Illegals Prefer Emergency Room Visits

Polls indicate Obamacare will boost, not reduce Emergency Room visits. Supporters of the healthcare reform legislation passed by Congress claim it will reduce emergency room visits by providing nearly all Americans with the insurance they can use to see a primary care physician. I've seen first-hand a restructuring of the remaining area hospitals emergency rooms and now additional triage rooms. Why a triage area? Because the amount of people using the emergency rooms for primary care has negatively altered the real emergency care delivered for people with true emergencies.

A new survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) found that 97 percent of doctors every day treat Medicaid patients in their emergency departments because the patients could not find a doctor willing to treat them for the fee Medicaid would pay. If Obamacare provides insurance that reimburses physicians at Medicaid rates, visits to the ER will likely increase, according to ACEP. In fact, 89 percent of doctors polled said they believe ER visits will increase under Obamacare. 

“This poll confirms what we are witnessing in Massachusetts — that visits to emergency rooms are going to increase across the country, despite healthcare reform, and that health insurance coverage does not guarantee access to medical care,” said ACEP President Sandra Schneider. “While hundreds of emergency rooms across the country have been forced to shut down due to financial issues, increasing the workload at those remaining open, and the healthcare reform law fails to address this issue,” she added.

In Sleepy Hollow, Phelps Memorial Hospital anticipates an increase to the tune in excess of $40 million of loss per year. When queried as to why, I was told because NYS law entitles anyone requesting medical aid treatment, specifically with ER’s, and they cannot be turned away. Nearly half of the physicians surveyed in ACEP’s poll said fear of lawsuits is the biggest challenge to cutting costs in emergency rooms, and 53 percent said their fear of lawsuits was the main reason for ordering many of the tests they perform. That speaks volumes. The intent of not turning people away from ER’s requesting treatment was originally meant to provide emergency care to those truly in need, but without health insurance or a job with income. Once again, the extremists morphed this into what they wanted it to be, ultimately forcing the closure of many hospitals. Locally, we’ve seen Saint Agnes Hospital in White Plains, and United Hospital of Port Chester, close.

The effects of closing hospitals in our area has been dramatic. While it’s not politically correct to say who benefits the most from this liberal interpretation of the NYS law requiring treatment for all, the people working in the ER’s tell me it’s primarily the illegal alien population, aided by patient rights representatives that we also pay for. All of our area hospitals have recently renovated their emergency room areas to have more seats in the waiting room, more beds in the ER, larger staffs, and most importantly, larger triage areas. Why is that important? Because ambulances routinely bring victims and patients in around-the-clock. What used to be a routine call for them of 45 minutes to and hour, has been increased to at least an hour to an hour and a half. And, most are volunteer fire or ems personnel, giving their time to their communities. When they arrive at a hospital, they can no longer allow just any nurse or doctor “sign off” on receiving a patient. Now specific triage people must do that. Then there’s the sometimes long wait just to get a patient off of their stretcher onto the hospitals stretcher or bed. Going to an emergency room nowadays is like visiting a Friendly's Restaurant: there are a lot of people moving around and looking busy, but nobody is helping you! Get used to it.

Undocumented Immigrants To Get Tuition Breaks – and More!

A headline buried inside the Journal News read, Undocumented Immigrants Getting Tuition Breaks. This is the very type of issue and position that is what’s wrong with our current crop of legislators. The issue can be morphed into a Town of Greenburgh issue. Maryland, Illinois and Connecticut are all poised to allow illegal immigrants, undocumented workers, aliens, etc., the ability to go to school, as are Oregon and Rhode Island. While the need for an education is paramount to all, it should be to all if they are a legal, tax paying resident of their state and our country.

Recently, Victor Rojas, 16 years old, of Greenburgh, was arrested for hosting an underage drinking and drug-use party of about sixty kids. Police arrested Rojas and charged him with underage drinking, hosting a party with alcohol, and such. Where were his parents during this illegal event? Police found a sixteen year old girl passed out on the floor from apparent an alcohol overdose. His parents were also charged. Interestingly, he gave his address as 21 McKinnley Street in White Plains. And, while being questioned, he bit a police officer. So in addition to being arrested for 25 counts of unlawfully dealing with a child for allegedly supplying alcohol at the party, he added assaulting a police officer. It remains to be seen if he will be prosecuted as a youthful offender or an adult.

The other crime here, beyond the drugs and alcohol usage is that he and his family were committing fraud against the White Plains School District using his aunt’s address in White Plains. So Rojas’ phony permanent address enabled him to attend the White Plains schools instead of the Greenburgh schools. His mother would drive him to school daily and pick him up at the end of the day. The crime? Falsely attending one school district’s school while living outside the district and financially defrauding them by attending their school.

Many would say it’s no big deal. But it is. These same people would say the undocumented immigrants (not so with Rojas), vis á vis illegal aliens, need an education too. In fact they’re entitled to it. While that’s debatable, who pays for it is not up for debate, so in fact, they are not entitled. The taxes to fund our school systems are paid by taxpaying property owners – nobody else. Legal citizens pay. If they are actual property owning immigrants, who followed our rules and regulations about being here and are playing by the rules, they have a say in the issue. As such, these are the people that should be making these decisions, not some vote-hungry politician who knows if it’s presented in their liberal state, not enough people will rise up and vote against it. In time it will get worse.

Lawmakers Playing Games Again

Government Discrimination
Our County lawmakers are delusional. In the Saturday Journal News headline, “Astorino: HUD Actions Go To Far”, by Gerald McKinstry, states, “Democrats on the Board of Legislators criticized the administration for going it alone and called Astorino’s announcement ‘highly disappointing’.”  However, this is the same legislature that then County Executive Andy Spano also chose to exclude during the plea deal process he brokered with the Housing and Urban Development arm of the Federal Government with the Housing Desegregation Lawsuit. I think it speaks volumes when the Democratic County Executive choses to not work hand-in-hand with his democratic Legislature!

McKinstry’s article states the parameters of the Housing Desegregation settlement that democrat Andy Spano agreed to with democratic-majority approval from the previous legislature. It mandates that Westchester leverage $51.6 million for the creation of 750 affordable homes over seven years in 31 of Westchester’s mostly white communities for ONLY blacks and hispanics. That's not a reversal of discrimination, rather, its a government sanctioned discrimination. Is one really better than another? I don't think so.

Stand For Your Conviction
County Executive Astorino believes the segregation agreement was the wrong decision to make. As then County Executive Spano stated in one of his press conferences, he just wanted the county’s legal department to make this lawsuit go away. In lawyer-speak, this means find a way to settle. They did. Then his legislature did. Now Astorino won’t abide by the two decisions. Good for him. Finally, we’re seeing some leadership in Westchester. By the way, I don’t agree with everything Astorino is trying to do via his methodology, but in principal find more to agree with than disagree.

Interestingly, the legislature should be in agreement with the County Executive. When the hearings regarding the settlement were taking place, the majority of individuals who spoke were against the settlement, maintaining we were not racist or prejudiced against anyone moving in next door. The only people who spoke in support of the settlement were those in the DSS system receiving benefits or a paycheck. I spoke to one single-parent woman who believed she was now going to be able to move to Scarsdale and have her children attend the Scarsdale schools. She wasn’t interested in discussing other ramifications her children might experience being there or the lottery she’d need to be chosen from to move there.

Shameless Self-Promotion
In the ‘Westchester County Board of Legislators NEWS’ boilerplate mailing, which is really nothing more than a campaign piece in disguise, it states there was an increase in Westchester’s total population by 3%, or 25,654 people. The biggest growth was in the northern part of the county, with the southern part losing population. I know taxes are lower up north and the amount of property per dollar ratio is significantly greater, offering more bang for the buck; there are no known gangs, although there soon will be; less traffic and less congestion; malls with free parking and the list goes on. Could any of these along with unmentioned reasons be the cause for the shift? No doubt.

Movin’ On Up
From the same campaign piece: “The Hispanic/Latino population grew by 21% in the county, reflecting the largest demographic growth, with Port Chester now 59.4% Hispanic/Latino and Sleepy Hollow now 51.5% Hispanic/Latino.” What’s not mentioned because its not within the scope of the census, is the influx of the same groups into the county, and how many are living in illegally adapted housing, whether they are working legitimately or in the “gray market” (on the books paying withholding taxes or working for cash); are in gangs; may be here legally or not? The list of questions goes on. We see more and more communities alarmed not over the influx of legal immigrants, but that of the illegal ones and the services we are bound to provide to them by law as long as they simply apply, straining our already limited funds. We even increase this ease by accommodating them with language interpreters. Just think of how many of our seniors who have paid their taxes for their entire lives could be receiving help if the funds were available...

What Westchester Legislators Believe
So if the County Legislators are to be believed, Westchester is racist because they favor continued blind adherence to the settlement. Astorino does not. They send out mailings, which the latest one admits that there is a huge increase in the minority population. They should be standing next to Astorino, fists held high, championing the cause against the settlement because without county interference, the population balance has shifted. It doesn't mean anything though as Ken Jenkins and crew insist on fostering partisan politics, not what is good for the County and it’s residents. I still maintain we are not racists. If you can afford to live in any community, then you do. No real estate agent, home seller or other type of seller, especially in this economic climate, will turn down a sale. 

School Board Arrogance

Greenburgh taxpayers experience yearly tax increases from our Supervisor and his hand-picked Town Board. It’s bad enough that Paul Feiner continually acts illegally; now we see the Central 7 School District, yearly violators of the public trust, resubmitting their previously defeated school budget, AS IT WAS, when it was defeated for a vote this Tuesday.

In today's Journal News, the only daily newspaper left in Westchester, albeit on one leg, Carolyn Jones penned a letter to the editor pasted below:

“The Greenburgh Central 7 School Board is at it again. The voters defeated their proposed 5.88 percent tax hike last month. Their brochure before the vote said they would abide by the election results.

After the vote, the school board president said it was a bad idea to resubmit the same budget.

Yet, on Tuesday, June 21, the board is putting the exact same budget up for a vote again. No thoughts of cuts to the $363,232 for the chief school administrator or to anything else.

This show of contempt will spend taxpayer money for a needless election just to try to soothe the board members' egos.

Please go to the Woodlands gym Tuesday June 21 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. and vote no one last time to this same 5.88 percent tax hike budget.

Carolyn Jones
Hartsdale”

I felt it important to reprint here because she accurately and succinctly makes the case for everybody to get out and vote against this budget. The school board knows that for a special election, they'll not see a big turn out, resulting in the probable passage of this previously defeated budget. What happened to our newly elected Board members? Why aren't they protesting this move? Are they looking to go along to get along like others before them? If they are, they shouldn't get too comfortable in their newly elected seats.

The 2011-12 spending by the Greenburgh School Board will increase by 1.8%, based on an estimated tax rate of $435.77 per $1k assessed value. This will result in a 5.8% school tax increase! The only "No" vote was from the President, Lloyd Newland, whom we think actually gave the taxpayers a brief thought of concern. There were three incumbent candidates who ran, and two won, Charles Bronz and Terry Williams. While they were re-elected, Monique Haygood-Massey was defeated. I think out of the three, I would have kept Haygood-Massey, but then again, I usually don't run with the herd.

It's the incumbent ones, such as Charles Bronz and Terry Williams, who will say they do it for the children, not the unions or the special interests or the salary increases. It's bull! People are struggling but the "old timers" such as these are not interested in the public or the children, just keeping their little fiefdoms in place. 

We're not getting good candidates willing to run for anything anymore. The political machines make it a point to tear down good people if they aren't towing the party line. Trust me, I know how this feels. We're only getting people who follow, not lead. We see it with Bronz's successor, Alfreda Williams and now we may see it with Williams’ Town Clerk pick. Even the Democrat taxpayers should find this objectionable.

We need to get away from this partisan hatred that has pervaded and overtaken politics. We need balance in everything we do, politics included. We need people to join in, not tune out. We need to do it for the kids. I say that tongue and cheek because when things get sticky, everything is always for the kids. Reality is, we need to do it for us all.

5.8% School Tax Increase; They Think We Don't Get It!

Last week saw most school districts' yearly school budget vote. And, as in year's past, the worn, dog-eared "Vote Yes" signs came out of the closet, from behind the workbench, or down from the attic storage to be used yet again, for the children. It's always for the children. Never do the signs display the truth, that its For the Administrators or For the Teachers or For the Unions. Sure, it's disingenuous, but it also perpetuates the stereotypical blight that our schools claim to find themselves in at each school election cycle.

The Journal News, nowadays reduced in physical dimension and content to the size of a flyer, reported that only three budgets were rejected. One that was rejected but wasn't mentioned in the article was the Greenburgh Central 7 school budget. The vote was 403 to 398. The budget lost by five votes and will require a re-vote on June 21. But that wasn't mentioned. Add to the defeat that the sitting Board members don't want to have an austerity budget prepared and voted on. Rather, they just want this same budget re-proposed, knowing that the public won't come out en masse and it will pass as is!

The Journal News could have done more with this story but didn't. It's not that I want them to knock Greenburgh; rather, I simply hope they would do their jobs and report all aspects of what is going on, investigating where required and not be stenographers for any politicians. Just do your job!

The 2011-12 spending by the Greenburgh School Board will increase by 1.8%, based on an estimated tax rate of $435.77 per $1k assessed value. This will result in a 5.8% school tax increase! The only "No" vote was from the President, Lloyd Newland. Why? The other Board members voted yes. Out of the three incumbent candidates who ran, two, Charles Bronz and Terry Williams were re-elected and one, Monique Haygood-Massey was defeated. Perhaps voters decided it was time for a bit of a change. I know all of them and know they are nice people. But after being in office for so many years, they all may have gotten stale and should be rotated out. Out of those three, I think the voters got it wrong. New blood, new ideas and new solutions? It could just work.

I had a conversation with one candidate campaigning outside the Woodlands gymnasium and asked why should I vote for her? She said there were a number of things she would like to see change. One of the greatest challenges is the amount of administrators the Greenburgh system has. I agree. She also said the pension system is cause for concern and needs improvement. I agree. She said we can't keep operating with business as usual. I agree. Two of my concerns was that if she's elected, will she a) be able to challenge the incumbents who tend to feel more bulletproof after an election; b) will continue on her proposed track when times turn around. We'll see.

The school taxes are the real killer for Greenburgh tax payers. Politicians who pander to the next feel-good cause, as our Supervisor does when he feels it's time to get his name out there, don't really serve the public, but themselves. It's why term limits are so attractive to many. If we're really concerned about rising taxes in Greenburgh, lets hold the school board members feet to the fire. If they ignore us, let's clean house and start with a new slate. Don't buy into their spin that only they know how the system works and should remain. Good people will learn the ropes in short time, as they once did, and be able to bring about real change - not for the children, but for their parents!

Vincent Leibell: Guilty Is, As Guilty Wants

Whenever the discussions of criminals getting caught arises, someone always asks the obvious: “How much illegal activity did the perpetrator commit before they got caught?” We’d all like to know, but rarely get that insight.

In the Saturday edition of the Journal News ‘circular’, Mike Risinit’s article discusses the moves, which seem more like contortions, of the now guilty Vincent Leibell. He’s seeking to forego doing his two years of jail time by “offering” to  “serve” his time oversees helping to forge the future of countries now in turmoil, such as Libya and Iraq. Our question is a simple one: how about the turmoil Leibell create here in the Hudson Valley and New York? What can he do about that? Go to jail. Relinquish his state pension, repay the monies lost or stolen and then serve his time in jail such as other disgraced politicos as Eliot Spitzer and Alan Hevesi.

I quote from the Journal News: “Leibell's letter, along with those from his wife, Helen; his mother-in-law; his children; local officials; former Albany colleagues and others are among more than 100 letters submitted to the judge by his lawyer, David L. Lewis. The writers include former Sen. Nicholas Spano of Yonkers, Sen. Steve Saland of Poughkeepsie and Putnam County Clerk Dennis Sant. They are attached to an 84-page document in which Lewis explains why Leibell should serve no jail time.” 

First, I expect his immediate family to plead on his behalf, but wonder about his mother in law’s motivation. Sorry, bad mother-in-law joke. His attorney, David L. Lewis, says that due to Leibell’s age, no prior criminal history, his public service and his need for alcohol treatment, Leibell should not be sentenced to jail.

Second, regardless of his age, he broke the law, which has no statue of limitation on age. Once we caught him, he pled guilty and he needs to pay the price for breaking the law. If average people are convicted of a crime, they should go to jail. We also know that politicians get preferential treatment. Don’t be surprised when his punishment is meted out by the courts, it’s all house arrest with time served, community service, and probation, ultimately avoiding jail time completely. He won’t need to scheme his way out of jail. But, as a self-admitted criminal, it’s all he is used to doing.

Third, his ‘no prior criminal history’ is a joke. Poorly executed crimes by incompetent criminals usually end with their getting caught the first time around. Leibell was a skilled criminal who did not get caught for quite some time. 

Fourth, there is a criminal history, he just didn't get caught for it. His public service and illegal activities during the same period is why he got caught and pled guilty to these crimes.

Fifth, irony intended, he is in need of alcohol treatment. I believe they offer that in prison and being incarcerated is a great way to not have to worry about a relapse. This reminds me of every entertainer who hasn’t gotten any press or publicity, so they announce they were abused as a child.

Sixth, and finally, he pled guilty! He admitted he did what he was charged with. This was a blatant admission once he got caught breaking the law. Rather than have them dig into other activities of his life, and find other illegal or at least questionable dealings, knowing what they’d find, he took everything off the table with his admission of guilt.

In the end, another shamed, guilty politician’s shenanigans were brought out into the open and the cause of his demise. Let his family and friends write all the letters they’d like. Just keep these requests at arms length and give the public justice. There are many politicians and future politicians who are upstanding citizens. These are the people we want to represent us. Good luck, Mr. Leibell.

Elmsford Little League Has Major League Grand Marshall

As signs of spring painstakingly take it's time arriving, one constant happens without fail, the Elmsford Little League's Annual Parade, kicking off the baseball season.  This year would be a bit different as the kids lined up on North Stone Avenue. 

The band leads the parade.

Grand Marshall NY Mets & NY Yankees star Darryl Strawberry,  leads the procession of baseball players.

Fire trucks make every parade official.

Yes, more players and parents than ever before would be participating in the parade. Yes, the fire department with it's personnel on board and the shiny fire trucks would be at the end of the parade. Yes, they would all proceed down the side streets of Elmsford, onto Route 9A and into the Elmsford Little League Field. And yes, the Grand Marshall, former NY Met and NY Yankee Darryl Strawberry would smile and continually wave and greet fans and players. Yes, today everybody was a Darryl Strawberry fan. Yes, today everybody was a baseball fan. And yes, spring had finally sprung - at least enough to have one of the most fun, purely baseball, and purely child-like days in Elmsford. This was simply a nice day where everything fell into place. The police department and the highway department made sure of it. Thanks to everyone, especially to Darryl Strawberry, an honorary Elmsford Little Leaguer. Who's next?