BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Limba - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Limba X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://limba.net X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Limba REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20110313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20111106T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20120311T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20121104T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20130310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20131103T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20140309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20141102T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130208T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130208T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130208T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130208T050000Z UID:4555-1360281600-1360281600@limba.net SUMMARY:Scott Bronson - Next Generation High Tech Workforce Force DESCRIPTION:The weather threat had a serious effect on our attendance so we had a very truncated meeting. \nScott Bronson\, BNL Manager of K-12 Educational Programs\, Spoke to a very small group at the LIMBA meeting today. He gave an overview of the programs at Brookhaven National laboratories and how they are working with educators on every level as well as other research giants such as Cold Spring Harbor Labs\, and Stony Brook University. \nWe have very valuable assets on Long Island that are working together and these assets will create a better future. Mr. Bronson has a very encouraging message. \nThis recap is short because we have asked Scott to come back on March 1 to make a complete presentation. \n Ernie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/scott-bronson-next-generation-high-tech-workforce-force/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130131T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130131T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130131T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130131T050000Z UID:4545-1359590400-1359590400@limba.net SUMMARY:Dr John King Commissioner NY State Education DESCRIPTION:  \nDr. John King is the New York State Commissioner of education and president of the University of the State of New York. We made a request that he appear at LIMBA and he was with us Thursday morning.   \n  \nDr. King began by telling us that many students are deficient in basic skills when they leave high school. He stated that only 33.5% of students are being adequately educated. Raising that result to 34.5% would be a boon to the society. We could raise the economic output by a trillion dollars if we improve our education to the same level as Canada’s. \n  \nThe education/income gap in our country is presently large and is growing worse. This gap is not limited recognized challenged communities. That gap can be narrowed by having more people trained in good craft jobs and career paths such as medical technicians Dr. King addressed our questions about technical education\, but he went further. He lamented the fact that reading skills are not geared to reading technical material. Our schools emphasize fiction reading assignments. He has no quarrel with that\, but thinks that the ability to read non-fiction material such as a service manual can be more difficult. \n  \nWriting skills are important as well. All occupations are better served by practitioners that can accurately describe the workings of the technology they are engaged in. \n  \nMathematics are also important to the mechanical skills\, Carpenters\, machinists\, automobile mechanics are among the trades that rely heavily on the understanding of mathematics. That knowledge is well understood by masters in all of the crafts. Mastering the skills of math\, writing\, and reading\, elevates the status\, as well as the income of the practitioner. \n\nLIMBA has been a supporter of BOCES and their efforts to train students in skilled crafts. That is why we invited the commissioner. We asked him to speak on that topic specifically. He accepted our invitation and we took the opportunity to ask many questions on technical training URL:https://limba.net/calendar/dr-john-king-commissioner-ny-state-education/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130130T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130130T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130130T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130130T050000Z UID:4546-1359504000-1359504000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA & LIFT Goes To Broadway in Northport DESCRIPTION: The John Engeman Theater is showing "Wait Until Dark"  in January. LIMBA has secured a number of  tickets and we hope you can be there to enjoy\, h a high quality theater exprience LIMBA and LIFT will be offering tickets to their friends and memberships. We have a limited number of tickets so I suggest you register early \nWe are planning a networking hour in the lobby with light fare  for the event starting at 6PM- Sponsor this event \nThe John Engemann Theater is located at 250 Main Street Northport\, NY 11768\n(631) 261-2900 URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-lift-goes-to-broadway-in-northport/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130125T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130125T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130125T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130125T050000Z UID:4552-1359072000-1359072000@limba.net SUMMARY:Ed Romaine Brookhaven Supvr- Sponsored by Brookhaven Rail DESCRIPTION:"This has been the longest recession in history." That is the sentence that our speaker\, Ed Romaine began his formal remarks. Mr. Romaine won a recent election for Town Supervisor of Brookhaven. He will have to run again in one year \nAs a result of the recession there has been a cut-back of town personnel\, and that has created other problems. Ed cited the fact that there was no one on staff that had the legal capabilities to pay the bills\, not even the supervisor himself. He went into a little detail on how the problem was resolved. I believe the point was that you cannot cut costs in a willy-nilly fashion. \nRomaine stated that town had too much retail and not enough manufacturing and that unbalance is not sustainable.  He noted a few examples that could be opportunities such as the abandoned Kmart location in Middle Island\, and the UA Theater. These properties can be converted to higher uses and those places need to be examined. \nBrookhaven is a councilmatic town. Each councilman defends his local turf rather than taking the overall benefit of the entire town to influence policy. This political structure is an impediment to good planning and governing. \nAmong the ideas that the supervisor discussed was the Ronkonkoma Hub. The mix of residential and commercial would be transit-centric and attractive to people who work in New York City. The tax revenue created would benefit Brookhaven and Islip. \nYears ago when the airport was expanding Romaine and LIMBA advocated vigorously for the building of the new terminal adjacent to the Long island railroad. Having lost that direct link to the rail system he is now advocating the building of a light rail link from Ronkonkoma station to the terminal. He even suggested that a maglev system could be built with the idea of demonstrating the viability of the technology. \nThe supervisor then went on to discuss the landfill. That landfill is now a regional land fill having all of the others closed. There is a need for us to consider new technology in handling waste. Ed suggested that system called single stream recycling be implemented. That merely means that the homeowner is the one responsible for sorting the garbage. He claims that there would be an efficiency to be had by doing so. \nThe town has had eight years of unbalanced budgets that were supported by a large surplus. That surplus is now below the legal limits of the statute that created it. Romaine now has the daunting task of working within the limits of the revues that the town is able to raise through taxes. To make matters worse that tax base has not been growing while the needs of the town have. He has already taken steps that will abandon the short term\, interest only\, debt that Romaine refers to as "paycheck loans" and resort to long term debt that costs a little more because interest and principal must be paid. This has resulted in a superior bond rating\, AAA. \nDuring the lively Q&A many of the issues were explored further. \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ed-romaine-brookhaven-supvr-sponsored-by-brookhaven-rail/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130118T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130118T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130118T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130118T050000Z UID:4543-1358467200-1358467200@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA-BOCES in Oakdale DESCRIPTION:Today we were hosted by Eastern Suffolk BOCES at their Edward J. Miliken Training Center in Oakdale. The program emphasized the importance of career training. There are skills that are being taught at these various training centers that prepare for fields of work that do not always lead to college. \nThe purpose of this meeting was to showcase the skills that are available to industry and the benefits to the community in general in terms of developing a workforce. The most important objective is to satisfy the needs of an important segment of our population. \n  \nThe perception that these workers are less important than the populations that enter college was addressed. These skills that this society needs are also very often good paying jobs. These occupations in auto mechanics\, carpentry\, electrical installation\, and electronics gave earlier generations pride in the work that they did. They are jobs that allowed a family to educate their children\, take vacations and live in adequate housing. \n  \nIn addition to building skills that create a viable income stream\, these occupations sometimes allow a student to pursue college degrees in engineering and science that was first introduced to them as talented craftspeople. \n  \nThere should be recognition that to be a good mechanic you need to have an appreciation for the engineering that created the machine you are now fixing. In order to build a house you need to understand mathematics. The architect that designed the house will stymie the craftsman that is attempting to bring that project to reality\, if there is a mistake. Competent carpenters are able to understand the strength of materials and structural limitations of a plan. That craftsman is often the difference between a safely competed project and a disaster. \nFood preparation is among the skills that are taught at BOCES. An elaborate breakfast was prepared by the students at the Miliken facility. The food that was prepared was all made from scratch and the results were excellent. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-boces-in-oakdale/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130111T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130111T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130111T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130111T050000Z UID:4542-1357862400-1357862400@limba.net SUMMARY:LI MacArthur Airport Commisionor Robert Scheafer DESCRIPTION:Mr. Robert Schaefer is the recently appointed commissioner of the LI MacArther Airport and he was our guest speaker thus morning at LIMBA. Bob Schaefer has been deputy commissioner for several years before assuming his present title. His airport management experience goes back to the twenty five years he spent with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. \n   \nHe began by telling us that the airport has been losing the volume of traffic that it had in earlier years. The decline has been going on for some time and Bob gave us some insights on measures that could improve the situation. \n   \nThe airport needs demand to increase in order to attract airline service\, and carriers need to have confidence in the fact that there will be demand if they elect to operate out of LIMA. It’s a chicken and egg situation. \n   \nSchaefer is approaching the airlines in a way that is a little different. Instead of “we have the customers who want to fly from this airport” to “we have the customers\, but we are also a desirable destination.” Among the regional attractions are the East End vineyards. The weekend entertainment at these places continues throughout the year. The aquarium\, the business opportunities and beaches are all good reasons people might consider flying to Long Island. He pointed out that Long Island has a fairly robust film industry and many enticing venues for people who make films\, but the films that have been made here offer visitors a chance to see the villages\, homes and public buildings that have been featured in films. \n   \nSigns and murals promoting valuable asset that we have on Long Island can be displayed in the airport. The science researchers that come to our universities and places like Cold Spring Harbor Labs\, and Brookhaven Labs should be informed that while they have come to Long Island to embark on serious projects\, there are reasons to come back later with their families to enjoy what we have here. \n   \nSchaefer suggested that we have areas in the terminal area that would be attractive to children. There are now a few events in place that tends to draw people into the airport such as the “returning heroes” notices. When an injured military person is coming into the airport a notice goes out to the community to have a welcome home for that person. That can be very touching and has the effect of the airport being perceived as being part of the community\, while doing that soldier a lot of good. \n   \nThe commissioner also wants to create an aviation display of the essential parts of an aircraft\, perhaps a wing detail or a cut-away engine. \n   \nCommercials are being made on and around the airport campus. This creates revenue for the airport. \n   \nHe wants to create a Viet Nam commemorative station in the terminal\, something that will honor those previously forgotten soldiers. \n   \nDuring the Q&A portion of the meeting the audience offered more ideas. Including live entertainment from time to time. \n   \nThe ultimate goal is to increase awareness of Long Island to people who will come into the area\, and awareness of our own residence of this very functional facility that is available. LIMBA once embarked on a “Use it or lose it” campaign. That might work again. \n   \nThere is much to be done to achieve the goal of attracting airlines and attracting local customers and there were many ideas that were discussed. I only touched upon some of them. Commissioner Schaefer appears to be a man who is open to new ideas. \n \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/li-macarthur-airport-commisionor-robert-scheafer/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130104T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130104T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20130104T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130104T050000Z UID:4551-1357257600-1357257600@limba.net SUMMARY:OPEN DESCRIPTION:We may leave this open because it in the same week as the New Year holiday URL:https://limba.net/calendar/open-3/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121228T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121228T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121228T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121228T050000Z UID:4544-1356652800-1356652800@limba.net SUMMARY:Holiday recess - no meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/holiday-recess-no-meeting-3/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121221T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121221T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121221T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121221T050000Z UID:4541-1356048000-1356048000@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting Holiday recess DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-holiday-recess/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121214T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121214T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121214T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121214T050000Z UID:4540-1355443200-1355443200@limba.net SUMMARY:Holiday Party DESCRIPTION:At our annual Holiday breakfast we had a new comedian Bill McCarty and our good friend Jim Graseck entertaining. This year we employed additional help from the audience our wonderful singer and Karaoke leader Anita Starlite\, Hammer Magazine publisher\, John Rigrod\, Liz Kupchka\, and\, LIMBA administrative assistant Marguerite Moore and yours truly\, all put our singing skills on display. How did we do? Let me just say we will be keeping our day jobs. \nAs usual for this event there was a great deal of levity. There were people that attended that we had not seen in quite awhile. Here are the pictures from the event URL:https://limba.net/calendar/holiday-party-4/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121207T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121207T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121207T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121207T050000Z UID:4532-1354838400-1354838400@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Steve Thome VP Development J Power USA DESCRIPTION:  \n\nOur speaker today was Steve Thome. Mr. Thome represents J-Power\, a company with experience in building and managing electric power plants. They are proposing a modern gas fired power plant using very similar technology that was used by Caithness when the built their plant a couple of years ago. LIMBA was firm supporter of the Caithness plant because it used technology that gave us very low emissions and used air cooling towers rather than water cooling. The stress that water cooling puts on the environment is detrimental to fish life if it uses water from surrounding bodies of water and it puts unsustainable demands on ground water of that happens to be the source. \n  \nThe environmental pluses of this plant were the primary focus of the talk this morning. The old method of electric generation is called single cycle and this technology is referred to as combined cycle. Single cycle has about 34% efficiency and combined cycle has an efficiency of 59%. That means that in the case of a single cycle unit only 34% of the heat content of the fuel is actually converted to electric energy. \n  \nBut this meeting went far beyond the technical superiority of the generation. We discussed the availability of the gas that would be needed to fire the unit. We had in the room a group of knowledgeable energy people and the questions were useful in helping the rest of us understand the many aspects of the proposal. \n  \nThe placement of this unit at the old Shoreham site has many advantages. The Shoreham land is a brownfield and the reuse for power generation is already approved. That would otherwise be an obstacle to constructing a power plant. In fact J-Power already has a peaking plant on the property. \n  \nThe question of job creation came up and the number of jobs created during plant construction is about 400. Permanent operating jobs would be 30. The equipment would be mostly made in America\, specifically Marietta Georgia. The water way that is built into the property at Shoreham would accommodate the barging of major components to the site which is still another reason for site desirability. \n  \nThe plant would be serviced by an existing gas pipeline that crosses the Sound. There would need to be a branch of that line not far from the Connecticut shore. “Would there be enough supply in that line?” That question was answered in the affirmative. “This is a high pressure line and would have the ability to supply this new plant.” according to Thome. \n  \nWe went on to the politics of the plant. Municipal ownership\, for example would pose other questions. Dr. Mathew Cordaro was in the room and he was useful to the conversation at the meeting. Cordaro is the Chairman of the Suffolk County LIPA Oversight Committee. He was the only person in attendance that actually ran a municipal power company. He was the president of Nashville Electric Company. I specifically asked how that project would look if the customer was not LIPA but a true municipality. “Would we see the same tax benefits if the municipal company did not own the facility and just contracted for the power?” The advantages appear to be that we would be better off if the municipal power company contracted the builder to create the facility and then handed the builder a check\, and that check would be financed by tax free bonds. Instead we are contracting for a purchase agreement of 30 years to buy thee power while the builder still owns the facility. \n  \nLastly there was the size and scope of the plant that several people pointed out to me after the close of the meeting. LIPA has stated that there is a foreseeable need for an additional 2\,500 megawatts of power. There is another power proposal out there from Caithness for 700 MW. Why are we pitting these two companies against each other\, when according to LIPA both are needed? \n  \nWhat we should be doing is vetting both proposals with the mindset of creating both of these environmentally desirable plants and doing it under the flag of a municipal entity. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-steve-thome-vp-development-j-power-usa/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121130T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121130T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121130T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121130T050000Z UID:4535-1354233600-1354233600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA How to Market Online- Fishbat DESCRIPTION:Today’s meeting featured Fishbat. The simple explanation of the web was useful in understanding why being "seen" on the internet is so difficult. Difficult that is\, if you do not have a good understanding of how things work. \n  \nThe web connects everybody to everybody else\, but if you are somewhere in the periphery you can’t expect to get noticed very often. What is needed is to create a number of search engine words that will direct people to the places that you exist. \n  \nIf you can engineer enough search words that will lead to your "property" then the search engine\, whether it be Google or some other service will further direct traffic to your website’s location. So called spiders are constantly finding and reporting back where it has found various related elements. These discoveries will constantly reinforce paths to your website information \n  \nIt is also important to live in a "big neighborhood." If you are on Facebook or Google there millions of subscribers. In those environments a good strategy will get you more attention simply because there are more contacts out there. On the other hand if you do not employ a good strategy you will still be lost in the sauce. In that case you will even more obscure than you would be if there were fewer subscribers. Having said that it is still advantages to connect with all the services big and small. \n  \nUsing a blog is essential to getting out your message. Producing new information keeps your contacts interested in you.. If you can get someone coming back to you\, there is a good chance you will influence that person or company over time. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-how-to-market-online-fishbat/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121123T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121123T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121123T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121123T050000Z UID:4534-1353628800-1353628800@limba.net SUMMARY:Thanks giving Holiday No Meeting DESCRIPTION:   \nLIMBA Holiday event will be held December 14th register now   \nSponsor the entertainment \nLIMBA goest to the Engeman Theater January 30 "Wait Until Dark" Discounted tickets \nSponsor the Lobby Party \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/thanks-giving-holiday-no-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121116T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121116T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121116T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121116T050000Z UID:4538-1353024000-1353024000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Round Table DESCRIPTION: LIMBA occassionally will have "Round Table" discussions engaging in issues we have addressed in the past and new ideas to help set the agenda going forward. THIS MEETING REQUIRES PRE-REGISTRATION – The meeting is open to non-members as well as members but seating is very limited \nMeeting location is at the M&T Bank offices 640 Johnson Avenue\, Bohemia \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-round-table-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121109T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121109T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121109T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121109T050000Z UID:4533-1352419200-1352419200@limba.net SUMMARY:Holiday weekend Veterans Day DESCRIPTION:   \nLIMBA Holiday event will be held December 14th register now   \nSponsor the entertainment \nLIMBA goest to the Engeman Theater January 30 "Wait Until Dark" Discounted tickets \nSponsor the Lobby Party \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/holiday-weekend-veterans-day/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121026T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121026T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121026T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121026T040000Z UID:4537-1351209600-1351209600@limba.net SUMMARY:Gary Wirth -Ask The Lawyer DESCRIPTION:This morning’s speaker was Gary Wirth with the law firm of Morritt Hock & Hamroff. The firm was also the sponsor of the meeting. \n  \nMr. Wirth was addressing the problems of collection. The collection issues that are germane to the construction industry in particular were central to the discussion. Not getting into an adversarial position in the first place was emphasized. When contractors fail to pay it is usually a chain of events that is the problem. \n  \nThe customer may fail to get solid funding commitments and does not pay the contractor. The contractor subsequently cannot pay the subcontractor. The subcontractor has done his job in a professional and timely manner and wants his money. The contractor says yes\, but too bad\, there is no money being transacted until I get paid. \n  \nWirth recommends that when there is an impasse don’t be docile and wait. That only makes collection less likely to happen. When the legal wheels start turning\, get out of the way. \n  \nThe other matter Gary addressed was the quality and the integrity of your legal representation. It is important but the way a client can ascertain those qualities was less apparent. \n  \nOther aspects of collection may not involve litigation. Arbitration is another route and that can be more or less effective than litigation depending again on the quality of the arbiter. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/gary-wirth-ask-the-lawyer/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121019T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121019T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121019T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121019T040000Z UID:4504-1350604800-1350604800@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA meeting Congressman Bishop\, Sponsor-LICA DESCRIPTION:Congressman Tim Bishop was our speaker this morning. Mr. Bishop had asked me to give him input on what we should emphasize. Infrastructure was my reply. Our sponsor for the meeting was Long Island Contractors Association (LICA). These LICA members are deeply impacted by the fact that so little is getting done. \nThe Congressman proceeded to give an example of the ancillary effects of building infrastructure. His example was a roadway project that lent itself to development. In Middle Island. After the completion a business complex was approved that resulted in 350 new jobs that would not have been built otherwise. \nTim reminded us of the different world we live in today. “Back in the 70’s the federal government was in for 68% of the cost. The balance was paid by local and state.” Today\, of course\, that money availability does not exist. There had been in excess of $6 billion in federal funds for building local infrastructure\, and that was reduced to $650 million. That is about a 90% reduction. Bishop has a bill that will restore some of the money to the level $2.9 billion. That money will go to clean water resources. That trust fund will need a funding source\, perhaps similar to the highway trust fund where new money is constantly refreshed. \nWaste water limitations are inhibiting growth on Long Island. Bishop recited a number of locales that cannot build because the sewers in place cannot handle the demand\, Southampton being one of them. \nWe brought up the possibility of public/private partnerships. That seems to be the route that much of the world is traveling to achieve infrastructure needs. I pointed out that the transcontinental railroad was built under this concept. In that case the federal government owned much of the land that was deeded to the rail companies. This land that had little value at the time because transportation that could serve the people was very limited. On one hand you might say that this was one helluva gift to private industry\, but it gave us the transportation links that caused this nation to prosper. \nThe congressman than spoke of education and the continued funding of our important educational and research institutions. The SUNY system on Long Island provides an astounding 35\,000 jobs. These are jobs that bring families a good living. The second biggest employer is Brookhaven National Labs. Again high end\, high value jobs. Education and research that these institutions bring to Long Island are the tools that make a better future possible. Perhaps it would be better for all of us if industry was a much bigger part of the equation\, but this is the economy that we have and it serves far more than the local Long Island region. Assets that we have improve the job knowledge and science that serves the state and the country. \nMarc Herbst\, our sponsor this morning\, gave us some sobering stats on job losses in the construction industry that he represents. Ninety five hundred construction jobs lost in the past year. The job loss multiplier is three times that amount. \nDuring the Q&A BOCES board member Dan Tomeshevsky told us that the funds for vocational training are drying up. He stated that this segment of the population is very important since every student is not motivated toward college\, and yet we need these skilled workers. \nSt Joseph’s College professor Al Vitters suggested that there is possibly a student loan bubble looming. The congressman added that this problem is being increased by the predatory nature of some for profit colleges that are setting up “store front” operations right outside military installations. I suggested we spend little military funds for guidance counseling before we discharge our soldiers. Bishop agreed\, that would be money well spent. \nThis session covered a lot of issues and concerns. We got the message that there is a vast difference between the idea that we are spending too much and whether we are investing enough to seed the future. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-meeting-congressman-bishop-sponsor-lica/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121012T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121012T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121012T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121012T040000Z UID:4523-1350000000-1350000000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Prog CHANGE Assenblyman Dean Murray DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Assemblyman Dean Murray from the 3rd district. Mr. Murray led off with the governor’s initiative known as "NY Youth Works" program. The program is designed to help create jobs for young people that are lacking saleable skills. Employing tools such as BOCES and training available through industry the goal is to make more productive lives for this segment of the population. \n  \nSchool districts in the past provided ample funds to train vocational skills\, but as their budgets tightened up they reduced the funding that they provided for training students. BOCES gets most or\, perhaps all\, of their funds from the school districts that they serve. If that money doesn’t come in the entire system is threatened. \n  \nThis training would be a formidable task in the best of times\, but with diminished resources it is infinitely harder. "You can’t abruptly change the course of young people’s lives\," stated assemblyman Murray\, but that is the job that needs to be done. \n  \nUnfunded mandates\, for schools and localities were also discussed. Murray’s argument is that\, while well intended\, the mandates should be created and paid for at the level of government that will implement them. Ideally a school district can create a mandate they will decide on\, and pay for. \n  \nIn the discussion that ensued after Dean finished his opening remarks the audience had a number of observations and suggestions that were helpful. Representatives of the Longwood school board and Dean Lucera from BOCES suggested a public private partnership. Lucera spoke of a two page article in Newsday that delved into the training that was available through BOCES and as a result businesses contacted BOCES to help them with the training they were looking to implement. That influx of inquiries was temporary\, and chances are if there was sustained information about programs the demand for BOCES services would remain high. \n  \nWhy not create a section of the newspapers that listed skills where manufacturers and service companies would be willing to participate. Advertisers could possibly support that resource. LIMBA can create a hyperlink to BOCES training programs. \n  \nThe consensus in the room was that manufacturing companies are the underpinning of the economy\, and the training of skilled crafts people is essential to a vibrant manufacturing region. It is true that Long Island has a very diversified economy\, but manufacturing is still important. Upstate that case is even more compelling. \n  \nAnother topic was the politics of change. Murray was complementary of governor Cuomo and his ability to motivate lawmakers to cooperate. The bigger problem politically was not so much between democrats and republican\, but difference in regions of the state. Each region has its own needs and they are often in opposition to each other. \n \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-prog-change-assenblyman-dean-murray/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121005T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121005T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20121005T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121005T040000Z UID:4539-1349395200-1349395200@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Helena Williams LIRR Pres- Sponsored by GPI DESCRIPTION:Long Island Rail Road president\, Helena Williams was our speaker this morning. Ms Williams comes to report on railroad issues almost every year. The LIRR is a very large commuter rail system and there is usually something to report. \n  \nWe began today with the second track from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma. The preliminary plans have been completed and build out has begun. This is an important link that will improve service and is expected increase ridership. Fortunately when the electrical system was originally laid in the ground it was built robust enough to handle the additional service. Now they merely tap into what is currently there. \n  \nMs. Williams said that the better service would probably include a Bus Rapid Transit link connecting Farmingdale station to Huntington. \n  \nEast Side Access is several years away\, but there is a serious commitment to completing that link. That work is very complicated inasmuch as three working rail systems have to operate while the work is being done. Construction on the Queens side has to work with soft dirt. This requires special equipment and the work is dangerous. Drilling through granite in the bowels of Manhattan is actually easier and safer because the granite is self-supporting. I believe the new goal is 2019 completion. \n  \nThe topic then turned to Penn Station. Helena brought a couple of pictures of the original station before real estate interests decided destroy it and build Madison Square Garden. The original structure was magnificent. (Fortunately Jackie Onassis was around to save Grand Central Station from the same fate). \n  \nMs. Williams wants to restore some of the greatness that was the original structure. I asked if that was even possible\, and Williams said that there are ways of making the station more spacious and having access to daylight streaming into the station. The task of doing that would be large and expensive. In the meantime there are ways of making the station more user friendly. Signage for ease of navigating the station is among the small interim changes that could be made. Among the final thoughts on Penn Station was that this newly renovated station could be the hub of a much greater development effort. \n  \nLastly we discussed train safety and the use of modern signal systems. Positive Train Control otherwise referred to as PTC. PTC is a very effective train safety system. It is also very expensive. This self-monitoring system will override the human operator if he fails to execute an avoidance maneuver. Over time it will be installed. \n  \n \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-helena-williams-lirr-pres-sponsored-by-gpi/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120928T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120928T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120928T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120928T040000Z UID:4502-1348790400-1348790400@limba.net SUMMARY:David Calone “LI venture capitalist and Suff Cnty Plann Chr" DESCRIPTION:David Calone was our speaker this morning. Mr Calone has had extensive exposure on the workings of LIPA. He is also the chairman of the Suffolk Planning Commission. Today he was talking about infrastructure\, energy and also talking about venture capital \n  \nHe began by citing the cost of doing business on Long Island in terms of electric power and stated the power plants were grossly over assessed. Under the new contract with PSE&G there may be repowering of old plants. The way this would be done is that entirely new modern generating facilities would be built next to antiquated plants on locations that were already approved for power plants.  Upon completion of the new plants\, the old ones could be dismantled. Whatever we do new power sources must be built including wind generators and solar. \n  \nHe spoke of a 10 town agreement on solar. Getting that done was like herding cats. \nHe advocates for a professional certification process that is uniform throughout the bi-county area and can be completed on-line. This would help business expedite viable plans. \n  \nSewers are another hot topic with Calone and to build out the parts of Suffolk that can be built out practically. Calone suggests that a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) could be the vehicle to accomplish that. A TIF would create a tax that would provide for the building of sewers and the revenues from the new business and residents that they would accommodate would pay for it. Clustering of business and residential would create efficiencies and preserve open space. \n  \nInnovation and enterprise zones were discussed and Calone cited Boise Idaho as a place where venture capital flourishes. The reason that place attracts venture capital money is because there are many like minded people and they tend to be more adventures. That is to say- less risk averse. The mentality is that there will be failures\, but there will be home runs as well. \n  \nWe must create the environment. David used the term “economic gardening” helping established business flesh-out their plans for growth. “no worker left behind’ was another term I picked up this morning. \n  \nLong Island certainly has the wealth\, what we lack is the imagination and the culture that creates the symbiosis that is required to marry people of ideas with those that have the means to invest. \n  \nCalone seems intend in changing that culture. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/david-calone-li-venture-capitalist-and-suff-cnty-plann-chr/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120921T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120921T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120921T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120921T040000Z UID:4530-1348185600-1348185600@limba.net SUMMARY:Paul Pontieri\, Mayor of Patchogue DESCRIPTION:Our speaker was Mayor Paul Pontieri of Patchogue \n  \n“I’m a mayor that likes to say yes\, when people approach me with ideas to develop the assets of the village.” That was the essence of this morning’s talk by Mayor Paul Pontieri of Patchogue. By being open to new ideas there has been much development in the village. \n  \nPatchogue is an old village with many business establishments dating back to the turn of the last century. The changing times left Patchogue with old derelict hotels when the railroad was extended east. There was a large textile mill on the west end of town that was abandoned years ago and was an eyesore. When Pontieri began his first term the vacancy rate of the retail establishments were about 35%. There was very little activity on the street. \n  \nPatchogue needed a sense of community\, a place where people want to be for entertainment\, dining and shopping. \n  \nWhat was needed according to the mayor was the rebuilding of a community. An old vaudeville theater in the heart of town had been used as a movie theater and was in poor condition. A suggestion to knock it down was rejected\, and instead it was fully restored into a state of the art theater for live performances. The theater is booked for shows about 200 nights per year and is profitable. \n  \nFortunately the village had previously built a sewer system that was geared to handle 800\,000 gallons per day. A capacity that allowed new structures and restoration of the village. The village still has a lot of excess capacity. \n  \nBy using funds that were made available through congressman Tim Bishop( about $1.5 million) and the then County executive Steve Levy (who happened to be in the room) the village moved forward on many fronts. Residential housing\, retail space\, the theater\, were all part of the grand vision that is now Patchogue. Rental dwellings are in short supply on Long Island\, and affordable rental property for residential use is essential for the housing of a young population. Now 50% of the housing in Patchogue is rental. I believe it is about 17% for the rest of Long Island. Paul told us that Suffolk County had about $15 million for use in the downtown areas. Patchogue got about half of it. Levy volunteered “ He got it because he asked.” Another contibution for lighting came from Caithness Power\, about $½ million. \n  \nDensity is not a problem\, it’s an asset. Density gives a village a pulse\, but it must be well planned and have the infrastructure to support it. \nWhen asked about the school taxes and the objections raised by school boards he told us that the added value gave the village the needed tax money to address the increased needs for services. \n  \nDuring the Q&A someone asked what advice he would give to other mayors\, Pontieri said spend the money quickly before it goes away and take a lot of pictures for the press with the person who helped you get it. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/paul-pontieri-mayor-of-patchogue/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120914T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120914T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120914T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120914T040000Z UID:4529-1347580800-1347580800@limba.net SUMMARY:Ed Romaine-GOP Candidate Brookhaven Supv DESCRIPTION:  \nOur speaker this morning was Ed Romaine. Mr. Romaine has been in county government as a legislator\, a 5 times elected County Clerk\, and in recent years he returned to the legislature. \n   \nWith the vacancy created when Brookhaven Town Supervisor resigned to lead Accelerate Long Island\, The GOP asked Mr. Romaine to run for the position\, and Ed accepted. \n   \nThe funding of government services was addressed by Romaine. The practice of one-time fixes such as selling off assets has no sustainability. The real sacrifices that must be made are difficult but needed. \n   \nWhen Mr. Lesko made his budget he made substantial cuts on items that he called "non-essential." Romaine disagrees with some of those service cuts that Lesko termed non-essential. \n   \nLooking at the revenue side there are landfill fees and mortgage taxes. Romaine wants to explore the possibility of using the methane gasses produced by the landfill. He is very much in favor of alternative energy produced by wind and solar and this could be part of that mix of energy production. \n   \n"It is difficult to tie together a region that is so spread out with public transportation" Brookhaven is physically the largest county in the country\, and the population is the second largest. That statement brought us to the topic of The Ronkonkoma Hub. By concentrating residential\, business and industrial components in close proximity to each other\, it is easier to serve that community with transportation\, power\, and sewers. \n   \nAs far as sewers are concerned there has been much trepidation by the county in building sewers due to the Southwest Sewer District scandal of the 70’s. Today where there are sewers they are isolated from each other and many by now are old and failing. Mr. Romaine thinks we should recreate a large-scale sewer district under a single management team. This way efficiency of scale can be achieved and quality standards can be applied. \n   \nThere are several goals that Romaine has in mind and they range from rail infrastructure to more emphasis on vocational training\, such as that provided by BOCES \n   \nBusiness can be given incentives by tax abatements\, IDA loans\, and allowing industrial density\, and Romaine said he would bring those incentives about. \n   \nDuring the Q&A portion I asked Dr. Matt Cordaro to comment on the experience he had as the president of Nashville Electric Nashville where they consolidated several layers of government into one more efficient body. According to Cordaro approvals for major work was facilitated by this structure of government \n   \nErnie Fazio \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ed-romaine-gop-candidate-brookhaven-supv/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120907T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120907T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120907T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120907T040000Z UID:4531-1346976000-1346976000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA speaker- Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter \nToday we were brought up to date on the Riverhead project known as “EPCAL” http://www.townofriverheadny.gov/files/documents/Epcal.OFB.home.pdf \nThis Navel Weapons Reserve Plant had been leased to Grumman. It was turned over by the Navy to the Town of Riverhead at no cost when the Grumman Company no longer needed to test planes there. The property grant was supposed to create jobs to replace those jobs lost when defense collapsed. \nAccording to Walter “the potential is a billion dollars\, if it’s a dollar.” Walter thinks the sale of the property to Jan Burman for $17 million was a mistake. Since then numerous proposals have been made\, and some of them bordered on ludicrous\, including an indoor ski mountain. Yes\, I did say ski mountain. There are probably worse ideas\, but I’m not yet insane enough to imagine them. \nThe property suffers from the need of multiple layers of approvals to get anything done. Approvals from the Town\, County\, and I believe the state. A similar property in Massachusetts was offered-up to local jurisdiction. These obstacles were overcome when various interested parties cooperated. \nIn Riverhead there are people who are working on introducing an overall plan and making changes in zoning to facilitate the development of this valuable place. \nWhen municipalities have complex problems and many conflicting interests the remedy in the past has been to create an “authority.” However a good idea that may be\, the term authority has a negative ring to it. Instead Senator Lavalle and the town officials are trying to create legislation that makes it more like the structure of the Pine Barrens. Here are some features they have to work with. \nAir Strip \nThe plan at this time is quite comprehensive and the property has some very assets including an airstrip that will be preserved and used by aviation related businesses. The idea of moving airfreight at EPCAL has been roundly rejected years ago. And use as a general aviation airport will not happen either \nRail Link \nThere is a rail link into the property and with our more recent enthusiasm for rail freight; this becomes a very valuable feature. However it is not being considered as a secondary rail trans-load center as was built in Yaphank. The perceived value is a conduit for local business. \nMaglev Test Track \nThe inventors of the Maglev train have created a system that makes the Maglev compatible with conventional rail. There is a TIGER grant filed with the federal government. TIGER grants need an agreeable municipal partner to be funded and Riverhead has been on board for some time. The State of New York is considering lending support as well. The track is too short\, (2 miles) to demonstrate Maglev speed but what will be demonstrated is the ability to lift heavy loads and be more stable than any rail technology devised so far. Riverhead and the state do not need to come up with money they merely need to declare the idea as being useful to that municipality. \nErnie Fazio \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-speaker-riverhead-supervisor-sean-walter/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120831T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120831T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120831T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120831T040000Z UID:4536-1346371200-1346371200@limba.net SUMMARY:Labor Day Weekend NO MEETING DESCRIPTION: No meetings are scheduled on holiday weekends URL:https://limba.net/calendar/labor-day-weekend-no-meeting-3/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120824T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120824T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120824T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120824T040000Z UID:4527-1345766400-1345766400@limba.net SUMMARY:Ken Daly Pres National Grid NY DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Ken Daly\, President of National Grid NY; this was a good follow-up to our last week’s speaker from LIPA. The major players in electric energy are in flux\, and the audience was very interested in what we could expect. \n  \nMr. Daly began by stressing that the corporation considers safety to be an important aspect of their business. Hurricanes and winter related failures are of primary importance. Now that National Grid no longer has the LIPA distribution contract\, but it will still generate 2/3 of the electric power. And they will still be supplying gas just as they did in the past.   \nPSE&G will be LIPA’s contractor. The good news is that the workforce will remain the same. \n  \nNational Grid will continue to build out the gas supply distribution system. According to Ken it is a slow and costly process\, but there are plans to serve a lot more people. After these last two weeks presentations we can appreciate some of the complex issues that these entities are dealing with.   \nNational Grid is building a gas supply line that will cross the water coming from Brooklyn to the Rockaways near the Marine Parkway Bridge. It will travel down the Rockaway peninsula and emerge in Nassau County. This will be an additional source of natural gas for Long Island. \n  \nKeeping rates low requires a concerted effort to keep company operations efficient. In addition they are working on efficiencies that are on the customer side. He also noted that the gas itself has never been less costly as it is presently. That may fluctuate a little\, but Daly thinks the long-term prospects of low price gas are excellent. He based that prediction on the fact that we are producing a lot of gas at the wellhead and there appears to be an enormous amount of gas in the ground. According to Daly a home gas conversions from oil reduces pollutants that are equivalent to removing 45 cars from the road. \n  \nKen then spoke about the many community involvements that National Grid addresses. The Girl Scouts and United Way had representatives in the room and both of them praised National Grid for the assistance they provide. National Grid’s school speaker program encourages students to pursue STEM. This acronym stands for Science Technology\, Engineering and Math. This education formula leads to well paying and interesting jobs\, and industry needs these people. Encouraging students in this direction is good for the Long Island region and it has long-term benefits to business. In other words we all win.   \nThe Cinderella Project was first developed by the Brooklyn Union Gas Company National Grid’s predecessor in 1966. That community initiative revitalizes areas that need to be rehabilitated. The modern Cinderella program is a more focused on green technologies when executing Cinderella projects   \nQ&A \n  \nIt was pointed out that methane gas (natural gas) has a higher potential for greenhouse effect than CO2. How good is leak prevention and detection? Daly said the new distribution system components are very effective at providing system integrity. \n  \nAnother question was on repowering old plants. Daly said that interim work has made the old generating units measurably cleaner. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ken-daly-pres-national-grid-ny/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120817T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120817T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120817T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120817T040000Z UID:4525-1345161600-1345161600@limba.net SUMMARY:Michael Hervey -LIPA DESCRIPTION:  \n \nMr. Michael Hervey\, President of LIPA was our speaker this morning and he covered a lot of topics. He explained the considerations that LIPA was making when it came to the workforce that makes it all happen in the new contractor selection \n  \nBut there were other options that LIPA had. \n\nIt could have become a true municipal power company\nIt could have continued with National Grid with a newly negotiated contract\nIt could select a new contractor\n\n  \nThe issues that were involved with true municipal were concerns over the nature of the workforce and how that would be handled \nAs far as generation is concerned not much would change. LIPA would still have to buy the power from outside vendors. \nThey chose to select a new vender under what we could gather\, was better financial terms. That vender turned out to be PSE&G (Public Service Power & Gas) \n  \nThe transition is actually quite complex and much of the complexity is the workforce. Some of the workforce was dual purpose serving National Grid’s gas division and also the electric power division. None of the PSE&G people will be in the gas division. That will still be in the hands of National Grid. Then there is the issue of management PSE&G can absorb the union labor but the management will be theirs. It was not clear to us what would happen regarding the management employees. \n  \nHervey talked about the “storm hardening” measures that have been taken. The system was upgraded to withstand winds of up to 130 MPH. There has been a considerable amount of new equipment to support that effort and Hervey claimed that LIPA’s readiness was credited with being the best overhead system in the state. \n  \nThe renewable energy plan has been installing solar at train stations parking lots and other places. These systems are performing\, according to LIPA’s Mike Deering\, at about 30% higher than the projections when the plans were made. These installations are capable of recharging electric cars that are parked in the lots while introducing excess power into the grid. With the small number of electric cars presently\, most of the power generated is going into the grid. \n  \nAnother area where LIPA tells us they have been aggressive is energy conservation. The main benefit of conservation is the avoidance of building more capacity because more capacity means the commitment of resources for a long period. \n  \nThere has been some relief in the cost of power. We have seen the cost of power rise considerably in the past 10 years\, but now the there are more plants designed for gas\, and gas has been at a low price. The lower generating costs are being seen in our bills. The long term prospect for having low cost for gas seems to be pretty good. \nWe do not benefit from the low cost of Hydro-power from Canada because we simply do not have an energy trunk that can handle the power we need. The Governor has been working out the obstacles to moving that power to lower New York State and that would include Long Island. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/michael-hervey-lipa/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120810T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120810T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120810T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120810T040000Z UID:4526-1344556800-1344556800@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting Summer Schedule DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-summer-schedule-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120803T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120803T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120803T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120803T040000Z UID:4528-1343952000-1343952000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Randy Altschuler DESCRIPTION:Our LIMBA speaker this morning was Randy Altchuler\, the Republican congressional candidate for the 1st congressional district\, a seat that is presently occupied by Tim Bishop. \nMr. Altchuler addressed the audience stating that job creation would be of paramount importance. One of the impediments to higher employment according to Mr. Altchuler was regulation. I pointed out to the speaker that there are some regulations that are beneficial to the public as protection. When asked about the Glass- Steagal Act he was not sure. (Glass Steagal Act separated banking and investment houses since the days of FDR) It was disassembled over the past three presidents. Its removal has been cited as one the causes of our recent financial debacle. \nMr. Altschuler told us that he could work in an independent bi-partisan way in congress. During the Q&A Mike Cooney asked if he signed the famous Grover Norquist tax pledge. He said he had. The follow-up from the same person then asked\, “Where is your allegiance to Norquist or the Constitution? Randy said the pledge also reflects the wishes of the people he expects to represents. \nAltschuler spoke about the Affordable Healthcare Act otherwise known as Obama Care. He stated that there were some desirable aspects of the legislation but he objected to the size and scope. He did not say he would try to repeal it. He left us with the impression he would look for some modifications\, but was not specific. \nThe topic of size and scope began a new area of discussion. Most legislation is too large and generally incomprehensible. The audience was solidly with him on this point. We all know why omnibus bills are presented and that is to hide all sorts of “goodies” for one or more special interests. \nRandy stated that infrastructure funding was essential and he would support it. It was pointed out to him that the Republicans in the house have not voted for infrastructure projects. I asked since the party was committed to making Barack Obama a one term president\, how would that happen? Randy said ‘that’s a loaded question”. I agreed\, it was a loaded question\, but I wasn’t making it up\, those were Mitch McConnell’s words. Altschuler insisted that he understood the issue well enough to know investments in transportation and other projects were essential. \nChris Garvey\, a Ron Paul supporter\, was in the room and asked if the candidate would join in abolishing the Federal Reserve. He stated that he would not support such an effort. \nVictor Yannacone posed several items\, one on taxing people such as hedge fund operators the same as most other people. Another was revising corporate taxes to encourage investment while discouraging debt\, and still another to re-instate the penny tax on stock transactions that would discourage the mega-trading that has disrupted the stock market. (That tax if it did not discourage the same behavior would raise many billions of dollars.) \nThis audience was very active during the Q&A and it was clear that that they are not bashful about asking pointed question even if they were politely phrased. \nGreenworld Marketing a company that promotes the use and installation in the most efficient compact and safe wind energy technology sponsored this meeting. Greenworld also owns technology for the building of high-speed ferries. \nThank You Gerry Fitzpatrick for your sponsorship URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-randy-altschuler/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120720T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120720T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120720T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120720T040000Z UID:4507-1342742400-1342742400@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting Summer Schedule DESCRIPTION:  \nMeeting will be held at the Holiday Inn 3845 Veterans Memorial Highway\, Ronkonkoma  hotel phone 631 585-9500 \nRoom opens at 8AM Program begins 8:30 and adjourns at 9:30AM     Member fee $15   non member fee $25 \nRegister on-line     https://limba.net/breakfastform.php    or call 631 757-1698 URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-summer-schedule/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120713T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120713T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T201441 CREATED:20120713T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120713T040000Z UID:4524-1342137600-1342137600@limba.net SUMMARY:Frank McKay National Leader of the Independence Party DESCRIPTION:Our LIMBA speaker this morning was Frank McKay. Frank has a wealth of knowledge about politics\, but he is far from one-dimensional. His varied experiences in music\, communications and politics give him the ability to weave an interesting story. He is the national chairman of the Independence Party. The Independence Party is still small compared to the Democrats and Republicans\, but it is the largest “third party” in the country and they are established in every state in the union. There influence is much larger than their physical size. Locally it is difficult to win an election in either party without the endorsement of the Independence Party. The party endorses Republicans and Democrats with no special loyalty to either one. \nFrank did not create the party but he is credited with making it the force that it is. When questioned about the philosophy of the party\, Frank told us that they are not at all involved with social issues. Gay marriage\, abortion rights\, and other social issues that a candidate may promote are not part of the litmus test that determines the support of a candidate. When they look at a prospective officeholder overall effectiveness is judged. The party has been criticized for not having the constricting viewpoints that other parties demand. In other words they have no catechism. He said some refer to them as the “Seinfeld Party” \nIn his interesting raconteur style McKay told of encounters with colorful political people he has had contact with. Among them was Mike Blumberg who he tried to lure into the last presidential race. Blumberg assured him that if he thought there was a real possibility that he was prepared to commit $2 billion to a nationwide race \nBeyond politics\, Frank’s enjoys communicating. He has a television interview show called “Turning Point” The programs are created in Out of The Box Studios in Bohemia and air an NBC affiliate and will soon go to a few NPR markets. The topics vary but politics and scientific discoveries are among the topics. The tapings avoid the news items of the day or local disasters in order to retain an “evergreen” nature. In other words a show produced today may have a long shelf life and can be shown in different parts of the country\, and in different times of the year. For example you’ll hear no references to the snowstorm they fought getting into the studio. Recently we taped an interview with Maglev inventors Drs Gordon Danby\, James Powell. \nThis was a particularly animated and informative meeting where the audience and the speaker remained and continued to chat for about a half hour. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/frank-mckay-national-leader-of-the-independence-party/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR