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In Focus: Rockland

More from the opinion-makers of The Journal News and LoHud.com, with a special look at Rockland.

Bob Baird

Bob BairdBob Baird, local columnist for The Journal News in Rockland County, has worked for the newspaper since 1972, spending many of those years editing or commenting on the news in the county he calls home. From 1976 to 1984, Bob was news editor, managing editor and executive editor in Rockland. During that time, the newspaper was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and twice won The Associated Press Managing Editors Association's national community service award. Bob had been honored for his editorials by the New York State Bar Association, for his columns by the New York State Associated Press Association and for his feature writing in the Best of Gannett Competition. Bob also worked in a variety of editing roles in Westchester before becoming local columnist in Rockland. As local columnist, he has been honored by the Rockland County Association for the Learning Disabled as its Humanitarian of The Year in 2001 and by HOGAR in 2003 for his efforts to highlight the need for affordable housing in Rockland. In 2004, he received the County Executive Arts Award from the Arts Council of Rockland in the Literary Artist category. Bob, who now lives in Nanuet, raised his three grown children in Suffern, where he lived for almost 30 years. He devotes his spare time to making it possible for people with disabilities to enjoy the game he loves — baseball. In 1993 he was a founder of the Rockland County Challenger Little League, for children with a wide range of special needs. In 2002, he founded Touching Bases, a similar league for 240 adults with disabilities, which now has affiliates in Buffalo, N.Y. and Richmond, Va., with others in the planning stages.

E-mail Bob Baird at rbaird@lohud.com

Entries written by Bob Baird

Remembering WTC’s first terror victims

February
26

It was 16 years ago this afternoon that six individuals, including Robert Kirkpatrick of Suffern, became the first innocent victims of terrorists at the World Trade Center.

On Feb. 26, 1993 the Twin Towers were rocked by an explosion deep in the underground levels. The blast, the work of terrorists who had driven a [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Offering up the right medicine

February
19

It’s good to see that the Ben Gilman Medical and Dental Center in Spring Valley will be open on Saturdays, a long point of contention since its parent agency has received millions in federal aid.

The issue was simple, yet very complex.

The center’s operators are Jews who observe the sabbath on Saturday, a day when the [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 19th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

One less expense trickles down

February
18

When elected officials and officers of non-profit groups paraded to the microphone at the Suffern Free Library, some were there to plead that state budget cuts be restored and some even had the moxie to ask the five members of Rockland’s Abany delegation to set aside money for new initiatives.

But when Montebello Mayor Jeff Oppenheim [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 18th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

A-Rod remains a tarnished star

February
17

So here’s a professional athlete on the top of his game, with — at the time — the largest contract ever. His cousin in the Dominican Republic offers him a street concoction that will give him more energy. They’re not sure what it is, but the cousin brings it into the U.S. and the pro [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 17th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

Parking meters and broken budgets

February
16

Parking has always been an issue in Nyack, from the heyday of the old Tappan Zee Playhouse, to the peak of the antique trade to the influx of restaurants.

The village has always been a draw, no matter the era and no matter the attraction.

Over the decades, there has always been one more parking problem than [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 16th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

Seeking new leaders

February
5

Leadership Rockland, a non-profit educational organization that prepares individuals who live and work in Rockland for leadership roles in the community, is seeking applicants for its next 10-month program, which begins in September.

Class membership is competitive, based on an application including an essay, three references and interviews by Leadership Rockland alumni. Since the first [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 5th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

Adventure with the Boy Scouts

February
4

What seemed like a simple assignment yesterday — riding along on three of five stops on a five-county tour by Boy Scout officials — got a little dicey late in the afternoon.

I had driven to Newburgh, to the new home of the Hudson Valley Council of Boy Scouts of America, at mid-morning for a noon [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on February 4th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Leave the bonuses alone

January
29

The first impulse when we heard about how Wall Street contributed to the economy hitting the skids was to dock their billions of dollars in bonuses.

But now we’re seeing the proof that doing so would only make matters worse, even if it gave us some measure of revenge for the impact on our investments.

According to [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on January 29th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Keeping promises?

January
27

Ever wonder about all the campaign promises that get made as candidates criss-cross America or even more important, after they get elected?

The folks at the St. Petersburg Times and their TampaBay.com Web site are tracking promises made by Barack Obama — 509 to be exact — to see how he’s doing in making them reality. [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on January 27th, 2009 | Post a Comment »

Wrestler’s enormous heart

January
26

Looking back over a couple of weeks’ worth of newspapers, I couldn’t help but think back to meeting pro wrestler Paul Fuchs of Sloatsburg, who was found dead at his parents’ home earlier this month.

It was in 2007, when he and two other Suffern High School alumni — Scott Wright and Kevin Clark — were [...]

Posted by Bob Baird on January 26th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

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About this blog
Welcome to the community conversation/editorial page blog. It's your place for two-way talk with the people behind the opinions on the TJN editorial pages and LoHud.com. Look here daily to talk back to the opinion writers, find out what's on our agenda, and steer us to the hot topics in your community. Contributing to this blog are deep-rooted Rocklanders Nancy Cutler, editorial page editor in Rockland, and Bob Baird, longtime Rockland columnist and editor, along with Tracey Princiotta, interactivity editor, with occasional contributions from other opinion staff.

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