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:20130426T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130426T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130426T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130426T040000Z UID:4563-1366934400-1366934400@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting scheduled DESCRIPTION:Mithch Paley will be speaking on May 10th register early URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-scheduled/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130419T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130419T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130419T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130419T040000Z UID:4559-1366329600-1366329600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA -James Coll- Hosted by Ken Bayne DESCRIPTION:  \n\nJames Coll\, was today’s guest speaker. Mr. Coll is the Founder of Change NYS\, a nonprofit organization for educating the voting public about the November 7\, 2017 Ballot Question concerning whether or not to hold a Constitutional Convention. The Ballot question is required every 20 years. There are 14 states including New York that require a voter approved Ballot question. There has been 233 State Constitutional Conventions since 1787; 9 Conventions in New York State. The last Convention that was approved by the voters and held was in 1967. If a Constitutional Convention is approved by the voters in November 2017\, three delegates in each of the State Senate Districts shall be elected\, with 15 at large delegates\, or a total of 201 delegates are sent to convene in Albany. Mr. Coll reviewed the myriad of changes that could be made to the Constitution for the benefit of the people versus the benefit of special interests. Historically\, the voter turnout for this question is an abysmal 39% of eligible voters. In 1997\, 33% of the electorate did not vote on the question\, which had a visible\, first position on the ballot. Mr. Coll concluded that Union and other special interests engaged in a negative campaign to reject a Constitutional Convention. In 1997 of those who responded to the question about holding a Convention voted 1/3 in the affirmative and 2/3 in the negative\, and the measure went to defeat. In 2017\, Change NYS is hoping to provide education through social media (Facebook\, Twitter\, Belongs and E-mails) to educate the voters about the pending ballot initiative and encourage a vote\, yes or no\, on the issue. Mr. Coll did not have enough time to cover all the issues that he wanted and was invited to address the group in the future.\n\n   \nHosting and recap by Ken Bayne\nThanks Ken\n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-james-coll-hosted-by-ken-bayne/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130412T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130412T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130412T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130412T040000Z UID:4557-1365724800-1365724800@limba.net SUMMARY:Rebirth of the Suffolk Theater DESCRIPTION:  \n \nThe speaker this morning was Bob Spiotto\, the Executive Director of the newly restored Suffolk Theater in Riverhead. Bob is an enthusiastic man of the theater. He was the director of the Adams Theater at Hofstra for many years\, and now he is having a good time creating this new experience in theater. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V47FIJ5oCNw#! \n  \n  \nThe Suffolk Theater opened originally in 1933 and was used as a movie house. It has been closed since 1987 and the state of disrepair grew progressively worse. The structure was a candidate to meet the wrecking ball. That is until the present owners Dianne and Bob Castaldi purchased the theater in 2005. There were political obstacles in the effort to restore and re-open the theater but they persevered. Below is a quote from the theater website. \n  \n”The Suffolk Theater opened on December 30\, 1933. According to newspapers of the day\, more than 2000 people attended the opening night festivities. When the theater opened it was hailed as\, Long Island’s prettiest and most complete playhouse. State of the art air conditioning attracted special raves for the ‘ever cleaning of the air.’ An opening review in The Riverhead News on January 5\, 1934 states “No matter which way one turns\, there is luxury and comfort\, this is exceptionally true in the reception corridor and ladies room as well as in the entrance lobby.” \n  \nSuffolk has been restored to original beauty. Today the theater has carved out a niche that appears to be unique. The audience area is made up of arranged tables and chairs\, http://www.suffolktheater.com/your-event and if the spirit moves you\, can get up and dance. http://www.suffolktheater.com/theater-map   \n  \nThe diversity of events makes this a venue that is not competing with the other great theaters on Long Island. This\, according to Mr. Spiotto\, is another layer of the arts. They are producing show\, featuring comedy\, drama\, music of every genre\, including\, rock\, jazz\, rockabilly\, and big band. They will be showing movies and using the space for weddings and other special occasions. The theater has its own restaurant and food is available as you watch a show. This is an exciting addition to Long Island’s cultural life. \n  \nErnie Fazio \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/rebirth-of-the-suffolk-theater/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130405T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130405T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130405T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130405T040000Z UID:4554-1365120000-1365120000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Dr James Hayward- Applied DNA Sciences DESCRIPTION:Today’s Speaker at LIMBA was Dr. James Hayward. We contacted Dr. Hayward at the urging of LIMBA member Carol Acker. Carol told me that we would be very impressed with what Jim had to say and she was right. Thank you Carol. \n  \nJames Hayward is the CEO of Applied DNA Sciences originally located and begun in California. When Hayward was consulted on the nature of the science he made many recommendations for the business model and the company asked him to be CEO. Subsequently he moved the company to Long Island.   \n  \nLong Island according to Jim is fertile soil for a company like this\, being perhaps third largest accumulation of resources in bio-science in the nation. He cited Cold Spring Harbor\, Stony Brook and Brookhaven National Labs to support his claim. Dr. Hayward comes to the arena of his work with advanced degrees in Bio-physics and Molecular biology. Before this he created Long Island companies that were sold to Dow Chemical and BSAF. \n  \nDNA identification is a growth industry. It is estimated that the annual counterfeit business amounts to $1.7 trillion annually worldwide\, buy that theft of value is perhaps the smallest part of the problem. Counterfeit computer chips in American military devices that could result in massive loss of life have been found. He gave an example of an “Iron Dome” type of missile that malfunctioned. There was literally one second to spare to launch another missile that did work. \n  \nThe premise of this technology is that by adding a DNA to a product it can be easily identified. The identifying DNA cannot be copied by virtue of the complexity of the genome structure. The mathematical probability of creating a DNA that would mimic the original is 10 to 29th power. Battele Corporation\, a company known for its data analysis capabilities\, was hired for the sole purpose of outsmarting the technology of DNA identification. After months of trying they failed to be able to replicate the DNA given to them. \n  \nNinety five percent of American utility companies have suffered losses of copper and other materials. Each of those thefts ranged from $50\,000 to $2million dollars. By being able to ID these metals the scrap dealers would soon learn that they would be in jeopardy and refuse to buy them\, and thereby rendering the materials not salable. \n  \nThe company’s success in the United Kingdom has been remarkable. While robberies of cash transfer companies such as Brinks are relatively rare in the US (about 50 per year in the whole country) there have been over 1\,000 per year in London alone\, partly because these services do not carry weapons. These crimes have decreased dramatically because the money is “fogged” with a distinctive DNA. That DNA identification happens on three levels\, one of them is visible\, but subtle. The merchants are trained to know the visible markings and alert police\, rendering the money useless\, and the thief vulnerable to arrest. \n  \nDr. Hayward gave an example of a shipment of premium grade cotton that was sent to China to be woven into cloth and made into garments. The garments came back with seventy percent of the cotton being an inferior grade. The shipment was refused. \n  \nBut probably the worst danger of all is the counterfeiting of drugs. This is not merely a case of getting an ineffective dose\, but more dangerously\, a product that can kill you. He gave us a real life story of a young liver transplant recipient from Setauket who was given a medication that was supposed to help the new organ function. The young man went into a coma that required heroic efforts to keep him alive and a new liver transplant was required. The story had a happy ending\, because the man did survive.   \n  \nThe myriad examples that were presented by the speaker indicated the wide spread uses that this technology will eventually will be adaptable to. While Hayward was giving us his information he was able to conduct a running conversation with the audience which made for an excellent presentation. \n  \nThank you Dr. Hayward URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-dr-james-hayward-applied-dna-sciences/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130322T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130322T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130322T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130322T040000Z UID:4556-1363910400-1363910400@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Dr. Matt Cordaro- A Case for Municipal Power DESCRIPTION:Our speaker today is a man well known to us for his knowledge and involvement with the electric utility business. Dr Matt Cordaro was vice president of LILCO. Subsequently he worked as president of Longlake Electric and then for Nashville Electric Service as president and CEO. \n  \nNashville is a municipal power company while the others are private entities. Cordaro’s experience in those roles made us here at LIMBA conclude that he was the most credible voice in the discussion of where we should be going with LIPA. \n  \nCordaro began by pointing out that LIPA had an organizational problem. Moreover it was a structure that was from its inception an experiment. It was a municipal system in name but the whole plant operations were in the hands of a private company. However\, unlike other utilities\, such as Con Edison\, there was no Public Service Commission oversight. \n  \nAs a result of no oversight LIPA racked up a variety of problems. Among the problems were over billing\, high rates and less than stellar hurricane responses. \n  \nThe governor established the Moreland Commission\, which appeared to most of us as a quick way for the governor to sweep away a particularly thorny problem. The result of the Moreland Commissions work looked more like a rubber stamp for a pre-ordained opinion and the alternatives were not fully explored. \n  \nHere are the alternatives that Dr Cordaro presented; \n  \n1)     Remain the same with some modifications on board selection methods\, and PSC oversight \n  \n2)     Privatize and deal with the additional costs of doing business\, corporate profit\, taxes\, and finance. There is also the prospect of greater efficiencies\, but that fruit has already been squeezed dry\, because the only efficiencies that amount to any scale are labor costs. According to Cordaro the utility is understaffed right now\, so he questions where those efficiencies would come from \n  \n3)     Municipal Power was the last choice he mentioned\, but he stated that it must be a true municipal. That would mean the employees would work directly for the utility. The generating equipment could be owned by the municipal company\, but hundreds of municipals across the nation do buy power from private generators. \n  \nThe idea that taxes would go away is probably wrong as many public power companies do pay property taxes\, but they do not pay taxes on profits. There are no profits\, because rates are geared to operating costs with no need to earn a profit. Muni’s’ do not have stockholders so there is no need to pay dividends. Matt pointed out that Nashville Electric generated none of its power\, it merely purchased from the lowest priced provider. \n  \nOne the points made by the Moreland Commission was that it would be hard to find management and workers. Cordaro wasn’t buying that; he stated that hiring competent people has never been the problem in his own experience\, nor did he ever hear that complaint from other municipal providers. \n  \nAnother point made was that a private company has no access to FEMA funds. On Long Island FEMA is providing 70% of the utility’s restoration needs. \n  \nThe Q&A was lively and there were a fair number of people in the room that thoroughly understood the issue \n  \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-dr-matt-cordaro-a-case-for-municipal-power/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130315T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130315T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130315T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130315T040000Z UID:4553-1363305600-1363305600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA / LICA sold out DESCRIPTION:  \n No longer available \n \nLIMBA Participates with \n \nLong Island Contractors Association \nAnnual Legislators Breakfast \nFeaturing casual conversation with invited members of the \nLong Island Congressional and State Legislative Delegations \n \nKeynote Address given by: \n \n  \nHighway Administration \n  \nAdministrator of the FederalAdministrator Victor Mendez of the Federal Highway Administration has agreed to serve as the keynote speaker at LICA’s annual legislative breakfast on Friday\, March 15 \n  \nth\, at the Fox Hollow Inn\, Woodbury.  As in the past\, we welcome the participation of LIMBA’s members and friends URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-lica-sold-out/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130308T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130308T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130308T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130308T050000Z UID:4548-1362700800-1362700800@limba.net SUMMARY:David Wolkoff- Heartland Development DESCRIPTION:Friday morning we had developer David Wolkoff speak at LIMBA. Mr. Wolkoff’s family has been planning an enormous development that is essentially a new village. The plan was conceived over 12 years and the SEQRA process has been tedious\, along with some opposition to the effort. David began by stating that the Long Island region is dying. He pointed out that we are losing our young people and the trend does not bode well. \nHeartland is the name of the development and it encompasses 400 acres. The plan is to have 9\,000 rental units of which 10% will be affordable housing. These will be one bedroom apartments. However larger apartments can be configured by combining two or even three units. There will be commercial space and lastly there will be retail space. The idea is to have a walkable community with much of the needs of the residents being met within the confines of the area. This will be a place where many people who work there will also live there and shop there. The plan calls for some buildings being 13 stories. That provision is acceptable in the amended code. Wolkoff foresees the establishment of frequent public transportation using an electric bus system. \nAs far infrastructure is concerned the property falls within the service area of the Southwest Sewer District. Other infrastructure will be built out in phases\, as will the entire building program. This is long term plan with the total build-out expected to take 30 years. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/david-wolkoff-heartland-development/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130301T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130301T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130301T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130301T050000Z UID:4549-1362096000-1362096000@limba.net SUMMARY:BNL's Scott Bronson "Next Gen High Tech Workforce force" DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Ken White from Brookhaven National Labs. Ken is in charge of a unit that works with educational institutions that are outside of the lab. There are programs in place that encourages students to gear their learning to the sciences. We have been hearing a lot about the STEM programs. The acronym stands for Science\, Technology\, Engineering and Math. The number of jobs that are available to members of the workforce without those essential skills is very limited. There are four times more workers than jobs. On the other hand those people in the workforce that have those skills are in demand. The idea is to better match the workers skill sets to the jobs that are available. \n  \nMr. White began his talk emphasizing his own basic understanding of technology through the efforts working with his father. His father was a general contractor in Vermont and routinely engineered the jobs he was working on. That experience propelled our speaker to get an education that would further his engineering knowledge. He reasons that putting our young people in an environment that demonstrates the possibilities made available through science and engineering we can direct a lot of youngster to high paying and rewarding careers. \n  \nThe fields of science that have been explored at BNL over the years have ranged from nuclear science to medical technology. Energy production\, transmission\, and storage are all very much in the news and currently being researched at BNL. Nano science is being advanced at BNL. The ability to build machines that ultra small has many applications in just about every field of endeavor. High school students are being exposed to all these sciences. \n  \nThe National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) that is nearing completion is a significant upgrade from the old light source facility. This unit is the largest of its kind in the world\, and 10\,000 times more powerful than the existing technology. NSLS promises to provide a leap in the research being done at BNL. It is capable of analyzing viruses and materials at the molecular level. Having that ability is key to new medical knowledge and new stronger lighter materials\, and myriad other applications. The research equipment at the lab is available to scientists around the world free of charge as long as they can come up with a written research project that has been approved. The STEM students have the same availability to the facilities as if they were journeyman scientists. \n  \nBOCES is an educational unit that is helping fill some of those positions and they are working closely with Ken and BNL. They were represented in the room today. As long as we continue to fund forward-looking educational opportunities such as these examples\, the future will be bright. \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/bnls-scott-bronson-next-gen-high-tech-workforce-force/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130222T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130222T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130222T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130222T050000Z UID:4550-1361491200-1361491200@limba.net SUMMARY:Steve Levy Consolidation of government agencies\, DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was former County Executive Steve Levy\, and now the Director of “Center for Cost Effective Government” \n  \nSteve Levy has created a group that endeavors to streamline government. As most of us already know there are myriad districts controlling schools\, fire districts\, library districts\, and various other entities that are squandering our regional wealth due to duplication of efforts and other inefficiencies. \n  \nPolitical people have shown themselves to be unwilling and/or unable to attack theses resource draining duplications of effort. To overcome some of that political impotence they have mounted a campaign to have certain items put on the ballot. Under the terms of that initiative 10% of the electorate can petition for a ballot resolution. That resolution can now be addressed in a general election. This is a substantial win\, but does not quite get us “home.” \n  \nMr. Levy spoke about the repeal of the MTA tax that began its life at LIMBA when Bill Schoolman brought that item to our attention (you are still paying that tax while it is being appealed). Winning that round with the help of the law firm he is presently affiliated with\, Levy is encouraged that much more can be accomplished. He gave an egregious example of the Gordon Heights fire district that was costing about $2\,000/year per household. There has been some progress on consolidating that district to a neighboring district. The group did that by fielding its own candidates in the fire district. That board is now charged with voting for consolidation. \n  \nLevy went on to discuss the out of control public pensions\, and cited the various problems that defy cost containment \n  \n1. Allowing overtime to effect final payments in the last few years of a working career\, making it possible in some cases to have an annual retirement greater than the base pay. \n\n \n2. Step increases that allow for annual raises despite the fact that a union contract has expired. This creates a situation where the union has no incentive to negotiate. \n\n \n3. Arbitration – This provision in the law comes into play when the unions and management cannot come to an agreement. The arbitrators simply give more than an adjacent police department or school district or whatever the issue is. The arbitrators don’t have any skin in the game so they do what is easy. \n\n \n4. Disability fraud. With disability you receive 75% of your salary\, and they are finding numerous cases of already retired workers are retroactively claiming disability so they can get a higher payout. \n  \nReserves make up the difference when a government body runs out of money. The problem becomes acute when those reserves run out. We are at that juncture. \n  \nDuring the Q&A possible solutions were discussed. Legally some things will be extremely difficult to change. Others remedies could be implemented with leaders with political will. Levy warned that we should be leery of the feel-good remedies that kick in 20 years down the road. “We need changes that will make a difference next year.” This recap hardly scratches the surface. There is so much more to discuss. \n  \nMr. Levy is holding a symposium on these and other topics at Dowling in the Conservatory next Wednesday at 1PM. This meeting invitation was extended to everyone in the room. All who would like to attend must register. \n\n \nPhone: (631) 877-0940 \n\n \nor email Info@CenterforCostEffectiveGovernment.org  \n\n \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/steve-levy-consolidation-of-government-agencies/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130215T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130215T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 CREATED:20130215T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20130215T050000Z UID:4547-1360886400-1360886400@limba.net SUMMARY:NO Meeting Presidents Day Weekend DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-presidents-day-weekend-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20130208T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20130208T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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:20260421T182647 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 END:VCALENDAR