It’s probably gonna snow. If the weather service report from this morning holds true, we’re looking at somewhere between 9 and 13 inches of snow by later tonight. This could cancel the Physical Services Committee meeting schedule for 1:30 this afternoon at Tilly Foster Farm. Check the County Leg Calendar for updates. If I get an email from the County saying the meeting is canceled I’ll post it right away otherwise I’ll see you there.

As of 8:30 this morning, Governor Paterson has not yet called to offer me the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. He may not want to upset Ms. Kennedy or Mr. Cuomo right before Christmas and I can understand his sensitivity to the issue, or he may be running a background check to make sure I’m kosher before he calls. I’m patient, but I am packing and thinking about buying a suit. I suppose I should start looking for an apartment in Georgetown, too. Just a small one-bedroom in a quiet building where I can keep a garden would be nice.

Congress is getting a pay raise this year and a bill to kill that went nowhere. In fact, only [...]]]> Good Friday Morning,

It’s probably gonna snow. If the weather service report from this morning holds true, we’re looking at somewhere between 9 and 13 inches of snow by later tonight. This could cancel the Physical Services Committee meeting schedule for 1:30 this afternoon at Tilly Foster Farm. Check the County Leg Calendar for updates. If I get an email from the County saying the meeting is canceled I’ll post it right away otherwise I’ll see you there.

As of 8:30 this morning, Governor Paterson has not yet called to offer me the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. He may not want to upset Ms. Kennedy or Mr. Cuomo right before Christmas and I can understand his sensitivity to the issue, or he may be running a background check to make sure I’m kosher before he calls. I’m patient, but I am packing and thinking about buying a suit. I suppose I should start looking for an apartment in Georgetown, too. Just a small one-bedroom in a quiet building where I can keep a garden would be nice.

Congress is getting a pay raise this year and a bill to kill that went nowhere. In fact, only 34 Congressmen signed on to that bill with two of those being Kristen Gillibrand and John Hall. Good for them! When I’m in the Senate, I promise to vote against any pay raises through my tenure there.

Don’t forget our $20/Nothing From China holiday shopping pledge. To help you along there’s a page at the blog listing local businesses with gifts that qualify.

While we’re talking about Hanukkah, I went to the Hannaford’s to do some grocery shopping and purchase Hanukkah candles. There is a tiny kosher section but there were no Hanukkah candles. None. In fact, several staff people didn’t even know what I was talking about. One woman brought me Sabbath candles. But Rich, a guy who works grocery, came to the rescue and brought me to the spot in the store where they would be…. had they bothered to have them. Rich was a good guy and did his best and so we must focus on poor central management. I don’t expect more from a store that can’t stock decent deli mustard like Hebrew National or Batampte.

How can you have a deli without deli mustard? How can you have Hanukkah without candles? Luckily the A&P across the street not only had them, but had them on a table as soon as you entered the store. Kudos to those guys and bad luck at dreidel to Hannaford’s purchasing managers.

For those of you keeping track, Hanukkah starts at sundown on Sunday this year. My 51st birthday is the next day, the 22nd, and Christmas is a few days later. Its important to keep your gifts for me distinct and separate so I don’t get the three confused. When wrapping, use blue for my Hanukkah presents, green for my birthday presents and red for my Christmas presents. I’d hate to open the wrong gift on the wrong day and spoil the appropriate surprise.

Anyway, there’s a lot going on these next few days but most are private parties or other events like that which will not be posted here.

Today:

1:30PM Meeting on the Tilly Foster Contract

The Physical Services Committee of the Putnam County Legislature is set to meet at Tilly Foster Farm today to take testimony from the public on the proposed contract between Putnam County and George Whipple for management of that facility for the next 40 years. You know my position on that contract – it sucks for the county – but you are encouraged to read it and come to your own conclusion. The latest contract is here. My comments are here. Keep the Avil handy.

7 pm. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

Cary Institute Auditorium. 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook. NY.  The animated film tells the story of how magical inhabitants of a rainforest called FernGully fight to save their home when it is threatened by logging and pollution. Rated G and suitable for families. 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY.  (845) 677-7600×121. www.ecostudies.org

Into the Light

Dec.19 – 21  A winter solstice dance/theater spectacle featuring the Vanaver Caravan and Arm-of-the-Sea Theater. Dancers, mask characters, giant puppet figures and live music combine to tell the story of a girl rescued from her dark times by a magic bear. The two then set off on a journey toward the light. Performances Dec. 19 at 8 pm, Dec. 20 at 2 pm & 8 pm, Dec 21 at 2 pm. Quimby Theater, SUNY Ulster, Stone Ridge. Tix $15/$10   845-256-9300

Saturday:

“Bethlehem: Behind the Wall” 5 p.m.

At the Woodstock Library at 5 Library Lane just off Tinker St. The speaker is local resident and peace activist Jane Toby, who has visited the region, living with a host family in Bethlehem and volunteering with Bethlehem¹s Arab Educational Institute (affiliated with Pax Christi). The speaker writes that she is “a Jewish American woman concerned about our lack of knowledge of the Palestinian people in Israel and in the Occupied Territories. To learn more about them and to contribute towards working for peace, I traveled to Israel and the West Bank” (summer 2005; winter 2007-8). Information, JaneToby@aol.com.

Sunday:

Hanukkah begins at sundown.

Winter Solstice Multimedia Show

Landscapes in Music, Paintings, and Photographs, Story Telling by Chuck Stead. Images of Hudson River School paintings with music and nature photographs by Geoff Welch, sponsored by The Town of Ramapo and The Friends of Harmony Hall~Jacob Sloat House. Location: Harmony Hall~Jacob Sloat House, 15 Liberty Rock Road, Sloatsburg, N.Y., Contact: Geoff Welch (845) 712-5220 or geoffwelch@gmail.com. A Free Event.

Into The Future:

Saturday, December 20

Annual Putnam Humane Society Cookie Sale. Drew Methodist Church, Route 52 in Carmel. Imagine a room full of tables covered with delicious cookies, and you get to walk around the room, scooping up your favorite home-made cookies for just $5 per pound.

Tuesday, Dec. 30, 6:30 – 9:30 PM.

Holiday Open House at Van Wyck Homestead Museum, 504 Route 9 (by I 84) Fishkill .   Celebrating the holidays in December and January; Christmas – reading of the “Night Before Christmas” by Henry Livingston and ornament making; Dreidle and Hannukah songs; Dia de los Tres Reyes etc. Music and refreshments in a festive atmosphere. Free. 845-569-3943

Saturday, January 10; Sunday, February 8th, 9:30am to 12:30pm

“Free-A-Tree” Invasive Vine/Shrub Cutting & Saw Mill River Clean-up.

Join the Saw Mill River Coalition/Groundwork Hudson Valley. Invasive vines are killing the trees that protect the river’s banks.  Garbage is crowding out wildlife and polluting the river.  We’ll have garbage bags, gloves, and vine-cutting tools, but we’d appreciate it if you brought your own vine-cutting tools and gloves.  We ALWAYS have someone on hand who can teach you how to identify invasive vines in our area and how to cut them. The primary vines we cut are porcelain berry and oriental bittersweet, and the invasive shrub is multiflora rose. Wear long sleeve shirts and sturdy shoes (no flip flops).  Children under age 16 require adult supervision.  Community Service credits available for high school students. Contact: free-a-tree@hotmail.com, 914-375-2151, and cell on event day@ 914-815-5872. Check our website at www.SawMillRiverCoalition.org for up-to-date and event day weather cancellation information.  Location:  Site: Farragut Avenue (Exit 13 going NORTH on the Saw Mill River Parkway), Hastings-on-Hudson. Meet in parking lot just off the exit (by the South County Trailway).

Saturday, February 7, 2009:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Fifth Annual Hudson River EagleFest: Teatown Lake Reservation will host the Fifth Annual Hudson River EagleFest on Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 9 am to 4 pm. The event will be headquartered at Westchester County’s Croton Point Park, with additional eagle viewing sites hosted by collaborating organizations located along the Hudson River.

EagleFest activities include educational displays, collaborator’s exhibits, and children’s activities about bald eagles and other birds of prey, under heated tents at the park.   Three eagle-spotting sites along the Hudson River will be staffed by eagle experts with spotting scopes, warming tents and hot chocolate. Advance tickets are on sale beginning December 15.  See www.teatown.org for the listing of additional open education centers, viewing locations and a full list of EagleFest activities.  Snow Date:  Sunday, Feb. 8.

I, for one, am a tad disappointed that the temps weren’t 2 or 3 degrees cooler over the past 36 hours. Had they been, we’d be looking at almost 30″ of snow and man, that would have been great! But alas, a man’s dreams were dashed by the moderating forces of Mother Nature.

So far this month the NtM blogsite is averaging 85 reads a day. As I often say in this space, there’s a lot more there than appears here and you have the ability to comment, discuss and pontificate to your heart’s content. Head on over, sign up and post away!

As of this morning there are 12 shopping days until Christmas, 9 until Hanukkah and 10 until my 51st birthday. Hopefully you’ve been checking out the Holiday Shopping Guide for my, er, your gifts this year, keeping them to under $20 per person and buying nothing from China. Shopping for locally produced and crafted gifts gives not only to the recipient but also to your neighbors and helps make our region stronger financially. Shopping locally is the gift that keeps on giving and when the bills come in January, you won’t [...]]]> Good Friday Morning,

I, for one, am a tad disappointed that the temps weren’t 2 or 3 degrees cooler over the past 36 hours. Had they been, we’d be looking at almost 30″ of snow and man, that would have been great! But alas, a man’s dreams were dashed by the moderating forces of Mother Nature.

So far this month the NtM blogsite is averaging 85 reads a day. As I often say in this space, there’s a lot more there than appears here and you have the ability to comment, discuss and pontificate to your heart’s content. Head on over, sign up and post away!

As of this morning there are 12 shopping days until Christmas, 9 until Hanukkah and 10 until my 51st birthday. Hopefully you’ve been checking out the Holiday Shopping Guide for my, er, your gifts this year, keeping them to under $20 per person and buying nothing from China. Shopping for locally produced and crafted gifts gives not only to the recipient but also to your neighbors and helps make our region stronger financially. Shopping locally is the gift that keeps on giving and when the bills come in January, you won’t need the nitro to get your heart moving again.

PlanPutnam and News That Matters are still accepting your donations for the work done and this daily column that comes to you *free* virtually each and every day. If you’ve not yet helped us out, please do so. There’s a lot of work that goes in to this, more than you can imagine. So, if you’re reading… well, you know.

No one gets paid for the show or for rehearsal time; not the cast, not the director or producers or narrators or the lighting or sound guys or designers or the backstage crew… no one, not even me. It’s all done as a labor of love and as a service to the greater community. There are 30 people – some as young as 6 – working day and night on this production.

The set takes up the entire back of the Arts Center and it’s extensive, let me tell you! Everything from the central puppet stage to a snow machine and mountains that move – literally. Did I mention the scores of hand-crafted puppets – and the snowball cannon?

With dozens of lighting cues and with music and special sound effects, the stage and accouterments built by Lake Carmel’s Ed Durkee, deftly managed by Kent Cliff’s Kathy Freston, the three professional actors performing voice-overs (Midhat Serbaghi, Francine Reilly, James Shearwood) and with music based on The Nutcracker, this production promises, as it proved last year, to be the singular event you won’t want to miss this holiday season. And besides, Rapunzel needs your help escaping her prison tower.

Produced by Bart Cook and his partner, Maria Caligari, principle dancers from the NYC Ballet, “The Young Wizard and the Sugar Plum – The Search for a Magic Wand” will take you through a 75 minute journey into a land of fancy. And, it’s not just for kids – bring a date – it’s all really quite cute as hell. Oh, and don’t forget the magical flying broomstick!

The show runs this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, with 3PM matinees both days and a 7:30 PM performance on Saturday followed by a special reception for the audience. Tickets are going fast (and they’re more than affordable!) so check out the event below and reserve a place today. Really, don’t wait.

Photos of last year’s production by Chris Casaburi

Saturday:

The Young Wizard and the Sugarplum

The Search for a Magic Wand! Arts on the Lake presents its 2nd Annual puppet extravaganza at a 3PM matinee and a 7:30 PM evening performance. The 7:30PM performance will culminate at a reception with Bart Cook and Maria Caligari, principle dancers for the New York City Ballet, who designed the puppets and choreographed the performance.

Tickets for the matinee are $10 for Adults $5 for children and AotL members. Tickets for the evening performance are $15 for Adults and $10 for children and AotL members.

The Putnam Chorale will host a community sing along of Handel’s Messiah, with chamber orchestra.

Bring your own score, or use one of ours and join the Chorale in singing these classic pieces.  The sing is scheduled for December 13, 2008 at 7:30 pm at the First United Methodist Church, Main Street, Brewster, NY.

Brewster Theater Company Holiday Party

The holidays are here again and so is the Annual BTC Holiday Party! It takes place December 13th, right after the evening performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (approximately 8:30PM) at the same place, St. Andrew’s Church, 26 Prospect St. in Brewster so members of the cast will be joining us.

Sunday:

The Young Wizard and the Sugarplum

The Search for a Magic Wand! Arts on the Lake presents its 2nd Annual puppet extravaganza at a 3PM matinee performance for children and Adults!
Tickets for the matinee are $10 for Adults $5 for children and AotL members.

Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Bishop and patron saint of children who was known the world over for his generosity to poor children will be portrayed by the Reverend Gordon Bienvenue. Reverend Bienvenue will visit with the children in the audience.  In Dutch nursery lore, Saint Nicholas is known as Sinter Klaas, and came to our shores in 1664 as Santa Claus in 1664. Donation: $10, $5 children 12-18; free for children under 12. Info: Gwen Cope 845 529 5076  www.tompkinschurchny.org Historic Tompkins Corners Methodist Church 729 Peekskill Hollow Road Putnam Valley, NY (one mile west of the Taconic Parkway)

The annual spectacular Living Nativity will be held this year on December 14. Starting at the Saunders’ driveway at 4pm, the caroling and strolling event will be narrated and directed by the Reverend Frank Geer, pastor of St. Philip’s Church, in Garrison. Parking is available across the road in the pasture.
On the Old Albany Post Road at Highlands Road in Philipstown.

Good Monday Morning,

We had a tiny bit of snow yesterday and in response to that first visual blast of winter, highway crews across the county emptied the oceans of salt and left it in mounds at  intersections all over the place.

Are the sides of your car white? Does a bear poop in the woods? Does a one legged duck swim in a circle? Of course.

Auto mechanics and body shop owners across the region will tell you that the amount of money you and I spend on auto maintenance from road salt has reached astronomical amounts. When it comes to salt, less is sometimes more, especially when it comes to the undercarriage of your car rotting out in five or six years and leading to other – dangerous – problems such as your brake lines rusting to the point of failure.

The biggest offender seemed to be the County so someones got to have a chat with Highway Superintendent Harold Gary about that, especially on roads near water courses, lakes and reservoirs. Road salt is one of [...]]]> “I am not the Grinch, but parchments from 1814 and Twinkies don’t mix,”
- Putnam County [NY] Clerk Denis Sant

Good Monday Morning,

We had a tiny bit of snow yesterday and in response to that first visual blast of winter, highway crews across the county emptied the oceans of salt and left it in mounds at  intersections all over the place.

Are the sides of your car white? Does a bear poop in the woods? Does a one legged duck swim in a circle? Of course.

Auto mechanics and body shop owners across the region will tell you that the amount of money you and I spend on auto maintenance from road salt has reached astronomical amounts. When it comes to salt, less is sometimes more, especially when it comes to the undercarriage of your car rotting out in five or six years and leading to other – dangerous – problems such as your brake lines rusting to the point of failure.

The biggest offender seemed to be the County so someones got to have a chat with Highway Superintendent Harold Gary about that, especially on roads near water courses, lakes and reservoirs. Road salt is one of the most significant pollutants of drinking water sources and we’ve got to find a way to offer  highway safety while protecting life’s most essential ingredient.

Most drivers however, have come to expect our roads to be safe at any speed regardless of conditions. Whether it be rain, snow, ice, or wet leaves. In response, lawyers – and the threat of lawsuits – have caused highway crews to do what they do leaving it to the courts – or the fear of the courts – to become defacto experts on how to use road salt and sand. But let’s face it, they don’t know Jack. Drivers are never to blame for a wreck on a slippery road… especially when there’s a lawyer around.

We could just slow down and be cautious but that would require paying attention and practicing a modicum of personal responsibility. Can we all do that next time it snows? Can we all drive a little slower and be a bit more tolerant if the road isn’t magically free of snow, ice and water?Please?

Illuminating Illuminate.

A few weeks ago I wrote in this column:

Remember back in June of 2007 when former Kent Councilman Denis Illuminate allegedly shot Putnam Valley resident, Douglas Greenwich – twice?

Yeah, I’d almost forgotten too.

Last Friday, after 17 months in limbo, a grand jury finally met to hear evidence in the case. According to an October, 2007 article in the JN, Greenwich claims he was shot first in the chest and then in the back. Illuminate claims Greenwich came after him with a nightstick threatening to bash his head in.
Illuminate is being defended in court by Carmel attorney Victor Grossman which is rather like John Adams defending British soldiers after the Boston Massacre.

I’ll tell you, if you or I shot someone I’m pretty sure the cops would have taken our gun, (Illuminate kept his), locked us up or, at least set bail, (I don’t think either was done), and convened a grand jury pretty darned fast. I guess it’s nice to be a former cop, a former councilman and a friend of the former DA.

Carmel Attorney Victor Grossman, who is defending Mr. I, wrote the other day first to thank me for the comparison with Mr. Adams and then to say that Dennis’ gun was, in fact, turned over and that he gave a statement to the police that very day.

In a NYJN article of October 1, 2007, a reporter wrote:

“But [attorneys] Orlando and Redd wonder why the prosecutor, Stephen Lewis, has yet to interview their client or present the case to a grand jury – and why  Illuminate, 65, a former Kent police officer and councilman, still carries a gun.”

If Mr. Grossman is right, and I know the guy so I’m not really qustioning (you remember my legal disclaimer from the other day), that’s just two more important items that happened not to be mentioned in the original – or subsequent – NYJN news story of the event. There is a pattern there…

So, in the future, whenever I write something or make note of something posted to the NYJN’s website, just keep in mind the odds are that the story may not be all that complete. Caveat Reader!

While we’re talking about the NY Journal News, according to an editorial in today’s online edition, smoking is considered a psychiatric disorder. To wit:

“A major new study on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among young adults in the United States revealed some disturbing news. Notably, the rates of disorders – including substance abuse, nicotine addiction, personality disorders and other mental-health conditions…”

When did that happen?

For those of you who celebrate Hanukkah (remember, that’s the holiday where you wrap your presents for me in blue paper so as not to confuse them with my birthday (green) or Christmas (red)) there’s this little video online (office safe) brought to our attention by LL.E. It’s 3:19 seconds of a subgroup of the Seattle Men’s Chorus singing “I have a little dreidel” and it’s not what you might think! It’s the kosher cowboy way.

Not to be left out, those who celebrate Christmas and just can’t enjoy that holiday without a stunning performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, here’s a rare video performance of such by monks who have taken vows of silence. And if you’re a reformed Jew, here’s a version recorded in Israel, of that famous ditty sung in Hebrew.

What do Harry Potter and Rapunzel have in common? Coming this weekend to the Cultural Center on Lake Carmel is the second annual edition of Arts on the Lake’s puppet extravaganza:

The Young Wizard and the Sugar Plum
The Search for a Magic Wand

Conceived, directed, produced and choreographed by Kent’s own Bart Cook and Maria Calegari, principle dancers from the NYC ballet, this 90 minute wonder for adults and children includes scores of hand-crafted puppets, a dozen humans, music from The Nutcracker,sound effects, magical lighting and audience participation. This is the holiday show not to be missed. Did I mention the flying broomstick?

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. If last year is any indication, you’d better get to it. Seats sell fast!

1. Land sold for subdivision on Patterson farm
2. Space feud spurs questions on Bondi
3. Back at Junk Value, Recyclables Are Piling Up
4. L.I. town Sets Guidelines for Backyard Windmills
5. Bank of America to Stop Financing Mountaintop Mining
6. Read all about it: newspapers are done for
7. D.C. Circuit Panel Bars Live Sketching, Then Fumes at Art

Land sold for subdivision on Patterson farm

Michael Risinit
The Journal News

PATTERSON – The neighbors outlasted the proposed subdivision known as Burdick Farms, former farm fields once eyed for 128 homes but eventually approved for 34.

California developer Vincent Condito walked away from the project in October, citing the worsening economy, town officials said. In doing so, he left behind some unpaid bills – including one for Patterson’s engineering consultant.

He sold the property shortly before Thanksgiving, according to a deed filed in the Putnam County clerk’s office. That’s allowing some creditors to recoup cash and leaving some neighbors wondering what may be next for the 168 acres, where corn and hay once grew above Bullet Hole Road. Many had worried about the project bringing traffic to the neighborhood’s narrow roads and polluting nearby wells.

Read More

Space feud spurs questions on Bondi

Susan Elan
The Journal News

A clash over renewal of a lease for CAP, the agency that serves the poor, at 121 Main St. in Brewster, also home to the county records depot and a sheriff’s department annex, has led to some elected officials openly questioning the whereabouts of County Executive Robert Bondi.

“If he (Bondi) were here on the job, he would know the circumstances instead of making decisions from upstate New York,” said Putnam County Clerk Dennis Sant, who wants to use the space allotted to CAP’s food pantry and the sheriff’s annex for the mushrooming number of court and municipal records that are housed in the same building.

For several years, there have been whispers about Bondi’s alleged schedule of four-day weekends at his farm in Steuben County where his wife lives full time.

Now Sant and Legislator Vincent Tamagna, R-Philipstown, charge publicly that management of Putnam has suffered through Bondi’s alleged absence.

Read More

Back at Junk Value, Recyclables Are Piling Up

By MATT RICHTEL and KATE GALBRAITH

Trash has crashed.

The economic downturn has decimated the market for recycled materials like cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals. Across the country, this junk is accumulating by the ton in the yards and warehouses of recycling contractors, which are unable to find buyers or are unwilling to sell at rock-bottom prices.

Ordinarily the material would be turned into products like car parts, book covers and boxes for electronics. But with the slump in the scrap market, a trickle is starting to head for landfills instead of a second life.

“It’s awful,” said Briana Sternberg, education and outreach coordinator for Sedona Recycles, a nonprofit group in Arizona that recently stopped taking certain types of cardboard, like old cereal, rice and pasta boxes. There is no market for these, and the organization’s quarter-acre yard is already packed fence to fence.

“Either it goes to landfill or it begins to cost us money,” Ms. Sternberg said.

Read More

L.I. town Sets Guidelines for Backyard Windmills

ISLIP, N.Y. (AP)  — Homeowners in one Long Island town can now add windmills to their backyards.

The guidelines crafted by the Town of Islip allow homeowners to erect wind turbines up to 45-feet high on their residential property.

But the turbines will have to be set back from property lines and emit only as much sound as street traffic in suburbia.

The guidelines are aimed at allowing residents to reduce dependence on the power grid.

Read More

Bank of America to Stop Financing Mountaintop Mining

By Tom Zeller Jr.
Executives from the bank were given a personal view of mountaintop mining near Kayford, W. Va.
(Photo: Associated Press)

The Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the nation’s most powerful environmental groups, has managed to persuade Bank of America, one of the nation’s leading financial institutions, to take a measured stand against certain surface mining practices.

From an announcement released Wednesday by the bank:

Bank of America is particularly concerned about surface mining conducted through mountain top removal in locations such as central Appalachia. We therefore will phase out financing of companies whose predominant method of extracting coal is through mountain top removal. While we acknowledge that surface mining is economically efficient and creates jobs, it can be conducted in a way that minimizes environmental impacts in certain geographies.

At the N.R.D.C.’s Switchboard blog, Rob Perks, director of the organization’s Center for Advocacy Campaigns in Washington, said the group managed to persuade Bank of America executives to visit several mountaintop mine sites in Appalachia — including Kayford Mountain, which has been laid low by mountaintop mining methods.

Read More

Read all about it: newspapers are done for

Print media are in dire trouble – but blogs are no substitute

Andrew Sullivan

The big three car makers are now the focus of attention in the US. The good news is that their incompetence and fecklessness are not being overlooked. The odds of their being saved seem mercifully lower now than before, especially as other industries, facing the same brutal environment, are not sure why they shouldn’t be bailed out as well.

Take the newspaper industry. It has been faltering badly under the pressure of new media for a few years. For much of the past decade, circulation for all papers has been declining at about 2% a year. The last year has been a test case of sorts. Newspapers had the story of a lifetime: an election campaign of historic interest, suspense, drama and personality. From Hil-lary to Barack, from John Edwards’s love child to Sarah Palin’s Down’s syndrome child, from John McCain’s wild lunges for relevance to the first black president, it was the kind of year in which circulation should have boomed. If you live for a story, this year was an embarrassment of riches.

And yet the decline didn’t just continue. It accelerated.

Between March and September the 500 biggest newspapers in America reported an average circulation decline of 4.6%. In six months. That’s close to a 10% decline per year. No newspapers showed any but fractional gains. It is therefore a near-certainty that many towns and cities in America will no longer have a newspaper after the down-turn. And that may apply not just to small names but to some big ones as well. The Los Angeles Times, for example, has gone from a circulation of 1.1m to 739,000 since the turn of the millennium. Its staff has been halved. Morale has never been lower.

Read More

D.C. Circuit Panel Bars Live Sketching, Then Fumes at Art

There was neither a published nor unpublished opinion—no formal judgment at all—for this federal appeals court decision: A sketch artist was barred from capturing oral argument in a high-profile Guantánamo detainee case.

Longtime courtroom sketch artist Bill Hennessy Jr. brought his 20″x26″ portfolio and his tackle box of pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, and water color markers, to the line at Courtroom No. 5 at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week. The court’s chief deputy clerk, Marilyn Sargent, confronted Hennessy. No sketching allowed today, Hennessy recalled Sargent say.

Hennessy, who’s been sketching court action for nearly 30 years, says he wasn’t given much of an explanation and assumed that tight space was the hang-up. He put his gear in a press room and returned to court with a college-ruled 8″x10″ pad and black pen. A dozen reporters took up two rows in court. Other observers stood against the side and back walls of the room.

Read More

Good Friday Morning:

I’d like to thank all of you who helped out during the recent fund drive. For those who forgot, please re-consider your forgotting.

For those who read each day and felt it unimportant to help keep this coming to your email boxes, (and I’m particularly talking to the politicians out there, but common folk too,) I will be enclosing a “Dose of Guilt“© within each day’s message. I have a Jewish mother and grew up in an Italian Catholic neighborhood so I’m primed, practiced and armed. Thanks to a trick of HTML coding you won’t see it, but it will be there... See? There it was! You can make it go away by clicking here and following through.

In yesterdays online edition of the NY Journal News there was this headline,

Heh. Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, too. The JN has since ‘updated’ the headline.

Here’s a list of [...]]]> “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” – Thomas Jefferson

Good Friday Morning:

I’d like to thank all of you who helped out during the recent fund drive. For those who forgot, please re-consider your forgotting.

For those who read each day and felt it unimportant to help keep this coming to your email boxes, (and I’m particularly talking to the politicians out there, but common folk too,) I will be enclosing a “Dose of Guilt“© within each day’s message. I have a Jewish mother and grew up in an Italian Catholic neighborhood so I’m primed, practiced and armed. Thanks to a trick of HTML coding you won’t see it, but it will be there... See? There it was! You can make it go away by clicking here and following through.

In yesterdays online edition of the NY Journal News there was this headline,

“Ball explodes at treatment plant; worker doused
with white powder and possibly sewage”

Heh. Yeah, that’s what I thought at first, too. The JN has since ‘updated’ the headline.

Here’s a list of the Top 5 Posts from the blog as of this morning:

By the way, Wednesday was the biggest day yet with 166 pages viewed. You can sign up here. There’s additional NtM content plus the ability to comment on NtM articles and posts.

It’s going to be cold this weekend with the possibility of snow on Sunday morning so here’s a short list of events taking place in the region which might earn your interest. Even if they don’t, get outside away from the computer and television and leave your cell-phone turned off. You deserve a break. Oh, and one more thing: please, for your sanity, stay away from the malls!

Tonight:

What Would Jesus Buy? – Film Screening – 7:30 pm

The Muddy Cup, 305 Main Street, Poughkeepsie

What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt! From producer Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me). “Fast and funny” – NY Times. “Tremendously entertaining” – Village Voice. The screening will be followed by an audience discussion. This is part of the “Give Peace a Film” series sponsored by the Dutchess Peace Coalition (http://www.dutchesspeace.org) There is no admission charge.
Contact: (845) 876-7906

Work O’ The Weavers – 8 PM

Performance  at Trinity Church in Ossining to benefit River Build 2008. The concert will be hosted by WFUV radio personality Robert Sherman. Work o’ the Weavers performs songs of the famous Weavers folk music group from the ’50′s & ’60′s that was headed by Pete Seeger www.workotheweavers.com Ticket information is available at www.RiverBuild.org.
Contact Jon Bernz (914) 244-3400

Saturday:

Beacon: 4th annual “Global Day of Climate Action: A New Day for the Earth” From 3-5PM

Part of the fourth annual Global Day of Climate Action, synchronizing demonstrations around the world to call on world leaders to take urgent action on climate change. The event will occur midway through the annual UN climate conference, taking place this year in Poznan, Poland. This year, actions in the U.S. are particularly pertinent because the U.N. conference is going to set the parameters for the post-Kyoto treaty to be signed in December, 2009 in Copenhagen. The world is hopeful that the Obama administration will more favorably treat such global warming treaties than its predecessors. Location: Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries 199 Main St. Beacon, NY 12508

Putnam Arts Council presents their 14th Annual Invitational Craft Show and Sale

Featuring the work of 30+ regional artisans with prices capped at  $100 (ish) & NEW FOR 2008: Gift-able ART- fine art for $75.- (or less!) Admission and parking free, Tuesday – Sunday from noon-5pm, December 6-19, 2008 at The Lodge (Bldg 8), Tilly Foster Farm, 100 Rte 312, Brewster, NY ~ Special member preview, December 5, 6-8pm Info/directions: putnamartscouncil.com or 845-278-0230
Runs Tuesday through Sunday until December 19th. (Closed on Mondays)

Brewster Holiday Caroling and Tree Lighting – 5 PM

Meet at the Southeast Museum – 67 Main Street, Brewster. See Santa! Free Hot Chocolate, Cider and Cookies!!! At 4:00PM Holiday Ornament Making Workshop ($5 materials fee) Sing along Main Street. Experience the lighting of the new tree at the Brewster Train Station and the Tree lighting at the Walter Brewster House. For information call 845 279-7500

The Putnam Chorale is pleased to present A Celebration of Henry Purcell.  8PM

The Chorale will perform two works by the English master of Baroque style, Henry Purcell, “Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day” and “Come, Ye Sons of Art.” Under the direction of Douglas Anderson, professional soloists and orchestra will accompany the Chorale. At the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Brewster. 845-279-7265

Woodstock: 3rd annual tribute to activist/folksinger Phil Ochs. From 8-11PM

The Woodstock Phil Fest – The late, influential Phil Ochs will be remembered in a tribute concert in Woodstock once again this year. Founded by musician/activist John Pietaro of the alternative protest music group The Flames of Discontent, the Ochs tribute has grown each year. Playing at this year’s tribute concert will be The Flames of Discontent, Woodstock songstress and local TV personality Journey Blue Heaven, Kingston folksinger/activist Bob Lusk, Lower East Side punk-drenched songwriter Slink Moss, folksinger/activist WVKR air personality Chris Ruhe, and social justice poet Marina Mati. Some other “special” guests have also been invited. Cost: $10 Location: The Colony Cafe 22 Rock City Road Woodstock, NY 12498

Sunday:

New York City Gay Men’s Chorus

Holiday Dress Rehearsal Concert – 2:00 Concert – Doors open at 1:30
This year, our glittering Holiday Spectacular is titled ‘Celebrate Me Home.’ Along with our usual entertaining and varied mix of songs, celebrities, and surprises, we will be paying tribute to the amazing work of PFLAG, the organization for parents, friends and families of Lesbians and Gays as well as the Ali Forney Center which helps provide homes for the up to 25% of LGBT teens who are rejected by their families, and end up homeless on the streets of New York.

Requested $10 donation. For more information call 845-878-4127 Location: Hudson Valley Resort and Spa 400 Granite Road Kerhonkson, New York For directions go to www.hudsonvalleyresort.com or call 845-626-8888 Proceeds to benefit New York City Gay Men’s Chorus

The Putnam Chorale is pleased to present A Celebration of Henry Purcell.  3PM

The Chorale will perform two works by the English master of Baroque style, Henry Purcell, “Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day” and “Come, Ye Sons of Art.” Under the direction of Douglas Anderson, professional soloists and orchestra will accompany the Chorale. Location: The United Methodist Church on Main Street in Cold Spring. 845-279-7265

Into The Future:

Monday December 8

Dawn Serra works her last day as Communications Director of the Highlands Coalition. Dawn writes: I wanted to let those of you I haven’t talked to individually know that I will be leaving the Coalition to take a position with Wilderness Watch in Missoula, MT. I will be working as their new ‘Communications and Outreach Coordinator.’ I’m excited to broaden my communications skills to include working with the media and speaking to the public to help ensure that lands and waters within our National Wilderness Preservation System are truly protected! I have enjoyed working with all of you over the past 5 1/2 years, and am thankful for the professional growth my various roles with the Coalition have provided me.

Farewell Dawn.

Saturday, December 13

---

The Young Wizard and the Sugarplum
The Search for a Magic Wand! Arts on the Lake presents its 2nd Annual puppet extravaganza at a 3PM matinee and a 7:30 PM evening performance. The 7:30PM performance will culimante at a reception with Bart Cook and Maria Caligari, principle dancers for the New York City Ballet, who designed the puppets and choreographed the performance.

Tickets for the matinee are $10 for Adults $5 for children and AotL members. Tickets for the evening performance are $15 for Adults and $10 for children and AotL members.

---

The Putnam Chorale will host a community sing along of Handel’s Messiah, with chamber orchestra.  Bring your own score, or use one of ours and join the Chorale in singing these classic pieces.  The sing is scheduled for December 13, 2008 at 7:30 pm at the First United Methodist Church, Main Street, Brewster, NY.

Sunday, December 14

---

The Young Wizard and the Sugarplum
The Search for a Magic Wand! Arts on the Lake presents its 2nd Annual puppet extravaganza at a 3PM matinee performance for children and Adults!
Tickets for the matinee are $10 for Adults $5 for children and AotL members.

---

“Christmas At The Corners” A Seasonal Music Celebration sponsored by the Tompkins Corners Family Music Festival will be held on Sunday, December 14th, at 3:00 PM. The musicians featured are: Ron Gluck, Kate Hoekstra, Michelle LeBlanc, Tim Pitt, Bob Tendy,  and the Peekskill Hollow String Band with Susi and Pat Cummings, Jan Hoekstra, Drew Howland, and Maaike and Dennis Klubnick.

Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Bishop and patron saint of children who was known the world over for his generosity to poor children will be portrayed by the Reverend Gordon Bienvenue. Reverend Bienvenue will visit with the children in the audience.  In Dutch nursery lore, Saint Nicholas is known as Sinter Klaas, and came to our shores in 1664 as Santa Claus in 1664. Donation: $10, $5 children 12-18; free for children under 12. Info: Gwen Cope 845 529 5076  www.tompkinschurchny.org Historic Tompkins Corners Methodist Church 729 Peekskill Hollow Road Putnam Valley, NY (one mile west of the Taconic Parkway)

Monday, December 15

The 13th Annual Holiday Interfaith Candlelight Vigil for Economic Justice will be held 5:30-6:30 p.m. This event is intended to draw attention to various Dutchess County social needs, commemorate those affected, and urge county legislators to pass reforms. Speakers include Rabbi Paul Golomb (of Vassar Temple), Rev. Gail Burger (of Dutchess Interfaith Council), Brian Riddell (Dutchess Outreach Executive Director), and Joel Tyner (County Legislature Environmental Committee chair). The sponsor is the Real Majority Project. Information, (845) 489-5479.

Saturday, December 20

Annual Putnam Humane Society Cookie Sale. Drew Methodist Church, Route 52 in Carmel. Imagine a room full of tables covered with delicious cookies, and you get to walk around the room, scooping up your favorite home-made cookies for just $5 per pound.