Editor's Notebook: Week in Review

This week started with very bad news for nearly everyone in the area. Last Saturday's rain and wind storm left thousands without power and damaged property everywhere. Larchmont and Mamaroneck residents were without electricity for several days, almost 50 of them until Friday. 

Whether you think Con Edison was well-prepared for the storm or took too long to react, take our survey and give its performance a grade.

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week started this week, a difficult time for restaurants and gourmands county-wide. If your electricity is back on and you are in the mood to eat out, you can take advantage of the event's specials through March 28th. To see which restaurants near you are participating and for more details, click here.

On Monday, the Village of Mamaroneck approved a resolution to participate in the application of a $50,000 government efficiency grant with the Town of Rye and the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook. The purpose of this grant is to study the possibility of dissolving the Town of Rye and/or improve shared services. The Village's grant match will only be in the form of in-kind services, including the discussion and provision of a related study done by the Village in 2007, as per the resolution. The application was submitted earlier this week.

Tuesday was Election Night in the Village of Larchmont, where a crowd of a few dozen people welcomed Trustee Josh Mandell as mayor and Trustee Marlene Kolbert and real estate attorney Jaine Elkind Eney as trustees, and said goodbye to Mayor Liz Feld. The new terms begin April 1st.

The Village of Mamaroneck's tentative budget was released this Friday and is available here. A budget hearing will be held on April 12 and the budget must be adopted on or before May 1st.

A hard copy of Larchmont's tentative budget can be obtained at the treasurer's office. Public hearings for this budget will take place on April 5th and 26th. The budget must be approved by April 30th.

The Tri-Municipal Shared Services/Consolidation Study Group, which was formed in July 2009 to pinpoint areas in which services could be consolidated or shared to save costs, released its report on Wednesday. There will be a presentation on its findings April 20th, a joint event between the League of Women Voters and the local Summit.

The Westchester Municipal Officials Association met last week in Dobsferry to discuss the affordable housing settlement between the Federal Government and Westchester County. "That's an issue to watch," said Larchmont Trustee Richard Ward. "Nothing has been decided there yet; it promises to be an expensive proposition for any community affected." For Patch's latest report on the implementation plan, click here.

The Village of Larchmont achieved one of the highest gradings in a county-wide assessment called "How Green Is my Town?," announced Kolbert, who's also liaison to the Committee for the Environment, on Tuesday. Grassroots Environmental Education will present an award to the Village at Pace University on March 24th.

Mamaroneck Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried proposed a $1.76 million budget increase in his presentation to the Board of Education on Tuesday, and the Rye Neck UFSD held its first public budget hearing on Wednesday, introducing a possible $35 million budget and $1 million in cuts for next school year.

If you live on Harmon Drive, you will probably be happy to hear that a local law passed by the Town Council Wednesday prohibiting trucks weighing over five tons from driving on Harmon Drive. For specifics, you may request a copy of the law at the Town clerk's office.

And on a very sad note, a dolphin died on our shores Wednesday night. Several people reported seeing it swimming near the Mamaroneck harbor, which was an unusual sight, but later that night the stray animal was found dead on the mud near the Hampshire Country Club. Experts say it died of old age.