Northern Westchester

Stepinac’s Conroy Baltimore shoots over Horace Greeley’s Matt Townsend during one of the final games at the Slam Dunk Tournament at the Westchester County Center in White Plains today. Photo by Seth Harrison

Stepinac defeated Horace Greeley 61-42 to win the championship game. Look for tournament coverage at Lohud.com and in tomorrow’s edition of The Journal News. View a gallery of photos from Stepinac vs. Horace Greeley.

This month Geraldine Mahoney retires as director of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library after 14 years there.

She said she is looking forward to spending time with her family and enjoying other interests, like going to musuems and theater. Currently, the village has posted the job opening.

She has overseen the rebuilding and expansion of the community’s library, written a blog for the library and  kept up with managing new library trends and reading new books.

Here is how she wrote her own biography for her Director’s Blog:

I have been in love with libraries since I was a little kid on Long Island and discovered the biography section. I worked at my public library when I was in high school, my college library during those years, and found myself at my local public library working and pursuing my Masters in Library Science after I completed my BA in History. I’ve always enjoyed the variety in my work – helping people, ordering books to build a collection, budgeting, planning buildings, working with a Board and Friends groups, and hiring people who make me look good! Suffice it to say I’ve been in the field for quite a while! In addition to completing a few library building projects, I also ran a small computer consulting company and helped a friend organize a specialty foods business.

Local officials from the 89th Assembly District will host a public-swearing in ceremony for Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli, R- Goldens Bridge, at noon Saturday at the South Salem Fire House in Lewisboro. The address is 1190 Route 35.

A swearing-in ceremony for Thomas J. Abinanti, a Democrat who won the 92nd Assembly District seat, is set for Sunday, Jan. 9 at
2 p.m. at Greenburgh Town Hall, 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh.

Update: (We just received this in)   Assemblyman-Elect Steve Katz will hold three ceremonies to mark his assumption of the 99th district seat. They are all Saturday, Jan. 1. The first is at noon at the Putnam County Courthouse, 40 Gleneida Ave., Carmel. The second is at 1:30 p.m. at Yorktown Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave., Yorktown Heights. And the third is at 3:30 p.m. at Pawling Town Hall, 160 Charles Colman Blvd., Pawling.

Meanwhile, New Rochelle will swear in two elected officials on Saturday: Susan I. Kettner, newly-elected City Court Judge, and Jared R. Rice, newly-elected City Councilman in the 3rd Council District. That ceremony is set for 1 p.m. at New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Avenue.

Here’s the info from his office:

ASSEMBLYMAN ROBERT CASTELLI

TO BE SWORN IN FOR SECOND TERM

Local officials from the 89th Assembly District will host a public-swearing in ceremony for Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli (R, C, I – Goldens Bridge) at 12:00 on Saturday, at the South Salem Fire House in Lewisboro. Assemblyman Castelli will be joined by friends and family as he takes his oath of office.

The details for this SATURDAY’S event are as follows:

WHAT: Swearing-in ceremony

WHO: Assemblyman Robert J. Castelli (R, C, I – Goldens Bridge), Lewisboro Town Justice Marc A. Seedorf

WHEN: noon, Saturday, Jan. 1

WHERE: South Salem Fire House, 1190 Route 35, South Salem, NY 10590

CONTACT: Assemblyman Castelli’s office at (914) 686–7335

Erin Malloy of Opengate, a residential and day facility for developmentally disabled adults based in Somers, passed on this story of how the community came together to help them during the power outage from this week’s blizzard:

In the midst of the Blizzard of 2010, 27 developmentally disabled adults who reside at Opengate’s Somers campus were in jeopardy.  It was before 7:00 am Monday, December 27 when the agency’s entire campus, which is home to 39 residents, was left without electricity with a restart time of 12 or more hours.  Because of the holiday many residents were still with families.  Others were sent to one of the other four area group homes.  This left over two dozen residents facing the effects of the storm without access to power. The solution to the dilemma was marked by quick thinking, coordinated by generous cooperation between municipalities, individuals, private agencies and a school.

(more…)

Gone are the days when pizza parlors just did pizza. Sal’s Pizza &?Pasta owner Daniel Diardullo, who is actually Sal’s nephew — that’s 30-year pizza veteran Sal of Sal’s Pizza in Carmel — cranks out pizzas from behind the counter, makes a long list of fresh dishes and caters parties. In the pizza department, Diardullo says the Margarita with fresh mozzarella, plum tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil is popular, as is the Chicken Bacon Ranch, which has cheese, but no sauce. He also says the Chicken San Bernadino — made with onions, mushrooms, sweet peppers, sliced potatoes in a white wine and lemon sauce — is a favorite. And yes, he delivers. Details: 201 Marble Ave., Pleasantville; 914-769-1199; www.salspizzaplace.com.

— Jessica Rao

A restaurant in Mount Kisco has unveiled a new soup in honor of Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo, who lives in New Castle (but has a Mount Kisco mailing address). Via Vanti! is now serving “Lago di Cuomo” soup. It is a “puree of warming winter greens served with a crostini topped with goat cheese, chopped tomato and fresh basil,” the restaurant said in a news release. The soup is vegan and non-dairy, and a gluten-free crostini is available upon request.

The soup, while named for Cuomo, is also inspired by the Lago di Como resort destination in northern Italy, according to the restaurant. Customers will get a free taste of the “inaugural soup” during January. Lago di Cuomo will be one of Via Vanti!’s seasonal soups, and $1 from every purchase of it will be donated to the Food Bank of Westchester.

The 2-year-old restaurant is located in the historic Mount Kisco Train Station at 2 Kirby Plaza.

The Town of New Castle has posted a video on its web site explaining the change to once-a-week garbage pickup from twice-a-week pickup, which will take effect in April.

The change was made as part of the 2011 budget to save money and reduce the miles driven by garbage trucks in town.

The receiver in the civil securities fraud cases against former North Salem Supervisor Paul Greenwood has posted the transcript of Greenwood’s July 28, 2010 court appearance where he pleaded guilty and described his crimes.

The transcript is an exhibit on a proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for the distribution of assets collected by the receiver. Read more about the proposal here.

The transcript is available on the web site for the receiver, Robb Evans & Associates. Scroll down about half way to Exhibit A.