The trees outside my window are a gray-green color today, like phlegm from a cough. They seem to be gasping for snow. Bewildered by the lack of it. Unsure which way to lean their limbs: toward the new homes growing ever so much larger around them, or away from the construction, lest they be …
In Pause to be Present, a new meditation space in Scarsdale Village, I found myself in a packed room of athleisured local mothers gathering to hear a powerful message of personal wellness. A palpable undertone of the conversation was that a year ago this event would result in a painfully lon…
We’re one of many typical families in Scarsdale who moved here because we wanted to raise our children in this wonderful community. What makes us not so typical is that we have a child (they/them) who identifies as LGBTQ+ and is moving along the gender spectrum. As they were assigned male at…
They were there. I could see them, a few people in the distance, blurred by the fog.
Each day seems to produce another instance of bewilderment as to how on earth there has not been any coherent effort by Congress, the Securities Exchange Commission or relevant federal agencies like the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrenc…
“How is college? Oh my God — Are you loving it??”
Sixty years ago this week, in 1962, I was a 15-year-old sophomore at Scarsdale High School. The world was holding its breath, worried about being on the verge of nuclear war. But my social studies teacher, Mr. Roney, never breathed a word to our class about the USSR missiles being made opera…
I bathe in the hot sun on my porch. I have music playing but it fades in the background into undefined white noise, and I open my eyes, shocked by the brightness I had forgotten about while dozing off. I stare up at the tall trees accompanied by ferns and bushes all enveloping my yard.
Social workers typically work quietly and privately and seek little recognition for the work they do. But they play a crucial role in addressing and responding to local and national challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, substance abuse and violence prevention, systemic racism, inequalit…
The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine hits close to home. Although my mother and grandparents emigrated from Kyiv in 1979, some of my extended family stayed and are currently living in an apartment in the center of Kyiv, trying to survive the Russian invasion. I spoke to them recently…
The world has been awakened once again to Putin Russia’s scorched earth attacks aimed at Ukrainian civilians. Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan resorted to similar war tactics in Europe and China, respectively. U.S.-led Allied Forces retaliated by producing the tragic Dresden and Tokyo Air rai…
As a four-year varsity wrestler at Edgemont, I could never have imagined the insanity and chaos that was this season. This was by far one of the hardest working and complete sports teams I have seen and been a part of in my life. As my coach Pete Jacobson says, there are a lot of layers to w…
Recently, I visited the Walkway Over the Hudson. It’s a gorgeous bridge, and on a nice day it’s a space for many to enjoy quality time with their loved ones, or perhaps some exercise.
The tragedy on Nov. 30 at Oxford High School in Michigan, in which a 15-year-old boy used his father’s gun to shoot and kill four students and wound seven people, has shocked, frightened and angered many of us. Parents and children are especially worried that a similar shooting could happen …
I received an email from a friend in Japan asking, “What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?” To him, America is still in the dystopian lie that former President Donald Trump continues to spread. I replied, “There is lots to be thankful for.” President Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Dem…
From Aug. 14 through Aug. 30, around the clock, the U.S. Marines and other military personnel evacuated over 130,000 Americans, allies’ citizens and Afghanis from Kabul Airport. Some Republican politicians are shamefully calling it President Joseph Biden’s debacle and calling for his impeach…
With the fires in the western U.S., flooding in Germany and mudslides in Colorado, even those who have their doubts about climate change are being forced to acknowledge that something is happening. True, there will always be those deniers like Sen. James Inhofe, who famously brought a snowba…
Jeff Bezos rocketed past the edge of space on Tuesday, July 20, after launching from the implausible spaceport he built in the West Texas desert. Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is the company’s first human spaceflight, which afforded the billionaire to fulfill his lifelong dream. Yet reach…
As someone with a physical disability, I read with particular interest the article in the Inquirer’s July 9 edition, “Successes and challenges: Accessibility for those with disabilities in Scarsdale,” regarding the need to accommodate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As a former sp…
“Covid-19 has demonstrated the interdependent nature of our world and that no one is truly safe until everyone everywhere is safe,” wrote Emmanuela Ilok from Nigeria.
In 1913, when the Federal Income Tax was first legislated into being, Congress allowed Americans to deduct from their income the amounts they had already paid in taxes to their state and local governments — since to tax them on these funds that they had already paid out would have been paten…
Now that doctors no longer make house calls, my neighbor said, she was glad to be beyond child rearing. What would she have done without the reassuring visits of the family pediatrician during all those childhood illnesses, the endless round of measles, mumps and chicken pox, the viruses, fl…
Standing in the checkout line at Trader Joe’s last week, I looked at my overloaded shopping cart, piled high with things I’d bought every week since the pandemic-related lockdowns began a year ago. One by one, I removed stuff I didn’t need anymore — the vanilla-flavored yogurt, avocados, rom…
On Jan. 6, thousands of Trump-instigated insurrectionists ransacked the Capitol, wearing former President Trump’s MAGA caps and waving campaign and Confederate flags. Since then, my Japanese and Chinese friends have been asking me, “Will President Joe Biden be able to realize his campaign pr…
Since 1976, February has been celebrated as National Black History Month. We use this time to honor the brave activists who fought against racial discrimination and oppression, as well as the artists, leaders and innovators who’ve left an indelible mark on our nation. As we reflect on these …
I find learning in a hybrid environment difficult. With tighter times and so many distractions, and less time in the school, it really is challenging. It’s so hard — how much easier it would be to be in school for much longer — but no, only 2.5 hours a day. But I’m happy that the school has …
Scarsdale is a town with a rich history and a population that has ebbed and transformed over the decades. Having grown up in the town, I often heard the stories of discrimination at Winged Foot Country Club in the neighboring town barring Jewish members and members of color, such as that exp…
On Nov. 3, Georgia elected the Democratic Biden-Harris ticket and defeated the incumbent President Donald Trump. Now, in the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs, Georgians gave us the twin wins of Democratic Senate candidates, Rev. Ralphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. This means that Senate Majority Leader Mi…
COVID-19 is hurting all of us in many ways. Some may not be able to see friends or family. Quarantining in our homes is quite hard because of the difficulty of working effectively in a busy household. I am very lucky to have a sturdy house protecting me from danger: storms, unwanted intruder…
With COVID-19 taking center stage, the final curtain has rung down on Westchester Broadway Theatre after 46 years in operation. The closure is a blow to the local live theater scene and for the greater theater community as well. Over the years WBT has produced 217 shows, employed 5,000 theat…
There is a saying about consultants, you give them your watch, so they tell you the time. Superintendent Thomas Hagerman just learned from his focus group/survey report, prepared by Tri-State Consortium, exactly what so many in the community have been saying since the summer. We need greater…
Acting Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court was seated (1902–32) by the reformer Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. Holmes said, “Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society.” In other words, taxes are the cost of civilization. To build and maintain a dem…
The recent nationwide protest against police brutality led me to become more aware of discrimination against Asians. There is a so-called “bamboo ceiling” that exists in almost all industries that is often ignored by both mainstream society and sometimes Asians ourselves. Examples can be eas…
The fall equinox has just passed, that day of the year — mirrored once in the spring — when day and night are each 12 hours long.
Our nation continues to experience daily protests calling for an end to the systemic racism that plagues us. As we watch events unfold, I wonder how much thought we are giving to the racism and segregation that exist at our own doorstep, which are accompanied by the attendant disparities in …
Jeffrey Goldberg, the well-known editor of The Atlantic magazine (Sept. 3), reported that President Donald Trump allegedly lied about his reasons for cancelling his scheduled visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018. At that time, Trump blamed the rain for grounding his …
Two weeks ago, the seventh best party school in the country (as determined by Niche.com) suspended two dozen students for attending a large nighttime gathering on its quad, in violation of the college’s social distancing regulations. In doing so, the administration at Syracuse University ado…
Last spring we learned that technology can’t replace person-to-person interaction, at least where education is concerned. This fall, school reopening is posing new unknowns and new questions and generating a lot of anxiety.
You didn’t ask for my advice, but I might be able to offer some guidance based on my resilient communities and “crisis education” learning and work.
Alexander Wolf’s recent letter to the editor [“Space exploration belongs to NASA, not private enterprise,” June 19] on NASA may resonate with many Americans — lamenting NASA’s loss of leadership and growing reliance on the private sector for space access, as evidenced by SpaceX’s recent deli…
Sports fans finally have something to cheer about.
On the Scarsdale Middle School’s website, Principal’s Corner, the importance of cura personals is discussed, or care of the whole person: body, mind and spirit, as central to the philosophy of education. “… We need to care for the whole child,” it says. I believe this includes not potentiall…
It is impossible to interact with our society without seeing the violence and torment throughout our country in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. Conversations around race, the justice system and police brutality are often uncomfortable, especially if many of us are having them for the…
I live in Harlem. One of the reasons I made this choice is because of the diversity and rich cultural history of this area. Like many other places, the streets of Harlem are filled with protests right now. Thankfully, most of them are peaceful. However, this is not the case for many other pa…
I recently decided to make a petition to change the grading policy for the second semester at Scarsdale High School, which is currently operating on a normal letter grading system.
Dear Future Leaders,
“Tao, are you sure you still want to go back to China for the Spring Festival? There is a new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan right now,” a close friend asked me through WeChat (the equivalent of Instagram in China). It was the day before my trip to China in late January.
As an analyst who slipped onto Wall Street after graduate work in cognitive psychology, the market response to the coronavirus strikes me as one of the most fascinating ever. People use heuristics and biases to make sense of uncertainty, and those cognitive rules often give outsized weight t…
I’m Henry Goldrich. I’m 12 and I support Mike Bloomberg for president.
1963 was the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. A major theme of the Aug. 28, 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was that its promises of emancipation and equality, and those promises in the post-Civil War 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments …
I have lived in Scarsdale since February 1969 — almost 51 years. When I arrived in Scarsdale I lived on Carman Road and had one infant child. Audrey Hochberg walked by shortly after and asked if I wanted to be a democratic district leader. I did not know what that was but she seemed nice eno…
