| News That Matters Good Tuesday Morning, Today is Ogden Nash's birthday. The cow is of the bovine ilk; I did not get to the candidate's forum in Mahopac last night but if anyone who was there would like to pen a short article, please send it along. I will try to get to the CRCM forum at the Mahopac Library tonight at 7:30PM. With Greg Ball taking center stage it ought to be a hoot. CRCM' s Jerry Ravnitzky promises everything will be under control but that really depends on Greg's gregarious supporters. And me. You know I can't sit still when I hear intentional dis- and misinformation coming from an elected representative. And really, neither should you. Ever. The Town of Kent's Stormwater Management Committee reported yesterday that between their presence at the 4H Fair and at the Daniel Nimham Pow Wow this weekend, they spoke to and handed out information to more than 700 county residents. There's good news for Dutchess county Assembly candidate Jonathan Smith today. Yesterday he was endorsed by Robert Kennedy, Jr. which should boost his chances of winning the primary he's facing in a few weeks and once that's under his belt he'll be poised to send current Assemblyman Joel Miller on a permanent vacation. The Assembly introduced a circuit breaker bill yesterday morning that is not quite the same as what Sandy Galef had proposed. Assembly Republicans complained saying that bills need three days before they can be brought to the floor. Democrats say they didn't really introduce the bill yesterday but on Saturday. Hmmm... (And RACC's Adam Kramer still owes me an apology for his copyright violation.) The proposed bill offers those with incomes of less than $250,000 a deduction and credit against their property taxes if those taxes represent between 5-7% of their adjusted gross income. The bill also creates two new tax brackets, one for earners of more than $1,000,000 and another for those earning more than $5,000,000 a year. However, state income tax rates for most other wage earners remains the same at 6.85% ($20,000 to $1,000,000).Fun Fact: Did you know that presidential hopeful John McCain collects almost $2000 a month in Social Security payments? Yeah, he's probably earned it. But his wife earned $6,000,000 last year and has an estimated personal worth of $100,000,000. Mr. McCain says the social security system is broken and you know what? I agree. (At least we know they don't file jointly.) Come on John, you don't need the money. Leave it for someone who does. Senator Obama will probably announce Hillary Clinton as his VP choice on Wednesday. The Russians are still in Georgia and the world press is as confused about the matter as one could ever imagine. US Media outlets and right wing bloggers portray the Georgians as oppressed. Left Wing bloggers, seeking any attempt to lay blame at George Bush's feet, claim the Georgians are the aggressors and guilty of war crimes... and so to do the Russians. It's a mess over there as cold war politics usually are. The truth is out there if you can wade through the mess.
Economic woes dominate Putnam legislative candidates forumSusan ElanThe Journal News Rising taxes, development and the lack of a county-run recycling facility last night dominated a Putnam legislative candidates forum attended by about 80 residents at the Mahopac Library. The newly formed League of Women Voters of Putnam hosted the forum, where candidates for three open seats on the nine-member Putnam Legislature spoke. "Taxes have gone up so drastically, we need to do something," said Eileen Reilly of Mahopac, a league member. "The budget is key, but so is development. Putnam County is losing too many people." Three candidates for legislative District 3 and another three for District 8 debated how to rein in taxes while presenting their vision of Putnam's future. Legislator Sam Oliverio, D-Putnam Valley, who is running unopposed for a fifth three-year term, said that because school taxes represented the greatest burden, the state Legislature should impose an income-based school tax. Read More Farmers: Immigration raids imperil harvestsJay Gallagher and Leah RaeThe Journal News ALBANY - With the harvest season beginning, farmers around the state say crackdowns on immigrants are causing a widespread labor shortage that threatens this year's harvest of some fruits and vegetables. "Some farmers are flat-out short of hands," said Pete Gregg, a spokesman for the state Farm Bureau. "They're worried about leaving fruits on the trees and vegetables on the ground." New York is home to a labor-intensive farming industry that expects this year to produce 3 billion apples, second to Washington state, as well as cabbage, corn, cherries, peaches, strawberries and blueberries. Most of those crops have to be picked by hand. At Cascade Farm in Patterson, David Frost is preparing to work harder and longer hours when four of his employees return to high school and college, halfway through the growing season. It's impossible to find replacements, he said, even though there is no shortage of willing laborers nearby. "We've checked with a lot of day laborers, and none of them have papers," said Frost, who runs an educational farm with a range of organic produce. "And we're a not-for-profit, so we don't want to jeopardize our status with any kind of problems. So we're doing it by the book. Read More Court: Cimarron owner must allow officials to tour his Putnam Valley spreadBarbara Livingston NackmanThe Journal News PUTNAM VALLEY - The owner of the former Cimarron dude ranch who is charged with doing industrial work on agricultural land must let town and state officials tour his more than 400-acre property, a judge ruled. State Supreme Court Justice Andrew O'Rourke yesterday told Alexander Kaspar of Valley View Organics to open his vineyard gates and allow the town inspectors and representatives from the state Department of Agriculture to check out the entire property. A team from the state agency is expected to visit the site tomorrow. Residents say Kaspar has done extensive logging on the site, which has destroyed wetlands. They say they have seen a regular stream of trucks and that piles of debris are evident. "We will try to find out what Mr. Kaspar can and cannot do," said O'Rourke at the start of a bench trial to unravel the situation. Read More Old tabs coming due (NYJN Editorial)The state Department of Environmental Conservation of late has been especially busy in Putnam County. It recently confirmed that it plans to fine county government an as-yet unspecified amount for violations related to a long-unused county landfill in Carmel; the closing of the county's only recycling facility earlier this year; the bulk storage of petroleum at county sites; and the need to fix a sewage treatment plant at Putnam National, the 374-acre country club that the county bought in December 2003. The breadth of the violations is stunning. So, too, is the spectre of cleanup, remediation and other costs that could face the county, and its taxpayers, who have been inundated with government officials' dire warnings about fiscal woes independent of the above-referenced list. County Legislator Sam Oliverio Jr., D-Putnam Valley, chairman of the Health, Social, Educational and Environmental Committee, described the potential cost of correcting the environmental problems as "catastrophic.'' Oliverio also said that Putnam has no choice but to correct them. It is a disgrace that circumstances have been allowed to reach this point. Read More College presidents seek debate on drinking ageBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | 8/19/08 7:40 AM ESTCollege presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus. The movement called the Amethyst Initiative began quietly recruiting presidents more than a year ago to provoke national debate about the drinking age. "This is a law that is routinely evaded," said John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont who started the organization. "It is a law that the people at whom it is directed believe is unjust and unfair and discriminatory." Other prominent schools in the group include Syracuse, Tufts, Colgate, Kenyon and Morehouse. Read More How Anti-Intellectualism Is Destroying Americaby: Terrence McNally, AlterNetSad but true: Intelligence is a political liability in the US. Author of The Age of American Unreason Susan Jacoby explains why. "It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant." Barack Obama finally said it. Though a successful political and electoral strategy, the Right's stand against intelligence has steered them far off course, leaving them - and us - unable to deal successfully with the complex and dynamic circumstances we face as a nation and a society. American 15-year-olds rank 24th out of 29 countries in math literacy, and their parents are as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution; roughly 30 to 40 percent believe in each. Their president believes "the jury is still out" on evolution. Steve Colbert interviewed Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland on "The Colbert Report." Westmoreland co-sponsored a bill that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but, when asked, couldn't actually list the commandments. This stuff would be funny if it weren't so dangerous. Read More Bill would protect huge chunk of California landBy Rob Hotakainen - rhotakainen@mcclatchydc.comWASHINGTON – If California's Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer gets her way, Congress will vote next month to designate nearly 800,000 acres of California land – an area larger than Rhode Island – as federally protected wilderness. The House has already signed off on some of the land, giving the designation for nearly a half-million acres in six states. Roughly 60 percent of the land approved by the House is in California. While few pieces of major legislation are moving in the current Congress, wilderness bills have been a notable exception, and it has been one of the most striking changes caused by the Democratic takeover of Congress last year. Read More Quebec Wal-Mart Workers Unionizeby: Ylan Q. Mui, The Washington PostPact ordered by Labor Board covers eight employees. A small group of employees at a Wal-Mart store in Canada secured yesterday the only union contract with the company in North America, a victory for labor groups that have campaigned for years to organize the world's largest retailer. The three-year contract covers eight workers in the tire and lube department of a Wal-Mart in Gatineau, Quebec, and increases starting wages from $8.40 to $10.89 an hour. The contract was imposed by the Quebec Labor Relations Board after negotiations between the company and employees fell apart. In its decision, the board called the contract "reasonable, realistic and equitable." "I think the employees at that particular location should be congratulated," said Michael Forman, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, which organized the employees. "I think no doubt what's happening at Gatineau will be encouraging." Read More U.S. turns away Canadian SamaritansLONDON, Ontario, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Two Canadian women trying to get to New Orleans to help with post-hurricane rebuilding say they were denied access to the United States at the Detroit border.Jana Rausch, 23, and Andrea Ferriera, 25, of London, Ontario, told the London Free Press they were denied entry Friday afternoon by border officials. The pair said they had been approved to work with Habitat for Humanity for 10 days, but border guards said they needed some kind of proof of that, as well as a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency certifying their volunteer status. Rausch said one guard asked her "Don't you have hurricanes in Canada? Why can't you help your own people?" Read More |
| ||||||||
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
News That Matters - August 19, 2008
