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Neighbors
Northern Westchester Native Stars On 'Jeopardy!' Northern Westchester Native Stars On 'Jeopardy!'
Northern Westchester Native Stars On 'Jeopardy!' The answer: This Westchester native has become the latest "Jeopardy!" contestant to win over America. The question: Who is Austin Rogers? Rogers, who lived in Westchester when his dad worked as a park ranger at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is on a six-game winning streak, having won $257,000. The bartender has also become a viral sensation with his antics on the show. He does funny poses when introduced at the beginning of each episode and makes gestures when he answers questions correctly. Social media has also been a fan of his suits, with people saying they look straight out o…

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Former Miss Puerto Rico Yonkers Raising Money Following Hurricane Former Miss Puerto Rico Yonkers Raising Money Following Hurricane
Former Miss Puerto Rico Yonkers Raising Money Following Hurricane YONKERS, N.Y. -- Layla Vazquez wants to help her fellow Puerto Ricans. Vazquez, who was named Miss Puerto Rico Yonkers in 2010 when she was 16 has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to purchase supplies for the people of Guyama, where her family lives.  As of Friday afternoon, $1375 has been raised by 34 people over eight days. Since the hurricane, Vazquez, a masters student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has been unable to contact her family. "This is a human necessity, this is human survival," Vazquez said. Since the hurricane, Vazquez has been shopping for supp…

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose late father, billionaire business mogul William lived in Bedford, announced Thursday she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. "One in eight women get breast cancer," Louis-Dreyfus tweeted. "Today, I'm the one." Louis-Dreyfus, who has won Emmys for her roles on "Seinfeld" and "Veep" said she has a supportive family and friends and fantastic insurance. "The bad news is not all women are lucky," Louis-Dreyfus tweeted. "So let's fight all cancers and make universal healthcare a reality." William L…

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Westchester Natives Hope To 'Unite The World' With New App Westchester Natives Hope To 'Unite The World' With New App
Westchester Natives Hope To 'Unite The World' With New App Two Westchester natives are behind a new app, which officially launched Friday, Sept. 15. John Tambunting of Scarsdale, Adam Alpert of Harrison, and Isaac Zussman of Pawtucket RI are the brains behind Pangeamart, an app that connects gig workers -- those in the freelance space -- with jobs. It was born in Alpert's sophomore year at Brown University when Zussman, his roommate's friend, brought up the idea in a casual conversation after a frustrating summer looking for odd jobs. Alpert, a freelance videographer, thought the idea had legs and proposed some next steps. The two got to work but d…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Northern Westchester Mom 'Rocks' It With Inspirational Messages On Stones Northern Westchester Mom 'Rocks' It With Inspirational Messages On Stones
Northern Westchester Mom 'Rocks' It With Inspirational Messages On Stones Tara Unger is hoping to bring more kindness and inspiration into the world -- or at least into her small part of Northern Westchester. Two days after the riots in Charlottesville, VA in August, the Katonah mom felt she had to do something to both help make sense of the world -- and teach her kids they are responsible for how their future will look. And so, she started painting inspirational messages on stones and leaving them around town.   "The hope was that someone having a hard day/time, walking with their head down, would spot one and smile.  "The idea was that the message o…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Bedford Teenager Organizes Hurricane Relief Efforts For Texas, Florida Bedford Teenager Organizes Hurricane Relief Efforts For Texas, Florida
Bedford Teenager Organizes Hurricane Relief Efforts For Texas, Florida WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - While thousands in Texas and Florida are dealing with the fallout of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, an Iona Preparatory student is coordinating efforts to help some of the neediest residents who have lost everything. Bedford resident Conor Lane, a junior at Iona Prep, has organized relief efforts with the school’s Leadership Program to provide basic necessities to the residents of Texas and Florida who are still busy cleaning up from the recent rash of hearty hurricanes. Since the hurricanes hit land, students at Iona Prep, led by Lane, have been collecting items tha…

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by Zak Failla
Neighbors
Westchester Professor Wins Emmy Award For Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Show Westchester Professor Wins Emmy Award For Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Show
Westchester Professor Wins Emmy Award For Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Show The Emmy Awards are Sunday, Sept. 17 but one local resident already got his gold statue. Purchase College Professor Dave Grill just received his fourth Emmy Award for lighting Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Halftime Show in the category of "Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Special." The associate professor of theatre design/technology, a Mahwah, N.J. resident, won three prior Emmy awards for lighting design in 2002, 2013, and 2015. Megan Seibel, a Purchase student, had the opportunity of a lifetime assisting him at the halftime show. You can read her blog post…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Pleasantville's Gary Myers Signing New Book About NFL QBs, Their Fathers Pleasantville's Gary Myers Signing New Book About NFL QBs, Their Fathers
Pleasantville's Gary Myers Signing New Book About NFL QBs, Their Fathers Gary Myers, the New York Daily News football writer who lives in Westchester, is peeling back the curtain behind the relationships between NFL quarterbacks and their fathers. "My First Coach: Inspiring Stories of NFL Quarterbacks and Their Dads," was released last month. The Pleasantville resident is hosting a book signing at Scattered Books at 29 King Street in Chappaqua on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The book is geared toward middle school and high school students, with each chapter having a life lesson. "At one point John Elway was a 10-year-old kid who may or may not …

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Westchester Author Unravels Tale Of Little Known Holocaust Story Westchester Author Unravels Tale Of Little Known Holocaust Story
Westchester Author Unravels Tale Of Little Known Holocaust Story WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y.-- Yvette Manessis Corporon is a three-time Emmy Award–winning writer, author, and producer at NBC's EXTRA who tells other people's stories for a living. But when it came time to tell her own, it took a while. The Yonkers resident, who lives on the Bronxville border, grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories about how the people of Erikousa, a small Greek island, hid a Jewish family—a tailor named Savvas and his daughters—from the Nazis during World War II. Nearly 2,000 Jews from that area died in the concentration camps but even though everyone on Erikousa knew…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Westchester Singer Once Embarrassed By Disease Aims To Connect Women Westchester Singer Once Embarrassed By Disease Aims To Connect Women
Westchester Singer Once Embarrassed By Disease Aims To Connect Women SLEEPY HOLLOW, N.Y. --  It's not every day an 11-year-old is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. But even more incredible when that woman  -- now 22 -- gets breast cancer. But instead of wallowing in her illness, Bianca Muñiz is singing about it -- and raising awareness about the travails of cancer.  The Sleepy Hollow resident, who took voice lessons at Lagond Music School in Elmsford (and has been singing since second grade) started talking/blogging about her experiences as a way to help others. "The first time I was diagnosed I was embarrassed and wanted to pretend like it wasn't happeni…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
North Salem's David Letterman Returns To TV With New Netflix Show North Salem's David Letterman Returns To TV With New Netflix Show
North Salem's David Letterman Returns To TV With New Netflix Show David Letterman, the original host of "Late Night" (NBC) and "The Late Show" (CBS) will be back broadcasting for a new series on Netflix. The yet-to-be-named, six-episode series has the longtime North Salem resident combining two interests for which he is renowned: in-depth conversations with extraordinary people, and in-the-field segments expressing his curiosity and humor. In each hour-long episode, Letterman will conduct a long-form conversation with a singular guest -- and will also explore topics on his own, away from the studio. The series is set to premiere in 201…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Got Mail? This Is Only Hudson Valley Post Office Open Labor Day Got Mail? This Is Only Hudson Valley Post Office Open Labor Day
Got Mail? This Is Only Hudson Valley Post Office Open Labor Day Believe it or not, you can send a letter on Labor Day, Hudson Valley residents. In some cases, you may need to travel a bit to do it, and even cross a bridge. Hint: Make that the new bridge. The Postal Service’s Palisades Postal Store at the mall in West Nyack is the only post office in the Greater Hudson Valley that is open on Labor Day.  Full postal retail services are available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with U.S. Passport application acceptance hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Although there will be no regular mail service on Monday, Sept. 4, Priority Mail Express will be delivered on Labor Da…

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by Jeanne Muchnick