The Journal News from White Plains, New York • Page 1

ROCKLAND FINAL rr Friday, December 17, 2004 50 cents 7 MxN I LTNAA I II I I I i llriNlil 11 BASEBALL 0 $4 Johnson talks heat up Yanks reportedly have three-team deal in place. 1C Newest Met Martinez meets the press at Shea. 1C TOTTTr NEW CITY I ROCKLAND Help line Hundreds call county's info number. IB NYACK Adult store May open on Route 59. IB MOVIES hut Prayer, and carols Nativity scene welcomed at county building.

IB Soaring together DiCaprio, Scorsese relate to 3E I i i i Briefing www.thejournalnews.com JbJ onlte drops tow ffiu 111 ra Drivers, riders to pay more in '05 iV Rockland schools, businesses add more than 2,100 positions Jerry Gleeson The Journal News Rockland County's jobless rate in November dropped by a full percentage point, its biggest year-over-year improvement in monthly unemployment in more than six years, the state Labor Department said vesterdav. iff Veterans commemorate WWII's largest land battle U.S. veterans lay wreaths at ceremonies across southern Belgium and Luxembourg, marking the 60th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge, in which U.S. forces defeated the Nazi's last bid against the allied advance. 15A Man charged with Md.

arson A 21-year-old security guard at an upscale Maryland housing development is arrested on arson charges in a series of fires that caused $10 million in damage. 19A Bush touts Social Security plan Appealing for congressional action, President Bush says the Social Security investment accounts he is proposing would have rules to prevent workers from gambling away their retirement money. 16A Domestic spending may see cut The White House tells federal agencies to expect lean budgets next year, with congressional aides and lobbyists saying President Bush appears ready to propose freezing or even cutting spending. 16A Sharks kill Australian surfer Two great white sharks attack and kill a surfer, 18, while his friends watch in horror off a popular beach in Australia. 14A f.

4 JincentDiSaJvioThe Journal News Roger Scheiber of Hastings approaches the Tappan Zee Bridge toll plaza in Tarrytown, returning home yesterday from his job at the Rockland Business Association In Pearl River. What riders will face November's unemployment rate of 3.4 percent was accompanied by strong growth in jobs based in the county. The Labor Department said Rockland added 2,100 jobs, an increase of 1.8 percent The total number of jobs in the county stood at 119,800, the highest level in at least the past 14 years. The last time Rockland saw a comparable jobless-rate improvement was in October 1998, when the rate dropped to 3.1 percent from 4.1 percent a year earlier. "We've had (jobless rate) decreases in several counties over the year.

This is probably the most significant," said Sean Mac-Donald, an analyst for the state Labor Department New York City and the state as a whole shared in the sunnier job picture. The state's jobless rate of 4.8 percent was down from 6.2 percent year over year; the city's rate of 5.4 percent was down from 8.1 percent in November 2003. MacDonald noted that improvements in employment typically trail economic recoveries. "I think we can pretty much say we're in a growth period, and we're out of that middle zone of, We don't know where we're she said. "I think we've got a lot of good indicators here." In Rockland, every job category except one, state government expanded last month, the Labor Department said.

Among the big increases were public education, which added 700 jobs year over year. Earlier in the fall, the North Rockland school district opened a new school for eighth- and ninth-grade students that contributed to the increase. Even manufacturing, a sector that has been battered by relentless retrenchment posted a modest increase of 100 jobs in Rockland in November. Bruce Mason, senior vice president and chief economist at Union State Bank in Orangeburg, noted Please see JOBLESS, 2A The MTA board voted to raise the cost of a 30day MetroCard from $70 to $76; increase a seven-day MetroCard from $21 to $24; raise fares on Metro-North Railroad's Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines by 4 percent to 8 percent for a monthly ticket, and by up to 13 percent for a one-way or 10-trip ticket. Monthly ticket prices would change March 1, while weekly ticket prices would go up the first Saturday in March.

11 i TIT COMING TOMORROW Festive fashion Having decked their halls, many revelers have proceeded to deck themselves. Plus, how to stuff a stocking. increases could take effect in May. The Thruway Authority plans to use the toll increases to embark on a $2 billion, six-year capital spending plan that would pay for improvements to more than 500 miles of the 641-mile highway system, from the Pennsylvania border, through Rockland and Westchester. The Thruway Authority last increased tolls in 1988.

The Thruway Authority also would create more parking spaces for trucked and build faster lanes for users of E-ZPass. But critics say the plan will cut into household budgets, bump up the price of goods and possibly put a damper on business in New York. The MTA fare and toll increases would be the first in two years but would leave the $2 Please see COMMUTERS, 2A Caren Halbfinger The Journal News NEW YORK Commuters were hit yesterday with a double whammy that virtually guarantees that by spring, anyone in the metropolitan region who drives or takes mass transit to work will pay more to get there. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board yesterday approved a package of fare increases that by early March will raise railroad fares by an average of 5 percent, increase the cost of unlimited-ride Metro-Cards and raise MTA tolls by 25 cents for smaller bridges and 50 cents for larger ones. On the same day, the state Thruway Authority board began reviewing a plan to raise tolls by 25 percent for cars, 35 percent for trucks and to double the E-ZPass cost of commuting across the Tappan Zee Bridge.

These Sample Metro-North fares to NYC Old New Spring Valley monthly $177 $188 Spring Valley peak one way $6.50 $6.75 Sample Thruway toils Old New Cars at Tappan Zee Bridge $3 $4 1-87 Yonkers toll 50 cents 75 cents The Thruway Authority will charge regular Tappan Zee Bridge commuters more for their rides but will create similar discount programs for commuters who use the Interstate 87 Yonkers toll plazas. Tappan Zee Bridge drivers who now pay $17 for 17 trips a month would pay $40 for 20 trips. Commuters who take 1-87 through the Yonkers toll plaza could avoid the 25cent increase by buying a monthly pass and paying for 20 trips. DOW UP 14.19 to 10,705.64 NASDAQ DOWN 16.40 to 2,146.15 500 DOWN 2.51 to 1,203.21 Stock listings: 2-3D YOUR WEATHER OUTLOOK Today: Blustery and sunny with a stray flurry. High 46.

ON THE WEB For more information on the fare and toll increases: 71 www.mta.info. Tonight: Blustery. Low in the upper teens. Tomorrow: Partly sunny. www.straphangers.org.

High in the upper 30s. Complete four-day forecast, boating conditions and air-quality ratings: 19A Feds: Flu shots may go to waste Student gain, taxpayer loss seen in Regents' aid proposal INSIDE Classified 1F Movies 6E Comics 6E Obituaries 6B Crossword 5F Opinion 8B Dear Abby 8E Region 4A Letters 8B Scoreboard 9C Lotteries 2B Television 8E Get news updated 24 hours a day. Visit us on the Web: Daniel Yee The Associated Press ATLANTA Two months after the government recommended that scarce flu shots be reserved for people most at risk, health officials now are worried that tens of thousands of doses could go to waste, and they are considering easing the restrictions. It turns out that the furor over the vaccine shortage and the government's response have had an unintended effect More man half of all elderly or chronically ill adults have not even tried to get flu shots because they figured they would not be able to get one, the national Centers for Disease Con The problem is that a flu shot is good only for the flu season in which it is made. Any excess must be disposed of at the end of the season.

The flu season begins in the fall and can last through April. The medical center at Vander-bilt said it has vaccinated most of its high-risk patients and still has 3,000 doses left over. Health officials in California, Colorado and Washington have expressed concerns similar to Schaffner's. The surplus already has prompted some states to loosen their immunization restrictions, allowing people as young as 50 to get a shot Others are considering allowing flu shots for anyone who has close contact with those in a high-risk group. trol and Prevention said yesterday.

The Rockland County Health Department received about 2,000 additional vaccines from the CDC earlier this month and may receive still more in January. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices plans to hold an emergency conference call today to discuss whether to amend its earlier response to the vaccine shortage and recommend that more people be allowed to get shots. "Many of us are now concerned we will not use vaccine supplies," said Dr. William Schaffner, an influenza vaccine expert and head of preventive medicine at Vander-bilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. al have not been released, at least one educator is giving cautious approval to one change that takes local costs of living into account "If they're going to try to come up with a new formula, they're heading in the right direction if they have a regional cost factor included," said Ramapo Central Superintendent of Schools Rob Mac-Naughton.

"I think the biggest factor that helps us is that" The state Education Department announced a plan yesterday to channel money to New York City over the next five years to satisfy a court case. The grass-roots Campaign for Fiscal Equity suc-Please tee AID, 2A Ramapo educator likes factoring in the cost of living Randi Weiner The Journal News Rockland students could benefit short term from a change in figuring state aid proposed yesterday by the Board of Regents. But the proposal is designed to shift funding from affluent to less-affluent areas of the state, so it could end up costing taxpayers in the area more. While the details of the propos www.theJournalnews.com 2004 The Journal News For home delivery call 800-942-1010. Our main number is 845-358-2200.

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