“P.L.I. LLC, (Camarda) a limited liability company with offices at 1699 Rte.6 has requested that the Industrial Development Agency provide financing for the Company in the form of tax-exemption/or taxable industrial development revenue bonds in an aggregate amount not to exceed Thirty-Three Million to be used to finance a certain project consisting of the following:

a. The construction of new buildings, comprised of approximat…ely 210,000 sq. ft on approximately 44 acres to be used as a retail center and as community and office space and the installation of certain equipment to be used by the Company to be used for commercial purposes and to be located at 3741 Danbury Avenue in The Town of Southeast. (Stateline)

b. Paying certain incidental expenses, including costs of issuance incurred in connection thereto.

c. Granting of certain other financial assistance available pursuant to Section 874 of N.Y. General Municipal Law, as amended including but not limited to certain real property tax relief, sales and use tax exemptions and mortgage recording tax exemptions.”

Patterson Crossing Realty Company, LLC. (Camarda) has also requested the IDA to finance in the form of tax-exempt and/or taxable industrial development revenue bonds not to exceed Fifty-Five Million dollars.

There will be three hearings:

Southeast Town Hall on RT.22
Feb. 23rd, 2011
10:00 AM **

Patterson Town Hall
Feb.23rd, 2011
12:00 Noon**

Kent Town Hall
Feb. 23rd 2011
1:00 PM**

Carmel Town Hall
Feb. 23rd 2011
2:00 PM

** Conveniently timed so that the working stiffs can attend the Public Hearings

Other taxpayer-funded gifts for this developer have included:

Interest-free 450K loan given by the Town of Carmel on the sale of the 19 acres for the Hotel project.

Interest-free loans given by way of allowing Camarda to pay his building fees in installments.

Empire Zone designation for the Carmel hotel & Union Place which comes with a tax abatement beginning at 50% of the nominal property tax for town, school, county, and increases 5% per year for ten years until it reaches 100%;

$1.5 million in multi-model grant to improve Rte 311 (Improvements that the developer promised to pay for);

…and now 55 million in IDA Bonds for Patterson Crossing and $33 million in IDA bonds for Stateline Crossing, and 110 million for Union Place in Mahopac.

Now, can someone please explain how these projects will be bringing “tax relief?”

Crazy weather, no?

It’s been cold – really cold – in fact, it’s been far colder than normal so far this winter. The average price for propane right now is $3.06 a gallon, up nearly 10% since just last week and up from $2.80 this time last year. Home heating oil is at $3.50 a gallon, up 13.5% from last week and from $3.07 last year.

If you have a woodstove in your home you know how valuable that wood is but it also offers a lower price per BTU than fossil fuels. And if you’re running low on wood or you need your driveway plowed, give Joe Greico a call (over there in the sidebar) and tell him News That Matters sent you.

There’s another potential snowfall coming Thursday into Friday and so we’re in it again. But you’ll see, the days are slowly getting longer and we’re bottoming out with the cold weather (we’re coming into the time of the winter where it’s traditionally coldest,) and soon enough the sap will start running and it will be spring.

Politicians tell us that people are leaving New York “in droves” and it’s all because of our high taxes. While I will certainly not argue with the tax argument I will with the “droves” that are leaving.

United Van Lines, one of the largest movers in the nation has just released a report for last year showing the number of shipments they’ve made into and out of each state. While New York state had 54.1% outbound that was nothing compared to 57.3% leaving Illinois or the 62% that left Michigan, the 60.1% leaving Missouri or the 62.5% leaving New Jersey. In fact, NY rates pretty middling on the list of people leaving.

So where are they all going? South Carolina, Washington, D. C., Nevada, Rhode Island and Oregon all saw significant increases.

Jay Taylor, a resident of Baldwin Place had this to say about it:

“There will be more traffic, noise and light pollution, more crime and litter for sure,” Taylor said. “We have all these problems but no tax revenue for Somers or Westchester. For Putnam, Mahopac and Carmel it’s a great deal – put an unsightly development on the far side of the county that impacts people who are not voters or taxpayers and benefit from property and sales tax.”

How familiar does that sound? If you live in Kent you heard the same regarding Patterson Crossing. And isn’t it interesting that the same developer and county officials are involved with both?

And while we’re down there, guess who is trying to get the state to do his road widening work for him on Route 6? You guessed it! Mike Griffin! Nah, Paul Camarda is, that’s who. And is anyone surprised? Why are we spending county tax dollars doing the business for an out-of-state developer with deeper pockets than the county? Why are we spending any man-hours at all on this?

Dear County Executive Eldridge:

Get your stuff together and cut this crap. We hoped you would have been different.

Love and knishes, Jeff

After getting the town of Patterson to engage in what amounts to a voiding of the FEIS for Patterson Crossing by handing Mr. C. $1.5 million taxpayer dollars as a gift for his love of peace and quiet and all that is good, now Mr. C. has gone off to the state once again looking for another taxpayer funded handout. Do you want to take bets on whether he gets this one as well?

And of course I must ask, where the heck are the “smaller government, lower taxes” Republicans on this? You guessed it! They’re all on the “suck at the public teat” bandwagon. How they look at themselves in the mirror in the morning simply befuddles me.

I don’t know. Maybe my view of capitalism and yours is different. But in my view, if we’re not going to be taking care of each other, if we aren’t going to adequately educate and provide basic necessities for our communities, how can we possibly ever think of handing private corporations thousands, millions and billions of dollars that would otherwise pay for our health care, education and the food and clothing for the working classes need in order to, well, work? Isn’t our system completely upside down?

We feed the wealthy and starve the poor and that’s just fucked up. There, I said it. And yes, you can quote me.

According to a report in CNET News, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement that the conditions imposed by the FCC “include carefully considered steps to ensure that competition drives innovation in the emerging online video marketplace.” But no one believes that’s even possible and your choices of entertainment, news and information have just been dealt a significant and severe blow.

Fahad Amir Ahmadi, Commentator for Al Riyadh: “Israel is better than all the Arab and Islamic countries with regard to democracy and political integrity…”

If you haven’t noticed, the Arab world is going through political upheaval as riots and demonstrations spread across the region. The most notable has been in Tunisia where a virtual dictatorship has been overthrown, the President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country and a provisional government set in place. That government is already in tatters as demonstrators demand that it contain no members of the previous, authoritarian government.

Next up is Oman where 200 demonstrators protested against high consumer prices and government corruption. While that may not sound all that important or amazing, demonstrations, political parties and unions are banned in that country and had the demonstrations in Tunis not happened the demonstrators in Oman would have been rounded up, tortured and murdered – and not necessarily in that order.

Trade activists in Jordan, a moderately open nation chanted, “Tunisia is teaching us a lesson!” on the streets of Amman.

Protesters in Cairo, Egypt, made fun of and insulted President Hosni Mubarak this past weekend something which is highly illegal in the nation that receives billions of US AID dollars each year and is currently waging an underground war against its Christian citizens forcing many to flee as they once did Egypt’s Jews. Egypt, like most middle eastern nations, is now Judenfrei by design, a little bit of ethnic-cleansing the world’s Leftists seem to conveniently forget.

In Sudan, opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi was arrested for planning street demonstrations.

These demonstrations and direct actions by Arab citizens are a new phenomenon in a region of the world where questioning the government was sure to end you and your family in deep doo-doo. But the power of 60+ year existent democracy with a vibrant economy, though despised and hated and its destruction sworn, still sets an example that others want to follow.

A different sort of upheaval is taking place in Lebanon where Hezbollah caused a collapse of the Parliament over fears that indictments handed down over the murder of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will implicate their own members. Officials from both Turkey and Qatar are in Beirut doing what they can to prevent a total meltdown.

Mr. Hariri was blown to smithereens in Beirut back in 2005 and everyone pretty much agrees that Syria, through its agents in Lebanon, Hezbollah, were responsible. A BBC special broadcast on the matter was canceled just a few months ago over fears that it would set off a civil war in that fractured nation.

We need to remember that Hezbollah has long desired the destruction of Israel and is armed, thanks to the Syrians and Iranians, with an estimated 40,000 modern short, medium and long range missiles and anti-aircraft systems and has 20,000 trained militia under their command. These weapons and soldiers are garrisoned in farm houses and barns in villages spread across the south of Lebanon so that any Israeli retaliatory attack will kill innocent people, which is Hezbollah’s intention. Hezbollah uses human shields and they’ve always used human shields and everyone knows it but conveniently forgets when the shit hits the fan and the bullets start flying. (That’s just a note of reality to my anti-Israeli friends. When it happens, please remember to point your fingers in the right direction this time and stop blaming Israel for everything from the common cold to the dust bunnies under your bed.)

And just yesterday another rocket was launched by Hamas from Gaza. The total: 29 rockets fired into Israel so far this year and we’re only 19 days into it. As a result, near a dozen Gazans have been killed in retaliatory strikes. If Lebanon should go postal it will get very ugly very quickly and many, many, many people will die.

Amphibian populations are declining throughout the world, possibly due to habitat loss, climate change, pollution, disease, and the introduction of exotic species.

The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) is a nationwide effort to monitor populations of frogs and toads.  The program relies on volunteers to collect long-term data over broad geographic areas.  Volunteers drive a pre-determined route just after sunset four times during spring and summer; make 10 stops per route; and listen for five minutes at each stop.  They record the data online, then send it to the state coordinator.

If you are 16 or over and are interested in becoming a volunteer, come to the local training session on Wednesday, February 23, from 6:00-7:30pm at Fahnestock State Park’s Hubbard Lodge.

For more information, or to register, contact Suzanne Beyeler, Ph.D., at the Hudson River Estuary Program at 845/551-8445 or visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/50247.html.

• Carmel’s Watson Pharmaceuticals to be empty by March
• Bill Buck in Cape Horn
• Widow, 85, missed last house payment; fights fees
• Hospital Visitation Regulations Go Into Effect Today
• Chase Admits Overcharging Troops on Mortgages, Improperly Foreclosing
• New Study: Tea Partiers Three Times More Likely to Say Violence Is Warranted
• U.S. Government Opens 5,000-Acre Area Where Americans Can Go Blow Off Steam

Carmel’s Watson Pharmaceuticals to be empty by March

By Michael Risint for the NYJN

CARMEL — By early spring, the home of what used to be Putnam County’s second-largest private employer will be empty and, according to company and county officials, attracting, it is hoped, serious interest in the commercial real estate market.

The 20 employees who remain at Watson Pharmaceuticals’ plant in Carmel will be gone by the end of March, said Patty Eisenhaur, a spokeswoman for the California-based company.

They are the last of some 600 workers Watson once employed in Carmel and at sites in Southeast and Danbury, Conn.

The reductions began in 2008 as the company consolidated operations in the United States and India. In 2007, it shut down plants in Puerto Rico and Phoenix.

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Bill Buck in Cape Horn

Ed. note: NYBG scientist and Mary Flagler Cary Curator of Botany, Bill Buck is currently on expedition to the islands off Cape Horn, the southernmost point in South America, to study mosses and lichens. Follow his journeys on Plant Talk.

January 18, 2011, Punta Arenas, Chile

Say hallelujah! On Sunday evening the barricades were lifted temporarily and I was able to get my luggage. Ah, the joys of clean clothes! The barricades were opened at about 7 p.m. and thousands of people flocked to the airport. However, the road to the airport was only to be open until 9:30 p.m., and the road from the airport (it is a divided highway) only until 11 p.m. So, Juan and Ernesto took advantage of the window and went to the airport to get not only my luggage but also their own. They were able to get my luggage and Ernesto’s, but Juan’s was locked in the DAP Airline office and no one was there from that airline. Fortunately, Juan only had collecting equipment there, and not his clothes. So, we are able to collectively provide him with what he needs.

On Monday, the protests continued, only growing larger. However, most stores opened, so we took advantage of it and did what little shopping we needed to do. The most interesting experience was when we went to a department store to buy pillows for our bunks on the ship. I had decided bringing a pillow was too bulky and easier just to buy here. We went to the bedding department and were told they were out of pillows. However, all the beds on the floor were made and had pillows on them. I pulled a pillow out of the pillow case and said that this was just fine with me. The sales person shrugged and led me to the cash register. Both Jim and Blanka followed suit and they bagged up our pillows. When I asked how much they were, he said they were free, a “souvenir” for us! So, they were out of pillows to sell, but what pillows they did have were free. Can you see that happening at Macy’s?!

Read More

Widow, 85, missed last house payment; fights fees

PHILADELPHIA – An elderly New Jersey widow billed $5,800 after missing the final payment on her 30-year mortgage can pursue her lawsuit against the debt collectors, a U.S. appeals court ruled.

Lawyers for Dorothy Rhue Allen call the fees charged by two banks and a law firm “unfair or unconscionable” and say they violate state and federal consumer-protection laws.

Allen, now 85, had borrowed $40,000 to buy the Deptford, N.J., home in 1976. She failed to make the final $432 payment in 2006 because she was in the hospital, her lawyer said.

“She’s just a wonderful little old lady that got sick,” lawyer Lewis Adler told The Associated Press on Friday.

Lenders are under scrutiny in New Jersey and across the country for the way they handled foreclosures during the recent real-estate bust. Six lenders — none involved in Allen’s case — have been summoned before the New Jersey Supreme Court to fight for the right to stay in the foreclosure business.

The alleged systemic abuses include so-called “robo-signing,” in which employees signed hundreds of documents without checking them for accuracy.

Read More

Hospital Visitation Regulations Go Into Effect Today

“There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital.  In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a hand to hold, a shoulder on which to lean – a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them.”

With those words on April 15, 2010 President Obama directed HHS Secretary Sebelius to initiate rulemaking to ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.  The President further advised that the rule should ensure that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges based on factors including sexual orientation or gender identity.

Today the new Hospital Visitation Regulations go into effect.

This policy impacts millions of LGBT Americans and their families.  The President saw an injustice and felt very strongly about correcting this and has spoken about it often over the years.  I want to thank HHS Secretary Sebelius and her team for their resolve to see this rule implemented.  In fact, long before this rule was finalized, back in June, 2010 the Secretary laid the groundwork by reaching out to leaders of major hospital associations asking them to encourage their member hospitals to not wait for the formal rulemaking to run its course regarding patient-centered visitation rights suggested by the President.

This significant policy change is due in no small part to the journeys of two incredibly courageous and passionate women, Janice Langbehn and Charlene Strong.  Both lived through unimaginable experiences with the loss of their wives and life partners.   While I never had the opportunity to meet Janice’s wife Lisa Pond, or Charlene’s wife Kate Fleming, I have had the honor to meet and work with Janice and Charlene.  I want to thank them for bringing us all into their lives and for sharing themselves and their families with us, and for using their voices to make lives better for LGBT families.

Brian Bond is Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement

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This article was first posted at ProPublica: Articles and Investigations by ProPublica.

by Marian Wang

JPMorgan Chase acknowledged this week that it overcharged some 4,000 military families for their mortgages and wrongfully foreclosed on at least 14. It’s not clear how much the mistakes have cost these families, but the bank told NBC News that it’s collectively refunding about $2 million to those affected. It has also promised to restore the homes that were lost.

According to NBC, the bank violated a law called the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which grants active-duty troops some protection from foreclosure and caps their mortgage interest rates at 6 percent.

The mistakes came to light after a Marine captain and his wife were overcharged, fought debt collection attempts for years, and finally filed suit. From NBC:

Read More

New Study: Tea Partiers Three Times More Likely to Say Violence Is Warranted

When a survivor of the Tucson shooting told a Tea Party leader, “You’re dead,” he was arrested and committed. Why is Glenn Beck any different?

January 19, 2011 |

I have documented numerous examples of right-wing advocacy of violence, as have many others. But nobody crosses further over the line, or more often, than Glenn Beck. And here is the ultimate display of deliberate hostile intent. It is an overt call for violence and an instruction to viewers:

“Tea parties believe in small government. We believe in returning to the principles of our Founding Fathers. We respect them. We revere them. Shoot me in the head before I stop talking about the Founders. Shoot me in the head if you try to change our government.

I will stand against you and so will millions of others. We believe in something. You in the media and most in Washington don’t. The radicals that you and Washington have co-opted and brought in wearing sheep’s clothing — change the pose. You will get the ends.

You’ve been using them? They believe in communism. They believe and have called for a revolution. You’re going to have to shoot them in the head. But warning, they may shoot you.

They are dangerous because they believe. Karl Marx is their George Washington. You will never change their mind.” ~ Fox News, June 10, 2010

This cannot possibly be justified as acceptable political discourse. This is not merely an expression of opinion. It is not metaphorical. It is a call to arms. And Beck’s audience is listening. They have heard him say that “The country will be washed with blood.” They have heard him warn that he may have to speak in code:

Read More

U.S. Government Opens 5,000-Acre Area Where Americans Can Go Blow Off Steam

RATON, NM—Federal officials on Friday unveiled a new 5,000-acre national park where frustrated Americans can blow off some steam by smashing rows of televisions with a bat, screaming at the top of their lungs into a canyon, or playing tracks by Motörhead and the Angry Samoans at extreme volumes. “I’m as angry as anyone that we can’t pass an energy bill or end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), who christened the facility by igniting the contents of a trash barrel, which he then upended and kicked down a rocky slope. “But in the meantime, the least we can do is give people a place to go where they can just fucking have at it.” Opening day also included an unscheduled appearance by President Obama, who calmly entered the park, let loose a furious stream of undiluted profanity, punched several trees for 55 minutes, and then returned to Washington.

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(which runs until Thanksgiving weekend.)

We want to thank our supporters so far and wonder why the vast majority of readers are still sitting on their hands!
Yeah, it’s tough being the only independent media outlet here
in Putnam County but someone
has to do it.

1000 readers, 27,877 visits to the website since last year, and 2760 posted articles must have some sort of value as they sure as hell took a lot of time to produce.

Good Friday Morning,

We’ve been promised a beautiful weekend so I encourage as many of you as possible to get outside! Putnam county has more than 20,000 acres of permanently preserved open space lands in a combination of State Parks, watershed lands, State Forests, Multiple Use Areas, Land Trust lands and county holdings.

In order to find some of these places, check out our “Open Space Guide” at PlanPutnam.org.

Along with Joe Greico and Dr. Baum I did some work at the stone chamber on Mt. Nimham yesterday, clearing brush and trees to make the place more accessible and upon doing so, and standing back to enjoy the fruit of our labors, noticed some interesting points about the structure itself.

For example, the top left side of the front of the building has collapsed a bit but the original stones are still there and with a little manual labor cold be restored to their original positions. And as for its construction, corbeled sides were built up then backfilled with earth for support before a block and tackle rig was brought in to place the capstones on top. At some point, probably in the early 20th century, improvements were made with a concrete sill being made topped by a machined 2×6 board to hold a new door assembly in place. In order to do that the front capstone had to have been removed and then replaced.

If you have some time this weekend take a drive to the end of Nimham Court off Gipsy Trail and then walk past the upper gate. The Chamber is two minutes further up. And then visit the firetower (another ten minute walk up the mountain) for the stunning views from NYC to Massachusetts.

Yes, that is your peepee hanging low there on this TSA airport screen take from an AP photo. So when you fly next week to visit grandma just keep in mind that we’re all watching – and that the terrorists (whoever they are) are laughing their peepee’s off. But not at this guy, generously endowed as he is.

It’s funny though: the TSA insists that no one can see these images other than a remote screener and then they’re gone. But then you have to ask, why are they all over the place and how did a courthouse in Florida manage to save tens of thousands of these if the function was disabled?

• Friday, November 19
  • “Carbon Nation” Film Screening
  • Bereznak Brothers Band
• Saturday, November 20
  • Affordable Art Show
• Into the Future
  • Monday, November 22
    • Dam Removal 201: Sediment Assessment & Management
  • Saturday, November 27
    • PAC’s Annual Juried Craft Sale
  • Sunday, December 5
    • Memorial Concert for Art Kamell
  • Monday, December 13
    • Conference on Water Resources and the Regional Economy

Friday, November 19

“Carbon Nation” Film Screening

7PM – Join the Cary Institute for a free public screening of Carbon Nation, a witty and optimistic documentary about climate change solutions. The 90-minute film details how fighting climate change can boost local economies, improve public health, and strengthen national security. Learn what people are already doing, what we as a nation could be doing, and what the world needs to do to stave off climate change by moving to a low-carbon economy. Events are free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact Pamela Freeman via phone (845) 677-7600 x121.
Location: This event will be held in the Cary Institute auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike (Route 44) in Millbrook, New York. Free.

Bereznak Brothers Band

10PM at the Rainwater Grille in Hastings-on-Hudson. Help Mike and Dave celebrate their Birthdays by coming to THE RAINWATER GRIILLE in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY this Friday, November 19th. The show starts at 10pm.  There is a suggested donation of $10 at the door. The Joshua Panda Band will open the show and then we will take the stage. This is a full band show with 2 new songs for you to wrap your ears around so be ready to rock!!! We’ll have Gary Schwartz on Drums, Bill Gordon on Bass, and Howlin’ “Mad” Marty on Harmonica and Percussion. Please come early and enjoy some great food and drink in a warm and comfortable atmosphere and help us feel welcome at this new establishment.

Saturday, November 20

Affordable Art Show

10AM – 4PM (repeats tomorrow, Sunday November 21.) If you are shopping for high-quality, unique and affordable gifts or if you simply want to furnish your home with new art, Arts on the Lake may have what you’re looking for. AotL is proud to announce its first Affordable Art Show to be held at the Center on Saturday, November 20th and Sunday, November 21st from 10:00-4:00. Those who “oohed and aahed” over the high quality and scope of the art exhibited at AotL’s Annual Fall Members’ Art Show now have an opportunity to shop for pocket-friendly fine art created by the Center’s member artists. AotL is located at 640 Route 52, Kent Lakes , New York 10512. For further information call 845 228-2685.

Into the Future

Monday, November 22

Dam Removal 201: Sediment Assessment & Management

9:00AM – 3:30PM. Norrie Point Environmental Center, Staatsburg, NY Hosted by American Rivers. Funded by and in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program, and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.

Objective: This free one-day workshop is a follow-up to our Dam Removal Project Manager Training held this past March. By popular demand, this workshop will focus in more detail on sediment assessment and management approaches at dam removals. The workshop speakers and facilitators will include expert staff from American Rivers, as well as Joe Rathbun, who instructs courses around the country on dam removal sediment assessment and is a member of the federal Subcommittee on Sediment, which is developing national guidelines for dam removal sediment assessment and management. The morning portion of the workshop will include presentations on sediment assessment techniques and management approaches through case studies and a description of the draft federal guidelines. In the afternoon, we will have a facilitated discussion of how national and regional dam removal sediment protocols conform with existing New York regulations and guidance, with the objective of defining sediment assessment and management approaches that are applicable to dam removals in New York.

Who Will Benefit: Regulators, state conservation staff, conservation organizations, watershed organizations, county soil and water conservation districts, emergency management officials, hazard mitigation planners, public works department staff. Previous attendance at the Dam Removal Project Manager Training is NOT necessary for this workshop.

NOTE: Consultants are welcome, but will be placed on a wait list and registered if space remains after the registration deadline. Registration is limited to 40. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

To Register or Obtain a Detailed Course Agenda, contact: Rebecca Budd, American Rivers, rbudd@amrivers.org, Subject: “NY Dam Removal Workshop.”

Saturday, November 27

PAC’s Annual Juried Craft Sale

Noon – 5PM Our 2010 Craft Showcase & Sale will be on display in our beautiful, re-built Gallery space at 521 Kennicut Hill Rd. in Mahopac. Join us for this 16th annual juried collection featuring fine crafts from 40+ regional crafts artists including pottery, jewelry, wearables, candles, soaps and lotions, ornaments and more, more, more.  A limited number of framed photographs and matted prints will be available.  Great gifts for everyone, you, and your dog, too!

Also featured is our 2011 Art Calendar, a great  idea for everyone, so be sure to stock extras for  unexpected giftees – 13 original works are featured and remind you of the Arts Council and Center all year long. Another popular gift of Art could be a one year gift membership encouraging participation in our programs and special events, while supporting the arts.

Our Craft Sale offers free parking and free admission, we accept Visa & MasterCard and best of all, you support local artists, local economy and your local art center.

Sunday, December 5

Memorial Concert for Art Kamell

2PM – 5PM With David Amram, Pete Seeger, David Bernz, Chris Ruhe and Howland Wolves and others yet to be confirmed. At the St. Lukes Episcopal Church gymnasium, Rte 9D, Beacon. A Memorial concert top benefit the organizations Art Kammel loved: Doctors Without Borders, Pastors for Peace, School of the America’s Watch and the United Farmworkers. We are working on the details, the musicians’ line-up, etc. but the flyer won’t be ready till next week and I wanted you to know NOW about this very special event. So please put Sunday, Dec. 5h, 2-5 pm on your calendar and come out to enjoy great music and memories of one of the most wonderful people it has been my pleasure and privilege to know. Contribution: $20 (though no one will be turned away.) Contact Judy Allen for more information.

Monday, December 13

Conference on Water Resources and the Regional Economy

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the Hudson River Estuary Program, in partnership with the SUNY New Paltz Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach, the Hudson River Watershed Alliance will host a conference on Water Resources and the Regional Economy. Confirmed Speakers are Maurice Hinchey, Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck, and NYSDEC Assistant Commissioner for Water Resources James Tierney. Expected audience: Municipal staff, engineers, planners, environmental groups, and volunteers involved in green infrastructure and low impact development planning projects. For more information and regular updates visit: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4920.html, or email hrep@gw.dec.state.ny.us and put “Water Conference” in the subject line.
Location: SUNY New Paltz, Student Union Building, Multi-Purpose Room

I have a cold. I’m in a bad mood. But it’s nothing a freshly backed loaf of banana bread (w/brown sugar, raisins and sunflower seeds) and enough orange liqueur can’t handle.

Luckily, I wrote the column below over the weekend.

And it’s not the Anniversary, but we’re close. It’s somewhere around here and so we shall celebrate today anyway!

It’s now more than a decade that News That Matters has been around in one incarnation or another.

Remember back in the olden days when we published at Yahoo and then made the move to Google and then to a comprehensive newsletter published three times a week and a website all our own?

Three websites. Four, actually.

You can find News That Matters at PlanPutnam and at Blogger and Posterous, both as “No Country For Sane Men“. And if you’re on Facebook you can find us there, too.

It’s a little crazy living in the USA right about now and with extremism coming at you from mostly right-angles like a warped isosceles triangle, and you need a source that can dissect the news and get it to you in ways you can genuinely understand. And that’s what we’re here for.

PlanPutnam/News That Matters is also this county’s premiere organizational tool and you know that to be true from the many issues and the many victories we have under our belts. I don’t need to list those successful battles for you know what they are and you know your lives are better for it – and that’s the point.

In case you have forgotten where we’ve been, here, in no particular order, are some reminders culled from the last few years:

The Thirty-Eight Billion Fee

This happens every day to thousands of people across the nation and while Bank of America is the most hideously evil of the lot, many banks play this game and billions of dollars are pulled from the economy and go to subsidize executive bonuses, stock dividends, the purchase of Congressmen and Senators, nifty automated teller machines that work so slowly you have to shave again by the time you’re done using them and which cause traffic tie-ups on Friday evenings that CBS radio reports along with, “…and it’s 40 minutes to The George.”

Chickens, Roads and Highways – A Special Report

As first proposed, the issue was one of safety but the project plans say that PHR is as safe as any other road. Then there was the idea that you’d be able to drive from Kent to Peekskill faster and yet, the accidents that have happened generally did so for people traveling way above the speed limit or tailgating. Then it was planned growth in the project area rated at 2% a year which would by 2029, create traffic and backups similar, I guess, to Route 22′s. But a quick look at a map shows that to be so wrong words cannot describe it.

The Tilly Foster Saga Continues…

What will it cost for taxpayers to cover the utility bills, heating, cooling, electricity, etc., and to maintain the walks and roads in all weather conditions vs. the amount of monies generated from sales taxes? I just don’t believe anyone could raise those kinds of funds through sales taxes alone from the Farm. So why not have a profit sharing arrangement? But that’s not in the contract. While Ann Fanizzi, the contract’s most ardent supporter, dreams that Mr. Whipple will build a bed & breakfast and turn the main lodge into full service restaurant, the county will need to foot the entirety of the utility bills and the maintenance of the roads and walkways leading to and surrounding them. I wish I had such a deal with my landlord!

What Being Sick Costs The Nation

When you are sick and on the job your productivity is down which results in a decline in efficiency. When you are sick and cannot work, especially in a job without paid sick days, the local economy is affected. And what happens when you wait until you simply cannot go on and your illness has advanced? How much money is pulled from the economy then? What of your home and family? Will Verizon or Comcast or NYSEG understand when they don’t get paid because of the cost of dealing with an illness that might have been easily treated at the beginning but that has now gotten out of control? They might. But you’ll be sending smoke signals and watching a blank TV screen by candlelight.Will your town’s tax collector say, “No problem Mrs. Smith, pay us when you can”?

Verizon’s Billing Mysteries

FCC Line Charge. This charge also is known as the Federal Subscriber Line Charge, the Federally-Ordered Subscriber Line Charge, Federal Line Cost Charge, and the FCC Subscriber Line Charge. In reality it’s the missing portion of your basic line charge mentioned above. That $8.79 fee should be, if Verizon were open and honest about their charges, $15.20. But they get to “cheat” to give you the impression your actual costs are lower and that the Fed is responsible for $6.41 of it. They’re misleading you and getting away with it.

Shooting Gazelles – Ball supports “Canned Hunting”

Yet, Assemblyman Greg Ball supports this type of hunting, claiming on the floor of the Assembly that if the New York bans the use of exotic, non-native animals from canned hunts held within the state that the next step is that the state will ban the shooting of white -tailed deer, then the state will take away everyone’s guns and finally we’ll all have chips in our backs. (see the video clip here). He also claims he represents ‘thousands of hunters in his district’ whom, one might assume, has given him their blessing to fight for this abominable practice in their name.

Contractors Ripped Off By Putnam County (NY)

In a previous issue I mentioned that a county Legislator suggested that if I had trouble paying the fee that maybe I shouldn’t be in business. Maybe he’s right. Maybe the economy sucks and those fees amount to a hardship. Or maybe no one should have to pay for the right to earn a living in Putnam County.

News That Matters: The Walkway Edition

Kudos need be sent to the organizers of this event. It’s massive scale and scope must have taken thousands of hours and untold patience. Everything ran so smoothly! Even with tens of thousands of people, thousands of cars, city buses, a dozen marching bands, scores of performers, several parades and assorted marauding clowns, trapeze artists and jugglers, (and yes, you can toss in a bevy of politicians,) there wasn’t a hitch to be seen. In fact, even the weather – which promised rain – cooperated beautifully.

Racists Rear Their Ugly Heads in Putnam Again

The misinformation contained in the copy on the website is astonishing in its one-sided shortsightedness and includes a link to an outside website where, if Mexicans were Jews, would read, “Die Juden sind ünser unglück”. No matter that the Comptroller of the State of Texas, among others of equal high position across the nation claim that undocumented workers contribute more to the system in taxes than they use, and that recent immigrants – legal and illegal – have *created* tens of thousands of new jobs, this linked website continues the same lies, mistruths and…. shit. It’s just pure White Supremacist shit.

Kent’s ‘panhandle’

Early maps show Philipstown being more recatngularish from when it was divvied up among the Philipse Family. The 1892 USGS map shows the current westernmost line of Kent, the line that runs along the Philisptown Pike (Route 301) AND the *old* town line as well. That line is missing from the 1941 map which has the current town lines in position.

Questions:

1) When did Kent acquire Hortowntown and,
2) Why?

[Ed note: this article was posted on October 3, 2006 and has still not been answered!]

Tales from the Trail

Why? Well, I added up all the possible promised blocks of votes and it turns out – at best – they represent about 15% of the voters. That’s right: the special interest groups and the armchair politicians and the folk who are in this only for the [insert turgid reference here] added together leave the remaining %85 of the voters unrepresented. But, for such a small group, they sure are organized! And Loud. And they have money.

A TEA Party on the Hill

For the past several weeks the region had been bombarded by an ever-increasing barrage of signs, snail mails, emails and robocalls announcing an event that was either a “RibFest!”, a People’s Convention, a Free BBQ or a rally for Greg Ball and Steve Katz… it all depended on which signs you saw or which advert you read or which phone call you got as they all had slightly different information and I reported on this confusion several days ago. But that didn’t seem to bother the 300 people who attended on Saturday.

Selecting an ESCO

Over half of NYSEG electricity supply customers who didn’t voice their choice last year don’t know their current supply pricing option. And while that may suck for them, it’s been great for us. We thank those customers for not having degrees in Advanced Rocket Science and praise their inability to figure out what their options are. NYSEG has always firmly believed that offering you the best choice is a simple matter of confusing the heck out of you. We are proud to continue that tradition because, face it, you have no choice!

Corporate Welfare, Putnam Style

If I were a better writer and could match the skills of even the most middling of authors, life in Putnam County would make quite excellent reading. But so few publishers would believe what I had written as genuine they’d have to place my book in the fiction section of bookstores and the fantasy section of libraries. But I can assure you that what we experience here as residents is real and genuine even though it reads – and too often feels – as if we’re living in a 1950′s Central American Banana Republic. In only a very few other places around the world, perhaps in one of those central Asian “stans” no one can pronounce, could we write about the depths of malfeasance that passes for government in our bucolic 240 square miles. If Voltaire or Shalom Aleichem were alive today even they could not have surpassed the fantastical mysteries and ironies that abound in our every day lives. Welcome to Putnam County, New York.

Controversy in Pawling? It Depends

At a meeting on July 2nd, 2008, Supervisor Coursen mentioned, after yet another round of public and pointed criticism from Mr. Carey, that the minutes from a recently held Comprehensive Plan meeting had not yet been posted to the town’s website due to a backlog on the Planning Board clerk’s desk. With the meeting continuing on, Supervisor Coursen rose from the dais to get a glass of water when Mr. Carey met her on the side and offered to come into town hall and post those minutes on his own. While that’s a nice thing to offer, what responsible entity would allow a political enemy, especially – and note this – the chair of a political party, access to a town’s website?

Pulte Homes, Adam Levy and Justice Putnam Style

Pulte Homes, Adam Levy and Justice Putnam Style: For what the Town of Carmel and Putnam County has done over the years to Lori Kemp you’d think agents from the human rights court in the Hague would descend from the heavens and arrest anyone who has ever sat on a board in that town. But that didn’t happen for too seldom do those who deserve justice get actually it.

The Great Tefillin Scare

On a short-haul flight the other day a 17 year old kid put on his tefflin to pray. A flight attendant asked what he was doing, “praying,” he replied. She notified the pilot. In the flight attendant’s description she said “…it had wires running from it and going up to his fingers,” What she didn’t know was that they go directly to God! but, I digress…

Breaking News: Putnam’s Most Out Person Accused of Autophobia

In a stunning revelation, Putnam County’s most ‘out’ political figure was accused by an alleged staffer from the Nan Hayworth campaign of making accusatory slurs against himself based on his sexual orientation.

Remember when…

From the Patterson Crossing Scoping Session: January 2005

A Walk on the new Cornwall Hill DEC property: Summer 2004

Choices for Sustainable Living Conference: November 2005

Putnam Valley Dems Election Night Celebration: November 2005

FrOGS Announces NAWCA Grant: October 2002. Dave Tobias and Mike Griffin.

Croton Watershed Meeting: October 2004

Charlie Silver – Chief Watershed Scientist, Jim Tierney – Watershed Inspector General,
Peter Lehner, Chief Environmental Attorney. All work for the State Attorney General’s Office

And some Pictures of the Day shots: (Click on them – they get bigger!)

Ice Pond

Dean Road DEP property

Bear Mt. Bridge from Anthony’s Nose

Glynwood from Fahnestock State Park

Daniel Nimham Pow Wow

Thunderstorm over eastern Putnam from Shenandoah Mt.

Bull Hill (Mt. Taurus) from Round Hill in Fahnestock Park

The Kent “Cow”

Collaborative Concepts Out door Art Exhibit at Saunders’ Farm

There more. There’s nearly eighteen-thousand articles and posts since we began and that we’ve lasted as long as we have is a testament to my insanity – and your perseverance. Let’s keep that going.

Since July 18, 2000

10637 messages at the old Yahoo site
3508 messages at Google.
3738 messages posted to PlanPutnam/News That Matters

17,883 posts/messages/comments!

You’re going to need me for the next four years.

JmG