News That Matters - September 4, 2008

News That Matters Brought to you by PlanPutnam.Org Good Thursday Morning, "No one gossips about other people's secret virtues." - Bertrand Russel Today is Paul Harvey's birthday. And now, the rest of the story... Batten down the hatches in preparation for the weekend! It seems as if we're going to receive some much needed rain courtesy of tropical storm (or hurricane, by tomorrow) Hanna. As of now, we're looking at Saturday into Sunday but the storm has proved fickle so watch the skies. Forecasts this morning say that Hanna will be off the coast of Long Island by 2AM on Sunday morning bringing gale force winds though up here in the country it'll probably just be rainy and breezy. The coming rains will be a great opportunity for you to get outside to see where all that stormwater is going. If it's flowing off your property and into the street, make plans to find an alternative way of dealing with it. Rain barrels, rain gardens, pervious pavers and other management methods are inexpensive and will go a long way towards cleaning up our lakes and streams. While we've made great strides in getting industry to clean up their act, the last remaining piece in the stormwater pollution puzzle is you! Schools are open again. Drive carefully. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi is still running around the state pushing his 4% tax increase. Personally, I don't get it - and neither should you. A "tax cap", as he calls it, is a guaranteed tax increase. Instead, write to your state reps and tell them that only a full state takeover of education funding, combined with a return to a graduated income tax is the solution and that you'll accept nothing less. And in case you've noticed... It was just a few weeks ago when the news was overflowing with talk of tax relief and reform and all those other nice words and I warned you then: it was all just talk aimed towards lulling you into the belief that Albany cared before an election. Was I right? Of course. Drill Baby, Drill! So ran the chant that filled the XCel convention center in St. Paul last evening as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin took the stage to deliver what has been the best speech of the RNC so far. It's no matter that the bulk of the speech was written by a Bush staffer weeks before the party even knew who the VP choice would be. How Senator McCain will follow that show is uncertain but if you're still awake later this evening, tune in to find out. If you have cable, C-Span is your best bet for live coverage without the inane talking heads and blow-by-blow coverage. Ms. Palin claimed last evening that being mayor of a town consisting of fewer people than what attend a little league baseball game, offers her more "experience" than does being a US Senator. Ms. Palin also mentioned that her foreign policy experience included a trip to Ireland but that's only true if you count a two hour layover at the airport as a "visit" to Ireland. But Ms Palin has other issues before her that voters won't hear much about and that deserve a tad more attention... her environmental management, for example. As Governor, Ms Palin supported a program that offered hunters a $150 bounty for each killed wolf, that also encouraged - and allowed - those same hunters to shoot at wolves - and bears - from low-flying airplanes, oftentimes chasing them to exhaustion before shooting them at point-blank range. And, shall we talk about her insistence that drilling for oil domestically is the solution to life itself? For the record, on the poll question the other day; Will Governor Palin's personal family life affect your vote in November? 45% said "No" while 55% said, "Who Cares?" Can we move on to something of merit now? Here's more about Ms. Palin's environmental record. Meanwhile, on the streets of St. Paul... Police fired concussion grenades, smoke bombs, rubber bullets and tear gas cannisters at a small group of unarmed demonstrators (about 30 people) along the river in St. Paul yesterday and then chased them for several blocks firing into the crowd as they retreated. 2000 people participated in a peaceful anti-poverty march which ended when police fired tear gas and grenades into the crowd as it approached the Xcel Center on their legally permitted route. Ramsey County Judge Paulette K. Flynn convicted two minors of criminal contempt for refusing to provide their identity. The two minors were then sentenced to 30 days in an adult jail facility. A permitted concert on the steps of the State Capitol was disrupted by police who surrounded the band's trailer telling organizers that the concert "would incite a riot". When police finally left, the world famous grunge band, Rage Against the Machine, played a short acoustic set in an act of civil disobedience. Police then arrested 44 people. Earlier in the day, police chief John Harrington said of the concert, "I'm not hearing anything so far on the wires that this should be an event that gives anyone any reason for fear." There's no mention of why he changed his mind. Journalists and volunteer medics are still being targeted for arrest and 50,000 signatures have been gathered on petitions in protest. Failedbrewstermayor.com Such is the name of a website which links from a you-tube video that ostensibly airs a private phone call between former Ball staffer Rob DiFrencesco and Gerard Ahler who once ran for Carmel Highway supervisor. The video alleges to show private emails between Mr. DiFrancesco and County Democratic Party chair, Lynne Eckardt. But some of the emails shown are highly redacted, select words have been stressed with a video overlay while other typed lines are too blurred to make out what they say. We're not given a date and time for the call though it hints at a year ago, and both Mr. Ahler and Mr. DiFrancesco deny recording the call. However, causal evidence points to Mr. Ahler. I could be wrong. Does anyone have a clue? Who made the video? It links to a person with the moniker, "truthaboutgregball" which links to the website, failedbrewstermayor.com. We go over there and try to find out who owns that website and the information is hidden... all we know is that it was registered on July 6, 2008 for one year and resides at godaddy.com. But the video is filled with inaccuracies which could arise from a simple lack of research or they could be an intentional misleading of the facts. The most glaring is the one that ends the video, a picture of Senator Leibell's home on Cushman Road with a text overlay telling us about his $3.1 million, 120 acre home site. 120 acres? That's clearly not correct. American voters love this stuff. It makes us drool and froth at the mouth in anticipation of discovering as much dirt about the private goings on of politicians as we can possibly stuff into our brains. We seek this shit out. We crave it. We ought to have 12-Step groups for it. And when we have had our fill we vote for the candidate who was best at it. The guy who stooped the lowest, who told the most lies and showered us with so much sewage that we stink from it... and then we demand more! In the end we wonder why we cannot find "qualified" people to run for office. Well, who the hell would want to? Generally, with a few exceptions, only those with a stomach hard scaled enough to belly-crawl through an election are willing to submit themselves to this and I salute those brave enough. This is the state of our democracy being played out in the womb of an underage teenager from Alaska and in the 99th Assembly district in New York State. And we still cannot get enough. Let me close by saying this: There is a lot wrong with Greg Ball as a public representative. There's more than enough wrong to disqualify him from serving in the NY State Assembly or any other legislative body for that matter. But none of what is wrong with him has anything to do with his private life, his trouble with women or his Air Force records. There's more than enough on the public record regarding his flawed tenure in the Assembly, his efforts to stir up white supremacists in the 99th district by giving aid and succor to their cause, and his hubristic demagoguery to disqualify him as a viable representative of the people. I'm certain John Degnan is not behind the personal attacks on Mr. Ball. Those who are however, should be ashamed of themselves. I really wish they were mature enough to have stuck to the issues that matter rather than dig in his closets seeking his skeletons - skeletons we all have if we dig deep enough. I really wish they would have not lowered themselves to Mr. Ball's belly-scraping level and focused on bringing his dismal record as a representative to Republican voters rather than the nonsensical crap they've dug up. Those people - whoever they are - must bear their share of the responsibility for the actions which weaken our democracy and insult our intelligence... though we do seem to love it! Just a reminder to the muckrakers in case I do decide to run for office one day: My skeletons are not in the closet. They're in the garage, right hand side, in the back behind the snow thrower. Lastly, police in Florida arrested a 29 year old man yesterday for the unbearably terrible crime of showing 2" of his boxers above the waist of his jeans. Plumbers beware! And now, just to prove the world does spin, here's some other news: Putnam Valley mom worries for filmmaker son held in Nigeria Drain Damage (Danbury, CT) E.P.A. Kills Water Project in Delta Alaska voters decide mining over fish Water quality threatened by development, NJ says States make way for low speed vehicles For journalists & photogs, it's a rough convention On These Commuter Buses, the Passengers Hold All Calls, or Else Caught With His Pants Down Putnam Valley mom worries for filmmaker son held in Nigeria Barbara Livingston Nackman The Journal News PUTNAM VALLEY - Putnam Valley resident Polly Berrien Berends is a very anxious mother this week and hopes the U.S. State Department, elected officials and free press groups will successfully get her 36-year-old son, documentary filmmaker Andrew Berends, released from Nigeria. The Brooklyn resident and docu-journalist is working on a film about Nigeria's oil-producing region and the ongoing conflicts between the government forces and local militia groups. He was detained Sunday by the Nigerians and charged with spying, according to e-mails sent to U.S. officials. Also held was Berends' translator, Samuel George, a Nigerian national and Joe Bussio, a local bar manager. Berends entered the African nation legally in April to work on his film, according to Reporters Without Borders, a nonprofit free press group supporting journalists. Read More Drain Damage Danbury's biologically important Parks Pond has been a mucky mess for eight weeks—and the state DEP doesn't seem interested By Dave Bonan Tarrywile Park, once Connecticut's largest independent dairy farm, is now Danbury's crown jewel, with 722 acres of hills, ponds and trails that hold an exotic array of wildlife. Also the site of Tarrywile Mansion, a shingle-style Victorian home built in 1898, the park was purchased by the city in 1985, and Danbury has since annexed an additional 187 acres into the park grounds. Tarrywile is now part of a greenbelt of undeveloped land spanning three towns. After walking past the entrance and through a hay field, visitors come to the 7.85-acre spring-fed Parks Pond, which was built by farm owner Charles Darling Parks as a family swimming hole in 1902. Stone steps lead from the dam into the water. The pond traverses the park and feeds into Blind Brook, and then the Still River, then the Housatonic River and, finally, empties into Long Island Sound. Neither park staff nor the DEP know the exact depth, but it's estimated to be around 30 feet. The water level was lowered by nine feet in early July for repairs to the pond's dam. Today, a thick layer of mushy algae blooms coat the surface, trash that was under the surface has been exposed and a new muddy shore has emerged. Repairs to the dam didn't start until mid-August, six weeks after the water level was lowered. The pond could be slowly dying. As for the effect on the 2,519 wildlife species in Tarrywile—a unique mix that includes "rare, endangered or threatened species," according to a 2001 study—well, it seems no one's bothered to check. Read More E.P.A. Kills Water Project in Delta By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: September 2, 2008 The Environmental Protection Agency killed a federal plan to build the world’s largest water pump in the Mississippi River Delta. It is the first time since 1990 that the E.P.A. has vetoed a project proposed by the Army Corp of Engineers. The $220 million proposal would have moved six million gallons of water a minute from 67,000 acres of wetlands along the Yazoo River. The agency said the project would cause unacceptable damage to fish, wildlife and waterfowl. Read Original Alaska voters decide mining over fish Alaskans were given an option when voting for an initiative in their primary election: mining or fish. By MARY PEMBERTON Associated Press Writer ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaskans were given an option when voting for an initiative in their primary election: mining or fish. They chose mining. With more than 84 percent of votes tallied early Wednesday, the measure was declared dead with more than 57 percent of voters rejecting it. The ballot measure would have imposed two water quality standards on any new large-scale mines in Alaska. Had it passed, it would have restricted large, new mines from releasing toxic pollutants into water that would adversely affect the health of humans or salmon. Read More Water quality threatened by development, NJ says September 1, 2008 TRENTON, N.J. - Better wastewater treatment plants have resulted in improved water quality in New Jersey, but problems caused by development are increasing, according to a draft of a state report. The study from the state Department of Environmental Protection finds that nutrient levels in many of the state's waterways have stabilized or improved. The report finds that since the 1980s, dissolved oxygen conditions have improved because of wastewater treatment plant upgrades. But only 7.2 percent of the 472 locations studies for the report were found to be completely acceptable for swimming and other uses. Read More States make way for low speed vehicles More and more permit them to travel on state roads where speed limits are low. By Mark Clayton| Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor/ September 3, 2008 edition Ken Pringle could be driving his Jaguar. But the senior elected official in Belmar, N.J., mostly chooses to silently cruise town roads at 25 miles per hour – top speed for his all-electric “Mayor-mobile.” That’s what kids in his tiny, oceanside borough dubbed Mayor Pringle’s bulbous “neighborhood ­electric vehicle” or NEV after he bought it on eBay for $5,000 in 2004. Way back then, gas was just $2 a gallon and only a couple of dozen states allowed NEVs on state roads where the speed limit was under 35 miles per hour. But now, with gas hovering around $4 a gallon, more states are moving to allow them and Pringle’s NEV predilection looks prophetic. That’s right: In America, land of the muscle car, the hot new way to strut your stuff on the road is gliding in electric near-silence at 25 miles per hour. From Belmar to Lincoln, Calif., the big car buzz is all about down-shifting to the slow lane. Read More For journalists & photogs, it's a rough convention By DAVE DAVIES Philadelphia Daily News daviesd@phillynews.com 215-854-2595 If police and protesters skirmish around the Republican National Convention, count on Philadelphia Associated Press photographer Matt Rourke to be in the middle of the action. He was rewarded for his efforts Monday by being doused with pepper spray, knocked down and arrested by St. Paul police. Rourke was shooting photos of the protesters at a parking lot at 7th and Jackson streets, in downtown St. Paul, when police converged from three directions on protesters that they regarded as particularly troublesome. "We were encircled, and as I moved toward the officers in front of me in a passive manner, my legs were taken out from behind in an aggressive manner," Rourke said yesterday after 12 hours in jail. Read More On These Commuter Buses, the Passengers Hold All Calls, or Else By MIKE RICHARD Published: September 3, 2008 The New Jersey commuter bus heading to New York City one day last week rolled to a stop on the side of the highway. The morning holdup was caused by a passenger who was talking on her cellphone. Comment on This Article “I’ve got all day, ma’am,” the driver announced into his microphone, with the bus idling, about half an hour from the Lincoln Tunnel. “I’ll wait till you’re done.” Nearly 50 passengers heard the warning, which the driver said was aimed at “the woman seated behind me in the third row by the window.” The woman, embarrassed by the sudden attention, hurried to wrap up her phone conversation. Once the bus started rolling again toward the Port Authority Bus Terminal, she said to a passenger next to her, rather sheepishly: “I had to cancel an order. Sorry ... but what’s the big deal?” Read More Caught With His Pants Down Florida man nabbed for violating city's new baggy trouser ordinance SEPTEMBER 3--Meet Kenneth Smith. The Florida man, 29, was arrested yesterday for wearing baggy pants. Smith was busted by Riviera Beach cops for violating a city ordinance governing low-slung trousers (or, legally speaking, "exposure of undergarment in public"). According to a Riviera Beach Police Department affidavit, cops were investigating a report of a man selling drugs from a parked Chevy Impala when they spotted Smith standing beside the vehicle. As Officer B. Jackson noted in the report, Smith's brown and white plaid shorts "were so low that it exposed his blue and white boxer shorts approximately two inches below his waist." Smith, who was also charged with disorderly conduct, could be fined up to $150 on the pants charge. In a bid to criminalize a fashion style popularized by urban youth and hip-hop fans, Riviera Beach voters approved the new ordinance earlier this year. While first offenders like Smith only face a monetary hit, if a baggy pants devotee gets nabbed more than once, he/she could face up to 30 days in jail. Read More

Contact Us PlanPutnam Shop Putnam! Highlands Open Space Guide House Painting! Rss Feed Email: