| News That Matters Brought to you (Almost Daily) by PlanPutnam.Org Telling it like it is for 10 years and counting... | |||
| Contact Us | Shop Putnam | Putnam Outdoors | RSS Feed | Visit the Blog | Visit our Sponsor | Donate | Blogsite | Events | |||
| | |||
| "If Senator Leibell made a mistake, I know he is the kind of person who is agonizing over it because he let people down--not because it will affect him. No good would be served by Senator Leibell being incarcerated. This is my opinion. Others may differ but they are wrong." -- Putnam Valley Supervisor, Bob Tendy on official PV municipal letterhead.
The largest Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) in New York State is in Putnam County. 230,000 deer were "taken" during the last hunting season and 1,060 bear were likewise slaughtered. It's Turkey Season now. Hunters can shoot at will from 30 minutes before sunrise until noon each day - and they do. As of 08:00 this morning it cost Putnam County $900,000,000, or around $9,000 for every man, woman and child living here, (nationally it has cost, $1,188,637,780,000) to kill one guy in a mansion in Pakistan. We should have hired the Mafia for a couple hundred thousand. More from the "Yes, It's Sad But True" Department The NY State Senate has just passed legislation that makes it illegal to text while driving. I'm not going to get in to why we do not another law when "reckless driving" would have covered that. But we love laws and we love laws that overlap other laws so that if the DA can't get you on one he'll get you on something else. I'm willing to bet that each and every one of you has already broken some law or other this very morning. But that's not what I'm writing about. The law says that a cop can pull you over if he sees you holding the phone in your hand. You don't have to be texting: You could be holding it up to see who called. You could be taking it off the visor. You could be checking the time because, if your car is like mine when the radio is on the time is not. In other words, like so many other laws on the books passed because of political expediency, you're guilty, Guilty GUILTY regardless of whether you've actually committed a crime or not. It won't be long before some overzealous DA (are there any other kind?) decides to prosecute because you *thought* about picking up your phone. But feel free to chomp on a cheeseburger, brush your hair, pick your teeth or paint your fingernails while driving as specific legislation outlawing those activities are not going to win politician's votes. Yeah, This Is How They Talk About You: A Short Play in One Act (It's in one scene as well so it's really short.) The scene: a split stage. Aunt Emma on the Left and Cousin Donna on the Right. Each is in their own spotlight and talking, obviously to each other, on the phone. Emma: It was so nice seeing everyone at Easter!Conceived, produced, written, directed and acted by the staff of TaconicArts.com - who just happens to be a house painter. Maybe you should call today for an estimate? Here's the number: 845 225-2140. Here's the email! Ball, Paul and Odall Hey, I had to make it rhyme. If there were any questions who is running this county, here's all the information you need.  And now, The News:
Environmental consortium sues DEC over hydrofracking in state forestsMidhudsonnews.comBEDFORD – The Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the State Department of Environmental Conservation seeking to declare hydrofracking in state forests contrary to the state Constitution and related environmental laws. Among those lands is the vast Stewart State Forest adjacent to Stewart Airport, three state forest areas in Ulster County plus forest lands in Delaware and Greene counties. Organization attorney James Bacon said the suit is concerned with the forestlands that are on top of Marcellus Shale formations. The suit was filed in State Supreme Court in Kingston. Hydrofracking is the forcing of chemicals under extreme pressures horizontally in shale formations in an effort to force natural gas deposits to the surface to be collected. Read More Average 2-bedroom apartment unaffordable for many New YorkersBy Brian Tumulty and Greg ClaryWASHINGTON — Workers in the Lower Hudson Valley have to earn about $30 an hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment, the highest in New York, according to a survey on housing costs. To afford the average apartment, a household would need to generate the equivalent of 3.4 minimum-wage jobs, according to the survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Renters in Westchester County need to make $30.02 an hour, and in Rockland and Putnam counties $26.98, according to the survey. As a result, low-income workers and their families are having to make difficult decisions. Read More Report: Homebuyers willing to pay premium for solarOkay, I’m a little slow on the uptake on this but I’ve been pursing a recent report from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on the effect of installing a rooftop solar array on the sale price of homes in California. (It makes for dense reading and unless you’re really into “hedonic pricing models” and “difference-in-difference model,” you might want to stick with the two-page summary.) The upshot: California homes that sport solar panels sell for a $17,000 premium for an average newish 3.1-kilowatt photovoltaic array. “This is a sizable effect,” Ryan Wiser, a staff scientist at the Lab and a coauthor of the report, said in a statement. “This research might influence the decisions of homeowners considering installing a PV system and of home-buyers considering buying a home with PV already installed.” Similar studies have been done previously, but the Berkeley report is apparently the first to analyze the statewide real estate market. California is by far the nation’s largest solar market, with some 100,000 rooftop systems installed. About 90 percent of those have been put on residential roofs, according to the report. The scientists analyzed California 72,000 home sales from 1999 to 2009. Nearly 2,000 of those homes had solar panels at the time of sale. “When the dataset is split between new and existing homes, PV system premiums are found to be markedly affected ... with new homes with PV demonstrating average premiums of $2.3 to 2.6/watt, while the average premium for existing homes with PV being more than $6/watt,” wrote the authors. My View: Don't eliminate Medicare; make it more efficientEveryone agrees that we need to address America's long-term fiscal outlook, and several plans have been put forward to that end. But the plan recently passed by Republicans in Congress wouldn't balance our budget for at least another 20 years, if then, and would only do so by eliminating Medicare while at the same time cutting taxes for the wealthiest corporations, Big Oil companies and billionaires. Under their plan, today's Medicare program would be replaced with a new voucher program that would go into effect starting in 2020. Seniors would be given a government coupon to purchase private insurance. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this coupon would force seniors to pay $6,400 more per year in out-of-pocket costs, or twice what they would pay under the current Medicare program. Worse yet, their plan eliminates the Patient's Bill of Rights, allowing decisions about seniors' health care to be made by private insurance companies — not doctors. Even though 9 out of 10 senior citizens report having a chronic condition, the Republican plan would allow insurance companies to deny coverage based on a pre-existing condition or drop someone from their plan just because they get sick. And if they want to, insurance companies would be allowed to deny coverage to senior citizens altogether. Read MoreNew Electronic Waste Recycling Program LaunchedThe new Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act that became effective last month establishes the most comprehensive electronic waste, or "e-waste," product stewardship program in the country. The law also establishes a statewide e-waste recycling goal and requires manufacturers to recycle their share of the statewide goal based on market share.  Manufacturers are required to offer a way for consumers to recycle their electronics, whether it is bringing it to a collection day or returning it to the manufacturer or a designated retailer. Manufacturers who sell electronic equipment covered by this law are required to register with DEC and to establish a convenient, free program for collectiing electronic waste. In addition, all registered manufacturers must create a public education program to inform consumers about how to return covered products. Typical consumer electronics that are covered include televisions, computers, printers, keyboards, mouses, DVD/VCR/DVR players, video game consoles and MP3 players. Manufacturers are required to accept any electronic product they produce as well as other manufacturers' products when a consumer purchases the same type of electronic equipment. For example, if a consumer buys a new computer that is a different brand than the one they are turning it, the manufacturer must accept the old computer. Who's CoveredUnder the new law, "consumer" includes any individual, business, state agency, public corporation, public school, school district, private or parochial school, board of cooperative educational services or governmental entity located in New York State. Manufacturers may charge a fee for businesses with more than 50 full-time employees and not-for-profit corporations with more than 75 full-time employees. Read More The University of Pennsylvania decided to give a group of five mechanical engineering students a year, and what looks to have been a pretty significant budget (with the help of some sponsors), to design and build what has to be one of the most technologically sophisticated bikes in existence. This bike is called Alpha, and it incorporates a whole suite of advanced features that make traditional bikes with those clunky gears and cables seem like ancient history. For starters, the drive train itself is completely enclosed within the frame. The rear wheel hub contains a three speed planetary gearbox, and there's an electronically controlled clutch that lets you switch between fixed gear and freewheeling modes. An LCD mounted in the custom handlebars displays gear, distance, speed, and cadence, and you can download your stats off of a removable SD card . There are also LED lights in the back, and all the onboard electronics are powered by a dynamo in the front wheel hub. Read More |
| ||
| Copyright © 2011 News That Matters | |||
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
News That Matters - Wednesday, May 4, 2011
