Sullivan County, NY - From now on, sleepy Sullivan County's population starts to triple. And Shragie Feller knows what that means. He opened his kosher pizza/fried sea bass/Israeli salads shop in the Village of Wood­ridge Thursday after being closed since last fall. "We don't call it busy," he said. "The boom is going to start." The county estimates that Sullivan's population will...

London - A senior figure in the strictly Orthodox community has attacked the BBC over its documentary series Jews. Chanoch Kesselman, executive co-ordinator of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, complained in a letter to the BBC this week that the first film in Vanessa Engle’s BBC4 series “impinges on the privacy of the Charedi community and opens the way for it to be...

New York, NY - Thousands of Con Edison workers could be walking off the job this weekend, since contract negotiations did not improve Thursday. Union officials from Local 1-2 said that they have not made any progress in talks with the utility, and say both sides remain "miles apart." A spokesperson says the utility won't budge on wages and medical costs. They are also disputing a proposal...

Redmond, WA - It is almost unthinkable that any one human could pick up where Bill Gates leaves off when he ends his full-time tenure Friday as Microsoft's leader. But as Gates bones up on epidemiology at his charitable foundation, the software company he built with a mix of visionary manifestos and extreme hands-on management must still wake up Monday to face hard problems even he could not...

New York - State officials say New York has $9 billion in unclaimed funds, and they're telling New Yorkers to come and get it. "We want to return this money to its rightful owners," says State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. "The money belongs to New Yorkers. We want to give it back." Events will be held across the state in July where representatives from DiNapoli's officer will be on site...

Blooming Grove, NY - The mysterious bidder with a stunning offer to pay Orange County $10.5 million up front for Camp La Guardia is an apartment mogul with a huge empire and a tarnished reputation. County officials Thursday identified the man behind the recently incorporated Easy Equities as Jacob Selechnik, who was described in June 2006 in an annual Village Voice feature as one of the 10...

New York, NY - Speaking at the Jewish Community Relations Council's annual meeting last evening, Commissioner Raymond Kelly assured the audience that the Police Department is committed to protecting New Yorkers from the threat of Islamic terrorism. Mr. Kelly laid out a wide array of tools he says the NYPD has made use of in order to stay abreast of potential threats, including radiation...

Gilboa, NY - A court order expected to be finalized today will restrict night activities at Oorah Catskill Retreat that have prompted a $10 million lawsuit by neighbors of the summer camp. The pending order by state Supreme Court Judge Eugene P. Devine will not stop the summer camp for New York City-area Jewish children from its scheduled reopening this weekend, according to Barbara Kraus, one...

Chester, NY - A motor vehicle accident between a tractor trailer and a pickup truck on Rt 17 West between Exits 128 and 129 with the trailer jacknifed closing down all traffic going north. All traffic is being diverted. Fire Departments and police are on the scene, no injuries reported. For all traffic updates, visit our Traffic Report...

New York, NY - Sounding a somber note, Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council announced a budget deal that provides new funding for schools, avoids tax hikes, and would increase overall spending only slightly. The centerpiece of the $59.1 billion budget agreement, reached at City Hall, is the restoration of $129 million in cuts to schools that had been proposed by the mayor. Speaker Christine...