From the Desk of Publisher Brian Harrod.

 

ON THE RADIO: Brian Harrod, Yonkers Newswire Publisher/Editor, and Hezi Aris, Yonkers Tribune Publisher/Editor on Westchester On The Level – Thursday, March 9, 2022 YONKERS: Brian Harrod, Yonkers Newswire Publisher/Editor shares the concerns and issues that are most pertinent with respect to The City of Yonkers. From 10:30-11:30am EST. Listen to this broadcast “Live” or “On Demand” via the Internet … http://tobtr.com/s/12064883 Some the Yonkers issues to be discussed are: 1). The 16th District , currently held by Congressman Jamaal Bowman, has new district boundaries that run from the Bronx, in Westchester and include Yonkers, Mount Vernon, parts of Eastchester and New Rochelle, Harrison, North Castle, Bedford, Somers, Yorktown and Putnam Valley and Carmel in Putnam County. Vedat Gashi, a real estate attorney and a Westchester County Legislator is collecting signatures and has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, FEC, to raise money, and petitions are being circulated to get on the ballot to run against Jamaal Bowman. Yonkers Democratic Chairman # Tom Meier and Mayor Mike Spano were both considering a run against Jamaal Bowman, but both have now said they will not be running. Manuel Casanova, a former political strategist and sales manager in New Rochelle also entered the race against Jamaal Bowman last October. ### 2). Republican Yonkers City Council Man Mike Breen Representing Yonkers City Council District 5 Is Supposed To Be Announcing That He Is Challenging Democratic Yonkers State Assemblyman Nader Sayegh This Week. Enrollment numbers for the 90th Assembly district are: Registered democrats-38,400; Registered republicans-15,030, Registered independents-17,311. Nader Sayegh is seeking his third term, after serving for many years in the Yonkers Public Schools and on the Yonkers Board of Education. Mike Breen is serving his 10th year on the council, ### 3). Joe Pinion, a Republican and cable news political commentator, is looking to unseat four-term Democrat incumbent, Senator Chuck Schumer this November Yonkers resident Joe Pinion is the first Black candidate to be nominated by either major party to run for U.S. Senate from New York. ### 4). The Rotary Club of Yonkers is sponsoring a Speech Contest for youth (14 – 18 years old) who live in Yonkers. Participants are asked to present a five-minute speech on the topic…”What you would like to see improved in Yonkers and why." Each of the three finalists will receive a plaque and a cash prize: $500 for first place; $300 for second place; and, $200 for third place. All participants will receive a certificate. ### 5). Workers at Target at the new Yonkers could see starting wages as high as $24 an hour. It's also said that Target is also lowering the hour requirement for full benefits to 24 hours a week. ### 6). Some residents have been complaining online that they received incorrect Yonkers water bills. They say they are about 40 percent higher than the last bill for about the same amount of water used. Some say there has been a problem with the remote reading’s and that they need to call the city water bureau. Apparently, they will tell homeowners to take a picture of the meter and they will compare it to their records. ### 7). Yonkers Man Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison For Robbery, Firearms, And Narcotics Offenses According to the indictment and other publicly filed documents, on October 3, 2020, Fernando Ra and his co‑conspirators kidnapped, restrained, robbed, and savagely assaulted two victims, using firearms and baseball bats to beat them. Fernando Ra also used a knife to carve the letter “Z” into the skin of one of the victims, an apparent reference to Los Zetas, the notoriously violent Mexican drug cartel. Fernando Ra claimed that the victims owed Los Zetas a narcotics debt, and that he was attacking the victims on behalf of Los Zetas. In addition to the kidnapping and robbery, Fernando Ra also participated in a related conspiracy to traffic between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine from May 2020 through November 2020. In addition to today’s prison sentence, Fernando Ra, 26, of Yonkers, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release. ### . At 284 Riverdale Avenue A Man Was Shot Multiple Times And The Yonkers PD Believe He Was Targeted. The 29-year-old Yonkers resident was found deceased with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. The shooting that took place inside an apartment and the killer or killers are still on the loose. ### 9). The trial of Lawrence Ray, the accused sex cult leader charged with preying on his daughter’s classmates at Yonkers' Sarah Lawrence College and pimping out one of the victims, gots underway in Manhattan Jury selection in the case has began and prosecutors and Ray’s defense team will soon deliver opening arguments. Ray, a 62-year-old former Wall Street trader and onetime friend of ex-NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, landed on the feds’ radar after a lengthy 2019 New York Magazine story that revealed his alleged abuse and manipulation of a group of Sarah Lawrence students. The accused man moved into his daughter’s dorm room on the Yonkers campus in 2010, days after being sprung from prison after serving time for a securities fraud conviction. He soon began to assert control over a number of the students, luring them under his thumb with fantastical tales about his life and providing “therapy” sessions to manipulate them. Soon after, he convinced five of the students to move in with him in a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side, where his abuse of the students allegedly turned physical. For nearly the next 10 years, Ray allegedly extorted money out of the students after he accused them of poisoning him and damaging things that he owned. Ray forced some of the students into prostitution and collected “millions” of dollars in proceeds. ### 10). A Bronx woman and her accomplice are facing felony charges in a 2012 cold case murder. Wanda Veguilla, 41, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her girlfriend Pamela Graddick. Her accomplice, John Torres, 30, of Yonkers is charged with criminal facilitation, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. They're accused of shooting Graddick and leaving her body in a wooded area in Yonkers back in 2012. ### 11). Tonight will begin Purim, the Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from the Persian official Haman, who was planning to kill all the Jews in the empire, as recounted in the Book of Esther. Haman was the tricky royal vizier to King Ahasuerus. His plans were foiled by Mordecai and Esther, his cousin and adopted daughter who had become Queen of Persia. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing. ### Brian Harrod is the publisher and editor of the RoundupNewswires.com news website, as well as, the hyper local YonkersNewswire.com news and social media pages. You can learn more about Mr. Harrod at BrianHarrod.com. https://www.facebook.com/groups/YonkersNewswire/posts/3192044671053089/