Thursday, Jun 05th

samwick

Marc Samwick has been nominated to serve a second term

The Scarsdale Citizen's Nominating Committee and the Scarsdale Citizen's Non-Partisan Party announced their slate of candidates for the Scarsdale Village Election to be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

  • Trustee: Seth Ross
  • Trustee: Marc Samwick
  • Trustee: Jane Veron
  • Village Justice: Joaquin Alemany

Joaquim Almany is currently serving as Interim Village Justice and has been nominated to be the Village Justice of Scarsdale. Trustee Marc Samwick has been re-nominated to serve a second two-year term and Seth Ross and Jane Veron have been nominated for their first terms. Leaving vacancies on the Village Board of Trustees this year are David Lee who will complete two, two-year terms and Deb Pekarek who will complete one two-year term. Commenting on the nominations Pekarek, who was not nominated by the committee for a second term said, "While I am extremely surprised I believe I served the Village with distinction, honor and grace. I believe in the process and know that the new slate of candidates will also serve the community admirably and I congratulate them."

It's notable that all three of the candidate's for Village Trustee have experience with land use and development. Marc Samwick is a real estate investor and developer by trade, Seth Ross practices Real Estate Law and both Ross and Jane Veron chaired the Scarsdale Planning Board. As land use and development issues continue to come before the Village boards, this group will be well-equipped to address them.

Candidates' Bios:

Village Trustee:

Trustee Marc Samwick is now serving his first two-year term on the board and will run for a second term. He is a real estate investor and developer and the founder of Westmont Land Ventures. His investments are concentrated in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. He formerly worked in the real estate division of Chemical Bank, Fleet Bank and Capital Trust He has an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School and a BA in economics from Union College.

Commenting on the work he did during his first term, Samwick said, "I currently serve as Chair of the Land Use and Finance Committees; liaison to the Planning Board, Board of Architectural Review, Committee for Historic Preservation and Chamber of Commerce; and as Police Commissioner. In addition to my current assignments, I have previously served as Chair of the Recreation Committee and liaison to the Advisory Council on Parks and Recreation."

"As Trustee, I have been deeply involved in a number of issues, including revaluation; 2-4 Weaver Street; and the proposed zoning amendment relating to lot coverage as well as the budget process. In each of these instances, as well as many others, I toured relevant sites, spoke with many residents to seek their thoughts and concerns, and deliberated with our outstanding village staff, fellow Trustees and Mayor to seek thoughtful solutions that best serve our village."

"As a more-detailed example, I was instrumental in postponing the sale of a village-owned sliver of land adjacent to 2-4 Weaver Street until such time as the developer obtained all required land use approvals and the village retained a consultant to oversee construction of the proposed residential development in compliance with the approved building plans. By leveraging the village's land sale to the developer, we worked hard to ensure, as best we could, that the residential development is built to the high standards of our community."

Seth Ross is an attorney with years of legal experience

ross

Seth Ross has been nominated to serve as Village Trustee

and an impressive resume of volunteerism in Scarsdale. He has worked as a partner at Jaspan Schlesinger in Garden City since 2002 and was previously a partner at Ross & Ross LLP. In Scarsdale In his second career as community volunteer he has served Scarsdale in a broad variety of capacities. He says, "In the course of my community service I have become familiar with the workings of various aspects of community government and with many of the people whose work, whether volunteer or professional, enable the Village of Scarsdale to function as it does." Ross expressed a "desire to see (Scarsdale) retain its special character while evolving to meet the changing needs of its residents." He served as Chair of the Planning Board, Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, as a Trustee of the Scarsdale Foundation, Chair of the Scarsdale Bowl, Chair of the Procedure Committee and on the CNE as well as the Scarsdale Volunteer fire Department. He is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Duke University.

Jane Veron is co-Founder and co-CEO of The Acceleration Project (TAP), a nonprofit which taps the talent of local professionals to advise struggling small businesses and the co-Founder and co-CEO of TAP Growth Advisors, a firm devoted to career reentry through

veron

Jane Veron has been nominated to serve as Village Trustee

entrepreneurship, consulting work, and strategic volunteerism. She spent her career in business strategy and marketing, working at Bain & Company and American Express. She also managed her own private consulting business and has experience in private equity and venture capital as an investor and board member.

Jane has held leadership positions in many Scarsdale organizations. She chaired the Scarsdale Planning Board, served as President of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, led the Fox Meadow Neighborhood Association, and subsequently was elected Chair of the consortium of sixteen neighborhood associations. She also worked on the executive committee of the local nonprofit organization, Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling. Jane earned a BA magna cum laude from Yale University and an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School.

Village Justice:

Joaquin Alemany has served as Acting Village Justice since January 2015, and was recently appointed to fill Justice John Galloway's term. He has presided over a variety of trials including criminal cases, landlord/tenant disputes, small claims and traffic and parking issues. He has substantial judicial experience in Westchester and the Bronx and previously

JackAllemany

Jack Alemany has been nominated to serve as Scarsdale's Village Justice

served as the Acting Village Justice in Sleepy Hollow. He has previous experience at the Bronx District Attorney's Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission and in private practice. Allemany is a graduate of New York Law School and has lived in Scarsdale since 1990.

The Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan System seeks to promote a cooperative, deliberative and open atmosphere in local civic affairs in order to attract the most qualified individuals to serve in local public offices. For more information, click here.

The committee encourages all Village of Scarsdale citizens who are registered to vote in the general election to do so on Tuesday, March 15th. The polls will be open at Scarsdale Village Hall from 6am to 9am and noon to 9pm. Everyone is invited to the post-election celebration at The Scarsdale Woman's Club, 37 Drake Road, Scarsdale, at 8:30 pm.

findingneverlandNever mind Ben Brantley's NYT April 2015 review of "Finding Neverland", written right after it debuted on Broadway. Despite Brantley's words, the show is a hit, as evidenced by ticket sales enthusiastic consumer reviews. Audiences have spoken (as per consumer review sites and ticket sales ) and the show is a Broadway success. Produced by Harvey Weinstein, it's hard to believe it would be otherwise. I had the chance to catch the show just before the end of the year with my 6-year-old theater-loving son and whereas I can see some of Brantley's points, specifically in regards to a couple of the songs being a bit on the boring side, the show will live up to most people's expectations of what a show on Broadway should be like, special effects and all; and you can actually get tickets for it, and it was good enough for "Broadway at the White House."

The 1,500 seat Lunt-Fontanne theater is hosting "Finding Neverland."kelseygrammar We sat in the orchestra section but the mezzanine view that we checked out during intermission looked like it could be a fun vantage point from which to see the show. The show boasts an impressive staff including book by James Graham, Diane Paulus as the Director, Music and Lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, Set by Scott Pask, choreography by Mia Michaels, and costumes by Suttirat Anne Larlarb.

Based on the 2004 film of the same name, the show follows Scottish playwright J.M Barrie as he finds his inspiration for the creation of the story of Peter Pan. Matthew Morrison of "Glee" TV fame played Mr. Barrie during the show I saw, but he is taking his final bow on January 24th and is being replaced by Tony-nominee Tony Yazbeck, a Broadway veteran but certainly not a TV heartthrob.

The show both begins and ends with Peter Pan and Tinkerbell (who have made their way back to the Broadway stage after a long hiatus- the last Broadway revival of "Peter Pan" was in 1999), so kids will take to that immediate familiarity. The play then introduces and follows J.M. Barrie through a failing marriage and his struggles to write a new play for Charles Frohman (played by Terrence Mann in this show, but Kelsey Grammer is currently back in this role through the end of March) and his theater company. In the midst of writing the play, Barrie goes for a walk in Kensington Gardens and meets the recently widowed Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies (Laura Michelle Kelly) and her four frolicking sons: Peter (Christopher Paul Richards), George (Jackson Demott Hill), Jack (Alex Dreier), and Michael (Christian Camporin). Barrie becomes inspired by the boys' youth and playfulness as they sing the fun and catchy "Pirates of Kensington." He becomes particularly fond of Peter, the boy who is most visibly still in mourning for his father. They learn to mutually respect each other during the course of their relationship and Peter is eventually inspired by Mr. Barrie to write as well. The only other song that was memorable to me during the first act is "Believe" which is sung by Barrie, Sylvia, and the boys.

The show relays the power of the imagination when Charles Frohman becomes Captain Hook and the story of Peter Pan starts coming together for Barrie. The stage transforming into a pirate ship during the song "Stronger" seems to be a highlight for young and not-so-young audiences alike, and this marks the end of Act I.

Act II includes some of the music I loved the most including "What You Mean to Me," a beautiful duet between Mr. Barrie and Ms. Llewelyn-Davies. "We're all Made of Stars," sung by the four Llewelyn-Davies boys was my son's favorite and will appeal to anyone who is a sucker for the sweet innocence of childhood (that would be me). "When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground" is an enjoyable, sugar-laced sentimental piece sung by Barrie and Peter but isn't something you'll be dancing to on the way to the car. Ultimately, with some pretty cool side effects and true Broadway magic, we learn (again), along with Mr. Barrie, that with the right attitude we never really have to grow up.

I had a chance to catch up with Noah Hinsdale who played Michael Llewelyn-Davies in the original Broadway cast of Finding Neverland. Commenting on the play he said, "I had an amazing experience working with Laura Michelle Kelly, Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer. The whole cast was great to work with. I liked hanging out with the other kids backstage. We had so much fun together and it was my first Broadway show." And what does he think kids will like most about the show? "Kids will like the music and the dancing. Some of my friends have loved the show because of the cool special effects that happen during the performance." And adults? "Well, adults say they like the story line. It's really a magical story and fun for all ages. Moms say they like it because it's about a mom and her kids."

Overall, I highly recommend "Finding Neverland" for both kids and grown ups. Kids over the age of six should be fine with the material, although I did prepare my son for the fact that the mom dies. (He responded by putting his arm around me during the show.) Captain Hook and the pirates aren't too scary.

For tickets and show information, click here:

yesnoAs we close out 2015 and complete Scarsdale10583's seventh year in business, I am struck by the fact that things are often not what they appear to be. This year several issues we covered on the site appeared simple at the start, yet the more we delved into them, the more complex they became. Questions that looked to have black and white answers turned out to have many shades of gray. With some we found ourselves agreeing with one group at the beginning only to have a 180-degree change of heart in the process of further examination. Or even more perplexing, after listening, writing and reading comments, on some questions, no one right answer emerged at all.

Let's first take the question of adding Mandarin instruction to the middle school curriculum. An enthusiastic group of parents raised the issue and was successful in getting the school administration to do a series of surveys to parents with kids at several grade levels. When the survey results came in, though 17.8% of parents favored Mandarin instruction, the Board decided that it was not a high enough level of support to upset the apple cart and make changes in staffing and the house structure to accommodate the change. Furthermore, the numbers showed that Mandarin instruction in grades 9-12 generated only tepid interest from students and enrollment in these classes was falling rather than rising. Debates ensued and raised more questions than answers. What was the optimal grade to introduce the language, (if at all), and was it simply too difficult to learn? Since many in the Chinese community already send their children for instruction outside school, did they want to add it to the curriculum for their own children or for others? And if adding Mandarin, why not consider other world languages too? Or in the words of Max Ventilla, a former Google executive who founded AltSchool said, "The thousands of hours that children invest in learning foreign languages is almost surely a waste of time, given that translation technology will soon be good enough that we will all be multilingual." Would it be better if we taught all students to code rather than speak Mandarin?

I also had a change of heart about a new development of cluster homes on Weaver Street. Though the proposal to build nine homes at Heathcote Manor, opposite Dunkin Donuts, was approved more than a decade ago, the project stalled and therefore it did not need to conform to some of today's regulations. When the developers finally decided to move forward they clear cut several acres of trees incurring the ire of some residents. Others feared that the new development would bring more traffic to Weaver Street and the Five Corners and still others found a high stone retaining wall to be imposing. Like the new building in front of Balduccis, residents sought to vilify the complex. But after the model was complete I decided to go take a look and inspect for myself. I found a contemporary, spacious home with all the comforts of a single-family house – without the price tag or outdoor maintenance. All in all, the homes seemed to be a nice addition to Scarsdale's residential options.

And then there's the Greenacres School. It's aging, damp, moldy, lacking modern technology and too small. But a very vocal group of residents is very eager to save it at any cost. In their zeal to "Save the School" they convinced hundreds of residents and their kids to sign petitions to keep the school where it is, before all the options could be explored. The conversation between residents, the Greenacres Association and the school board reached a fevered pitch even before the architects were given the opportunity to present all the options and associated costs. When the Board announced that a committee of residents, educators, parents, teachers, administrators and architects would meet to review the information and make recommendations, the same group objected to criteria for selecting committee members. These critics went as far as to suggest that a man who had served as both Mayor and School Board President could not adequately represent Greenacres.

The Greenacres Building Committee met in the fall and their conclusions have not yet been released. Though I live in Greenacres and have fond memories of my three children's experience at the school, I am eager to hear what the committee recommends and to listen to their reasons why. Like many other questions that come before the community, this one requires long-term thinking about what's best for the majority of residents.

And finally, there's Monte Nido, the second revaluation and the library.

So what did I learn in 2015? I learned that I don't have the all the answers and you may not either. In fact, the only way we are going to get to the best solutions is to investigate, listen, discuss and learn from each other. Thankfully, there are so many passionate, educated and eloquent residents here that it's interesting to hear your views. Let's continue the dialogue 2016.

moneypolitcisAre hefty contributions by the very few undermining democratic elections and equal representation? Do corporations and wealthy individuals have too much influence on the outcome of elections in the United States? Or, are they simply exercising their First Amendment right to engage in political speech?

These questions were the focus of a public information session held by the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale (LWVS) on Monday night January 11. Presented by Nan Berke, Linda Doucette-Ashman, Cindy Dunne, Mary Beth Evans, Rita Golden, Deb Morel and Pam Rubin, the session was held to inform members of the public and the local League about the current state of money in politics and to update the national League position on campaign finance.

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizen's United and other recent decisions have granted corporations and unions the same First Amendment rights as individuals in the area of campaign finance. Thus, the way has been cleared for an unlimited flow of money into the election process via super PACs. Super PACs are supposedly "independent" political action committees that do not "coordinate" their activities with a political candidate or his/her campaign. The Court therefore ruled that In addition, the Court's 2014 McCutcheon ruling, while maintaining limits on individual contributions to individual candidates, overturned the long-standing aggregate limit on an individual's combined contributions to all candidates.

In the wake of these Court decisions, increases in spending by super PACs has been dramatic. The national League website reports, "Since the Supreme Court decided Citizens United in 2010, $1 billion has been spent through super PACs, and 60 percent of that was given by only 195 individuals and their spouses." For the 2016 presidential race, just 158 families in the U.S. provided half of the early money or $176 million to the candidates. Commenting on the data, the New York Times said, "Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision six years ago in January 2010." For the 2014 election only 0.31% of the total adult population (less than 1%) contributed $200 or more to federal candidates, parties or PACs. But these contributions amounted to 66% of total individual contributions.

On Monday night January 11 members of the LWVS Money in Politics Committee traced the history of campaign finance law from the 1907 Tillman Act through 2014. The facts showed that when the Court majority swung to the conservatives in 2006, the Court overturned one hundred years of laws regulating campaign financing.

They then examined arguments for and against controlling campaign spending and possible ways to address the issue. Among these options are:

Increase Disclosure: Whereby the names and identities of individual donors and corporations are made public to inform voters. This could address "dark money" or political spending by anonymous donors.

Clean Elections: This legislation would focus on stronger disclosure laws, rules to prevent collaboration between special interest groups as well as ethics. Advocates contend that greater transparency would allow voters to know who is backing candidates and potentially reduce the influence of big money.

Public Financing of Elections: Rather than raise private funds, candidates would receive public monies to finance their campaigns, leveling the playing field. This would combat the pressure on candidates to fundraise and eliminate scenarios where the best-financed candidates win the race.

Protection of Voter's Rights: Laws would be passed to fight moves to disqualify voters and to ensure that all voters are informed about their right to vote.

Following the public session, the LWVS held a consensus meeting to review and update the current national League position on campaign finance in light of First Amendment considerations, the results of which will then be sent to the national League.

Learn more here

Also from the LWVS:

Students Inside Albany Conference

For the fifth consecutive year, the LWVS will select two high school students to send to the annual Students Inside Albany conference, to be held May 22-25, 2016. All Sophomore, Junior and Senior students who attend Scarsdale High School or who reside in the school district are eligible to apply.

Students Inside Albany is an intensive four-day conference designed to immerse students in the process by which public policy is proposed, revised and enacted in New York State and to educate them as to how they can influence and affect this process. Scarsdale students who attended this conference in the past were unanimous in their enthusiasm about the program, which allowed them to interact with students from all over the state, learn about their state government and meet state legislators.

The cost of the conference, including hotel and meals, will be co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters New York State Education Foundation, Inc. and our Scarsdale League.

Applications are available on the Scarsdale LWV's website (LWVS.org) and are due by February 2, 2016.

For more information, including photos from last year's conference, see the League of Women Voters, New York State at http://www.lwvny.org/ and go to the Youth Programs tab.

Last year's Scarsdale attendees are happy to answer questions from interested students. Contact Marie Ceske, Gabriela Dickson or Alex First at SIA@lwvs.org.

Please contact Joan Frankle (713-1250 or joantabackfrankle@gmail.com,) or Janet Korins (725-0859 or janet.korins@verizon.net) for more information or if you know someone who would like to apply for this opportunity.

holidaytipThanks to the tremendous response we received on our holiday tipping survey, we are pleased to present you with the results. How much do people in town tip for the holidays? To whom do people give tips, gifts or a simple note of gratitude? There is no right or wrong answer, although policies do exist for some employees regarding what they are allowed to accept.

Holiday time gives you a chance to say thank you to those who impact your life in a positive way, help you or provide a service to you on a regular basis. Gifting and tipping is often done out of obligation, but one should not feel obligated to give. If gift giving is not within your budget, a note expressing your gratitude should be enough. And if it is within your budget, give some thought to whom you are tipping and why you are tipping them. As one woman said during last year's tipping survey, "Sometimes the people who least expect a gift are the ones who appreciate it the most. The front desk clerk at my child's school cried when I gave her a $10 gift card to Starbucks." Another person commented on the fact that she gave a monetary gift to a regular cashier she sees at the market; she expressed such true gratitude for gift.

The Emily Post etiquette website advises, "Do not buy into the thought that if you don't tip you won't get good service for the coming year. If you think you've had bad service for this reason, you might want to...speak directly to a manager. The site also adds: "Tipping is one of the most stressful and confusing aspects of etiquette today. It is a...way to show appreciation for a job well done; however, treating the person who has served you with respect is every bit as important."

TipChart

Analysis

The Nanny: Most people give their nannies a week pay as a holiday bonus, if not more (72%). Several people mentioned in their comments that they give their nannies two extra weeks of pay. A working mom of three said, "My nanny makes my life so much easier for us and makes it possible for us to maintain our careers, so we give her a very generous 2.5 week bonus."

The Housekeeper: The majority of people have housekeepers (83%) and gift their housekeepers a week's pay as a holiday gift. Of those who have a housekeeper, an additional 16% give a gift valued over $25. "My housekeeper is reliable and works hard for us," said a Fox Meadow resident, "so I like to show my gratitude with an extra week of pay so she can afford to get her kids or herself a little something extra around the holidays. I usually include a gift just for her like perfume."

The Sitter: Half of those who responded to the survey have babysitters and usually give one week of pay to their sitters. Another 25% give between $26-$50. Some give a gift and it was split almost evenly between those who spent under $25 and those who spent over $25. You may want to consider how often you use your babysitter to determine how you'd like to acknowledge them.

The Boss: Half of respondents had no boss, but for those who do, more than half do nothing for them. However, 25% will get their boss a gift valued under $25.

The Hairdresser: Most people (91%) have a hairdresser. Of those, 25% give nothing and 25% give cash or a gift under $25; 10% give between $25-50, 20% give between $51-100, and 5% give between $100-200. If you go during the holidays to get your hair done and it is your regular hairdresser, it is appropriate to give a bigger tip than usual (and up to the cost of the hair treatment).

The Teacher: School teachers often receive small gifts during the holidays. Of the respondents, 22% do not have children in school. Of the 78% that do, 12% give nothing and 40% give a gift valued under $25. Another 15% of those people who have kids in school give teachers a gift valued over $25, a monetary gift between $10-25, or a monetary gift of $26-50. Interestingly, two people gave teachers a cash gift of between $51-100 and one person gave over $200 to teachers. Although it is possible that these parents have children in private school with different policies, Scarsdale school policy states that class parents can ask for contributions of up to $10 per family for a group gift for the teacher and individual gifts must remain under $15.

The Bus Driver/Monitor: Just over half of respondents have a bus driver and monitor for their kids and most people give a small gift or cash valued under $25.

The Trash Guys: Scarsdale's Department of Sanitation informed me that written policy states that sanitation workers cannot accept or solicit monetary gifts. Despite the policy, 94% of those polled give money to their sanitation workers. One mom told me that she chooses not to tip sanitation workers because they are salaried employees with benefits and are not dependent on tips. "They're not people who I have a relationship with and who provide me with a special service, so I don't feel the need to give them money beyond what I pay through my taxes. On the other hand, I give holiday gifts to the people who help me out on a regular basis and never get acknowledged like my pediatrician who calls me back in less than ten minutes solving minor problems and saving me countless trips to the office." Almost 10% of people give gifts valued under $25 and 14% give gifts valued over $25. Of those that give cash, 16% give between $10-25, 24% give between $26-50, 22% give between $51-100, and 8% give between between $101-200. One person gives over $200 and another gives the equivalent of a week's pay. We certainly love and appreciate our sanitation workers! If you're going to give the sanitation workers a gift, some people recommend taping a note onto the garbage cans on trash day requesting they ring the doorbell to hand them their acknowledgement directly, ensuring the right people receive the gift. One mom posted on the Scarsdale Moms Facebook page that she went out of her way to drop cash off at the sanitation office for the people who haul her trash and they never got it. This might be due to the village policy.

The Postman: Mail carriers are also usually acknowledged during holiday time, although the United States Postal Service (USPS) does not allow mail carriers to accept cash gifts, checks, or any other form of currency. They may accept snacks and beverages, gifts valued under $20 including gift cards to a specific retailer, or gift baskets that can be shared with other staff. That being said, only 12% of respondents give a gift valued under $25. More commonly, people give cash: 33% give between $10-25, $19% give between $26-50, 7% give between $51-$200, and three people actually give between $101-$200. Has anyone ever received a note from their mail carrier saying, "My apologies, USPS policy states I cannot accept cash..."? I bet not. My own mail carrier leaves me an envelope saying "happy holidays" on it with his address. In previous years it was even stamped. I personally find that to a be a bit aggressive considering the postal service's policy.

The Delivery People (Newspaper, FedEx, UPS): Newspaper deliverers commonly receive cash, between $10-25. Private delivery people (FedEx and UPS) may accept monetary and non-monetary gifts.

The Dry Cleaner: More than half of respondents don't give anything to their dry cleaner attendant. Those that do might give a small gift, gift card, or some extra cash with a pick-up.

The Gardener: Two-thirds of us don't go out of their way to give anything to the gardener. Those that do most often give a gift valued over $25 or cash ($51-100).

The Admin: A third of respondents have secretaries/administrative assistants. People really vary with what they give and 10% give nothing. Some give over $200, some give less than $25, and there are lots of people who gave something in the middle or a gift versus cash. Most people give something but the results were over the place. Sorry folks, there's really no average here or suggested gift value.

The Handyman: Handymen were the most likely to receive a simple note or card saying "thanks." Of the 40% of people who have a regular handyman, more than half do nothing. Another handful of people give a gift valued >$25, cash $51-100, or cash $101-200. Again, if your handyman is working around the holidays for you or really goes out of his way for you, it is generous to show your appreciation in some way.

Not included in the table above are day care providers as only 17% of respondents use this service. Mostly people gave a small gift or cash valued under $50. Dog walkers were seldom used (15% of respondents have dog walkers) but those who do give a small gift or a week's pay. About 23% of people have a valet and most give some small acknowledgement of thanks such as a note, small gift, or between $10-$50. Personal trainers commonly receive cash gifts of $51-100, but some people will give a full week's pay. Doctors were the least likely to receive any sort of holiday gift from their patients. Of the 74 respondents to this question, 6 give a small gift, 2 write notes, and a few give gifts valued between $25-$100.

Several people commented that they give gifts to categories of people not included on this year's survey: their children's extracurricular teachers (music, dance, voice), coaches, tutors, groomers, milkmen, nail salon attendants, vets, gym instructors, and tennis professionals.

One person avoids "tipping" at all during holiday time and instead makes monetary donations to a charity in honor of the person for whom they are grateful.

Remember, there is no "right amount," to give; these survey results simply provide a guideline for what people in our community typically give and to whom they give during the holidays.