Limba

Keyspan-National Grid merger/acquisition
2007-06-08 00:00 (America/New_York)
Friday we had a most unusual meeting with no scheduled speaker we
used the opportunity to discuss any major issue facing Long Island.
The topic of the Keyspan-National Grid merger/acquisition was
introduced and as luck would have it, Dr Matt Cordaro was in the
room. Cordaro began his career with LILCO, and left LILCO more than
25 years ago. Since then he has headed up several other utility
companies.

In recent years he has made his mark in academia, as a dean at LIU.
There was an interesting discussion about whether or not the
Keyspan-Grid transaction would be good for Long Island. We asked for
his comments.

Cordaro gave us his insights on the matter and while he said there
are very little benefits to Long Island, his take was that it was
not particularly scary either. According to Matt there are some
doubts that the deal can be completed due to some conditions imposed
by the state agencies that regulate these matters. Conditions that
make the end result less attractive to National Grid. We’ll see.

Later an idea was introduced by Carol Lucca. An idea that would
promote local talent, while at the same time help a charity. Her
premise is that in a population the size of Long Island there is
theatrical and performing talent that is excellent, but because of
great economic opportunity outside of the world of entertainment
"went corporate" as the expression goes. Technically these folks are
amateurs, but many of them practice their skills and play among
friends keeping themselves sharp. Her idea is to give them a format
that allows them to demonstrate their abilities in a major showcase.
The process would allow the really good performers to be selected
for such a showcase. The event is scheduled for Oct 1, 2007 and will
benefit Breast Cancer Help Inc. Anybody who would like to audition
or help the effort can email

brestcancerinc@optline.net

Dr Andaz, Nassau County Medical Center (Hilton Gardens)
2007-06-15 00:00
Dr Andaz an oncologist from South Nassau Hospital gave a talk on
cancer. the focus was on lung cancer and the devastating statistics
on smoking. Smoking however, according to Dr Andaz, accounts for a
lot more than lung cancer. Primarily all the cancers associated in
the mouth and upper respiratory as well as cancers we often
do not attribute to cancer. Namely pancreatic cancer and bladder
cancer.

Lung cancer is so often lethal because its detection is usually too
late to stop the progression. The hospital is embarking on an
ambitious study to screen cancer by using low-dose CT scans. The
belief is that while the stats on breast cancer have improved
dramatically, lung cancer sufferers are not experiencing the same
success rates. Early detection, it is believed, will change lung
cancer to a chronic rather than a deadly affliction.
To enter the screening you must have been a smoker of 20 or more
years and the screening is free. The participants must contact the
South Nassau Hospital and ask Gail Carlin at Community Relations at
516 377-5371

Bob Boerner, Conservation Services Group
2007-06-22 00:00
New Page 1

On Friday our expected speaker did not show up. This rarely happens at
LIMBA (I can’t even remember it happening without any notice).

We have the most astute, speakers that respond to our call. Fortunately
we have an equally astute group of people who attend our meetings. The
topic was the Energy Star Program that has been adopted by several of
the towns, and what it means. The contractor that will be training the
new personnel that will make the program work is Conservation Services
Group. Bob Boerner works for the company and he is in charge of the
program. Bob immediately told us that he does not ordinarily do public
speaking, but his ability to convey a cogent message was immediately
apparent.

The mandates of the Energy Star Program sets a standard of energy use
efficiency in new homes that must indicate a 30% reduction of energy as
opposed to a standard code constructed house. Bear in mind the present
code is substantially more efficient that the codes of 25 years ago.
According to Boerner, we could even do better.

Among the criteria that will be evaluated are the air infiltration of
the house. This can be measured by the use of a device that sucks out
the air in the dwelling and air filtering into the house can be
measured. If the infiltration is too high, the house will fail
inspection. Boerner also addressed the need for air conditioning to be
efficient. The integrity of the system can be lost to leaks in ducts.
These leaks may not be obvious, but they can be measured. If the house
fails, the leaks must be fixed. Air conditioning systems must also be
properly sized. The conventional wisdom is "bigger is better". Not rue,
says Boerner. A smaller system will take a little longer to cool the
house but the humidity will be driven out of the house due to the longer
cycling. Moreover the installed system will cost less to buy and cost
less to run. And, as a result of the lower humidity the comfortable
temperature will be slightly higher, further reducing operating costs.

There was some discussion on the training program for the technicians
that will be needed for the task of rating these new homes so that they
are in compliance. In that discussion we covered the compensation these
techs could expect doing this work. It appears to be a high paid, high
skill job for technically oriented people. That sounds like a plus all
around.

Bob Boerner did an excellent job in his presentation and during the Q&A,
particularly since he was a last minute substitute. We did well by
having him.

Dr Joseph Mcdonell, Associate Dean of Bus. at Stony Brook
2007-06-29 00:00
Our speaker this morning was SUNY Stony Brook, Associate Dean of Business, Joseph McDonnell Phd.
China, the fearsome juggernaut? Maybe, maybe not so much, According to Dr McDonnell. While China is being recognized as the “worlds factory,” they have a long way to go before they surpass or marginalize the economic giant that is the United States. That was my take on the talk given at this morning’s LIMBA breakfast.
China is growing at an unprecedented rate over the past 25 years, and with that rate of growth are numerous problems. Dr W. Edwards Deming introduced management techniques to Japan that made them a formidable competitor, China has not embraced the “quality” idea yet (pet food, toothpaste etc). More than that, they are not the great innovators that they consider the Americans to be. According to McDonnell they admire us. On the other hand America is treated with wariness, as are many western countries. They almost expect others to rake them over the coals (my words, not his). As a result the Chinese are difficult to deal with.
McDonnell went on to say that the Chinese desire to save, has made them small consumers. China being a low cost provider of goods is actually a double edge sword that tends to give them great growth. But there is not a lot of wages paid out to support a home grown demand for products. That fact will limit growth going forward. And now they are beginning to deal with pollution.
As we work to make trade with China, safer and fairer, we probably have perceived them as a bigger threat than they actually are.

4th of July Week - NO MEETING
2007-07-06 00:00

Frank Boulton, Owner, Long Island Ducks
2007-07-13 00:00
LI Ducks owner Frank Boulton began with a 5 minute news piece that
appeared on CNBC. As Boulton put it, "this was coverage you cannot buy."
Frank’s affection for the game of baseball, the players, and the
community is undeniable. Bud Harrelson and Boulton came to LIMBA eight
years ago and made a presentation on what they hoped to accomplish.
Today the dream they had, creating excellent and affordable baseball on
Long Island is a reality. The tickets are $10 and they maintain the low
cost through good corporate sponsorship.

This is not amateur baseball. Sometimes a player gets bumped from the
majors, and instead of languishing waiting for his million dollar plus
contract to return, he will opt to work for $2100 to $3000 per month
just to keep up his skills. A player may restart his big league
career after playing a year or two, and little or no restrictions are
put on them. Frank did not say this, but I’m sure that the fair
treatment gives them an never ending supply of talent.

From a business point of view, whatever they are doing is working.
Maxing-out on the income revenues is always tempting, but to be
sustainable in a sector of the economy, that is not notably successful,
(minor league baseball), they have done very well. Most of their seats
are presold. They are technically, usually "sold out." Although, if you
come to the park as a Standing Room Only customer, you can find a seat
after the first inning when they can identify the "no-show" seats. This
also explains why they have a 103% sold capacity.

The owners are very sensitive to the community in which they operate.
They have hosted large events for Breast Cancer Awareness as well as
other charities. They really get into the spirit. The players all wore
pink campaign shirts and used pink bats. It was a big success.

The team has 3 million fans and that number was reached in less time
than any team in history in the country. I came away believing these
owners care about the players. They want to provide quality family
entertainment. They routinely test for drugs such as marijuana, and
reprimand players when drugs are found. Steroids tests have not been
routine, and every year the debate the value of doing so.

Pictured: Bill Miller, LIMBA & Frank Boulton

Duke Dufresne, Northrop Grumman
2007-07-20 00:00
Members and friends
Friday morning at LIMBA, on the 38th anniversary of the first moon
landing, we had
Duke Dufresne, the current chief of Northrop Grumman
Corporation’s Integrated
Systems Eastern Region (Ticker NOC), the current incarnation of the
Lunar Module
builder, give us an update on what is going on with the storied
aerospace
corporation, long a mainstay of the Long Island economy.
Duke is head of the eastern region of NGC Integrated Systems, which is
a 2
Billion dollar division of the company, working with the Navy and Air
Force to
connect the warfighter on the ground, sea, and air, with the
information they
need to execute their missions. Today, there are
approximately 4,600 employees
in the Eastern Division of which 2000 are on Long Island. A
recent highlight
was the win of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye pilot production contract,
totaling 408
Million dollars to build 3 new aircraft. Duke expects the
Navy to buy 75
aircraft in the full production program, and the Bethpage location will
have a
strong role in the engineering functions, with the airframes being
built in St.
Augustine in Florida. The team is busy pursuing opportunities
on the Navy’s
BAMS project and the AF’s Tanker replacement program, which
are both due to be
awarded later this year.
Duke discussed some of the challenges that doing business on Long Island
presents, such as the cost of housing, and the recruiting problems that
they
present. He also detailed some of the programs that Northrop
has in place to
address these issues, such as a grant program for employees that are
first time
home buyers. One of the great programs that they run is an
outreach program to
get school kids interested in careers in engineering, that not only
goes into
high schools, but starts in the middle schools, catching their interest
early,
and hopefully recruiting more local talent that will stay on Long
Island. An
avid boater, the southern California transplant was effusive in his
praise for
his new home, a reminder that some of us natives take what we
have here for
granted because we grew up with it.
The aerospace community was well represented at our meeting, with many
partners
of Northrop Grumman on hand to educate us on the extensive programs
that affect
subcontractors during the Q and A session. It was again, a
very well spent
morning at LIMBA with a chance to meet and greet Duke Dufresne, one of
the region’s most
influential people, and NGC’s partners. Included in the mix was;

Joseph Battaglia — President, Telephonics
Ed Palacio — Vice President, EDO
John Capacchione — CAPY Machine
Peter Rettaliata — President, Air Industries
Kenneth Nevor — NDIA (National Defense Industrial
Association) Conference

also in attendance were Northrop Grumman associates:

Diane Dufresne
Patricia McMahon
Dianne Baumert-Moyik
Stacy Simpson

and of course the ever curious and involved LIMBA
membership

Officiating for LIMBA, Bill Miller, Pres
Presiding over meeting Dick Dunne, LIMBA Board Member
Report Written by;Craig Plunkett, CEDX Corporation

Thanks to all. The meeting was a big success

Subi Chakraborti, NY State DOT, Regional Director
2007-07-27 00:00
Members and friends

This morning’s speaker, NY State Department of Transportation Regional
Director, Subi Chakraborti, gave us an overview of the
responsibilities of the NYSDOT. We also discussed specific projects that
are either planned or in progress.

The department does not have direct responsibilities to rail service,
however where rail service has an impact on the roads there is
cooperation. One of LIMBA’s long standing goals has been increasing rail
freight because it significantly reduces the impact of pollution and
road damage caused by trucks on the roads. The NYSDOT believes strongly
that an inter-modal rail truck transfer station would be a good idea for
the Pilgrim State hospital property. We agree! With less than 2% of all
freight coming to Long Island by rail, an increase to 10% would remove
325,000 trucks each year. (these statistics were developed by NY &
Atlantic RR)

While a lot of NYSDOT’s works are not ribbon cutting events because they
are maintaining the enormous infrastructure we already have, there have
some noteable changes. The HOV lane , like it or not, was one of them.
Most the of the NYSDOT budget is devoted to rebuilding the roads and
briges that we have in place. There was the redecking of the southbound
Robert Moses Causeway bridge a few years ago. There are now plans to
rebuild the northbound lanes of that structure. They will be redesigning
the traffic circle at Jones Beach. The revised situation is called a
"Roundabout"The nature of the changes will produce less accidents. One
more thing on Jones Beach, there will be a bicycle path built along
Ocean Parkway from Jones Beach to Captree, a 12 mile link. Now what we
need is a bicycle path over Robert Moses Causeway.

Other projects around Long Island include the rebuilding and redesigning
Rt 347. This is a very large project involving at least 2 overpasses and
additional lanes. That contract will be let in sections.

The NYSDOT has already converted 80% of its traffic signals to Light
Emitting Diode technology (LED). This technology reduces power
consumption by about 90% and reduces service needs significantly.

Subi or someone in his department will now be giving LIMBA updates on an
annual basis.

Michael White, Long Island Regional Plan Director
2007-08-03 00:00
This morning’s speaker was Michael White, Michael is the Executive Director of
the Long Island Regional Board. Mr White outlined the breadth and scope of the
planning group. Workforce housing, transportation, energy issues, and
environmental planning are all considerations. All of the planning must consider
the ramifications that each piece of the planning puzzle creates for another
piece.

Workforce housing must take into consideration the ability of the schools to
absorb the children that will be new to the district. That means having a tax
base that supports that move. In turn there is a need to create industrial
viability to provide the taxes that will be needed. It’s a complex puzzle. The
transportation needs of any such development must be addressed too, whether the
solution is road access or public transportation.

Water supplies and waste water management are essential to good planning. The
stigma of the Southwest Sewer District scandal still hangs over any planning to
create new sewers. This timidity on the part of policy makers may be
understandable, but that does not change the fact that these infrastructure
needs must be met.

Mr White spoke about the need to work with,and communicate with Nassau County
as well as the towns and villages of both counties. The Regional Plan
Association of New York is a big player in the city’s planning and has been
effectively guiding development for many years. A few years ago the RPA made an
outreach to Long Island to help us with issues that affect both regions. (the
RPA has also reached out to northern New Jersey and western Conecticutt). LIMBA
is a part of the RPA Long Island Committee, and we have been looking at issues
such as ferries, road and rail transportation. Seeing ourselves as part of a
larger region is useful and instructive. Mr White seems to have the scope and
technical trainning to take advantage of the input that is available.
We questioned Michael with the fact that planning in the past, as good as it may
have been, it went largely ignored. Our question to him why was "Why is this
time different?" His answer was that "We are probably ready". Maybe? We’ll see!

In Today’s Newsday
In today’s paper there was an article citing support by Senators Flanagan,
Trunzo, and Johnson for disgruntled activists who do not want to see a freight
rail/truck transfer at Pilgrim State. Blocking the building of that facility is
the wrong way to go. Politicians who demonstrate no vision and courage have sunk
the planning process in the past. Perhaps we are seeing more of the same.
LIMBA’s position on rail freight is established. We believe that more rail
freight will reduces wear and tear on our roads, cut down on pollution, reduce
air pollution and lower the cost of goods. LIMBA will give the Senators a forum
to explain their positions, if they are interested. We will publish exactly what
they say. I placed the calls to each of their offices this afternoon.
Pictured: Michael White and Ernie Fazio

NYIT Solar Decathlon Program; Mathew Mathosian Dan Ripka
2007-08-10 00:00
Members and friends
This morning we had a presentation about building energy efficient dwellings. NY
Institute of Technology’s Dan Rapka told us about The Solar Decathlon This is an
international competition to create the right design and combination of
technologies to create a low energy use house. The competition includes
prestigious engineering schools around the US and Europe. The NYIT entry was
built on the campus of NYIT and will be disassembled and reconstructed on The
Mall in Washington DC. NYIT alumnus and LIMBA Energy expert, John Eff introduced
the speakers.

Over the years we have seen the prospects of new sources of energy and new
ways to use this precious resource. Most of it was encouraging. The photo
voltaic technology has been a factor for about 40 years. Geothermal has been
around in some form or another an equally long time. Structural insulated panels
(SIP), as they are often referred to are also a known and trusted technology. So
if these avenues of energy conservation are so proven, why aren’t we using them
on a large scale? Actually we did not pose that question to our presenters this
morning, at least not directly. However we are now at a juncture that may make
these technologies more commonplace in our structures.

One of the technologies that I thought was very interesting is Geothermal.
Geothermal uses the same basic principles as a refrigerator or an air
conditioner. The system can extract room temperature (72 degrees) from the
ground in even subfreezing weather even though the ground may not be any warmer
than 55 degrees. In the summertime the system can extract room temperature (72
degrees) and the ground temperature is again 55 degrees. The mechanical
components are pumps and compressors. They are far more energy efficient than
traditional furnace and air conditioning technology and there is no on site
pollution.

Integrating Solar PV and Solar Thermal systems into homes that require
minimal energy by virtue of their designs. The idea that we supplant the energy
use in homes of a design that wastes energy is not the way to go. The Solar
Decathlon project takes advantage of the building "envelope" technology that
reduces the need for energy and then manufactures that energy, or efficiently
uses grid supplied power. By combining various technologies and then applying
highly sophisticated control systems we can deliver an energy efficient home
within reasonable costs. By doing all of these things in concert we can create a
better functioning home.- With all this the house is in a symbiotic relationship
with the utility grid, using grid power when needed.

The emphasis is on comfort, dependability, and cost. The implication is we do
not require a sacrifice in comfort to achieve what is needed for our times. We
can do more with less

Matt Crosson, LIA president
2007-08-17 00:00
Today our speaker, LIA President Matt Crosson, was asked to speak about
the need to marshal the resources of all of the organizations that would
like to bring about positive change. Matt buys into that notion and he
has led the way that helps others find their voice. Personally I have
worked with LIA over the years and gave my input.

Mr. Crosson chose to attack a specific area of concern to all of us,
workforce housing. There are several facets that are part of this
intractable problem, and that makes it complex and difficult to solve.
Not getting it done will have consequences. According to Crosson our
economy will suffer as we move into the future. He contrasted what is
happening today to what has happened in the past

From about 1960 to 1989 there was an increase of 289,000 people in the
age range of 20-24. From 1990 to 2005 there was a net loss of the same
demographic. What is involved is housing, transportation, and sewers.
The problem becomes more difficult when you consider the negative
attitudes that established residents have toward workforce housing. It
doesn’t seem to matter that some of these people will be our own
children.

There is an estimated shortage of 120,000 living units. According to
Crosson, and I have heard this from builders as well, there is no way we
can achieve this without having a certain density. We cannot have this
kind of density without good transportation and SEWERS. Sewers are
everywhere in Nassau County but not in Suffolk. Crosson also spoke
about the livability of this denser housing. It can be quite attractive.

This is an area where LIA and LIMBA have had the same message. This
is problem that must be addressed because negative long term effects of
poor planning are too expensive in the long run to correct. Matt Crosson
is well versed on the topic and a very good presenter. We thank him for
his appearance at LIMBA

Of course there are other infrastructure items that align the purposes
of LIMBA and LIA. Robust rail freight and increased ferry
transportation are two important issues we thoroughly agree on.

Pictured: Ernie Fazio, Matt Crosson and Bill Miller.

Kevin Dahill Pres & CEO Nassau Suffolk Hosp Coop
2007-08-24 00:00
This morning’s speaker Kevin Dahill, President and CEO of Nassau Suffolk
Hospital Council spoke about a topic that is more and more a concern of all of
us, the cost of healthcare. In the past six years the health care system has
left out 5 million more people. The total of documented uninsureds is 45
million. The actual number is believed to be much higher.
Do these people go without care? No! We don’t do that in this country, we accept
the indigent and otherwise uninsured in our hospitals. The problem is that this
situation creates sicker patients among the uninsured than the insured
population. The cost of caring for these people is much higher than it may have
been if they had ordinary access to care. Moreover that cost must be borne by
those that are insured. It isn’t difficult to see that such a system is destined
to collapse on itself.
Mr Dahill pointed out another problem that comes in the form of how medical
institutions are reimbursed. As an example, a simple case of pneumonia will be
easily corrected and reimbursement is minimal. The hospital is likely to lose
money on such an admission. On the other hand interventional procedures are
likely to be a money maker for the hospital. In his words, "We don’t have a
healthcare system, we have sick care system. There is little or no incentives
for the long term health of our citizens"(not an exact quote).
Dahill advocates that our systems for healthcare be more transparent, and
consumer friendly. He also believes that the present delivery system is failing
us and some form of universal healthcare must be devised. I reminded him that
one of the smallest states in the union, Vermont, now has universal healthcare.
I asked Kevin if it was working. According to Dahill, it is. He went on to say
that he has looked at the efforts of other states and they are less committed
and therefore are doing less well. His example here was Massachusetts.
Dahill suggested that we challenge every presidential candidate, Republican or
Democrat on the issue of universal healthcare. The model we now have according
to Dahill is not sustainable.
We also discussed the awards being made in malpractice suits, and the impact on
costs. We suggested that a medical malpractice board similar to a workers
compensation board might work. Dahill had a slightly different take on that
idea. he thinks a special awards court could be devised. Judges on that court
would have to have good medical knowledge.
One of Dahill’s final remarks was that prevention takes a backseat to
intervention and that should be changed.

NO MEETING LABOR DAY weekend
2007-08-31 00:00

Joseph Ambrosio, Odyne Corporation
2007-09-07 00:00
The presentation today by Dan DeMeo of Odyne Corporation was outstanding,
both in content and presentation.
The topic today was, creating the systems needed to use hybrid technology on
larger vehicles. Odyne has approached the advancement of Hybrid on the concept
of modular construction vs whole vehicle manufacture. Many of the components of
their system are off-the-shelf technology. By using heavy duty electric motors
that were built by GE and used by the elevator industry for decades, Odyne has
adapted them for use in buses and trucks. These are high voltage units that
operate off DC battery power. The vehicles also have small internal combustion
engines that are used to recharge the batteries and they operate at more or less
constant speeds without the need to accelerate. The internal combustion engine
is 1/3 the size that would be otherwise needed.
The applications that are most advantages are heavy vehicles that make many
stops and starts, such as garbage trucks and buses. Fuel costs are reduced
dramatically. We have seen this demonstrated in passenger vehicles. Now we have
the technology modified to work in larger vehicles.
The electric motors have much higher performance features at low speed than
do conventional engines. The vehicles also have the capacity to recapture
the braking energy of the vehicle and drastically reduce brake wear.
There is a very healthy return on investment too, according to Mr. DeMeo,
making this technology attractive in the pursuit of cleaner air, as well
as better operating economics.
I found that the most exciting part of Odyne’s efforts is that the technology
can be used in old equipment as well as newly manufactured units. They refitted
an old garbage truck that was destined to the salvage yard, replaced the
operating power train, painted it and put it back on the road. It works better
and more efficiently than a brand new non-hybrid truck of similar size.
Website Photographs were provided by John Rigrod of Hammer Magazine and Craig Plunkett of CEDX Corporation.

Dr Robert Scott, President, Adelphi
2007-09-14 00:00
This morning’s speaker was Dr. Robert Scott, President of Adelphi University. Dr Scott is keenly aware of the pitfalls of institutions of higher education. Of the many things that can detract from the essential missions of our colleges is the fact that we can go astray in academia as much as we can in business.
There were miss-steps by universities in dealing with big pharma, defense contractors and other powerful business interests. These miss-steps tend to compromise the core values of educational institutions, but on balance they resist and make corrections in course.

His warning for himself and others in his position is to be wary of the temptations that are presented to people who are dealing with budgets. Building a sports stadium and then selling the sky-boxes for hundreds of thousands of dollars is not in the best interest of the institutions. According to Scott it compromises the integrity of the school. On the other hand he admits to renting the rooftops of university buildings to cell phone providers and garnering a handsome fee for that use.
Dr Scott went on to express his belief that universities are not the trainning rooms for industry. They are the places where we deal in more than just the established knowns. They are the places where we discuss the unknowns. Universities are supposed to question what we think. He pointed out that slavery was legal and rationalized in our concept of law. Nevertheless it had to be challenged, not in legal terms, but in terms of ethics. In other words what is fair. He closed that part of the presentation with the notion that universities most function, and be viewed as ethical centers for the larger society.
Dr Scott pointed out that curiculum standards for American learning institutions are models for much of the world. As a result we attract students like no other country on earth. Long Island schools are among the best in a nation that can claim superlatives in education. (About $60 billion pours into the US institutions of higher learning attributable to fees paid by foreign students)
As an economic entity much can be said for education at this level. Adelphi has an operating budget of about $200 million per year. The combined operating budgets of all of Long Islands universities and colleges is $3.7 billion. That has an overall effect on the economy of Long Island of $10 Billion. As you can see, not small potatoes.

During the Q&A period a comment was posed about the beneficial effect of the GI Bill that rewarded our military servicemen and women after WWII. It was arguably the most effective way of keeping America competitive. Dr Scott launched into this one, and said we now have a GI Bill that young soldiers have to opt into at the cost of $100 per month. A soldier with a wife and child may opt not to sign on because of his needs and limited pay. According to Dr. Scott that was a recruiting tool with an obvious flaw. He went on to say that many of the companies that now exist here on Long Island and around the country were started by these fortunate recipients of higher education, and we all profited by their gain.

Hon. Tim Bishop, Congressman 1st Congressional District
2007-09-21 00:00
The Honorable Tim Bishop, Congressman from Long Island’s 1st District, was our speaker this morning. We requested that he speak about energy. In particular we wanted to hear about Congressman Steve Israel’s legislation. We also asked to comment on the conduct of the occupation of Iraq, and how that is going.

Mr Bishop pointed out what, columnist, Tom Freedman stated a while back, United States is funding both sides of this war. We buy oil from a region that supports terrorism, and we suffer the economic costs of fielding our own troops and equipment. That answer actually bridged the two initial focal points we asked about.

But sticking to the original question Tim said their was some good news. Where global warming has been questioned in the past, it is now taken for fact. The earth is getting warmer. The fact that we recognize that puts us in the position of doing something about it. Some of the things we should be doing are;

Roll back the $16.5 billion in tax breaks given to the oil industry. There is no rational for selecting the industry for tax abatement when they are probably the most profitable sector of the economy.
Mandate that utility companies produce at least 15% of their power using non-polluting alternative energy by a date certain.
Reconsider properly sited Nuclear Power plants.
Pass an alternative energy research and development bill such as the one proposed by Congressman Israel
He suggested that bio-fuels can and should be developed, although corn based fuel is less than an optimum use of that product for fuel. He was being kind, but having corn farmers as your constituents could color your opinion.

There are two alternative energy bills that are presently being considered. One in the House and one in the Senate. There is considerable differences and according to Mr. Bishop, they may be difficult to resolve.

Turning his attention back to Iraq he told us the United States has invested more than $20 billion in training and equipping the Iraqi security forces, and they have little to show for the effort. The chief of staff, General Petraes boss, General Mullen said we are not going to resolve the Iraqi situation by military means. Tim then gave some statistics on the polling of the Iraqi people. 70% of Iraqi’s think it is OK to attack American soldiers. Congressman Bishop is adamant on our need to redeploy our troops away from the centers of the action. The president is equally adamant about keeping on doing what we are doing.
He then cited the GAO report that bluntly stated that Al Queda has completely reconstituted itself with the net result being interpreted as, we are no more secure now than we were before 9-11.

It was suggested that enough criminal behavior has occurred in this White House to warrant impeachment. He rejected that idea on the grounds that it would tie up the country and be seen as a "bloodless coupe" if Bush and Cheney were impeached and convicted. That scenario would leave Speaker Pelosi in the presidency. In other words, it aint gonna’ happen.

Ernie Fazio

LIBDC Conference at Montauk-NO LIMBA MEETING
2007-09-28 00:00

Fuel Cell Technology, John Francescina
2007-10-05 00:00
John Franceschina of Fuel Cell Energy spoke on the use of major size fuel cells that his company builds. John Eff of Long Island Energy Partners wrote the report. Here is John’s report;

On Friday October 5, attendees at the weekly LIMBA meeting were treated to a very informative presentation by John Franceschina of Fuel Cell Energy. Fuel Cell Energy, located in Danbury, Ct is a manufacturer and installer of Fuel Cells. Fuel Cells generate electrical and thermal energy from a chemical
reaction with the introduction of a source fuel such as natural gas. Mr Franceschina presented the advantages of fuel cell technology and how Fuel Cell Energy’s stationery cells can help Long Island increase electric supply while decreasing the carbon footprint. The commercially available products come in several size ranges for various market applications such as hospitals, nursing homes, manufacturing plants, waste water treatment plants, large hotels and colleges and universities. Numerous installations have been in operation across the country. Coupled with 90% availability, low emissions,and low noise, fuel cells can be the commercially "green" technology sited easily.

–John Eff

Brookhaven Supervisor, Brian Foley
2007-10-12 00:00
This week, 10/12, our speaker was Town of Brookhaven Supervisor, Brian Foley. Mr Foley began by telling us that the Town of Brookhaven has taken the position that they must be business friendly. Good projects will be assisted by the towns planning department. Where the town employees can assist in cutting red tape, they will. The NY State Empire Zone was begun under a previous administration. It is being preserved and expanded by the Foley team.

The Town has inaugurated a system that tracks requests and makes sure that inquiries for assistance are properly routed. That system has helped builders and developers get things approved or rejected quickly to save time and money. where and when follow-up is needed it happens.

The issue of the "Ferries for Homeland Security" was brought up and a copy of LIMBA’s proposal on that project was given to the Supervisor ( a copy is attached). We asked if the Town could support our efforts and the economic development officer, Ray Donnelly, said it would be looked at favorably.

We also suggested that having LIPA sell power to Gershow recycling would have a beneficial effect on air quality. There are issues with that request that are presently being dealt with.
(We held this meeting on the premises of Tradewinds Environmenta Restoration. We thank them for their hospitality)

Hon Tom Spota, Suffolk County District Atty
2007-10-19 00:00
Our speaker this morning was Suffolk District Attorney, Tom Spota. Mr Spota began by stating that his most important contemporary duties are involved with terror attack prevention. An audience member mentioned that there were Middle Eastern men taking parachuting lessons on the east end. Mr Spota acknowledged that fact but declined to discuss it further.

A while back DA Spota created a street gang unit and gave us some insights on how sophisticated some of these gang leaders were. He told us of a gang leader that was in his 40’s and was using his illegal gains to buy real estate. All of which Mr Spota seized when an arrest was made.

As important as those two items of law prosecution are the item that resonated with the audience more than others were the government corruption cases. White collar crime is not dismissible to Spota just because it is "an insurance company" or the "government" that is taking the hit. It is important crime because it challenges the trust we place in the system we live in.

Tom told of a school superintendent that was being paid $340,000, was issued a car and credit card to pay car expenses, plus a $700/ month car allowance. In addition to that he was getting a $40,000/ year guaranteed annuity. He then wrote himself a check from the payroll account for another 168,000. The following week he wrote another check from the same account for 178,000. Nobody in the school district picked up on any of this. This grand theft was discovered after his office made a routine investigation. This was a particularly egregious case, but Spota said they found many other troubling mishandling of funds in other districts.

He then discussed identity theft and computer fraud. In these cases the amount of the theft was enormous compared to armed robbery and violent crime, but the more troubling aspect of these thefts were that in the large majority of cases the money was transferred overseas to countries that are hostile to America.
Pictured: Bill Miller, Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota and Ernie Fazio

Round Table Discussion
2007-10-26 00:00
Members and friends
This morning we conducted one of our occasional "Round Table Discussions" I find these sessions very helpful in setting the agenda for LIMBA.
One of the suggestions was to re-create that staccato of issues that are worth repeating again and again. Paul Townsend was very successful at moving issues along because he wouldn’t let them die.
Here are some of the issues that our members decided should be on that list;

Sewers-All attempts to provide denser housing are thwarted by the need for sewers. Instead of committing all of the 1/4% sales tax for land acquisition, perhaps we could address sewers and make it possible to retain strategically located open space. This would assist economic development, create more housing, and still preserve open space
Reduce, realign, and condense government services. It would be more efficient to give more authority to county government and reduce town government. Park districts on Long Island would be recognized as regional resources. People from Smithtown should be welcome in Huntington and Babylon parks as well as all other jurisdictions
We need to rethink fire districts-Are we better served by this costly redundancy of fire equipment and locations, or should we consolidate fire departments? And while we are at it, shouldn’t we examine the idea of a paid fire department, under county auspices? Wouldn’t we then have more coverage over all periods of the day, at possibly less cost?
The schools are Long Island’s "sacred cows". However the schools have done their critics a favor recently. School financial scandals are more widespread than previously suspected, giving rise to the notion that a county-wide oversight would be able to reign in the rogues. Even where blatant fraud and theft were not apparent, there seems to be a cavalier attitude to spending.
LIPA is excluded from NYSERDA’s energy research programs. I believe the reason for that is, that as a state authority LIPA is not obligated to participate in NYSERDA"s programs and dose not pay for them either. Perhaps we can legally change that and then Long Island can partake in NYSERDA largesse.
Lastly we discussed the concept of pumped storage. This concept allows a generating facility to buy inexpensive off-peak hydro-power from upstate during the night and pumping water to a higher elevation. During the day the water is released to operate generators to supply power at peak load times. A serious look at this technology should be considered in adding to an array of generating options for the future.

LIMBA is always true to its own self imposed time restraints and we adjourned at 9:30.

Dr Mathew Cordaro, LIU
2007-11-02 00:00
Our speaker this morning was Dr. Matthew Cordaro. Matt heads up energy research and policy development at The Center for Management Analysis at Post Dr Cordaro Has been in the utility field for many years and was SR VP of LILCO at one point.

Matt pointed out that National Grid is a formidable entity with the wealth and experience to service the region, and they were approved as an operating company based some promises that were made to the regulators. Basically those commitments revolved around the need for Grid to maintain a workforce large enough to be able to restore power in the case of a major catastrophe. According to Cordaro 90% of the present workforce has never experienced a major hurricane and that fact creates an exposure.
Cordaro said it is up to us to maintain pressure on the operators to live up to the commitments that they made.

Dr. Cordaro said he was confident in the new leadership under Kevin Law at LIPA, but Law never had any direct utility experience. There are serious challenges that Mr. Law will have to deal with. The system is aging and there is a complicated contractual arrangement with Grid. There have been $2 Billion in investment by LIPA and that has to be paid for as well.

Conservation has always been promoted as a means of avoiding the cost of new power plant construction, but these conservation programs cost money and they too have to be paid for. There are many challenges for LIPA and Grid, but none insurmountable.

The conversation then went on to repowering. LIMBA has been a long time proponent of repowering. Repowering is essentially rebuilding high efficiency, state of the art power plants at existing locations. The problem here is that not all the existing sites are good candidates for repowering. As one of the audience pointed out the task is more costly than creating a new power plant in a new location. The old sites have in some cases real estate limitations. That is, not enough room to build while leaving the old plant in service. The one plant that everyone seems to agree is viable for repowering is Barrett. There probably is one or two others. An alternative is building new plants in new places “virtual repowering” The examples given the new Caithness plant in Bellport and the proposed Keyspan plant on Spagnoli Rd in Melville

Veterans Day/Armistace Day NO Meeting
2007-11-09 00:00

Karaoke Night at LIMBA 5:30 PM (No morning mtg)
2007-11-15 00:00
Karaoke will begin Thursday afterwork at 5:30. The great Anita Bloom will preside. She is a knock-out of a performer, and runs a great show for the audience/singers.
Venue is not yet determined.

Thanksgiving Holiday -No Meeting
2007-11-23 00:00

Frank MacKay, Independence Party, National Chairman
2007-11-30 00:00
Members and friends
All that we try to accomplish at LIMBA is dependent on creating the political climate so that it can happen. However we do not declare any allegiance to any political party. But today we examined under the tutelage of Frank MacKay, National Chairman of the Independence Party, the workings of the political parties. We examined the effect that the so-called minor parties have on the political process.

Frank had us look at some recent elections to make his point that a "minor" party endorsement is not only helpful, it is often pivotal. In New York City where some voters "would rather cut off their right arm than pull a lever that said Republican" according to Frank, these people did pull the third party lever and Mr. Bloomberg, the Republican was voted into office. The number of people that voted on the Independence line was greater than the difference between the Republican and the Democratic votes. That Independence line was needed to put Michael Bloomberg in office.

In 1992 Ross Perot, despite running a miserable campaign, garnered 19% of the vote and Bill Clinton, won over George Bush with a mere plurality. In 2000 Ralph Nader created the same scenario and sank the campaign of Al Gore.

We then discussed the current politics at the presidential level and the contempt the public has for the president and the congress. With the president’s approval rating at 30% and the Congress at 11% MacKay thinks a third party candidate, such as Mayor Bloomberg, would have an excellent chance of winning.

To Frank’s way of thinking, social issues are not part of the process, "we don’t wear clerical collars in politics" MacKay said, "discuss those matters with people who do wear those collars. Politics to MacKay is more about political process. Election reform is the most important issue if you are interested in preserving democracy. The Independence Party recently opened their primaries to every citizen that is registered to vote in every state in the Union, and was subsequently sued by the major parties. The Independence Party won that tussle.

Ernie Fazio

Pictured: Independence Party, National Chairman, Frank MacKay, and Ernie Fazio

Robert Catell, Chairman, Keyspan
2007-12-07 00:00
This morning our speaker Bob Catell, Chairman of the new utility entity National Grid US, gave us a recap of the transition to our new situation. In Mr. Catell’s opinion there are now opportunities that are available to the utility and the service area that would not have otherwise existed. For example the costly repowering of existing plants are more viable if the company has the resources, and it does. That does not imply that repowering is the most advantageous way of retiring old plant equipment. In some cases it may be better to build a brand new state-of-the-art plant on a new location.

Another item was the transporting of power from Canada to downstate. While Canada has ample power available to sell, the transmission lines are presently inadequate to handle the added demand. National Grid owns some of the upstate companies that would benefit from the additional, clean and abundant Hydro Quebec power. Now, National Grid owns the downstate market that was serviced by Keyspan. With that in mind it makes economic sense to invest large sums of capital in transmission lines to service all of their companies.

The subject of synergy was discussed as well. By avoiding duplicative systems there is an opportunity to save money. But there is also an opportunity to have more cross-trained personnel to help when there is a disaster. Presumably when disaster strikes, it does not disable all parts of the system equally. Trained people from New England can migrate to the effected area. The utilities have done this in the past, but now the utility will now have control over training of all of the crafts people. Thereby insuring that there is enough
personnel with the required multiple skills.

The topic of Islander East Pipeline was brought up, and although that project has been challenged by the state of Connecticut it looks probable those issues will be resolved. Broadwater was also discussed and Bob admitted that Broadwater would be helpful in servicing the needs of the region, but that issue is more murky.

Catell discussed the Advanced Energy Research program that will operate out of SUNY Stony Brook. That facility has the prospect of changing dramatically the nature of electric power production, distribution and use, as well as many other facets of the energy picture. Mr. Catell and Shirley Strum Kenny are co-chairs of that facility. We wish them well.
###

LIMBA Holiday Breakfast
2007-12-14 00:00
The Holiday Gathering was held today and our performers were Jim Graseck on his magical violin, and Vince Dantona & George (George is a puppet).

Jim began by playing for the guests as they entered the room and until we settled in after having breakfast. His violin ability and variety of music is astounding. I sang a few songs with him and then we introduced the ventriloquist. Vince was fed a few names of people who were expected to attend and then he singled them out for a little shtick. I had hired Vince a few years ago for another Holiday party so I had seen his routine, but he was as fresh and funny this time as it was the last time. It’s been a while since I laughed as hard.

Jim Graseck has a humorous take on music and the violin in much the same way that Victor Borge had with the piano. He is classically trained and will break out in conversation with his audience while playing the most intricate piece, and never miss a note. He came back and closed out the morning with a some more holiday music and ethnic music that included Danny Boy, The Tarantella, Maleguena, A polka, and several others.

Both of these talented performers are native to Long Island and it was a pleasure to have them.
Thanks to the support of Terry Townsend, Waldo Cabrera of Islip.TV, and Doreen Guma of Adcount Direct we were able to help fund and advertise a wonderful event

Holiday Recess No Meeting
2007-12-21 00:00

No Meeting-Holiday week
2007-12-28 00:00
