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The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on July 29 — but three governors dissented in favor of a hike, the most dissent on a single Fed decision since 1993. This episode breaks down what that means for a Westchester County home buyer, recalculating last week's mortgage math against Freddie Mac's actual July 30 rate.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold open — a Fed decision three governors disagreed with
(0:20) Deep dive — the rate hold, the hike dissent, and the new Westchester mortgage math
(3:00) What else is happening — Westchester's new camouflaged-vape ban
(3:35) Close

Sources:
Federal Reserve Board — July 29, 2026 FOMC statement and implementation note
Bloomberg — "Fed Holds Rates Steady as Three Officials Dissent in Favor of a Hike"
Freddie Mac / GlobeNewswire — July 30, 2026 Primary Mortgage Market Survey
Mid Hudson News — Westchester's camouflaged vaping device ban, signed July 29, 2026

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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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Email: [email protected]
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A confirmed tornado, a flash flood, and a sinkhole all hit Westchester County within 48 hours this month. This week's Friday Intel runs the actual numbers — how rare Westchester tornadoes really are, and why the MTA's $800 million Hudson Line flood-resilience plan already existed before any of it happened.

In This Episode
0:00 — Cold Open
0:30 — Intro and Context
1:30 — The Data: the tornado, the historical record, and the flooding
3:30 — The Surprise: the infrastructure money came first
5:00 — What This Means For You
6:30 — Close

Sources:
Daily Voice — "Purchase, Rye Brook Tornado Traveled 1.82 Miles, NWS Confirms"
Patch — "Westchester Tornado Confirmed From Purchase To Rye Brook, NWS Says"
tornadopath.com — Westchester County tornado history and statistics
CICBCA — "MTA Unveils $800M Blueprint For Hudson Line Climate Resilience"

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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.

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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Village Square Bagels served Larchmont, New York, for roughly 30 years before closing quietly this year with no public explanation. This episode looks at what a small business closure like this says about Westchester County's economy, set against the same week's headlines about a $4 billion development pipeline and Wayfair's first New York flagship store coming to Yonkers.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold open — thirty years, gone without a word
(0:20) Deep dive — Village Square Bagels, Larchmont, and the county's growth story
(3:30) What else is happening — Kensico Dam Plaza's World Cup watch party
(4:00) Close

Sources:
Yelp — Village Square Bagels listing
AOL — Westchester retail closures roundup
Patch — Pascal's Restaurant closure coverage

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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.

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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New York's 17th congressional district has already beaten two sitting members of Congress. This episode covers Cait Conley's primary win over the district's unaffiliated-voter math in an interview with this show, her contrast with Republican incumbent Mike Lawler, and why national money is already pouring into this Westchester and Rockland County race.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold open — a district that beats incumbents
(0:20) Deep dive — Conley, Lawler, and the 28% unaffiliated vote
(4:15) What else is happening — Westchester Crossing construction update
(4:45) Close

Sources:
Spectrum News — NY-17 primary coverage
City & State NY — district competitiveness analysis
CBS New York — primary projections
Jim's interview with Cait Conley

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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.

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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Jason spent fifteen years teaching and ten coaching in Westchester. Last year he was ready to move his family to Nashville to open a golf entertainment venue. He scrapped it, kept the idea, and made it mobile instead. The result is Jerry's Hole in One Golf Challenge, a company that brings closest-to-the-pin contests, Pokémon themed mini golf, and a Heckle Hole staffed by two comedians to driving ranges, country clubs, camps, and private outings across Westchester and Long Island.

In This Episode
 (0:00) Scrapping the Nashville plan and building it mobile instead
 (1:55) What a Heckle Hole actually is
 (3:14) The case for pairing golf with Pokémon cards
 (7:15) A full walkthrough of the August 8 event in White Plains
 (10:19) What actually gets a twelve year old to put the phone down
 (12:06) Scaling a local idea into a bookable business
 (15:00) Why every event donates to a charity
 (16:51) What he wants the brand to mean in five years

Event details and tickets: >

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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.

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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Steel and cement costs are up roughly 25% this year under federal Section 232 tariffs, and it's landing directly on three of Westchester County's largest active developments — 70 Westchester Avenue in White Plains, Westchester Crossing in Port Chester, and One Kingsland in Sleepy Hollow. This episode breaks down what that means for the $4 billion pipeline the county is counting on to fix its own housing shortage.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold open — a housing fix that just got more expensive
(0:20) Deep dive — Section 232 tariffs and the $4 billion IDA pipeline
(3:15) What else is happening — Q1 commercial leasing rebound
(3:50) Close

Sources:
National Association of Home Builders — tariff and construction cost data
Westfair Communications — Q1 2026 commercial leasing data
NY Homes and Community Renewal — Westchester Crossing groundbreaking coverage

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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Ken Harris captains Team Safety Third in the 39th annual St. Vincent's Swim Across the Sound, a 14-mile open-water relay across Long Island Sound benefiting cancer patients and families in active treatment. He joins the show ahead of race day to talk training, the course's first-ever route change, and what a donation actually buys for a family navigating a cancer diagnosis.

In This Episode (0:00) Introduction — Team Safety Third and the 39th annual Swim Across the Sound [TK] How Ken got into open-water swimming for this cause [TK] Inside a 14-mile relay: legs, handoffs, and training [TK] Why the 2026 course changed for the first time in the event's history [TK] What the money actually funds for cancer patients and families [TK] The tougher questions — event overhead and direct support versus research [TK] How to help before race day

St. Vincent's Swim Across the Sound — official event and donation info: https://giving.stvincents.org/swim-marathon/

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Tags: Westchester County, I Live Here Westchester, local news, Bridgeport, Long Island Sound, cancer support, open water swimming, charity swim

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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New York's 2028 budget pressure is about to become Westchester County's problem. This episode breaks down how federal changes to Medicaid recertification and SNAP cost-sharing land directly on the Westchester County Department of Social Services, and why the county has almost no room left to absorb it after this year's budget already cut more than 100 positions and raised property taxes.

In This Episode
(0:00) Cold open — the governor's race behind the budget crunch
(0:20) Deep dive — Medicaid, SNAP, and the cost shift to Westchester County
(4:00) What else is happening — Con Edison's new multi-year rate hike
(4:40) Close

Sources:
NY State of Politics — 2026 gubernatorial race coverage
Spectrum News — Hochul vs. Blakeman polling and budget context
Yonkers Times — Con Edison rate case coverage

Subscribe to the newsletter at iliveherewestchester.com for stories like this first.

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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The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady for a fourth straight meeting in June — but Westchester County home costs didn't hold still at all. This week, The Friday Intel runs the actual math: a 30-year mortgage rate that just hit 6.55%, the highest in nearly a year, layered on top of a Westchester median home price that crossed $999,000, up 16.2% year over year. We calculate exactly what that combination costs a buyer on a real loan, and why "the Fed held" is not the same thing as "your housing costs held."

In This Episode:
0:00 — Cold Open
0:30 — Intro and Context
1:30 — The Data: the rate, the median price, and the sales slowdown
3:30 — The Surprise: why a Fed hold isn't a pause button on your costs
5:00 — What This Means For You
6:00 — Close

Sources: U.S. News (national mortgage rate data), Federal Reserve FOMC statement, Houlihan Lawrence Q2 2026 market report via Westfair Communications.

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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.

Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us?
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iliveheremedia.com
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Westchester County's Good Neighbor Policy promises residents 60 days and a public meeting before the county acts on land it owns nearby. County Executive Ken Jenkins renewed the policy this month, framing it as transparency. We asked the county for a record of whether it's ever actually changed a decision — and we're telling you what we know, and don't know yet.

In This Episode:
(0:00) The Good Neighbor Policy, explained
(2:45) What we asked the county, and what we don't know yet
(5:00) What's Happening: a 32-organization healthcare coalition launches in Purchase

Sources: Westchester County government; ILH records request (pending).

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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.

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.