Over the next few months, the focus in the Town of Cortlandt will be "Taking Care of Business" and urging residents to buy locally.

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi says she and fellow Town Board members, Ann Lindau, Frank Farrell, John Sloan and Dr. Richard Becker have launched a new public access program to be aired on their C 78 public TV channel called "Taking Care of Business" in which local businesses are interviewed and spotlighted in an effort to encourage residents to "shop local."

Puglisi says they have already "interviewed" two local businesses and plan to visit and interview at least two businesses a month and over time cover the 175 local businesses in the Town.

"We have just gone to two of our villages, Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson, and kicked off our effort visiting "Feed the Birds" in Croton and the 202 Deli on Route 202," said Puglisi.

The "Taking Care of Business" program is in conjunction with an upcoming event in Cortlandt in April, "Shop Cortlandt/Shop Local/Go Green Weekend" that will run between Friday April 29 through Sunday May 1. During that period, Cortlandt businesses are expected to offer special promotions and sales to coincide with the "Shop Local" weekend.

Said Puglisi, "We just kicked this off and we really want to help our local businesses; our men and women who work very hard. We want people to shop local and support our local economy."

The Supervisor had words of praise for the various businesses in Cortlandt and for "Providing important services, excellent shopping,dining and enjoyment for our residents and families."