Press Start: Enabling Journalists from Around the World
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- Written by: Preeti Singh
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Habib Battah, Zaklina Zafirova, Ruslan Gorbachev and Volodymr Torbich are not familiar names to most of us. These writers are investigative reporters from Lebanon, Macedonia, Belarus and Russia where the press cannot report freely. Now Scarsdale resident Gary Regenstreif, former Editor-at-Large at Reuters, wants to bring us their stories. Says Regenstreif, "Because of press restrictions in countries across the globe, so many important stories are going untold, of issues and events that have a bearing on local communities and that are of interest beyond those borders."
Regenstreif is Chairman of the Advisory Board of Press Start, a new platform to crowd fund journalists in countries where they cannot report freely. Press Start will fund independent journalists for a period of several months to give them time to conceive, develop, investigate and write stories that may not see mainstream media coverage. The stories will be published on different platforms to ensure a wide audience.
Interestingly, Press Start's focus is on local journalists, from countries that have less press freedom, and limited access to funds that investigative journalism requires. Press Start has received an initial grant from National Endowment for Democracy, a DC based organization committed to 'opposition building' and 'encouraging pluralism' in support for democracy. It also hopes to raise more money for journalists through crowd funding projects. Asserts Regenstreif, "It takes very little for world citizens to become actively engaged in conversations that can make an impact and challenge the status quo. A commitment as low as the price of your favorite Starbucks coffee can be the game changer."
Press Start was initiated by Jeremy Druker, a Jewish-American publisher based in Prague. Druker is the founder of Transitions, a journalism training organization in Central and Eastern Europe and publisher of tol.org, a news magazine about the post-communist region. Through years of training journalists to acquire reporting skills, Druker realized that just skill building was not enough; investigative journalists also require time and funds for narratives, which are both scarce commodities in the constantly changing information landscape. Regenstreif shares the opinion. In a career spanning over two decades, and managing newsrooms in three continents, Regenstreif knows the importance of not letting important stories slip through the cracks. In Press Start he saw the potential to harness technology, new forms of fundraising and growing international interest to create meaningful engagement.
Press Start has an impressive line-up of investigative journalists. Habib Battah, the well-known Lebanese journalist runs the blog Beirut Report and chronicles the rapidly decreasing public space in Lebanon and the deliberate destruction of ancient archeology sites. According to him, " These stories do not find their way into mainstream media. Ours is a broken state, and politicians take up airtime and print space with political blame and bickering. The noise is effective in obfuscation of the truth - of precious archaeological sites being destroyed, of poor municipal planning and even the politics of garbage in Beirut."
Battah writes in English, but in many countries, reporters write in their own language. Says Regenstreif, " Reporters may not be able to finance their stories, or have access to a platform to publish them. Through Press Start we will support their stories, translate them into English when they resonate across borders and publish them on various digital platforms and blogs for more reach." SCOOP Macedonia has partnered with Press Start and its founder Zaklina Zafirova is excited, " In Macedonia, independent funding is a rare opportunity. The funds from Press Start will enable journalists to write about issues without the fear of being fired from their jobs. And their translated works will reach a larger audience. " As will the works of Belarusian Ruslan Gorbachev and Ukrainian Volodymyr Torbich.
Cognizant of the dangers to journalists who are often threatened, imprisoned or even killed, Regenstreif asserts, " If there is a greater perceived or real threat to a journalist's life, we are willing to protect them by running their story under a pseudonym."
Will Press Start succeed? Its impact may take months or years to measure, but investigative journalism needs tremendous support. Newsrooms across the world are under pressure and the 2015 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, does not paint a happy picture. The index records that two thirds of the countries in its 180 strong sample size recorded a decline in press freedom in 2014. Conflicts imploded this past year that directly impacted the media. Threats from non-state operatives, violent demonstrations, and the economic crisis restricted or even silenced the media. Used as either a propaganda machine, or starved for information, media's freedom has waned in all five continents. (From its #19 position in 2010, the U.S. has steadily gone down, and in 2015 was at #34). Journalists in new democracies or countries witnessing social churn are particularly vulnerable, and their stories need a larger global audience that may help to spur change.
Regenstreif is upbeat, "We have a collective responsibility to stand up to all that attempts to suppress the basic right to information and the enduring nature of the human spirit. Whether donors are in New York or Stockholm, Frankfurt or Tokyo, they can feel gratified that they are helping to inform others who may be in the dark and that in the process they are strengthening democracies."
Those interested in following the progress of Press Start can sign up for updates on its website, which will soon launch formally, at www.pressstart.org.
East Love Music Video Goes Viral
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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A band with deep roots in Scarsdale has recently released a new music video to support an animal charity that supports a better quality of life for dogs in shelters. The video is called "A Dog is a Band's Best Friend" and features the band, East Love performing a mash up of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud," accompanied by wonderful footage of dogs and their owners sharing a little love in Tompkins Square Park. The video was already featured on Elite Daily (a major online publication) and Good Morning America and 4 of the shelter 5 dogs shown have been adopted. It's already received over 16,000 hits on YouTube.
The video was made to highlight the efforts of Rock & Rawhide to improve the lives of dogs by providing them with toys, bones and blankets that the charity collects at musical gigs. To prepare, band members spent a morning with the dogs in the park.
Band members and SHS alumni Robbie Fink and Lukas Effman started playing music together in middle school and got their start at local nursing homes where they earned credit for community service. In high school, they were joined by classmate Alex Goldstein and the three wrote and recorded songs for their senior options project.
The band was then put on hold when they all attended different colleges, but when they were reunited in New York City after they graduated, they started to play together again.
When Luke's roommate and Scarsdale classmate Jonny Kessner passed away unexpectedly in 2013, the music helped the boys to heal. Kessner was a major inspiration for East Love, both when he was alive and after his tragic death. The band continued to compose, play at bars and then opened for a band called "The Heydaze" at The Studio at Webster Hall and at the Gramercy Theatre.
In July 2015, East Love sold out The Marlin Room at Webster Hall and have since played at Rockwood Music Hall. Their next big show will be at the Brooklyn Bowl on January 27th. Follow East Love here.
Scarsdale Doctor Named 2016-17 Health Policy Scholar
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Dr. Thomas Rechtschaffen of Scarsdale was selected as the AUA 2016-2017 Gallagher Health Policy Scholar. Dr. Rechtschaffen is a urologist with Advanced Urology Centers of New York (AUCNY) serving the Yonkers and Scarsdale communities.
At AUCNY, Dr. Rechtschaffen, who earned his BA in Biochemistry from Columbia University and his medical degree from NYU School of Medicine, treats all aspects of urology, but focuses on prostate-related disease, kidney stones, infertility and women's urological issues.
"Dr. Rechtschaffen's nomination is a testament to the efforts he has made over the last several years in participating in advocacy and volunteer activities" said Dr. Deepak Kapoor, President of Advanced Urology Centers of New York. "His appointment is an acknowledgement of the importance of independent urologists to the future of our country's health policy."
As a Gallagher Health Policy Scholar, which is highly competitive, Dr. Rechtschaffen will spend a full year engaged in critical seminars, conferences, national level meetings, receive mentoring from AUA physicians in senior roles and participate in a week-long health policy seminar for surgeons sponsored by the American College of Surgeons. Scholars also engage in other educational activities that ensure their immersion in and understanding of health policy issues of importance to urology. The award was created in honor of former AUA Executive Director G. James Gallagher.
Dr. Rechtschaffen lectures local physicians and community groups on ways to treat urological issues. He lives in Scarsdale with his wife and three children.
Sustainability Committee Proposes Food Scrap Recycling Pilot Program for Scarsdale
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Rather than throw out food scraps from meals, why not turn this valuable resource into nutrient-rich compost?
On Tuesday night December 8, the Scarsdale Forum Sustainability Committee met with the Mayor, Village Board of Trustees and Village Management to propose a food scrap recycling program for Scarsdale. The proposal calls for a pilot program where 100 houses would be able to separate out food scraps from their regular trash to be picked up. Food scraps would then be brought to a commercial composting facility where it would be turned into compost. Scarsdale would be the first municipality in Westchester to launch such a program.
As those with kids in the elementary schools know, Scarsdale has been composting for years. On average, food scraps account for 15% of residential garbage. Since food scraps are collected with the regular trash, they end up at an incinerator in Peekskill, NY. However as the Sustainability Committee stated: Food scraps are a resource that can be turned into nutrient rich compost. Compost is a part of soil. If you've ever bought a bag of potting soil or topsoil, you've bought compost.
The Committee proposed a 12-month pilot program of 100 resident volunteers. The program would be open to all residents and participation would be free. Each participants would receive a starter kit that would include a small countertop pail (see right) 
to collect food scraps each day, a supply of compostable liner bags (made from corn!) for the pail and a wheeled bin (see below) to store the bags of food scraps. Participants would bring this bin to the curb each week for collection. The Sustainability Committee was quick to point out that these bins are made specifically to handle food scraps and come with a locking mechanism to prevent any neighborhood wildlife from opening the bin.
For anyone interested in composting in your backyard, this program is intended to complement a backyard compost bin. Since backyard composting can only handle certain items such as fruit and vegetable scraps, leaves, grass clippings and the like (no meat, dairy, oils, processes food, etc.) this program would allow residents to compost other items. A municipal program that sends compost to a commercial facility can take all food scraps - including meat, dairy, bones, bread, rice and fish.
The cost of the pilot program has been estimated as approximately $45,000. The starter kit (countertop pail, curbside bin and package of liners) would account for approximately $3,500 of this cost. The balance comes from the cost of the weekly pickup, hauling the food scraps to a commercial composting facility and a tipping fee charged by the facility. Scarsdale would be the first community in Westchester to have a food scrap recycling program. However there are many successful programs in neighboring areas and throughout the country. The Sustainability Committee extensively studied other towns and cities to inform the structure of the proposed pilot program.
"After studying other communities we took their best practices and formulated our plan," said Ron Schulhof and Michelle Sterling, Forum Sustainability Committee members.
Food scrap recycling is already happening in four elementary schools, with the fifth to start in January. Westchester Reform Temple instituted a zero waste policy for their facility this year and already a number of events are being held without any waste (and with all food scraps going to a compost facility). There are also residents who compost on a small scale on their properties. Many of the parents of kids in the schools who are sending their food scraps to be composted have asked when is this coming to our homes?
This program will answer that need. The Sustainability Committee believes that once people start composting, it makes so much sense. It also feels good to not only minimize your trash but to take what was formerly thought of as trash and have it turned into useful compost.
If you are interested in participating in the pilot program, or want to voice support for it, email the Mayor at [email protected] to let him and the Village Board of Trustees know.
Micro Needling: Kardashian, Aniston & Pitt love it. And you can too.
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- Written by: Stacie M. Waldman
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I'm usually the one taking pictures of everyone else, but now my kids are old enough to grab my phone and snap photos of me. Scrolling through my iPhone picture gallery one day, I noticed lines, creases, dark spots, and unevenly textured skin on my face. All over my face! I'm barely 40 so how could this be? I was never one to burn in the sun, so I figured the years of being the tannest kid on the block were finally catching up with me. Was this the norm? Did I have to be okay with these wrinkles, splotches and brown spots?
Although not one to obsess over my age or looks, seeing pictures of myself beginning to actually look "aged" got me thinking about ways that I might halt or reverse some of these signs of aging. Being married to a doctor and having a master's degree in public health meant that I wasn't going to buy a Groupon or head to some random "med spa" to have a treatment. And although I do enjoy the temporary glow that a facial provides, it wasn't doing enough for my tired looking skin for an extended period of time. My frequent jaunts to Sephora result in spending hundreds of dollars on skincare products. I knew there had to be a better way to take care of my skin and halt or even reverse some of the signs of aging.
A friend recommended Pearlman Aesthetic Surgery, a Park Avenue practice headed up by Dr. Steven J. Pearlman. Dr. Pearlman, known to insiders as "Dr. P," is board certified in both head and neck surgery and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, which was the first selling point for me. Also past-president of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, I knew this guy was trustworthy. He carries his own line of carefully developed, medical-grade skincare products sold only through his office, customized for age, skin type, skin color, texture, and skin challenge. Dr. P seemed like the whole package!
After describing my skin concerns and being evaluated in the office by Donna Fay, one of Dr. P's beauty experts and a master aesthetician, she suggested a MicroPen procedure. The MicroPen is a device with 12 small micro needles that mechanically run over the surface of the skin. These hair-fine needles puncture the skin in a minimally invasive way to stimulate collagen production and rejuvenate the skin. It's like setting the re-set button for collagen induction.
So what are the benefits to micro needling? 
After as little as one session, (although three to five successive treatments are optimal,) I was told I could expect the following:
• Natural collagen stimulation
• Reduced brown spots and lessening of sun damage
• Reduced pore size
• Reduced lines and wrinkles
• Skin to appear younger, tighter, and more radiant
• Skin texture to even out
MicroPen also effectively reduces acne scarring (which I don't have) and skin discoloration.
I relaxed in the reclining medical chair as Ms. Fay cleansed my skin and applied a numbing cream to minimize the mild, sandpaper-like feeling of the MicroPen. The music in the exam room served as a distraction from the buzzing hum of this magical device as it poked hundreds of holes in my face, breathing new life into my skin with every micro-poke. Less than 10 minutes later, my body was working its own magic by producing new collagen. It really was that simple.
I was told to expect to look a bit red after the treatment but that the redness wouldn't last more than a couple of days. My redness progressively increased for a couple of hours afterwards but settled down by the evening and I was comfortable going about my normal business the next day. (Redness can last up to two days in some people.)
After my MicroPen session I read that skin-envy celebrities Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, and Kim Kardashian are regular MicroPen users. So are all the flawless-face women that work in Dr. P's office! Within a few days, I could see why. My skin looked brighter, tighter, and my brown spots were less apparent. My skin looked more "awake," and the skin texture had improved enormously. I simply looked brighter...younger. I can only imagine what successive treatments could do if my skin looked radiant after just one treatment. ("MicroPen treatment" is item number 1 on my Chanukah wish list!)
Dr. P was kind enough to give me samples of his skincare line to try and these have only enhanced the effects of the micro needling treatment. His expertly formulated, science based skincare is fortified with the most proven ingredients on the market. For example, Dr. P's products contain Vitamin C which helps with collagen production, improved skin elasticity, and protects the skin against harsh environmental factors. They contain hydroxy acids which improve the overall look and feel of the skin as well as green tea, a well-documented anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory that can help slow the skin aging process. A morning and night time routine is recommended, and although not a substitute for micro needling, it has added to my skin's fresh and healthy-looking glow. Even my mom has noticed how great my skin looks, and she is the skeptic of all skeptics when it comes to products and procedures.
A quick trip into Manhattan to Dr. P's office, just north of Grand Central Station and around the corner from Bloomie's is all it takes to experience this quick and easy route to more vibrant, healthier, brighter, and tighter skin. For me, it is worth the trip to the city to experience a true medical professional who understands and promotes the science behind perfect skin. As Ali Pearlman, wife to Dr. P and communications manager of the practice said, (with glowingly perfect skin,) "MicroPen is my healthy addiction." I can certainly see why.
Pearlman Aesthetics
521 Park Avenue NY, NY 10065
mdface.com
This article is sponsored content from Pearlman Aesthetics.
