Welcome to Your Weekend+

Westchester’s childcare shortage; holiday table treats; a look at Oxford High and our ongoing mass shootings crisis; winter date nights; what to do this weekend; and more

A message from our Publisher:

Hey all, as we head into the weekend, I wanted to take a moment to give a quick shout to the incredible industry experts with the Facebook/Meta Accelerator Program. While Facebook is a deeply flawed (generously characterized) organization, its Journalism Project is a significant bright spot for the troubled company and we were honored to win a spot in the highly competitive program. The Accelerator is teaching us how to deliver you, our readers, much more value with our local journalism. The Accelerator’s tips have paid dividends already, with about 60 new Examiner+ subscriptions over the past week alone. Special thank you to Tim Griggs, the head of Blue Engine Collaborative, and our Examiner team’s Accelerator coach, the great Claudia Laws, who helped engineer the much-ballyhooed resurgence of The Salt Lake Tribune after it converted to a nonprofit in 2019. We’re so excited to be growing this community with the help of the smartest minds in local news. And thank YOU for reading. Now go dig in to today’s Weekend + Edition. If you haven’t read Digital Editorial Director Robert Schork’s piece on guns yet (“National Shame”), please take a few minutes to check it out. Heart-wrenching, poignant, insightful, and masterfully written. Lots of lighter fare too, so enjoy. See you Monday. 

Best,
Adam Stone, Publisher 

Good morning! Today is Saturday, December 11, 2021. You’re reading The Examiner+ Weekend Edition — the complete digital issue for this week.

Today’s Examiner+ is sponsored by Greca Mediterranean Kitchen+ Bar in White Plains.

🎵 PRELUDE: It’s Just Not Christmas

Jessica Lynn is an internationally touring country artist and songwriter from New York. She is a unique face and voice in modern music who has been seen by millions on the road and in full-length nationwide television specials. Lynn has shared the stages with Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Phil Vassar, Richard Marx, Lonestar, Montgomery Gentry, and Loretta Lynn.

Lynn’s annual “A Very Merry Country Christmas” at the Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill has become a genuine New York holiday tradition featuring dancers, marching bands, choirs, and a visit from Santa. This year’s show and toy drive is scheduled for Saturday, December 18 at 8:00 pm.

— ELISA ZUCKERBERG, Founder of HearItThere.com, an online resource for live music events in the Hudson Valley and Fairfield County.

📰 ICYMI: This Week’s Features

National Shame

Guns have touched my life in profound and deeply personal ways. My take on Oxford High.

Holiday Table Treats

Indulge yourself and your guests with these tasty regional provisions that will spice up your holiday table.

Winter Date Nights

Take a break from the holiday hustle and bustle with your special someone at these festive date night options.

Our Best Bets for This Weekend (and Beyond): What to Do and Where to Go

Grand holiday illumination at Untermyer; holiday festival at Sugarloaf; annual toy train show at Lasdon Park; holiday arts & crafts sales; and more

Pre-K MIA

A post-pandemic shortage of childcare workers is having a ripple effect through Westchester families, their jobs, the childcare industry, and the economy.

From Afghanistan to Westchester

Meet two county residents whose relatives escaped the Taliban, and the local volunteers helping them and others risk it all for a better life here.

Today’s supporting sponsors are the Town of Yorktown…

…and the Peekskill Business Improvement District.

📡 THE FEED: Curated News in Brief

• Attempted Murder Suspect Leads Police on Chase Through Westchester: A Bronx man wanted on an attempted murder charge in New York City was arrested Wednesday after he led officers on a wild chase along two parkways through Westchester and onto local streets in Yonkers. (Examiner)

• Former College Athlete In Westchester To Compete On Food Network Show: An Iona College alum who is pretty famous for her cookies on Instagram will appear tonight on the Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge. (Daily Voice)

• French-American School Sells White Plains Property to Developer: The French-American School of New York (FASNY) has sold its 130-acre property in the Gedney Farms neighborhood of White Plains to a residential developer. (Examiner)

• Westchester County Under State Of Emergency As COVID-19 Hospitalizations Double: Westchester County has seen COVID hospitalization numbers more than double over the past few weeks, prompting County Executive George Latimer to issue what he called a state of emergency. (CBS 2 NY)

• Adventure Sports Park Proposed for Quarry in Verplanck: The owners of a Connecticut adventure sports park are looking to make a splash in the Town of Cortlandt by bringing their thrills and spills to a former quarry in Verplanck. (Examiner)

• Yonkers Student, 17, Charged with Threatening to Shoot Up High School: A Yonkers high school student was arrested Tuesday after allegedly threatening to shoot up his school, according to police. (PIX 11)

📅 FLASHBACK: 1940s

The Reader’s Digest office in Chappaqua, New York in the 1940s. Founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace, along with his wife, Lila Acheson Wallace, he had the idea to combine excerpts of his favorite articles from other publications into his own magazine. Less than a year after it began in New York City, Wallace moved the company to a garage in Pleasantville. Reader’s Digest would continue to thrive there until 1930 when he moved the operation to a Georgian-style office in Chappaqua called the Cupola Building, designed with Mrs. Wallace’s stylistic preferences in mind. The magazine would remain at the landmark property until 2009, when changes in the business itself forced them to move back to New York City. In 2018, the Chappaqua Crossing apartments were built in place of the Cupola Building, though many of Mrs. Wallace’s architectural preferences were preserved. — MADDIE STONE

(Photo courtesy of the Westchester County Historical Society)

🔢 BY THE NUMBERS

Research by Maddie Stone

🤣 LOL

👍🏻 IN APPRECIATION: Our Four-Legged “Ambassadors”

As a token of our sincere appreciation of our top-tier paid Ambassador subscription members for their generous additional financial support, we have invited them to give their pets a special shout-out.

“Charlie is a rescue who has patiently spent 13 years breaking us in as dog owners. Despite his age, he continues to be an excellent hiking and traveling companion.” —
Sheilah Chason, Mt. Kisco

We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s issue of Examiner+. We love honest feedback. Tell us what you think: examinerplus@theexaminernews.com.

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