NEWS FLASH 11-17-11

A female employee of the Town of Haverstraw has filed a suit and criminal charges claiming co-worker Stephen Loblanco made inappropriate sexually remarks and gestures towards her and the town did not intervene when she complained. The town said they expect her lawsuit to be dismissed.

A state Supreme Court judge agreed with the case Richard Brega Jr., owner of Brega Transport Corp., who claimed Rockland County did not fairly consider his bid for the county’s Transport of Rockland and TappanZEExpress busing contracts. Brega said the county rigged the bids to favor MV Transportation, the largest transportation firm in the nation. County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said the county most likely will put the contract up for competitive bid as recommended by the judge.

Tonight at 7 p.m. at Fieldstone Elementary School, 34 teenagers will graduate North Rockland’s Youth Police Academy. Tonight marks the academy’s fifth annual graduation.

County Executive C. Scott’s Vanderhoef self-described “draconian” budget, which actually cuts overall government spending by over 1 percent while raising taxes and fees to help offset the growing county deficit, elicited a huge backlash at the County Legislature on Tuesday. CSEA union members who stand to be laid off, veterans representatives and members of non-profit contract agencies that are funded by the county, were counted among the over 500 gathered in New City.

Perhaps indicative of the county and indeed the nation’s mood, Michael Davitt, the prankster who voiced his complaints about county government by dangling by a rope from the Tappan Zee Bridge, received a rousing ovation from the disgruntled masses who had gathered at the Legislature.