13/14/2022 Weekly Editorial Roundup

On this week’s episode of Hudson Valley Uncensored, host Brett Freeman is joined by some new guests—Jessica Einterz, reporter for The Katonah Lewisboro Times and Yorktown News, and Whit Anderson, reporter for The Somers Record and North Salem News. Also joining them are regulars Tom Walogorsky, editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record; Bob Dumas, editor of Mahopac News; and Brian Marschhauser, editor of Yorktown News and The Katonah Lewisboro Times.

New reporter Einterz starts us off with a story she’s working on about the rise in gas prices, and the group discusses the impact on local businesses and families as well as how politics always finds its way into such discussions. Then we have a slew of positive local news, starting with Halston Media’s very own Corinne Stanton winning the Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year and Somers resident Steve Wilson climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for the second time, this time after donating one of his kidneys. Meanwhile, Walogorsky reports on two local groups in Salem collecting medical supplies for Ukraine, and Einterz tells us about her interview with a food truck owner who uses a community-minded pay-what-you-want business model.

Turning to more dramatic news, Anderson reports on Somers resident Vicenzo Fidanza, who was arrested on March 1 by the New York State Police for multiple felony drug and weapons charges. Included in Fidanza’s cache was over twenty pounds of cocaine and over 1,500 grams of amphetamines, and he was in possession of an AK-47; he was denied bail and remains in custody. The group then moves on to politics, with Matt Slater’s confirmation that he is seeking the assembly nomination for District 94 and Vedat Gashi officially announcing that he’s running for Congress, as well as rumors that Michael Grace is running for Lieutenant Governor. Walogorsky then follows up on a story about a brick being thrown through the window of the State Trooper barracks in Somers and the helicopter chase that followed, resulting in the arrest of a nineteen-year-old who is now facing second-degree criminal mischief charges. And we finish up with a preview of Walogorsky’s upcoming interview with a MasterChef Junior contestant from South Salem and a discussion of whether Gordon Ramsay yells at kids or if he keeps his temper just for adults.

Episode Highlights:

• Two new Halston Media staff join today’s roundup—Jessica Einterz, reporter for The Katonah Lewisboro Times and Yorktown News, and Whit Anderson, reporter for The Somers Record and North Salem News.
• Also present today are three editors from the Halston Media team—Tom Walogorsky, editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record; Brian Marschhauser, editor of Yorktown News and The Katonah Lewisboro Times; and Bob Dumas, editor of Mahopac News.
• Einterz has been working on a story about the rise in gas prices, and the group discusses the impact of this on shipping prices, grocery prices, and businesses and families.
• For the first time in two years, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns to Mahopac on Sunday, March 13. It’s the third-largest St Patrick’s Day parade in the state of New York, and this year’s Grand Marshall is Eddie McDowell from Atlanta Southeast.
• Mahopac News’ own Corinne Stanton, one of our sales executives, has been named Business Person of the Year by the Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce. Mahopac News will be doing a feature on Corinne this week, for which Bob will be interviewing Michael Celestino, CEO of the Chamber, to get the scoop on why they chose her.
• Four years ago, a Somers resident called Steve Wilson climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Two years ago, he donated a kidney to a stranger in a completely selfless act. On March 10, Walogorsky reports, Mr. Wilson made it back to the top of Kilimanjaro as part of a group called The Kidney Donor Athletes, who aim to prove you can donate a kidney and still live a very active, healthy life.
• Two local groups in North Salem—the North Salem Ambulance Corps and Animal Embassy (an environmental education group)—have joined forces for a drive to collect medical supplies to aid Ukraine.
• A story that recently blew up on the Halston Facebook page was Einterz’s interview with Lyle Puente, owner of Put Some Meat on Your Bones food truck in the Jefferson Valley area. Lyle runs his business on a pay-what-you-want model, which means people who may not be able to pay so much don’t have to worry about being judged when they come to the truck. Lyle admits people take advantage of this and that he makes only about fifty percent of what he should, but he cares more about helping the community than making a profit.
• Anderson reports on the explosive story of forty-year-old Somers resident Vicenzo Fidanza, who was arrested on March 1 by the New York State Police for multiple felony drug and weapons charges. Some of the drugs found included over twenty pounds of cocaine and over 1,500 grams of amphetamines, while Fidanza had an AK-47 with him. Fidenza’s attorney requested in court that he not be remanded for his violation of parole, but that was denied, so he remains in custody.
• Off the back of this, the group discusses search and seizure rights for those on probation and the drug problem in the Somers community.
• Marschhauser jumps in with a report on Matt Slater’s confirmation that he is seeking the assembly nomination for District 94. Slater is currently the Town Supervisor for Yorktown, a job he started in January 2020—he says he wasn’t planning on seeking higher office so soon, but with Kevin Byrne vacating that seat, the timing was just right for him to go for it.
• The group then discuss their opinions on Matt Slater and the potential impact his role change might have on the Republican Board, especially after the chaos in Bedford last year when Chris Burdick was elected to the Assembly.
• Vedat Gashi officially confirmed that he’s running for Congress in the 16th Congressional District against Jamal Bowman. Meanwhile, rumor has it that former Yorktown Supervisor Michael Grace is running for Lieutenant Governor alongside Rob Astorino, the longshot candidate for the Republican nomination.
• Walogorsky follows up on the story from February about a brick being thrown through the window of the State Trooper barracks in Somers, ending up with a helicopter pursuit through the town. The perpetrator turned out to be a nineteen-year-old who was arrested and is now facing second-degree criminal mischief charges.
• Walogorsky will be interviewing a little boy named McLean, who’s from South Salem and is going to be on MasterChef Junior.

Quotes:

“We’ve tried to gauge reactions from our Facebook page. But unfortunately, all the comments so far are inappropriate or just F Joe Biden, which isn’t something we can really publish.”

“She worked hard for our clients. She worked hard for the business community. She’s been volunteering for the Mahopac Chamber for many years. And, you know, so it’s definitely well-deserved.”

“Very cool thing coming out of Somers: gentleman named Steve Wilson, four years ago, Mr. Wilson climbed Mount Kilimanjaro out in Africa. Two years ago, he donated a kidney to a complete stranger, just, you know, selfless act, just the right thing to do and everything. And actually, this morning, Thursday, March 10, he is back at the summit of Kilimanjaro.”

“I just think it’s great that even on like a hyper-local focus, there are still people putting in the effort to try to help out with what’s going on over there.”

“He has admitted that people do take advantage of it. And that he makes about fifty percent what he actually should, but he doesn’t care about the profit. He just cares about helping the community.”

“I’ve known Lyle for years now. I did actually a story on him four or five years ago. My wife recommended him, and that’s where I learned all this crazy stuff about him. You know, my favorite fact is that he was in the music video for The Weeknd ‘In the Night.’ He was, yeah, he was in the entertainment business as like, you know, a snake handler for Madonna.”

“It’s just a little jarring to see somebody, I’m sure, being frog-marched off in handcuffs.”

“I personally like Matt Slater more as a politician than when he worked for politicians. You know, I think when he worked for, you know, when he was an employee of Senator Murphy, you know… Let me put it this way. He definitely was a good employee in the sense that he advocated for his boss.”

“Usually, when you hear about, you know, helicopter chases, it raises some eyebrows.”

“I’m just saying I got as many angles as I could of a boarded-up door.”

“This guy is allegedly a special kind of stupid because if you’re gonna commit vandalism against the State Trooper barracks, they’re gonna, you know, be pretty motivated to