Yorktown and Cortlandt region

It’s Thursday. We’re inching closer to the long holiday weekend. Here’s a glance at opinion content published today:

Greg Ball and gay marriage: Editorial
We comment on the political mechanics and arm-twisting that led to the state Senate’s 33-29 vote to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. In particular, we assess state Sen. Greg Ball, R-Patterson, who, as The New York Times reported, sought campaigning assistance from high-profile Republican conservatives, including former Vice President Dick Cheney. We write:

… Ball explained himself in an email, the blog reported: “As far as Cheney, we suggested the need to have nationally prominent conservatives ready to support moderate Republicans willing to support either civil unions or marriage equality, in tough primaries. Hopefully they listened, because some of these voting yes are going to have a tough re-election fight.”

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Rockland County’s Ronald Steiner, who does public relations for the New York Grand Lodge of Masons, keeps us posted on significant events.

He let us know that New City’s the Right Worshipful Federico Larrinaga is the newest grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Masons of the State of New York.

Larrinaga is a longtime member of Athelstane Lodge 839 F&AM in Pearl River. He was presented with his commission during an investiture ceremony conducted by Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons Vincent Libone before some 900 Masons and guests this past weekend in Utica.
Larrinaga holds the rank of major with the Salvation Army, which his wife Marie also serves as a chaplain. Both served at ground zero for many months during and after the 9/11 disaster at the World Trade Center.  As grand chaplain, Larrinaga will be assisting in offering prayer and service to Masons and Masonic Lodges throughout the state when called upon at Masonic and other public ceremonies, meetings and functions.

Here’s a glance at today’s opinion content:

Health-insurance exchanges: Editorial
We encourage the state Senate to return to Albany to take care of some legislative odds ands ends, chief among them a bill that would create a health-insurance exhange — a market for uninsured individuals and small-business owners to buy coverage that is mandated by federal health-care reform. We write:

… The delay already narrows the odds for winning federal start-up grants. The state will miss Friday’s application deadline for Washington funds; the next deadline is Sept. 1, but there is no telling how much federal money will remain at that juncture. …

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Here’s an announcement from the Ossining School District about its
musical director and educator, Bradley Morrison:

The Ossining Union Free School District Director of Cultural Arts, Bradley Morrison, has been selected by the Westchester County School Music Association (WCSMA) to serve as conductor of the WCSMA Elementary All-County Band in 2011-2012. Each year, the
association chooses to honor one WCSMA Member in each of three areas – Band, Chorus and Orchestra – by asking them to conduct one of the all-county ensembles.
In addition to his work as Director of Cultural Arts for the Ossining Schools, Morrison is the Director and Conductor for the Youth Wind Ensemble of Westchester, and he was the Founder of the Rivertowns Middle School Honor Band and Orchestra Festival. Prior to his current position, Morrison was the Band Director at the Anne M. Dorner Middle School.
“I can’t wait to work with some of the county’s best young musicians,” said Morrison, “which I am sure will include some of our very own Ossining students!”

OSSINING — A wake for Jillisa McCarthy, 20, will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the Andre Baker Funeral Home in Ossining. A memorial service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Star of Bethlehem Church at 304 Spring St. McCarthy died as a passenger in a car accident Sunday in Yonkers, which also killed driver Travis Clark. McCarthy was an nursing student who graduated from Ossining High School. A service for Clark, a 27-year-old Ossining resident, is being held at noon on Friday at the Leach and Thomas Funeral Home in Ossining.

The Rockland County Jazz and Blues Society has such a deal for you!

The society has already mapped out its plans for Nyack Jazz Week 2011 from July 24 to 31, and it’s offering a special promotion to society members, musicians and friends – but it’s only through July 5.

Here’s the deal: join as a new member or upgrade/renew your current membership and receive free tickets to jazz week events.

Now, there are some specific details, but suffice it to say that the basic membership of $25 will save you $12 in admission to hear pianist Fred Hersch. The silver membership includes more enticements and a chance to hear Hersch and saxophonist Lou Donaldson (shown above) for free.

For the other details about the offer and the jazz week lineup, visit www.rcjbs.org.

Good Tuesday morning. Here’s a glance at opinion content published today in The Journal News:

Andrew Cuomo: Editorial
We congratulate Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his success in realizing the legalization of same-sex marriage, a property-tax cap, ethics reform and more in the just-concluded legislative session. New Yorkers, we argue, deserved a bit of functional government. Still, there’s plenty left for Albany to tackle. We write:

… The weary voters, discouraged by a succession of failed governors and corrupt elected officials, won a new ethics law; it requires, for the first time, disclosure of legislators’ outside business interests, and calls for greater oversight of both the Legislature and the executive branch. Cuomo threatened legislators with a host of official inquiries if they failed to approve a new ethics law. What they delivered won’t address all of the ethical shortcomings that confound Albany politics, but it is better than what was on the books.

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Good Monday morning. Here’s a glance at opinion content that published in The Journal News this past weekend:

Saturday, June 25
Rockland flooding: Editorial
We comment on the flooding that swamped large swaths of the Lower Hudson Valley on Saturday. We write:

… We’ve known for a decade or more that only major mitigation work is going to make a difference along the Hackensack and the Ramapo rivers. Both are multimillion-dollar projects that have been put off and delayed only to be postponed and delayed again. The result: Places like West Nyack and Suffern brace for the worst whenever there’s a sustained storm or even a really heavy passing thunderstorm.

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Tony Scarnati of Mount Vernon, 83, right, looks for his granddaughter, graduate Gabriella Muscariello, after the Walter Panas High School graduation outside the Westchester County Center in White Plains on June 25, 2011. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

See more photos from the Walter Panas High School graduation at the Westchester County Center in White Plains in a photo gallery, and go to LoHud.com to see our other graduations.

Adam Mirkin, center, cheers a graduate at the Ossining High School graduation June 24, 2011. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

See more photos from the Ossining High School graduation a photo gallery, and go to LoHud.com for more graduation galleries.