This is big news, the London arrest of Avrum David Friesel, wanted in connection with the RCC Judaic Studies scandal. Millions in federal funds were fraudulently obtained for bogus educational and housing purposes. Of those accused, five went to prison; one died there. Four others later had their sentences commuted by a departing President Clinton. Another is still at large.
Part of the scheme used Rockland Community College to funnel an estimated $5.1 million for several thousand students in a Judaic studies program that did not meet funding guidelines. This damaged RCC’s reputation for years. And, the recent man arrested is a son of New Square’s mayor.
But it was Clinton’s decision to clear the way for the early release of the “New Square Four” that really stirred up the dust.
Here’s what made it so controversial:
Months before Hillary Clinton was voted into her Senate seat, the then-first lady and other elected officials made a call on Grand Rabbi David Twersky at his home in New Square.
In November 2000, New Sauare backed Hillary Clinton in a big way, 1,400 votes to 12 for Republican Rick Lazio.As we know, she became New York’s junior senator.
Then, in December, the rabbi met privately with the Clintons at the White House in December, about a month before the president issued his irrevocable pardon and clemency orders.
On his last day of office, Jan. 20, 2001, President Clinton reduced the federal prison sentences of four of the New Square men convicted of stealing tens of millions of dollars from federal anti-poverty and school programs.
The New Square votes and the clemency decision, being in such close proximity, stirred up an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,  along with examinations of other pardons and commutations made as Clinton left the White House. Federal prosecutors spent more than a year investigating whether the clemencies came in exchange for New Square’s overwhelming support of Hillary Clinton in the November 2000 election. In June 2002, U.S. Attorney James Comey cleared Bill Clinton of any wrongdoing in regard to the New Square pardons.
But, it still stung. Hillary Clinton didn’t attend any public events in Rockland for quite a while, causing some to wonder if she wanted to distance herself from the pardons.

It’s time for us to hold election endorsement hearings, this time for school boards. Seven of the eight districts have contested races (Ramapo Central has two school board members running unopposed).

We’ve published the schedule in the Opinion section and we have the questionnaire online, too. That information will be put together for voters to peruse.

Already, the schedule is starting to change. In one district, the whole school board had a meeting already scheduled at the same time. That will move. We had one candidate ask how long it would take, so he could let his boss know how late he would be (about an hour). Another will show up a little later, but we have eight candidates running in that district, so there is no way we will find a time that can accommodate everyone. It is ideal to have everyone in one room, at once, even though the hearings aren’t debates. But, that can’t happen. I’ve interviewed candidates just before, just after, in the office, on the phone. I’ve interviewed a few candidates who were out of town—one was out of the country—on business trips.

Especially in contests like school board, which are volunteer, we want to be as flexible as possible (state and federal office, we’re not quite as easygoing). This year, I went with all 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. meetings, figuring it’s easier to cut out of work a little early (also, as a former night shift worker, I must acknowledge that this assumes most candidates work 9-5). Last year, we tried some weekends, but that presents other problems for candidates.

The endorsement hearings are stressful for us, too. (Candidates have, after-the-fact, told me how much they hate them.) But, they give us great information for the election, and beyond. And, we get to meet people who are interested in their community. Whether or not they are endorsed, I think it’s important for the Editorial Board to acknowledge that their commitment is appreciated.

So, in the next week and half, we’ll all plow through. …There goes the phone with someone else unable to make the hearing. Sigh.

My Tuesday column was devoted to the problem of suicides from the Tappan Zee Bridge.
For a decade, the average number of suicides from the TZ has been three a year.
We’ve matched that in less than three weeks this month alone. We came close to surpassing it this week, but for the quick, heroic action of a passing motorist and two bridge employees who rescued a Westchester man intent on jumping Wednesday.
Today, Rockland County Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell and Legislator Connie Coker issued a joint call for a meeting with New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Michael Fleischer to discuss additional suicide prevention measures that can be quickly implemented.
I had a few ideas in the Tuesday column, but there’s another issue to watch.
We’re soon to find out the Tappan Zee Bridge Study Team’s choices regarding the mass transit mode that will become part of the Hudson River crossing. We’ll also be finding out whether the bridge will be replaced or rehabilitated.
In either case, just about every option still on the table includes a pedestrian/bike lane on either side of the span.
In light of recent events, there’s cause to rethink that or, at the very least, redesign them to make them safer.

Pomona’s budget proposal, with an almost 70 percent tax increase, surely would make eyes bulge and taxpayers weep anywhere but Pomona. The bulk of that hike is for legal fees as the village and the Rabbinical College of Tartikov’s legal wranglings. Tartikov wants to build a college to train rabbis for the religious courts. The students, who would already be rabbis and would be married, many with children, would undertake a 15-year course of study. They, and their families, would live on campus during their studies.

That village taxpayers would, especially in this $4-a-gallon-for-gas economy, be willing to back their own massive tax increase is a little shocking. Even Pomona Mayor Nick Sanderson said he expected some argument when he introduced the spending plan, even though he had widespread support when he ran last year on a pledge to stand by the village codes as details of the Tartikov plan began to leak out. Even before election day, he and his runningmates had top-notch legal advice for a battle that already had promised to enlist the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Of course, Tartikov’s legal team is mighty impressive, too. Looking at the list of attorneys for both sides is like reading a RLUIPA Who’s Who.

“It is surprising. Really surprising,” Sanderson said as he noted that as far as he could tell, the public meeting showed great support for the growing legal cost part of the budget. “I fully expected an argument.”

But, he said, he realizes why he is where he is, and why he’s doing what he’s doing: “I honestly believe that a year ago, I won the election on a mandate to mount a defense …. What we’re not going to negotiate is our local codes.”

Holding off on revaluation of Rockland real estate parcels now, when the market is volatile, makes sense.
But there’s another, primary reason town supervisors hold off on updating the assessed values of properties for decades.
Doing an update to be sure all property owners are paying their fair share is a political nightmare, sometimes a political career-breaker.
Phil Rotella was about as strong a town supervisor as Rockland has ever seen and he wouldn’t do it.
Herb Reisman in Ramapo refused flat out, just as he refused to update the town’s master development plan. To do so, they reasoned, is to plug in the wires that already lead to the supervisor’s chair.
Truth is, the countywide effort to revalue every real estate parcel at the same time was doomed from the beginning. The outside consultants hired to gather data on each parcel couldn’t stay on schedule and wanted more and more money and time to get the job done. Worse, what data they gathered often turned out to be flawed.
That was all the towns needed to shoot holes in the idea and find a reason to pull out.
Some said they would complete the work on their own, but only Haverstraw has followed through.
Stony Point had a falling out with their consultant, who was also advising Haverstraw in the
Mirant mess.
When he quit, Stony Point’s revaluation got derailed.
With taxpayers getting pounded by the impact of the Mirant tax settlement, officials weren’t about to compound their financial problems by doing a reval, too.
So, almost a decade after a countywide revaluation project was first proposed, only one town is done and the others seem to have lost their resolve—at least until the real estate market levels out.

The kids have the week off, and I have a few days of vacation, so we decided to head to the Bronx Zoo. Simple trip from Rockland: Over the TZ, stay to the left to 287, head down the Sprain into the Bronx River Parkway. Yeah, easy. That’s why every other person in the Lower Hudson Valley did it, too! Traffic-a-palooza. After waiting in line (OK, now we’re in NYC at this point, so we’re waiting on line) to get off one of the several exits for parking, I finally went past, looped around, got on northbound and went over to Fordham University and parked there. Yes, my spouse, like so many Rocklanders, is originally a Bronxite. For 20 years, I’ve sat in the car, rolling my eyes, as he shows me the “shortcut” through this part of Gun Hill Road, that section of Pelham Parkway or how to get to Arthur Avenue. Finally, it paid off!

If you are going to the Bronx Zoo this vacation, remember the water, the snacks (I had three 9-year-old girls with me, so no matter what I brought, they saw something else they wanted…to buy…for a lot of money) and head out to the zoo early! Oh, and the  Wild Asia Monorail (the way to see the elephants) doesn’t open until Saturday. Sorry.

It was front page news last Friday.
Orange And Rockland was going to be ripping up a stretch on Route 59 to relocate a natural gas distribution line.
The state Department of Transportation was thinking that the pipeline was getting in the way of the flow through a culvert which runs across Route 59.
That was causing flooding, so the pipeline had to be relocated.
It was going to take two to three weeks, causing traffic in Central Nyack to be squeezed down to just two lanes.
work at the spot was supposed to stretch from before the morning rush into early evening, as in, after the evening rush.
But now, you can almost hear the voice of Emily Latella, the Saturday Night Live character who would vent on some topic for a few minutes only to find she was totally mistaken. Once informed, she’d peer into the camera and announce, “Never mind!”
Well, that’s basically what O&R got to tell the DOT this week.
Turns out, O&R’s line didn’t got through the culvert, but over it—which was the intended fix.
There’s another pipe running through there, but it’s not O&R’s.
Actually, in a county that’s been built and rebuilt over and over, like so much of the suburbs—getting transformed from farm community to hub village to the busy suburban county we know today, it’s surprising this sort of thing doesn’t happen more often.
Homeowners know that before you dig, you have to have utilities come and “mark out” the area, showing where pipes and wires are located.
But I guess it doesn’t always work, even when the lines belong to them.

If there’s one thing you can say about Rocklanders, it’s that they aren’t shy. If you need proof, just look at the LoHud.com homepage. Under the heading “Most Commented Stories,” 5 of the 8 are about Rockland issues and people.

In case you missed any of them, here are the stories:

Street gang blamed in Nyack fight
Ambulance worker loses arm in accident
Police: Beer, pot at teen party, mom says she was asleep
Beth Modica pleads guilty in sex with teens, ordered jailed

Don’t forget to post your comments, too.

Then check out more Rockland stories, and the comments left by your neighbors, in the Rockland news section on LoHud.com

On Wednesday, we got word at the newspaper that there would be a joint meeting of the Tappan Zee Bridge Stakeholders’ Committee and Stakeholders’ Advisory Working Groups on April 28 in Tarrytown.
Today, we got the snail-mail version. Like the e-mail on Wednesday, it said the agenda would include “a discussion on preliminary results.”
Results of what?
Well, according to the new timetable for the decision-making on the Tappan Zee Bridge / I-287 Corridor project’s environmental review, we’re supposed to learn in May whether the bridge will be rehabilitated or rebuilt and the mode of mass transit that will cross it.
Naturally, that business about “preliminary results” got our juices flowing. In casual conversation Thursday, County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef seemed to think we might be hearing some decisions at this joint meeting.
But wait.
This afternoon, we got another e-mail, signed by Michael Anderson of the state Department of Transportation, who is the Project team leader for the environmental review, which also involves Metro-North Railroad and the state Thruway Authority.
The April 28th meeting, the e-mail says, “is postponed until further notice.”
We’ll be trying to find out whether that means results that looked firm enough to talk about on Wednesday aren’t so solid anymore or whether this is just another stumble in the public relations processes surrounding the project.
Stay tuned.

I just had a wonderful conversation with Sister Theresa Rickard, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, who wrote in an April 15 Community View, “Pope Benedict XVI: Messenger of Hope,”  in anticipation of the pope’s historic visit.
In her Community View, she wrote: “Of course, the Catholic Church itself is in need of renewed hope, particularly in the wake of the hurt from the sexual abuse scandal, the closing of parishes and schools, and the recent surveys indicating the diminishing number of young adults participating in the life of the church.”
Sister Rickard called yesterday, to follow up.
“I think what he needed to do, and he did it, was to address the American clergy sexual abuse issue — and not just once,” said Sister Rickard, who is executive director of RENEW International, a nonprofit that fosters spiritual renewal in the Catholic tradition.
The healing of Benedict’s repeated discussions, expressions of remorse, and admissions that the Church had failed the victims of abuse, were invaluable, Sister Rickard said. She noted that even though the church has now put various programs in place. “until you can really name it, and claim it,” she said, the healing can’t really begin. “To rebuild trust is going to take a really long time. Maybe it’s a new beginning that the pope has admitted the shame and the pain … that the victims have been through.”