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Westchester Singer Puts Life Experiences To Music Westchester Singer Puts Life Experiences To Music
Westchester Singer Puts Life Experiences To Music She's only 23 but in a way, she's lived a lot of lives. Now, Bianca Muñiz is taking those experiences and putting them to music: The Sleepy Hollow resident -- and two-time cancer survivor -- has her first full-length album, "For You" set to debut in summer, 2018.  It's dedicated to her longtime friend, Miles Applebaum, who she met at Lagond Music School in Elmsford when they were 15-years-old, and who passed away in 2014. She credits Applebaum, in fact, for turning her onto different kinds of music, many of which can be heard in her recent works. Her style is described as “Avant…

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by James Miranda
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Production Crew/Casting Call For Movie Being Shot In Hudson Valley Production Crew/Casting Call For Movie Being Shot In Hudson Valley
Production Crew/Casting Call For Movie Being Shot In Hudson Valley For those looking to break into the movie business, now's your chance to work for free on a short horror film filming in the Hudson Valley next month.  Kaleidoscope Productions is working on a "no budget" short film in Newburgh on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25 to be entered into film festivals. The film is about a sheriff in small town in upstate New York who uncovers a satanic haunting while investigating a domestic violence call. The company is looking for the following positions: Sound person with sound mixer Art Director Makeup Artist Gaffer They are also looking to …

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by Kathy Reakes
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Westchester 16-Year-Old Is Changing Perceptions About Girls Westchester 16-Year-Old Is Changing Perceptions About Girls
Westchester 16-Year-Old Is Changing Perceptions About Girls Jothi Ramaswamy was having dinner on a school night, halfway through the 2015 school year when a conversation with her brother left her even hungrier. Her brother, Akshay, happened to mention that out of the 33 students in his C++ class—a computer science language—none were girls. Ramaswamy, a Yorktown resident, had been interested in computer science since sixth grade, but hearing something like that flustered her. She decided to research why but discovered the void wasn’t just present in his class, it was the entire Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field. After doi…

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by James Miranda
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$16K Raised In Memory Of Bullied Westchester Teen Who Committed Suicide $16K Raised In Memory Of Bullied Westchester Teen Who Committed Suicide
$16K Raised In Memory Of Bullied Westchester Teen Who Committed Suicide A GoFundMe fundraising campaign has been started to honor the memory of a Westchester teenager who was bullied in high school and later took her own life. Nearly $17,000 has been raised in just two days on behalf of Julianna Carraturo, a former Tuckahoe High School student attending SUNY Cortland committed suicide last month after allegedly being bullied by fellow students. The proceeds raised through the GoFundMe campaign will be donated to The Kind Campaign, “an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-…

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by Zak Failla
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Longtime Yorktown Police Officer Will Call It A Career Longtime Yorktown Police Officer Will Call It A Career
Longtime Yorktown Police Officer Will Call It A Career Yorktown Police Officer John Hassett retired effective Jan. 29, 2018. Officer Hassett served 30 years in the law enforcement community, 28 of those years in Yorktown. During his distinguished career, Officer Hassett was the recipient of multiple Yorktown Police Department Excellent Police Duty Awards, numerous written commendations by police supervisors, and countless letters from the public praising his police work.  In addition to having a great sense of humor, Officer Hassett has always had a tremendous work ethic, according to Police Chief Robert Noble.  Throughout his career, he has be…

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by Jon Craig
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Drive To Aid Putnam Sheriff's Deputy Battling Cancer Nears $45K Drive To Aid Putnam Sheriff's Deputy Battling Cancer Nears $45K
Drive To Aid Putnam Sheriff's Deputy Battling Cancer Nears $45K Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Michael "Mo" Schmidt, 39, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in September 2016.  According to this GoFundMe page set up by his uncle, Schmidt had been sick since Thanksgiving 2015, but was misdiagnosed for almost a year. At this time there is no known cure for this disease, but its progression can be slowed. So far, family and friends have raised nearly $45,000 of their $150,000 GoFundMe goal to help defray some of Schmidt's medical costs. Schmidt has been a Putnam County Sheriff's deputy for aobut 10 years. During his career, he has served as the …

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by Jon Craig
Neighbors
Village Of Buchanan Officer Hailed A Hero For Saving Baby Village Of Buchanan Officer Hailed A Hero For Saving Baby
Village Of Buchanan Officer Hailed A Hero For Saving Baby Officials with the Village of Buchanan are hailing one of their officers a hero after he saved the life of an 11-month-old baby who was not breathing. According to officials on Facebook, on Tuesday at about 4:45 p.m. Officer Robert Budde received a call from a hysterical woman. The only information Budde could obtain over the phone was the address. When he arrived, the woman brought him to the 11-month-old baby she was caring for. The baby was not breathing and had no pulse. Budde immediately began performing CPR on the baby and the baby regained a heartbeat and began to breathe. Cortlandt …

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by Kathy Reakes
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Forget The Hashtags! Northern Westchester Instagrammer Gets 64.7K Followers Forget The Hashtags! Northern Westchester Instagrammer Gets 64.7K Followers
Forget The Hashtags! Northern Westchester Instagrammer Gets 64.7K Followers As someone who studied psychology in college, Natalie Alexa has a deep fascination with the human psyche. Which is why she puts a lot of thought into her social media brand and into Instagram in particular. Since joining in September 2012, the Somers native and self-proclaimed fitness addict has more than 64.7K followers as well as more than 7,000 Facebook friends.  The Upper West Sider, who's also a model, relied on Facebook initially to grow her brand -- she goes by Natalie Alexxa -- and then slowly branched out to Instagram.  "It really started out, and still is, a social experimen…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
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Elliot Is SPCA Pet Of The Week Elliot Is SPCA Pet Of The Week
Elliot Is SPCA Pet Of The Week BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. -- The SPCA is hoping someone will adopt Elliot. Elliot is 1.5 and recently spent time in a foster home, becoming housebroken. He enjoys people and dogs but not cats. "Elliot is initially timid but warms up nicely; he's a blast to play with in the yard," the SPCA said. For more information, e-mail trainer@spca914.org or call (914) 941-2896 ext. 24.

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Community Rallies Around Westchester Family After New Father Dies Community Rallies Around Westchester Family After New Father Dies
Community Rallies Around Westchester Family After New Father Dies Paulie Packes was only 9 days old when his father, Anthony, a Stamford resident who grew up in Hawthorne, died of a brain tumor at the age of 36. A GoFundMe page has been launched for the Packes family. As of Friday morning, the page has raised $51,565 in four days from 325 people. Anthony was diagnosed with a brain tumor in March 2015. The tumor was surgically removed, and he was given a clean bill of health. He married Toni in October 2016, but his brain tumor returned last June. While the tumor was surgically removed, it eventually resurfaced and was deemed inoperable.  "Anthony n…

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Bedford's Martha Stewart Stranded In Florida Amid Storm Bedford's Martha Stewart Stranded In Florida Amid Storm
Bedford's Martha Stewart Stranded In Florida Amid Storm Martha Stewart, a Bedford resident, is missing out on the region's first major snowstorm of the year. Stewart is stranded in Florida according to her Instagram. Despite avoiding the snowstorm, it doesn't sound like she's too happy about it. "It is really inclement here," the lifestyle mogul said. "I am worried about the farm crops and citrus crops! But I know it is even worse up north where people cannot even get to work and pipes are freezing and trees breaking." Stewart, a former Westport, Conn., resident, found solace by visiting a spa. "A great place to visit …

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Putnam Valley Resident's New Album Pays Tribute To Famed Folk Musician Putnam Valley Resident's New Album Pays Tribute To Famed Folk Musician
Putnam Valley Resident's New Album Pays Tribute To Famed Folk Musician Andy Biskin is hoping people love the music of Alan Lomax as much as he does.Biskin and his band, 16 Tons, have launched a Kickstarter to help fund the recording of his band's new record, which features a collection of American folk songs previously collected by Lomax.  The campaign, which runs through Feb. 1, is hoping to raise $8,000 to help cover fees for musicians recording, editing, mixing, mastering and producing the CDs. As of Saturday morning, 51 people have already pledged $4,521. Biskin must raise the full amount or he receives nothing. The album will begin recording in January an…

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by Sam Barron