Gerald McKinstry

Andrea Robello, junior from Tarrytown, killed in Hofstra off-campus shooting

newyork.newsday.com — College junior Andrea Robello of Tarrytown was shot dead along with a masked gunman during a Long Island home invasion Friday morning at a house rented by Hofstra University students, police said. Robello, 21, a public relations major and a sociology minor, was in the Uniondale home with her twin sister, Jessica, and two others -- a man from Brooklyn and a woman from Connecticut -- when a...

McKinstry: Ramapo raid is a proud moment for the gadflies

newyork.newsday.com — Gadflies get a bad rap. They're often looked upon as curmudgeons: the naysayers, loudmouths or know-nothings who revel in obstruction. But in truth, they are trying to do a civic duty -- challenging authority and offering a dissenting voice, however intense, passionate or seemingly annoying.

Editorial: Yonkers must do all it can to recoup losses

newyork.newsday.com — Editorial The City of Yonkers is on the hook for millions of dollars from a troubled loan program that was supposed to create jobs and spur economic development. Instead, the federal Section 108 Loan Guarantee program left a mess, thanks to sloppy bookkeeping, inadequate oversight and a recession that forced some builders to bail on their ambitious plans.

NY corruption: FBI raids Ramapo Town Hall, seizes documents, hard drives

newyork.newsday.com — Seizing documents and hard drives, FBI agents concluded their raid of Ramapo Town Hall just before midnight Wednesday. About 40 federal agents executed a search warrant which began just before 4 p.m. for financial documents related to yet another corruption probe affecting a Rockland County community, sources said.

Editorial: Rockland needs tough governing, not a Hail Mary

newyork.newsday.com — Editorial Rockland County is again banking on borrowing to plug a massive budget deficit -- projected at anywhere from $96 million to $110 million, depending on who's counting.

Hudson Valley school payrolls stagnant as layoffs, givebacks reduce costs

newyork.newsday.com — School payrolls in Hudson Valley have been stagnant since the start of the recession, which may be good news for penny-pinching taxpayers, but is bad news for schools and teachers, as it reflects the layoffs of many teachers and smaller pay hikes for those who remain in the field.

David Fried, Rockland County executive candidate, got 2006 campaign money from felons

newyork.newsday.com — Nearly one-third of Rockland County executive hopeful David Fried's campaign contributions from a failed 2006 Assembly run came from felons, according to campaign finance documents. Of the $61,719.91 Fried, who was then a Rockland County legislator, raised in that race, $18,800 came from three sources: Moses Stern, who is at the center of a federal bribery probe that ensnared six political...

As work starts on Tappan Zee Bridge, the real question is tolls

newyork.newsday.com — As the barges arrive and work trestles are built on the Hudson River, it's clear the $3.9-billion replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge means jobs. But just how many remains to be seen. Will it be as many as 45,000, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said, or just enough to scrape together a softball team?

Gerald McKinstry

newyork.newsday.com — Some time ago when I was in my 20s, I tempted the gods of white water and rafted down the Moose River upstate. The wild ride rivaled other rapids in West Virginia, Maine and Washington state. Years later, I stumbled upon a far safer escape, an incredibly pristine hideaway near Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks.