Tom Walogorsky, editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record; Brian Marschhauser, editor of Yorktown News and The Katonah Lewisboro Times; and Bob Dumas, editor of Mahopac News, join host Brett Freeman for this weekly editorial roundup.

Marschhauser kicks off by discussing the new state law coming into effect that's upset some people in town. The law provides that if a residence is built on any property, even if it's in a commercial zone, that residential unit is allowed to build an accessory dwelling unit. According to Yorktown Planning Director John Tegeder, an accessory dwelling unit is a mother-daughter type of home that can be either be a legalized apartment in the basement, something like that in a garage, or you can build an actual different structure on the property.

Walogorsky then touches upon the electricity and heating bill issue. He mentions how electricity prices have gone up considerably to even more than 100%, 75%, 80% from one month to the next. He articulates how people are understandably distraught, trying to reach out to their local government, going all the way up the chain, and eventually ending up at the newspaper trying to figure out exactly what's going on with this. Walogorsky shares that it seems like it's a matter of supply and demand and that this is out of electricity companies' hands.

Marschhauser lightens up the conversation with the story of middle school speech pathologist Jenn Sparano, a Pleasantville resident who appeared on and won her game of Wheel Of Fortune. He then goes on to share the heartfelt story of the passing of Jenn's 99-year-old grandma, who had encouraged her to go on the show.

Dumas covers the story of singer Amanda Eppolito, who is a 20118 Mahopac High School graduate. He comments on how Mahopac has developed a reputation for producing music stars, and Amanda Eppolito is the latest one to join the club. He mentions other stars also from Mahopac: Amanda Ayala from The Voice who just had a number one charting single on the independent pop charts, and Holly Block, who wrote and starred in a Broadway musical that is now award-nominated. Amanda Eppolito has moved to Nashville, the songwriting capital of the world, where she just dropped her debut album on January 28th called The Show Must Go On. It's available on all the typical online streaming platforms from iTunes to Spotify.

Other stories they touch upon include the conviction of a 51-year-old drunk driver responsible for the death of two people, a local business owner being featured in a Super Bowl Ad, Los Angeles Rams Equipment Director Brendan Berger, budgets and state aid, and the American Rescue Plan.

Episode Highlights:

• Three editors from the Halston Media team join today's roundup
• Tom Walogorsky, editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record; Brian Marschhauser, editor of Yorktown News and The Katonah Lewisboro Times; and Bob Dumas, editor of Mahopac News
• Details of an upcoming state law that allows accessory dwelling units to be added to a residential or even commercial unit
• The rising cost of heating and electricity, up to more than 75%, is adding to challenging times for people on a fixed income
• The inflation problem and how it hurts senior citizens more than any other part of the population because they are on fixed incomes
• The switch to solar and commercial solar plans
• The heartfelt story behind middle school speech pathologist Jenn Sparano's win in Wheel of Fortune and the passing of her grandma
• The verdict of a drunk truck driver in Somers who caused the death of two people
• Details of a local small business owner making it in a Super Bowl ad
• The story of Brendan Berger, Equipment Director for the Los Angeles Rams
• Encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in NFL ticket pricing
• Amanda Eppolito, the latest music star coming out of Mahopac, following in the footsteps of Amanda Ayala and Holly Block
• Highlights of the budget season for the school district in Mahopac
• The ongoing debate going on how the American Rescue Plan Money should be divvied up
• 
  

Quotes:

"The towns want control over their own zoning codes and sometimes the state and the federal government says we know better than you."

"That was part of what he's saying. He's like, 'They don't know our communities. How can a one-size-fits-all law work like this?' Because they don't know the character of our community. They just don't."

"That's the problem with inflation. Inflation definitely hurts senior citizens more than any other part of the population. Because if people are in their retirement years and on fixed incomes, I'm assuming that social security doesn't go up with inflation."

"No matter what you did, if you use the same amount of electricity, you're paying a lot more."

"I'm looking at the whole commodity prices. Coffee is at 92%, heating is up 64%.”

"I think the problem, too, is that people felt sandbagged by this, that they had no idea this was coming. And then all of a sudden, you get this bill that's double or more than double and everything."

"One of the most common refrains I saw on social media was everyone saying, 'I wasn't thinking of going solar, but now I definitely am.' So I think a lot of people are looking at putting solar on their roof now."

"You can join a community solar plan and not put panels on your roof, and you still get savings every month. I think that that's why they're building all these solar farms. So I think it's just a matter of getting on that list somehow."

"The government always encourages everyone to go hybrid and electric vehicles. So I'm assuming charging your Tesla now is going to be a little bit more expensive."

"If the NFL wants to really embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, they should lower the prices of their tickets to make it so that people who are not super wealthy can also afford to go."

Links:

Halston Media Group website