Bronxville and Scarsdale region

Tyler Friere scores on a jump shot during the Class C boys basketball semifinal between Tuckahoe High School and Keio Academy at Westchester County Center in White Plains on Feb. 28, 2011. Tuckahoe beat Keio 58-23.( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

See more photos from the Tuckahoe win over Keio Academy in the Class C boys semifinal at Westchester County Center in a photo gallery, and go to LoHud.com to see an upcoming story on the game by sportswriter Josh Thomson, and updates and coverage on other County Center games.

The Editorial Board will host two Editorial Spotlight interviews this week:

• Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic Inc. officials will discuss the impact of U.S. House-backed funding cuts to the organization at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Participants include Reina Schiffrin, president/CEO; Lisa Winjum, director, Public Affairs and Advocacy; and Jessica Baily, communications manager.

• Candidates for Port Chester mayor will join us at 1 p.m. Thursday. Democrat Dennis Pilla, the incumbent, faces Republican Bart Didden, who was elected last year to the village board.

To watch, go to lohud.com/editorialspotlight; submit a question by engaging the “CoverItLive” blogging device.

Here’s a glance at opinion content published in The Journal News on Saturday, Feb. 26, Sunday, Feb. 27 and today, Monday, Feb. 28:

Saturday, Feb. 26
Republicans and the budgets: Commentary
Joni Balter, a columnist for The Seattle Times, assesses the political landscape after a week in which Congressional Republicans took aim at social programs and Gov. Scott Walker, Republican of Wisconsin, battled with public-employee unions over benefits and collective bargaining.

Melbourne farmhouse: Commentary
Alan Strauber, a Yorktown Heights resident who is president and chairman of the Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance, argues in favor of the preservation of the Melbourne farmhouse, am 1812 structure the Yorktown Central School District owns and intends to demolish.

Tilcon quarry: Commentary
John F. Meehan, a Suffern village trustee, comments on the town of Ramapo’s plans to sell the former Tilcon quarry property to a developer who has proposed constructing 440 housing units on 65 acres.

Sunday, Feb. 27
Wisconsin: Editorial
We comment on the situation in the Badger State, where public-employee unions and Scott Walker, the Republican governor, are engaged in conversation that begs questions of national importance: What role should public-employee unions play in the future of our states? Should public employees contribute to their benefits? Do we value collective bargaining? We write:

… New Yorkers have their own troubles, including a $10 billion budget deficit, and their own set of hard choices, including proposed multi-billion cuts to schools and health care, and negotiations with organized labor aimed at saving billions of dollars or, in the alternative, laying off thousands of workers. New York also wrestles with a marquee policy decision — whether to cap annual property tax increases at 2 percent — that is likely to have repercussions in the classroom and local governments long after the Wisconsin mess has been concluded.


But we are transfixed nonetheless.


Wisconsin has touched off an important nationwide discussion about public-employee salaries and benefits. In a far more limited way, it also has prompted fresh discussion about the shrinking middle-class and their future, against the backdrop of recession, scant growth in real wages and growing income inequality.


Regrettably, the drama has not shed one bit of light on a more important discussion about employment, one started by President Obama in his State of the Union address a month ago. He talked about preparing American workers for the jobs of tomorrow — by investing in education, infrastructure and energy independence. …

The Scarsdale Forum will host Alan Schwarz at its Sunday Speaker Series at 3 p.m. on March 20 at the Scarsdale Woman’s Club.

Schwarz, a reporter for The New York Times and a graduate of Scarsdale High School, will present: “Knocken ‘em Straight: Football’s Collision with Head Injuries”

Schwarz has written about the epidemic of sports-related concussions and the high rates of dementia among National Football League players.

The club is at 37 Drake Rd. and the event is free. For more information log on to www.scarsdaleforum.com

New York doesn’t permit same-sex marriages, but it does recognize the unions of gay couples married elsewhere. A New York appeals court ruled Thursday that the survivor of a same-sex couple married in Canada can inherit as a spouse, in a decision gay-rights group called the first appellate decision of its kind in New York. Do you think that gay marriage should be legal in New York? Share your view in our poll:

Mamaroneck’s Anima Banks and Bronxville’s Mary Cain compete in the Girls 1000 meter run during the Section One Winter Track and Field State Qualifier at The Armory in Manhattan Feb. 26, 2011. Banks placed first in the event with a time of 2:50.05, setting a new Section One Indoor Track record for the event. Cain placed second with a time of 2:50.84, setting a new New York state Freshman Indoor Track record for the event. See more photos of the Section 1 State Track Qualifier.

Got this in recently from Tuckahoe’s Immaculate Conception School:

The (Tuckahoe) Immaculate Conception CYO Girls Basketball Cadettes Division is shown here with their championship trophies after winning the Holy Trinity Tournament held in Whitestone. ICS played the fifth grade Girls Novice Group and won all four games, coached by Sal Recupero who stands proudly with his team.

The 5th grade Immaculate Conception CYO Girls Basketball team are a Division B Team and recently played the #1 Division A Team in the A/B playoffs at Iona Prep. Their season’s record was 9 wins and 4 losses and it is their second season as a team.

Pictured in the front row, left to right, (first row) Adriana Cocucci, Danielle Mejia, Christina Santamaria, Ailish Fay, Sage Lembert; Second Row – Cassidy Mitchell, Alaina Alfasi, Fiona Teahan, Jacqueline Sullivan, Coach Sal Recupero, Giovanna Lavista (missing Kristen Harrington).  All of the girls attend the Greenvale, Anne Hutchinson and Immaculate Conception Schools, respectively. (photo courtesy of Maria Cocucci)

Edgemont’s John Aslanian, right, defeated Peru’s Kyler Agoney in a 103-lb Division II quarterfinal match at the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany.

See more photos of the State Wrestling Championships

Peter Vermette of Tuckahoe will be participating for the third year in a 66-floor stair climb to the top of Rockefeller Center to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis. What’s different this year is his 59-year old father, Greg Vermette, who has MS, will be climbing with him—on crutches.

The “Climb to the Top” event is hosted by the New York City-Southern New York Chapter of the National MS Society. Peter Vermette began participating to honor his father, who lives in Maine, according to an announcement about their plan.

“An inspiration to all, both Greg and his son want to demonstrate the importance of the cause and raising awareness for those individuals living with MS,” it says.

The pair plan to begin their climb at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. Good luck!

Reporter Rob Ryser filed this story:

BRONXVILLE — An overnight fire that started in the laundry room of a spa near the Metro-North train station was put out by Eastchester firefighters before the blaze could cause major damage.

The fire on the second floor of 45 Kraft Ave. was reported about 12:20 a.m. today and was out by 1:15 a.m., Eastchester Fire Chief Michael Grogan said.

The cause had not been determined.