Weight Loss Success Story: How A Westchester Teen Lost 100 Pounds Weight Loss Success Story: How A Westchester Teen Lost 100 Pounds
Weight Loss Success Story: How A Westchester Teen Lost 100 Pounds He was 10-years-old when, one day, his father “just didn’t wake up." Soon after, Yonkers native John Pike sunk into a deep depression. His father, also named John Pike, was an active Yonkers resident that taught in public and parochial schools, was a lector at St. Anthony’s Church, and was a much-loved stay-at-home dad. The junior Pike moved to Irvington in 2008 following his father's death, but it only deepened his depression. He had to adjust to a new school where friends were few. To deal with his new reality, he slept all day and turned to food.  At 16, he weighed 260 pounds. Pik…
YouTuber Logan Paul Features Westchester Survivor In Comeback Suicide Video YouTuber Logan Paul Features Westchester Survivor In Comeback Suicide Video
YouTuber Logan Paul Features Westchester Survivor In Comeback Suicide Video YouTuber Logan Paul received backlash after filming the corpse of a suicide victim hanging in a Japanese forest last month. After a weeks-long hiatus, he came back to social media with a nine-minute suicide awareness video highlighting the 2013 story of Ally Del Monte of White Plains, a suicide survivor (see video above). Del Monte's USA Today story flashed across the screen for more than 5 million eyeballs to see as Paul spoke with another survivor (4:31 in the video), who said he felt instant regret after jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge 17 years ago. Paul plans to donate $1 million t…
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…
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 …
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…
$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-…
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 …
New Court Honors Late Area Athlete, 26, Killed In Crash New Court Honors Late Area Athlete, 26, Killed In Crash
New Court Honors Late Area Athlete, 26, Killed In Crash Emmanuel Omokaro of Danbury has been thinking of ways to keep Joe Neumuller's name alive ever since he was killed in a 2016 car crash. Last October, the idea to build a basketball court in Neumuller's came to Omokaro. He is currently seeking a playground permit from the city so construction can begin at St. Gregory The Great School on Great Plain Road. Neumuller was a parishioner of the church. Omokaro says the court will solve two positives. "Everyone always looking for somewhere to play basketball in Danbury," the 28-year-old told Daily Voice. "That gives people a new spo…
North Salem Musician Is 'Unscathed' With New CD North Salem Musician Is 'Unscathed' With New CD
North Salem Musician Is 'Unscathed' With New CD George Mallas, a North Salem resident, unveiled his new cd "unscathed" at a release party earlier this month. The January 5th event, at The Heights at Brother Vic's in South Salem, also featured the music of other area musicians including David Powers, who produced the album at Starr Ridge Studios in Brewster. Don Lowe and Jacque Roche, radio hosts at Pawling Public Radio, introduced Malias, who opened with a solo performance of his Christmas song, “Tidings and Cheer.”   Among the other musicians featured on the album -- and in attendance at the party: Lisa Dodakian/violin, Chris…
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…
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.
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…