White Plains, NY – Several members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) ventured today to the County’s Blue Mountain Reservation in the Town of Cortlandt to see the probable impact area from the expansion project proposed by the Houston, Texas-based Spectra Gas Corporation for its Algonquin natural gas pipeline. The major construction project would replace existing 26-inch diameter pipe for pressurized gas with new 42-inch pipe from Rockland County to Massachusetts via Northern Westchester and Putnam County.

White Plains, NY - Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) Majority Leader Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) recently introduced legislation requiring retailers to test toys for sale which may contain certain dangerous chemicals, thus potentially preventing them from ever reaching county residents, and today, along with several of her colleagues from the Democratic Caucus, she joined health and environmental advocates to unveil a report at a special press conference detailing the presence of toxic chemicals like mercury and cadmium in children’s products. The dangerous chemicals have been linked to cancer, cognitive impairments, hyperactivity and genetic disorders in children. All of the items tested were purchased in Westchester County over the last several weeks.

White Plains, NY – Democratic Caucus members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) strongly condemned the “structural imbalances” in the 2015 County Budget today, citing the massive borrowing, use of one-shot financing fixes and raiding the fund balance to effectuate a zero percent increase in the County tax levy, and, as a result, voted against the budget. Nonetheless, the budget was passed by a vote of 10-7.

White Plains, NY - The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) Budget and Appropriations Committee made their additions to County Executive Rob Astorino’s proposed 2015 budget. The Budget and Appropriations Committee will make their corresponding deletions to the budget and then release the final budget report on Friday.