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Check the latest stories that our team has written below ...
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🔒 Westchester dining fans have lots of new choices in 2022; what's open, coming
We're barely into January and already there's eight new dining establishments that have opened, with 25 more following right behind them. Many have had pandemic delays slow them down; some are still rebuilding after damage from Hurricane Ida, while others are newcomers to the Westchester scene.
🔒 New year, new restaurant openings: What's coming and what's just opened in Rockland
The start of the year is synonymous with new beginnings and this year, when it comes to the food scene in Rockland, there are many. Some are well-established places like Off the Hook and Aunt Mia's, moving to new spots while others, like Sage Southern Cuisine and the Unknown Restaurant & Bar, are newly opened.
🔒 See the details on 13 new eateries in Rockland.
🔒 First look inside Lionsgate Studios, a 'game changer' for Yonkers
The new Lionsgate Studios facility in Yonkers is massive, at more than 1 million square feet of mixed-use space, along with parking for about 750 cars and 100 trucks. The 14.5 acre site will also include a fully functional city street backlot, used for shooting exterior scenes.
🔒See inside the new studio here.
Teacher, bus driver, staff absences already posing a challenge to schools
One district said in a statement that it anticipated possible staffing shortages, but "we did not expect such a sharp spike in a matter of hours."
Lasting Impressions 2021: Our photographers captured a year of ‘after’
It was a year of “after,” of moving on and getting by, and the USA Today Network’s New York photojournalists were there for it all. For celebrations with and without revelers, for tragedies real and averted, for competitors at the finish, for families in flux but striving, to capture love and frustration and welcome and simple moments of togetherness. We asked them to choose an image that left its mark on them. They had plenty from which to choose.
See all 12 images and the stories behind them here.
🔒 Has the pandemic put an end to formal dining in Westchester, Rockland?
Is fine dining dead in the suburbs? You can't help but wonder, given some high-profile restaurant closings. The pandemic forced other fine dining spots to do something they'd rarely done before: offer takeout. So, are elevated menus, extensive wine lists and white glove service – which, in some cases, required proper attire such as jackets for men – a thing of the past?
🔒 Meresa Hammonds identified as Yonkers Jane Doe killed by serial killer Robert Shulman
The body found in a trash bin outside a Yonkers pizzeria in 1992 became one of the rare instances when a murder conviction was won before the victim’s name was known.
Monsey's longtime drive-in movie screen is gone. See what will be taking its place.
The landmark Monsey drive-in movie screen came tumbling down this week to make room for a proposed 5½-story office building off Route 59.
Watch the big screen tumble down.
Can't hit the fairways in winter? Check out these 8 indoor golf simulators instead
For golfers, winter means being stuck indoors, waiting to hit the greens again in the spring. But, you can keep your swing up to par, or just have a good time trying, at a golf simulator.
How to search our database for Hudson Valley police misconduct records
New York police disciplinary records had long been shielded from public view, not subject to disclosure under the state's Freedom of Information laws. That changed in June 2020, when the state legislature repealed Section 50-a of the state's Civil Rights Law, which had long been used repeatedly and extensively to keep them from being released.
Happy hours: 9 Rockland, Westchester bartenders share their favorite cocktails
If there ever was a time to raise a glass it's Dec. 3, National Bartender Day. Yes, we know there's a food day for everything, but why not toast the ones who keep us "happy" during Happy Hour, anticipating our needs (and listening to our woes) while we gather and sit at the bar.
Sweetgreen is opening two new locations in Westchester
Sweetgreen is coming to Westchester with not just one, but two locations. The fast casual eatery is known for its made-in-house seasonal salads and grain bowls.
🔒 Congestion pricing: MTA gives the mic to the public and gets an earful
Over 16 hearings over the past three months, the public has spoken, sometimes thoughtfully, sometimes not so, on the environment, taxes, commuting, the pandemic and, of course, those Jersey drivers.
🔒See more here.
🔒These Hudson Valley municipalities are set to welcome recreational marijuana dispensaries
Tax revenue is also at stake in the pot business. Municipalities stand to receive 3% of marijuana revenues, which means they would receive $30,000 for every $1 million in sales.
New York's nurses have endured the unimaginable. Here's how they're still fighting COVID
Ten New York health care workers share their stories of trauma, grief and sacrifice on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These 8 Hudson Valley restaurants named best in the suburbs by Thrillist
Good news, Westchester and Rockland. Thrillist, the popular food-and-wine website, has named the best suburban restaurants outside of New York City and we scored eight out of the 20 spots.
Child care workers are in short supply, forcing parents to quit their jobs, too
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the childcare system in New York, leaving many day cares without staff and causing parents to confront difficult career decisions to ensure care and support for their children.
Has child care changed your career goals?
REAL ID has been available in NY for four years: How to get one
The REAL ID that can be used as identification to board planes in the U.S. has been purchased by nearly 5 million New Yorkers since it first became available four years ago.
See the deadline and more details here.
🔒 Why 'form-based zoning' may reshape Mount Pleasant after dividing some Westchester towns
The last time Mount Pleasant set a path for the long-term future of downtown development in Hawthorne, Thornwood and Valhalla, Richard Nixon was in the White House and the Beatles were breaking up. Fifty-one years later, the three hamlets' business districts are poised for a makeover. The goal is to prioritize a mix of restaurants and businesses — and allow some apartments above them — to spur a walkable lifestyle close to trains and things to do, town officials said.
🔒More on the form-based code here.
Exhale: Fall foliage captured by our photojournalists across New York state
The majestic maples, the delicate quaking aspens, the sycamores and red oaks and hickories. New York’s fall foliage is a vibrant symphony in full crescendo, an endlessly enthralling whirlwind of color: a pop of crimson, a crush of orange, a shock of spun yellow gold staking their claim amongst the deep emerald evergreens.
Check out all the images here.
Gangs next door: A special investigation by lohud and the USA Today Network: New York
The Hudson Valley suburbs have long played home to New York City residents seeking a less frenetic lifestyle. But alongside the migration of urbanites into places like Westchester, Dutchess and Orange counties flowed other exports that have long menaced the region's poorer Black and brown communities: gangs and guns.
Read the Special Investigation here (Some articles are for subscribers only)
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Local news and features from lohud and The Journal News