Community Corner

Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

A recap of this week's top stories on Rye Patch.

Rye Patch started the week with a story on coyote sightings in Rye Brook. In the wake of coyotes attacks involving two little girls in Rye, it appears that residents in the neighboring village have become more vigilant and are increasingly reporting the sightings to the police. Like deer, sightings of coyotes are fairly common because these animals seem to be a part of suburban life in Westchester. However, if these animals lose their fear of humans, that's when a problem occurs that authorities need to address in order to ensure public safety. Rye Brook Police said they are monitoring the situation and responding to the scene whenever a sighting is reported, but since the coyotes in Rye Brook have not exhibited any aggressive behavior, village police will not be employing the same tactics as authorities in Rye.

We also did a story about Rye businesses on the list of Westchester's Best. What's the best seafood restaurant in Westchester? If you guessed Morgans Fish House, then you win the grand prize. Other businesses that received top honors were Andy's Pure Food ( the top vegan restaurant), Hand-Rolled Bagels (best bagels) and Water Moon ( best Pan-Asian restaurant).

The Rye Brook Village Board met this week to discuss whether it or the village's Planning Board should have final approval over affordable housing applications. In recommendations to the Village Trustees, the Planning Board said it should retain approval authority because its function is to deal with land-use applications. It also said that giving the Village Board authority would make an already highly-charged emotional issue even more political. The Village Board disagreed and voted to give itself approval authority. 

Find out what's happening in Ryewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In another coyote follow-up this week, we interviewed coyote advocates who are arguing that Rye's hunting and trapping methods are too aggressive and ineffectual long-term. CeAnn Lambert, President of the Indiana Coyote Rescue Center in Bringhurst, Ind., told Rye Patch that killing coyotes will only de-stabilize that animal population and leave juvenile and untrained coyotes to roam free and possibly exhibit the same aggressive behavior that led to the two coyote attacks in June: "Bloodlust of the community is going to leave that coyote territory unstable and within three weeks new coyotes can move into that territory." Mayor Doug French and Police Commissioner William Connors said the city's goal is not to eradicate coyotes, but rather to reinstate in these animals a healthy fear of humans. Both met with state officials and representatives from neighboring communities this week to formulate a long-term plan. The city will likely detail those plans to the public in the coming weeks.

One of my favorite stories this week was about the history behind the names of Summer League teams.  If you've ever wondered why men's and women's softball and baseball teams in the Rye area have names like Poppy's Ballbusters or the Q Dogs, you should read our story.

Find out what's happening in Ryewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A story that continues to be one of our most popular this week is Mindy Gibson's column about the so-called "Mommy Wars," or the tension between some career moms and stay-at-home moms. Mindy has been a part of a program in Rye called "Lives in Transition," which helps people in their job search. Mindy wrote about the diverse group that took part in the program, from downsized executives to women who had chosen to leave the professional world to raise a family. With her unflinching honesty, Mindy discussed her feelings about having to compete in the job market against women who had willfully--and perhaps happily--decided to leave the working world. Ultimately, Mindy concluded that everyone's story is different and that it's best to be open to the many reasons why women decide to leave and re-enter the workforce.

We've 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 Rye area, 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.


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