No Country For Sane Men

We're back. I needed the vacation from News That Matters in order to concentrate on the elections. I guess I should have been concentrating on figuring out how to get voters to *look* at whom they were voting for as opposed to blindly selecting the line. There are not enough words in our language to tell you how much party line voting injures our democracy.

I learned a great deal about myself that I never knew, some from people who don't know me and some from those who claim they do! For example;

• My campaign apparently benefited from bribes.
  
• I'm getting paid for my committee work with the town and I'm getting a salary from Arts on the Lake.
  
• A secret cadre of people ran the effort to save Mt. Nimham from being logged off and,
  
• I was never involved in Stop Patterson Crossing actions or had never worked at the recycling center or on the fire tower restoration project and had nothing to do with saving the Lake Carmel Jewish Center for use as a community center.
  

The hardest to swallow was when others took my past accomplishments and made them their own or someone else's or simply created a history of events in which I didn't even exist -- even when I was sitting in the same room with them. All of this, an alternate reality that exists only in the 9th dimension we know as politics.

With all that said, running for office was so much fun I'll have to do it again. And lastly, if all the people who wrote or called with their condolences this week had actually worked on the campaign the outcome might have been different. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, I'm only saying...

The DEC has also announced the release of a new website called the Nature Explorer. The website says:

"Nature Explorer currently contains information on birds, reptiles, amphibians, rare animals, rare plants, and significant natural communities.

The search results are not a definitive statement about the presence or absence of all plants and animals, including rare or state-listed species, or of all significant natural communities. The DEC and partners will continue to expand this information over time. "

And you can find it here.

This to That is a website which solves some problems. For example, what if you have a need (and craft time is coming!) to glue your metal cut-out Turkey to a styrofoam plate or a ninja sword to your vinyl Santa suit? What's the best adhesive to use? That's when This to That comes in handy. Check it out.

Onepoll.com recently completed a survey in which 5000 women were asked which accent they found most sexy. The winner, men with an Irish accent titillate the ladies more than any other. Also, three-fifths of the women polled admit to being seduced by someone based strictly on their accents. For the record, French dropped to 4th place and American came in 10th.

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The above shot was taken at DEP's East Fishkill facility that has an entrance on Dean Road a few hundred yards north of the county line. As a core, it and neighboring DEC and DEP properties stretch unbroken from Big Buck mountain to White Pond and west to Dean (Leetown) Road and then north to Route 52 and now encompasses the old Camp Alamar property as well. If you know where to look it's got a sweet little waterfall not far from the base of a beautiful poplar grove. Check it out this weekend.

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The Planning Board in Putnam Valley has issued a negative declaration on the expansion of a gas station at 157 Bryant Street. Read more here.

The Pentagon insists the United States is slated to create history by being the first to win a war with Afghanistan. In other news, Apollo moon landing shots faked, Sri Lanka develops nuclear arsenal, Jimmy Hoffa found pumping gas with Elvis in Hamilton, Ontario.

My neighbor has his Christmas decorations up.

You missed me, admit it.

Enjoy the weekend!

Tonight:

Patricia Bolgosano Photography

For the month of November, Lake Carmel resident Patricia Bolgosano's photographic images will be on display at the Kent Public Library during regular hours.

Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point

7PM A Lecture and Visual Journey by Alex S. MacLean On Friday, November 6th at 7:00 p.m., take a visual journey with author, pilot, and photographer Alex S. MacLean. Using dramatic aerial photographs, his book, OVER: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point, catalogs our culture's excessive use of energy and natural resources, highlighting the need for sustainable solutions. MacLean is the recipient of the American Academy of Roma Prix de Rome Award. His book of powerful photographs compels us to reconsider how we live, work, and play, and reveals that our future depends on our commitment to use our land and resources wisely.  For more information, call (845) 677-7600 x 121 or e-mail freemanp@caryinstitute.org. Books will be available for purchase by Merritt Bookstore.  Events are free and open to the public Location: Cary Institute auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rte. 44) in Millbrook, New York.

Open Mouth Night

8PM - There will be new poems by Alan Devenish, new songs by Emile Menasche and Robbie Rigo, new sketches by Bob Rogers and Lora Lee Ecobelli and the almost-premiere of Motion Sick, a short film by Purchase College film student, Director Samantha Marine.  Shot in Kent, the film will be introduced by Executive Director Robert Hauver.  All this for the family-friendly price of $7 ($6 members). Reservations now at: rsvp@artsonthelake.org.

Saturday:

5th Annual Sustainability Expo

9am-1pm - At The Garrison, Route 9, Garrison, NY. Sustainable Community Food Drive - Help your neighbors in need, bring a dry or canned good (rice, coffee, tea, pancake or cake mixes, etc.) to be distributed through the Philipstown Food Pantry. Winter Wear Recycle -Practice reuse in a really meaningful way, drop off your old warm coat or winter jacket to be donated to a child or adult in need of outerwear for the coming season  Featured Speaker: Michel Nischan: Chef/Author/Food Policy Advocate/Founder; Wholesome Wave on the importance of fresh, local food to a sustainable lifestyle. Green Product Exhibits and Sustainable Practices Information Displays. Visit www.hhlt.org or call 845-424-3358 for more information on this event.

Poetry Hike

10 AM - 2 miles at Poet's Walk in Red Hook Leader: Nancy Keenan-Rich 845-452-1727 We walk/hike the open meadows and woods of this Scenic Hudson park with views of the river. Poetry reading in the summer gazebo. Bring snack/beverage and a poem which fits the season if you like.  See www.scenichudson.org for more info and directions. Rain cancels.

Richie Havens: Katrina Relief Concert

7:30 PM - Trinity Episcopal Church, 7 So. Highland Ave., Ossining, NY benefiting RiverBuild's Katrina relief work.  Tickets $45/advance; $50/door.  Opening Performance by Mississippi musician Rochelle Harper.  Limited number of VIP tix available  www.riverbuild.org  Bill Cruse  (914) 432-3316.  www.RichieHavens.com

Sunday:

Free-a-Tree Vine-Cutting Kick off

9:30 AM - Invasive vines are killing the trees that protect the banks along the Saw Mill River.  These plant species were brought into our watershed where they have no natural predators. Oriental bittersweet and porcelainberry, the two most common invaders, crowd out native plants, steal their water, and slowly strangle trees, eventually creating canopies that block the sun from trees and under-story plants. This significantly diminishes the value of wildlife habitat, in terms of food sources and nesting areas, and has a negative impact upon the number of species that can use the river corridor.  The Saw Mill River Coalition and the New York State Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation have been working together since 2005 on the Free-A-Tree project, which organizes and supports volunteers in their efforts to remove the invasive vines, rescue native vegetation, restore the stream buffer, and preserve the area's biodiversity.   Garbage bags, gloves, and vine-cutting tools are provided as well as protective gear if needed, but bring your own vine-cutting tools and gloves if you've got them! Wear warm clothes, long sleeve shirts and sturdy shoes (no flip flops).  Children under age 16 require adult supervision. Community Service credits available for high school students.   For directions or for more information, contact Emily Eder, Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator at (914) 375-2151 or click here. Location:  Farragut Avenue Site, Meet in Parking Lot at Exit 13 (Farragut Avenue), off Saw Mill River Parkway (going North)

Changing Seasons:  A Family Friendly Nature Walk

Noon - On Sunday, November 8th at noon join Cary Institute educators for a late fall walk along paved trails that weave through lowland habitats.   Participants of all ages will look for birds, observe signs of the changing seasons, identify stream invertebrates, and make a bird feeder to take home. The trail is suitable for strollers and wheelchairs. Sturdy shoes are recommended. Be sure to bring your binoculars and camera!  To ensure that we have enough craft supplies, please RSVP to (845) 677-7600 x121 or freemanp@caryinstitute.org.  Events are free and open to the public. Location:  The walk will begin in our auditorium parking lot, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rte. 44) in Millbrook, N.Y.

Putnam Valley Arts Festival

2PM - Camp Combe - Peekskill Hollow Road. $8. adults.

Into the Future:

Monday, November 9

Lecture by Dr. Robert Glennon

6:30 PM - Author of "Unquenchable, America's Water Crisis and What to do About It" As part of the John Burroughs Science Lecture Series of SUNY Ulster, this lecture is sponsored by the Water Discovery Center, SUNY Ulster; Catskill Watershed Corp., Watershed Agricultural Council, with support from Rotary District 7210 International Water Projects.   Glennon€™s previous books include the highly-acclaimed Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America€™s Fresh Waters (2002).  Glennon is the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy in the Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.  The event is free but seating is limited.  RSVP to info@waterdiscoverycenter.org  or (845)254-3319 to guarantee a space.  Open seating will begin at 6pm.  For more information, see www.waterdiscoverycenter.org . Books will be available for purchase and signing.   Check out Prof. Glennon's website to see a clip from his appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart! www.rglennon.com Location:  Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge, SUNY Ulster (491 Cottekill Rd., Stone Ridge, 12484)

Saturday, November 14

Putnam Chorale

The Chorale will perform with guest soloists, and a professional orchestra all under the direction of Douglas Anderson. This season’s main performances are scheduled for: Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 8pm at the First United Methodist Church located on Main Street in Brewster, NY. The performace will include: HAYDN: Lord Nelson Mass (Mass in D), BEETHOVEN: Choral Fantasy, with piano soloist LAURENCE WILSON, MOZART: Ave Verum Corpus and HANDEL: Zadok, the Priest.

Good Monday Morning,

"Why," someone asked the Congressman, "do you pay less for health insurance than I do?" "Because," he answered," I'm in a pool with 3,000,000 employees and our purchasing power drives the cost down." Then the gentleman went on to say he was still  against the government involving itself with health insurance and that he feared for the nation. Huh.

I don't get it. I do not understand the logic behind those who stand against significant reform of our profit-driven health care system by adding a non-profit sector to it with the power to bring millions into the pool thus lowering health care costs for everyone. It's clear some of these folks have been duped by the private insurers and their allies in Congress but please, step back for a minute and THINK! If you're defending capitalism, what's more capitalist than competition? And, if the government drives private insurance companies out of business by offering better service at a lower price, ain't that the way the game is played? (And don't give me this stuff about "even playing fields" as that's anti-capitalist. It's sink or swim that would make Adam Smith proud.) What's wrong with keeping those profits ourselves and, rather than paying billions in advertising and bonuses and dividends, that money went directly back into health care?

If you happen to be in Carmel this afternoon at around 1PM, Lori Kemp goes to court again to defend herself in a charge against her of, well, it's hard to say. One of the guys doing blasting on her property line was on her side of the line and all hell broke loose and now - believe it or not - she's been charged with a crime for defending what is hers. Of course, had the Town and county been progressive about these things we'd not be here now but seeing as they're owned hook, line and sinker by out-of-town developers she hasn't a chance in the world. Now the question is: can she get a fair trial? Check it out this afternoon and see.

Net Neutrality: We've talked about this before. This is where the telecoms cannot  create different levels of charges for use of the 'net depending on how you use it and where you go. Your kid, upstairs downloading illegal music is using tons of bandwidth so you say, "sure, he should pay more", and all is fine until you download that Tom Waits album from Amazon and get hit with the same bandwidth charges.

Your aunt Ida loves to browse people's vacation pictures on Flickr and when her 'net bill comes she's shocked at the costs but you, you like doing the same but at Picasa and there's no such charge for you. Why? Because Verizon (or whomever your 'net host is) has an agreement with Picasa and not with Flickr.

Do you have a popular website that sells your business or pushes your hobby to other enthusiasts? Wait until you get the bill from your ISP for all those people who visited! And that friend of yours, the one who keeps sending you those 2 megabyte treacly sweet pictures of puppies dressed as Hollywood actresses.... it's going to get expensive every time one shows up in your inbox.

Imagine Verizon (or Comcast or whatever they're called now) monitoring every mouse-click and metering every bit and byte that comes either from your machine or enters it and charges you depending on where you're going and what you're doing there. And imagine the confusion if you paid more for visiting this website as opposed to that one?

Net Neutrality is designed to prevent any of that from happening by continuing to treat the ''net as a single - level field - as it should be.

Here are the current FCC guidelines:

• "Consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice."
• "Consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement."
• "Consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network."
• "Consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers."
  

Here are the two new "principals" they announced the other day:

• Nondiscrimination

This sort of overlaps with the existing rules, in that it forbids providers from "favoring or disfavoring lawful content, applications, or services accessed by their subscribers, subject to reasonable network management."

• Transparency

Providers must disclose to customers their network management policies before the customer signs up for service. Providers must also disclose their network management policies to content, application, and service providers, as well as to the FCC.

Not surprisingly, the telecommunications industry is going insane trying to squeeze a few more dollars out of you even if it means the ruination of the 'net as we know it. Virtual monopolies don't care.

Senator John McCain, a recipient of almost $900,000 in donations from the telecoms, has become their national spokesman. The Obama adminstration, contrary to the assertion that it's full of fascists kicking dogs and kidnapping school girls, is doing its best to enforce the fairness and openness that made the internet the democratic institution it is today. Write to Congressman Hall and tell him you support Net Neutrality.

And lastly, if you head outside this evening take a look at the moon. That bright star right next to it in conjunction is Jupiter and both make a fine target for amateurs with binoculars or telescopes. Early in the mornings Mercury is up in the eastern sky, alone in the growing glare of the sun.

News That Matters is taking a break until after the election. I'm wiped out. Working, putting the three hours each issue into this and trying to get elected to the Town Board... Yikes! Something has to give. I have to eat and I have to pay the landlord so he can pay the taxes and I have to get elected. And though News That Matters and its past incarnations (10 years running!) is my passion it's going to have to wait a week or so. There will be something next Monday but there will be no issue this Wednesday nor on Friday so you'll have to keep yourselves entertained this weekend. Get out and take a hike. See the new Coen brother's movie. Volunteer to canvass with my campaign. Just do something!

However, up in Pawling, the West Point Woodwind Quintet of the USMA Band will perform on Sunday at 3 pm at the Holy Trinity Church, 22 Coulter Ave, Pawling, NY. Be there! And tell the Peters' I sent you.

And now, The News:

1. Putnam man killed in Greene County crash
2. Columbia County explores government energy savings
3. Water Bottle Deposit To Start Oct. 31
4. Food Advocates Envision Rooftop Gardens and Vertical Farms
5. Growing season
6. Miami takes "giant step" toward being pedestrian-oriented city
7. 2 Days, 3 Nights, on a Path Named for a Devil

Putnam man killed in Greene County crash

At about 4:15 a.m., Powell was driving southbound on Greene County Route 16, Platte Clove Road, when the car ran off the road and struck a utility pole.

Powell and a second passenger, Edmond Peyroux, 32, of Tannersville, were transported to Albany Medical Center and admitted with internal injuries.

Read More

Columbia County explores government energy savings

The several month long examination has been completed by the engineering form of Wendell Energy services.

The study looked at nine county buildings – Pine Haven Nursing Home, 560 Warren Street, County Treasurer’s Office, the County Courthouse at 401 Union Street, 401 State Street, 325 Columbia Street, the Public Safety Building, Commerce Park waste water treatment plant, and 23B Highway Garage.

Read More

Water Bottle Deposit To Start Oct. 31

U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts lifted an injunction late Friday that had held up the state’s attempt to start the so-called Bigger, Better Bottle Bill, which will allow for the state’s deposit law to be extended to bottles of water.

Environmental groups hailed the judge’s decision, saying it will provide incentives for people to return empty bottles of water.

“Adding a deposit on water bottles will result in higher recycling rates and noticeably cleaner communities,” said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate with the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Read More

Food Advocates Envision Rooftop Gardens and Vertical Farms

New Yorkers flock to one of the city’s Greenmarkets or upscale grocery stores when they want to buy ripe heirloom tomatoes or crisp heads of lettuce. But for proponents of urban farming, local food from upstate or even just miles into New Jersey is too far. (City dwellers can relate.)

Urban farming may seem improbable in a metropolis where real estate is at a premium and green space is virtually nonexistent outside Central Park. But as Americans grow increasingly interested in where their food comes from and how it is grown in this Michael Pollan-inflected era, small plots of farms dotting New York’s rooftops could be the new wave of agriculture, according to urban planning experts and farmers.

“People care deeply about being green,” said Jennifer Nelkin, a greenhouse director and one of the founders of a small company called Gotham Greens. “Whether it’s the food, environment, renewable energy or any other issue, people want to do something to help out.”

Read More

Growing season

By Mara Lee
Sunday, October 25, 2009

On a sunny morning in July, Alicia Jabbar's tank top is wet with sweat along her spine from the nape of her neck to the small of her back. She climbs onto the horizontal ledges at the bottom of a metal stake next to an ankle-high tomato plant. Jabbar, who's wearing two ponytails under a baseball cap, has to use all of her body weight to push the stake into the earth. When she's done with a row, she stands on tiptoes in her running shoes to drop a metal cylinder with two handles on the top of each stake.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. The noise echoes off the trees.

"Twelve more rows," she says.

"What time is it?" her friend Jessica Stanley calls. She's busy looping string from a box at her waist around the stakes to support the tomato plants.

"Ten-thirty, and we're halfway done," Jabbar, 26, replies. They've been working since 7 a.m. and staking for the past two hours. "Sore back?"

Stanley says with a sigh: "There's no way to avoid it. I try to move my hands in a different way -- doesn't matter. Well, I guess I'll pound with you."

Stanley, 26, who's working in a camisole tank top, lives in an uninsulated barn on the farm and spends more than 50 hours a week weeding, mulching, harvesting and selling at farmers markets.

Just a year ago, she was making $110,000 a year at Cisco Systems in Herndon, often telecommuting from the two-bedroom condo she owns in Georgetown. Now, she makes $7 an hour. She and Jabbar, along with Jabbar's fiance, Steve Hirschhorn, work for Chip and Susan Planck on Wheatland Vegetable Farms in Loudoun County.

Read More

Miami takes "giant step" toward being pedestrian-oriented city

After a 4-1 vote by city commissioners, the city will no longer have the conventional zoning code that helped make much of the city chiefly navigable by car and created harsh juxtapositions between new high-rises and existing fabric such as bungalows and small storefront buildings. Replacing it city-wide is a new urbanist form-based code — based on the Smartcode model code template — that calls for convenient, walkable neighborhoods and gentler transitions between high-intensity and lower-scaled development. The new code known as Miami 21 "promises a healthier city and friendlier walking corridors," reported the Miami Herald in its coverage of the vote. The new code will take effect 120 days after passage.

The vote was a major victory for Miami's visionary Mayor Manny Diaz, who said the results of the new code will one day invite Miami to be considered alongside cities such as Chicago, New York, and even Paris that are famed for world-class urban neighborhoods. "I'm going to tell you that history will judge us right,'' he said.

Read More

2 Days, 3 Nights, on a Path Named for a Devil

NIGHTFALL came after the rain had stopped, and in the wet woods columns of fog twisted around dripping trees. It was 10 p.m. on a summer Friday, the forest moonless and still at the trailhead to the Devil’s Path.

An opening in the woods off the parking lot looked like a dark door. Beyond, a small trail edged into the night, its route unseen. The Devil’s Path, an east-to-west voyage along the spine of the Catskills, is often cited as the toughest hiking trail in the East. In 25 miles it ascends six major peaks, plunging into deep valleys between climbs.

“From end to end the Devil’s Path is one of the more challenging trails around,” said Josh Howard, a director at the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, which publishes detailed maps of area trails, including the Devil’s Path.

Backpackers hoping to complete the route face a total climb and descent of more than 14,000 feet. Steep ascents include cliff bands and traverse terrain that is vertical enough at times to be confused with a mountain climb.

“It’s straight up and straight down, and then you do it over again,” said Mr. Howard, 33, who once hiked the entire trail in a one-day feat of endurance.

Read More

Soupy Sales has died at 83.

By now pretty much anyone with a light-colored house has already had the vacuum out sucking up lady bugs.  It's an annual event where those little guys are doing nothing more than looking for a warm, snug place to spend the winter. I really don't mind all that much but it's when they get in my food that things go bad. Their natural protection is a stink that not only smells bad but tastes even worse and just one in a glass of water will ruin the taste - and man, you know it!

Heteronyms: These are those troublesome words that mean one thing when pronounced one way but something else when pronounced the other. Think "digest". It's either a collection of published materials, i.e., Reader's Digest, or it's what goes on in our stomachs after we eat. Try, "minute". Is that tiny or 60 seconds? One more: "sewer". That's either what your mom is when she's darning your socks or where your poop goes if you live in the city.

But wait! Let's make it even more complex... what if we change capitalization on a word? Then we get Polish, someone from Poland, or polish, what you do to your shoes just before heading out to work. That should help you all perfect the perfect sentence.

Note: If you want your event posted here, please don't send a PDF or a JPG file. It's truly difficult to transcribe what could be sent out as a simple text message. While those posters may look nice, they take up bandwidth and clog up some people's email boxes. So, if your stuff ain't here, that may be the reason! Oh, and while we're at it, if your event is in February and you send it to me now, odds are it's going to get lost in the fray. But do try to get it over my way about a week or so in advance.

Tonight

The City, the Country, and the Changing Environment

7 PM - What do the city of Poughkeepsie and a family farm in Claverack have in common? How do their histories reveal both the power of place and the dynamic exchange between the city and the country? Professor Emeritus of Vassar, Dr. Harvey Flad, and award-winning author Leila Philip, will discuss their recently published books: Main Street to Mainframes: Landscape and Social Change in Poughkeepsie, and A Family Place: A Hudson Valley Farm, Three Centuries, Five Wars, One Family.

The lecture will document both the history of Poughkeepsie and the story of one of the oldest surviving family-owned farms in the Hudson Valley. A Q&A session will engage the audience in dialogue about how lessons from the past can help shape a strong future for the Hudson Valley. This event will meet in our auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Route 44) in Millbrook, New York. Merritt Bookstore will be offering books for sale.

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

8 PM - Confronting illusions about oneself is never easy but ultimately cathartic when done in the company of those that know and love us best. In Ed Gracyzk’s deeply affecting memory play, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, past collides with present as members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club come together for their 20th reunion. Presented by the Brewster Theater Company, show dates are October 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, 120 Federal Road, Brewster, NY.

Saturday

Great Swamp Art Show and Celebration

11AM - Join Friends of the Great Swamp for their annual Art Show and Celebration at the Christ Church in Pawling, up on Quaker Hill. It's free and open to the public and a great deal of fun. Trust me on that.

Lake Carmel Cleanup Day

9 AM - 12 Noon - The park district has lowered the lake for the winter so now is a good time to get out there and clean up all the crap that's fallen in there. Volunteers will meet at Beach 3.

Liberia and the American Colonization Society

1 PM - Lecture in cooperation with Southeast Museum – “Liberia and the American Colonization Society “ by Mr. Ron Soodalter (free) Sponsored by the Putnam Arts Council.

Kent Candidates Forum

3PM - At the Sedgewood Club. This event - open to the public - is to meet and greet the candidates running for various offices around Kent. Feel free to drop in at the boathouse. It's casual.

Who Does She Think She Is

7PM - Tilly Foster Farm. Sponsored by the Putnam Arts Council. Who Does She Think She Is? is a feature-length documentary that explores the lives of five women artists who are also mothers. In the film, each of the women sustains the competing claims on her heart despite financial hardship, institutional disinterest, and lack of support. Historically, women have not been able to mother and make art--neither pay. So how do these women do it? And why should it matter to us? Who Does She Think She Is? tells the story of ordinary women who pursue their calling--at a price--but for whom art has the power to transform their lives, and perhaps ours, into a deeper experience of living. The film was produced by Mystic Artists in collaboration with the Wellesley Centers for Women.

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

8 PM - Confronting illusions about oneself is never easy but ultimately cathartic when done in the company of those that know and love us best. In Ed Gracyzk’s deeply affecting memory play, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, past collides with present as members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club come together for their 20th reunion. Presented by the Brewster Theater Company, show dates are October 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, 120 Federal Road, Brewster, NY.

Sunday

Great Swamp Art Show and Celebration

Noon - Join Friends of the Great Swamp for their annual Art Show and Celebration at the Christ Church in Pawling, up on Quaker Hill. It's free and open to the public and a great deal of fun. Trust me on that.

Artist's Walk and Talk

The Cary Institute will be displaying landscape artist Rebecca Allan's current exhibition, Tributary, through January 17th, 2010. Encompassing large canvases as well as works on paper, the paintings represent wetland habitats, including the Wappinger Creek—a tributary of the Hudson River that runs through the Cary Institute’s campus. Viewing hours are Monday through Friday (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m) in our auditorium lobby. Artwork in the exhibition is available for purchase; a percentage of the proceeds will help support the Cary Institute.

Interested in meeting the artist? On Sunday, October 25th Allan will present an artist’s talk followed by a short walk to the Fern Glen, a site of inspiration for one of the central paintings in the exhibition. To RSVP for this special event, please contact Pamela Freeman at (845) 677-7600 x121 or e-mail freemanp@caryinstitute.org.

Into the Future:

Wednesday, October 28

Kent Candidates Forum

7 PM - Join the Lake Carmel Park District at the community center for their annual Candidate's Forum. 10 Huguenot Road. There will be opportunity to meet & greet the candidates. All residents are welcome.

A Special Evening of Science and Music

Hudson Valley Science Café
Topic:  "Song culture and song learning in songbirds"
Presenter: Ofer Tchernichovski, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology, City University of New York
PLUS:  Music and comments by David Rothenberg and Timothy Hill.

David Rothenberg is professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and author of Why Birds Sing (Basic Books, 2005).  He was the editor of the MIT Press journal Terra Nova: Nature and Culture. David Rothenberg is also a composer and jazz clarinetist, and he has six CDs out under his own name, one of which was named one of the top ten releases of 1995 by Jazziz magazine. 

Timothy Hill is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, in jazz, folk, and world music. He has produced three CDs of his music and appears on eight recordings by David Hykes and The Harmonic Choir, and as a guest vocalist on other recordings. Hill performs his music frequently, and has appeared at Sin-e, Fez, Mercury Lounge, The Living Room, and Joe's Pub, alongside artists such as Jeff Buckley, Susan McKeown, Martha Wainwright, and Teddy Thompson.

Hudson Valley Science Café usually meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month, except where noted.  Website: http://www.cafescientifique.org/hudsonvalley.htm Meeting site: Diana's, 1015 Little Britain Road (Route 207), New Windsor (just east of Stewart Newburgh Airport, on the opposite side of the road from the airport entrance). See  http://www.DIANASNY.com for menus and map. $3.00 admission fee includes coffee or tea. If you arrive at 6 PM, you can order from the Early Bird menu. No orders are taken during the Presentation (7:00-7:30).

Local politics are certainly heating up! Over the past few days large billboards have sprung up all over the Town of Kent asking, no, telling voters to vote no on a ballot proposition that would extend the term of our Supervisor from two years to four years. On the billboards is a website address that brings folks to what amounts to a duplicate of the billboards with no other information provided. The first one I saw was on Lloyd Shulman's property along Route 52 but they're pretty pervasive now.

As has become sadly typical in these things, the web domain has no name associated with it and hence I can give no credence to whomever is behind the campaign. Come on folks, that's just chickensh*t. If you're going to take a position on a political issue at least have the nerve to put your name on it!

And one more thing, if you post to the blog please don't use ALL CAPS. IT'S ANNOYING and believe it or not, articles titled in ALL CAPS are LESS READ than those using proper capitalization. People just assume you've little to say and are trying to draw attention. Thanks.

The Sheriff's candidates went at it again last night at the Carmel/Kent Chamber's candidate's forum at McCarthy's in Kent. They came late, well after the rest of us had given our presentations and were getting ready to leave. In the end I think the best way to go is to have them duel with blunderbusses at ten paces. If they kill each other then *I* get to be Sheriff. Now, wouldn't that be something?

Anyway, that's it for this morning. Yeah, short and sweet.

And now, The News:

1. On The Constitutionality of Campaign Sign Laws
2. Farms to receive federal solar energy systems installation grants
3. Regional solar development effort gains more federal funding
4. Paterson Raids Clean Energy Funds to Fill Budget Gap
5. PTSD diagnosis reform pushed by Hall
6. Northwestern 'Innocence Project' students slapped with subpoena
7. A particle God doesn’t want us to discover

On The Constitutionality of Campaign Sign Laws

Dear Mr. Folchetti,

We have learned that the Town of Carmel’s ordinance includes a provision that imposes certain limitations on the posting of political signs on residential property.  This ordinance sets a time restriction on allowing the posting of signs 15 days prior to an event and removal 6 days after. I refer to Chapter 156 of the Town Code of the Town of Carmel, Section 156-41A (5)(c)[1]

The Town’s ordinance violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, §11 of the New York State Constitution, the New York State counterpart to the First Amendment. A political yard sign is a classic example of the core political speech that is at the heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to free expression. 

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Farms to receive federal solar energy systems installation grants

The funds were announced by Congressman Maurice Hinchey while at a media event at Sunshine Orchards in Milton on Monday.

“New York is clearly establishing itself as a leader when it comes to solar energy research and development and this funding demonstrates how those solar products are being put to practical use,” said Hinchey.

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Regional solar development effort gains more federal funding

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who spearheaded the solar energy efforts in the region, announced that at a Hudson Valley Solar Energy Summit held in Kingston.

The new money now brings to close to $30 million, the amount he has secured for The Solar Energy Consortium.

According to Hinchey the efforts of TSEC have already brought in around 200 jobs and there is a high likelihood that number will increase significantly over the next few years.

“You need money to bring in corporations and you need money to stimulate and develop new technology,” said Hinchey. “The money is being used to generate new technology, new ideas, new economic stimulation, and most importantly new jobs for the people here.”

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Paterson Raids Clean Energy Funds to Fill Budget Gap

Environmental and energy groups called on the Governor to back off his misguided plan to send RGGI monies into the black hole that is the State’s general fund. Click here to read the groups’ statement. Doing so sets a dangerous precedent for the nation’s first-ever plan to reduce global warming.

While this one-time contribution may help balance New York State’s budget in the short run, it pales in comparison to the long-term job creation and investment benefits, as well as reductions in climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions, the monies would have achieved.

Years of research related to the development of the RGGI showed that the program’s success hinges on the wise use of revenue generated by allowance auctions. The Governor’s proposal jeopardizes the success of this critical program and serves as a bad example to other cash-strapped states.

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PTSD diagnosis reform pushed by Hall

Congressman John Hall hosted a series of roundtable discussions with Hudson Valley veterans on Monday, one in Wappingers Falls, to hear opinions about a rule change proposed by the Department of Veterans Affairs that would make it easier for veterans suffering from PTSD to receive their benefits.

Hall will then take the input of Hudson Valley veterans to the VA while comments are still being considered pending the release of a final regulation.

It was Hall’s COMBAT Act H.R. 952 that first called for reform to the current rules and ultimately inspired the VA to draft a proposal of new regulations.

If a serviceman or woman comes back from Iraq or Afghanistan and is diagnosed with PTSD, currently, the law requires that they prove a connection to a specific battle or an attack or a medal or some incident,” said Hall.

“If you served in the uniform in a war zone and you come back and have that diagnosed from a psychiatrist or psychologist, you have nothing more to prove,” he said.

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Northwestern 'Innocence Project' students slapped with subpoena

A judge will consider the evidence uncovered by students at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism during an upcoming hearing to decide whether Anthony McKinney, who has been incarcerated for 31 years after being convicted of murder, should receive a new trial.

The university turned over the recordings of witness interviews, but is fighting the request for materials relating to the class itself. Professors involved with the project and press advocates told the Tribune the subpoena was an attempt to discredit the project, which has helped free 11 wrongfully convicted defendants since its inception in 1999.

The prosecutors in the case have asserted that the Medill students and their professor are not journalists and that their work is therefore not protected by an Illinois law that protects journalists from subpoenas.

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A particle God doesn’t want us to discover

By Jonathan Leake

Explosions, scientists arrested for alleged terrorism, mysterious breakdowns — recently Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has begun to look like the world’s most ill-fated experiment.

Is it really nothing more than bad luck or is there something weirder at work? Such speculation generally belongs to the lunatic fringe, but serious scientists have begun to suggest that the frequency of Cern’s accidents and problems is far more than a coincidence.

The LHC, they suggest, may be sabotaging itself from the future — twisting time to generate a series of scientific setbacks that will prevent the machine fulfilling its destiny.

At first sight, this theory fits comfortably into the crackpot tradition linking the start-up of the LHC with terrible disasters. The best known is that the £3 billion particle accelerator might trigger a black hole capable of swallowing the Earth when it gets going. Scientists enjoy laughing at this one.

This time, however, their ridicule has been rather muted — because the time travel idea has come from two distinguished physicists who have backed it with rigorous mathematics.

Read More

A not-so-funny thing happened on my way to a town board meeting last night.

Michele Renee asked me to stop in at a candlelight vigil for the victims of Domestic Violence hosted by the Putnam/Westchester Women's Resource Center.

I joined County DA Adam Levy, Carmel council candidate Greg Ellner, Sheriff Don Smith, Senator Vincent Leibell and 50 other citizens on the steps of the County courthouse where the event began. Traffic slowed while the Sheriff led those in attendance in a prayer. A young man played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes then led us slowly up Route 52 and down Fair Street, candles a-glow, where we gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

Knowing I was now late for the Town Board meeting I had planned to attend, I kept my eyes on the clock ready to head out as soon as there was a break in the presentations that would allow me to escape politely. But once Sarah, a DV survivor, began to speak there was no leaving.

Sarah told the crowd about her experience trying to live her life with an abusive spouse and the Kafkaesque existence that followed: being shuttled with her young child and dogs from this house to that, her run-in with Child Protective Services, her endless filing of police reports, her tenuous relationship with her employer as she left work for court,  constantly running to court, how her orders of protection were rarely enforced as neighbors and friends called her - rather than the police - to alert her to her partner's whereabouts. The audience sat riveted to their seats listening to this genuine nightmare-tale.

Following Sarah's story was a presentation of two stories from the recently performed "Rug Room Monologues" put on by the Carmel High School drama group two weekends ago that featured a story from a young woman about physical and verbal abuse and another about trying to hold a life together through it all. The monologues were moving and the audience sat silently listening to words we hoped we would never have to hear especially voiced by those so young.

Then came the reading of names of those who have been killed through acts of domestic violence.

Look, DV is one of those 'silent crimes' we only hear about when something over-the-top happens like a murder or a beating that requires hospitalization or we end up with a dead child. But there's more to it than that and  it's more insidious - and more common - than you might think. I'm willing to bet we all know someone who has been victimized but has never reported nor done anything about it.

It's not just about physical violence: The woman who controls her husband by constantly telling him he's not as good as other men, doesn't earn enough to maintain her desired lifestyle, that she'd leave him and take everything if they didn't have children. The man who incessantly belittles his son for not being good enough in sports or for his sexual orientation. These things hurt people. It stunts their personal growth and destroys their self-worth and in the end we all end up paying the price.

It's not just the poor. It's everyone across the entire demographic spectrum of earnings, race, religion and age. Elder abuse is a serious - and growing - problem in the United States as the stress of taking care of an elderly parent or relation becomes more common. A Scarsdale lawyer is just as apt as is a laborer from Lake Peekskill.

It's not just women who are being abused. Men are just as susceptible to abuse from their female or male partners. We don't hardly ever hear about it because our culture does not allow men to be victimized by women but it happens more than you think and it's just as insidious, just as dangerous and just as bad.

It's not just married couples. It's families: the bully sibling. The controlling mother or father or in-law. It's dating couples and co-habitating couples of any age. And by extension, it's any inter-personal relationship; Your friends are just as apt to use physical or emotional coercion as are members of your family.

But if its violence you want: A woman is more likely to be killed by someone she knows than a man is killed by a stranger. About one-in-three women are abused by a boyfriend or spouse. While alcohol or drug abuse may seem the obvious cause of abuse, there are no numbers to correlate that: Abuse happens whether altered or not.

One in ten teens report being verbally abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend to an extreme, four in ten, physically.

In 2008, Domestic Violence hot lines in New York fielded over 18,000 calls. These are the people who called for help. We don't know how many never call but the numbers suggest it's significantly more. And the state's domestic violence prevention website handled almost 700,000 requests for information last year alone.

As the economic downturn affects us more and more each day and the stress of just paying the bills becomes more acute, we know that cases of DV are going to increase. Keep your eyes open. The charming man or woman your son or daughter is with *is capable* of acts of DV regardless of their outward appearance. If you feel at all threatened by someone you are with, take a step back and think: are they trying to control me through emotional means? Is your rough-play mutual and well intentioned or is it an outlet for anger and frustration or control?

If you've been victimized the bravest thing you can do is seek help, clarification or information. No one needs to be treated this way, you most of all.

This coming Friday evening, October 23, the Women's Resource Center is holding it's annual fundraiser, "Singing For Our Lives" at the Town Crier Cafe in Pawling. Tickets are $35, $40 at the door. More information can be found here. (PDF)

JmG

Good Monday Morning,

Now that we've all had a taste of winter perhaps it's time to take sealing up and sprucing up your home a little more seriously. As well, it's firewood time and before the price skyrockets come November, perchance it's best to put your order in now. Supporting our sponsors is a good thing for you - and them.

If you think Domestic Violence is only about physical abuse and that the many signs of abusive relationships are known...think again. There's a candlelight vigil at the County Courthouse this evening at 7PM to raise awareness.

This event will offer resources and remember victims who have died due to DV. Be a Part of the Solution to Educate others, Be inspired by survivors, and help Stop the cycle of Abuse. Prevention is knowledge and you will be impacted by what you see, and what you hear. Be there. Contact Michele Renee for more information. Or, if you're on Facebook, look here.

The Sheriff's department is investigating the Carmel Assessors office - but probably for the wrong reasons.

Dead bodies are turning up in Carmel. Nothing to do with the Assessor's office though.

A Sonic Burger has opened in Wappingers Falls. A throwback to a time when pretty girls (carhops) came out to your car to take and deliver your order. Burgers. Chicken. Corn Dogs. breakfast all day. A heart attack delivered right to your driver's side window!

I can remember not all that long ago when communities and schools across the nation were banning Halloween celebrations because of their alleged link to satanic rituals and observances. Now it's the second largest holiday (if measured by store sales) behind Christmas. What happened?

California would like it's residents to remember murdered San Francisco councilman Harvey Milk come May 22. Randy Thomasson, who runs a 'pro-family' group called Save California said, "Fathers and mothers are angry about Harvey Milk Day pushing this extreme, perverse role model upon their kids," and is urging parents to boycott schools on that day in order to save them, apparently, from hellfire and damnation.

A guy out in Colorado reported that his son had been taken away by a balloon and the nation paid attention. Every news network covered the story and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of police time were spent in an attempt to rescue the boy. In the end it turned out the story was a hoax and now the guy faces serious criminal charges. Okay, he was clearly wrong. But I'm wondering if the national outrage wasn't more of a case of "we got caught believing such crap and now we're embarrassed" as much as it was anything else?

Several times a week I'll get an email from someone claiming this or that or something else incredible:

• Microsoft will send you $25 if you visit this website.
  
• Little Stacey is dying of cancer and wants a postcard from you and you should send the request to everyone you know so she can die a happy child.
  
• President Obama will tell your 82 year old Aunt Sadie that she can't have that cancer treatment which will add 10 years to her life in order to provide health care to illegal aliens.
  

It's endless.

I just received a phone call telling me to be very careful, because the person knows that I travel alone.  Signs are being posted at WalMart and other stores warning women to be very careful when entering or exited their cars because the gang "Bloods" for their initiation are ordering new members to kill at least 34 women before the end of Halloween.

I don't know how true this is, but please be careful, you never know, and Halloween is the time when a lot of things happen.

People believe what they want to believe regardless of the facts. And no matter how many times I set the record straight the same people will send yet another national hoax.

• Bank of America is releasing your peronsal information to Wal*Mart.
  
• A three-year-old was kidnapped by a guy in a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse.
  
• McDonalds makes it a policy to 'forget' items from drive-thru orders.
• There is a law that requires college cafeterias to include laxitives in served food.
  

Stop that! If someone sends you something - anything - that sounds too good to be true or too horrific to be sane, check the facts before you flood the 'net with your forwards. A good first place to look is at snopes.com.

Cartoonist and film maker Emily Breer lives in Garrison and updates her website twice weekly. Here's one of her creations below and a click on it will bring you to her website, http://emilybreer.net/

And now, The News:

1. A Resident Outraged
2. New state park named for Scenic Hudson leader Franny Reese
3. Shale and Our Water
4. The Secret New York Minute: Every Train Leaves a Bit Late
5. Maldives Cabinet Meets Below Waves to Highlight Climate Change Threat
6. Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans Than Illegal Drugs
7. Strong Meteor Shower Peaks Wednesday Morning
8. For SAD Sufferers, Cognitive Behavior Better Than Light Therapy At Preventing Recurrence, Study Suggests

A Resident Outraged

Debra Hall’s two-floor, raised-ranch home is tucked into a quiet residential stretch of Hopewell Junction, a suburban hamlet of about 2,800 people in the town of East Fishkill, but it could easily be in any of a hundred identical communities in the Hudson Valley. The front lawns of Creamery Road, the tree-lined street on which Hall and her husband David live, are scattered with the hula hoops, basketballs, and other debris that clutter a neighborhood full of children. David has two sons from a previous marriage who stay with him every other weekend. He and Debra married in 1998, and moved from Patterson to their current home in Hopewell in 2001. Both David, 42, and Debra, 48, grew up in more crowded environs — he on Long Island, she in Queens (her “New Yawk” accent still rings true) — so the couple relishes Creamery Road’s quiet nights and expansive space. They bought the house with the intention of growing old together in its bucolic embrace.

While David commutes to and from the city every day for his job as an electrician, Debra spends most of her time alone at home. In 1996, she suffered a debilitating back injury while working. (At the time, she too was employed as an electrician.) Since then, she has been unable to work. Some days, the pain is so excruciating Hall can barely move around the house. She has visited 14 doctors and undergone three surgeries to implant spinal cord stimulators, but still needs to use a cane. “Every day I wake up and just have to hope for the best,” Hall says. For the first few years she lived on Creamery Road, she passed the time by cross-stitching, reading, and watching television. “I didn’t even know my neighbors,” she says. “I would wave to them, and that would be it. I hadn’t learned a name or anything.”

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New state park named for Scenic Hudson leader Franny Reese

The state and Scenic Hudson named a new 250 acre park in her memory Friday.

The park, in the Town of Lloyd, offers expansive views and opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, picnicking and birding, said Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan.

“The park is a beautiful piece of land that stretches from the west side of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge, that’s the Mid-Hudson Bridge, and it extends almost a mile down river and has extensive hiking trails and provides extraordinary views of the Mid-Hudson Bridge, of the Walkway Over the Hudson that recently opened as a new state park, and of other landscapes around Poughkeepsie and Ulster County areas,” he said.

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Shale and Our Water

But regulators must amend the rules to bar drilling in the New York City watershed: a million acres of forests and farmlands whose streams supply the reservoirs that send drinking water to eight million people. Accidental leaks could threaten public health and require a filtration system the city can ill afford.

Natural gas is vital to the nation’s energy needs and can be an important bridge between dirty coal and renewable alternatives. The process of extracting it, however, is not risk-free. Known as hydraulic fracturing, it involves shooting a mix of water, sand and chemicals — many of them highly toxic — into the ground at very high pressure to break down the rock formations and free the gas.

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The Secret New York Minute: Every Train Leaves a Bit Late

For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference between dinner with the family and leftovers in the microwave.

What most passengers do not realize is that their minute is already there.

Every commuter train that departs from New York City — about 900 a day — leaves a minute later than scheduled. If the timetable says 8:14, the train will actually leave at 8:15. The 12:48 is really the 12:49.

In other words, if you think you have only a minute to get that train — well, relax. You have two.

The phantom minute, in place for decades and published only in private timetables for employees, is meant as a grace period for stragglers who need the extra time to scramble off the platform and onto the train.

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Maldives Cabinet Meets Below Waves to Highlight Climate Change Threat

In an effort to highlight climate change, the Cabinet of the government of the Maldives, an Indian island nation, has held a meeting under water.

Meetings of government ministers can sometimes be a dry affair. That certainly was not the case during the latest gathering of the Cabinet of the Maldives.

President Mohamed Nasheed and 11 of his government ministers, plus the vice president and Cabinet secretary, donned scuba gear and plunged six meters below the shimmering turquoise surface of an Indian Ocean lagoon.

The Cabinet seated behind tables, amid a coral backdrop, used hand gestures to communicate.

The president is a certified diver but other Cabinet members had to take lessons in recent weeks to prepare for the unprecedented meeting.

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Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans Than Illegal Drugs

A report by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission has concluded that prescription drugs have outstripped illegal drugs as a cause of death.

An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. According to state law enforcement officials, this is a sign of a burgeoning prescription drug abuse problem.

"The abuse has reached epidemic proportions," said Lisa McElhaney, a sergeant in the pharmaceutical drug diversion unit of the Broward County Sheriff's Office. "It's just explosive."

In 2007, cocaine was responsible for 843 deaths, heroin for 121, methamphetamines for 25 and marijuana for zero, for a total of 989 deaths. In contrast, 2,328 people were killed by opioid painkillers, including Vicodin and Oxycontin, and 743 were killed by drugs containing benzodiazepine, including the depressants Valium and Xanax.

Alcohol directly caused 466 deaths, but was found in the bodies of 4,179 cadavers in all.

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Strong Meteor Shower Peaks Wednesday Morning

The Orionid meteor shower, one of the biggest and brightest of the year, is at its peak Wednesday morning, Oct. 21.

Skywatchers with dark skies and good weather could see a shooting star every 5 to 10 minutes, with brief bouts that might prove busier.

The Orionids, like most meteor showers, are caused by particles associated with a comet, in this case, the famous Halley's Comet. If you can't wait until Halley's Comet makes its next appearance in 2062, this is your chance to see a piece of it as it flies across the sky and vaporizes in Earth's upper atmosphere.

While most annual meteor showers are pretty minor events for the casual observer, the Orionids are one of the two or three best in the year, especially as this year there will be no moon to interfere with seeing the fainter meteors.

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For SAD Sufferers, Cognitive Behavior Better Than Light Therapy At Preventing Recurrence, Study Suggests

Of those treated with CBT, only 7 percent had a recurrence compared to 36.7 percent of people treated with light therapy. The recurrence rate for the combination group was 5.5 percent. When Rohan looked at the severity of the depression that did occur, however, CBT was associated with less severe depression than those treated with either light therapy or a combination of both.

In a previous study that measured the acute affects of each treatment (immediately following six weeks of intervention), combination therapy was highly effective, with a nearly 80 percent remission rate compared to 50 percent for both CBT and light therapy alone and 20 percent on the wait-list.

Read More

This is a short, special edition of News That Matters for the sole purpose of getting you out of your house this afternoon and over to Arts on the Lake for the last performance of Harold Pinter's "The Dumbwaiter" at 3PM this afternoon.

Let's be honest: it's a crappy day. You could stay at home and veg, bemoaning the weather and watch re-runs of F Troop and I Love Lucy or you could go to the mall and run up your credit card debt or you could finally get to cleaning out the basement. So, since those options are not really options, get your butts off the couch and get yourselves to the old firehouse on Route 52 (just south of the Route 311 causeway) and see some live theater.

Pinter's 1960 short play (or a long one-act, if you like) sets two hitmen in a dingy basement wondering about their next job and who their victim might be. Here's the full (edited) release from Friday's Things To Do Edition of News That Matters:

Arts on the Lake is partnering with the Liberty Free (NY) Theatre to present Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's play The Dumb Waiter at the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, 640 Route 52.

The Liberty Free Theatre returns with the play that established Pinter as a master of "comedy of menace." The Dumbwaiter is about two hit men, played by Michael Frizalone and Paul Jannicola, holed-up in a dingy basement waiting to be sent out on their next job. The play is one of the first that established Pinter as a master of what would become known a "comedy of menace."

English playwright, screenwriter, actor, director and political activist Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. Beginning with his first play, Pinter's writing career spanned over 50 years and produced 29 original stage plays, 27 screenplays, many dramatic sketches, radio and TV plays, poetry, one novel, short fiction, essays, speeches, and letters. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal, each of which he adapted to film. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Trial and Sleuth.  He directed almost 50 stage, television, and film productions and acted extensively in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others' works.

Mike Frizalone is an actor/writer/singer who has performed on stage and film from Bangor, Maine to New York City.  He recently played in a new film by Peking Productions that was shot in Sullivan County.  His work at the Liberty Free Theatre includes Goods and Guns, Off The Wall, and last season’s Kinfolks and Mountain Music.

Paul Jannicola is a singer/songwriter and multi instrument musician.  His compositions have been featured in the award-winning animated short, Hardly Workin', the acclaimed episodic web series, Tra5hTa1k and MTV's comedic Life in the Virtual Hills. Paul and Director Kerria Seabrooke won Best Machinima Series for the Grid Review in the Machinima Film Festival 2007 in Leicester, UK. In addition to music, Paul is an animation cinematographer whose work has been seen on the Jumbotron at 1 Times Square.

Director Paul Austin's many TV appearances include Law and Order and West Wing. Recent films include Tune in Tomorrow and Sommersby.
(Photo Credit: Ted Waddell)

        Lord Richard Buckley, the hipster’s hipster, was, arguably, the most original American comedian of the 20th Century. Tall, tuxedoed and mock elegant, his appearance, behavior and intellect belied the facts of his humble California Gold Country beginnings.

        Dick Buckley grew up in the idyllic settings of California's Mother Lode country. He was a natural mimic and by the age of three his mother had to admonish him not to imitate the neighbors when they came for a visit.

        Entering show business rather by accident in the late 1920’s Buckley cut his teeth as an MC for countless Midwest dance marathons. It is possible that he also worked some of the last of the medicine shows in the Midwest. Eventually settling in Chicago, he worked in Vaudeville and Burlesque as well as Leo Seltzer's Walkathons at the Chicago Coliseum, and a number of gangster owned nightclubs. Mobster Al Capone loved Buckley's ability to handle hecklers and was quoted as saying “He’s the only guy who ever made me laugh.” Capone even bankrolled a short lived nightclub for Buckley called “Chez Buckley.”

        In 1930’s Chicago, Dick Buckley, as he called himself, lived the high life hanging out with the hippest of Chi Town’s black and white jazz musicians. With his uncanny ear for dialect he picked up on the sounds, and the rhythms and the cultural nuances of what was then called “hep” or “jive” talk And, at the same time, began to develop the persona of Lord Buckley, a strange but intriguing mix of a proper English peer of the realm and a street corner jive hipster. Though he still called himself Dick Buckley his manner and antics began to resemble those most closely associated with his final incarnation as The Lord.

        Through the ‘30s and ’40s he continued perfecting a stage act that included hilarious gymnastic routines and a mad ventriloquist routine called “The Four Chairs” with selected audience members. During WW II he did countless USO hospital Shows with Ed Sullivan who became a life long friend and patron.

        By wars end Vaudeville was on the ropes, atomic bombs had radically changed political and culturally assumptions and television was about to pounce. Dick Buckley, always hip and always ready to explore change, finally declared himself “Lord Buckley”.

        Casting around for a new act, Buckley, at the urging of Lady Elizabeth, his sixth wife, began offering his audiences beautifully reimagined stories from history, literature and The Bible delivered in a black jazz patois. Originally these stories were used to entertain dressing room guests. But soon Jesus, Gandhi, Einstein, Nero and the Marquis D’ Sade found their way on stage with him. He called Jesus “The Nazz”, Gandhi “The Hip Gahn”, Einstein “The Hip Einie” and D’Sade “The Mark”.

        From 1947 on, Buckley, like a hipster preacher, worked small jazz clubs and coffeehouses, with occasional gigs on TV. He appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show eight times. He also appeared on The Tonight Show, You Bet Your Life, House Party and a number of other local and network programs. But for all this exposure his new and brilliant work was not bringing much financial reward. He did his best work for his worst money.

"Now the fame of The Nazz is jumpin'! The grapevine is shootin' off sparks forty feet long and they talkin' about what he said and how he stood up to all these big bad cats and dug all that bad jazz and put 'em all down, and what he said he gonna do and where he's gonna be and how he's gonna be until the grapevine is jumpin' so bad there is now sixteen thousand of these studs and kitties in the Nazz's little home town where the cat live, lookin' to get straight. Well...the Nazz know he can't straighten them all there - it's too small a place, don't want to hang everybody up, nobody can make it. So The Nazz look out at these sixteen thousand studs and kiddies and he say to them "Come on, babies. Let's cut on out down the road."

"There went The Nazz, swingin' away ahead of all these studs and kiddies, and sixteen thousand stompin' up a big - oh! - big swingin' beat behind him. And a great necklace of love is superchargin' and chargin' to 'em and - oh! -it's brother to brother and sister to sister and The Nazz is stompin' on a sweet swingin' beat goin' down the road, Nazz talkin' about how pretty the flowers, how pretty the hours, how pretty me, how pretty you, how pretty he, how pretty she..."

And when you get there, tell them News That Matters sent you.

JmG

The weather report was something along the lines of gusty windy, driving rains, falling trees and power lines. Instead, it has gently snowed and snowed enough that I was throwing snowballs last night. It's still snowing outside this morning.

The Town Board in Kent, in its tentative budget, proposes to give itself a raise. Putnam Valley, so I hear, is intending to do the same thing. Raises for elected officials when foreclosures are higher than ever, unemployment is reaching 10% and everyone else is cutting back?

Looking for a hike this weekend? Take a walk around the Wiccopee Reservoir on Wiccopee Road in Putnam Valley (about a mile west of the Taconic State Parkway. The Wiccopee Reservoir holds water for the City of Peekskill, releasing it into the Hollow Brook as it flows on its way to that city on the Hudson. This 500 acre property, backed by the scouting reservation and Fahnestock State Park, offers an easy 3 mile loop hike (on a serviceable road) around the lower reservoir and a walk along a beautiful portion of the upper. It takes you across the top of one, and then along the base of the other dam. Using this facility as access you can cross into Fahnestock State Park and hike the easements at the boy scout camp. In other words, it's easy to alter this 3-mile loop into as many miles as you'd like. Boats are forbidden in the reservoir. Maps and photos are at PlanPutnam's Outdoor Recreation pages.

Today:

Road Salt:  Impacts to the Environment and Human Health

9:00 am – 12:00 pm. To promote safe winter driving conditions, deicers are applied to roadways throughout the Northeast. The most commonly used deicer is sodium chloride, otherwise known as road salt. This inexpensive deicer comes with hidden costs to both the environment and human health.  Join the Cary Institute and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County for a management-based forum about the impact that road salt has on natural areas, drinking water supplies, and health conditions, and weigh in on a lively discussion about how municipalities can improve policy decisions in the future.  Free and open to the public; reservations are appreciated, but not required.  For more information, contact Claudia Rosen at (845) 677-7600 x171 or rosenc@caryinstitute.org. Location:  Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Auditorium, 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Rte. 44) in Millbrook, New York.

Performance: The Dumb Waiter

Arts on the Lake is partnering with the Liberty Free (NY) Theatre to present Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's play The Dumb Waiter at the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, 640 Route 52, for three performances, Friday through Sunday, October 16-18  The Liberty Free Theatre returns with the play that established Pinter as a master of "comedy of menace." The Dumbwaiter is about two hit men, played by Michael Frizalone and Paul Jannicola, holed-up in a dingy basement kitchen, waiting to be sent out on their next job. The play is one of the first that established Pinter as a master of what would become known a "comedy of menace." English playwright, screenwriter, actor, director and political activist Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. Beginning with his first play, Pinter's writing career spanned over 50 years and produced 29 original stage plays, 27 screenplays, many dramatic sketches, radio and TV plays, poetry, one novel, short fiction, essays, speeches, and letters. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal, each of which he adapted to film. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Trial and Sleuth.  He directed almost 50 stage, television, and film productions and acted extensively in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others' works. Mike Frizalone is an actor/writer/singer who has performed on stage and film from Bangor, Maine to New York City.  He recently played in a new film by Peking Productions that was shot in Sullivan County.  His work at the Liberty Free Theatre includes Goods and Guns, Off The Wall, and last season’s Kinfolks and Mountain Music. Paul Jannicola is a singer/songwriter and multi instrument musician.  His compositions have been featured in the award-winning animated short, Hardly Workin', the acclaimed episodic web series, Tra5hTa1k and MTV's comedic Life in the Virtual Hills. Paul and Director Kerria Seabrooke won Best Machinima Series for the Grid Review in the Machinima Film Festival 2007 in Leicester, UK. In addition to music, Paul is an animation cinematographer whose work has been seen on the Jumbotron at 1 Times Square. Director Paul Austin's many TV appearances include Law and Order and West Wing. Recent films include Tune in Tomorrow and Sommersby. (Photo Credit: Ted Waddell)

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

8 PM - Confronting illusions about oneself is never easy but ultimately cathartic when done in the company of those that know and love us best. In Ed Gracyzk’s deeply affecting memory play, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, past collides with present as members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club come together for their 20th reunion. Presented by the Brewster Theater Company, show dates are October 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, 120 Federal Road, Brewster, NY.

The time is 1975 and the locale is a dusty Texas town nearby the site where Dean filmed his last movie, Giant. Club president Mona, who clerks in the run-down Woolworth’s where the fan club gathers, has enjoyed a sort of celebrity status all these years as her (now teenage) son is alleged by her to be the illegitimate son of the late actor.  As she and the others reminisce, however, they come to the realization that the paths their lives have taken were shaped by their past experiences.  What also becomes painfully obvious is that memories can become clouded by things that we want to believe are true.   

Produced and directed by Debbie Levin, this play features Rachel Benjamin (Brewster), Angela Bowman (Carmel), Matt Compo (Brewster),  Barbara Disraeli (Brewster), Michele Dugan (Brewster), Laurel Lettieri (Mount Vernon), Suzanne Ochs (Dobbs Ferry), Karen Pope Olshansky (Putnam Valley), and Donna White (Putnam Valley).

Tickets for this show are $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors. Go to www.brewstertheatercompany.org or call 845-598-1621 for reservations and additional information. Please note that this play has mature themes.  This show has been presented with special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.    

This event has been made possible in part with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Program administered in Putnam County by The Putnam Arts Council.

Saturday:

NY/NJ Trails Conference Annual Meeting

8AM - 3PM - All members of the Trail Conference are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the Trail Conference on Saturday, October 17 at Lower Twin Lake Camp in Harriman State Park. More information and a complete agenda is here.

Mini Book Sale

The Friends of the Kent Public Library will be holding a series of mini book sales this fall in the Community Room.  Come and browse a fine selection of bargain priced books! A great way to stock up for holiday gift giving and support the Friends of the Library. Additional days: Saturday, November 21, 10am--2:30pm and Saturday, December 12, 10am--2:30pm.

Putnam County Hazardous Waste Drop Off Day

Need to get rid of that old drain cleaner, old paint thinne r or the old chemsitry kit you just found in the attic? This is the day for you. Call the county at (845) 278-6130 to pre-register. The event takes place at the Canpous Beach parking area at Fahnestock State Park from 9AM until 1PM.

If you have electronics that need to be disposed of (computer monitors, etc.,) each town will have a drop-off location today as well. Call your town to find out just where.

“Where the Wild Things Are: The Woods of Fred Dill Park” Carmel

3 PM - 5PM - Attendees will take part in some light hiking as they explore the reforestation at this Park; once a pig farm, then a sprawling mecca of showgrounds, race tracks and homes. Today, it is a source of plentiful forest and wildlife renewal! On this guided trek we will learn about what animals live here and how Park habitat accommodates them. Bring a snack for a light picnic under a pavilion where there will be a poetry reading, reflections on the hike and storytelling for all ages to appreciate. All are welcome!

Meet at the Fair Street parking area. If the Fred Dill parking area is full, park in the Carmel High School parking lot and walk down to the park entrance. Putnam County Land Trust program fees are $5 per person but they are free for members. Those who take out a membership at the event will be eligible to attend other programs as members. Children under five years of age attend free. For more information or for questions, please call 845-278-2808 to leave a message. 

Fishing the River" at Norrie Point

3PM - The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Hudson River Research Reserve and I FISH NY program continue their monthly fishing demonstrations at Norrie Point Environmental Center in Staatsburg, N. Y. This family-friendly program, open to all age groups, will be held on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 from 3 PM until 5 PM. Staff members will lead seining and fishing activities while describing the seasonal movements of fish in the Hudson River Estuary. The Hudson is home to over 200 species of fish, including several species that migrate up the river and its tributaries each spring to spawn."Seining" involves pulling a 30-foot net through the water and checking out the fish, crabs, and other river life caught in its mesh. You can watch from shore, or jump into available waterproof waders and help pull in the net. Participants are also encouraged to grab a rod and angle for fish off the wheelchair accessible patio. Rods, reels, and bait will be available at no charge. This is the last “Fishing the River” program at Norrie Point for the season. Monthly programs will resume in April 2010. For further information, please call (845) 889-4745 x 109, or contact Stephanie Stanczak at sastancz@gw.dec.state.ny.us. For directions to the Norrie Point Environmental Center, go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/37889.html.

Putnam Arts Council Art Show Opening

At Tilly Foster Farms. Opening Reception from 4-6PM. Free!

Michelle LeBlanc

7:30 PM - Croton Free Library. Featuring Michelle's jazz quartet. Pianist and arranger Tom Kohl, Bill Crow on bass, Joe Stlluti and Ron Vincent on drums. 171 Cleveland Avenue, Croton, NY 10520. (914) 271-6612 Free. michelleleblanc.com

Performance: The Dumb Waiter

8PM - Arts on the Lake is partnering with the Liberty Free (NY) Theatre to present Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's play The Dumb Waiter at the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, 640 Route 52, for three performances, Friday through Sunday, October 16-18 (See Friday)

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

8 PM - Confronting illusions about oneself is never easy but ultimately cathartic when done in the company of those that know and love us best. In Ed Gracyzk’s deeply affecting memory play, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, past collides with present as members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club come together for their 20th reunion. Presented by the Brewster Theater Company, show dates are October 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, 120 Federal Road, Brewster, NY. (See Friday)

Sunday:

Ten Mile River Cleanup / Housatonic Day Trip

8 AM - On Sunday, October 18 we will conduct a cleanup of the public fishing access areas along the Ten Mile River in Dover. We will meet at 8:00am at the Dover town park in Wingdale. This is the park just north of the Ketchum Fire House at the intersection of Routes 22 and 55. Its the park with all the ball fields, you can't miss it. We'll consolidate ourselves into a couple of vehicles and stop at the public fishing access areas to pick up litter. We should be done by 11:00am. Gloves and garbage bags will be provided. Keep in mind that some of these areas are adjacent to busy streets so it might not be a good idea to bring small children along. Call Don Jiskra, 845-855-7357 or email djiskra@comcast.net with questions. Please send Don a note if you plan to attend.

Kick off the Vine-Cutting Season

9:30 AM - Invasive vines are killing the trees that protect the banks along the Saw Mill River. These plant species were brought into our watershed where they have no natural predators. Oriental bittersweet and porcelainberry, the two most common invaders, crowd out native plants, steal their water, and slowly strangle trees, eventually creating canopies that block the sun from trees and under-story plants. This significantly diminishes the value of wildlife habitat, in terms of food sources and nesting areas, and has a negative impact upon the number of species that can use the river corridor.

The Saw Mill River Coalition and the New York State Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation have been working together since 2005 on the Free-A-Tree project, which organizes and supports volunteers in their efforts to remove the invasive vines, rescue native vegetation, restore the stream buffer, and preserve the area's biodiversity. Garbage bags, gloves, and vine-cutting tools are provided as well as protective gear if needed, but bring your own vine-cutting tools and gloves if you've got them! Wear warm clothes, long sleeve shirts and sturdy shoes (no flip flops). Children under age 16 require adult supervision. Community Service credits available for high school students. For directions or for more information, contact Emily Eder, Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator at (914) 375-2151 or click here. Location: Farragut Avenue Site, Meet in Parking Lot at Exit 13 (Farragut Avenue), off Saw Mill River Parkway (going North)

An Appalachian Trail Blazer

2 PM - Southeast Museum, Main Street, Brewster. A free lecture on the late Ned Anderson, a Sherman resident and subject of the book "Ned Anderson: Appalachian Trailblazer and Small Town Renaissance Man" is set for Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. at the Southeast Museum in Brewster, N.Y. The book, published by the Sherman Historical Society will be discussed by author and Brewster resident Doris Tomaselli. Nestell Kipp "Ned" Anderson (1885-1967), early naturalist, environmentalist, hiker, spelunker and adventurer, was one of the pioneers who embraced "the dream" of an Appalachian Trail and lent his heart and muscle to the task of its creation. For nearly 20 years, he maintained more than 50 miles of trail that run through bucolic northwest Connecticut. The presentation and excerpted reading will be about a half-hour long, followed by a book signing. The Southeast Museum is located at 67 Main Street, Brewster, N.Y. For information, call 845-279-7500.

Performance: The Dumb Waiter

3PM - Arts on the Lake is partnering with the Liberty Free (NY) Theatre to present Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter's play The Dumb Waiter at the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, 640 Route 52, for three performances, Friday through Sunday, October 16-18 (See Friday)

Into The Future:

Tuesday, October 20

Community-Based Climate Change Strategies

A program to help concerned citizens, environmental advocates and municipal officials work effectively with their local governmental bodies in addressing climate change; hosted by The League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region, and partners The Nature Conservancy, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Sustainable Hudson Valley, and others. Participants in The Nature Conservancy's Rising Waters Project will explain what is (or will be) happening here in our region as climate change continues. Other speakers will talk about cost-effective ways to work with local officials to address climate change right now as well as in the long-term. They will also discuss employment and economic development opportunities applicable to the mid-Hudson region that the climate change crisis presents. The Climate Smart Communities program, a partnership of state and local governments whose goal is to combat climate change, will be highlighted. The program provides a comprehensive approach for communities to decrease energy use, incorporate climate protection and sustainability into land uses and economic development plans and take steps to adapt to climate change. Representatives of towns who are leading the way in taking action on climate change will make presentations, including a representative of the City of Kingston, where the Common Council passed a climate smart pledge on October 6.

Among the confirmed speakers are Mark Lowery, the Climate Change Coordinator of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation; Betsy Blair of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve; Melissa Everett of Sustainable Hudson Valley; Julie Noble of the Conservation Advisory Council of City of Kingston; and Leo Wiegman of the Croton-on-Hudson.

This event is a lead-up to the international day of action on October 24, 2009, led by Bill McKibben's movement, 350.org. Free and open to public. For additional information, contact LWV Program Co-Chair, Dare Thompson, at 845-236-3074 or darethompson@gmail.com. Location: At the Ulster BOCES at 175 Route 32 North, New Paltz, NY  12561

Wednesday, October 21

Less Than One Pound Per Person Per Year: Is It Possible?

On Wed., Oct. 21, at 7:30 pm , the Mid-Hudson Group Sierra Club will sponsor a free program featuring Chris W. Burger, whose family has reduced their waste to less than one pound per person per year.  A former Broome County Legislator, Mr. Burger was instrumental in developing Broome County's recycling program and chairs the Sierra Club's NY State solid waste committee.  Author of two books and many articles on the subject of waste reduction, he has been featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not, many newspapers and magazines, and numerous times on national TV and radio.

Burger will give a powerpoint presentation on the issue of reducing solid waste, followed by practical "how-to" suggestions for families, businesses, and communities. 

The meeting will be held at the Hudson River Rowing Association boathouse, 

270  N. Water St. , Poughkeepsie (at the very end of the road).  For detailed directions, see www.hudsonriverrowing.org.  For more information about this or other Sierra Club programs, see www.newyork.sierraclub.org/midhudson.

Friday, October 23

The City, the Country, and the Changing Environment

7 PM - What do the city of Poughkeepsie and a family farm in Claverack have in common? How do their histories reveal both the power of place and the dynamic exchange between the city and the country? Professor Emeritus of Vassar, Dr. Harvey Flad, and award-winning author Leila Philip, will discuss their recently published books: Main Street to Mainframes: Landscape and Social Change in Poughkeepsie, and A Family Place: A Hudson Valley Farm, Three Centuries, Five Wars, One Family.

The lecture will document both the history of Poughkeepsie and the story of one of the oldest surviving family-owned farms in the Hudson Valley. A Q&A session will engage the audience in dialogue about how lessons from the past can help shape a strong future for the Hudson Valley. This event will meet in our auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Route 44) in Millbrook, New York. Merritt Bookstore will be offering books for sale.

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

8 PM - Confronting illusions about oneself is never easy but ultimately cathartic when done in the company of those that know and love us best. In Ed Gracyzk’s deeply affecting memory play, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, past collides with present as members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club come together for their 20th reunion. Presented by the Brewster Theater Company, show dates are October 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, 120 Federal Road, Brewster, NY.

Saturday, October 24

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

8 PM - Confronting illusions about oneself is never easy but ultimately cathartic when done in the company of those that know and love us best. In Ed Gracyzk’s deeply affecting memory play, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, past collides with present as members of the Disciples of James Dean fan club come together for their 20th reunion. Presented by the Brewster Theater Company, show dates are October 16th, 17th, 23rd and 24th at 8 p.m. at The Melrose School, 120 Federal Road, Brewster, NY.

Sunday, October 25

Artist's Walk and Talk

The Cary Institute will be displaying landscape artist Rebecca Allan's current exhibition, Tributary, through January 17th, 2010. Encompassing large canvases as well as works on paper, the paintings represent wetland habitats, including the Wappinger Creek—a tributary of the Hudson River that runs through the Cary Institute’s campus. Viewing hours are Monday through Friday (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m) in our auditorium lobby. Artwork in the exhibition is available for purchase; a percentage of the proceeds will help support the Cary Institute.

Interested in meeting the artist? On Sunday, October 25th Allan will present an artist’s talk followed by a short walk to the Fern Glen, a site of inspiration for one of the central paintings in the exhibition. To RSVP for this special event, please contact Pamela Freeman at (845) 677-7600 x121 or e-mail freemanp@caryinstitute.org.

You know, I thought it was just me. From almost the minute I put my vehicle registration sticker in the window it fell off. It's taped up there now but what a pain! It turns out that millions of stickers are faulty and the Chicago based company that made them is scratching their heads over it. I'm willing to bet next year they'll cost even more and stick even less.

Has anyone else noticed that gasoline prices seem to be dropping?

It's the time of year when those STAR checks start appearing but this year there will be none. People are complaining about it but really, there's no money to pay for them. Senator Leibell says he has a plan and we're waiting - quite anxiously - to find out what that is.

Feel those drafts coming in the house these past few cold nights? That's likely because your place hasn't been properly sealed and protected against the coming winter weather. You need a professional and I just happen to know one who can help. Licensed and insured to work in this county (and a heck of a nice guy), you cannot go wrong.

James Borkowski has pulled out of the race for Sheriff leaving Don Smith and Kevin McConville to slug it out come November.

Six-year old Zachary Christie of Newark, Delaware, stood before a school disciplinary hearing the other day. His offense was bringing a camping utensil to school that contained a knife, fork and spoon, among other tools for use at lunch. He had just joined the cub scouts and received the tool as a gift. But he found himself suspended from school because knives, in any form, are forbidden. Zach is being home-schooled in the meantime while his parents fight to overturn his 45 day suspension.

And just this morning the Journal News reports that a High School student in upstate Troy, NY, was suspended for 20 days for having a 2" pocketknife - in his car. There's a sheathed camping knife in the glove-box of my car that comes in handy all the time. Luckily I can't get suspended these days.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has announced that Walkway Over The Hudson will be named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Congrats!

The United States is sending 13,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The United States has thrown 14,000 members out of the military for violating Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Maybe it's just my mathematical abilities but I seem to detect a net loss somewhere in there.

And now, The News:

1. Prehistoric artifacts found at Peach Lake
2. Wildlife sanctuary takes natural course
3. Hinchey supports stimulus funding for solar energy projects
4. Don't Idle Away Your Car's Gas
5. Conservation: An Investment That Pays - The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space
6. Taxpayers foot bill for missing items
7. Apple ditches U.S. Chamber
8. Arch rivals: Subway to surpass McDonald's in number of restaurants

Prehistoric artifacts found at Peach Lake

PEACH LAKE - As these lakeshore communities prepare to correct pollution problems going back to the late 1800s, they have been required to stop and look back at what the land can tell them about the prehistoric peoples who lived there.

An archaeologist was brought in to dig for artifacts near areas that will be disturbed by the construction of a modern sewage system and treatment plant for the former summer havens in North Salem and Southeast.

The dig is mandated by the state and federal historic preservation acts, which require that the impacts on valuable historic sites be considered in development decisions.

During initial tests, archaeologists found two prehistoric stone tools.

Read More

Wildlife sanctuary takes natural course

SOMERS - The Angle Fly Preserve, a 654-acre wildlife sanctuary in Somers, has just opened to the public, representing one of the largest and newest single tracts of land to become open space in the county.

In May 2006, the land was purchased jointly by the town, Westchester County, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The Westchester Land Trust brokered the deal with four levels of government together putting up $20.6 million.

Since at least the 1970s, the land was proposed for development - from 1,000 or so townhouses to at least 108 luxury single-family homes. It will now provide hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, bird-watching and nature study overseen by the Friends of Angle Fly, which was created by the Somers Land Trust to provide stewardship of the preserve.

Read More

Hinchey supports stimulus funding for solar energy projects

Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who spearheaded the solar initiatives in Ulster County through The Solar Energy Consortium, said while the money has not been targeted for specific projects, allocating it for solar projects is a significant step.

“Just the idea that he is taking advantage of this stimulus package to focus attention and resources on the need to develop alternative, particularly solar energy, is very positive and I am very grateful to him for doing that so effectively,” he said. “We will be working closely with the governor’s office to insure that a significant amount of that money can come to the Solar Energy Consortium, which was set up in the Hudson Valley, but which is also working in a number of other places.”

Read More

Don't Idle Away Your Car's Gas

Every moment you spend idling your car's engine means time spent needlessly wasting gas, as well as rougher wear on your vehicle. So give it a rest, and avoid idling through your days.

One of the ways the much-praised Toyota Prius is able to achieve such impressive fuel economy is by having a computer cut out idling automatically: when you aren’t making headway, the gas engine shuts off. For regular cars, it doesn’t make sense to shut off the engine at every stop sign. (Even though Environmental Defense found that idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more gas than is required for startup.) But, you should certainly kill it when you are waiting for your date to finish getting ready. Or when your honey has to run into the bank to cash a check.

Overall, idling Americans burn 2.9 billion gallons of gas a year, worth around $78.2 billion, according to a recent report from Texas A&M. That doesn’t count the damage done to idling engines by incompletely burned fuel.

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Conservation: An Investment That Pays -
The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space

Foreword by Will Rogers, President, The Trust for Public Land

In 1999, The Trust for Public Land published its first report on the economic benefits of parks and open space. Some of the ideas in the report had been around since at least the mid-19th century, when pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted predicted that New York’s Central Park would prompt a dramatic increase in the value of real estate on nearby land. But even 150 years later, many people still thought about parks and conservation primarily as a public expense and not an investment.

Much has changed in the last decade. Today communities usually don’t ask whether parks and open space benefit economies, they ask how large those economic benefits might be. They are coming to realize that all of the other benefits brought by parks and open space— improved recreation and health, cleaner water and air, easier access to the out of doors, even stronger communities—also can engender economic benefits in the form of increased tax receipts, stronger economies, a better ability to attract businesses and residents, and reduced costs for environmental services.

Read More

Taxpayers foot bill for missing items

About once a month, Rep. Robert Brady gets a special request from a fellow lawmaker.

Should he or she personally cover the cost of a missing office item, or should taxpayers? With every such request in the past year, Brady has decided to let taxpayers foot the bill.

Under House rules, lawmakers are technically responsible for the cost of missing office equipment worth more than $500, whether it’s a laptop or a television that gets stolen or disappears with a former staffer.

But Brady, as chairman of the House Administration Committee, has the sole power to grant a waiver and let a colleague off the hook. This year, all 12 waiver requests, reaching as high as $1,800, have been granted.

“Requests for relief are rare,” said committee spokesman Kyle D. Anderson.

But there is also no public paper trail for these requests and no transparency about who gets the waivers and why.

Read More

Apple ditches U.S. Chamber

  Apple became the latest in a string of companies to leave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday over the business group’s conservative approach to climate policy.

“We strongly object to the Chamber’s recent comments opposition the EPA’s effort to limit greenhouse gases,” wrote Catherine A. Novelli, the vice-president of worldwide government affairs at Apple. “Apple supports regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and it is frustrating to find the Chamber at odds with us in this effort.”

The Chamber has faced a wave of defection over recent weeks, as a series of companies broke with the powerful business lobby. Last week, Nike resigned its position on the board of directors but maintained its membership in the organization. Other major energy concerns, including Exelon and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., have also left the Chamber, siding with Democrats on climate change legislation.

Read More

Arch rivals: Subway to surpass McDonald's in number of restaurants

It's hard to imagine a cultural icon with greater ubiquity than McDonald's (MCD). After all, it seems the Golden Arches are present in every town, no matter how small, and at every exit off an interstate highway. But while you'll never have trouble finding a Big Mac, change is on the horizon: The sandwich shop Subway is close to exceeding the number of McDonald's restaurants worldwide.

When exactly will Subway overtake MickyD's? "My guess is it's going to be before the end of the year," says Tony Pace, chief marketing officer of the Subway Franchise Advertising Fund Trust. He says consumers are always surprised to learn that Subway has more than 32,000 outlets. "We're not as visible as McDonald's because we can put a Subway restaurant into a relatively small footprint. We can be in a strip mall and don't need to be a big stand-alone restaurant."

It may seem incredible that such venerable American icon as McDonald's could be surpassed by a sandwich shop that began in 1965. Yet the company, which is owned by closely held Doctor's Associates Inc., seems to have hit upon a branding strategy that's stimulated the public's appetite for its subs. Its message is that by eating at Subway, anyone might become healthier. Just look at Jared Fogle, the man who lost 245 pounds by incorporating Subway sandwiches into his diet and subsequently became the public face of the fast-food chain.

Read More

It is Columbus Day.

Frost on the pumpkin and all that this morning, a little sooner in the year than I'd like. Did I mention frost on the pumpkin yesterday morning too? Good sleeping weather -- though being constricted by a 65 lb dog on one side and the cat seeking warmth on the other makes Jeff a little sore come morning. Yeah, we pet owners know the score. It's cute when they're puppies, eh? Now fully grown it's a straight-jacket of canine/feline construct. And when I dog-sit for Bill his 65 lb'r joins the crowd and it's just too much! But how can you say no?

In case you're paying attention to the campaigns, the Concerned Citizens of Carmel/Mahopac are hosting a forum tomorrow night (Tuesday) at the Mahopac library starting at 7PM. If you go be sure to ask any sitting rep to explain how they allowed Lori Kemp's life to be screwed over and what protections they have in place to ensure that your home isn't blasted off its foundations.

With Halloween just around the corner and the Sheriff finally dealing with his overzealous protector of all things four-legged, it's safe once again to dress up your Airedale for the holidays. The website, Instructables.com has detailed instructions for a lot of things but this caught my eye. Click on the image and see for yourself. Grapes?

So, you still believe Reaganomics made the middle classes wealthier? The Economist Magazine has this to say:

"America is the wealthiest country in the world and its rich keep earning more. In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, the top 1% increased their share of the country's income to 23.5%, according to analysis of tax returns by a pair of economists, Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty. The concentration of income earned by this top percentile now stands at its highest since 1928. Two-thirds of the country's total gains in the five years to 2007 accrued to the top 1%, whereas the bottom 90th percentile saw only 12% of the extra income."

Don't blame me for the ALL CAPS DOWN BELOW as I'm just cutting and pasting from the County BOE website. How you vote is entierly up to you but voting down a library budget is like voting against your soul. There's nothing more important that community education.

PROPOSAL NUMBER ONE, AN AMENDMENT

Amendment to section 1 of article 14 of the Constitution, in relation to the use of certain forest preserve lands by National Grid to construct a 46 kV power line along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County. The proposed amendment would authorize the Legislature to convey up to six acres of forest preserve land along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County to National Grid for construction of a power line. In exchange, National Grid would convey to the State at least 10 acres of forest land in St. Lawrence County, to be incorporated into the forest preserve. The land to be conveyed by National Grid to the State must be at least equal in value to the land conveyed to National Grid by the State. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

PROPOSAL NUMBER TWO, AN AMENDMENT

Amendment to article 3 of the Constitution, in relation to authorizing the Legislature to allow prisoners to voluntarily perform work for nonprofit organizations. The proposed amendment would authorize the Legislature to pass legislation to permit inmates in state and local correctional facilities to perform work for nonprofit organizations. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

PROPOSAL NUMBER THREE,
COUNTY PROPOSITION NUMBER ONE

The County Executive has the power to initiate reductions in appropriations when budgeted revenues are insufficient. Should the Legislature be given the same power?

TOWN PROPOSITION NUMBER ONE

SHOULD THE TERM OF OFFICE OF SUPERVISOR OF THE TOWN OF KENT BE EXTENDED FROM TWO YEARS TO FOUR YEARS COMMENCING JANUARY 1, 2010.

TOWN PROPOSITION NUMBER ONE

SHALL THE ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE TOWN OF PATTERSON FOR THE PATTERSON LIBRARY BE INCREASED BY EIGHTY THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED NINETY THREE ($80,293) TO THE SUM OF FIVE HUNDRED FOURTEEN THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED NINETY THREE DOLLARS ($514,293) ANNUALLY?

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Bank fees got you down?

1. Brewster voters OK middle school modernization and turf-field bond proposals
2. View SEQRA ‘streamlining' with caution
3. Green and Greener in Suburban Towns
4. New Study Shows More Walkable Homes Are Worth More
5. New Jersey Outshines Most Others in Solar Energy
6. Health Insurers Threaten Rate Hikes
7. The Economic Revolution Is Already Happening - It's Just Not on Wall St.

Brewster voters OK middle school modernization and turf-field bond proposals

BREWSTER - Voters gave the green light to two controversial proposals to modernize the middle school and add a turf field to the high school, earning a sigh of relief from school officials Friday night.

"You can never count your chickens before they hatch," Brewster Board of Education Chairman Stephen Jambor said.

The $25.6 million project to make additions and renovations to Henry H. Wells Middle School passed, 1,321 votes to 1,084. The $3.47 million proposal for a multipurpose turf field at Brewster High School passed, 1,256 votes to 1,118.

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View SEQRA ‘streamlining' with caution

The article by Debra West of the Editorial Board discusses claims made by Pete Grannis, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, that speeding up the SEQRA process will result in economic benefits. Another motivation expressed in the article is that DEC's work force is being cut by 25 percent - on top of previous severe cuts - and it simply cannot handle the workload involved in the careful scrutiny of often extremely complex development plans under SEQRA.

The difficult economic situation that New York, like many other states, is confronting, has convinced our leaders that the road to recovery lies, in large part at least, with more development. And development will face fewer roadblocks and proceed faster if we streamline SEQRA.

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Green and Greener in Suburban Towns

FOR two years, Valerie Williams had been considering making the five-bedroom home she grew up in more energy efficient — hoping to shrink her $350 monthly utility bill — but more pressing expenses always came first.

Then the town of Babylon came up with an offer she couldn’t refuse: if she and her husband, Carlos, paid $250 for an energy audit, the town would finance the recommended upgrades. The couple would repay the town at a monthly rate below the savings on their utility bill. The audit, done this month, found that by insulating walls, basement and attic, at a cost of $6,879, the Williamses could save about $1,300 a year.

“It’s an excellent deal,” said Mrs. Williams, 42, a New York City correction officer. “With the bills and the mortgage, sometimes it’s hard to do this at one time.” New York City and other major urban centers have ambitious, high-profile environmental programs. But it turns out that throughout the suburbs, towns like Babylon, on Long Island, are exploring and adopting a wide variety of innovative ways to save energy, protect their residents’ health and reduce pollution.

Some of these towns are offering energy retrofits; others furnish free parking to fuel-efficient hybrid cars. Yet others are limiting or banning the use of fertilizers to avoid chemicals leaching into the groundwater, or imposing strict energy efficiency requirements for new homes.

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New Study Shows More Walkable Homes Are Worth More

Link: http://www.ceosforcities.org/files/WalkingTheWalk_CEOsforCities.pdf

Though housing values are still slow to rebound from the collapse of the real estate market, a new analysis from CEOs for Cities reveals that homes in more walkable neighborhoods are worth more than similar homes in less-walkable neighborhoods, pointing to a bright spot in the residential real estate market.

The report, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities” by Joseph Cortright, analyzed data from 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 major markets provided by ZipRealty and found that in 13 of the 15 markets, higher levels of walkability, as measured by Walk Score, were directly linked to higher home values.

“Even in a turbulent economy, we know that walkability adds value to residential property just as additional square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms and other amenities do,” said Cortright. “It’s clear that consumers assign a tangible value to the convenience factor of living in more walkable places with access to a variety of destinations.”

Walkability is defined by the Walk Score algorithm (www.walkscore.com), which works by calculating the closest amenities – restaurants, coffee shops, schools, parks, stores, libraries, etc. – to any U.S. address. The algorithm then assigns a “Walk Score” from 0-100, with 100 being the most walkable and 0 being totally car-dependent. Walk Scores of 70+ indicate neighborhoods where it’s possible to get by without a car.

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New Jersey Outshines Most Others in Solar Energy

No one would mistake it for the Sunshine State.

PSEG is installing 200,000 grid-connected solar panels on utility and light poles in New Jersey.
But New Jersey—known more for its turnpike, shopping malls and industrial sprawl—has become a solar energy powerhouse, outshining sunnier states like Hawaii and Nevada. And it's largely because of incentives that make it cheaper for residents and businesses to buy and install solar power systems.

As of last year, the Garden State had 70 megawatts of grid-connected solar capacity, second only to California with 528 megawatts, according to a report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. Rounding out the top five were Colorado, Nevada and Arizona.

Governor Jon Corzine (D) recently announced that the state had installed its 4,000th solar system in the past summer—making it No. 1 in solar installed per square mile.

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Health Insurers Threaten Rate Hikes

by: Robert Parry  |  Consortium News

    Though looking forward to millions of new customers who would be compelled by the U.S. government to buy health insurance, the insurance industry is threatening to raise premiums across the board if more of its demands are not met.

    Industry representatives put Congress and the Obama administration on notice that if health-reform legislation doesn’t send even more new customers the industry’s way or if a windfall profits tax is included, the industry would hit businesses, individuals and the government with higher premiums, effectively defeating one of the initiative’s top goals, reining in ever-rising costs.

    The industry’s chief complaint, which was raised in connection with an already-industry-friendly bill cobbled together by Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, is that the legislation would push 29 million more Americans into the insurance market, but that they might be the sickest and thus costliest people.

    The industry wants more of the estimated 25 million still uninsured – especially healthy, young people – to be compelled to buy policies, too. Without more healthy customers added to the mix, the industry says it will have no choice but to raise rates.

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The Economic Revolution Is Already Happening - It's Just Not on Wall St.

    America is in the midst of a new revolution. But this revolution is quiet, incremental, nonviolent and traveling beneath the mainstream media's radar.

    The new American revolution challenges the current notions of dog-eat-dog capitalism - through the building of a parallel economic system that shares, co-operates, empowers and benefits fellow workers and community members.

    Over the past few decades, thousands of alternatives to the standard, top-down corporate model have sprouted up - worker-owned companies and co-operatives, neighborhood corporations and trusts, community-owned technology centers and municipally owned enterprises.

    In fact, today, involvement in these alternative models of business outnumber union membership as the means by which private-sector workers and community members are taking their economics into their own hands. The story is revealed in the 4-year-old book, America Beyond Capitalism, written by University of Maryland political science professor Gar Alperovitz.

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