No Country For Sane Men: News That Matters - Friday, July 16, 2010

News That Matters

News That Matters
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Good Friday Morning,

News That Matters welcomes our new readers and registrants this morning.

Andrew Cuomo came to Putnam County yesterday and local Republicans, both high and low, came out to fawn over the man who is a better Republican than Rick Lazio. You gotta love it.

Remember all that tree cutting we reported about along Peekskill Hollow Road last week? You remember, Vic Tiship sent out an alert and you all wrote/called County Legislator Vinnie Tamagna about it? Right. Well, the work stopped at the Putnam Valley line and first impressions were that the alert stopped the work. (By the way, the county has still not returned my call about that). But there may be more to this story and there may be a Town of Kent connection to the whole affair. It's been said that the Town complained to the county that they did no work along Peekskill Hollow road and to prove the county could do work they sent out the crews on steroids. I'm not necessarily buying that for I cannot believe that the county would be that vengeful but as I find out more I will let you know. If you have any insight on the matter please write.

And, while we're talking about Peekskill Hollow Road, you'll also remember that the county had passed an Historic Roads law and the process of including PHR in that law is now underway. Supporters need the approved signatures of 50%+1 of the linear feet owned (around 16,800 ft) along the road in order for PHR to be included in the law and granted protections that would have prevented the tree cutting we saw last week from taking place. Keep in mind, this is not 50%+1 of the property owners, but of the land owned. There is a difference.

If you'd like to help out that project you can download a blank copy of the petition here and then bring it to the Farmer's Market at Tompkins Corners on Friday's between 3-6PM and hand it to Dell or Eric.

Going to Court Again. Again.

August 2nd is fast approaching and if you've forgotten (and it's easy to with everything else that is going on), that's the day that Carmel's Lori Kemp goes before Judge Spofford to answer the harassment charges against her.

Though we've generated many, many letters to the District Attorney's office, the judge himself has shown no inclination to chastise a smirking Frances O'Reilly, Ms. Kemp's former attorney, for his admitted refusal to adequately represent her, (where most judges would have dope-slapped him from here to law school and back), and our letters, phone calls and personal meetings have all failed to persuade The Machine that this case is unfair, unjust and plain old dumb, we don't hold much hope that justice will be served on that day.

But the county, er, The Machine, is in a bind for they cannot win for winning.

If the judge should find Ms. Kemp guilty of the charge the public will know they have no rights to protect their property from interlopers so long as they come under the protection of wealthy developers and their elected cronies. If by some miracle the charges are dropped or Ms Kemp is able to prove in court that she has rights, the public perception will be that The Machine will harass anyone that gets in the way of blasting the shit out of our mountains and hillsides for personal gain and profit and leveling our county as certainly as mountain top removal has done - and is doing - to the fabled green and rolling hills of West Virginia.

As always, some of the events have been culled from Manna Jo Greene's excellent event list. You can write Manna Jo here.

Tonight

Open House Poughkeepsie

5:00-7:00 p.m., Hudson River Housing's Middle Main Revitalization OPENING RECEPTION, Art and Cultural Exposition "Open House Poughkeepsie." The reception will take place at Clinton House. Art exhibits will be on display in Main Street storefronts during the two week period. For more information about Casperkill - Fall Kill Creek Week contact Jennifer Rubbo at (845) 454-7673 or jen@clearwater.org or Emily Vail at (845) 437-5313 or emvail@vassar.edu.

History Walk: Potable Water in an Estuary

5:30 PM The Importance of the Spring to Prehistoric People at Maple Grove Historic Site, 24 Beechwood Avenue, Poughkeepsie. Walk through the field at Maple Grove to the spring-fed stream with archaeologist Lucy Johnson, who will discuss the Native American presence in the region and the importance of Hudson Valley tributaries and coastal springs. For more information about Casperkill - Fall Kill Creek Week contact Jennifer Rubbo at (845) 454-7673 or jen@clearwater.org or Emily Vail at (845) 437-5313 or emvail@vassar.edu.

Saturday

Bird Walk at Vassar Farm

8:00 AM Members of the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club will lead a walk on the Farm and provide information on resident birds of the area. For more information contact Jennifer Rubbo at (845) 454-7673 or jen@clearwater.org or Emily Vail at (845) 437-5313 or emvail@vassar.edu. http://dutchesswam.com/2010-events/additional-information-for-ralph-t-waterman-club-bird-walks

Build Your Own Rain Barrel Workshop

1:00 p.m.This will take place at the newly opened Fall Kill Partnership Gardens, located in the back of the Family Partnership Center, 29 N. Hamilton Street, Poughkeepsie. Rain barrels capture runoff from rooftops during storms. Three other workshops will take place throughout the month of July in Rhinebeck, Pawling, and Beacon. The registration fee for the workshops is $15. Spaces are limited. To register, contact Vicky at vcb4@cornell.edu or 845-677-8223, ext. 153.

Sunday

Hike Around White Pond

11AM - the Kent CAC will lead a Hike around White Pond. We'll meet at the NY State Multiple Use parking area on White Pond Road off of Farmer's Mills Road. The hike will traverse the historic dam, skirt through the hemlocks, chestnuts, and tupelos in the deep woods, tiptoe across a stone wall above a swamp, and finally follow along the road with the open water and big sky. Don't forget to bring your lunch and water for the hike. Also, you may wish to bring a bathing suit for a dip in the clean, cool waters of White Pond after the hike.

This is a moderate hike that takes about three hours including a lunch break and stops to learn local and natural history. Expect to see day lilies and Indian pipes, enjoy the sweet fragrance of the swamp azalea, and lunch overlooking the lake. If bad weather forces us to cancel the hike, we'll send an e-mail like this one and post the news on the Kent CAC programs page about an hour before the scheduled start. For further information contact hike leader Beth Herr <mailto:herrszur@comcast.net>

Into the Future:

Tuesday, July 20

Indian Point Hearing
2PM - 7PM Colonial Terrace, 119 Oregon Road, Cortlandt Manor. Attend public hearing sessions on July 20 to voice your support of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) recent decision to deny a critical water quality certification for the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

DEC denied this certification because Indian Point is violating state water quality standards: the once-through cooling water system kills over a billion fish every year, including endangered sturgeon, and releases huge amounts of hot water back into the Hudson. Radioactive water leaks from the plant have contaminated the state's groundwater and slowly leach to the river.

However, Entergy is scrambling to try and overturn DECs decision. They've launched a massive PR campaign to try and convince the public that complying with the law and doing what is best for the environment is not necessary. Entergy has also requested a hearing to have DECs determination reversed. Before moving forward, DEC will host meetings on July 20 to solicit comments from the public on this critical issue. We already know Entergy is going to try and pack the house by paying people to show up for this hearing. We need to make sure our voice is heard and that someone speaks up for our communities and for the river.

Wednesday, July 21

Swim for the River and FLOW: For the Love of Water.
6:30 PM at Staatsburg Library (70 Old Post Road) in Staatsburg: Swim for the River and FLOW: For the Love of Water. Swim for the River is a documentary on Chris Swain's journey to become the first person to swim the entire length of the Hudson River, from the Adirondacks to New York City. Along the way, Swain meets many people who are working to protect the Hudson River from a wide variety of threats. This is a great film for kids. FLOW looks at the worldwide future of our water resources and the people who try to protect them. More info on this and other Dutchess Watershed Awareness programs can be found here http://dutchesswam.com/

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