Ernie Garcia, who’s been reporting on this week’s announcement of a federal probe into allegations of Yonkers police brutality, sends this note:

Most of the people who have complained about unprofessional conduct by the police live on the west side of Yonkers, mostly in the first and second districts. Yet on Wednesday when Mayor Phil Amicone announced that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will investigate the Yonkers police for systemic civil rights violations, only one west side council member showed up.

Councilwoman Patricia McDow, D-First District, stood near the mayor and police commissioner as they responded to reporters’ questions. Councilman John Murtagh, R-5th District, and Councilwoman Dee Barbato, R-6th District, also attended.

Councilwoman Sandy Annabi, D-2 District, did not appear, even though her district represents an area from which many complaints have emerged. Councilman Dennis Robertson, D-3rd District, was also absent, despite the probe’s relevance to his west side district.

Yesterday, McDow followed up by issuing a press release calling for applicants for the police department’s Citizen Review Board. That board’s standing among city officials, however, was illustrated at Wednesday’s press conference when neither the mayor nor the police commissioner mentioned it.

Senator John Warner’s announcement today that he would not seek re-election prompted Hillary Clinton to release a statement praising the Virginia Republican..

Clinton’s statement:

“I will miss serving with my friend and colleague, Senator John Warner. At a time when the tone in Washington is so often defined by partisanship and rancor, Senator Warner has always risen above the fray, focused on what he believed was the right course for our nation. I have been honored to serve alongside him in the Senate and on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Even when we disagreed on serious issues, I always valued his straightforward advice and the wisdom he’s garnered in a lifetime of public service, which began when enlisted in the Navy at the age of seventeen.
 
“Senator Warner served in World War II and Korea, rose to become Secretary of the Navy, and has brought his leadership and patriotism to bear on big challenges as a Senator from Virginia for nearly three decades. Throughout his tenure on the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he has formally served as Chairman, he has been a leading voice on issues of national security and a strong advocate on behalf of our brave men and women serving in uniform around the world.
 
“The decision to leave the Senate, an institution that he so clearly loves and respects, could not have been an easy one. I hope in his departure from this body, we can all take a page from Senator Warner and the honorable, principled, and faithful execution of his duties to the Senate and the nation.â€?
 

Sen. Chuck Schumer is praising President Bush today, as Erin Kelly of Gannett News Service writes in this dispatch from Washington:

Schumer praised Bush for “sounding more Democratic” by announcing steps to help homeowners facing a spike in foreclosures as the result of the escalating subprime mortgage crisis.

“Just when it looked like millions of homeowners would be left with nothing more than a Hail Mary pass to save their homes, the president has decided to call a few plays from the Democratic playbook,” Schumer said. “This is a good and promising first step, but we must do more.”

Bush pledged to modernize and improve the Federal Housing Administration, which provides mortgage insurance to borrowers. The president is asking Congress to pass legislation that would help more low-income homeowners and people with less-than-perfect credit qualify for the insurance protection.

He also said the FHA will soon launch a new program to help homeowners who have good credit histories but cannot afford increased payments as their adjustable rate mortgages escalate. The program would allow them to refinance their home loans into FHA-insured mortgages.

“It’s not the government’s job to bail out speculators, or those who made the decision to buy a home they knew they could never afford,” Bush said. “Yet there are many American homeowners who could get through this difficult time with a little flexibility from their lenders, or a little help from their government.”

Schumer, who has been a leader in the Senate on the issue, said the president’s proposals mirror provisions in Democratic bills pending before the Senate.

He said the White House and Congress also need to raise loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so they can finance bigger loans for families in high-priced regions such as the New York City area.

Hillary Clinton made her seventh appearance on “The Late Show” with David Letterman last night and even read her own Top 10 List.’

Number 3 on the list was: “We will finally have a president who doesn’t mind pulling over and asking for directions.�

Another funny moment came when Letterman asked if former President Bill Clinton could serve as her vice president and she acknowledged that he couldn’t.

“Believe me,� she joked, “he looked into that.�

Peggy Godfrey, the challenger for the Republican line in New Rochelle’s District 2 City Council race, now has an independent line to run on as well — if it can survive an objection filed by a resident.

Her new line, the Queen City Preservation Party, means that she’ll remain in the race even if she loses the Republican primary Sept. 18 to Albert Tarantino, the party committee’s choice.

Tarantino already has three minor party lines — Conservative, Independence and Working Families.

So no matter what, both would continue on to face Democrat Reggie Johnson in November. They’re all vying to represent the city’s waterfront area.

This is just one more ripple in the elections in Westchester’s second-largest city, where the mayor and six City Council seats come up for grabs simultaneously every four years.

An objection has been filed at the Westchester County Board of Elections opposing Godfrey’s new party. The Journal News has filed a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the form.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson will finally jump into the GOP presidential race as an official candidate next week, The New York Times is reporting.

The paper says Thompson will release an announcement on his Web site next Thursday, then go on a tour of early primary states.

Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will be all over TV in the coming days, according to a schedule sent out by her campaign to supporters.

It starts off with Hillary Clinton on David Letterman’s show tonight. According to the campaign, it’s her second appearance.

Then, next Tuesday, she’ll be the guest on the season premiere of the Ellen DeGeneres show.

The former President, for his part, will be on both Oprah Winfrey and Letterman on Sept. 4, and sit for an interview on CNN’s Larry King Live on September 5.

At the Daily Politics, Liz Benjamin reports on the joint press conference held this morning by Eliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton and the senator’s responses to questions about Normal Hsu.

Here’s what Clinton had to say when asked about her campaign’s decision to donate to charity the $23,000 that Hsu had given to her campaign but not the other contributions that he had bundled.

“We were all surprised by this news,” Clinton said. “We have a procedure we follow, and upon verifying it, we returned his money and we will continue to analyze all contributions and return them if that’s warrented. And I wish Mr. Hsu well in dealing with the problems…and I hope if you have any additional questions you’re free to check with my campaign about how we vet people.”

It’s still a year away, but the 2008 Republican National Convnetion launched their official website today.

“Our website, www.GOPConvention2008.com, will be more than a one-way communication tool that provides information to those traveling to the convention,” said Maria Cino, president of the Committee on Arrangements. “In the coming months, it will become a fully interactive community that encourages everyone to become involved in the Republican Party’s nomination of the next President of the United States.”

The convention will be held from Sept. 1-4, 2008, in Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

Credit Gov. Eliot Spitzer for getting some of the biggest political stars in the nation to team up with him in is battle against the Bush administration’s new SCHIP policy.

A day after he penned a letter with California Gov. Eliot Spitzer urging President Bush to abandon the new policy — which would likely derail efforts by New York and other states to expand their federally subsidized health care programs for children — Spitzer held a press conference in Manhattan this morning with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to do the same.

“We should not punish children and their families who need healthcare coverage, but that is exactly what the President is proposing,” Clinton said in a press release e-mailed by Spitzer’s office. “The President’s policy would undermine efforts to provide healthcare for uninsured children and New York will be especially hard hit if the President’s plan to scale back CHIP is not reversed.”

Clinton has been a longtime advocate of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The first press conference she held after announcing her plans to run for president in January was about renewing and expanding the program.

Today’s press conference follows one held yesterday by Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, who vowed to rally New York’s congressional delegation against the change. On Monday, Spitzer appeared with Rep. Charles Rangel, a Harlem Democrat, to denounce the change.