MWH Top Stories 2010: May/June
May
Voters give West Hempstead school budget a failing grade
West Hempstead taxpayers spoke loud and clear on May 18 when nearly 1,800 of them ventured out to the polls — in the rain — to vote down the school district’s budget.
The budget, which proposed a tax levy increase of 9.4 percent, failed with a vote of 1,738-1,080. Taxpayers also voted down Proposition 2, the Resident Initiated Referendum to extend transportation throughout the district, with a 2,1080-601 vote.
West Hempstead, where the budget had failed by about 700 votes, was one of only 10 school districts in New York State whose budgets were defeated.
Long-time board members Martin Kaye (19 years) and Davis Whelpley (seven years) were ousted from their seats and replaced by newcomers. Cynthia Di Miceli took over Kaye’s seat thanks to a 1,240-944 vote, while Rudolph Schindler topped Whelpley by a mere 16 votes, coming in 812-802.
More than 200 community members came out to a public session held by the Board of Education on May 20, two days after the vote, to discuss options of presenting a new budget to voters in June.
New traffic signal system causes uptick in accidents, gridlock in Malverne
Malverne Mayor Patricia McDonald and fellow village officials met with Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Department of Public Works Commissioner Shila Shah-Gavnoudias to demand that action be taken to fix the new traffic signal system placed in the village several months earlier.
It had felt like a slap in the face to Malvernites when the county Department of Public Works in February suddenly changed the system, but it was only three months and a handful of fender benders later that village officials realized just how intolerable the changes were.
Gridlock had been constant, regardless of the time of day or day of the week: getting from one part of the small village to another had become a nightmare, even on Sundays, and it caused problems for emergency vehicles that were unable to get through traffic jams. The village also saw an increase in minor car accidents, mostly resulting from drivers' confusion or frustration.
