Fallsburg, NY - The Town of Fallsburg has sold the former Fallsburg Central School on Laurel Avenue for $100,000 to a group that wants to turn it into a medical complex. Plaza Management and principal Jacob Bernat recently closed on the building, said Fallsburg Supervisor Steve Levine. Levine said town officials were told the group plans to start renovations in the spring on the two-story...

New York - The Court of Appeals ruled today that lawyers can disapprove of a client's real estate contract for any reason within the three-day attorney review period. And the court ruled that it's not bad faith, even if the lawyer simply nixes the deal because a client wanted to back out. The 10-page ruling protects lawyer-client confidentiality, which would be threatened the court reasoned...

Miami, FL - More than two years after a valuable pink diamond mysteriously went missing, Stafford Jewelers has won a lawsuit worth nearly $7 million to compensate for the loss. The judgement was handed down by a jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The jury awarded Miami Township-based Stafford Jewelers at least $6.9 million in compensatory damages and...

Montreal, Canada - A woman who tried to help her son flee prosecution for the 2004 firebombing of the United Talmud Torah Elementary school in Montreal was handed one-year probation for her crime. In September a Quebec Court judge said Rouba Elmerhebi Fahd did everything she could to get her son out of Canada after he firebombed the school and found her guilty of being an accessory to the...

Brooklyn, NY - Americans were recently stunned to learn that almost one-third of all Americans over the age of 65 have no natural teeth. Satisfying this overwhelming need for dentures and implants for America’s senior citizens keep the country’s dental labs busy year-round. That is the reason Brooklyn’s own AIM Dental Laboratory has become one the nation’s most highly successful...

New York, NY - The NYPD says it can't afford to hire 1,067 extra cops but it does plan to hire 200 traffic agents to write $61 million worth of tickets. Traffic agents are empowered under a new law to write summonses for drivers caught "blocking the box" at intersections. At $115 a ticket, the traffic agents would generate some serious revenue for the city, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly...

The Observer: Hello, Aliza. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Although we at The Observer know who you are, could you give us some information about you, to introduce you to the rest of the student community? Aliza: My name is Aliza Stareshefsky. I am the Director of Student Programming at Bruriah High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. I live in Passaic, New Jersey. The Observer: I...

Winooski, VT - Former City Manager Joshua Handverger's lawsuit against Winooski has been moved to U.S. District Court in Burlington from Chittenden Superior Court, seeking reinstatement to his job and back pay. The Winooski City Council had fired Handverger a month earlier, after a stormy one-year tenure as manager. Other Winooski city employees had asked for his resignation or termination...

Monsey, NY - Fire Department, Monsey Hatzolah are all on the scene for a working fire with heavy smoke at a 2 story synagogue building at 21 Rita Avenue off Rt 306. At this time the roof of the Bardchiv Shul is fully engulfed in fire. Searching if anyone trapped on the 2nd floor which has bars on its windows. U/D: 11:48 All occupants are out safe from the building. No one was injured. U/D...

New York - Monday evening, as the CBS News story on infidelity hit the Internet, I received a flood of emails asking for my reaction to it. Although the broader issue which this story represents is not something that can be casually responded to, my short answer is that we need far more “When” and a lot less, “If.” I am in middle of writing a series of columns in Mishpacha Magazine on...

Rockland County, NY - The U.S. Census Bureau is now recruiting Rockland residents for temporary part-time census positions for the 2010 Census. The pay is good (field workers can earn $18-$20 per hour), the hours are flexible, and the work is close to home. Census taker jobs are excellent for retirees, college students, persons who want to work part-time, persons who are between jobs, or just...

Jerusalem - Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute, the international group of Kabbalists based in Israel, is proud to announce the launching of its 24-hour Kabbalah Channel on channel 66 in Israel. The non-stop programming schedule features current affair, lifestyle, family, education and parenting segments, along with Zohar lessons, personal stories, and live lectures. Regular...

New York - Delta Air Lines is adding four services per week from New York to Tel Aviv. The carrier has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation to start the flights from June 30, 2009. With the extra flights, the number of seats offered per week will increase to 4,000. Ruhama Avraham-Balila, Tourism Minister of Israel, told Israeli newspaper Haaretz: "There is great importance in...

Washington - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, seeking to ease strains in the consumer credit market, plans to announce Tuesday the formation of a program to increase the availability of auto loans, student loans and credit cards, according to people familiar with the matter. The lending facility, which will be operated by the Federal Reserve, is expected to provide loans to investors who want...

Thailand - Two Israelis convicted of drug trafficking were sentenced to death Tuesday by a Thai court. The two men plan to appeal the sentence. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem confirmed the report. The two Israelis, 34-year-old Vladimir Akronik and 37-year-old Alon Mahluf, were detained in the vicinity of Bangkok's Kao San Road in possession of 23,000 ecstasy pills about a year ago. Thai...