiercely against it, but eventually he came around to support it. Americans’ ambivalence about honoring the visionary civil rights leader with a federal holiday remains to this today. Only 5…
The Town of Pound Ridge has had an Open Space Acquisition Committee since 2000. Funding the work of this all-volunteer town committee and its ultimate objective to purchase and conserve important, local vacant lands, town residents have approved a series of referendums over the past 20 years…
No one gets things right all the time. That’s why, in the case of school districts, municipal bodies and other entities, provisions are made in rules of governance for an outsider or third party to take a close look at the subject’s management practices.
The social media pages named “Every Single Student” on Facebook and every single_student on Instagram may have good intentions, but their name and execution are morally questionable to me.
Like 57% of Lewisboro, I lost power during the wind and rain event of Friday, Dec. 23. Moreover, my misery was company to hundreds of households and businesses remaining in frigid darkness Saturday into Sunday.
I am opposed to the proposed leaf blower ban in Pound Ridge for several reasons, not the least of which is that the electric equipment is virtually useless for fall cleanup. Landscapers will be spending much more time per property creating more noise for longer periods of time, all while cos…
The Kroll report provided evidence of the lack of management in Bedford Central schools and lack of oversight by the Board of Education, which has plagued our district for the past three decades.
It is disappointing to see that proposals to limit gas leaf blowers continue to cause controversy in Pound Ridge. Whereas the case against the blowers is airtight — excessive noise, pollution, habitat destruction and carbon emissions — opponents of common-sense restrictions ignore these data…
My family has lived in Bedford Village for over 65 years. We wholeheartedly support improved cell coverage in Bedford and believe that the problem can be readily resolved without resorting to our leaders making polarizing statements designed to set neighbor against neighbor. Political polari…
Monday evening’s Bedford Planning Board public hearing continuation of the town’s own push for Verizon to install a 130-foot cell tower and 900-foot-long access road bulldozed through a pristine woodland is the dictionary definition of how not to run a fair and objective process. No hint of …
After almost six years of research and deliberation, the right combination of “most gap coverage” and “least visibility" for Bedford may have been found. The cell tower has to go somewhere, so why not select the best choice? The six-year attempt by the Bedford Planning Board to protect visib…
Our community’s health and safety depend on the ability to have cellphone service in an emergency. Our police, fire, and ambulatory care heroes have all spoken on the topic. Yet, a BRLA member thrown from a horse can’t reach 911. Likewise, workers building a home can cut a finger off with a …
Bedford lost an incredible resident last month when Judy Richter passed away on Nov. 30. Judy owned Coker Farm on Stone Hill Road for over 50 years and was the definition of the “ultimate horsewoman.” She was an accomplished author who wrote stories about living on her farm, as well as books…
Another year of cell tower site controversy in Bedford. And big capital improvement projects got the greenlight from voters in both school districts.
Summarizing a year of news in a few editorial columns is a daunting task. For starters, there’s the sheer volume of articles we have published over the past 49 weekly issues. This week makes issue number 50, with one more to go before year end — note that we will not be publishing an issue o…
I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed leaf blower law.
Pound Ridge residents like me are in the midst of a discussion on whether to use gas or electric leaf blowers. It seems our town board has been convinced by the proponents of the electric version that it is in the best interest of all of us to adopt them and do away with the gas version. Man…
I am writing in regards to the leaf blower ban being considered by the members of our Pound Ridge Town Board.
I moved to Pound Ridge 26 years ago because I found a community that cared about one another. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, young or old or a person of color. What did matter was a community that would always lend a helping hand. A small community with a big heart who appreciate…
Bonnie Schwartz’s letter (“Leaf blower law is unfair to those who rely on hired help,” Dec. 2) brings up the same old objections raised every time a community looks to moderate gas leaf blower use.
Please join me on Dec.13 in opposing the Pound Ridge town board’s proposed seasonal ban of gas-powered leaf blowers. Given it appears the town hasn’t filed financials since 2019 and the potential for the Highway Department to unionize, it would seem the board has bigger issues than complicat…
We have often said that letters to the editor are a good measure of community engagement. Regardless of the views expressed, they reflect an interest in sharing viewpoints and opinions with other readers and show a desire to contribute to an ongoing dialogue on issues of importance to our co…
For several years now, the Bedford Planning Board has actively confronted the difficult task of determining how cellular coverage will be brought to Bedford. Those who put themselves on the line to serve our community have confronted highly impactful wireless applications, onerous federal le…
I stand behind the Pound Ridge Fire District’s proposal to expand and renovate our firehouse. As a longtime resident of Pound Ridge, I understand the need for a fully equipped and professionally functioning fire service.
I agree with the observations made by Kevin Warren, from Bedford about our school buses being largely empty due to the common practice of parents driving to drop off/pick up their own kids to/from school. (“Climate change fight is being lost to empty school buses,” Nov. 10.) It has gotten ou…
The 2022 midterms have restored my faith in Democracy! Democrats have retained control of the Senate, and are likely to keep losses in the house in the single digits. For the first time since 1934, the president’s party had a net gain of governorships in the first midterm.
The Lewisboro Garden Club thanks the many town residents who continue to create the Golden Roads of Lewisboro by planting daffodils along our roadsides, by their donations and by purchasing our daffodil bulbs.
I wish to draw the attention of Pound Ridge residents to the proposed addition and update to the Pound Ridge Firehouse. Our volunteer fire fighters deserve our gratitude and a safe environment: a building where injury hazards are limited and their personal protective gear is separated from c…
I am writing in response to Mr. Warren's well-intentioned, but assuming, comments regarding parents picking their children up from school, rather than utilizing school buses (“Climate change fight is being lost to empty school buses,” Nov. 10). Mr. Warren attributes this to children refusin…
I am writing in response to your article regarding Coach Swertfager (“Supporters out in force for coach Swertfager,” Nov. 10).
The current fence rules for the Town of Bedford are really a variance, and there are costs and time waiting for approvals to be issued. If you didn’t notice, recently the 8-foot-plus height fences at Martha Stewart’s home were forced to get a variance and approved. Why is this happening? Is …
We hope your Thanksgiving table was full and welcoming. Now that the holiday is over, local town boards have a busy final month of the year ahead of them, with several pieces of legislation on their respective tables. That’s in addition to the annual town budgets for next year that need to b…
Local soccer fans this week are no doubt thrilled to watch the opening round of play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, being held in Qatar. But what they might not realize is that one of Bedford’s own — Giovanni Reyna — is playing on the United States national team.
While election write-ins are not common or typically associated with a winning campaign strategy, they have become increasingly popular over the last few years. At the national level, write-ins accounted for 0.11% of the popular vote in 2012 and 0.51% in 2016; that number was likely even hig…
With Thanksgiving week approaching, there is much to be grateful for.
I am writing to correct inaccuracies in an article “No easy answers for issues vexing Bedford Village” (July 22) concerning the water supply in The Farms/Old Post Road Water District in Bedford that contained PFOA and PFOS above New York’s “maximum contaminant levels” (MCLs). PFOA and PFOS …
As the climate continues to change, temperatures rise, droughts impact our town and countries around the world, you’d be hard-pressed to know anything was happening living in the Town of Bedford. Empty school buses sit parked while the long line of parents in idling cars sit, waiting for the…
I would like to set the record straight on the story that was printed on Oct. 21 regarding the 2023 library budgeting discussion at the Oct. 18 Bedford Town Board meeting (“Town board adjusts library funding”). While the article correctly recorded post-meeting comments that were made, the st…
Last week (letter to the editor, “Meaning of pink signs with ‘choice’?” Nov. 4) someone wrote that “Leading voters to believe that they have a “choice” without actually defining that choice is patronizing at best, and deceitful and dangerous at worst.”
We can never remember enduring a tick season that has been this bad so late in the season. It’s the second week of November, just about halfway to Thanksgiving, and we’re still battling the nasty, little parasites like we were back in July, daily pulling them off our dogs and, sometime, our…
Election time is upon us, and as always, the battle cry is heard from coast to coast. There is, however, this time a sharpness to the cry we rarely heard before. The pitch is shrieking higher day by day, as to intone dramatic outcome. Each side is more convinced than usual of the righteousne…
This week in our final issue before Election Day on Nov. 8, we continue to announce our candidate endorsements in several local races.
Local voters who are registered to vote in this year’s general election are finding well-contested races for New York State Senate and Assembly.
I’ve lived in Westchester County since I was 2 years old and, more than anything, I want what is best for my county and my community. I work with the Foundation for Bedford Central Schools, and education and safety are of the utmost importance to me. This is why I’m voting to reelect Assembl…
