News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org

Good Friday Morning,

The Putnam County Legislature has announced their committee assignments for the 2009 session. A list of those is posted here. There are some notable changes so it's worth checking out.

There are three new interesting articles posted to the NtM Web log:

Property Tax Reform Ramblings
PV - Out with the Old, In With the News
The Issues - With Sam Davis

Remember, you don't need an account to read anything nor to comment on posted stories, only to create a new post. Check it out!

If you're reading the funny papers this morning, the top story in the Putnam edition is that Assemblyman Ball is on a crusade to stop the sale of 'bushmeat'. This preemptive move on the Assemblyman's part is apparently an attempt to prevent New Yorkers from eating the current President or any of his relatives, once he's out of office. If successful, Inauguration Day parties schedule around the state will have to find an alternative dish for their main course.

If you're taking a hike this weekend (and you should) Minnewaska State Park is Still Closed and many West Hudson trails are still blocked due to previous storms; Trail Volunteers Needed! Minnewaska State Park Preserve is still closed as of this writing (get update), a result of the mid-December ice storm. Many west of Hudson trails above 700' elevation continue to be blocked by fallen trees and branches. Hard-hit parks include Storm King, Schunemunk, and Black Rock Forest. Maintainers in these areas are urged to check their trails. If you need help, for example from a chainsaw crew, contact your trail supervisor or West Hudson Regional Representative Larry Wheelock.

There's another snowstorm on the way with expected accumulations predicted from between 5 to 8 inches. The storm should start tomorrow (Saturday) at around 3PM and impact the area through Sunday morning before pulling east. Temps will be in the mid-20's making the snow light and fluffy and easy to remove once it all comes to a stop on Sunday. The temps will then drop into the lower teens for the overnight into Monday.

Standard PlanPutnam Storm Rules apply: if you've an elderly or infirm neighbor, don't even ask, just help shovel them out. If your power goes out, there's did too so invite them over.

Tonight:

20th Anniversary Celebration With Pete Seeger and Friends

Join David Bernz, Travis Jeffrey, Magpie, Tao Rodriguez Seeger, Sarah Underhill and The Walkabout Clearwater Chorus at a new location this month only -- Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse at White Plains High School, 550 North Street, White Plains, NY - Audience songfest at 6:45 pm. $35 at door / $30.00 on line / children 6-12 $10/ $25 student ID. Advance Tickets at www.walkaboutclearwater.org

Saturday:

Hike up Mt. Beacon Gateway to the fire tower. Meet in Gateway parking lot @ 9:00am. If interested, and would like to go up ealier or for more info contact John Bisson: firetower_08@yahoo.com

Alternative Energy & Financing Forum: At 11 AM. Presented by HHLT & Putnam Valley Sustainable Energy Taskforce. At the Putnam Valley Grange Hall Adams Corners (Intersection of Mill St. & Peekskill Hollow Road) Putnam Valley, NY

Learn more about geothermal and solar energy and how financing incentives, offered by NYSERDA and other agencies, can make installing an alternative energy system in your home or business more affordable.

Featured presenters: Pat Courtney , Mid-Hudson Energy Smart Communities (NYSERDA), Craig Roffman , Altren Consulting, Steve Burke , Burke Electric, Jimm Boorom , Boorom Facility Solutions & Backbone Systems

For more information contact Hudson Highlands Land Trust: Phone: 845-424-3358 E-mail: info@hhlt.org Website: www.hhlt.org

Michelle LeBlanc Trio

From 7:30 to 10:30 pm at the Division Street Grill ~ 26 North Division Street, Peekskill NY. Call 914-739-6380 for dinner reservations or visit www.divisionstreetgrill.com Featuring Steve Lamattina on guitar and Bill Conway on bass

Sunday:

Hike to the Mt. Beacon Firetower

Hike up Mt. Beacon Gateway to the fire tower. Meet in Gateway parking lot @ 8:00am. Organized hike with Hudson Valley Hikers for more info contact James Burns: jtburns@optonline.net

At 1 PM. Learn about the history of the ice harvesting industry in our region by sleuthing the ruins of the past. Explore the ruins and foundations of the Ice Storage house and other accessory buildings at the Ice Pond Conservation Area in Patterson. Along the way, naturalist Beth Herr will talk about the flora and fauna that edges the trail. Once at the pond, discover life under the ice of this almost 100-acre glacial lake that feeds the critical Towners arm of the Great Swamp. The hike is approximately two miles and includes a steep descent and climb. 

The Preserve may be reached as follows: From Route 312 turn onto Ice Pond Road. Continue 1.2 miles to the Conservation Area on the right. Call 228-5635 for information, registration and to be on call list in case weather changes plans or cancels. For more information on the Conservation Area, visit the website at www.pclt.net.

Act 3: With Mike Latini, Larry Eidelman and Jim Nowak

This GREAT! free musical event starts at 2:30 PM at the Desmond-Fish Library at the intersection of Routes 403 and 9D, Garrison, New York. Call: 845-424-3020. Singer/Songwriter gig. All their own tunes, etc. If he takes requests, ask for "Clones!"

Film Showing: “Taxi to the Dark Side” at 4:15PM at the  Howland Cultural Center 477 Main & Tioranda St , Beacon NY

We will be gathering on that day to respond to the call from Amnesty International to meet on the anniversary of Guantanamo Bay prison, to support the ending of torture, the closing of Guantanamo and related places, and discuss the issues of detention and rendition. We will have petitions available to sign to President-elect Obama, our Senators and Congressmembers.

“Taxi to the Dark Side” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) Director Gibney, who won awards for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, also served as executive producer of No End in Sight.

Cosponsored by: MidHudson Progressive Alliance; local Amnesty International; Dutchess for Obama; Philipstown for Democracy, Fishkill Democratic Committee, Beacon Democratic Committee Beacon Sloop Club. Free admission though contributions are more than welcome. For info: Connie Hogarth conart1@optonline.net  or Angela Valles anvalles01@aol.com

Into the Future:

Food Matters is a feature length documentary film that offers "an informative look into what's wrong with the modern food supply and why we must act to change it."  Discover natural alternatives to common ailments, and learn how to choose the most ideal foods for optimum health. www.foodmatters.tv . Light snack provided. Following the film, Shanti Urreta will briefly introduce the influential book, World Peace Diet, Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony by Will Tuttle, PhD. Copies of the book will be available for purchase ay $13/copy. RSVP to Mahopac Library (845) 628-2009.

P4D will discuss how to help get healthcare for all enacted. What are the important issues and compelling arguments – both for healthcare for all and other health issues? Will healthcare for all help jumpstart the economy? We will focus in particular on HR 676, which, if enacted, would provide necessary medical services to all Americans without co-payments or other fees at the time of service. We will come up with a strategy to lobby Congressman Hall on HR 676 - so far he has not signed onto this bill. No charge, but contributions to cover expenses are appreciated. Questions – call 917-273-0808

To determine how we can transform our communities into places where all residents can live and work without fear in a country that welcomes immigrants with open arms.  The group intends to set up meetings with various state officials. Meet with the Hudson Valley Community Coalition (of immigration groups) at the offices of WESPAC, 17 Marble Ave. in Pleasantville. Info: Betsy Palmieri, Executive Director of the Coalition at 914-977-3295

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Inauguration Day Events Carmel: 6-9 PM at the Lantern Restaurant, 728 Route 6 Mahopac. Hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, live music, 50/50 raffle, etc., Suggested donation, $10. Call 621-3791 for more information. Patterson: 6-8 PM Spaghetti Dinner with all the fixings at the Patterson Rec Center, 65 Front Street, Patterson. Suggested donation $9. Republicans are also invited. Call 878-6169 or 878-4352 for more information. Putnam Valley: 6-9 PM Rural Inaugural Ball Hosted by the Putnam Valley Democratic Committee YMCA Camp Combe, 684 Peekskill Hollow Road. Refreshments, music, dance and merry making. Ball gowns and tuxes strictly optional. Come as you are, or as you’d like to be! RSVP to: pvdems@optonline.net

Kent CAC: The January meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at the Town Center. AGENDA 1) Chairman’s Report: Membership/Hillcrest Commons/ ELLA workshop. 2) Mead Farm Project. 3) Highland Historic Preservation - Tom Maxson. 4) Stone Chambers. 5) Calendar. 6) Other (Possible: Planning Board/Sustainable Communities 7) Next Meeting

Keeping Energy Dollars in the Hudson Valley - Update on Biomass. From 9:30am – 12:30pm at Ulster County BOCES on US Route 32 in New Paltz, NY. The forum will offer updates on several local biomass projects around the Hudson River Valley. Local businesses using biomass for energy, processing technology for heat energy, growing biomass crops and NYS research and development updates on biomass. The forum will conclude with a general discussion on challenges and opportunities ahead for biomass energy development.

The forum is sponsored by Lower Hudson-Long Island Resource Conservation & Development Council, USDA and Cornell Cooperative Extension in the Hudson Valley. More information will follow. For cost recovery purposes, a $10 per person fee for this program is requested. To register, please call 845 677 8223x115. For inquiries contact Joe Heller; Joseph.Heller@ny.usda.gov or Les Hulcoop: lch7@cornell.edu

Brewster Theater Company 2009 Annual Meeting & Dinner 6PM in St. Andrew's Church, 26 Prospect St. , Brewster. Join our 2009 Annual Meeting to hear about our successful 2008 season and our exciting plans for 2009! 6-7pm: Buffet Dinner. 7-8pm: Annual Meeting. The buffet dinner will feature delectable and free food provided by BTC board members Log onto www.brewstertheatercompany.org or call 845-598-1621 for more information. Snow Date is January 31st.

Tuesday, January 27th

Discover the Actor Inside - An Introduction to Acting:
Instructor: Lora Lee Ecobelli
Hosted by Arts on the Lake
Instructor: Lora Lee Ecobelli
Day/Time: Tuesdays from 7:30-9:30 pm
Dates: 8 weeks – January 27th – March 17th
Fee: $240, $230 members

This class is the first step to building a solid foundation in the art of acting. By using theatre games and improvisation, students will learn basic theatre skills in a supportive, creative and fun environment. In addition, there will be further development of the actor's physical resources of voice and movement, concentration and working as a unit. Scene study will be explored using classic works by playwrights such as Shakespeare, The Greeks, Miller, O’Neal, Chekov, Williams, Albee and others. Students will track a character's journey through a scene and learn to further articulate the essential elements of characterization. Rehearsal with a scene partner outside of class is required. The class will culminate in a scene night open to the public.

Samba Drumming Workshop:
Instructor: John Arrucci
Hosted by Arts on the Lake
Day/Time: Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 pm*
Dates: 4 weeks – Janurary 29th – February 19th
Fee: $120, Members $110
Description: Participants will play Samba percussion instruments from Brazil (Tamborim, Agogo, Reco-Reco, Ganza and Surdo) and experience the joy of ensemble drumming. Instruction will address proper technique, phrasing and the importance of listening. Beginners are welcome. Instruments will be provided. Master musician John Arrucci's work is documented on over 50 recordings, scores for feature films and music for television. He has been on the music faculty of Princeton University since 1986. To learn more about John, visit: www.johnarrucci.com  *This Class will be held at an off site studio

Saturday, January 31

News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org

"People here in the US don't understand these things about constitutional rights."
- TSA Inspector Harris

Good Thursday Morning,

The amazing thing is that we didn't loose power up here on Miller Hill Road yesterday. Sometimes, on a nice, warm sunny day the power will go out and stay out for no known reason around here. In storms, however, we're usually out and also the very last in the county to have our power restored. 4000 homes were without power as of last evening and some are still out this morning. Here's hoping NYSEG gets you back on line soon.

I'm thinking about getting my taxes together for 2008 and I was wondering if the new Circuit Breaker bill, based on Sandy Galef's original proposal would affect me at all. It turns out that as a renter, it does not. In fact, there has been a property tax CB out for a while (IT-214) that only kicks in if I earn less than $18,000.

Most rents around here are pegged almost dollar-to-dollar to the cost of property taxes so when the CB kicks in for our landlords they realize a reduction in their ultimate property tax bill while our rents do not go down. What this amounts to is a tax free bonus for landlords and a de facto rent increase for renters. Gee. Thanks Sandy!

I wish those of us fighting for sanity had the same resources as those that are fighting to screw you over as taxpayers. They have the power of the state, we have News That Matters. They have franking privileges, we have bubkis.

The Highlands Coalition has produced a sweet 4-color brochure about the wildlife that shares our space here in the Hudson Highlands. You can download a PDF copy here or visit the NtM blog site and see it there.

From the brochure:

Biological diversity is critical for a balanced ecosystem. More than ever before, we are witnessing the interconnectedness between natural and built environments and between human and animal populations. With over 250 species of “special concern” in the four-state Highlands region, achieving compatibility within these environments and populations is a complex but essential task.

From large mammals to birds, from amphibians to insects, all are crucially important to a well functioning ecosystem. Some of the most notable species in the Highlands include the bog turtle, bald eagle, Indiana bat, and Eastern-timber rattlesnake. Many species in the NY-NJ-PA-CT area, such as black bears, bobcats and neo-tropical birds, depend on large unbroken forests for their survival (500 acres or more). In 2004, Congress passed the Highlands Conservation Act (HCA) to protect land in this region with high conservation value for wildlife, water and forests. Today, the Highlands Coalition is diligently working with agencies, non-profit partners, and private foundations in order to secure funds from the HCA to protect these lands.

And now, the News:

1. Aid schools with fair taxes
2. Extend people's right to know
3. Cortlandt considers composting operation
4. Home sales in freefall
5. Mount Vernon building inspector fired days after citing DPW chief
6. Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation
7. Curbs May Be Eased on Paving in Forests
8. JetBlue Passenger Forced To Cover Arabic Shirt Gets $240k

Aid schools with fair taxes

By Robert McKeon

While analysis and reactions from Gov. David Paterson's proposals continue to come in, it is clear the biggest losers may in fact be New York homeowners and working families.

Many of the governor's budget adjustments will result in increased shifting to property taxpayers and moderate income residents, rather than actual reductions in expenditures. His "nickel and dime" revenue strategy won't garner broad public support and demonstrates a lack of understanding with respect to stimulating an economy.

School aid cuts of $700 million below last years' levels would be significant. In doing so, Paterson has undermined any argument that may have existed for implementing a 4 percent school cap by demonstrating just how unreliable an educational partner the state can be. With contractual agreements and declining support, school districts will resort to lay-offs and may still be faced with budgets that approach double-digit increases. The governor couples this with the removal of STAR middle class rebates ($1.4 billion) without any alternative relief mechanisms. Soon the other shoe will drop when Wall Street's poor performance will translate into untold increases in pension obligations. Likely outcome: Local property taxpayers will be faced with rising school budgets for some time to come.

Read More

Extend people's right to know

A Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial

When it comes to improving vitally important open-government laws, the state must keep up the momentum.

Last year, New York passed legislation that gives the courts the authority to award legal fees to a person who successfully brings a lawsuit against a government body for violating the Open Meetings Law. Those violations could include having private discussions - or even taking votes - behind closed doors when the law says these matters should be handled publicly.

The change is significant because it can be costly to bring such a lawsuit, and average citizens must have the legal tools to hold their government accountable when necessary. Sen. Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, co-sponsored that legislation.

Still, the state's open government laws could be vastly improved in other ways. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the fact many government records are not automatically posted online, nor are they always made available before or during meetings even when they are up for discussion.

Read More

Cortlandt considers composting operation

Robert Marchant
The Journal News

The town of Cortlandt is reviewing plans to build a facility off Route 9A to take in leaves and wood, then compost them for re-sale as fertilizer.

Cortlandt Organics, a venture being proposed by John Nolan of Croton and his partner and cousin, Joseph Nolan of Ossining, would set up a composting yard on Albany Post Road in Montrose, south of Victoria Avenue, a light industrial area.

Nolan is set to make his case to the public and the Cortlandt Town Planning Board at a hearing Feb. 3. He said his business would let local municipalities avoid steep trucking fees to remove their yard waste to distant points upstate, and it would provide a resource for local landscapers and gardeners.

"There are very few places to bring leaves and tree waste, and there's a market for it," said Nolan, a trucker and businessman. "My goal is to take waste from our county and recycle it."

Read More

Home sales in freefall

By Craig Wolf
Poughkeepsie Journal

A long slide in home sales and their prices continued in December in Dutchess County as the average price dropped to a level not seen since March 2003.

The Mid-Hudson Multiple Listing Service report Wednesday said the average price of $294,005 was more than $100,000 below that of December 2007, down 26.9 percent. The median price fell less, to $280,000 for the month, down 9.7 percent in a year.

The sales volume of single-family, free-standing homes was off by more than 40 percent compared with year-ago numbers, as only 89 sales closed.

The average for all the year's 1,371 sales of those homes was $351,780, a drop of 12.7 percent from 2007's average of $402,844.

Read More

Mount Vernon building inspector fired days after citing DPW chief

Hannan Adely and Jonathan Bandler
The Journal News

MOUNT VERNON - A city buildings inspector was fired last week, two days after he issued a violation to Department of Public Works Commissioner Terrence Horton for lacking a proper permit on a private construction project Horton has under way.

City officials said the Jan. 2 firing of inspector Dennis James was unrelated to his role in issuing the violation.

Buildings Department Commissioner Ralph Tedesco said the violation "had no bearing whatsoever" on James' dismissal. He said James was let go because he had not passed the Civil Service test for his job.

Yolanda Robinson, Mount Vernon chief of staff, also said there was no link.

"We are not at liberty to comment on personnel matters," she said. "However, the violation in question has nothing to do with the inspector's departure."

Horton, president of the development company QFI Inc., received the violation on Dec. 31 for performing excavation work at 434 Franklin Ave. without a permit from the Mount Vernon Department of Buildings.

Read More

Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation

By SHAILA DEWAN

The coal ash pond that ruptured and sent a billion gallons of toxic sludge across 300 acres of East Tennessee last month was only one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the United States — most of them unregulated and unmonitored — that contain billions more gallons of fly ash and other byproducts of burning coal.

Like the one in Tennessee, most of these dumps, which reach up to 1,500 acres, contain heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and selenium, which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be a threat to water supplies and human health. Yet they are not subject to any federal regulation, which experts say could have prevented the spill, and there is little monitoring of their effects on the surrounding environment.

In fact, coal ash is used throughout the country for construction fill, mine reclamation and other “beneficial uses.” In 2007, according to a coal industry estimate, 50 tons of fly ash even went to agricultural uses, like improving soil’s ability to hold water, despite a 1999 E.P.A. warning about high levels of arsenic. The industry has promoted the reuse of coal combustion products because of the growing amount of them being produced each year — 131 million tons in 2007, up from less than 90 million tons in 1990.

Read More

Curbs May Be Eased on Paving in Forests

Sunday 04 January 2009
by: Karl Vick, The Washington Post

    Los Angeles - The Bush administration appears poised to push through a change in U.S. Forest Service agreements that would make it far easier for mountain forests to be converted to housing subdivisions.

    Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who heads the Forest Service, last week signaled his intent to formalize the controversial change before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. As a candidate, Obama campaigned against the measure in Montana, where local governments complained of being blindsided by Rey's negotiating the policy shift behind closed doors with the nation's largest private landowner.

    The shift is technical but with large implications. It would allow Plum Creek Timber to pave roads passing through Forest Service land. For decades, such roads were little more than trails used by logging trucks to reach timber stands.

    But as Plum Creek has moved into the real estate business, paving those roads became a necessary prelude to opening vast tracts of the company's 8 million acres to the vacation homes that are transforming landscapes across the West.

Read More

JetBlue Passenger Forced To Cover Arabic Shirt Gets $240k

By Chris Walters, 8:36 PM on Tue Jan 6 2009,

In 2006, Raed Jaer, an Iraqi-born U.S. resident, was forced by TSA officials and JetBlue to cover his t-shirt—it read, "We Will Not Be Silent" in both Arabic and English—before he could board a flight. The airline and the two TSA officials (TSA was not named in the suit) settled out of court last week for $240,000, although JetBlue still denies they did anything wrong, and the TSA says they don't "condone profiling in any way shape or form."

Here's what happened back in August 2006:

After passing through security... [TSA and JetBlue officials] came up to him and asked him to change his shirt as, "people are feeling offended."

Jaer replied, "Why do you want me to take off my t-shirt? Isn't it my constitutional right to express myself in this way?" Inspector Harris said, "people here in the US don't understand these things about constitutional rights."

He added, "You can't wear a t-shirt with Arabic script and come to an airport. It is like wearing a t-shirt that reads "I am a robber" and going to a bank."

When the settlement was announced, JetBlue took pains to make it clear that they're only settling to avoid a protracted legal battle, and that they don't think they did anything wrong, according to this email to the Washington Post:

Read More

News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org

"Thanks to TV and for the convenience of TV, you can only be one of two kinds of human beings, either a liberal or a conservative."  - Kurt Vonnegut

Good Wednesday Morning,

The road crews have been out since early last evening salting and sanding area roadways. But as of right now (9:15 AM) it's raining with temps at PlanPutnam Central pegged at 30.1 degrees. They've been fluctuating rapidly over the past couple of hours so until they warm up sufficiently, stay off the roads.

There's some weird stuff going on over in Southeast these days. The Town Board has canceled its contract with its wetlands inspector, Don Cuomo, and replaced him with Stephen Coleman who is an Environmental Coordinator with the Town of New Castle. I can't imagine why they would do that... oh, yes I can. I'm looking into that now and will come back with a report in a day or so. Stay tuned for that one. Southeast has never met a wetland it wouldn't pave over so why let a qualified inspector stand in the way?

The computers which run the NY State Unemployment offices crashed twice in the past week when the weight of a surge in new unemployment claims overloaded the system. They're back up now - and fortified.

Governor Paterson gives his first State of the State Address today up in Albany. He hopes he can convince the Assembly and Senate to accept some 137 new taxes fees and $9.5 billion in spending cuts. I can't really get into the whole shebang since it's way too complicated for my little head, but every constituency in the state is up-in-arms crying over proposed cuts saying, find the money somewhere else! That somewhere else is from your pocket. People think state money just mysteriously appears! But what's necessary - honestly - is a reduction in services and for us to pick up the tab for those we want - it's really that simple. Oh, we could do with a few thousand less lawyers and lawsuits, as a start.

Combined with a reduction in services, another way out of this mess would be a return to a graduated income tax system akin to what we abandoned in 1972 when state tax brackets ran from 2%-15% of personal income. Yes, the comfortable would pay more and might have to put off the purchase of that 60" flat screen TV for the master bath. But this would raise some $5 billion and provide a good start towards a fairer state taxation system and lay the groundwork for a state takeover of education funding, a move which would reduce your property tax bills. But don't expect to find support for that in Albany until after the revolution.

We now have a new Congress in Washington though I fear it will be more of the same.

It's official: Al Franken will represent the people of the state of Minnesota in the US Senate. A real tip 'o the hat goes to the state election commission which handled this with humor, candor and an impressive amount of patience.

Caroline Kennedy is still in the running for the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton and it's news all over the place. No, the Governor has not yet called to offer me the seat, but I'm guessing he's been busy on his speech today and will call either later on or sometime this week. That would spell the end of News That Matters but it's a small price to pay for decent representation in Washington... and I can get a pony, too!

The war still rages on in Gaza. Nearly 700 Gazans have been killed in the fighting, the UN  school was hit (allegedly after Israeli troops were fired on from it) and Israel has agreed to a 3 hour per day cease fire to allow humanitarian aid into the area. Hamas says they will not attack Israeli targets during that three hour period. Well, they kinda said that. Maybe.

In the meantime, Hama's second-in-command in exile, Moussa Abou Marzouk, has called for an end to Israel's war, an end to the blockade, a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and fully open, unguarded borders. He rejects the idea of peace-keeping forces to monitor the borders and nixed any talk of a permanent cease-fire with Israel. "Our position is also that Israel is neither legitimate nor credible,” he said.

The Egyptians, with whom Gaza shares a border, were less than impressed and have kept their mutual border closed pending a cease-fire initiative brokered by the French which the UN should take up sometime today. It does require an international peace-keeping force to assist Egypt in stopping the smuggling of weapons into Gaza and since that has already been rejected by Hamas, anything can happen.

And now, the News:

1. Libel suit against free NY newspaper dismissed
2. Help Protect NY's Environment From Budget Cuts
3. Honoring open space stewards
4. Bowhunting deer: Panel proposal for nature
5. The 'McMansion' trend in housing is slowing
6. Why Obama's Green Jobs Plan Might Work
7. Giving The Phone Book Spammers What For

Libel suit against free NY newspaper dismissed

A state court in New York dismissed a libel lawsuit last month against a free bi-weekly newspaper that published an anonymous letter alleging that a local developer was bribing officials.
 
The developer, Dean Gitter, sued the Phoenicia Times after the paper published a letter in March by an unnamed writer, The Daily Freeman reported. The letter alleged that Gitter, who has proposed building a large resort in the Catskills region, paid lobbyists to bribe officials.

New York State Supreme Court Judge Henry F. Zwack dismissed the suit, saying the letter-writer had merely proffered an opinion, and nothing in the letter was defamatory.

"The court finds that the letter is not actionable against defendants because the undisputed facts that plaintiff paid lobbying fees are not false or otherwise defamatory," Zwack wrote, "and the expressed opinion and personal surmise of the writer that plaintiff bribed government officials cannot (support) a defamation claim."

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Help Protect NY's Environment From Budget Cuts

Governor Paterson is proposing to gut New York’s Environmental Protection Fund and undercut the efforts of the agency responsible for making sure our water is safe to drink and our air is safe to breathe. 

New York lawmakers are considering the Governor’s proposal and we need to fix it before it’s too late. Click here to ask state lawmakers to defend New York’s environment.

New York State has one dedicated funding source for all things green. The Environmental Protection Fund supports projects across the state that run the gamut from protecting our drinking water to fixing up neighborhood parks.

Read More

Honoring open space stewards

Newstimes
Updated: 01/03/2009 12:16:48 AM EST

Five acres isn't a grand estate. But when you're a kid with a need to explore, it's room enough.

"I remember that land," said Betsy Schimelpfenig, who with her brothers and sisters grew up on property her parents owned on East Pembroke Road. "We grew up in those woods. It was an interesting place to grow up."

"I live in Wyoming now," Schimelpfenig said. "Growing up in those woods may have had something to do with that."

Today, there's a sign at those five acres honoring Schimelpfenig's mother, Dr. Emily Wellstood.

An anesthesiologist at Danbury Hospital from 1963 to 1986, Wellstood was also an environmentalist and conservationist. An early member of the Swampfield Land Trust -- now the Land Trust of Danbury -- she gave the five acres on East Pembroke Road to the trust in 1979.

"She was involved with the land trust and the Hanahoe Clinic," Schimelpfenig said. "Indian tribes and poor children were things she cared about all her life."

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Bowhunting deer: Panel proposal for nature

Greg Clary
The Journal News

The region's record-high deer population is damaging forests and hurting the health of the animals themselves, according to a new Westchester County study.

So, what's the best way to bring the deer population under control?

More hunting on public land to reduce their numbers, the three-year analysis concludes.

"We don't want to eliminate the deer, but we want them to be a complementary part of the system," said County Executive Andrew Spano, who set up the 20-person panel. "People have to see the damage that is being done by the deer and that this is a necessity, not only for the deer-human interactions, but for the whole bio-system."

In some locations, sampling counts show deer herds are six or seven times as high as experts say is healthy for the animals.

Read More

The 'McMansion' trend in housing is slowing

Economic hard times, plus shifting neighborhood and urban values, are key factors.
By Patrik Jonsson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the January 6, 2009 edition

Atlanta - Complete with an Oval Office and Lincoln Bedroom, the Atlanta White House became a symbol of developers reshaping the urban landscape by tearing down modest ranches and bungalows and plopping McMansions in their place.

New York finance blogger Rolfe Winkler calls it a "delicious story" rife with symbolism about overheated real estate and leveraged dreams that sparked the biggest national real estate slump since the Great Depression.

But the plight of this White House also marks a major shift in the transformation of American neighborhoods – perhaps the end of the McMansion era. Indeed, it may allow thousands of communities from Pasadena to Pittsburgh to more accurately balance the living requirements of modern Americans with a widespread desire to maintain older neighborhoods.

"We're advising communities to take advantage of this slowdown and use it as a cooling-off period," says Adrian Fine, a regional director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington. "It gives them a little more time to have a less heated and less controversial discussion to protect a specific neighborhood and balance that with the need for growth and development."

With housing prices off by 18 percent in 20 US cities in the last year and new home starts at a 26-year low, bulldozers have slowed their march across American cities and towns.

In Westport, Conn., teardown permits are down in the last year by 33 percent – a figure that experts say can be extrapolated nationwide, though teardown trends do have significant regional variations. Analysts expect the lull to last at least five years, perhaps 10.

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Why Obama's Green Jobs Plan Might Work

Sunday 04 January 2009
by: Marla Dickerson, The Los Angeles Times

Some states - including Michigan - already see renewable energy as their future: It's the only sector that appears to be making room for more employees despite the recession.

    Hemlock, Michigan - While Detroit's automakers struggle to rebuild their sputtering operations, the key to jump-starting Michigan's economy may lie 80 miles northwest of the Motor City.

    This is the home of Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. It makes a material crucial for constructing photovoltaic panels. And that has turned this snow-covered hamlet into an unlikely hotbed for solar energy.

    On Dec. 15, the same week that General Motors Corp. and Chrysler begged $17.4 billion from taxpayers to stave off collapse, Hemlock announced a $3-billion expansion that could create hundreds of jobs. It's a rare piece of good news for this battered Rust Belt state, whose 9.6% unemployment rate is the nation's highest.

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Giving The Phone Book Spammers What For

By Sam Glover, 12:18 PM on Mon Jan 5 2009, 10,298 views

How can you tell the number of vacant houses on a block? Easy. Just look for the houses with phone books piling up on the porch. The phone book spammers count those property-value killers into their circulation numbers, which is how they sucker businesses into buying listings in the yellow pages. Minnesota blogger Ed Kohler is even angrier about phone book spam than I am, and is on a bit of a mission to never have a phone book on his property again. So he got a little pissed when Verizon, a company he has no business relationship with, tossed one on his steps.

First, Ed tried returning a Verizon phone book to their local office in Eagan, MN, tossing it on their local office's putting green like they tossed it onto his front step, as documented in this video:

But why waste gas? One of Ed's readers says she has "chased down delivery trucks and [thrown] phone books back at them." She also got Verizon to come back for its trash one day when her shot missed.

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News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org

Good Tuesday Morning,

This morning's JN carries an article about how yet another Putnam politicians (Dwight Yee) is considering a run for Sheriff. By my count come election day, so many people will have their names on the ballot there won't be anyone left to vote. It seems like the pool is open so let's all get in there and run for Sheriff! Last one in gets to be Coroner!

The Tilly Foster contract remains in negotiations this morning as the County Law Department has taken over control. I don't know if this is good news or bad news but all we can hope for is that in the end everyone is made happy and The Farm has a long and healthful life. I really do have to thank you, my readers, for being vocal on this. There was an overwhelming view from residents of this county that, while the contract with Preserve Putnam is a good thing, you also wanted proper oversight and accountability. There were only a few voices who thought the original contract was a good one and I'm hoping they've finally come over to the side of fiscal and governmental responsibility.

While we're talking about Southeast, the Brewster School District is being honored by the State Department of Environmental Conservation for its Environmental Education  and Sustainable Practices Project. See the story below.

If you're looking for something to do come inauguration night and those tickets from Washington are not yours for the taking, there are several events planned here in the county. One, reported on last Friday, is in Putnam Valley. But Patterson is also planning a party, a spaghetti dinner, at the Rec Center. Admission is a $9 donation. The event runs from 6-8:30PM. For more info or to RSVP, call 845-878-6169 or 878-4352.

Across the ocean, Israel and Hamas are still slugging it out and no one is going to come out of this one a winner. It's a mess, there's no doubt about that. The death toll mounts, homes and lives are being destroyed, and a kindergarten was blown up in Israel yesterday. Perhaps we should send them some of our candidates for Sheriff to see if those guys can sort that mess out?

Oh, and I'm still waiting for Governor Paterson to call me. I mean, really! I'm packed and ready to head to DC to take my place in the US Senate and the phone has yet to ring. It's been since December 18th when I decided I'd be the right dude to represent NY but damn, if money and fame don't trump effort and hard work! Maybe Caroline will hire me?

And now, the News:

1. 2008 Environmental Excellence Awards (Brewster)
   
2. Retailers to Collect and Recycle Plastic Bags per New Bill
3. One river - many ecosystems
4. Exporting Leaves, Importing Compost
5. Kick the Invasive Exotic Gardening Habit with Great Native Plant Alternatives
6. Early Detection Invasive Plants By Region
7. The Greene Boom
8. Pete Seeger, Still Singing His Message at 89

2008 Environmental Excellence Awards

More than 40 candidates from industry, local governments, advocacy groups, educational institutions and the hospitality sector submitted applications for the 2008 Environmental Excellence Awards. A committee of 20 representatives from the public and private sectors selected the winning submissions. Summaries of this year's winners are below.

Brewster School District, Putnam County
Through its "Environmental Education/Sustainable Practices Project," the Brewster Central School District includes capital improvements and managerial processes to save energy and protect the region's water supply by preventing excessive plant growth, loss of oxygen and fish kills in the receiving waters. The project also provides educational activities that have developed students' awareness of environmental issues. Accomplishments to date include a 50 percent district-wide reduction in solid-waste production, a student-run organic garden and a technologically advanced wastewater treatment facility built in 2007. Improvements have resulted in more than 17 percent in annual energy savings, 1,724,388 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions prevented and 250,000 cubic feet each of paper and plastic waste diverted from landfills.

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Retailers to Collect and Recycle Plastic Bags per New Bill

Stores over a certain size will have to provide bins for plastic bags and recycle the returned bags.

Governor David A. Paterson has signed legislation to increase the collection and recycling of plastic carryout bags. Beginning January 1, 2009, the new law will require retail establishments with more than 10,000 square feet of retail space or those that are part of a chain with more than five stores (each with more than 5,000 square feet of retail space) to provide bins for the collection of used plastic carryout bags and recycle the returned bags. They also must keep records for three years describing the amount of plastic bags collected and recycled.

With a comprehensive plastic recycling law in place at the state level, local governments are pre-empted from adopting their own laws on this topic. However, additional legislation will be enacted to amend the bill to allow New York City to retain an effective and popular local law that established a recycling program throughout the city for plastic carryout bags and film plastics and to require the recycling of film plastics as part of the statewide program. Governor Patterson urged lawmakers to move swiftly to pass this amending legislation.

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One river - many ecosystems

Species depend on different parts of Hudson estuary

By Catherine McGlynn
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

Hudsonia Ltd., a nonprofit institute for environmental re-search and education, has been studying estuaries, streams and wetlands and their inhabitants for more than 25 years. A few years ago, these studies were consolidated under the institute's Wetlands and Waterways Program. Hudsonia biologists provide information about these ecosystems to public and private organizations, landowners, planners and developers to help with planning for conservation and development.

The estuary

The Hudson River is a tidal estuary - where freshwater river meets and mixes with the sea - for more than half its 315-mile length. The estuary corridor has been the focus of much human activity, but we tend to forget it is also part of an immense ecosystem extending thousands of miles into the open ocean.

Many organisms require freshwater portions of the estuary for certain life stages, but spend other parts of their lives in the sea. "Anadromous" species live as adults in saltwater and breed in fresh water: Atlantic sturgeon, striped bass and American shad, for example, all enter the freshwater portion of the river estuary to spawn.

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Exporting Leaves, Importing Compost

By ABBY GRUEN

RYE
A PUFF of wind blew the last leaf off of the pin oak in Ken Knowles’s yard here six weeks ago. The 30-foot drop to Mr. Knowles’s tidy front lawn was the beginning of a journey that will carry his leaves along with a stream of others from nearby towns out of the county to fields and farms, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

Each fall, Westchester County sends more than 85,000 tons of leaves to rural areas in a handful of states as far away as New Hampshire, where they are turned into compost and topsoil that is used throughout the region. Some of the products come back to Westchester as organic produce or soil enhancers sold at local nurseries.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to burn so much fuel to transport our leaves, but real estate is expensive around here,” said William McDavid, 62, a retired lawyer who lives in Rye, while buying groceries at June and Ho, a gourmet store on Purchase Street in the Village of Rye.

Mr. McDavid, a regular June and Ho shopper, buys heirloom and organic tomatoes there that have been grown with compost made from Westchester’s leaves at McEnroe’s Organic Farm in Millerton, in the Catskills.

During the fall, the City of Rye’s six orange garbage trucks pick up thousands of leaf bags a week and dump them in a lot behind Disbrow Park on Oakland Avenue. The leaves are transferred to 100-cubic-yard trailers that are hauled upstate and to Connecticut, New Jersey and New Hampshire by City Carting of Westchester, a private trucker. During a typical December week, Rye sends nine container trucks full of leaves on the road.

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Kick the Invasive Exotic Gardening Habit with Great Native Plant Alternatives

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Early Detection Invasive Plants By Region

IPC has developed an Early Detection list for each of the eight PRISM regions in the state (see PRISM map at bottom of page).  Each of the plants listed below is on the Early Detection List for one or more PRISMs.

    * Cllick on "ED Regions" to sort the list by Region. However, please note that for plants that occur on more than one Regional ED list, the plant is listed with the first Region, so check the entire list to see all ED plants for a specific PRISM.
    * Click on the NYFA icon to see the NY Flora Atlas County Distribution Map for that plant.  Some of the county distribution maps are incomplete.  The NY Flora Atlas is based on voucher specimens; invasive plants are under-reported.  Please consider taking time to submit a voucher specimen to fill-in a "missing" county.  Voucher Specimen Directions.

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The Greene Boom

Business is picking up in Greene County
by Christina Kaminski, December 30, 2008

With the economy slipping and slumping into 2009, it’s tempting to pity our small-business-owning friends and colleagues. We might call them brave, inspiring, or even crazy. But the truth is this: Depending on where they are, they might be on to something. Greene County, which has long been considered a timeless and picturesque getaway for leaf-peepers and other weekend warriors, is also one of the fastest-growing counties in New York. This fact has not escaped notice by county’s legislators, nor has it eluded local business owners themselves. The Greene Business Partnership and the Greene County Planning and Economic Development Board have recently completed a comprehensive economic development plan designed to facilitate balanced economic growth in Greene County for the next 10 to 20 years.

Some of the goals of the plan include the development of programs capable of assisting the growth of businesses in the county, enhancement of programs geared toward enhancing local quality of life, support of telecommunications and other business-oriented infrastructure, and identification of projects and programs that warrant federal, state, and local investments that would lead to better employment opportunities, especially for young people. In short, Greene County has adopted a long-term plan designed to keep its towns and villages bustling, beautiful, and open for business.

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Pete Seeger, Still Singing His Message at 89

By PHILLIP LUTZ

PETE SEEGER, who has written or helped popularize more than a few of America’s most memorable songs — “Turn, Turn, Turn,” “If I Had a Hammer” and “This Land Is Your Land,” among them — is 89 and, he said, has started forgetting a few lyrics.

But as he looked to his next concert, on Saturday at White Plains High School, he had little problem recalling a life of joyful protest that has enraged a few and endeared him to many.

Saturday’s concert will celebrate that life as it commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Walkabout Clearwater Coffeehouse. In classic Seeger fashion, the show will bring together many of the artist-activist’s friends for an evening of participatory entertainment promoting social justice.

“My job,” he said, “is to show folks there’s a lot of good music in this world, and if used right, it may help to save the planet.”

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News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org

Good Monday Morning,

It's back to some semblance of normalcy now that the holidays are behind us. So normal, that Patterson Crossing is back in the news, Greg Ball has resurfaced, and the county is talking about a Community College for Putnam at some undetermined point in the future. Maybe. Caroline Kennedy is still the apparent front-runner in the faux race for the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton and I've noticed that it's not quite as dark when I get up in the morning anymore which means the gardening catalogs will be on their way soon!

My jeep has started making strange clunking noises again and strange clunking noises are never good.  According to my mechanic strange clunking noises are never inexpensive either. Therefore, I'm looking for a car/wagon or light truck. A (near) freebie, of course. It should run and be street legal. Other than that, I don't care if it has a radio or if the passenger side door opens or if it's sporting a McCain/Palin bumper sticker. Look in your driveway for a spare vehicle.

The Washington Post reported the other day that more groups than thought in the past were had spied upon by Maryland State Police in a wide-ranging effort that ended in 2007. One officer spent 14 months infiltrating peaceful protest groups and the department incorrectly named 53 individuals as "terrorists", information shared with the FBI. Groups such as those who worked for the creation of bike lanes and human rights were spied upon and one of the possible "crimes" listed by police was an interest in "civil rights". See the article below.

As Washington works through the distribution of your tax dollars to Wall Street and Detroit and as credit allegedly tightens across the board, citizens are reeling in their charitable giving and it's being felt across the not-for-profit world. This chart below from the book, Green Inc. by Christine MacDonald, gives us an idea of what those at the top of some of our largest environmental groups are earning. Most Wall Street executives don't even come close.

On the other hand, the director at Arts on the Lake earns the incredible sum of $0. Now you know where to send your donation dollars. I did. You can too.

And now, the News:

1. A woman's place is on the county board
2. Ball forms ‘Putnam Pioneers’ PAC
3. Ball billboards are an eyesore
4. Land deals set Northeast Adirondack recreation
5. California sues federal government over changes in Endangered Species Act
6. More Groups Than Thought Monitored in Police Spying
7. Was the "Credit Crunch" a Myth Used to Sell a Trillion-Dollar Scam?
8. Police Get The Wrong House In Galveston, Allegedly Assault 12-Year-Old Girl

A woman's place is on the county board

Susan Elan
The Journal News

CARMEL - When the Putnam County Legislature reconvenes this month, women will comprise one-third of the nine-member body for the first time in its history.

Though fewer in number, the percentage of women is larger than in the

News That Matters
Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org

Good Friday Morning,

This morning the US steel industry came knocking on the doors of Congress

Look, my little business is suffering too. I pay taxes and insurance. I'm registered and bonded with the county. I haven't mismanaged my finances and I have not taken a bonus nor do I have benefits of any kind. No health insurance, no vacation days. And yet, here I am - like many of you - facing an uncertain future, unable to see future bills paid and no where to turn for affordable loans or financial assistance. Can I turn to Congress and ask for help? Can you or your small business? No, no we cannot. Instead, we see our taxes increased. The monies Congress holds, though they may be ours, are not intended for you or me but are heading off towards the bank accounts of the well-to-do who, and let's face it, could stand a little discipline and humility.

What makes it hurt even more is that those taxes we've been paying are going to assist corporations and their well paid management staffs, staffs who have benefits and vacation days and bonuses and who have mismanaged their businesses to such a point that they come, hat in hand, to the First National Taxpayer Bank of America teller window and find the red carpet spread out before them.

Yet, the thing that amazes me most is that we're doing it without so much as a peep; not a rally, not a demonstration. We're not burning CEO's in effigy nor demanding that Visa or Amex (both recipients of taxpayer largess) lower their interest rates to something less than biblical proportions, and we're not storming Congressional offices with pitchforks and torches - as we should be. We're going along like the good little sheeple we have become.

It seems that Americans have lost their revolutionary spirit and learned nothing from our past. The question I'm always asking (and not getting any answers to) is: What will it take to get you angry enough to do something? I'm jeff@planputnam.org?Subject=What%20It%20Takes%20To%20Get%20Me%20Angry%20Enough">genuinely curious.

It was cold Wednesday night and that little snowstorm created quite a mess. Based on the amount of traffic on my road, I decided to play it safe and stay in. Other than the Town's plow, there were but a few cars that braved Miller Hill Road between 6 and midnight where normally several score would have made the trip. I hope the night found you all safe and well - and warm!

Last Friday afternoon I attended a Boxing Day party in Lake Carmel during which we gathered 5 cartons of canned and dried goods that will be donated to the Community Action Program's food pantry. I'm sure they're still looking for more.

Here's what's new at the NtM Blog:

• Press Release from NY AG regarding new laws to improve government accountability
  
• John Walsh: The End of the Green Party
• Environmental Pitfalls of Drilling for Natural Gas in the U.S. - ProPublica
• County Legislature - Agricultural District
• Videos by Kent explain storm-water threats | lohud.com | The Journal News
• PV - PB 12/22/08 & Wordsmiths
• Protecting taxpayers | lohud.com | The Journal News
• Government Without Laws
• War With Riverbank Invader, Waged by Muscle and Munching - NYTimes.com
• The Energy Challenge - Houses With No Furnace but Plenty of Heat - Series - NYTimes.com

And remember, you no longer need an "account" at the web log in order to comment on posted stories and, as you can see from the list, there's much there that does not make it into this daily NtM column. So, go on over and look around. You might just be surprised at what you find.

Tonight:

Acoustic Music For Your Soul

Join Linda Richards, Hudson Valley songstress, Hudson River puzzle-maker and education specialist, in an evening of lovely acoustic music at the Muddy Cup Coffee House, Main Street, New Paltz. www.lindarichardsadventures.com

Saturday:

Quadrantid Meteor Shower

The annual Quadrantid meteor shower peaks early this morning when Earth enters a stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1. The timing of the encounter favors observers in wester