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Issues of importance to Columbia County (NY)


Welcome! A diversity of opinions is welcome here. Disagreement and civil debate from different points of view are the lifeblood of Democracy.

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It's that simple...
Subject: Fuel prices and county supers idea


Author:
Gwen
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 22:12:43 10/13/05 Thu
Ah, a site that seems a bit less like a rant board than some I've been to. Introductions may be in order, I'm Gwen. I live in the county and I have a topic for discussion; if anyone is game.

The price of fuel is preposterous. People can't afford to put gas in their car to go to work, yet living wages have not increased; nor does it seem like they will.

Don Kline on the county board of supervisors, I don't remember when, proposed dropping the county sales tax on gas that was above $2 (I believe that was the amount.) What are your thoughts on this proposal?

Do you think dropping the county tax on gas would be helpful? The state, I believe, was also looking into it. If the state AND the county dropped the tax on gas, I don't know how much would be saved at the pump, but heck I would take any savings!

Mr. Depew, I hope you respond, I find your comments to be quite coherent and oftentimes enlightening.
Replies:
Subject: The Hudson Democratic Platform and "the alternative?"


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 12:06:14 10/15/05 Sat
Friends -

Dick Tracy and the Democrats have now made a carefully thought-out, detailed statement of their view of Hudson's future, and their intended route to get us there. It is admirably clear and straightforward.

It's in the Register-Star and will be up on the web at: http://www.tracy2005.com/ over the weekend.

Of course, the Scaleranetti Team also has a platform statement (interestingly, it is a close copy - in some cases almost word-for-word - of the platform statment I published two years ago when I ran against Gail Grandinetti for supervisor).

The key to evaluating these conflicting statements (which in fact have many general aims, like affordable housing and econom9ic developement in common) is on the basis of the details. Does either candidate have an actual plan to achieve these goals? Read the two statements and make up your own mind.

Then - what about the canidiates' records for geting things done?

On the one hand, Dick Tracy has a record of years of dedicated public service - earning comendations from the City for his work under a number of different administrations. He ran a City Department, dealing with issues of budgeting, personnel, time management, program delivery, etc, and he did it well. He has, in the past, done what he was mandated to do and what he set out to do.

On the other hand, Dan Grandinetti is an unknown quanitity. He has worked in political jobs and for the Corrrections Department. He doesn't seem to have done badly in either role - but neither really shows that he is prepared to run a City the size of Hudson.

His platform claims that he has good intentions for Hudson. But he supported the Scalera Administration (and has accepted a very active role from Scalera and most of his cronies in his own campaign) which has a reputation for its "I can't do anything about it" attitude.

If Grandinetti really intended to do something useful about affordable housing, for instance, wouldn't he have been urging Scalera to address the problem already? Wouldn't he have been working with his close political ally (Dan acted as Rick's chauffeur, ferrying him from polling place to polling place in the last election) to achieve these goals already?

Are we to believe that the Scaleranetti supporters have had a sudden change of heart and now intend to do something about this issue (and the others about which they claim to care) to which they have never given anything in the past except lip service?


Then, there's the isue of integrity. Dan promised a Youth Department that would better serve Hudson's kids. He said that was his heartfelt goal, and something he intended to dedicate himself to - if the City would change the rules so that he could be appointed to head the Department without the previously required credentials and experience, and without a competitive job search, and at a salary more than 25% higher than the previous Department head.

But when the Mayor's race opened up - his dedication to Hudson's Youth suddenly evaporated. Now he wants to "serve" the people of Hudson as Mayor. But will his "service" show any more dedication than his pledge to serve Hudson's youth did?

These are serious questions, and I'd be happy to hear Dan's answers to them. Until I do, I have to take his "dedication" to the City of Hudson (as opposed to his own career and personal agenda) and his "plans" for the future with a great deal of skepticism.
Subject: What's happening????


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 15:32:35 10/07/05 Fri
Where-o-where is everybody?
Replies:
Subject: Ned,are you ready for this timely idea?


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 04:36:36 08/10/05 Wed
Here is a Timely idea brought forth by a concerned reader and tax payer for our consideration and action.Are you ready to give it a heads up movement??Tom Koulos


theresa has a new reporter? Bryan F. Yurcan.

Tuesday's front page the usual riveting stop-the-presses news ... Hudson ff want rental inspections (OMG, really?), Catskill transfer station blaze, (hevvins), Greenport boil-water advisory lifted (there's a story, for sure) and money for athletic program at HCDS, wowza.
I could barely contain myself.

PS Don't you think critical letters to the ed - like Norma Kirker's complaint recently that the Reg had not covered a house fire in Stockport until a week after it happened - and complaints about the paper in general should be sent directly to Watertown, since Roger, Theresa and Joe Brill don't seem to care what their (dwindling) readership thinks.
Replies:
Subject: Only Four Days Left...


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 10:29:14 09/29/05 Thu
in the comment period for the LaFarge Cement Company proposal to burn whole tires (5 Million each year) in their Ravena plant.

The single most important fact you need to know is that research demonstrates that in actual burning conditions in cement kilns (as opposed to "projections" and "computer modeling") the burning of Tire Derived Fuel (TDF) results in increases in emissions of Dioxin (and other volatile organic compounds).

Dioxin is the most toxic carcinogen know to science, and the EPA concluded in a 1995 study that there is no safe level of exposure to dioxin - therefore any increase in dioxin (no matter how small) will inevitably lead to increases in cancer in populations exposed.

The idea that people in Columbia County should be exposed to increased toxic emissions and increased risk of cancer solely so a giant Multi-National Corporation can increase its profits by lowering fuel costs is simply unaccceptable.

This isn't about jobs or about cement. It is about the health of our families and neighbors who live in the region. At the very least, you should demand more time to get the facts (an extension of the comment period) and hearings held in Columbia County, where those who would be most affected by this plan live.

You should also request that the DEC reverse its "negative declaration" of environmental impact on the project, which allows it to be ruled on without requiring a full Environmental Quality Review - which would be a chance for the public to review information submitted to the DEC by the company and check it against independent authorities in the field - to get the facts and make an informed decision.

You can write to:

William J. Clarke,
NYSDEC Region 4 Headquarters,
1150 North Westcott Road,Schenectady,
NY 12306

But you have to get your letter to him by 4pm on Monday. You can also Fax him at: (518) 357-246 any time before the 4 pm Monday deadline.

Regardless of your impressions of the LaFarge operation or your opinions on industrial development in the region - you do owe it to yourself and your family to get all the facts before the DEC makes its decision. If I am proved wrong - so be it. But I ask you to find out for yourself - and to ask the DEC to give you the time and information so that you can make an educated decision.

This is not about "stopping" or "shutting down" LaFarge. It is about making sure that all applicable scrutiny is done to make sure that their application is complete and accurate, and that if the permit modification is allowed that all possible safeguards are in place to protect the health of those who will be exposed to any possible emissions.

My research indicates that there will be increased risk for all of us - if this permit modification is allowed, there will be increased cancer rates in Columbia County.

I invite others to do their own research and share their conclusions. But please don't ignore this problem, or sit silent while the quality of the air that you and I, and our children, families and neighbors breathe is degraded even further.
Subject: Nobody Home?????


Author:
Pete R.
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 15:40:16 09/25/05 Sun
Replies:
Subject: Hudson Election Results - Bottom Line press release


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 22:34:42 09/13/05 Tue
Courtesy of the Bottom Line Party:

Tuesday, Septenber 13, 2005
HUDSON (N.Y.) — Tonight, voters strongly supported the endorsements made by the Hudson Democratic Committee last spring, as Robert O’Brien led the race for the party’s nomination for Council President in a primary forced by fellow Alderman Colum Riley, and “Bottom Line” candidates retained a solid majority on the Hudson Democratic Committee.

Results made available around 9:30 pm showed O’Brien besting Riley by a large margin, 238-198.

Quintin Cross and Abdus Miah captured both the 2nd Ward alderman nominations and the Democratic Committee seats for the 2nd Ward. Joe Finn, Ellen Thurston and Rainer Judd won the Democratic nominations for Supervisor and Alderman in the 3rd Ward. In the 5th Ward,

Meanwhile, an aggressive effort mounted by Mayor Richard Scalera to re-take control of the City Democratic Committee failed, as candidates running with the support of current chair Linda Mussmann maintained a solid majority on the Committee. Sam Pratt and Ruth Moser won in the 1st Ward; Cross and Miah in the 2nd Ward; Bob Mechling, Daniel Karpowitz, Jim Svetz and Christopher Haun in the 3rd Ward; Claudia Bruce and Hannah Jarrell in the 4th Ward; and Peter Jung in the 5th Ward.

Mayor Scalera lost his race to remain on the Democratic Commiteee.

74 absentee ballots have been filed by Democratic voters citywide, but the results of the absentee count are not expected to significantly alter the overall results. In past election cycles, absentee balloting in Hudson has tended to mirror the regular vote tally.
Subject: TUESDAY --- VOTE TODAY!!


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 14:49:13 09/13/05 Tue
Subject: Look who's running....


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 16:29:06 09/10/05 Sat

Replies:
Subject: Primary Day Tuesday


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 13:43:37 09/11/05 Sun
And the difficult decision has to be made...

I'm going for Colum, in spite of my respect for the hard and good work Rob has done for the First Ward as Alderman.

I've spoken with both of them, and Colum convinced me that he has the energy, the will, the independence and the intelligence to do the job.

Not that Rob doesn't have those qualities as well, but with a young family, the moves he is making and his other responsibilities, it just seems to me that Colum will have more time and energy to focus on the considerable responsibilities of Council President.

I've known Colum for several years - since he came here to work for Linda Mussmann's unsuccessful mayoral compaign - and I believe he's a straight shooter, truly independent minded - enough so to choose his own course and fight for what he he really feels is best, rather than let others (in this case the City Democratic Committee) decide what is best for the voters.

Primary contests are the best expression of Democracy - where the voters - not the Party Committees - get to make their voices heard. I support Colum's decision to primary in the Party. I hope it brings what I think would be the best result for the City - Colum's selection to run in November.

I'll be sorry to lose Rob's services on the Council if that happens - as I'll be sorry to lose Colum's if it goes the other way - but in either case, the (real) Democrats will have an experienced, hard-working and trustworthy City Council President Candidate to back for November - so its a "win-win," as much as a "lose-lose."

I'm still sorry - and a bit resentful - that the Democratic City Committee couldn't find a way to oblige both of these excellent candidates. I call it a failure of imagination and diplomacy. Hopefully, we will learn from this unfortunate experience and work better among ourselves in the future.
Subject: Latest on Lafarge


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 09:25:04 09/09/05 Fri
Friends -

at last night's Stuyvesant Town Board Meeting, Peter Donahoe made a presentation urging the Board - which had already asked the DEC to be kept closely informed as an interested party in the Lafarge application - to request the DEC to extend the commment period beyond October 3, and to hold at least one hearing on the Columbia County side of the river, in the downwind path where most of the effects of any changed and/or added pollution from Ravena will be felt.

This is the kind of active involvement that will be required to insist that DEC fulfill its responsibility and exercise the due diligence required by law to protect our health and the environment.

If you haven't yet sent a letter to William Clarke (address in post below) to urge and extension of the comment period, withdrwal of the "Negative Declaration on Enviornmental Impact," and holding of a series of hearings in the areas that will be most strongly affected - on the Columbia County side of the river - please do so as soon as possible.

We need all the public input that we can muster to make sure that this application gets the closest possible scrutiny, to be assured that our health is protected from some of the most deadly toxins known to science.
Subject: Hudson Waterfront Committee Meeting


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 17:41:28 09/07/05 Wed
The Waterfront Commitee meeting was interesting but not terribly informative - other than giving more information than most people either wanted or needed about the progress of the dredging and reclamation of the park extension along the water. FYI, it's going along well, and is almost done.

The key discussion - of the LWRP - was put off yet again, on the grounds that the Committee doesn't want to waste time going forward on it until the expiration of the final gasp of time for SLC to appeal Randy Daniels' ruling on their plan.

Of course, SLC publicly declared that they "are not going to appeal," and they told their stockholders in their most recent newsletter that they had "written off" the investment they had made in trying to get the Greenport Proposal accepted. It would be tough for them to reverse such public postures now - but I guess it's possible.

At any rate, one concession from the Committee - in the person of C. Butterworth - was that they will authorize Schuster and Associates to provide an electronic copy of the latest draft of the LWRP to the Hudson City Clerk, and that the City Clerk will make it accessible to citizens via a link from the City web site. It should be up within the next week - so anyone who is interested will be able to read, consider and comment on it.

Meanwhile, the SBC is also going ahead with its plans to do the research and development work necessary - from their point of view - to prepare to help shape the LWRP into something that serves the needs and desires of all the citizens of Hudson (except Gene - who still desires the SLC project to be built).

You can get involved in the SBC through Susan Falzon - who is the acting information person - at falzon@mhcable.com, or write them at 110 Front Street, Hudson, NY 12534.
Replies:
Subject: Butterworth's Mis-statement


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 11:39:20 09/08/05 Thu
Apparently Butterworth was "mis-informed" (shades of W.!) when he claimed that the DOS didn't want to go foreward on the LWRP until the appeal period for SLC had expired - since the appeal expired months ago, in May.

Where he got this incorrect information and why he relayed it to the public is a question we should all pursue.

Is this representative of the general level of accuracy of statements made to the public by the well-paid public officials in this Admininstration in their official capacity?

Honest mistake, or attempt to decieve the public in regard to the Waterfront Committee's lack of accomplishment? Let's find out.
Subject: medicare part "d" community meetings


Author:
Londa (real name real email addy provided)
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 13:55:38 08/08/05 Mon
This is why i came here (and found the board mistake):::::


Please pass on!

Hi!

Londa Here.

There will be meetings set up by the Columbia County Committe of Aging through The Health Care Consortium.

Please call:
Victoria @ 822-8820

meetings to explain it all:

August 10 @ noon St. Luke's Valatie
Aug 19 @ noon Philmont Village Hall
Aug 24 noon Greenport Town Hall
Aug 31 @ noon 1st Reformed Church Hudson
Sept 7 @ noon Copake Town Hall
Sept 21 @ noon Chatham Town Hall
Sept 23 @ noon Ghent Town Hall
Sept 28 @ noon Pallatine manor, Germantown.

Please call to reserve a seat.
Replies:
Subject: What we are being fed.


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 07:44:49 08/13/05 Sat
Subject: I on media


Reportedly, Register Star Editor Theresa Hyland has been promoted to executive editor.

With newspaper consultant Roger Coleman at the helm, focusing on product development and strategy, this is now a winning team.



Media Scuttlebutt – which local newspaper editor passed up an interview with the Berkshire Eagle for a business editor position because he/she was going to Cape Cod?
Replies:
Subject: What's Going On in Hudson???


Author:
Dave Clapper
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 20:57:36 08/18/05 Thu
We're away from Hudson for an extended time and have no contact with news sources other than the one sentence digest of news stories on the Registar Star web site. Reading the comments here is no better... confusing, in fact! It certainly would be enlightening if there was a more complete, understandable presnetation of important news events for those who are away from home to keep up with what's going on.
Thanks!
Dave C.
Replies:
Subject: The South Bay Coalition


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 21:39:37 09/06/05 Tue
I went to the meeting tonight. Here's a little of what it was about and what I learned.

The SBC just formed about five months ago - in March or April. It's not a registered organization or anything, at this point - it is pretty much, as I said, ad hoc, for the study of the Waterfront and South Bay development, although it does has a "mission statement" (which no one had with them!) and is borrowing "staff support" (to do things like prepare tonight's presentation, make the maps, create the slide show, etc.) from various member organizations and individual volunteers.

The SBC grew out of meetings between interested groups like Scenic Hudson and Friends of Hudson, getting together and talking about the very thing Tom is always chiding them for not presenting - "alternatives" that could be created when and if the SLC proposal was withdrawn.

Eventually, kicking around ideas and doing research on ownership, deeds, designations (South Bay and part of the Waterfront are Class 1 Wetlands), restrictions and so forth, they decided that the "Waterfront Committee" was meeting too infrequently (only twice in the last year) and with too ittle public information to get important work done on development planning for the area.

Secretary of State Randy Daniels, in his decision that found the SLC proposal to be incompatible with the DOS's policies on Waterfront Use, said: "It is recommended that a new "Waterfront Zone" plan be created that addresses the goals of the [City of Hudson's] Vision Plan and the specifics of the Master Plan. The zone should be created immediately."

The individuals and groups involved in the SBC have been doing that - while the meeting scheduled for 3pm tomorrow (Wednesday, September 6) will be the first the "Waterfront Committee" has bothered to have since SLC withdrew their application last spring - hardly an "immediate" response.

While the SBC has some ideas about the Waterfront Zone Plan, at this point they are looking to expand their membership base by involving new members, and doing outreach to the community to get input from City residents.

At tonight's meeting, they presented a brief overview of the history of South Bay, talked about its current designations and zoning. They talked about - and showed plans and pictures of - some of the best mixed-use development that has been done in other towns, like Beacon, North Tarrytown (where I grew up!), Irvington, and Yonkers. They asked for suggestions about what those who attended thought development should look like here

The response strongly emphasized mixed use. Everyone who spoke wanted to see a combination of residential use - a large part of it low- to moderate-income - recreational use, conservancy or open parkland, some industrial use and some commercial development.

Some speakers were more emphatic about open space and access to the river, some were more emphatic about addressing Hudson's crying need for affordable housing. Some stressed the need to provide jobs for Hudson's residents for whom transportation to distant job sites was becoming prohibitively expensive. Some talked about the contribution that commercial development could make by providing jobs, sales tax income, increasd tax base and helping to attract more tourism - which brings money into the local economy without putting much load on services.

But everybody agreed that the Community should make the decisions by creating a plan now - not waiting until some large developer comes in with a plan of their own and tries to spring it on the City. Stories were told of some of the fiascos that have developed in other communities where developers have forced through plans that did, indeed, make the waterfront the "Rich Man's Playground" that some fear here.

But they also stressed that communities all up and down the Hudson have taken control of their Waterfronts, and in many localities made them centers of community, cultural, recreational and commercial/industrial activity - in additon, in some cases, to providing a mix of attractive, affordable housing and some higher-end living spaces.

Contrary to what Tim implied in a post on his board, there already is an official LWRP (Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan), one which was originally developed from the "Vison Plan" process back in the 1990s.

But that LWRP has been found "deficient" by the Department of State (the agency that has oversight in such matters). It needs to be completed - which in this case means re-drafted. The "Waterfront Committee" (the same one that brought us the Butterworth Toilet Blockhouse and the Concrete Gazebo) is meeting tomorrow. It would be a good time to come and give your input - to ask the Committee to revisit the LWRP now that the SLC proposal has been withdrawn, which changes things a lot.

We need a plan. Otherwise we'll be at the mercy of events that are forced on us. You can be part of making that plan if you take the time and accept the responsibility to do so. If you don't, then don't complain because others do.
Subject: Waterfront Meeting tonight at 6pm...


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 08:51:08 09/06/05 Tue
...at the Basilica Industria - just follow south front street past the train station parking lot till you see all the cars.

This is a chance to be in on the founding of an organization that seeks to provide citizen input in creating a plan for Waterfront and South Bay protection and development.

Do you have ideas about how the waterfront should be used and what it should look like? Or are you content to have "our leaders" spend more than $200,000 (that might have gone for better things) on the C. Butterworth Memorial Toilet Blockhouse?

Who designed that monstrosity? Who decided to put the TOILETS (for heaven's sake!) in a place of prominence as you enter and leave the park? What is that - "Welcome to Hudson's Waterfront, Don't Forget to Empty Your Bowels?" - not to mention that the place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox most of the time!

Was ANY citizen input invited or allowed? What about The Concrete Horror that passes as a "bandstand?" Ugly as sin, with some of the harshest and most conflicted acoutic properties imaginable.

Again - who designed this travesty? Who decided on concrete, rather than wood like the charming (but largely unused by order of the County) bandstand on the Couthouse lawn? Did anyone ask you what you wanted? Who was awarded the contracts for that work? What kind of profit margin did they make? Are the records available, or have they gone the way of those for the Shrimp Box?

You can be part of an effort to plan a citizen-friendly Waterfront, with balanced development of wildlife, recreational, and commercial resources. But you have to show up and do the work. 6pm at the B.I. I hope to see you there.
Subject: Banned IP Addresses


Author:
Sourth Bay Resident
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 14:01:50 09/06/05 Tue
Ned, have you banned all posters from capital.net by mistake?
Replies:
Subject: This is of importance...


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 14:02:19 09/01/05 Thu
Tom sent me the below and I thought it was important enough to post it for him.


It was only a matter of time before Depew was going to get me off his Prestigious Intelectual Board:):)but it was a pathetic time to have lost my hour and a half cause and effects message that I could not retrieve
by his preemptive action.
Katrina like other Mother Nature calamities that have taken place on our Planet will have the NIMBY enviromentalists blaming everybody but themselves who have kept any new refining plants to come on line in our Nation for the past 25 years who like the foh SLC cement plant killers have boasted of their victories to the dilemas we currently find ourselves in.
The need to develop our resources that here to fore we relied on other Nations to provide us have in these challanging competative times looked to taking care of their own self interests,FIRST
No out cry by the U.N. to other Nations to offer our people who are in need of their HELP to come to our aid.When Calamities like monswoons,earth quakes,etc.have been visited on them from Mother Nature our Tax Payers Checks were quickly sent their way by our POLITICIANS.
What this tragic event that has taken place on our Nation calls for, is to see the diverse interdependance we have for each other to come together as freinds and neighbors whose basic needs must be tended to.The criminal elaments,within our societies must be dealt with. Aside from the looting we now hear that shots at a Helicopter and people at the Superdome being reported.
Lots of lessons to be garnered from Katrina and the need for CEMENT.
Thomas Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Big Changes at FoH


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 17:13:32 09/03/05 Sat
Friends -

for those who missed the FoH annual picnic at the FPS today (Saturday, 9/3) - there is big news.

Sam Pratt and Peter Jung - two of the three founding board members of Friends of Hudson, have retired from front-line participation to take a lower-key "advisory" role with the organization's Board. They were (unpaid) Executive Director and President respectively.

The new Executive Director is Susan Falzone, who has been in the FoH office for more than two years and has more than 18 years experience as an activist on environmental issues in the Upper Hudson Valley. Current Vice President Chris Reed of Philmont will step into Jung's role as President of the board, and Mark Teague (of Coxsackie) will be the new Vice President.

Primary projects on the table for FoH in the coming year are contributing to the "smart-growth" development of South Bay and the Waterfront; the fight against tire-burning at the Lafarge Cement Ravena plant; and the builidng of an ongoing, permanent coalition of groups up and down the valley to be able to mobilize support on behalf of important issues.

You can find out more about FoH and get involved in their intiatives to protect and champion Hudson - the City, the River and the Valley - by going to FoH
Subject: Katrina's aftermath - what can we learn?


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 12:37:59 09/02/05 Fri
Friends -

in a recent article Gerald Baker (rightly) takes exception to those who have characterized the recent events in New Orleans as some form of "the chickens coming home to roost" for US Energy and Gobal Warming policies. You can read his comments here: The London Times

Of course Baker is right that calling the events of Katrina "God's revenge" against the US or the Bush Administration is as silly as Pat Robertson calling AIDS God's punishment on Gays, or whoever it was calling 9/11 God's punishment for America's "Godlessness." That is an obvious punching bag - but a very simple and totally defenseless one.

What he fails to address is the very real fact that the "looters" arrived in the US and in New Orleans long before Katrina did.

It is documented fact that the Bush Administration excoriated the Army Corps of Engineers budget for repairs and improvements to New Orleans' protective system - cutting more than 60% in the 2004 budget, and altogether eliminating funding in 2005. This in spite of pleas from the Army Corps who argued that the spending was necessary for the safety of the City.

And the reason? The money was "needed" for the Iraq War™, Homeland Security™ and the boondoggle formerly known as The War On Terror™ - now renamed the Global Offensive On Blah-Blah-Blah™. So American citizens didn't get needed money to keep them safe, while the Military got billions to reduce some distant part of the globe to rubble similar to that now found in New Orleans, for reasons that are not at all clear - least of all to the architects of that program.

But one may argue whether or not the spending by the Army Corps (whose track record is several levels below perfect) would have protected N.O. It would at least have had a chance of doing so - but nevermind that. Let it go.

But what of the Federal Government's abysmal failure to anticipate and respond to the possible consequences of Katrina's visit? The vaunted "Homeland Security" Department, the largest bureaucracy created in government since the New Deal, was caught flat-footed, despite more than a week of tracking Katrina's possible courses.

They had no evacuation plan for N.O. other than to get on radios and TV and tell people to "get out of town!" without providing the poor, the infirm, the elderly with the means to do so. Imagine if this had been a real, terrorist orchestrated emergency? Is there any reason to believe they would have done any better? And if not, where is all that money - billions and billions (as Carl Sagan would have said) of dollars - going? Is it making us "safer?" Judging from the Department's response in this case, it certainly seems not.

Where were the needed machinery and equipment - the needed personnel who might have been called out to deal with this emergency? Why - most of it had been sent abroad to Iraq and Afghanistan - "to make the world safer," and "rid the world of evildoers." And no back-up plan was in place to deal with the absence.

Certainly those who "blame" the US or even the Bush Administration for Katrina make themselves ridiculous - but so do those who ignore the real problems Katrina exposed, and the real and clear causes of those problems. People are dying because the budgets of our Emergency Management Agency, our National Guards, have been "looted" for other purposes, and the billions of dollars funneled into our "Homeland Security Agency" appears to have been appropriated from programs that actually might have done the citizens of N.O. some good, while in fact doing no one much of any demonstrable good at all.

The Big-Time Looters are not in the night-streets of New Orleans - they are sitting comfortable and secure in the center of the Government, having devised a much safer and more effective method of looting than that being practiced in the streets.
Replies:
Subject: Looks like the NIMBY'S are fightimg......


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 14:29:22 08/30/05 Tue
Go to:

http://www.metroland.net/letters.html

for full story.
Replies:
Subject: Greenport Candidates Compliments of R.S.reporter


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 04:16:54 08/30/05 Tue
Dems currently nominate 6 candidates

By Joe Prout
GREENPORT -- The Greenport Democratic Party announced Monday its slate for the upcoming November town elections.

Guy T. Apicella will be the Democratic candidate for town supervisor. Thomas F. Fleming Jr. and Edward F. Nabozny are the two candidates for Town Board. The tax collector candidate is Lynn M. Kowalski and the Town Justice Candidate is Lynn E. Lee. The Democrats have not announced a town clerk candidate at this point. Ronald "Curt" Warfield is running for his fifth term as highway superintendent.
Subject: Important Tire Burning Hearing


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 16:09:31 08/26/05 Fri
Friends -

last night an important meeting, - the first Legislative Hearing held by the DEC on the LaFarge Building Materials (Cement) Company application to burn 5 million tires at their 1960s era wet-process cement plant in Ravena, about two miles from the west bank of the Hudson River opposite the Stuyvestant Landing/Schodak Landing/Kinderhook area Columbia County.

The hearing was held in Ravena - about 40-45 minutes drive from Hudson and most of Columbia County, the area that will be most affected by the proposal, being directly downwind in the prevailing wind patterns as documented by the DEC.

Some where in the vicinity of 20 people spoke during the two-and-a-half-hour hearing. Only one spoke in favor - for reasons that I missed, since I arrived a bit late. The remainder raised issues of importance, ranging from the LaFarge Company's poor record of compliance and many deviations from their currently permitted limits over the life of their ownership of the facility, to the extreme toxicity of some of the by-products of burning TDF (tire -derived fuels)

Procedural issue raised included: the location of the hearing - far from the areas that will be most strongly affected by the proposal; the failure of the DEC to communicate with those who have asked to be informed about developments in the process; the original very brief comment period of 30 days (now extended to 60 days, ending October 3) allowed for review of and comment on an application that LaFarge spent more than a year preparing, and that the DEC, with its large staff, required several months to review.

In addition, many people who have previous experience of the DEC permitting process were shocked to learn that the DEC had issued a "negative declaration" of Environmental Impact, allowing the company to bypass the close scrutiny of preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and submitting to a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), which is routinely required of projects ranging from small residential subdivisions to nay new manufacturing facility. This for a project which will certainly profoundly alter the chemistry of the air we breathe

Other issues included the controversial history of the use of TDF in cement kilns, where fluctuations in temperature - either intentional or accidental, can lead to incomplete combustion of fuels, and the release of bursts of pollutants well-above permitted levels - that are then "averaged" in statistical reporting of the "total emissions released" - despite the fact that those downwind are exposed to the full force of the concentrations of those relatively frequent events.

Also noted was the extreme toxicity of some of the pollutants known to be released by incineration of TDFs - including Dioxin and Furans - the MOST toxic carcinogens known to science. These toxins are so potent that there no "safe" level of exposure has been established - any exposure, no matter how small apparently increases the risk of developing cancer.

In addition, other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) - many of whose ultimate effects on human health, both singly and in a "chemical cocktail" combined with other pollutants, are still unknown, will also be released, as will - in a worst case scenario - increased levels of toxic heavy metals including lead and mercury, which are cumulative (they build up in the systems of organic entities ranging from the plants and animals we eat to the breast milk of human mothers) toxins of great potency.

Moreover, the baseline against which possible "worst case scenario" releases of heavy metals and other toxins are being compared is permit levels established in the late 1960s, when the Ravena Plant was most recently reviewed - a time when many of the dangers of pollution were little understood.

This proposal represents a direct threat to the health of those in the surrounding area - and downwind for a hundreds of miles. Those in Columbia County, southern Rennselaer County and adjacent Berkshire County are most at risk.

It is our responsibility to hold the DEC accountable for protecting our environment and our public health. We owe it to ourselves, our families and neighbors, to educate ourselves on the potential risks of the Lafarge proposal and to speak out to make sure that we are protected rom unnecessary deterioration of the conditions required for our health - especially clean, safe air.

Here are links to some sites where you can get information on the science and history of such technologies (you can also try googling such keywords as "TDF" or "Tire-derived fuels" or "cement kilns" or 'tire incineration" in a variety of combinations, and do your own research):

www.notoxicburning.org
www.cementkiln.org
www.ichetucknee.org/health.html
www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/dioxin-closer-than-you-think
www.wvecouncil.org/issues/tires.html

There is another public hearing scheduled for September 21 in the same general location - this time at the Coeymans/Ravena/Selkirk High School auditorium, on route 9w just a mile or two above what is described as the "Village of Ravena" (which appears to be a four way intersection with a stoplight and couple of small strip malls).

You owe it to yourself, your family and your neighbors to study this issue, that could have far-reaching and long lasting effects on our entire county, and to make your educated opinion heard at this meeting and through the mail - you can send written comments to:

William J. Clarke
NYSDEC
1150 North Westcott Road
Schenectady, NY 12306-2014

Interestingly, noted "community activists" Tom and Gene didn't make the meeting. Maybe they already know too much about this issue to be confused with the facts? Perhaps the DEC should provide free hot dogs. caps and tee-shirts?
Replies:
Subject: More Common Sense for your FoH POSTERS:):)


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 09:29:28 08/29/05 Mon
Author: Gene
Subject: More Comon Sense for your FoH POSTERS:):)

Tom maybe the "Saviors of the Hudson Valley" could use the pristine landscape the river valley provides us to build some oil refineries which would be protected from the ravages of the storms which are tearing up the Gulf Coast areas. Of course, the "Visioneries" probably won't be looking that far ahead they're more concerned with TDF and stopping Cement Plants from competing in a free market society with there "know it all attitude".

They say the Dutchess County Fair had an attendance of over a half million tourists during the course of the its run of six days. That would be more than the Arts Walk or Olana gets all year. Now, that's a tourist attraction with no artsy fartsey people present. There will be more tourists with the opening of the Columbia County Fair this week than Hudson will ever have.
Replies:
Subject: Scaleranetti-nomics


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 10:05:02 08/27/05 Sat
Friends -

next time you go to look for a delicious, wholesome whole-foods breakfast or lunch and come up against a locked closed door at Earthfoods, be sure to walk across the street and thank Rick Scalera.

Sal Sanchez and Jean Duff-Sanchez were graduates of the Columbia County Micro- business seminar, who parlayed what they learned there into a very successful business. They were able to leverage property they already owned and a track-record as restaurateurs into loans that allowed them to open Earthfoods and develop it into the second (after The Cascades), highly successful owner-operated restaurant in Hudson.

Now they have closed their doors and fled.

Why?

Ask Rick "The business-killer" Scalera.

Thanks to the Scalera Administration's heavy-handed way with "re-valuation," done through the appointment of a totally-unqualified single assessor who is solely responsible to the Mayor for her paycheck, assessments and taxes for the business-owners on Warren Street have skyrocketed.

The Sanchezes paid less than $90,000 for their building and renovated it at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars, then installed and ran a business that gave employment to dozens of people - not to mention the ripple effect of the money spent for supplies from local farmers and merchants.

But Rick Scalera raised their taxes from an original level of around $6,000/year to a current level of over $18,000! That's 300% in less than ten years! If all the other property in the City had been raise proportionally, that wouldn't have mattered much - but Scalera opted for "selective revaluation" in a way that puts the overwhelming burden of increased taxes on those who are subject to re-val, while those whose re-valuation is several years away actually end up with substantial short-term tax reductions! It isn't fair - but hey - - it isn't meant to be!

With his Administration's clear goal of taxing and spending, Scalera has caused both the City Budget and off-budget spending to mushroom, including sacrificing nearly all of our "surplus" - our savings account - for personal political gain.

Sal Sanchez bought a closed restaurant in Austerlitz, with nearly an acre of land and a building with twice the square footage of his current location and his tax bill is about the same as what he paid when he first came to Hudson - about $6K/year. The way he sees it, he can move to Austerlitz, do 30-40% less business, and still make more money than he was making in Hudson, paying between 30 - 40% of his after-expenses-and-taxes profits for Hudson property taxes.

Don't make a mistake - Sal was willing to pay his fair share of the Hudson's taxes - but that is not what he and other Warren Street business owners (those who brought the town back to life by their own gargantuan efforts, with little or no help from the City) have been asked to do. By the Assessor's own admission, they are bearing the brunt of the rise in property taxes and bearing a disproportionate share of the tax burden.

Why? Because the re-valuation is being done in phases, over six years. But this is not a mandate or a necessity, as Scalera and the Assessor have mis-leadingly claimed. This is a choice, made by Scalera and executed at Scalera's orders.

We could have spent that $82,000 that Scalera just "gave" to the Booster's Club (never mind that it was not his to give) on hiring more assessors - possibly even ones with qualifications and experience who could do the work faster and more efficiently - who could have completed the re-val in one or two years, bringing all properties into relatively equitable compliance - and creating a relatively equitable apportionment of taxes liabilities.

But that was not what happened. And as a result, businesses - successful, revenue and payroll generating businesses - are being forced out of Hudson.

Maybe that's the way Rick and his protege/mentor Dan Grandinetti like it. Maybe they were happy when they could borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars from HUD in the City's name, and just allow it to trickle through their fingers, conveniently "losing" the records of how it was spent. That seems to have worked for them in the past, and maybe that's what they would like to see Hudson return to.

If so, what happened to Earthfoods may be just what they are hoping for.


If it's not what you are hoping for - then work for alternative candidates to the Scalera-Grandinetti "good-old-boy" Party.

Work for - and vote for - positive change for Hudson, that will build on and encourage growth, rather than stifle and strangle it. Vote and work for an administration that will spend tax money on the citizens of Hudson and their needs, not on bloated salaries for City functionaries - hired regardless of their lack of qualifications - in the merry-go-round of cronyism that has represented Hudson Politics as usual for the entire Scalera terms.

We'll have a another chance to change things come November. Let's not let it slip through our fingers.

The choice is clear - government by, for and of the people, or more of the same Good-Old-Boy back-room politics under yet another Scaleranetti Administration.
Replies:
Subject: More blather


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 18:59:36 08/28/05 Sun
Tom keeps insisting on cross-posting his rude, incoherent blather both here and on Tim's Board, in spite of the fact that I've repeatedly asked him to limit his posts here to coherent and civil postings. If you want to read the latest post I removed, it is at: http://www.voy.com/194846/994.html

Gene posted a sort of a "follow-up" which as usual is no more than negative thinking without the slightest hint of information or any positive ideas for action. I'm re-posting it as the first reply to this thread.
Replies:
Subject: Deconstructing Tommy


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 10:25:19 08/27/05 Sat
Tom Koulos posted the following, under the typically rude heading "Ned,Get your Crying Towel:):)"

"Would you believe the media has PUBLISHED Hearing dates that you found convenient to place here to get us to your FoH NIMBY Special Interest Board???:):)How come you deleted Water Front map plan info???"

Of course, I actually mentioned in my postscript that I had found the additional September 14th meeting date in the T-U. Not everyone reads the newspapers however, or reads them carefully enough to pick up such information. Posting it on the web boards is another way to help make sure it reaches as many people - of all persuasions on the issue - as possible.

Frankly, I don't care how many people visit this site. I don't make anything off it - in fact, it costs me both time and money. I just want the information out there, so that people will see it somewhere.

As I have mentioned many times, I'm neither a member (although I am a supporter) of FoH, nor a NIMBY (nor, for that matter do I think I am a "visionery" - although I'm not quiet sure what that might be). But Tom persists in calling me that made-up name of his, like a poorly broought-up two-year-old.

I didn't delete any "info" on the "waterfront plan." There is a thread below that contains a series of posts on the subject, although I had to edit and re-post them to eliminate masses of headers, advertisements, etc. that Tom selfishly never bothers to clean up out of his cut&pastes before he posts them.

I did delete some ill-mannered, pointless, incoherent yammering that Tom signed his name to - as I have promised I will whenever it is necessary.

I would ordinarily simply have deleted and ignored the above post, but I just wanted to keep people aware of what I have to put up with, and how I'm forced to waste my time to try to keep this board useful and informative for anyone who wants to come and read and/or post here (according to Voyforums, this site gets between 20-50 hits a day, although it only shows two or three posts on average. So there are far more people visiting and reading than are posting)

For the most part, I will just flush nonsense like the above post, but every once in a while, I'll post it like this so that everyone who reads can get a better idea of the personalities behind some of what does remain.
Subject: What's with the WATER FRONT HIDDEN PROPOSAL?


Author:
Tom Koulos (edited by ND)
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 23:18:21 08/25/05 Thu
Lots of scuttle about it with no one willing to come out and shed light on its origin and PROPOSERS??Do any of you think the Publishers of our local media will send out one of their reporters to find out who and where their funding for said floater will be getting the moola to develop said PROPERTIES which as of our latest inquiries the owners to date have not been contacted???? Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Read it and weep:):)


Author:
Tom Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 07:33:02 08/23/05 Tue
Author: Tom Koulos
Post Icon:
Subject: Baldwin conveniently missing in action??

No oportunity for Tom Fleming to folow up on his recomendations to Jack Mabb.Another good reason why we need a competative news paper Web site and investigative reporters to follow up on tax payers concerns.
I see Ned was ecxersizing his DELETE management skills lacking alternative opinions to the areas vexing problems.
Mary Hallenback who too has become aware of the Proposed Waterfront developments was directed to a contact to get a map of the Proposal.Inde Story on "MORE TIME FOR TIRE BURNING DEBATE" with FoH objectors.No timely news on Verizon Phone users cut off service from mishap at the Corectional facility??Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Eye on Education


Author:
Tom Koulos (edited by ND)
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 23:26:12 08/25/05 Thu
Much could be said about the Board of Education’s hysterical ennui, but as Lynn Sloneker’s excellently detailed report proves, the facts speak for themselves….. I encourage you all to read this report, including the neat little surprise – a predictable coverup for those of us who know the score – at the end….. /pm.

Whistling Dixie
School Board All Hunkered Down
Snatching Failure from the Jaws of Victory
By Lynn Sloneker

Special to Eye on Education

HUDSON (Aug 24)- The size of the audience has diminished and emotions are less volatile than those displayed during recent meetings, but the tension between outgoing superintendent James B. Clarke Jr. and board president Jack Mabb was evident as the Hudson City School District Board of Education held its last gathering Monday evening before students return to school Sept. 7.

Clarke offered little to the discussion outside his required "superintendent's report" while Mabb dominated the agenda.

In a story that appeared in the Aug. 12 edition of the Independent, Mabb was characterized as, "Blasting Mr. Clarke as 'a little king' who took a 'circle the wagons approach,'." and "cited the superintendent's failure to keep the board informed of problems in the district." Mabb was referring Clarke's failure to notify the board of a pending mandated review of the district's policies and practices by state Deputy Education Commissioner James A. Kadamus.

The story continued, "As another example of lack of communication and cooperation, he [Mabb] mentioned the request made by a district parent that the U.S. Department of Justice [sic] investigate whether the parent's child had been the target of racial discrimination by the district. Mr. Mabb said Mr. Clarke delayed telling the board of the parent's move." (See sidebar.)

The story, and Mabb's comments about the superintendent, were raised by former district parent Pat Hutchings, during the meeting Monday. She questioned the validity of placing blame on Clarke alone for the district's woes. Mabb denied he "blamed" Clarke; Clarke offered no comment.

Clarke recently tendered his resignation as HCSD superintendent, effective Sept. 20.

While not providing any substantive details, the board indicated an appointment of an interim superintendent is imminent - by all accounts an executive session held at the close of the public meeting may lead to a candidate interview in the coming weeks.

The board did not disclose the identity of the favored candidate but rumors have circulated for weeks that Hudson native and former Chatham School District superintendent Marilyn Berry is a frontrunner for the job. Former Hudson Middle School and Greenport Elementary principal George Esposito, and Coxsackie- Athens high school principal and Hudson resident William Toussaint are also rumored to be under consideration.

Clarke reported his intension to attend an informal meeting with New York state Senator Stephen M. Saland, R,C Poughkeepsie, chair of the Senate sub-committee on education, Sept. 15, scheduled to be held at Columbia-Greene Community College. He offered to include the interim superintendent - if one is designated at that point - in that meeting. Clarke said he recently corresponded with both Saland and state Assemblyman Pat Manning, R,C East Fishkill, concerning the district's "financial situation."

Greenport resident and former HTA president, Tom Fleming, renewed the suggestion he offered two weeks ago, requesting Questar III District Superintendent James Baldwin serve as HCSD's interim superintendent thereby, in Fleming's words, "saving the district $500 per day."

In response, Mabb said Baldwin recently expressed support for hiring an interim superintendent and also provided the board with a list of retired superintendents as possible candidates. Baldwin will reportedly be present at the next board meeting (Sept. 12) to discuss the type of support the Board of Cooperative Educational Services can provide to the district for its "permanent search."

Mary Keeler Daly, chair of the search sub-committee, said that group will be organized - and will include members of the community - after the board makes the appointment of an interim superintendent.

The evening started on a high note with the presentation of an $82,000 gift from the city of Hudson - handed over by Mayor Richard Scalera - to the district for the purpose of sustaining HCSD sports and arts programs during the coming school year. Later in the evening, the board voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to restore Cristy Sisk to a .4 instrumental music position at Hudson High School, at the rate of $200 per day. According to Mabb, that position is underwritten entirely by the city donation.

"Contrary to what you read in the paper, some things at city hall are unanimous," Scalera said before handing the check over to Mabb.

Smiling, Mabb called the city's action "a wonderful thing."

Booster Club president and district teacher Pat Maloy thanked Scalera and the city for the gift. He also announced the club's recent receipt of a $12,500 donation from DDL Construction of Albany. DDL has worked on a number of local building projects, including the Columbia County Mental Health Building, located at Columbia and Third streets and nearing completion, and the Taconic Hills Central School in Craryville.

Maloy delivered an update on past and future booster club activity, reporting 550 ziti dinners were sold last week at St. Mary's School and netted more than $4,000 for the club. Calling it a "great inter- generational event," Maloy said the "women at the church" were "amazed" at the behavior of the children who assisted at the event. He said the HCSD students involved completed the tasks assigned without prompting.

The club is currently selling tickets for a raffle to be held during "Oldies Night," Sept. 9 at the Polish Sportsmen Club in Greenport. There is also an upcoming chicken BBQ at the AME Zion Church in Hudson Sept. 14 and another "Trash or Treasure" tag sale slated for Oct. 1.

Other business discussed Monday, included:

Clarke announced the retirement of Hudson Police Department Sgt. Eugene Shetsky as School Resource Officer. Clarke said a replacement candidate has been selected but not identified to the district because s/he has not been cleared by HPD, yet.
The SRO is an employee of HPD and stationed in the district while classes are in session and on regular patrol rotation in the city of Hudson at other times. Shetsky was appointed to the newly established position in February 2004. HPD sought - and was awarded - a federal grant in the sum of $125,000 to fund the position "amid allegations of escalating incidents of violence at the Hudson Middle School."

The board accepted, "with regret," the resignation "for the purpose of retirement" of Athena DeBonis, art teacher with HCSD for 34 years, having been employed by the district since Sept. 1, 1971. DeBonis was in attendance at Monday's meeting.

The district is currently in negotiation with attorneys for Columbia County concerning the $210,000 in back taxes due from Green Manor Nursing Home. Board clerk Daniel Barrett reported having received $60,000 of the total owed, so far.

The board's Facilities Committee, chaired by Peter Rost, met last week, for the first time since February. Rost said the district's five- year plan is due in November. According to Rost, the committee's first facilities priority is to find a way to move the administrative offices to a new location, opening the door for the district to sell the former Claverack school. He said any facilities plan presented in the coming months will be "budget neutral."

The board voted unanimously in favor of a resolution authorizing Rhinebeck Architecture & Planning P.C. to conduct "the 2005 building condition survey and visual inspection at a cost not to exceed $29,000."

Pat Abitabile, chair of the Achievement (formerly Curriculum) Committee announced former board president Shailer Evans has asked to serve on the committee and intends to participate in the group's upcoming materials review.

A resolution approving meal price increases was passed unanimously, raising the cost of lunch at Hudson High School and M.C. Smith Middle School to $1.75, and to $1.35 at John L. Edwards and Greenport elementary schools.

The board will next meet 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at John L. Edwards Elementary School.

See No Evil
Board Still Silent On Federal Civil Rights Investigation

Presented with the second opportunity in three weeks, members of the Hudson City School District Board of Education and outgoing superintendent James B. Clarke Jr. failed to disclose to the public the existence of an ongoing investigation of Montgomery C. Smith Middle School by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.

Notwithstanding a brief reference to the matter by board member Peter Rost to president Jack Mabb and Clarke during the Aug. 8 public meeting and their subsequent representations that the matter would be discussed Monday, the issue did not appear on the agenda, nor was it revealed during Clarke's "superintendent's report."

A letter to Clarke from OCR, dated and transmitted to district offices July 28, was included in the board's "packet" - as the members refer to materials prepared by Clarke's office in preparation for each board meeting - two weeks ago, according to the comments offered by Rost Aug. 8.

Board vice president James Mackerer - and consequently the full board - learned of the OCR investigation from a reporter, Aug. 5.

The OCR initiated an investigation following allegations, reported in April 2005, of racial discrimination related to discipline at the middle school.

According to Michelle A. Armstrong, Compliance Team Leader with OCR's New York office, the complaint involves three children.

In anticipation of "the expeditious resolution" of its investigation, OCR requested the district comply with an extensive "data request" within 15 days.

The information requested - a detailed list of at least nine documents - was to be produced within 15 days of July 28, and included:

"A copy of the district's and, if different, the school's disciplinary policy, code of conduct, list of disciplinary infractions and their corresponding sanctions (including but not limited to referrals, suspensions and expulsions), and an explanation of the factors taken into consideration when imposing disciplinary sanctions.

"Identify all school staff members, by race/ethnicity and job title, who were authorized to make disciplinary referrals and/or render disciplinary sanctions during the 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004- 2005 school years."

According to OCR, a representative of the agency contacted Clarke's office Aug. 12, inquiring as to the status of the request. At that time, OCR was informed by a district employee s/he believed the deadline for the materials to be Aug. 18 and further stated Clarke was on vacation until Aug. 17.

In follow-up correspondence dated Aug. 15, that same individual forwarded a portion of the requested material; specifically, the racial/ethnic composition of the middle school student body, a list of staff members authorized to make disciplinary referrals and the district's account of all students cited with "disciplinary infractions" during the 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years. The remainder of the material was to be submitted after Clarke returned from vacation.

The complaint alleges the district is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in that:

(1) The children were discriminated against ".on the basis of race by excessively disciplining them during the 2004-2005 school year because they are African American."

(2) Two of the students were "subjected [by the district].to a racially hostile educational environment during the 2004-2005 school year by failing to take action when they complained that non-African American students called them a 'nigger.'"

(3) The middle school "targeted African American students for disciplinary referrals and imposed harsher sanctions on them than on white students" during three successive school years, beginning in 2002-2003.

Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. "The district receives such federal financial assistance and therefore, is subject to the provisions of Title VI," according to Armstrong.

--Peter Meyer
Eye on Education
Hudson, NY

How's this news account grab you all???Tom Koulos
Subject: Guess what?????


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 16:19:03 08/24/05 Wed
I used to eat natural foods until I found out people die from natural causes.
Subject: What would jesus do?


Author:
Not in My Name
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 13:10:14 08/23/05 Tue
Pat Robertson Calls for Assassination of Hugo Chavez

Televangelist Calls Venezuelan President a 'Terrific Danger' to the United States

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (Aug. 22) - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a "terrific danger" to the United States.

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said on "The 700 Club" it was the United States' duty to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a "launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."
Subject: Something to think about.......


Author:
Gene
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 15:46:46 08/21/05 Sun
Life is sexually transmitted, have you ever thought about that?
Replies:
Subject: Sat."Spotty Dog"Has OPEN HOUSE.


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 04:30:46 08/19/05 Fri
The Hosts and Owners of this dual enterprise have planned and executed a well thought out "OPEN HOUSE" event for all to come and visit to rekindle past and present memories to share with their Friends and Neighbors in these competative times.
The welcoming Staff with their Out REACH smiling personalities led by the Charming Kelly and her Husband watching it all unfold have in their inclusive "Open House"made every effort to spread the cheer with their Evans Ale on tap and music to look over their art supplies and dayily arrivals of books with songs that a band will be playing live to get your feet a dancing and glimpses of the former Fire House History to bring back nostalgia of those who served their neighbors over the years.
It's a Happening you won't want to miss in these turbulent times.Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Live and Learn:):)


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 09:30:19 08/16/05 Tue
http://www.spiritisup.com/colors1.swf
Tell us what relavancy this had for you Ned,Etc.??:):)Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Colum Riley vs. Kenneth David and Thomas Fisher


Author:
We the People
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 15:14:58 08/16/05 Tue
Judge John G. Connor ruled today that Colum Riley's petitions for democratic committeeman in Hudson's First Ward were valid. Mr. Riley represented himself and was up against John Leonardson for the County BOE and Lanny Walter for Carole Osterink (Pratt/Mussman). Way to go Colum.
Subject: What's S.P.s rebutal to Mother Nature's event??


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 04:42:28 08/15/05 Mon
Storms pound county, lightning strikes houses

By Kate Kirschenheiter
COLUMBIA COUNTY -- Upwards of 200 flashes of lightning in a five minute period between 4:30 and 5 p.m. reportedly erupted in Columbia County on Sunday evening, a number of them striking structures, and heavy rains pounded the area as a line of severe thunderstorms moved across the county, according to the Albany National Weather Service.
Replies:
Subject: Guess What, Gene???


Author:
Ned Depew
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Date Posted: 10:31:39 08/10/05 Wed
I didn't set this board up as a place for you to come and play childish games. One more and you're gone.

Oh, and in general, most NY drivers don't save money with Geico.
Replies:
Subject: Eye on Education


Author:
Posted by T.K. for Peter Meyer and Lynne Sloneker
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Date Posted: 09:14:16 08/11/05 Thu
Tom posted this - and I thank him. But the full text is available at this site: The Board Formerly Known As Tim's Board (TBFKATB)
So there's no need to post it here, except to comment on specific points - which Tom hasn't done.

But it makes interesting reading and we are indebetd to Peter and Lynn for providing their own clear and well-written reports of these events. The more points of view we have access to, the better idea those of us who can't attend every meeting can get of the proceedings.
Subject: Will the R.S.Inde,etc.Report Mr.Fleming's suggestion to HCSD Board?


Author:
Thomas Koulos
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Date Posted: 14:48:37 08/09/05 Tue
Also will they folow up on how much they are Paying the Advisory Commitee to search for an Admistrator that Mr.Balwin can get Pro Bono??
As for my vivid Imagination much progress has been made over my 77 years of unfolding on this speck of the Cosmos.But Like Gene infers you are still wet behind the ears with no alternative solutions while you badger us about what we know or not know.:)Now I'll go post this on Londa's Board and pass it on to those on my networking e-mail tax payers who to have vested interests in what is going on.Tom Koulos
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Subject: NASA and the world watch Shuttle adventure.


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 09:20:46 08/09/05 Tue
The remarkable Risk takers amongst us Landed safely this morning in California.The Space program that has had Enviromentalists and other self interest groups opposing its existance with their negative blame game rhetoric will be giving us their expert opinions to justify their existance.
Like many developments in our cosmos listening to their alarms is to deny the birth of a child for fear of the Challanges and risks it will be subjected to from the moment of conception when the sperm fertilizes one or more eggs in the Mother's womb.
Our hearty congradulations to these interdependent hard working humans of diverse talents WORKING together to fulfill their dangerous missions.
Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: bad mouth


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 09:17:01 08/08/05 Mon
Tom -

if you have something of interest and substance to say, spit it out. If on the other hand, you just want to call names and bad mouth people - well, you have Londa's board. People who'd like to view Tom's latest rude and gratuitiously insulting spew can do so at Londa's

You are wearing out your welcome here just as you have done on the editorial pages of the R-S and the Indie. There's only so much ill-temper and pointless nonsense that people will put up with.

You've shown that you can control yourself and contribute positively and interestingly when you put your mind to it. Please do so or be gone.
Replies:
Subject: HAL silent on their Fund raiser's dillema


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 04:40:29 08/05/05 Fri
Ned,since you are in the know:):)Did the HCSD Board follow up on my remarks about the posted subject??I know the reporter was fired that covered the meeting while another reporter has been refused Unemployeement benefits by the R.S..What's the latest on the refusal to make improvements on the bridge that posed a threat on all those who use it??
Strike "2'is on Londa's Board having been deleted on your Board:):)Seems we have our curtain rod annonimous posters who know how to critisize but have yet to offer Positive alternatives.here on your board,Londa's or at the public meetings.:):)Tom Koulos
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Subject: Check it out here and on LOnda's Board


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 13:24:31 08/06/05 Sat
Eye on Education…. August 6, 2005…. Exclusive: Special Report


Dear Friends of Education, as you will learn from Lynn Sloneker’s special report below, yet another outside education agency is investigating Hudson’s school district. To those of us who have been watching this district for the last decade or so, this is not at all a surprise – it’s welcome.

But the question now is does the Board of Education have the courage to do what it should have done many years ago? Will the BOE start paying attention to the law (training all staff on the implementation of the Code of Conduct, for instance) and stop lying to the public (Of course, we’ve done the training)? Will the BOE start paying attention to the educational needs of our children instead of the interests of unions?

I must admit that I am not hopeful. More than half of the members of the Board have been on the Board for the last couple of years and have sat on their hands as the policies and practices now under investigation by the State Department of Education and the Federal Department of Education have been implemented. They said nothing – did nothing – when evidence of gross discrimination in the student suspension practices was presented to them.

Let’s hope that the BOE at least stands aside and lets the investigators do their work. More importantly, though, let’s hope that the BOE makes sure that our administrators are doing their jobs – getting school ready for opening day -- and not spending more taxpayer money hiding the facts.

--peter meyer.


The Feds Are Here

New Investigation of School District Revealed
Again, School Board Kept in the dark

By Lynn Sloneker
Special to Eye on Education

HUDSON (Aug. 5) The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights has initiated an investigation of the Hudson City School District, following allegations of racial discrimination related to discipline procedures at Hudson’s Montgomery C. Smith Middle School, according to Susan Aspey, spokesperson for the agency.
In a July 28 letter to Superintendent James B. Clarke Jr., Michelle A. Armstrong, Compliance Team Leader with OCR’s New York office, outlined a complaint filed April 19 against the district involving three children, all students at the Montgomery C. Smith Middle School.
At this stage of the investigation, the identities of the complainant and the children are protected.
“Generally speaking, OCR tries to make a decision on what, if any, action to take on a complaint within 30 business days. If OCR investigates, they try to have things completed within 180 days. We want to work with schools to ensure compliance with all relevant laws, not punish them,” Aspey said.
Clarke did not return a call for comment, Friday.
When contacted by phone at the middle school Friday, principal Thomas Gavin offered, “no comment” and referred calls to Clarke.
Thomas Baumgartner, President of the Hudson Administrators Association, likewise deferred comment when contacted Friday.
Board of Education vice president James Mackerer knew nothing of the investigation; he did not know of the letter’s existence, he told EoE, Friday. He said as board vice president he was “disappointed” to learn about the matter from a reporter.
This is the second time in less than a month Clarke has failed to advise the board of a pending administrative review or investigation of the district.
During the week of July 12, board president Jack Mabb learned of the existence of a July 1 letter from New York state Deputy Education Commissioner James A. Kadamus to Questar III District Superintendent James N. Baldwin, calling on Baldwin to review four key areas of concern in the district, including the continued over-classification of black students as students with disabilities, the disproportionate representation of these students in restrictive settings and the district’s continued academic problems.
Although Clarke received a copy of that letter, Mabb said he only learned of its contents through “an outside source.” Clarke later defended himself, accusing Kadamus of holding the letter, thus ensuring, he said, the letter would arrive after he left on vacation. He also suggested Kadamus could be "angry" with him and further accused the New York State Education Department of leaking the document to the news media before HCSD administration had the opportunity to review it and respond.
The OCR letter sets forth three allegations that the district is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
(1) That the children were discriminated against “…on the basis of race by excessively disciplining them during the 2004-2005 school year because they are African American.”
(2) Two of the students were “subjected [by the district]…to a racially hostile educational environment during the 2004-2005 school year by failing to take action when they complained that non-African American students called them a ‘nigger.’”
(3) That the middle school “targeted African American students for disciplinary referrals and imposed harsher sanctions on them than on white students” during three successive school years, beginning in 2002-2003.
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. “The district receives such federal financial assistance and therefore, is subject to the provisions of Title VI,” Armstrong informed Clarke in the letter transmitted to district offices last week.
In anticipation of “the expeditious resolution” of its investigation, OCR requested the district comply with an extensive “data request” within 15 days.
The information requested  a detailed list of at least nine documents, due in the OCR New York office no later than Aug. 15  includes:
“A copy of the district’s and, if different, the school’s disciplinary policy, code of conduct, list of disciplinary infractions and their corresponding sanctions (including but not limited to referrals, suspensions and expulsions), and an explanation of the factors taken into consideration when imposing disciplinary sanctions…
“Identify all school staff members, by race/ethnicity and job title, who were authorized to make disciplinary referrals and/or render disciplinary sanctions during the 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years.”
Mabb, as chairman of the board’s Community/Board/Education Environment Committee, has attempted during the past year to gather identical data from administrators, but has seemingly failed in that quest.
At a Dec. 2004 forum on discipline issues, Gavin refused to offer specifics about his disciplinary policy. He described the process in subjective terms, telling those in attendance “everything” applies; that the punishment he administers depends on who is involved, what happened and the circumstances. He said he takes into account the child’s “discipline history.”
At the close of the 2004-2005 school year, the CBEE committee requested administrators provide specific data on the job title of any and all district personnel authorized to make referrals and the number of referrals written by each of those individuals. It is unknown if the committee’s request was fulfilled; notwithstanding the committee’s request, the information has not been released to the public.
According to NYSED, the HCSD suspension rate during the 2001-2002 school year was 15.3 percent and increased to 16.3 percent in 2002-2003.
Over a seven-month period during the 2003-2004 school year, African American students constituted 43 percent of the district’s out of school suspensions; whites represented 47 percent, according to figures provided by district administrators. At that time, approximately 63 percent of the HCSD student body was white; 26 percent African American, according to NYSED.
This is second complaint lodged against the district with the federal agency in less than two years. In Oct 2003, the district was accused of discriminatory action based on possible Title VI and Section 504 violations. (Section 504 of the civil rights law ensures equal access to an education for children with disabilities.)
That matter was investigated but suspended when OCR learned that the 504 e issues were under review by NYSED.
At the time, Clarke told the Register-Star that threats of litigation are not rare, but he had no firsthand experience with a federal civil rights complaint. “I can’t say that I remember one actually being filed,” he said.
Clarke recently tendered his resignation as HCSD superintendent, effective Sept. 20.
Mabb said during a recent public meeting the board will, in all likelihood, appoint an interim superintendent to manage the district through the coming school year, while a search is conducted.






--Peter
Subject: Historical documentation at your finger tips.


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 08:59:32 08/05/05 Fri
Subject: Managed news


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
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Date Posted: 11:06:51 07/28/05 Thu

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Author: Thomas Koulos
Subject: 2 reporters cover HCSD Board meeting!1 gets printed

Rumor has it that another good reporter has been chopped for her unbiased news reporting.
No mention by Joe Prout to my presentation to the HCSD Board of my remarks about the $200,000.00 thousand funds etc.for the HAL which too is featured in todays Front Page.Copies which were posted here,Tim's Board and sent to others,including yourself,etc.
Talk about news manipulators:):)Ned with your connections and "in" with the publisher and his Editorial Staff perhaps you can ask them why they did not call the HAL PAID FUND RAISER to verify my Comments to the HCSD Board and the fully packed room of concerned tax payers.
Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Quality Education for HCSD Children.


Author:
Thomas Koulos
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 13:49:25 08/04/05 Thu
Reliable rumor has it that a well endowed Charter School organization has taken an interest in the HCSD Board's dilemma of providing a quality Educational opportunity for the areas students.Watch for their announcement soon.Tom Koulos
Replies:
Subject: Latest on the LaFarge proposal for Ravena


Author:
Ned Depew
[ Edit | View ]
Date Posted: 16:55:09 08/03/05 Wed
go to this link:

http://www.friendsofhudson.com/news.html

for information on the Lafarge proposal to burn tires at their Ravena plant and the Friends of Hudson response

For additionjal information on the burning of TDF (Tire-Derived Fuel) here are a few links to get your research started:

Facts
Health Effects
and
Tire Recycling

Happy learning!
Replies:
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