Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

Rye Patch began the week with a story that has remained one of our most popular all week. The owners of Seaside Johnnies say that the new parking prices at Rye Town Park are elitist. John Ambrose and Sam Chernin said the new non-resident prices--which will rise to $21 starting Memorial Day weekend--are effectively making the park a country club that doesn't welcome outsiders. The owners are worried that the parking prices will discourage people from eating at their restaurant, even though the Rye Town Park Commission is giving them vouchers for discounted parking for their customers. Their point could be understandable--would you pay $21 park at a restaurant?

On Monday, we also had the second installment of our new column, "Woman of a Certain Age" by Katherine Samon. In Katherine's first column, she wrote about surviving her comeback at boot camp. Now, she's written about her decades long relationship with Fairway. Not many people have intimate feelings for a supermarket, but for Katherine, Fairway reminds her of when she was living the 20-something single life on Manhattan's Upper West Side. She thought when she came to Westchester to settle down with her family she would be bored, but apparently, she was mistaken.

On Tuesday we did an analysis of the opposing arguments in the Rye school budget debate.  Different groups are organizing to vote yes or no on the budget on May 18. The pro-budget faction –the Friends of the Rye City School District  (FORCSD) -- says the school board has adopted a budget for 2010-11 with a 1.3 percent budget-to-budget increase that is fiscally responsible given the increasing student enrollment in the district. The anti-budget faction –CREED,  Citizens for Responsible Excellence in Education –says there is still $8 to $10 million that could be trimmed from the budget. We'll see on May 18 which side won the debate. 

We also covered a story on Blind Brook High School's new principal. Gina Healy, who was a middle school principal in Newton, Mass., will begin her new job in Blind Brook in July. She'll than she made in Newton, an increase from about $128,000 to $170,000. Given the difference in cost of living in New York compared to Massachusetts, that sum may not be that shocking. However, in a recession and when many school districts are trying to tighten their budgets, $40,000 isn't pocket change, either. 

Our other Blind Brook story was about fundraising in the Blind Brook Board of Education race. Three candidates--Wendy Adler, Dick Hubert and Sheri Zarkower--are all running for one open seat on the school board. However, Hubert is the only candidate that has spent or raised a significant sum of money on the election. Hubert has raised about $4,000, while each of his opponents, who are more well-known in the school district, have raised less than $500. We'll see if money makes the difference in this election when Blind Brook voters hit the polls this Tuesday. 

On Friday, we covered a League of Women Voters Forum about property tax reform. John Wolham, Regional Director of the New York State Office of Real Property Services, spoke about property tax reform at the Rye Free Reading Room Thursday. Wolham said that "New York's system for assessment is arguably one of the worst in the country." He said more municipalities in the state need to reassess properties on a regular basis and consider a home's market value--which in this economy is declining across the board. With more property owners in Rye and Rye Brook filing grievances and certiorari claims, Wolham's advice may be heeded by many local governments.

This week, we also debuted our new real estate column,  by Vanessa Jones of Paddington Stone Realty. Jones has been in the real estate business for over 15 years and will be giving advice to our readers twice a month on Rye Patch. If you love our opinion pieces, feel free to check out our other Rye Patch columns, "Wry Observations," "Happy Mondays," "Cracking the Code," "Not So Simply Hired," and more. ( Shameless plug, yes, but we have a column that every reader can relate to).

We've also covered lots more this weekend, so feel free to search the site for other engaging stories from the past week. Rye Patch will be your source for everything that is happening in the city and town of Rye---from local government and school board meetings to sports and arts and entertainment.

We'll be doing a "Week in Review" every Sunday, so if you missed anything during the week, we've got you covered.