Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

This week kicked off with news that water rates in the Village of Mamaroneck would increase 75 percent to resolve pending deficits and cover capital projects to operate the water system. The background behind this decision is but we will be following up with added analysis next week. 

To see a recap of other decisions made by the Board of Trustees at their regular meeting every other Monday, click here. These include new zoning and parking regulations, progress on the contaminated water issue at the Taylors Lane composting site, and a $5,000 settlement between the VOM and the former village attorney.

The Village of Larchmont Board of Trustees also met on Monday, when it announced that the village would begin the process of gaining disaster aid following the March 13th nor'easter; begin tackling recommendation #2 of the Tri-Municipal Shared Services Study report, which has to do with a Larchmont-Mamaroneck joint detective task force; and conduct a required sampling and testing of its stormwater. For the full report, including information on upcoming summer events, click here.

Also on Monday, the Community Action Program (CAP) and Junior League of Westchester on the Sound held the last event of its "Proyecto Madres," a local outreach program to empower and support Hispanic women. "Day of Beauty" gave twenty women the chance to receive free makeovers and celebrate el diez de mayo, which is Mother's Day (it always falls on May 10th) in the Hispanic community.

As a result of the strong winds last weekend, the police and fire departments were busy taking care of downed trees, poles and wires all around. Take a look at our police blotters to find out what else happened in Mamaroneck.

This news spread all over the Web this week, with some wondering if the sentence wasn't too "light": Larchmont stockbroker Michael Mollin, 42, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree grand larceny and will serve five years' probation. He's admitted to bilking investors out of $290,000, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.

Many in the Mamaroneck schools community received disappointing news this week: high school English teacher Jennifer Rosenzweig handed in her letter of resignation and was not on the list of staff to receive tenure on Tuesday. Patch covered the numerous ways in which students protested the superintendent's decision not to recommend Rosenzweig for tenure. We also attended the awarding of tenure ceremony, where 46 teachers, teaching assistants and administrators were recognized for their work.

Back in October of last year, Strait Gate Church, the longstanding religious institution in Mamaroneck, filed for bankruptcy. Outside of the Federal Court in White Plains, this has been a quiet affair. But the issue re-surfaced because of a controversial piece of land owned by the church in Harrison. Friday's court hearing was postponed until next week. Stay tuned.

In other controversial news, the Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club submitted an application to the VOM for repairs to damages caused by the March nor'easter. Some residents questioned the club's motives, while the village couldn't reach a consensus on the project's classification. The meeting was adjourned to May 18. More to come then.

The Mamaroneck School District held its least attended meeting of the year this week! (Only a Patch reporter showed up.) Since you all missed it, check out these tips to keep our water clean.

Speaking of the environment, the VOM's green report card just got a revision (its score went up 36 points). Issued by Grassroots Environmental Education and the Pace University Academy for Applied Environmental Studies, the survey takes into account the use of energy, pesticides, green cleaning and purchasing and more.

And to help take care of the massive environmental disaster taking place in the Gulf of Mexico, local salons are donating hair to soak up the oil. Need a haircut? Why wait!