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At 14, Sonya Duggal was a student in Ardsley frustrated by how climate change was taught in her earth science class. She started EcoVoices as a magazine to amplify youth voices. She says it has grown into a climate literacy initiative with a global pamphlet series, a network of 20 youth ambassadors, and virtual workshops for students at Beautiful Feet Ministries in Uganda. Now 15, she talks with Jim about what a workshop looks like from the first minute to the last, what happened when Ugandan students planted trees after her sessions, and why she thinks a single cold email can build an organization. She also names the Westchester environmental issue she wishes more neighbors understood and explains how local students, parents, and teachers can get involved.

Guests and subjects are described in this episode by role, location, and topic. Figures such as ambassador counts and workshop numbers are Sonya’s own account of her work.

 Live Here Westchester newsletter at iliveherewestchester.com.

Tags: Westchester, Ardsley, climate literacy, youth founders, environmental education, EcoVoices, Uganda, student entrepreneurs, I Live Here Westchester

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I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

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White Plains has accepted the final environmental study for Farrell Estates at Ridgeway, a plan for 99 houses on the former Ridgeway Country Club. The site covers 129.68 acres that a state notice calls environmentally sensitive. What the record shows, what it does not, and why accepting a study is not approving a plan. Also: the Westchester County budget deadline.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold Open
(0:30) Ridgeway: 99 houses on 129 acres in White Plains
(4:05) What's Happening in Westchester: County 2027 budget due
(4:25) Close

Sources:
- NYS DEC Environmental Notice Bulletin, "City of White Plains: Farrell Estates at Ridgeway Subdivision, Notice of Acceptance of Final EIS," October 28, 2026
- White Plains Planning Board, actions and minutes of February 24, 2026
- Westfair Online, reports on the Ridgeway sale and Farrell plans
- Westchester County Board of Legislators, FY2027 Budget Dashboard

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Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Why did scanners across Westchester County reject ballots on Election Day? According to the New York State Board of Elections, a change affecting one contest in one municipality left Election Day machines elsewhere in the county on the original programming. This special Monday edition looks at the public record: the county's emergency ballot count (26,929 scanned through 1:30 p.m. Thursday, November 5, still preliminary), a 2024 programming problem in Pelham Manor, a 2020 case in Antrim County, Michigan, and what a May 2026 federal report says about the age and cost of the country's voting equipment. The state says the scanners rejected ballots rather than counting them wrong. The cost was time.

In This Episode:
0:00 Cold Open
0:26 Intro and Context
1:05 The Data
3:44 The Surprise
5:24 What This Means for You
6:05 Close

Sources:
New York State Board of Elections statement on Westchester ballot scanning, November 3, 2026, as reported by Scripps News and Daily Voice
Westchester County Board of Elections, Emergency Ballot Processing update (citizenparticipation.westchestercountyny.gov/election-results), November 5, 2026
Patch Pelham, village clerk letter on Election Day machine programming, March 21, 2024
J. Alex Halderman, Analysis of the Antrim County, Michigan November 2020 Election Incident, March 26, 2021 (michigan.gov)
U.S. Election Assistance Commission, The Road to Widespread Deployment of VVSG 2.0 Certified Voting Systems, May 2026
NPR, Replacing aging U.S. voting equipment will take years and billions of dollars, May 29, 2026
Yonkers Times, Westchester legislators vote 12-5 to purchase 280 voting machines, August 13, 2020

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share with a neighbor.

Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Hudson, Harlem or New Haven: which Metro-North line is the best for Westchester County commuters? By the MTA's own on-time data, the highest and lowest of the three lines are 0.2 percentage points apart over the past 12 months. This episode looks at the numbers, why the biggest swing was one rough winter and not any one line, and why, on overall on-time rate, the data can't pick a winner even though rush hour tells a different story. Plus a short callback to last month's New York versus New Haven pizza fight.

In This Episode:
0:00 Cold Open
0:28 Intro and Context
1:12 The Data
3:06 The Surprise
4:05 What This Means for You
4:47 Close

Sources:
MTA Metro-North On-Time Performance: Beginning 2020, NY Open Data (data.ny.gov, dataset 83hw-i6xw): https://data.ny.gov/d/83hw-i6xw
MTA Open Data program: https://www.mta.info/open-data

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share with a neighbor.

Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Eddie D started Tri-State StandUP because Westchester had nowhere to try stand-up. He now books pop-up comedy nights in a coffee house in Rye, a lounge in Mount Vernon and the 19th Hole in Ossining. He also tried a hard location in White Plains for four months before going back to the pop-up model.

Eddie takes Jim through the first open mic he ever worked, why Westchester doesn’t know what local stand-up is, and what separates a pop-up from a residency. He explains how he decides which comic goes in which room, and why he gives every comic a talk before the show. He also breaks down what comics get paid, and where his ticket sales come from. By his count it’s about 30% flyers, 20% social media and 50% word of mouth.

Upcoming shows:
 Friday, Nov. 6, 8 PM, Double Door Lounge, 29 Elm Avenue, Mount Vernon
 Friday, Nov. 13, 8 PM, Winfield Street Coffee, Rye, featuring Drew Marrymore
 Saturday, Dec. 5, 8 PM, the 19th Hole, Ossining

Tickets and the full schedule are at tristatestandup.com.

Timestamps:
 00:00 Welcome
 00:56 Why Eddie started an open mic
 02:09 His first night on stage
 05:03 Making a coffee house feel like a comedy club
 07:10 How deep Westchester’s talent pool is
 11:23 Why Westchester has so few comedy clubs
 15:44 Pop-ups versus a residency
 19:18 The rules before every show
 21:46 What Eddie has learned
 26:15 Where ticket sales come from
 30:01 What a comic gets paid
 33:03 Upcoming shows

Follow I Live Here Westchester on Instagram, and find everything at www.iliveheremedia.com.

Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

Send us Fan Mail

Lennar's plan for 102 townhouses in Pleasantville has a new filing and a public hearing behind it. According to the Examiner News, the project also depends on a Foxwood Condominium property-transfer vote, and its vice president says a vote at the November 10 meeting is unlikely. What changed, what the Examiner reports, and what neither the village nor the paper says. Also: the Westchester County household recycling day on November 7.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold Open
(0:22) Deep Dive: Pleasantville, Lennar and Foxwood
(3:07) What's Happening in Westchester: Household recycling day at Playland
(3:31) Close

Sources:
- The Examiner News, "Foxwood Vote Could Derail Lennar's 102-Unit Townhouse Plan," October 30, 2026
- Village of Pleasantville, "Lennar Zoning Amendment & Townhouse Proposal (1 & 3 Campus Drive; 8 Carey Drive)"
- Village of Pleasantville civic alert, "Public Hearing & Next Steps for Campus Drive/Lennar Zoning Petition," updated October 28, 2026
- Westchester County press release, "Westchester County Announces Final Two Household Recycling Day Events of 2026," October 19, 2026

If this show is useful to you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share it with a neighbor.

Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Send us Fan Mail

On January 1, Westchester County takes over running its Youth Detention Facility with county employees. The county released the announcement jointly with Together for Youth, and it gave no cost, no hiring number and no count of young people held. This episode covers the 2027 county budget, which had not been released as of October 30, and what to ask the Board of Legislators. Separately, a state notice describes a new detention facility in Valhalla; neither document says whether it involves the facility the county takes over.

In This Episode
(0:00) County takeover of the Westchester County Youth Detention Facility
(4:06) What else is happening: Lead Safe Westchester

Sources
Westchester County: Transition to Direct Operations of Youth Detention Facility
DASNY: Westchester County design-build solicitation
Board of Legislators: 2026 Operating Budget received
Westchester County: Lead Safe Westchester

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Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Dan Montez is the founder and general director of Taconic Opera, a Westchester company that has staged opera since 1997. Before that, he sang about 60 leading roles, including at Lincoln Center and San Francisco Opera. Montez talks about walking onto the Lincoln Center stage and not being able to hear himself, the touring life that made him leave the top opera houses, and the hiring rule he set when he started his own company: no one who can’t go home to their family at night. He also explains how Taconic got started with a free booth at the Jefferson Valley Mall, why he trains the chorus himself, and what the audience looks like after nearly three decades.

He previews Taconic’s November 14 performance at the Tarrytown Music Hall, which pairs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto and the Witches’ Sabbath scene from Boito’s Mefistofele. Tickets and details are at tarrytownmusichall.org and taconicopera.org.

In This Episode:
 0:00 Welcome and the Taconic Opera story
 0:35 Stepping onto the Lincoln Center stage
 1:49 Why he left the touring life to start his own company
 4:21 Why opera voices mature late
 6:26 1997: a free booth at the mall and karaoke opera night
 7:51 How he picks a season
 9:18 Staging, acting, and how Taconic pays for it
 13:49 Training the chorus himself
 16:55 From Yorktown Stage to the Tarrytown Music Hall
 18:20 Who sits in the audience
 23:01 Social media and keeping up
 24:29 November 14: Beethoven’s Ninth, Prokofiev, and Boito
 27:15 Is he still singing?
 27:48 Composing new work next to the canon
 29:39 Where a first-time opera goer should start
 30:51 Dance of the seven veils
 31:20 The book, and the 30th anniversary

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Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Polls across Westchester County are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, and if you are in line at 9 p.m., you can still vote. What to know about finding your assigned polling place, when ID can come up, what is on your ballot, and who to call if something goes wrong.

Also: the county's expanded property tax exemption for low-income seniors.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold Open
(0:16) Election Day: polls, polling place, ID, your ballot
(2:16) What's Happening in Westchester: senior property tax exemption
(2:53) Close

Sources:
- Westchester County, Find Your Ballot and Polling Place and Early Voting 2026 pages
- Westchester County Board of Elections, 2026 Unofficial General Election Candidate List
- Village of Croton-on-Hudson, Voting and Elections page
- Ulster County Board of Elections, "What Do I Need When I Go to Vote?"
- Westchester County Board of Legislators, "Board Expands Tax Relief for Older Adults in Westchester," October 20, 2026

If this show is useful to you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share it with a neighbor.

Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

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Send us Fan Mail

Three major polls put Gov. Kathy Hochul ahead of Bruce Blakeman by 11 to 14 points as of October 30. In New York's 17th Congressional District, which includes part of Westchester County, the one poll from a news organization has Cait Conley and Rep. Mike Lawler within 2 points. We found no public poll for the 16th District or for Westchester State Senate, Assembly or County Legislature races, and we explain how to read who paid for a poll.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold Open
(0:26) Governor: Siena, Quinnipiac and Marist
(1:53) 17th Congressional District: Conley and Lawler
(3:28) 16th District and local Westchester races
(4:00) What's Happening in Westchester: Element 46 Tech Accelerator
(4:23) Close

Sources:
- Siena Research Institute, Siena Poll of Likely New York State Voters, October 28, 2026
- Quinnipiac University Poll, release 3972, October 21, 2026
- Marist Poll, The Midterm Elections in New York, October 2026
- Emerson College Polling/PIX11, NY-17 2026 poll
- Cook Political Report, NY-16 race page
- Westfair Online, Element 46 fall 2026 cohort, October 17, 2026

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Support the show

I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media.
We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia

Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.