Kiryas Joel Monroe, NY +Tragic Incindent+

Kiryas Joel Monroe, NY +Tragic Incindent+ A man, 61, R'Gavreiel Weiss father of 16 children, married off one of his daughters this past Wed. Friday night at the Shabbos sheva bruchos after wishing all his guests, He went home and suffered a massive heart attack, within hours he was no longer with us.
This family who instead of going to the rest of the sheva bruchos they will be going to a levaya now.

Israel - Operation Risks Cease-Fire

Israel - The Israeli army has confirmed that its commandos operated deep in Lebanon near Baalbek early Saturday, four days after the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire took effect.

Lebanon's defense minister has threatened to halt the army's deployment in south Lebanon if the United Nations does not take up the issue of Israel's commando raid.

One IDF officer died in raid in east Lebanon.

U/D: 08/20/06 12:33
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected the presence of peacekeepers in Lebanon from countries that don't have relations with Israel.

Bentonville, AR - Wal-Mart Executive Resigns Amid Racist Remarks

Bentonville, AR - Civil rights leader Andrew Young, who was hired by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as Chairman at to improve its public image, resigned from that post after telling an African-American newspaper that Jewish, Arab and Korean shop owners had "ripped off" urban communities for years, "selling us stale bread, and bad meat and wilted vegetables."

In an interview Young said Wal-Mart "should" displace mom-and-pop stores in urban neighborhoods. "You see those are the people who have been overcharging us," Young was quoted as saying of the small stores, "and they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs."

Young, a former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., apologized for the remarks and retracted them in an interview. Within an hour of the first interview, he resigned as chairman of Working Families for Wal-Mart, a group created and financed by the company to trumpet its accomplishments. He had been in the post for six months.

Monticello, NY +MVA+

Monticello, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident in Monticello on Route 17-B near the Monticello Raceway, Hatzolah and Monticello Fire Department are all responding.

U/D: 18:09
Mobilemedic and Rescue Trk 2261 are all responding.

Swan Lake, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Swan Lake, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a child that was struck at Apples Bungolow Colony near Old White Lake Trpk, Hatzolah on the scene requesting ALS to respond to the scene.

U/D: 15:58
FD and PD are on the scene, Medevac on stand by.

Fort Lee, NJ +MVA+

Fort Lee, NJ +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on the Palisades Interstate Parkway north bound at the first Sunoco gas station, with a vehicle out of control, Hatzolah on the scene requesting additional units and a Hashington Heights bus to respond.

U/D: 15:29
No Y bus to the Palisaide Parkway as per Y Cordn.

Kenosha, WI - Man Gets Trapped in Chocolate

Kenosha, WI - What sounds like a chocolate-lover's dream was actually a nightmare for a Wisconsin man.  

Police say the worker was trying to unplug a chocolate vat when he got stuck in it, and the employee atthisa Kenosha chocolate company which supplies chocolate ingredients spent two hours trapped, waist-deep, in the sweet stuff.

A police captain on the scene said that the chocolate was thick and like quicksand. Police, firefighers and co-workers tried to free the man but they couldn't get him loose until the chocolate was thinned out.

Jenin - Two Hamas Members Killed While Making Bombs

Jenin - Two Hamas members were killed and a third mortally wounded by an explosion which took place in the village of Dir Abu Daif, in the Jenin area.

The blast apparently took place because of a 'work accident' which took place while preparing explosives, accidentally setting off an explosives belt one was wearing.
A hospital in Jenin is attempting to save the life of the third Hamas member, after the body of one of them was in two parts. Palestinians are checking the circumstances of the blast.

Monticello, NY +Route 17 MVA+

Monticello, NY +Route 17 MVA+ A motor vehicle accident with injuries on the west bound of Route 17 at Exit 105, Hatzolah responding.

New York, NY - Lot From Doctor That Exploded His House, For Sale

New York, NY - The Upper East Side property that was blown to bits last month by a deranged doctor is for sale.

The now-leveled lot, once the site of a four-story townhouse owned by suicidal Dr. Nicholas Bartha, is on the market for $8 million. "You certainly don't see many 'land for sale' signs in this part of town," said a resident in the landmarked Gold Coast neighborhood.
According to a listing, the 20-by-100-foot lot at 34 E. 62nd St., between Park and Madison avenues, is an "opportunity to build your dream house." Its location is described as "a quiet, lovely tree-lined street."

That serenity, though, was shattered on the morning of July 10, when the doctor - angered over the likelihood of losing his townhouse in a divorce - reduced the building to rubble with a thunderous blast. Investigators suspect the doctor created and ignited a gas leak in the basement.
The explosion left the upscale neighborhood frazzled and the street littered with debris.
The doctor, who died from his injuries several days later, vowed in an e-mail, "I will leave the house only if I am dead."

Germany - Won't Send Troops to Lebanon

Germany - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany would not send combat troops as part of the contemplated international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but may offer naval forces to help patrol the country's coastline.

Merkel said Germany was looking at "naval security" as part of its effort to support the force, after meeting with parliamentary leaders. Parliament must approve any deployment and the German government has warned it can't make a concrete offer until rules of engagement - or when service personnel can shoot - are clarified.

Middeltown, NY +Suspicious Powder at the Times Herald Record Building+

Orange County, Middeltown, NY +Suspicious Powder at the Times Herald Record Building+ A worker at the Times Herald Record building at 40 Mulberry Street and Fulten Street, opened an envelop that contained suspicious white powder in it, Orange County Haz-Mat Team, ALS, BLS and PD are all being requested Middeltown Fire Department is on the scene.

Rome, Italy +Bomb Suspected on Plane+

Rome, Italy +Bomb Suspected on Plane+ A British passenger plane to Egypt landed at a southern Italian airport after the pilot reported that a bomb was suspected to be on board.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA on B.Q.E. with Overturned+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA on B.Q.E. with Overturned+ A motor vehicle accident involving six vehicles on the west bound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway near Atlantic Avenue Exit with a tractor trailer that overturned and driver still inside, NYPD ESU portable on the scene, ESU and FDNY assigned for the extrication, Hatzolah on the scene requesting B Bus to respond for additional that are slightly injured.

Swan Lake, NY - The Ballooner Rebbe Rides In

Swan Lake, NY - Around the summer camps of Sullivan County, around the hospitals in Brooklyn and a few cancer wards, children know him as the Ballooner Rebbe.

Pulls up in his black SUV sparkling with slogans like "May Your Bubble Never Burst."
He's the man in the long black coat.
He wears a Shtrimal of black balloons.

The kids come running when the Ballooner Rebbe comes to town. "When you are full of hot air, you have to put it to good use," jokes the Ballooner Rebbe, Rebbe, Moshe Finer.

The Ballooner Rebbe blows his air into a tiny green plastic tube and it expands into some shape he starts twisting it. Voila, a bug-eyed beetle, a green spaceman with a ray gun, a smiling Daffy Duck, every shape imaginable flies out of his fingertips. Twists 'em in 30 seconds flat.
A clown once taught him how to twist balloon sculptures, ever since, he's been going around the area entertaining children. While at the Yeshiva in Rockland County, Moshe Finer got his nickname - the Ballooner Rebbe. As a dad, he twisted balloons to keep his four kids smiling. "I go all over with the balloons," he said. "It doesn't matter if it is 20 kids or 500 kids." Now it is 2 p.m. at the Hillcrest Estates in Swan Lake. The children leap from wooden benches and crowd around the table, where the Ballooner Rebbe is twisting a fish on a hook and line.

"Who did not get one?" a lady calls out. "Who did not get?"
"Meeeeeee," 50 little mouths squeak.

"He's famous," said one young woman in a long black dress. He's the Pied Piper of balloons.
They call him the Ballooner Rebbe.

Spring Valley, NY - Hearing on New Development Regulations

Spring Valley, NY - Larger houses could be built without zoning variances under new regulations being considered.

The village Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing at 8 p.m. Tuesday on an amendment to increase the ratio between the lot size and the square footage for single- and two-family homes.

The current Village Code allows for a landowner to build on 30 percent of the lot area. Anything more requires permission from the village's Zoning Board of Appeals.
The proposed law would increase the percentage to 55, an increase that is a result of Ramapo increasing its ratio to 90 percent in 2004 for a small section of the town that borders the village.
A larger house would be permitted as long as the construction remained within the "footprint" that maintained required distances between the house and the road, as well as side and rear boundaries, and building height would remain at 35 feet.

Waterford, MI - Anti-Semitic Vandals Target Clinic

Waterford, MI - Jeffrey Klein struggles to tell his 10-year-old son, Sruli, the violent truth of the Holocaust. And he'll have to gently tell Sruli of the ignorance that still exists today - after harsh, black spray-painted lines in the form of anti-Semitic and sacrilegious signs were plastered across the back of his podiatry practice in Waterford Township.

Klein said he hopes police find whoever did this, but he doesn't yet understand the hate behind the swastika, profanity, upside-down cross, 666 and hammer and sickle. "I feel terrorized, frightened, amazed. ... I try to be the best person I can, and you see this and wonder what kind of people are out there," said Klein, a physician at Advanced Podiatry Clinic, 3711 Elizabeth Lake Road.
"For my son to see this, it's unbelievable."
Klein, 45, of Oak Park, discovered the vandalism on the brick building. He filed a report with the Waterford Township Police Department.

Wearing a yarmulke on his head, Klein said "I've never had a problem here. Waterford is a wonderful community," he said, noting he's worked there since 1988.

Still, Klein said, people need to be aware. "We can't be frightened and terrorized of things," he said. "People must live on and do what they need to do."

London - Tefillin Allowed On Planes

London - As chaos continued at UK airports and even before the restrictions on hand luggage were eased, Heathrow airport chaplain, Rabbi Hershey Vogel, had obtained a guarantee from security officials that passengers could take their tefillin and tallesim on board. "I explained what’s inside the tefillin and what value they have, to demonstrate they are not cheaply made and cannot be made by anyone," the Rabbi said.
He added: "I was delighted. This was a major thing for us. I personally do not check in tefillin and tallit because you can find at the other end that a case has been damaged or lost."

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, NY on 47th Street and 14th Avenue. Hatzolah responding.

Monticello, NY +Child with Serious Burn+

Monticello, NY +Child with Serious Burn+ Medevac Stat Flight Air-2 has been requested L/Z will be at the Rock Hill firehouse engine from Wurtsboro to set up the landing zone, for a one-year-old child that sustained serious severe burns at Kol Tuv Bungalow Colony, Hatzolah BLs and Medics responded.

South Fallsburg, NY +MVA with Overturned+

South Fallsburg, NY +MVA with Overturned+ A motor vehicle accident in South Fallsburg in the back parking lot of Camp Sheri Yoshar with a vehicle that overturned, Hatzolah responding.

U/D: 19:07
Medics on the scene, FD responding.

U/D: 19:16
Hatzolah transported one aided to Harris Hospital with minor injuries.

North Korea +Preparing for Nuke Test+

North Korea +Preparing for Nuke Test+ There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials said. "It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is real possibility," says a senior State Department official.

A senior military official said that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site.
The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside an underground facility called Pungyee-yok in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week.

Queens, NY - Battle of the Badges

Queens, NY - A New York City police officer was assaulted and a New York City firefighter was arrested for the attack.

According to reports, the officer was attacked by the ex-boyfriend of his fiancee at 1824 Cornelia Place in the Ridgewoodin section of Queens.
The injured officer was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition, and the firefighter, identified as Sean Murray, was arrested.

Monticello, NY +MVA+

Monticello, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on the 17B at the entrance to the Monticello Raceway, Hatzolah on the scene and two medics also responding.

New York, NY - City Considers No-Teen Drinking At Home Law

New York, NY - The city is considering a local law to hold parents responsible for teen drinking in their homes.
The City Counciil's Public Safety Committee is drafting the so-called "Social Host" law.

The law could carry penalties of 350 dollars in fines and anywhere to 15 days to a year in jail -- depending if violating the new law is considered a violation of a misdemeanor.

West Virginia +Airport Evacuated+

West Virginia +Airport Evacuated+ The West Virginia Airport has been evacuated after tests on a passenger's bottle showed possible liquid explosives.

U/D 08/18/06
Tests on suspect liquids that led to the evacuation of the airport in show no explosives.

London, UK +Suspicious Explosives Found+

London, UK +Suspicious Explosives Found+ British authorities have found a suitcase that contained the items needed to make an improvised explosive device in woods near London.

Rome, Italy - Foreign Minister Accused Of "Anti-Jewish Bias"

Rome, Italy - Conservative opposition politicians and Jewish leaders in Italy criticized Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema as displaying an anti-Israeli bias.
Sparking the complaints was a photograph, published in Italian newspapers, of the minister, his arm held by a man the caption described as a Hezbollah lawmaker, while he toured a bombed out neighborhood in Beirut.

D'Alema visited Lebanon and also went to Israel last month as part of Italy's diplomatic efforts. In an interview with Italian newsweekly L'Espresso, D'Alema was quoted as saying that, "now, rightly or wrongly, Hezbollah is perceived by a large swath of the Lebanese population as a kind of national resistance force after the disastrous political error (by Israeli) represented by this war."

The Foreign Ministry Wednesday evening defended D'Alema, saying the minister's inspection of the suburbs of Beirut was a "show of solidarity" with the victims of the conflict in Lebanon "in the same spirit in which he met in Jerusalem with the families of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers."

But a leader of the tiny Italian Jewish community in Rome, accused D'Alema of "going arm in arm with an enemy, not only of Israel, but of peace," the minister should have inspected damage done by Hezbollah missiles while he was in Israel.

Lakewood, NJ +Route 9 Traffic Alert+

Lakewood, NJ +Route 9 Traffic Alert+ A accident involving a tractor trailer into a pole with wires down on top of the tractor trailer, PD requesting utilities forthwith.

All lanes are closed on both directions.

Detroit, MI +Judge Orders Stop to Domestic Spying+

Detroit, MI +Judge Orders Stop to Domestic Spying+ A federal judge in Detroit has ruled the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

East Ramapo, NY - Meeting Tonight on School Issues

East Ramapo, NY - A citizens group will host a town meeting tonight on what they consider urgent issues in the East Ramapo schools.

"The East Ramapo school district is in a state of emergency and we need to address quite a few of the issues that are going on," said community activist Cassandra Edwards, a mother of four who resides in Spring Valley.
"What we're really concerned about (is) the survival of public schools," said Susan Gordon, a former long-serving East Ramapo Board of Education member who is also helping organize the meeting.

Edwards said that issues likely to be discussed tonight include providing better services for East Ramapo's public school children, the school board's recent creation of a paid treasurer's position, and the need for more people in the public school community to attend school board meetings and vote in school board elections. "We need to be visible in order to hold the board accountable for all the things that are happening," Edwards said.
Roughly two-thirds of children living within the East Ramapo school district - about 16,000 - attend private schools. Edwards said that the board's private school majority - seven of the board's nine members are from the district's religious Jewish community, which sends most of its children to yeshivas - may have a "level of insensitivity" when making decisions that affect public school children.

But board of Education President Nathan Rothschild said that such criticism was unproductive and could prove detrimental to the school district. "What this district needs is positive input by all citizens of this district. It's sad that the undertone of many of these meetings are really not about education but are about what and who control the school board, what the face of the school board is, what community they live in, where they send their children, and from what social circles they come from," he said.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Partial Collapse+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Partial Collapse+ A front wall of a 4 story building under construction at 115 Skillman Street and Myrtle Avenue has collapsed, no one is injured and no one is trapped.
FD and PD are on the scene, requesting DOB to the scene to check stability of exposures.

Israel - Faulty Sirens Send Residents of North Dashing Back Into Shelters

Israel - Rocket-warning sirens sounded in northern Israel on for the first time since a cease-fire went into effect along the Lebanese border.

The sirens sounded due to a technical malfunction. There were no reports of rockets landing anywhere in the north.
Sirens sounded in the Hula Valley and in the northern towns of Kiryas Shmona, Tzafes and Rosh Pina, and Israeli Radio announced that residents of the towns should seek shelter.

"I was terrified, terrified," said Hedva Sabagi, 39, the owner of a confectionery shop in Kiryas Shmona's central mall, which received a direct hit from a Hezbollah rocket three weeks ago, smashing a mobile phone shop. "I only came back yesterday after a month away, so I'm very nervous about things like that," she said.
Within a minute, the streets of Kiryas Shmona, which were hectic with cars and people setting about returning to normal, were virtually empty. Panic strained people's faces as they sprinted for cover underground or into concrete buildings.

Ramapo, NY - State Adjourns Hearing Against Yeshiva

Ramapo, NY - The state's Office of Children and Family Services has adjourned its administrative hearing against the developer of a yeshiva with adult student housing that was cited for running a preschool out of a trailer on the Grandview Avenue construction site, until the fall, when school is in session.

Brian Marchetti, a spokesman for the state agency, said the school run by Mosdos Chofetz Chaim would have to be open for the state to determine if it needs a state license. "The issue there is whether they require a license or whether they are exempt as a religious institution," he said. "Once they start in the fall, we can conduct an inquiry into their services."
The state had ordered the preschool shut in March, when it appeared the yeshiva was operating without a child-care license or registration. The developer has appealed.

The developer also is to appear before the town's Zoning Board of Appeals on Sept. 7 because of the town citation's for running the preschool without a certificate of occupancy.
The developer also is appealing the town's decision to increase the building permit fees for its 60-apartment yeshiva.
The 8 p.m. meeting will be at Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Airmont.

Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanese General Arrested after Appearing on Israeli Videotape

Beirut, Lebanon - A Lebanese general was ordered arrested for appearing in a videotape drinking tea with Israeli soldiers who had occupied his south Lebanon barracks during their incursion of the country.

Brig. Adnan Daoud was summoned and ordered held for questioning, Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat said in a statement. Daoud is commanding officer of the 1,000-strong joint police-army force that had positions in southern Lebanon and was based in Marjayoun.
Israeli troops seized the barracks there last week and held him and 350 soldiers for a day before allowing them to leave the occupied zone. The Lebanese garrison, which is lightly armed, did not resist the Israeli force which moved in armor into the base.

In the videotape, aired on Israeli television and carried by a Lebanese TV station, Daoud was shown having tea with smiling Israeli soldiers and walking with them in the base courtyard.
Lebanon is in a state of war with Israel. Any contact with the Jewish state is punishable by a prison term.

Fort Wayne, IN - Religious Garb Fashionably Modest

Fort Wayne, IN - When the heat waves hit us, some people didn't dress down to stay cool, their clothes stayed on. Modesty is the best - and only - policy, they say. Keeping their clothes on – even when heat and the humidity rise – is their religious lifestyle.

Regardless of the weather, Orthodox Jewish tradition requires men to wear long-sleeved shirts and women to wear ankle-length skirts.
Although Jeff Gubitz, executive director of the Fort Wayne Jewish Federation, says there are few Orthodox Jewish families in the area, that doesn’t mean that Jewish families don’t adhere to the dressing tradition. “Our dress is traditional and conservative,” he says. “Men keep their arms covered, and women keep their bodies covered. “When it is hot, you wear more cotton that helps to stay cool in hot weather.
We are modest. But some of the dressing you see isn’t so much a question of modesty but a question of taste.”

Boro Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA Car Into Baby Carriage+

Boro Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA Car Into Baby Carriage+ A motor vehicle accident in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, NY. With a vehicle that hit a baby in its carriage, has Hatzolah responding and requesting ALS to respond as well to 14th Avenue and 42nd Street.

Liberty, NY +MVA+

Liberty, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident off Route 17 at Exit 101 near Ferndale Road with a vehicle that overturned, Hatzolah responding to the scene.


U/D: 09:31
All occupants are out of the vehicle, Hatzolah on the scene canceling the bus.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Making 'Gold Train' Cut for Survivors

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Holocaust survivor Miriam Kleinman says that she can still remember the diamond earrings her sister wore in Hungary. But the glittering stones were stolen by Hungary's Nazi regime and her older sibling was killed at Auschwitz, a place Kleinman survived.
Six decades later, the 78-year-old Williamsburg widow is getting a token for those earrings. "I wish they could give me my family back," said Kleinman.

Four groups have begun distributing $550,000 a year for five years to more than 6,000 city survivors of Hungarian Nazi atrocities - 4,000 live in Brooklyn.
The money is part of a $25.5 million settlement paid by the U.S. government, with the help of Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens), who worked on the Hungarian Gold Train case in which U.S. forces intercepted a train in 1945 with 24 freight cars of gold, jewelry, art, china and Oriental rugs - worth an estimated $200million, many were stolen by American soldiers.
"It's wrong that for so many years our government did not want to recognize their obligations," said Rabbi David Niederman of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg.

A settlement in the class-action suit against the government was approved last fall - and the government apologized to the victims.

Roosevelt, NJ - Hearing on Yeshiva Appeal Postponed

Roosevelt, NJ - A hearing appealing a Jewish school's right to operate in a residential neighborhood here was postponed again.   

The hearing regarding Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah, which operates in a synagogue on Homestead Lane, was adjourned until Sept. 12 to accommodate an expert witness for the yeshiva who could not attend the latest Planning Board hearing because of an injury.   
The Roosevelt Preservation Association is appealing Zoning Officer Bob Francis's decision that the yeshiva did not violate the local zoning ordinance by operating the school in a residential area.   
Planning Board Chairman Ralph Seligman has recused himself because he lives within 200 feet of the property.   The adjournment follows previous postponements of the hearing in June and July.   

Aside from the appeal, the yeshiva and its landlord received a separate violation notice in May from Mr. Francis because 12 students who attend the yeshiva are living in a single-family house on Rochdale Avenue.   A date for that hearing had not been set.
The yeshiva, a school where Orthodox Jewish males 13 years and older study the Torah, has been at the center of a debate between proponents who say the school is a welcome addition to the borough and opponents who say its presence threatens to upend the town's diversity as well as its school system.

Wesley Hills, NY - Single Bidder for 20-Acre East Ramapo Parcel

Wesley Hills, NY - The East Ramapo school district's controversial call for buyers for its vacant Wesley Hills property has drawn a single bidder.
American Investment Group LLC, a Brooklyn-based company, has offered to pay $7,350,000 for the 20.7-acre property that is adjacent to Lime Kiln Elementary School, which is $850,000 over what the district set as its minimum acceptable bid.

Reached by phone at his Monsey office, Michael Goldstein, who co-owns American Investment Group with Brooklyn resident Mendel Greenbaum, said that, if awarded the bid, the company would develop single-family homes on the parcel. Goldstein said that he has been involved in the development of single-family homes on other properties in Rockland County.
The school district has previously stated that it reserves the right to reject any and all bids on the property.

The potential sale of the Wesley Hills property has generated controversy in the district, with many arguing that the land should be preserved as open space. "I would very much like to have that property left the way it is," "We don't want an increase in density in Wesley Hills as has occurred in Monsey," said Zelda Pepper, a village resident and a former East Ramapo teacher.

But Wesley Hills Mayor Robert Frankl sounded a more positive note about the property's prospective development and about American Investment Group. "I'm sure they have plans to build a magnificently beautiful subdivision," he said. "I'm sure they're professional people and they know what they're doing and we're going to get along famously."

Brooklyn, NY +Brooklyn Bridge Traffic Alert+

Brooklyn, NY +Brooklyn Bridge Traffic Alert+ Heavy traffic on the Brooklyn side onto the Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan bound due to a motor vehicle accident that's closing some lanes midspan, NYPD Highway units requested.

Woodridge, NY +Serious Trauma+

Sullivan County, Woodridge, NY +Serious Trauma+ Hatzolah on the scene at Clearmont Road. & Lake House Road. with a child that has a serious head trauma at the Lake House Hotel after he fell off a bike, Hatzolah requesting Medevac to fly, chopper to meet ambulance at Kreiger Park.

Elenville bus is transporting the child to Kreeger Park.

South Fallsburg, NY +MVA+

South Fallsburg, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Thompsonville Road off Route 17 at Exit 107, Hatzolah BLS and ALS are responding with two ambulances for multiple aided.

U/D: 19:06
Medevac ordered on stand by.

U/D: 19:14
Hatzolah reporting have 12 aided on the scene, six ar RMA the other six will be transported to Catskills Reginald Hospital, non of the injuries are life threatening, canceling the Medevac.

Manhattan, NY +Fire In Transit+

Manhattan, NY +Fire In Transit+ A fire in one of the cars on the "B" line train Brooklyn bound inside the tunnel at the Manhattan Bridge, FD on the scene stretching lines through train, all occupants being evacuated EMS reporting about 30 people are injured all minor except one that serious.

Major operation going on.

U/D: 18:59
2nd alarm has been transmitted, the Manhattan Bridge being shut down, and a level one mobilization has been called by the 84th Pct Sgt.

U/D: 19:25
Subway service on the B and D trains in both directions is disrupted, 70 people have been evacuated so far.

U/D: 20:04
Fire is out and all searches are complete but rescues are still in progress, still removing passengers from the train that is stuck in side the tunnel.

U/D: 20:16
3rd alarm has been ordered for relief purposes only.

FD reporting that between 3500 & 4000 people have been evacuated.

Seattle, WA +Port Evacuated for Suspicious Container+

Seattle, WA +Port Evacuated for Suspicious Container+ Dozens of personnel were evacuated from Terminal 18, and the bomb squad was set to examine a suspicious container and determine its contents.

The container was taken off the ship because of questions about a manifest, a port spokesman said.
"The bomb-sniffing dogs did what bomb-sniffing dogs do, and it caused us to be worried there might be explosives," he said.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Mike Zolzer said the container was supposed to contain oily rags, but authorities apparently found items that did not match that description.

Terminal 18 covers nearly 200 acres, making it the port's largest container terminal and one of the largest in the U.S. It serves more than 20 steamship lines and receives more than 40 vessels each month.

U/D: 23:57
Nothing found on the containers from Pakistan.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Missing Person+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Missing Person+ Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol is doing a search for an elderly with alzheimer's 94-year-old male missing for an hour, search area and mobilization point will be at Lee Avenue and Ross Street where he was last seen leaving his clothing store at that location.

U/D: 17:35
PD also responding.

U/D: 18:06
NYPD Condition Sergeant of the 90th Pct has located the missing elderly at Graham Avenue.

Brooklyn, NY +Fatal PD Involved Shooting+

Brooklyn, NY +Fatal PD Involved Shooting+ In the 81st Pct there is a large police mobilization at 666 Hancock Street and Reed Avenue for an off-duty MOS that came up on a shoot out when he shot two perps one is DOA the other one is in traumatic arrest and a 3rd fled, level one mobilization has been called.

U/D: 17:31
2nd victim has expired at the hospital, five shots were fired by MOS. Major crime scene ongoing at location.

Sacramento, CA - Area Muslims Criticize Governor

Sacramento, CA - Muslim leaders on called Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger disrespectful and insulting for ignoring their request to meet about the war in Lebanon so he could explain his appearance at a rally supporting Israel that was attended by thousands.

Schwarzenegger and his aides have not returned repeated phone calls asking him to explain his appearance and get the "other, equally important side" of the Lebanon-Israeli conflict, said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California.
"It's insulting and extremely disrespectful," Syed said. "What is appalling and disturbing is that repeatedly, public officials for the state of California and city of Los Angeles seem now to be pledging their allegiance to the state of Israel."

Israel - Tel Aviv Residents Fight Less Than Others In IDF

The head of IDF Manpower said that questions must be asked concerning the geographical disparity concerning serving in combat units. When asked if he was referring to Tel Aviv, Stern replied he makes it a practice not to visit homes there.

Media attention often has focused on the lack of enlistment among Charedi religious sectors in Jerusalem and B'nai Brak but largely ignore a high rate of draft dodgers from the Tel Aviv area and from secular sectors.

Among those who have not served in the army are the sons of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Queens, NY +Bomb Threat in Transit+

Queens, NY +Bomb Threat in Transit+ NYPD Transit Division, ESU and FDNY are all on the scene at 159th Street in Queens with a suspect that's stating that he has placed explosives in the train station of the AirTrain, MTA is suspending the AirTrain services into the station, and the station has been evacuated.
 
Command post has been set up at the Long Term Parking area.

U/D: 16:33
All services are being put back to service, perp is an EDP.

Elenville, NY +MVA with Overturned+

Elenville, NY +MVA with Overturned+ A motor vehicle accident on Route 52 near Elenville after Satmar Boys Camp in Greenfield Park with one vehicle that overturned and one aided, Hatzolah BLS and ALS are responding.

U/D: 15:54
Aided has only minor injuries.

Queens, NY +Child Burn on Plane+

Queens, NY +Child Burn on Plane+ PAPD on scene at J.F.K. Airport awaiting an arriving plane with reports of a 2-year-old child on board that sustained serious burns on the plane from hot coffee, requesting EMS on a rush at rampside.

Ecorse, MI - Councilwoman Accused of Assaulting Mayor

Ecorse, MI - A city councilwoman has been charged with two misdemeanors for allegedly choking and hitting the mayor during a council meeting. 
Theresa Peguese was charged with assault and battery and obstruction of a government function during a council meeting. .

Peguese's lawyer, Hugh Davis, said his client, who is black, was provoked when Mayor Larry Salisbury used racial slurs as they argued over a resident's request for relief from the city's zoning ordinance to build a modular home in Ecorse, a city of 11,000 about 10 miles southwest of Detroit. .
Salisbury's lawyer, Bill Colovos, denied the racial slur claim and said the councilwoman was "out of control." "This lady is in need of some serious anger management classes," said Colovos, who said he reviewed the tape of the council meeting and heard no racial slur.  

Peguese could spend up to 93 days in jail if convicted. "We admit that she had physical contact with him, but my client didn't choke him," Davis said.

Burlington, VT - Swastika Found on Building

Burlington, VT - A swastika was found painted on a building, but police were unsure how it got there or who was responsible.

The Nazi symbol was found on a Burlington Electric outbuilding on Pine Street, according to Police Chief Thomas Tremblay. Police took photographs of it as evidence, but no arrests were made.
The building has been vandalized with graffiti before, he said. "It's a disturbing symbol, as opposed to the rest. All graffiti is harmful, but a symbol of this nature is more disturbing," Tremblay said.

Andy Tarsy, a spokesman for ADL, said he had yet to see the swastika. Sometimes, the way a swastika is drawn gives clues to whether it was an impulse or a more purposeful act, he said.

Israel - Ceasefire Plan Might be in Jeopardy

Israel - The U.N. ceasefire plan might be falling apart, leaving the possibility that Hizbullah will re-arm itself while Israel's hands will be tied by international pressure.

Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni said that the government has evidence that Iran and Syria already are supplying Hizbullah terrorists with more arms via Syria. The government is relying on United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 - the ceasefire - to solve the problem, but the agreement appears to have been followed by more problems than solutions.

The resolution calls for "no foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government," and Lebanon already has said it will not force Hizbullah give up its arms. The French defense minister also has said its forces will not take away arms from Hizbullah terrorist guerillas.
Thousands of French soldiers are on ships ready to sail to Lebanon, but the government now is backtracking, wanting a clear definition of its mandate and when soldiers can open fire.

The Lebanese government is approaching a compromise solution that would leave Hizbullah armed on condition its weapons are concealed. This violates the UN resolution, which states in Paragraph 8 that southern Lebanon must remain free of armed groups other than the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL.

U/D: 18:26
The Israeli army says it has begun handing over areas in southern Lebanon to the U.N. force.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Suspicious Package at Sensitive Location+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Suspicious Package at Sensitive Location+ A suspicious box has been discovered at 1310 48th Street corner of 13th Avenue at the office of assemlyman Dov Hikind and its labeled "toys for Mayer Kahane" NYPD of the 66th Pct are on location requesting Bomb Squad and ESU to respond.

U/D: 14:55
Bomb Squad has properly ID'ed the package, units to take up.

Moscow, Russia - Observant Jews Stand Tall in Face of a Kosher Wine Shortage

Moscow, Russia - As a result of a bureaucratic blunder, new regulations are keeping imported wines and spirits off the Russia market this summer.
While the shortage may only be a minor problem for the mostly vodka-drinking Russian population, it turned into a real issue for religiously observant Russian Jews.

Moscow’s kosher supermarket’s shelves are now devoid of kosher wine. The extensive selection of kosher wines that once occupied a large portion of the store’s shelf space is now taken up by bottles of kosher grape juice.
Synagogues across Moscow have enough wine for their kiddush cups, according to a source within Marina Roscha Synagogue, they have enough old stock to keep going for some time, although technically, its use may not be entirely legal.

But no one seems to mind. The young Artem Vitkin from Moscow, a religiously observant Jew, doesn’t consider the lack of imported kosher wine a problem. “We don’t drink” kosher wine “because we love wine,” Vitkin said, explaining that his family uses it mostly for ritual purposes. So far, his stock has lasted. But if he runs out, he could call upon the small kosher wine black market that has sprung up in Moscow’s religious circles. Vitkin hinted that kosher wine could be obtained easily in a local synagogue.

Santa Monica, CA - Tenants Banking on City Against Synagogue

Santa Monica, CA - A synagogue is planning to displace dozens of tenants so it can demolish what may be a historic, 28-unit apartment complex and replace it with a combination of subsidized housing and high-end condominiums for Jewish refugees persecuted in the Middle East.

Tenants of Teriton Apartments, many of whom are seniors, learned about the plan during a meeting with property owners Or Khaim Hashalom, an non-profit, religious organization that is requesting City Hall make a determination as to whether the complex should be considered a historic landmark.
If so, Or Khaim Hashalom would be prevented from demolishing it and from evicting tenants, something which would create a significant financial hardship for the group and deprive it of full use of the site, said members of Hashalom’s executive committee, some of whom were dressed in traditional Hasidic garb - long black suits and wide-brimmed hats - with fluffy beards and dangling sideburns.
“If we are not allowed to demolish the building, then we are stuck with what we have today, which is an annual loss of $500,000 a year,” said Rosario Perry, a real estate and land-use attorney in Santa Monica who is representing Or Khaim Hashalom in the development process.

Or Khaim Hashalom would like to build 38 to 40 units, including some for sale, a synagogue for worship and possibly a day-care center, Perry said.

Seattle, WA - Man Pleads Not Guilty in Jewish Center Shooting

Seattle, WA - The man accused of storming the Seattle's Jewish Center's offices, killing one woman and wounding five others in a fit of rage over U.S. foreign policy, pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges.

Naveed Afzal Haq, 30, had indicated in court last week that he wanted to plead guilty, but a judge continued his arraignment to give his lawyers time to determine whether their client was competent.
His, defense attorneys said they had met with Haq for nine hours during the past week and found no indication that he would be incapable of assisting in his own defense.

Haq faces either life in prison or execution if convicted in the death of Pamela Waechter, 58, director of the Jewish charity's annual fundraising campaign. King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has not yet announced whether he will seek the death penalty.

Haq pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted first-degree murder in the July 28 shooting. Five women were wounded by gunfire, including one who was 17 weeks pregnant and three who required lifesaving surgery.
Haq fired at the pregnant woman's abdomen, but the bullet hit her raised arm. The woman crawled back to her desk and called the police, defying the gunman's warning that no one call authorities.
Haq eventually got on the phone with the emergency call operator and said he was upset about the war in Iraq and U.S. support of Israel, and asked the operator to patch him through to CNN.
He later agreed to surrender, put his two guns down and walked out, hands on his head.

Most of the injured, including the pregnant woman, have been released from Harborview Medical Center.
Haq also pleaded not guilty to a first-degree kidnapping charge that accuses him of briefly holding a teenage girl hostage, first-degree burglary for entering a locked facility to commit a crime, and malicious harassment under the state's hate-crime law.

He was being held without bail at King County Jail.

Tacoma, WA - Religious Hate in this Quiet Neighborhood

Tacoma, WA - Religious hate came to a quiet Tacoma neighborhood.

The Yale family started flying an Israeli flag underneath their American flag several weeks ago. "When Hezbollah attacked Israel and all that Middle East crisis began," says Keith Yale, "in support of that, we raised an Israeli flag."

Rebecca Yale was enjoying a quiet evening at home, when she heard the glass shatter. "So she runs outside to see what was a cross that was poured in lighter fluid; and sprayed it on the grass and then lit it," said husband Keith Yale. "And they threw a rock through the window of my bedroom."
The rock shattered the pane, but bounced off the screen and hit the ground. "The rock was the size of my fist and in red letters had the word 'Jew' written on it."

It is not the first incident at the Yale's house since they started flying the Israeli flag. "About a week ago, there was a car that drove by and 4-5 men in it, drove by as my wife went to get the mail and they spit at her and called her a Jew," Keith Yale said.

In the meantime, the flag is still flying at the Yale's home. They say they don't have any plans to take it down, that they don't have any fear at this point. "This is not a nation of hate," Keith Yale said. "And so we're going to fly that flag."

Neighbors say they'll also help protect the Yale's freedom.
Tacoma Police will investigate both incidents as hate crimes.

Boston, MA +UK-US Flight in Emergency Divert+

Boston, MA - A London to Dulles International Airport in Washington, United Airlines flight 923 was escorted by fighter jets and diverted to Boston after what the pilot describes as three suspicious persons with suspicious items on board and a "passenger disturbance".

Washington, DC - Shots Fired Two Blocks from the White House

Washington, DC - A witness flagged down a Secret Service agent early this morning and reported that shots were fired from a white sport-utility vehicle, a Secret Service spokesman said.

Officers stopped the white sport-utility vehicle, near the intersection of 17th and I streets in Northwest Washington. "There were spent shell casings in plain view inside the vehicle," the spokesman said. Officers also recovered a handgun.

Both the driver and the vehicle's passenger, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges.
Police said it wasn't clear why they allegedly fired the gun. "We're not sure at this point," they said. "There may be some subsequent charges if we discover some additional information."

The two suspects are being held by District of Columbia police.

Swan Lake, NY +MVA+

Swan Lake, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on the 17B past Lapidus Bungalow Colony on Perry Road, Hatzolah requesting ALS also to respond.

U/D: 09:35
Hatzolah caneling the additional units coming in.

Iran - Rabbi on Iranian Media: "Israel Will Cease to Exist"

Iran - In an interview with official Iranian media, Rabbi David Weiss, of the Neturei Karta movement, stated that "We don't know how much blood will be shed until the state of Israel will cease to exist, but we pray to the Creator that it will happen with the minimum amount of loss and bloodshed."
"The creation of the state of Israel does not conform to Jewish law and, actually, is contrary to it. Jewish rabbis around the world fear to express their opinions because of the intimidating atmosphere creating by the Zionists."

Weiss addressed UN Security Council resolution 1701 and said: "I oppose this decision because it does not touch upon the demands of the Lebanese or Palestinian people." "We believe that the day is close at hand when Israel will lose its strength. The Torah says that whatever exists in opposition to divine will cannot continue. As I understand it, things are changing every day and we are sure that Israel will cease to exist."

Regarding the demographic problem, he said that "The Muslim population in Israel is growing rapidly and, in the upcoming years, most of the state will be Muslim."

"We came to Teheran to clarify that Israel does not represent all Jews,' said one of visiting rabbis.

Kremmling, CO +Plane Crash+

Kremmling, CO +Plane Crash+ A plane crash late last night four miles west of Kremmling, has now been located after a 9 hour search.

Rescue on the scene are reporting they have there three survivors which two of them are young children.

New York - FBI Seeks Help Finding Former Comverse CEO

New York - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation declared Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, former chief executive of Comverse Technology Inc., a fugitive and asked the public to help find him.
Alexander is wanted on criminal fraud charges related to an investigation into alleged stock option manipulation at software supplier Comverse in a widening government probe as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.

Comverse's former finance chief David Kreinberg and its general counsel William Sorin, charged with criminal fraud in the investigation, surrendered to FBI agents and both were released on $1 million bond.

The New York office of the FBI said in a statement that an Interpol Red Notice was issued for Alexander, who has dual American and Israeli citizenship. It said that agents were actively seeking his arrest.

Alexander is wanted on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud for his alleged role in the stock options scheme, the FBI said.
His lawyers could not be reached for comment.
The Justice Department has said Alexander and Kreinberg used fake names "to generate hundreds of thousands of backdated options, which they then parked in a secret slush fund designed to evade the requirements of Comverse's stock option plans."

Rockland County, NY - Sheriff Gives Jewish Leaders Safety Tips

Rockland County, NY - The Rockland County Sheriff's Department spoke to Jewish leaders and offered safety tips for their synagogues and schools.

In a meeting Sheriff James Kralik urged the Jewish community to enhance security in light of the Middle East conflict as well as national and local anti-Semitic incidents.
Though emergency responders are taking a proactive approach with counterterrorism efforts, he said, religious leaders should also increase security measures. "We need them to do more, to partner with us," he said. "We need them to be concerned with the safety of their congregation."
Synagogues were urged to create their own security plans; have short, fast and direct evacuation plans; do planning, preparation and training for evacuation; and maintain up-to-date alarm systems.

Simcha Herbstman, president of the Spring Valley Yeshiva, said the school spent more than $100,000 to increase security.
In light of a Seattle shooting - in which six people were shot, one fatally, at the Jewish Federation offices - the school is not taking any chances, Herbstman said. "It can happen here," he said. "We're given the responsibility to protect our kids, and the first priority is safety."

Montgomery County, Md - Yeshiva, Officials Deny Wrongdoing

Montgomery County, Maryland - Yeshiva board members and a Maryland politician are denying allegations that campaign contributions encouraged the county to spend millions on renovating two religious schools.

In 1999, the Yeshiva of Greater Washington leased a decrepit building in Montgomery County, Md., with the understanding that the yeshiva would pay renovation costs.
But the county bought the school back and leased a new one for the yeshiva. Allegations have been raised that the $9.9 million package, which provided nearly enough money to cover the renovations at both schools, was influenced by $92,000 in contributions that County Executive Doug Duncan received from yeshiva supporters since 1998.
The second school is a girls school run by the yeshiva.

Paris, France - Faces High Terror Threat

Paris, France - French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that the terrorist threat in France is "high and permanent," and urged the nation to stay alert.
And that's why he was heading to London on for talks with other European interior ministers.
Passengers on flights from France to the United States, Britain and Israel will continue to face "100-percent searches" for the near future, Sarkozy said.

The announcement sent shock waves across Europe.

Rochester, Minn. - Former President Ford Hospitalized

Rochester, Minn. - Former president Gerald Ford has been admitted to the Mayo Clinic Medical Center for testing and evaluation.

Moscow - Russian Jews Urge Iran to Stop Holocaust Cartoon Exhibition

Moscow, Russia - Jewish Organizations has called on the Iranian government to close an exhibition of cartoons dealing with the Holocaust in Tehran.
"The demonstration of anti-Semitic views has turned into the defilement of a Jewish shrine, the victims of Nazism - six million Jews," Rabbi Zinovy Kogan, said.

"Iran is a country with a centuries-long culture, a country to which Jews came more than two and a half thousand years ago We call on all Muslims in Iran and all Muslims in the world to reject the blasphemy of the politicos," Kogan said.

NJ +Transit, Amtrak Service Suspended+

NJ +Transit, Amtrak Service Suspended+ New Jersey Transit has some of its services suspended between New York's Penn Station and Secaucus while Amtrak Police investigate what they say is a suspicious item on the tracks just east of Secaucus Junction.


U/D: 04:59
As per Amtrak, the police activity has been resolved and train service will be resuming momentarily.

New York, NY - Officials Investigate Gas Odor

New York, NY - More than 100 residents of Staten Island and about a half-dozen in Queens and Brooklyn complained about a gas odor permeating in their neighborhoods.

The U.S. Coast Guard, as well as fire and utility officials, were trying to locate the source of the odor. Mariners in the area also called about a strange, gaseous smell.
About seven people were transported to area hospitals after complaining of headaches and nausea.

The Staten Island calls came from the borough's north shore, while the six or so in Queens came from the Rockaways section, he said.

Breezy Point volunteer firefighters stated that the odor may have come from a plant in Bayonne, NJ that is conducting a natural gas "blow-off"

South Fallsburg, NY - Tot Dragged by Van Still in Hospital

South Fallsburg, NY - A mother and her 18-month-old child dragged by a minivan rolling backward Sunday as was reported here on VOS IS NEIAS at that time, have survived, Fallsburg town police said.

Chanie Raab, 36, and her son were flown to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla for treatment of their injuries. The mother was released from the hospital Sunday night; her son is in stable condition.
Raab complained of pain and suffered bruising and abrasions on her arms and legs, authorities say. The infant might have fractured a clavicle and a bone in his back, officials said.

Police said the van started rolling backward about 5:15 p.m. when Jacob Raab, the van’s owner, went to drop his children off at Camp Bnos Viznitz.
Chanie Raab got out of the van to remove her son when it began rolling for an unknown reason, officials said.

Raab told police that her son was caught underneath the van, but she was able to push him out of the way before the tires rolled over him.

Moscow, Russia - synagogue Attacker Not Admitting Guilt

Moscow, Russia - Alexander Koptsev, the man who stabbed worshippers at a Moscow synagogue on January 11, 2006, has denied any guilt at the beginning of his second trial at the Moscow City Court.
"I admit to inflicting injuries. However, I do not agree with the charges of murder or attempted murder and fomenting religious and ethnic hatred," the accused said after he was read the charges.

Earlier the Russian Supreme Court annulled the 13-sentence given to Koptsev, who stabbed nine worshipers at a Moscow synagogue in an apparent fit of racism-fueled rage.

New York, NY - Whites Decline in City

New York, NY - The number of whites in New York City has been shrinking the last five years, while the Asian and Hispanic populations have been climbing, according to new figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Over one-third of New Yorkers - 3 million, or 36.6 percent - were not born U.S. citizens. That's the nation's third-highest rate, behind Los Angeles (40 percent) and San Jose, Calif. (38 percent).
And at 8 million, New York remains the unquestionable titan of U.S. cities in population - doubling that of No. 2 Los Angeles.

The survey found that the white population has sagged by about 100,000, to 2.7 million, since the 2000 Census - and by 1.5 million since the 1990 Census.

Newburgh, NY +Major Power Outage+

Newburgh, NY +Major Power Outage+ Close to half the town and a large portion of the City of Newburgh are without power.
The outage is effecting most traffic lights and the main intersections are being manned with PD directing traffic, use caution when driving.

Utility companies are working to resolve the problem.

West Bank - Palestinian Collaborator Executed

West Bank - Gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have shot dead a man suspected of collaborating with Israel in front of a crowd of people in the West Bank city of Jenin.

They handcuffed and blindfolded the 25-year-old man and forced him to kneel in front of a mound of sand before being shot several times in the chest by at least two gunmen dressed in combat uniforms.
A crowd of several dozen people cheered and shouted "God is Greatest" as the man fell backwards and died.

Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, is a militant group allied to Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Rockland County, NY - Bus Ridership Surges

Rockland County, NY - Success always has a price, so more riders on Transport of Rockland buses this year means some buses are running a little late.

The resounding success for TOR has been adding new runs to Loops 1 and 2, which serve the heavily populated areas in Monsey. Ridership over this runs has jumped 84 percent.
More than 40,300 rides were taken on the two lines during the first six months of this year. In the first half of 2005, fewer than 22,000 rides were taken on those lines.

Michael Gurski, Rockland's transit administrator, said it has become difficult to keep buses on schedule as a result. Along with more people getting on and off the buses, which slows things down, the county uses a flag-down system - meaning people can catch a bus anywhere along its route as long as it is safe for the bus to stop. That adds time, and the county is studying the problem.
"The extra ridership is adding maybe 10 minutes a trip," Gurski said.

Moscow Russia - Brave Pensioner Pulls Down Antisemitic Sign in Front of Angry Crowd

Moscow Russia - An elderly Jewish woman braved an angry crowd to pull down an antisemitic sign at a Moscow bus stop.

Svetlana Ashurova had heard about antisemitic signs being posted in her neighborhood and went out to see them for herself. "The sign was huge and was placed at the bus stop between two panes of glass, where they usually post advertisements," she said. "People were walking by laughing and saying things like, 'It's been long past time to drive all the Jews out of here!'"

The sign contained the following words, which border on an open call for pogroms: "Eighty percent of Russia's wealth is in the hands of Jews. Two million Russians die every year. There are 4,500,000 orphans. THIS IS KIKE FASCISM! Russian! Liberate the native land from KIKE FASCISM!"

Ms. Ashurova went to the police, who told her that they may get around to pulling down the sign. She then went back to the bus stop and asked a security guard standing in front of a nearby bank to help her pull the sign down, but he refused. She then went home to get her pit bull, just in case anybody in the crowd waiting for the bus decided to attack her. Arriving back at the stop, Ms. Ashurova tied her dog to the bench, climbed up on it, and addressed the crowd, asking for help to pull down the sign."“You're out of your mind!" someone told her, while another suggested, "Knock that kike off the bench." "You try to knock her off," someone else replied, "you see what kind of dog she has."

"I got scared," Ms. Ashurova told AEN. "But I remembered my purpose there, to clean up that filth… People were looking at me angrily… Finally I tore the sign down. The faces around me were very ugly." She then tore down a similar sign at another bus stop and took them both to the synagogue.

Ms. Ashurova said "I want to be useful, so that people wake up and so that 1937 [the year of the Great Terror] does not repeat itself."

+Brutal Hayfever Season Predicted+

Trenton, NJ - Hay fever sufferers: Grab the tissues and start taking your allergy medicine. You're in for a long, brutal season of sneezing, congestion, scratchy throat and irritated eyes, allergy specialists say.

The season started this week, a little earlier than usual. It promises to be intense, with ideal conditions for proliferation of ragweed, the cause of hay fever at this time of year, experts say. New Jersey and surrounding areas have had heavy rains, followed by very hot, dry weather and now the cool nights that prepare the weeds to release their built-up pollen grains.

Dr. Tom Selvaggi, a Hackensack allergy specialist, also expects "pretty prolific'' ragweed pollen until around Labor Day coming after one of the worst spring allergy seasons in the last decade. "Patients who know they have ragweed allergies should start their medications now," he said. "They shouldn't wait till the last minute."

They also advises that allergy patients who wear contact lenses to wear them less or use one-day disposable contacts to avoid buildup of pollen on the lenses, which can lead to chronic irritation and other eye problems.

Queens, NY +L.I.E. Shut Down+

Queens, NY +L.I.E. Shut Down+ A bus fire on the Long Island Expressway at Exit 16 near Greenpoint Avenue.
NYPD ESU, NYPD Highway Units and FDNY are all on the scene for an unoccupied MTA bus that's on fire near the entrance to the H.O.V. lanes.
All lanes of the L.I.E. eastbound have been shout down, olny one lane westbound is getting by, expect pajor delays in the area.

U/D: 09:34
NYPD Highway Division is reporting, that all eastbound lanes have been reopened.

New York - Kosher Agencies Train More Mashgichim to Meet Growing Demand

New York - The summer months seem to be an ideal time to train mashgichim (kosher supervisors) to serve the growing number of establishments that require kosher supervision. One seminar was recently held in Baltimore where 26 participants heard lectures from Star-K leaders, including Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, its rabbinic administrator and Dr. Avrom Pollak, its president.

In New York, 65 rabbis and rabbinical students are participating in the eighth ASKOU program, in which senior rabbis from the Orthodox Union Kosher (Kashrut) Division provide intensive instruction in the intricacies of certifying what food is kosher.
A mashgiach must not only be well versed in the complexities of Jewish law, but must also be familiar with rapidly changing food technology, manufacturing processes, chemistry, new products, ingredients, and other aspects of kosher certification.

The ASKOU program has now trained more than 500 mashgichim, many of whom occupy leading positions with kosher agencies across North America, in Israel and in Jewish communities around the world.

+T-Mobile Phone Service Down+

+T-Mobile Phone Service Down+ T-Mobile has a global outage of their T-Mobile/T-Zone phone service for about 2 to 4 hours this morning.

Parramatta, Australian - Sydney Synagogue Attacked Again

Parramatta, Australian - A Sydney synagogue has been damaged again in the latest of a string of anti-semitic attacks within weeks.
New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff said the front door of the Parramatta Synagogue was damaged by blocks of cement hurled at it in this latest overnight attack.

The incident comes just weeks after projectiles were thrown at the synagogue's roof and blocks of concrete were thrown at two cars.
In another incident two weeks ago, an attempt was made to set alight a Jewish youth movement centre at Bondi.

Mr Alhadeff condemned the escalating numbers of anti-semitic attacks as "a deplorable violation of the right of Jewish Australians to be Jewish". "Such conduct has no place in our society and is condemned in the strongest possible terms," he said.

Monsey, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Monsey, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian 22-year-old aided that was struck when he was crossing Route 59 just east of New County Road and was struck by a Chevrolet van headed east. The van was operated by Victor Maldonado, 47, of Monsey. Aided is in very serious condition, Hatzolah BLS and ALS units are requested in a rush.

U/D: 21:41
Aided is in likely condition, in Good Sam Hospital.

U/D: 23:02
Aided just got out from major surgery.

U/D 08/15/06
The 22-year old man Jamil Hala of Yemen, died this morning at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Borough Park +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn with a pedestrian MOS that was struck on 54th Street and 11th Avenue, Hatzolah reqesting Medics to respond.

New York +AFL-CIO Endorses Condidates for State Assembly+

New York - At the New York State AFL-CIO's Biennial Political Convention in Albany, delegates voted today to extend the 2 1/2 million member organization's endorsement to some candidates for the New York State Legislature:

From our regain they endorsed NY State Assembly Dov Hikind (D)

New York, NY - New NYPD Car Can Hit 150 MPH

New York, NY - The NYPD souped up its car fleet on by adding a new version of a classic muscle car the 2006 Dodge Charger. Top speed: 150 mph.

The NYPD Highway unit will test drive 10 new Chargers featuring V-8 engines. The rest will have V-6s and hit city streets in the five boroughs.
If they pass inspection, they could replace hundreds of squad cars in the NYPD's 3,000-vehicle patrol fleet, now dominated by Ford Crown Victorias and Chevrolet Impalas.

Trenton, NJ +Emergency Landing for Governor's Helicopter+

Trenton, NJ +Emergency Landing for Governor's Helicopter+ Governor Jon S. Corzine's state police helicopter made an unplanned landing after a warning light went on.

The helicopter landed safely and without any trouble at Solberg Airport in Readington and Corzine transferred to another state police helicopter.

France +Bias Crime Against Youth+

France +Bias Crime Against Youth+ French police are holding three men suspected of attacking a 16-year-old Jewish youth.

A group of teenagers were out in a parking lot near the Annecy Lake after attending a fireworks show. When they heard a young girl call her friend "Abraham," the four young men of North African origin approached, and asked him "You're Jewish?" and then beat him up, kicking him in the stomach and jaw.
Abraham, who is of Venezuelan nationality, was taken to the hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Avenue "R" and East 21st Street, Hatzolah requesting multiple ambulances.

U/D: 14:41
Hatzolah on the scene canceling the other buses, but requesting Fire Department to respond to the scene.

Gaza, Gaza City - Two Fox News Journalists Kidnapped

Gaza, Gaza City - Palestinian gunmen kidnapped two foreign journalists working for the Fox News television channel in Gaza, a witness said. The witness, a Palestinian who worked with the two journalists, said one of them, a producer, was an American, and the other, whose nationality he did not know, was a cameraman.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction.

Two vehicles blocked the journalist's transmission truck in the center of Gaza City and a masked man put a gun to the bodyguard's head, forcing him to the ground, the kidnappers then sped away with the two journalists.

U/D: 16:38
Israeli says it has launched an airstrike against a terrorist building in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

U/D: 08/2306 09:13
Gaza City, Gaza Strip - A previously unknown militant group has claimed responsibility for kidnapping of a the Fox cameraman and the correspondent, demanding from the US to free jailed Palestinian to be freed in 72 hours.

Teaneck, NJ +Major Traffic Delays for Very Serious MVA+

Teaneck, NJ +Major Traffic Delays for Very Serious MVA+ A major accident on northbound express lanes of [Route 95] NJ Turpike at M/M 119.8 when a flatbed tractor trailer loaded with bricks was involved in an accident with another tractor trailer when it overturned on top of several vehicles, EMS, NJSP and all other services are on the scene requesting three medevacs to land at the site, five aided are heavily pinnd, this will be a prolonged operation.

ALS on the scene reporting four fatalities so far.

U/D: 15:39
NJSP are requesting back a chopper to the scene, after another unresponsive child was located in the crushed tractor trailer under the other T/T.

Los Angeles, CA +Suspicious Item on Plane that was in the Air+

Los Angeles, CA - Police evacuated an Alaska Airlines flight with 125 on board after a
report that a "suspicious item" was found on board.

Airport police were notified of the suspicious item on board the plane when it was in the air. The plane landed without incident and all
125 passengers were transported to the terminal in buses after the plane stopped in a remote area of the airport.

The Los Angeles Police bomb squad and the FBI are going to search the plane.

Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said all carry-on luggage in the cabin would be check by search dogs, and they and did not release any additional details.

Sloatsburg, NY +NYS Thruway MVA+

Sloatsburg, NY +NYS Thruway MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on the New York State Thruway between Exit 15 and 16 half a mile after the Sloatsburg Rest Area, Monsey Hatzolah responding with an ambulance and three BLS units.

Catskill Region - Rapidly Becoming Year-Round Kosher Haven

Catskill Region - A number of Chasidic groups are planning to develop year-round communities in the Catskills, which was largely known as a summer resort. 

The Catskills was perceived to be the summer haven for Jews, who emigrate from New York City and other neighboring Jewish communities. 
But some Chasidic groups are making their move in the Catskills to address the critical housing shortage for their rapidly growing constituencies. 

Also a sign of this future is the Homowack Hotel, it was sold to a group affiliated with the Skwer Chasidim from New Square, NY. Although it was initially rumored that the hotel would immediately be razed in favor of a housing development, the developers intend to continue operating the facility as a year-round glatt kosher hotel for the foreseeable future. The resort is being renamed "Spring Mountain Resort."
The developers intend to invest considerable capital into upgrading the hotel and are making a pitch for year-round business in the form of groups and special events.

Staten Island, NY +Pesticide Spraying+

Staten Island, NY +Pesticide Spraying+ The city has scheduled for tonight pesticide spraying in Staten Island Areas of: Dongan Hills, Midland Beach, Grant City, New Dorp, New Dorp Beach, Grymes Hill, Sunnyside, West Brighton, Clove Lake Park, and Silver Lake Park and Golf Course.

Monsey, NY - Area Community to be Blamed for Lake Suzanne's Filth

Monsey, NY - Taxpayers should not have to fund the constantly needed cleanup of Lake Suzanne, a once lovely, swimmable lake and sandy beach. Now it's an open trash heap, say local officials.

The Pascack Brook, a vital Rockland-Bergen waterway that is also the source for drinking water, has footprints in the Lake Suzanne marshes of Spring Valley and Monsey and over the decades since, it has been increasingly surrounded by houses.
In about the last 20 years, the Town of Ramapo and the county have had to dredge the lake of silt and tackle mounting trash, garbage beyond the usual plastic bags and soda cans - hay bales, children's toys, tires, plastic chairs, etc.

This year, the task of cleaning up someone else's mess fell to the Rockland Drainage Agency, the Ramapo Highway Department and five AmeriCorps program participants assigned this summer to assist the Drainage Agency in projects throughout Rockland.

But officials blames the lake's condition on the area community, and that is believable enough since the lake is right in the middle of a residential area, not some remote spot where people would drive in and dump off garbage. If the community is not adding to the trash, then it is adding to the problem by largely being silent about it.
Taxpayers and volunteers should not be reponsible. Either residents do it or the Health Department and Ramapo should issue citations for litter and health code violations.

Bridgeport, CT - Synagogue Expansion Approved by ZBA

Bridgeport, CT - Congregation B'nai Israel has won permission to expand its Park Avenue complex from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The plan, which still needs approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, calls for construction of a 15,000-square-foot addition. The proposal was unanimously approved by the ZBA last week. "The synagogue was built in 1958 for 450 families, but we now serve about 875 families from greater Bridgeport," Rabbi James Prosnit, told the board. "The addition has been planned to address the needs of the current membership, not to encourage growth."

The ZBA, before granting the variances, considered the fact the synagogue will have 127 parking spaces, 30 fewer than regulations require.
On that note, Prosnit said the parking lot is adequate for almost all of the year, except on a couple of high holy days, when cars are also parked on surrounding streets.
But, he said, parking should not generally be a problem for the neighborhood.
No one from the public commented on the plan at the hearing.

The rabbi said B'nai Israel is the oldest synagogue in Fairfield County.

New York, NY - Cops Rip Tunnels Cam Plan

New York, NY - The MTA is ready to replace cops stationed at key bridges and tunnels with cameras, a move union officials say could compromise security.

The agency's 2007 budget recommends eliminating 18 of these footposts and installing cameras, intrusion detection services and alarms.
An MTA official would not confirm specific locations or discuss details of its security plans, but sources say the Midtown Tunnel and the Verrazano Bridge are among the posts involved. "The MTA is committed to bringing the latest technological advances to ensure the safety of its customers, employees and infrastructure," an agency spokeswoman said.

But bridge and tunnel cops, and their union, say the proposed changes are putting the city and commuters at risk. "Cameras are fine, but you still need a person in these locations to react to problems," said Joe Mauro, president of the Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association. "Otherwise all we'll have is video footage of a terrorist waving to the camera."
"Right now, if there is a problem, you have a person on the scene, which is better than seeing a problem on a video monitor and having to dispatch someone to deal with it," said a veteran officer. "We won't have the luxury of time."

Montebello, NY - Synagogue Plan Raises Traffic Concerns

Montebello, NY - The proposed construction of a synagogue off Montebello Road has raised concerns from some residents about more traffic in the neighborhood.

The Monsey Jewish Center is planning to move to the village from its home of nearly 40 years off Route 306, because many of its members have relocated to the Suffern area.
As proposed to the village Planning Board, the construction would be on the south side of Montebello Road, just west of Finnegan Lane. The plans show a 15,026-square-foot synagogue, a residence for the rabbi and parking for 80 cars.

The Planning Board's meeting drew an overflow crowd of residents, including some members of the congregation.
"I have a concern about the traffic issue on Montebello Road," said resident Andrea Winograd, who told of congestion already resulting from Suffern Middle School and Montebello Elementary School.
Asra Kibria, whose yard is adjacent to the site, had issues closer to home. "My main concern would be noise," Kibria said. "I have no problem with people worshiping. I just don't want it to get noisy."

The Planning Board has asked the developer for a traffic study.

New York - Bottled Water Recalled

New York - An upscale grocery-store chain recalled its own brand of bottled water in five eastern states, saying it showed high levels of bromate.

Officials for Rochester-based Wegmans Food Markets Inc. said it was the first time in recent memory they've recalled a product so widely used.
The recall affects 71 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
The Environmental Protection Agency says years of drinking water with high bromate levels could lead to a higher risk of cancer.

"Until we receive conclusive test results that verify these products meet (federal) regulations and our own quality standards, we felt it was best to issue a voluntary recall," Wegmans spokeswoman said. "We are hopeful that we will resolve this matter quickly and once again offer these products."

The company made FORTUNE magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for nine consecutive years starting in 1998, and it ranked first in 2005.

+Terror Alert Lowered+

+Terror Alert Lowered+ In the United States of America did the Department of Homeland Security lower the terror alert level from red to orange for inbound flights from the U.K. The the U.S.

And in London the British government has also downgraded its terror threat level from critical to severe, saying that intelligence suggests an attack is not imminent.

Manhattan, NY +West Side Hwy Tarffic Alert+

Manhattan, NY +West Side Hwy Tarffic Alert+ A fatal motor vehicle accident that happened early this morning involving an off-duty mos on a motorcycle on the northbound of the West Side Highway and 125th Street has the highway closed down due to the investigation and a search for the weapon that fell off the mos, all lanes remain closed delays are on both sides between the George Washington Bridge and 125th Street.

U/D: 07:55
NYPD calling for a level one mobilization to the area of the scene of the accident.

White Lake, NY +MVA+

White Lake, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on Shortcut Road off Route 52 West after Lapidus Bungolow Colony, with two people injured and might be trapped, Hatzolah responding on a rush.

U/D: 01:47
Hatzolah on the scene requesting Medevac to be on stand by.

U/D: 01:51
Sulliven County said should make ground trans.

U/D: 01:53
White Lake-1 requesting Medics to meet them on Route 17B.

Manhattan, NY +Serious MVA+

Manhattan, NY +Serious MVA+ A motor vehicle accident on the Harlem River Drive South at Exit 155th Street with multiple aided injuried, Hatzolah responding Code-1 with two ambulances.
NYPD Highway units are on the scene.

London +Plane Returned+

London +Plane Returned+ A plane that left from Heathrow Airport enroute to the United States has been returned when an unaccounted cellphone suddenly started ringing.

Perth, Australia - Body of Yeshiva Bochur Swept Away Into Sea, Was Found

Perth, Australia - A search team has recovered the body of the 18-year-old yeshiva bocher from Long Island, NY who was swept away by heavy seas off Australia's southwest coast.

Avinoam Grossman of Cedarhurst, N.Y., was with a small group of American tourists at Torpedo Rocks, about 186 miles southwest of the Western Australia state capital, Perth, when a wave swept him from the rocks on Tuesday afternoon as was reported here at that time on VOS IZ NEIAS.
His body was recovered by a search and rescue craft on Friday after being spotted by a search helicopter, the Western Australia police said in a statement.

Israel +IDF Destroy Truck Filled With Explosives+

Israel - IDF forces operating north of Metula on the Lebanese side of the border located a truck filled with explosives; military officials estimate terrorists planned to detonate the truck near the Lebanon-Israel border. The soldiers attacked the truck and it was destroyed inside Lebanese territory.

Teaneck, NJ - Philanthropist Accused in Stock Scam

Teaneck, NJ - A man and two other former executives of a software company were charged with orchestrating a scheme to cheat the company of millions of dollars by manipulating stock options.

David Kreinberg, who resigned as chief financial officer of Comverse Technology Inc. amid an internal probe into accounting irregularities, made nearly $1 million through the scheme, according to a criminal complaint. And Kreinberg, who is known in Teaneck for his philanthropy to Jewish causes, allegedly helped his boss, CEO Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, cheat the company out of $6.4 million.

At first Alexander, 54, has fled the country, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In a related action, the government seized $45 million from two investment accounts held in the United States in Alexander's name. Authorities allege that Alexander, who made a total of more than $130 million through stock options at Comverse, transferred $57 million to accounts in Israel to conceal the funds.
Now Kreinberg, 41, and Sorin, 56, of New York, surrenderd. They were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Viktor Pohorelsky in Brooklyn, who set bail at $1 million and revoked the passports of each. Kreinberg, dressed in a maroon golf shirt and black slacks, stood stiffly next to his attorney with his arms crossed during the brief arraignment and spoke only to confirm his signature on papers that put his house up for his bail.

To his neighbors in Teaneck, Kreinberg is known as a philanthropist, giving time and money to the local Jewish community, including local synagogues and religious schools.
"He's very involved in a number of local organizations," said a family friend who asked not to be identified. "Their home is always open to organizations for fund-raisers."

Kreinberg was listed as treasurer of Yeshiva of North Jersey in River Edge.

South Fallsburg +Mother and Child Struck+

South Fallsburg +Mother and Child Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a mother and child that were struck on Pleasant Valley Road and Elm Drive in front of Viznitz Girls Camp, Hatzolah BLS and two Medics on scene requesting two choppers for the aided that have serious injuries.
L/Z to be at the Fallsburg High School on Brickman Road.

U/D: 17:59
First chopper on the ground for the child, being transfered, 2nd chopper out with an ETA of 5 min.

U/D: 18:14
Both medevacs transporting to Weschester Medical Center.
Both aided are B"H in stable condition.

U/D: 08/14/06 07:24
Fallsburg, NY - Woman, Baby Dragged by Van

A 36-year-old woman and her 20-month-old baby were seriously injured yesterday afternoon when the minivan they were exiting began to roll backwards, pinned them underneath and dragged them nearly 40 feet, town police said.Police said they were told by paramedics at the scene that the two were in stable condition. FallsburgWoman, baby dragged by van.

Woodridge, NY +Child Fell Off Bike+

Woodridge, NY +Child Fell Off Bike+ Hatzolah on the scene at Gitty Gardens Bungalow Colony with a child that has a serious injury after it fell off a bike and the childs leg is impaled in the bike, Hatzolah requesting Medevac to fly, Woodridge Fire Department is setting up the L/Z for Stat Flight Air-2 at Krieger Park with an ETA of 14 min.

Sullivan County, NY - The Only Hospital Has Slow Summer

Sullivan County, NY - Sullivan County's only hospital is usually hopping in August.
But not this year. Business at Catskill Regional Medical Center is down significantly in the wake of its blowup with Crystal Run Healthcare, said CEO Arthur Brien.

While the hospital is usually more than 95 percent full in late July and August, this year, it's running more like 65 or 70 percent. And that's bad news. "When we're at 90, 95 percent, that's when we make money," Brien said.
But this is the busy season, and they're losing. Does that mean more layoffs when things slow down even more in the fall? We'll see. "We don't have a lot of fat at this point," Brien said. "It's really hard to start cutting because you might start hurting patient care. We don't want to do that."

Rockland County +P.I.P. Traffic Alert+

Rockland County, Stony Point, NY +P.I.P. Traffic Alert+ A serious motor vehicle accident on the southbound of the Palisades Interstate Parkway at Exit 18 with one vehicle that overturned and aided are injuried, expect heavy traffic in the area.

Scranton, PA - Developer is Not Buying School, Paving Way for Orthodox Jewish Community

Scranton, PA - One of two groups interested in buying the closed East Intermediate School has bowed out, possibly paving the way for an Orthodox Jewish community to buy the building and move families here.

Campus Apartments, a Bucks-County based group, told the Scranton School District it is no longer interested in the Quincy Avenue building.
As a result, the School Board is expected at a proposed special meeting Aug. 21 to vote on selling the school to the Orthodox community from Brooklyn, N.Y. Community member Rabbi Alter Rosenbaum offered the district $400,000 - at least $25,000 to $50,000 higher than a previous appraisal on the school. The community plans to use the building as a school.

Despite the Orthodox community’s offer, the board was considering the other group’s offer, which was not made public, because it involved a for-profit use that would put the property on the tax rolls. A school use would most likely be tax-exempt.
The Orthodox community purchase would have its own benefits, however. The 5,000- to 7,000-member community plans to relocate 100 families here if it can buy the school, with up to 1,000 families eventually moving to Scranton. Community members also are expected to open businesses.

Board members Robert Lesh and Kathleen McGuigan said they support the sale. “I think that would be great for the economy and great for taxes if they purchase homes,” Mr. Lesh said.

Honolulu, HI - Police Arrest 3 Accused Of Painting Swastikas On Store

Honolulu, HI - Police arrested three teenagers who were caught vandalizing a downtown business on Queen Street.

When Francis Ward arrived at his furniture store, Design Galleria International, he was shocked to find swastikas painted on the side of the building.
Vandals have defaced the company van several times before, but this is the first time the building has been targeted, he said.
A witness called and reported seeing three teenagers spray-painting the building, police said. Police arrived and arrested two 17-year-old boys and an 18-year-old man.

Police asked that if the public should see someone spraying graffiti, they should call 911 or the Honolulu Police Department's graffiti hot line.

Israel +Rockets Falling On Israel+

Israel +Rockets Falling On Israel+ Army says 250 rockets fall on Israel, the most in more than a month of fighting.

U/D: 16:04
The IDF announced that it has shot down two unmanned
Hizbullah drones loaded with explosives.

One drone was shot down over Kibbutz Cabri, and the other over Lebanese
territory.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Transit Traffic Alert+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Transit Traffic Alert+ Due to a construction accident with an aided a transit construction worker that fell from the elevated train tracks down to the ground at Rodney Street and Broadway, the "J" trains will not be running at that area.
EMS transported the aided to the hospital.

Staten Island, NY - New walking Group Meets Every Sunday

Staten Island, NY - A new Jewish walking group meets every Sunday morning, weather permitting, on the FDR Boardwalk in South Beach.
The group meets at 8:15 a.m. on the boardwalk's Sand Lane entrance. The walk begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues for an hour. Walkers are invited to keep their own pace and cover whatever distance they choose. The boardwalk is 2.5 miles round-trip.
Synagogue Emanu-El in Port Richmond organized the group but everyone is welcome.

Portsmouth, NH - Rabbi Receives Hate Mail

Portsmouth, NH - A Brentwood man who pleaded guilty to threatening the president three years ago is back in trouble.

This time 23-year-old Elijah Wallace is accused of mailing anti-Semitic letters to a Portsmouth rabbi and threatening the Jewish community.
The police captain said that Wallace claims to be affiliated with a white supremacist group and sent several letters to a local rabbi containing "anti-Semitic statements," "very inflammatory language" and "very vivid references (about) violence toward Jewish people." The charge relates to one letter, while other letters are being examined for possible further consequences, the captain said.
He described the mail as "very disturbing," part of the reason it has been sealed from the public. The captain said the police department requested the letters be sealed to prevent copycat crimes and keep the "very inflammatory" threats and language out of public view.
Police charged him with criminal threatening.

Wallace pleaded guilty in 2003 to threatening the president and was sentenced to 33 months in a federal medical prison. He had admitted sending a letter to in which he said he wanted to shoot President Bush. Wallace also was sentenced to three years' probation.
Police say Wallace could face enhanced penalties in the latest incident since it is considered a hate crime.
He is being held at the county jail for an unrelated crime and is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Perp in Custody After Chase+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Perp in Custody After Chase+ NYPD of the 66th Pct and Boro Park Shomrim Safety Patrol has one perp in custody at 8th Avenue and 45th Street after a long chase after a robbery at 55th Street and New Utrecht Avenue, perp had a scanner and was tuned in listening to PD radio.

Canada - Two Canadian Jews Donate Ipod's to Israeli Soldiers

Canada - Two Canadian Jews donated 450 Ipods to Israeli soldiers fighting in Lebanon.
Jerry Schwartz funded the first donation of 250 units. All wounded soldiers evacuated from the battles had already received their Ipods.

Walter Arbiv, on behalf of the Canadian Jewish Community, funded the second donation of 200 units. They will be distributed to Navy fighters as well as other wounded soldiers. Each unit is worth about $100.

Schwartz has also donated half a million dollars for fire trucks, air conditioners, food and toys for bomb shelters.

Milton, MA - Police Find Swastikas on Swings and Slides in a Kids Park

Milton, MA - Police are investigating the painting of swastikas and other graffiti on swings and slides at Shields Park on Eliot Street as a hate crime. ‘‘There has been graffiti around town, but not like this,’’ Chief Kevin Mearn said. ‘‘It’s deplorable, it’s vandalism and it’s a hate crime.’’

‘‘It’s probably juveniles and we don’t think it’s a violent gang,’’ Mearn said, reiterating that the department is in the early stages of the investigation.

Woodridge, NY - Liquid Explosives Found House

Woodridge, NY - Workers found liquid explosives inside a house they were renovating at 136 Silver Lake Road in Woodridge.

The workers found a cigar box hidden inside a wall, behind the sheet rock, in a cubbyhole built into a chimney.
Inside the box were bottles, along with two peeled off labels for nitroglycerin and sulfuric acid. One bottle was still labeled, but the label was illegible.
Sullivan County sheriff's Detective Jason Gorr said there were also papers detailing how to build a box bomb and recipes for making liquid bombs.

The property has been owned since 2005 by New York City designers Christian Couture and Hayden Goltz.
But it appears that the box and its contents have been in the house for a long time - possibly for decades, Gorr said.

A state police bomb technician removed the bottles in a bomb box, and will destroy the chemicals.
The sheriff's department will notify the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to see if any further action is required.

Woodbury, NY - Vote on New Village Clearly Aims to Stop Kiryas Joel

Woodbury, NY - Some were enthusiastic. Some were torn. But all the voters had the same goal: to keep Kiryas Joel out of their town.

The referendum on Thursday was decisive. By a ratio of more than 3 to 1, residents voted to turn most of Woodbury into a village and accept whatever new taxes and complications come with it. It was the second village voted into existence in southern Orange County in just a month and a half.

Almost a dozen "yes" voters interviewed outside Town Hall all made clear that they hoped, perhaps in vain, to prevent the Chasidic community from bringing its dense housing to their country postcard of a town.
One woman, who gave only her first name - Theresa - voiced her concern this way: "Not supposed to say it, I guess, but the overrunning of Hasidic Jews."
Most used more tact and acknowledged that by incorporating a village they were blocking only one Kiryas Joel expansion option - the creation of a Chasidic village within Woodbury. Still open is the option of annexing Woodbury land into Kiryas Joel.
Those who had weighed those factors said they decided to take their chances with annexation. "I honestly envision that the courts would have it tied up for very many years, and probably say no," David Sutz said.

"When the village is up and running in two years, the taxes are going to skyrocket."
Kiryas Joel Administrator sounded a conciliatory note on Friday.
He said the outcome of the vote suggested "the people have given up on negotiations," although he still hopes that elected leaders from both sides will meet to resolve concerns about Kiryas Joel's growth and its future. "I want to be clear that that offer is still on the table," he said.

Those voting against the village included a growing contingent of Chasidim who live outside Kiryas Joel in Woodbury, either as year-round or summer residents.
They recently organized a homeowners group and have begun voicing dissatisfaction with what they say are inadequate municipal services.
Why, they ask, should they support a new layer of government and taxes if they already feel poorly served and overtaxed?
"We don't see a valid, good reason why we need a village," said Michael Schlesinger, who moved to Milval Lane from Brooklyn last year.

Israel - Nineteen Israeli Soldiers Killed, Five Missing in Lebanon

Israel - Nineteen soldiers were killed yesterday as Israeli forces thrust deep into south Lebanon, making it the highest one-day toll for Israel since the war against Hezbollah erupted.

The soldiers were killed in a series of battles as helicopters landed commandos near the Litani River and columns of armor and infantry pushed north to meet them. The deaths brought to more than 100 the number of Israeli troops killed so far.

Several of the soldiers were killed yesterday when they were hit by anti-tank missiles and others in fierce gunbattles with the guerillas. Two more were killed when a tank accidentally ran over them, and some 100 were injured in the clashes, more than 50 Hezbollah fighters were killed.

Also, is a five-man crew missing after Hezbollah guerillas shot down their helicopter. Only the crew were on board the troop carrier at the time.
Israel launched its expanded offensive early today in a bid to seize territory and capture Hezbollah strongholds before the onset of a UN-imposed cease-fire.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that after talking to Prime Ministers Fuad Saniora of Lebanon and Ehud Olmert of Israel, it was agreed the cease-fire will take effect tomorrow morning.

Israel's Cabinet approved the U.N. cease-fire resolution, 24-0, with one abstention. And Hezbella says they'll adhere to the cease-fire deal if and when Israel pulls out of Lebanon.

Ferndale, NY - Cops ticket bus driver in crash on steep hill

Ferndale, NY - Police have ticketed the driver of the bus that crashed into the Middle Mongaup Creek late Thursday with 44 people aboard, 41 of them children from an Orthodox Jewish summer camp.

The children, boys aged 10 to 14, escaped with bumps and bruises, they were en route back to their camp, Shalva D'Bobov (45), near Monticello, after a day at a local fun park as was reported at that time on VOS IZ NEIAS.
State police said the bus driver, Ralph Alicea from Fallsburg-based Rolling V Bus Corp., was going too fast down the steep hill where Ferndale-Loomis Road meets Ferndale Road. "We're thankful there were no serious injuries," said Linda Kleingardner of Rolling V. "The driver was suspended, pending a full investigation."

The bus landed just yards from where a bus load of girls from an Orthodox girls' camp crashed in 2004. "Enough is enough," said Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo. "We know of four incidents where (vehicles) have gone into that creek."

On Aug. 22, DeMayo said, the Town Board will discuss hiring a traffic consultant, and possibly banning commercial traffic - including buses - from the lower end of the road.
Councilman Maurice Gerry said he'd like to see better signage, and maybe a blinking light to augment the "stop ahead," "this goes on all year long," he said. "You should hear them squeal down the road."

Khabarovsk, Russia +Attempt Made to Set Synagogue on Fire+

Khabarovsk, Russia +Attempt Made to Set Synagogue on Fire+ Some perps threw an incendiary bottle into the premises of a synagogue in the center of Khabarovsk this morning but no one got hurt and the building wasn't damaged.
"The bottle struck against the stairs, burst into flame, but went out on the ground from the moist after the rain," a spokesperson for the Khabarovsk territorial interior department, said.

Police are searching to track down the assailants, and. the prosecutor's office is expected to launch a probe into the incident on charges of hooliganism.
It was the second attack of this kind on the synagogue this summer. Anti-Jewish slogans were inscribed on a concrete wall in front of the synagogue in late May. The inscription was painted over, but no criminal action was started.