Westchester News Online -- what you're reading right now -- will cease publishing new stories as its Founder and Editor-in-Chief Sue Guzman has joined Main Street Connect as Managing Editor/Northern Westchester County.

Main Street Connect is a "national community news company," focused on "producing high-quality, local news and information, and sharing the voices of (their) readers with the community at large." Founded in December 2009, the company has had a runaway success with its digital news editions in the neighboring upscale Connecticut communities of Greenwich, Westport, Stamford, and Norwalk, among others.

Sue Guzman will be continuing as Westchester Bureau Chief for WHUD Radio, and maintaining the regular local headline updates on her Twitter feed.

Main Street Connect will be launching all of its Westchester editions on June 1.

Acting White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach cruised to an easy victory tonight defeating Republican Bob Hyland and Independent Party candidate Glenn Hockley to serve out the remainder of Adam Bradley's term.

Bradley stepped down last month following his December conviction on domestic abuse charges.

With 100% of the vote in, Roach had 4,482 votes, or 52% of the vote to Bob Hyland's 2,442 or 28%. Independence Party candidate and former City Councilman Glenn Hockley had 1,150 votes.

A Westport,CT woman, who owned and operated Care Point Services Inc. in Bedford Hills, has pled guilty to stealing more than $50,000 from the Westchester County Health Department by fraudulently billing the County for occupational and physical therapy services performed by unlicensed therapists.

38 year old Lisa Bruno also intentionally submitted duplicate bills for OT and PT therapy services and received $852,425 in public funds from the Westchester County Health Department to which she was not entitled.

As a result of her guilty plea,Bruno agreed to pay restitution of up to $852,000. $357,000 of that must be paid at sentencing and the remainder will be paid through the Department of Probation.

Bruno faces 5-15 years in State Prison when sentenced on June 23.

A new online tool is available for homebuyers that identifies properties in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and Bronx Counties that may be available for special down payment assistance.

The Empire Access Multiple Listing Service (EAMLS) has recently installed its new "Down Payment Resource" (DPR), a free online application that was previously only used by the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS.
"For a potential buyer, when they do a search on the Multiple Listing Service, those that are available for federal,state or local programs or grants available to help with downpayment funding    will be flagged with an icon that allows buyers and realtors to see what those programs are and what the criteria are for the homebuyer," said EAMLS President Gary Leogrande. "For many people-particularly first-time homebuyers-the largest barrier to purchasing a home is the lack of a substantial down payment."

Potential homebuyers can visit www.wpar.com and click on "Find a Property" and enter the search criteria. When viewing each property, prospective buyers can look for the DPR icon, click on it and answer a short survey to determine their potential eligibility for various programs.

Leogrande says such incentives could come in the form of a low-cost loan for the property, grants, and programs that could be suitable for schoolteachers, or fire or police personnel.

"Our program is to get those programs out and visible for the realtors and potential homebuyers. This is just another resource, another tool, to help propel our housing market," said Leogrande.

A tragic ending for a missing man in Mamaroneck.

Police have located the body of an elderly man suffering from Alzheimer's who disappeared from his home overnight. 

79 year old Giovanni Tarantino was found dead on Taylors Lane around 9:30 this morning, just a few blocks from his home. 

Police had mounted a large search effort for him that included police K-9's.

Westchester County has ranked 9th among the 62 counties in New York State. That's according to an annual survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Westchester came in 9th for health outcomes and 2nd when it came to health factors.

The survey took into consideration certain health factors including residents' tobacco use, obesity and access to health care.

Westchester County is gearing up for Earth Day Westchester 2011: A Celebration of Green,Sustainable Living on Sunday April 17 at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. 

Both admission and parking are free.

The day-long event which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. features music from Annie and the Natural Wonder Band and Solar Punch.