News That Matters » Holiday

Ornamental Holiday Decorations

Plant Talk — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:00:55 +0000

This article was first posted at Plant Talk by Plant Talk.

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education.

Let’s look at simple ways to dress up our homes for those of us who have great aspirations and little time.

Around the holiday times we like to brighten up our homes with flowers. If you buy a nice bouquet of roses you can gussy them up for the holidays with a few simple tricks. An easy way is to hide the stems with a cranberry frog. Take a bag of cranberries (hard ones) and wash them clean. Remove any that are soft. Pour the bag into your vase and fill with water. The cranberries will keep the stems in place and create a pretty effect in a clear vase. They will float a bit at first but then settle down. The cranberries last for about a week. This is best done in a nice wide clear vase to show off the cranberries.

When filling your vase think beyond flowers. Often people embellish our floral arrangements with ferns or magnolia leaves. At this time of year substitute holiday greens in for the traditional greenery. White pine, incense cedar and hollies make three good options.

You can also place holiday ornaments into the mix. In craft stores you will find wired stakes of different sizes. Wire the ornament to the stake and stagger the ornaments throughout the greenery.

Last year, I decided to fix some lady apples onto small green stakes and add then to the arrangement. While I was breaking the rules for good arrangements (fruit and flowers don’t mix well because the ethylene gas emitted by fruits will cut down on the life span of the flowers) it certainly looked nice and lasted long enough to make me happy.

Here are a few tips to make your life easier. Search the florists, craft stores and supermarkets for interesting decorative supplies. Pine sap can easily be removed from clothing with rubbing alcohol. For your tools and hands try hand sanitizer, baby oil, WD-40 or anything oily.

Roses are wonderful but so many times you bring them home and they droop within the first few days. Cut the roses at a 45° angle with either your pruners or a sharp knife. Place immediately into lukewarm water. Floral preservative increases the longevity of flowers by up to 75% so it is worth the small investment. If you don’t have floral preservative handy there are many homemade recipes. Here is just one:

Take 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of bleach and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 quart of lukewarm water. The bleach keeps the mixture clean and free from bacteria, the sugar feeds the flowers and the citrus helps the flowers to take up water by making it slightly acidic.

There are many methods for reviving drooping flowers. One that works effectively for roses is to heat water up so that it is very hot (almost but not quite boiling). Dip the stems of the drooping roses into the hot water for 30 seconds keeping the flowers away from the steam. Re-cut the stems and place them back in a clean vase. They should revive within 15 to 30 minutes.

Let the Holiday Train Show Take You for a Ride

Plant Talk — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 13:00:10 +0000

This article was first posted at Plant Talk by Plant Talk.

Rustin Dwyer is Visual Media Production Specialist at The New York Botanical Garden.

Don’t miss your chance to walk through a miniature New York cityscape, teeming with Garden-scale model trains. Running through January 9, the Holiday Train Show offers New Yorkers (and visitors too!) a chance to see their city in a completely new way. Lose yourself among 140 beloved New York landmarks as the trains zip along over a half mile of track in this miniature world inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

Your trip to The Garden doesn’t end with the trains though. Performances of Tootle the Train and the Little Engine That Could along with Gingerbread Adventures in the Discovery Center run daily. Grab a bite in one of our two cafes, get in some holiday shopping at the Shop in the Garden or just marvel at the 250-acres of natural beauty.

Get you tickets today!

News That Matters – September 4, 2009 – Things To Do Edition

Jeff Green — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:35:28 +0000

Good Friday Morning,

As we approach Labor Day Weekend and the traditional end of summer we open the door on the best time to travel since everyone is back at school (or in Europe, back at work). If you can get away, now is the time.

Congratulations go to Kent’s Maureen Fleming for earning the endorsement of the AFL-CIO in her race for Kent Town Justice.

While the elections are generally calm in most of our towns it’s not so over in Southeast where the vitriol continues unabated as the days move on towards the primary a week from next Tuesday. Really now, if I lived in that town I’d be embarrassed. Southeast replaced Kent several years back as the Town That Rankles and I’m happy they’re working hard to keep that moniker. Keep it up, guys!

Congressman John Hall held another in a series of Town Hall style meetings last evening in Goshen and it had quite a different feel than the the one held the night before in Bedford. Not in attendance were those who don’t know their Medicare is provided by the government and so the evening went rather smoothly, what with the screaming and yelling missing. Down in Bedford on Wednesday evening, John would answer a question and the audience would boo and yell. John would say, “yes, the sky is blue,” and the audience would scream until they were blue-in-the-face. An audience member demanded the fat be taken out of the Medicare system and though the Congressman stated that was a particular point in HR3200, the audience booed anyway. I don’t get it.

Bee keepers and farmers in the area are preparing for what they believe may be the largest die-off of out pollinating friends this winter. All spring long (which ran into July) the rains kept washing off the pollen from plants these critters need to make the food that gets them through the winter and so production of nectar is down significantly. Farmers and keepers have resorted to a mix of chamomile tea, dandelion root, cane sugar, sea salt, water and thyme to feed the hungry buzzers and reports say they’re going through gallons a day of it.

If you don’t think bees are important, the next time you walk into the grocery imagine the entire produce section – empty.

We’re looking at a three day weekend and I’m taking advantage of it. Parties, campaigning, splitting firewood and keeping the dog away from porcupines are all on the list.

Enjoy! Be safe. See you all on Wednesday.

Tonight:
Saturday:
- Collaborative Concepts Outdoor Sculpture Show
Into the Future:

Tonight:

20/20 One-Act Competition

8PM – Continues through Sunday at the Philisptown Depot Theatre. Tickets $15/$12(seniors). 20 one-act plays (no longer than 20 minutes long) will compete. One of the plays produced this evening, “Senior Moment” is by Bob Zaslow, a prolific local playwright. It’s a sardonic 1-act comedy about a patient with “selective Alzheimer’s” and stars Sagamore Lake’s Kathie Freston as his wife. Call the Philipstown Depot Theatre at 845-424-3900

A Celebration of Paul Robeson

8 pm – An Evening with Friends: A Celebration of Paul Robeson. At Paramount Center for the Arts, 1008 Brown St, Peekskill. Benefit Concert: David Amram, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Kenneth Anderson, Roy Haynes, Ty Jones, Beth Lamont, Jon Batiste Band, Ray Blue. Tickets: 877-840-0457 www.paramountcenter.org; Info: www.robesoncelebration.org

Indian Music Concert with Ray Speigel

8PM – Pandit Ramesh Misra-Sarangi, Ray Spiegel, tabla. Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 320 Sawkill Rd., Kingston. First a Tabla Solo by Ray Spiegel with Ramesh Misra on sarangi, second half Sarangi by Pt. Ramesh Misra with Ray on tabla. 845-679-8865 rameshmisra.com, simlahouse.com, www.uucckingston.org. $20 [Ed note: Ray is an amazing musician and well worth the drive and the cost.]

Catskill Mountain Eco-Heritage Festival

Celebrate the Spirit of the Catskills at Ashokan Center. Fri. & Sat. evening, dinner from 5:30pm, live music and dancing under the stars, 7pm. Saturday, September 5th, 11am-5pm At the Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Rd., Olivebridge, NY. On September 4th and 5th, Friday night, all day Saturday and Saturday night, the Ashokan Center is hosting its 2nd Annual Catskill Mountain Eco-Heritage Festival. In a magical setting of 374 acres of streams, fields and forests in the foothills of the Catskills, this two-day festival will feature fiddle, guitar, and banjo music, ecology and nature photography workshops, hands-on colonial crafts, guided hikes — a walk through geological time and wild plant walks –storytelling, dancing, and an alternative energy fair. The past, present and the future of Catskills and Hudson Valley culture come alive with performances by Rich Bala and the Barefoot Boys, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Mike & Ruthy, the Walker Family Band, the Woodstock Oral History Collective and much, much more! Contact: Jonathan Duda, duda@ashokancenter.org, (845) 657-8333 x12, Deborah Meyer DeWan, ddewan@ashokan.org, (845) 657-8333 x16 or Brian Joyner, csp@ashokancenter.org, (845) 657-8333 x14

Saturday:

Collaborative Concepts Outdoor Sculpture Show

2PM – Opening Reception. The Collaborative Concepts Outdoor Art Exhibit begins this weekend (and runs through October) on Sandy Saunder’s Farm at the intersection of the Old Albany Post Road and Highlands Road in Philipstown. Admission is free and the scenery is ‘to die for’. If you go, it’s possible you’ll be sharing the space with Sandy’s cows and horses making the event even more fun. The horses are very friendly yet the cows are only interested in the grass – and occasionally nibble on some of the art. Don’t miss this show.

Collaborative Concepts invited local, national, and international artists to place sculptures throughout 100 acres of an historic farm in Garrison, NY. The rolling hills and wooded glens of Saunders Farm culminate in panoramic views of the Hudson Highlands. Black Angus cattle can be seen grazing peacefully in stone-walled pastures. More than 50 site-specific artworks were chosen to complement the farm’s spectacular vistas.

The exhibition is free and can be viewed from 10 am to dusk, Labor Day weekend into late October. Visitors should dress appropriately for a walk in the country.

If you haven’t been to this show, it’s really worth the time to drive over and see it. For one, the trip to the Saunders Farm is a gem. Dirt roads, farms, rolling countryside and a view of Putnam County that is quickly being lost to the Paul Camarda’s of our world. It’s also a huge event, spread over 100 acres of rolling hillsides with expansive views to the east and a hidden view of the “gap” through the break between Storm King and Breakneck ridge… if you look for it!

Into the Future:

Friday, September 11

Michelle LeBlanc at Arts on the Lake

Jazz and history, quite an unlikely pair but Michelle LeBlanc does not think so. Michelle LeBlanc, a jazz vocalist, history buff and Putnam Valley resident performs songs from her new CD, “I Remember You.” At Arts on the Lake at the Lake Carmel Cultural Center, 640 Route 52 Kent, NY, Friday September 11, 2009 at 8:00pm.

Michelle LeBlanc has been performing in Hudson Valley jazz club and concert stages since the early 1990′s. She is a popular bandleader, bringing great jazz musicians together to provide entertainment for clubs, concerts and private events.. Michelle has worked with many Hudson Valley jazz greats including Bill Crow, Ed Xiques, Tom Kohl, Ron Vincent, Jeff Tillman, David Amram, Steve Lamattina, Bill Conway, David Jones, Joe Stelluti, Calloway Brooks, Joe Puma and Carmen Leggio.

Michelle’s first effort at creating a show evolved into a journey through the decades of American jazz music, a show which received much attention including an interview by The New York Times. That same year Michelle released her first CD, Now or Never. Soon after, she was commissioned by the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers NY to develop ELLA!, a show celebrating the artistry and international career of Yonkers native Ella Fitzgerald. Michelle’s 2002 show, Women in Jazz, was commissioned by the Southeast Museum in Brewster NY and featured songs written by jazz luminaries including Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Dorothy Fields, and Abbey Lincoln. More recent show titles include Cole Porter, Jazz Standards, Starlight Swing, The Jazz Age and 1950â€™s Jazz: Bop, Cool, R&B.

In addition to her regular Hudson Valley appearances, Michelle has performed on several New York City stages including The Friars Club, The Riverside Chapel, Rockefeller Center’s Rainbow Room with the Cab Calloway Tribute Orchestra and at Town Hall as part of the annual Mabel Mercer Cabaret Foundation showcase. Michelle has studied with several New York City based coaches including Mary Cleere Haran, John Wallowitch, Sheila Jordon, Monica Robinson, and Claude Stein.

Saturday, September 12

Dutch Legacy Weekend at the Van Wyck Homestead

10 AM – 4 PM. Van Wyck Homestead Museum, 504 Rt 9, Fishkill, NY ( Jct. I-84 & Rt9 ) Dutch Legacy Weekend. Exhibits of paintings, artifacts and documents of the Dutch Heritage of the Hudson Valley including an exhibit of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909 on loan from the Toy Museum of Limerick, ME. Dutch treats in the 1732 kitchen with Dutch apple fritters. Free. 845-896-9560

Clearing Fishkill Creek for New Water Trail – Volunteers needed!

Members of the MidHudson Chapter of the Adirondack Mtn. Club (ADK) and the Fishkill Creek Watershed Committee are carrying out plans to open a canoe and kayak trail on the Fishkill Creek. The new water trail will provide a superb recreational resource, and will be nearly 5 miles long and include portions of the creek from Rte. 9 in the Village of Fishkill to Glenham, with the possibility of extending from Hopewell Junction to Fishkill. It is essentially an easy moving-water route, with the exception of the couple of miles between Brinckerhoff and Rt. 9, which has some Class I rapids (which could easily be avoided if desired). To prepare the establishment of the water trail, organizers are planning two creek clearing days, August 29th and Sept. 12th. Volunteers are needed! No particular skills are needed. For more information or to register, please contact Russ Faller at 845-297-5126 or russoutdoors@yahoo.com.

Fund Raiser for Congressman John Hall

7-10PM – 1408 Peekskill Hollow Road Kent Cliffs, New York 10512 – Any reasonable donation accepted. With Live Performances by:

Michelle LeBlanc and the “Accidental Standards”
With guitarists Pat Cummings, Tim Pitt and Ron Gluck

John Cohen of the “New Lost City Ramblers”
With special guest Annabel Lee

“The Kitchen Table Band”
With Drew Howland, Dennis Klubnick, Lora Lee Ecobelli, Maaike Hoekstra and Jan Hoekstra

Michael Klubnick
With Pat Cummings, John Stech and Steve Adler and Brian Crimmins

RSVP to Darren Rigger at: 845-598-3971 or djrigg@aol.com

Sunday, September 13

Robert Zubrycki and Friends, Benefit Concert for St. Andrew’s

4PM – St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church has been an important part of Robert’s family life here in Putnam County for over 40 years. He hopes you will join him and his colleagues for this special benefit concert on Sunday, September 13th at 4pm. A reception prepared by members of St. Andrew’s will follow at approximately 5:30PM.

St. Andrew’s is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and has been a vital part of our community for well over a hundred years. Some of the Church’s current activities include:

Brewster Community Food Pantry, over 114,000 meals served in 2009.

The St. Andrew’s Nursery School, still going strong after 35 years.

The Church is also home to the Brewster Theater Company and is a meeting

place for many local groups and organizations.

The Church provides many youth activities and community events throughout

the year.

Tickets for the Concert are $25 or $20 for two or more. To purchase tickets, contact Suanne Ritchey at: sritchey@standrewsbrewster.org or call (845) 278-6906

Monday and Tuesday, September 14-15

2009 Watershed Science and Technical Conference

The 2009 Watershed Science and Technical Conference will bring scientists, engineers and technical experts together with watershed stakeholders and the public, to technically inform and present leading-edge research findings on the most current scientific trends and data regarding climate change as it relates to watersheds and water supply. This year’s theme is climate change and its effect on watersheds. The conference will be valuable to elected officials, directors of public works, buildings, planning and highway departments, land use planners, consulting engineers, regulated industries, attorneys, educators, environmental groups and interested citizens. Conference attendees will find themselves in a unique forum for collaboration, providing an opportunity to enhance information and technology transfer and increase coordination among the array of entities working with watershed protection science. Organizers include the Watershed Protection & Partnership Council, NYS Dept. of State, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, and the NY Water Environment Association. For more information and fees, or to register, please see www.dos.state.ny.us or www.nywea.org Location: Thayer Hotel in West Point, NY

NtM – July 6, 2009

Jeff Green — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:20:21 +0000

Fourth of July photos from Lake Carmel
Graciously provided by Skip Pearlman

“If Franz Kafka had started a business, he would have started Verizon.”

Good Monday Morning,

If you were around on Saturday, you’d have noticed that pretty much every shop and business was open and so the question is: who gets a holiday? The answer is white collar workers. The service industry (the vast majority of Americans) largely works on national holidays.

When I’m President, national holidays will be just that, National Holidays, and aside from emergency services, everyone will be off from work, malls will be closed, gas stations and convenience stores tidily shut… everything. It’s easy to plan a day ahead so quit complaining about not being able to get that last minute beer or ice. Oh, and election day will be a national holiday as well as it is in many other countries. I know, I know… we’re in a global economy but just try to reach someone in France or Germany during August. If they can shut down for a month and still be more productive than we are, surely we can honor our own for one day.

Is There No Balm in Gilead?

What would you do if you woke up one morning to discover that the explosion and shaking and scattering of rock falling from the sky wasn’t the Rapture but a well connected developer blasting away on three sides of your house?

This is not some make-believe scenario, but a real situation that has been plaguing Carmel resident Lori Kemp and will into the future.

Surrounded on three sides by Pulte Homes’ “The Retreat” her life has been turned into a living nightmare for the past couple of years and will continue on for quite some time.

Bulldozing, blasting, rock ‘scraping’, grading and all of it often as close as 50′ to her 1890 home that sits next to the Gilead cemetery which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now the cemetery and the home are separated by a blasted out gulf of stagnant water and invasive reeds where an old farm lane used to be. And the hill that use to rise to her south is slowly being removed. Rock by rock. Ledge by ledge. Piece by piece. Slowly. Day in and day out. Week after week and month after agonizing month.

Can you imagine what it must be like living surrounded by all that? Have you ever heard a rock drill run for hours or the sound a bulldozer makes as it tries to scrape chunks of ledge away? Now imagine that every day – all day.

What do you do when your town building inspector doesn’t seem to care? When the DEC throws up roadblocks and hurdles too high for the average person to leap over? What happens when you are forced to defend yourself in a court that gives you conflicting information – and you’re not an attorney? What happens when your house physically moves with each blast of the bedrock that underlays it and pieces of that tortured and blasted rock rain down on your property covering everything with lung clogging dust? When a property line dispute turns into a protracted Kafkaesque journey?

These are not rhetorical questions for Ms. Kemp. They are the life she lives each and every day.

I’ve written about this many times before and the NYJN used to (until Pulte Homes started advertising in that paper perhaps?) cover on a regular basis but the story is now relegated to obscurity. But the hell she lives continues on and not only does government not seem to care, they are, to put it mildly, completely unconcerned about the welfare and safety of a resident while bending over backwards to accommodate an out-of-county developer.

I’m not talking corruption or conspiracy or malfeasance for those are words best used in a court of law, assuming one could find one in this county clear of the influence of the criminal acts being perpetrated against a fellow citizen. But I am talking about a situation that everyone knows exists and feels powerless to alter, change or influence and that may only be corrected if the unthinkable happens at the Kemp home.

What’s going on down in Carmel is not unique and if the economy doesn’t finally kill Patterson Crossing this is a situation that will occur at the Lake Carmel community when another verdant Putnam County hillside is reduced to shit for political gain and profit, leaving the rest of us to pay for its way.

So be aware. Look around. Who serves on your town boards and how are they connected to the people who force these things upon us? Do they actively and progressively defend you or do they sit passively claiming their hands are tied?

Watch closely who funds and otherwise backs their election campaigns this season and what out-of-county entities get themselves involved, even remotely, even distantly, even with just a whispered word to the ‘right’ officials…

It’s your county. Let’s take it back from the forces that work against us.

The Choking Game

Yeah, it’s something kids play and have been playing for a long time and even my friends knew about it back in the day. You choke yourself in any number of ways, and just before you pass out you let the air back in and experience a bit of a rush. Sadly, too many kids don’t let go at the right moment and since we’ve been keeping stats on this specifically, several hundred kids have died. So far this year 19 American children have died – but we only count the ones directly tied to the game itself. In the past, and still today, many parents and police automatically assert suicide as the motivating action but we’re learning that’s it the quest for something else, for some fun, for a rush.

This is not one of those issues that requires school meetings and fear-filled parents screaming at the wind, nor is it a ‘wave sweeping across the land!’ as some would insist but it is something for parents to be aware of, coolly, calmly and with careful thought. Check with your kids and let them know, gently, that choking yourself for fun, isn’t fun. The moment you become hysterical, to your children, it becomes an even more enticing challenge. So stay cool.

Space Station Marathon

If you’ve never seen a spaceship with your own eyes, now is your chance. The International Space Station (ISS) is about to make a remarkable series of flybys over the United States. Beginning this past weekend, the station will appear once, twice, and sometimes three times a day for many days in a row. No matter where you live, you should have at least a few opportunities to see the biggest spaceship ever built. Check NASA’s ISS Tracker for flyby times.

Lastly, while the American Empire crumbles around us and people are taking to the streets to protest, Long Island Congressman Peter King, a suggested hopeful to run against Kirsten Gillibrand next time around, took time out of his busy weekend solving our national problems to decry Michael Jackson as a “pervert”. Whatever Peter.

And now, the News:

Putnam avoids commuter lot fines, but faces residents’ suit
Counties’ votes to secede from MTA will play out locally, says Metro-North chief
Aqueduct leaks may pose big dangers
New Jersey court says towns cannot force developers to provide open space
Go Green This Summer: Save Water, Save Money, and Prevent Pollution
New York inches closer to offshore wind farm
Fighting light pollution

Putnam avoids commuter lot fines, but faces residents’ suit

Barbara Livingston Nackman
bnackman@lohud.com

MAHOPAC – Putnam officials have resolved a state permit issue that could have cost the county a $37,500-a-day fine on a commuter parking lot project off Route 6.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation cited the county for failing to provide information about the construction work before bringing in backhoes and work crews.

It was one more obstacle in Putnam’s efforts to build or upgrade five commuter lots with $3.4 million in federal funds. The new lot for 60 cars at Mount Hope Road in Mahopac will replace leased space at Temple Beth Shalom at Croton Falls Road, county officials said. The other lots have not generated controversy.

The Mahopac project has sparked much community opposition, and 43 residents are suing the county to stop the work.

Counties’ votes to secede from MTA will play out locally, says Metro-North chief

GOSHEN – Votes by the county legislatures in Rockland and Orange counties to explore pulling out of the MTA region are decisions that are up to those local governments, according to the head of the Metro-North Railroad.

The counties are furious about increased and new taxes imposed on the public and business.

Metro-North President Howard Permut said those moves are up to the counties. “I think those are political decisions that the counties will be exploring and that the pullout would actually be from the MTA,” he said.

Aqueduct leaks may pose big dangers

Greg Clary
gclary@lohud.com

NEWBURGH – James Simpson looked down at a running stream of water behind the Danskammer power plant and wondered aloud how he could see through it so clearly.

“If this were stormwater runoff, it would be cloudy,” said Simpson, a lawyer with the environmental group Riverkeeper. “It has rained almost every day for a month. Every other stream looks like coffee. And this is cold. Clear and cold sounds like drinking water to me.”

Simpson and concerned residents along the 85-mile Delaware Aqueduct believe the water that has flooded basements and backyards comes from two leaks of as much as 36 million gallons a day of drinking water from the huge underground pipeline.

The water represents a small percentage of the daily flow to the faucets of New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley, but is thought to be the cause of a basketball-court-sized sinkhole that collapsed 10 feet deep less than a quarter-mile from the power plant.

New Jersey court says towns cannot force developers to provide open space

The state Supreme Court agreed Thursday that municipalities cannot require housing developers to set aside land for open space and recreation, or charge fees in lieu of those improvements to get construction approval.

The Supreme Court upheld a June 2008 ruling by the state Appellate Court that said while open space is laudable, New Jersey land-use law limits municipalities’ authority to require water, sewer, drainage and street improvements and set aside land within planned developments for open space and recreation areas. The ruling did not elaborate on whether builders could sue to get their land or fees back.

While the decision was made about lawsuits filed by the Builders League of South Jersey against Egg Harbor Township and the New Jersey Shore Builders League against Jackson Township in Ocean County, it will affect municipalities and building companies throughout the state.

Go Green This Summer: Save Water, Save Money, and Prevent Pollution

Save over 30% off the purchase of a rain barrel
Contacts:
Kathryn Swartz, American Rivers, 419-936-3759
Joan Freele, New England Rain Barrel, 781-910-9036

Toledo, OH — Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan residents have a great opportunity to save money and water by purchasing discounted rain barrels, thanks to a partnership between American Rivers, the Toledo Stormwater Program, the Rain Garden Initiative of Toledo – Lucas County, and The New England Rain Barrel Company. Rain barrels help residents use water more wisely and reduce pollution in local streams by capturing stormwater runoff.

The rain barrel sale is just one part of the comprehensive approach American Rivers is taking in the Great Lakes region to reduce stormwater runoff and protect clean water. From its office in Toledo, and a soon-to-be-opened office in Milwaukee, American Rivers is working with decision-makers to promote natural stormwater management practices like permeable pavement, rain gardens, and green roofs. These approaches help save money and energy, reduce flooding, and improve water quality.

“We all need clean water, and it’s important that we use water wisely. Rain barrels are an easy way to catch and store rain for watering gardens, shrubs and trees. They also help prevent stormwater from overwhelming our aging sewer systems or flowing over dirty streets and parking lots and polluting local streams,” said Kathryn Swartz, conservation associate for American Rivers. “By catching the rain and reusing it, residents can help the environment and save money at the same time.”

Did you know?
• 40% of the average homeowner’s water use is outdoors.
• 700 gallons of water runs off a 1,200 square foot roof after only one inch of rainfall. Using a rain barrel is an excellent way to conserve some of this water.
• A quarter inch of runoff from an average roof will easily fill a rain barrel. If you have five storms a season, that equals 275 gallons of free water.
• Rain barrel use reduces the stress on municipal water systems during the summer months and improves stormwater management.

New York inches closer to offshore wind farm

Project has the potential to be the largest of its kind in the U.S.
By Timothy Gardner, Reuters

NEW YORK – Government agencies and power companies said on Wednesday they are gauging interest from developers and manufacturers about building a wind farm about 13 miles off the New York city coast that could end up being the largest such project in the United States.

The Long Island Power Authority, the New York Power Authority, other agencies and Consolidated Edison Inc hope to build the 350-megawatt wind farm off the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic. Potentially, the project could be expanded to 700 MW, giving it a shot of being the biggest U.S. offshore wind farm.

One megawatt powers about 1,000 homes in New York, but wind does not blow all of the time.

Taking stock of the interest of developers is a precursor to issuing a request for proposal for the project which is anticipated for release by the end of the year, the collaboration said.

Fighting light pollution

The International Dark Sky Association works with cities to curb light pollution.

The International Dark Sky Association (darksky.org), a group of astronomy enthusiasts, nature lovers and anyone else who’s interested in light management, works with cities and towns to curb this excess glow. Their  strategy not only provides more stargazing opportunities, but also improves safety by reducing  blinding glare and  tamping down excess energy use.  Sounds like a wish come true.

News That Matters – December 24, 2008

Jeff Green — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:29:55 +0000

Good Wednesday Morning,

Tomorrow is Christmas (as I’m sure most know) and next week is the New Year. Don’t assume that everyone you know has a place to go and someone to be with, no matter how ‘popular’ they may seem to you. Extend an invitation. Make room at the table.

Forty years ago today, we were given our first opportunity to gaze into the cosmic mirror and look upon ourselves. What we saw was this:

We’d never really seen ourselves before and the moment this image was beamed to millions of television viewers around the world the modern environmental movement was born. We have an obligation to keep that dream alive.

These two responses came regarding yesterday’s News That Matters:

“I don’t care what they say about you. You’re the greatest when it comes to this kind of stuff. You done us proud boy.”

and,

“On behalf of Putnam taxpayers, thank you for your efforts to bring some sanity to this issue at the farm.”

That’s enough of a Christmas present for me. But for those who missed my birthday, there’s always this.

‘Net Yule Log: For people intelligent enough not to have broadcast television in their homes and who do not have a fireplace, there’s this. It won’t keep you warm but it might entertain the cat.

And then, there’s this… let’s not forget:

And now, the News:

Giving, not receiving, is the real meaning of Christmas

By: Eric Gross , Staff Reporter

PUTNAM LAKE-Sacred Heart Church in Putnam Lake might be one of Putnam’s smaller parishes yet when it comes to heart, the church is a giant.

For the 20th consecutive year, the church family has worked in conjunction with the Brewster School District by collecting gifts for needy families. Last Wednesday, dealing with a combination of sleet, rain and snow falling from the heavens, a team of five social workers picked up 28 large packages and delivered them to the families in need.

Meg Cairney, Sacred Heart’s Coordinator of Religious Education, explained that “Christmas should be special to everyone regardless of their finances. Many people are experiencing difficulty at no fault of their own.”

Cairney expressed great pride with the Sacred Heart Church family for digging deep and donating money and presents for those in need.

Not only did parishioners assist but Cairney said due to the larger than usual number of families needing help, the Holy Name Society and Catholic Daughters of America also aided with the purchase of holiday gifts along with the parish priest.

Baby Born in Back of Cab

NEW YORK (AP) — A Christmas gift has come early to a mom whose newborn was delivered in the back seat of a taxi cab with the help of four of New York’s Finest.

It all started Tuesday when a cab driver speeding the expectant mom to Brooklyn Hospital flagged down two patrol officers.

The officers – Kerryann Douglass and Joved Serrano – helped catch the baby, who was born not breathing. Officer Douglas, a mother of three, cleared the baby’s airway.

Return of missing wallet reason to celebrate hope

To the Editor:

Recently, our daughter traveled to Washington, D.C. with a small group of students from her high school Latin class here in Charleston, W.V. The group traveled via Amtrak.
Upon returning home, she realized she had lost her wallet somewhere on the return trip. She suspected that she had misplaced it on the train. Contacting the local Amtrak office, she found that nothing had been turned in as lost.

Today, a small package arrived for her from Louie Rodrigues, Carmel, N.Y. In the package was her wallet with all the contents intact, including her money.

Louie even replaced her change with dollar bills to make the wallet lighter for shipping. With the wallet was a short note of apology for taking so long in returning the wallet; it has been only two weeks. He apologized that with the holidays and all he had been very busy.
Returning the wallet was such a gracious act, certainly no apology was necessary. This simple act of “doing the right thing” is a sign that all is not “bad” in our society and that there is good in people’s hearts.

Thank you Louie! What a perfect time to witness this “just” act from a righteous and caring person during this special season of thanksgiving and hope.
Merry Christmas!

Gary Lane
Charleston, W.V.

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Mistletoe Meds Fight Cancer, Studies Show

Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

Good Medicine | Discovery News Video Dec. 24, 2008 — Another reason to celebrate under the mistletoe this holiday season is that researchers have just determined a medicine made out of fermented mistletoe may prolong the lives of cancer patients.

The plant is Viscum album, the most common holiday mistletoe of Europe, and the species that first inspired the tradition of couples sharing a kiss under its evergreen leaves and waxy berries.