TIMELINES 1/27/16

Trump may skip Pre-Iowa Fox Debate

After Donald Trump and Meghan Kelly’s small feud, Donald Trump has now threatened not to show up to Thursday’s Fox News/Google debate. Fellow Republican candidates criticized Trump for backing out, with Jeb Bush tweeting @realDonaldTrump Do you know who else is scared of tough qs from Fox & @megynkelly? Barack Obama. Enough whining. With Fox standing firmly beside her, Kelly is still expected to moderate the debate, whether or not Trump decides to attend.

However, Kelly may not be the true cause of Trump’s consternation. Fox also agreed to allow a Muslim activist with a Youtube show to sit on the debate panel. The activist had in the past compared Trump to Adolf Hitler and made other extreme statements against him.

Delhomme’s Spring Valley attorney choice nixed by Board of Trustees

Spring Valley Board of Trustees Vilair Fonvil, Asher Grossman and Sherry McGill blocked the appointment of Robert Yodowitz as village attorney, the preferred choice of Mayor Demeza Delhomme. The board and Mayor Delhomme have been at odds for roughly two years.

“Blindspot” filmed at Rockland Lake

NBC’s primetime drama ‘Blindspot’ recently filmed parts of an episode in the southern end of Rockland Lake. As it turns out, the actors on the show, and most shows for that matter, don’t drive the cars themselves while performing a scene. The cars are hitched to a tow truck that then drives them around. Blindspot airs Monday nights at 10 p.m.

Mahwah woman found dead in Blizzard

The fourth death in New Jersey occurred locally in Mahwah during winter storm Jonas, aka the Blizzard of 2016. Two elementary school students who were on their way home from school found Mary Wall, 64. The kids saw a jacket laying in the snow and when they went to gather it they saw Wall in the snow. Bergen County Medical Examiner later determined the cold contributed to a heart attack. At least 17 people died in the storm across the eastern seaboard, including one Brooklyn man who was parked in his car when a snow plowed covered it with snow.

IRS scam hits Rockland

An IRS scam was caught in its tracks when a Suffern woman reported it to the police Wednesday. The woman got a call and the person on the line claimed she had tax evasion warrants on her and that her taxes had been audited for five years. They then demanded $6,000 immediately and that she tell no one about the call.

When the woman drove to the police station she received another call whose return number appeared to be from local people, saying that if she entered the station she would be arrested. The woman didn’t buy it and entered anyway, clearing things up with police. Police warn that these calls are scams and the IRS only audits through letters, never phone calls.

Sticker shock on county bill explained

The county and town tax bill has been alarming many upon arrival. In the bill a non-NYS Medicaid component called the ‘State and County’ tax showed an increase of 32.7 percent. A NYS Medicaid component, which is mandated by NY State to be paid out of the property taxes in the county within which the ‘poor’ reside, showed a decrease of 3.5 percent.

The overall increase in county taxes this year is 9.7 percent, but the breakdown on the sheet led residents to believe they were experiencing Vanderhoef-ian tax spikes once again. The original intent of breaking the two portions of county taxes up on the tax bill was to show residents the amount of their money going to a mandated state program the county had little to no control over. Officials noted that county anti-Medicaid fraud efforts did help in lowering the Medicaid tax rate by 3.5 percent.

Rockland legislature approves funding for nonprofits

(From MidHudsonNews.com)

The Rockland County Legislature has approved funding for nonprofit organizations that provide services to local residents. The money will be allocated to agencies aiding the visually impaired, senior citizens, people with developmental disabilities, local history education, cultural enrichment through the arts and homeless animals.

A second resolution approved by lawmakers will allow the county executive to sign contracts of over $100,000 for agencies that help feed Rockland’s hungry, including Catholic Community Services and Meals on Wheels; assist residents with mental health issues, including the Mental Health Association of Rockland, Loeb House, Camp Venture and Jawonio; and provide services to senior citizens, including Community Health Aide Services, A&T Health Care and Home Aides of Rockland.

The county’s 2016 budget provides $4.1 million in funding for nonprofit organizations, exclusive of state and federal funds for which the county serves as a conduit.