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29 were arrested early Tuesday morning on various drug charges in Orange and Rockland Counties, and among those arrested, a former Spring Valley Police Officer and a Lieutenant with the Middletown Fire Department. The New York State Police operation “Bread, White and Blues” busted two separate drug conspiracies, one involving members of self-professed “outlaw” motorcycle clubs trafficking cocaine, and the other focused on selling fake oxycodone laced with fentanyl, a highly addictive and often lethal narcotic. 48 year-old Paul Smith of Deerpark was believed to be a member of both conspiracies and was charged as a Major Trafficker. He is with Middletown Fire Department and police agencies conducted a search at the fire station. Also arrested was 49 year-old John Beltempo of New Windsor, a former Spring Valley cop. He was also formerly with the Orange County Sheriff’s office and the Wallkill Police Department. He’s accused of selling cocaine. 34 year-old Marquis Gamble of Nyack was also charged as a Major Trafficker, and is accused of providing cocaine for others to sell. The six-month investigation also turned up more than $200,000, 25 handguns, an assault rifle, and more than 2.5 pounds of cocaine and 1300 Fentanyl pills.

Charlotte Russe fashion stores in Nanuet and Yorktown Heights are slated to close under a bankruptcy plan by the company, which announced Monday in a press release that 94 of its 500 locations will close. The Rockland Plaza location on Route 59 is one of them, though the store at Palisades Center was spared. The move comes as the town of Clarkstown Monday launched an initiative to figure out how to keep its shopping areas vibrant. Steve Porath is the head of the Rockland County Industrial Development Agency, and said economic development can be a tough road to go down…

Detailed plans for the clothing shop’s store-closings were not yet available.

The consultant hired by Ramapo to figure how to make the ball park turn a profit should be getting here sometime this month to see the stadium in-person. Town communications director Phil Tisi tells “The Morning Show” they must find a way to get more people to come to games and attend other events…

The stadium will host the CanAm League’s All-Star game this year. There have also been discussions about moving to a more competitive independent league.

February, as many of you know, is Black History Month. A bill recently passed in the Senate to rename a portion of Route 17 in Hillburn as the “Thurgood Marshall Highway.” Rockland State Senator David Carlucci says Marshall contributed to an exciting part of Rockland’s history…

11 years after the Hillburn case, Marshall went on to argue his most famous case, Brown versus the Board of Education, before the U.S. Supreme Court. He would become a member of that body in October 1967 and served until October 1991.

Several libraries in the town of Orangetown are considering forming a single consolidated Special District. That would need legislative action and a public vote. Vicki Caramante spoke on the libraries’ behalf at last month’s town board meeting, and said forming the special district would allow them to go right to the voters for budgets instead of being part of the town’s spending plan…

The public will get to comment on the plan at the next Tappan Library board meeting Monday night, February 25th at the Tappan Library.