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 END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120921T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120921T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120921T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120921T040000Z UID:4530-1348185600-1348185600@limba.net SUMMARY:Paul Pontieri\, Mayor of Patchogue DESCRIPTION:Our speaker was Mayor Paul Pontieri of Patchogue \n  \n“I’m a mayor that likes to say yes\, when people approach me with ideas to develop the assets of the village.” That was the essence of this morning’s talk by Mayor Paul Pontieri of Patchogue. By being open to new ideas there has been much development in the village. \n  \nPatchogue is an old village with many business establishments dating back to the turn of the last century. The changing times left Patchogue with old derelict hotels when the railroad was extended east. There was a large textile mill on the west end of town that was abandoned years ago and was an eyesore. When Pontieri began his first term the vacancy rate of the retail establishments were about 35%. There was very little activity on the street. \n  \nPatchogue needed a sense of community\, a place where people want to be for entertainment\, dining and shopping. \n  \nWhat was needed according to the mayor was the rebuilding of a community. An old vaudeville theater in the heart of town had been used as a movie theater and was in poor condition. A suggestion to knock it down was rejected\, and instead it was fully restored into a state of the art theater for live performances. The theater is booked for shows about 200 nights per year and is profitable. \n  \nFortunately the village had previously built a sewer system that was geared to handle 800\,000 gallons per day. A capacity that allowed new structures and restoration of the village. The village still has a lot of excess capacity. \n  \nBy using funds that were made available through congressman Tim Bishop( about $1.5 million) and the then County executive Steve Levy (who happened to be in the room) the village moved forward on many fronts. Residential housing\, retail space\, the theater\, were all part of the grand vision that is now Patchogue. Rental dwellings are in short supply on Long Island\, and affordable rental property for residential use is essential for the housing of a young population. Now 50% of the housing in Patchogue is rental. I believe it is about 17% for the rest of Long Island. Paul told us that Suffolk County had about $15 million for use in the downtown areas. Patchogue got about half of it. Levy volunteered “ He got it because he asked.” Another contibution for lighting came from Caithness Power\, about $½ million. \n  \nDensity is not a problem\, it’s an asset. Density gives a village a pulse\, but it must be well planned and have the infrastructure to support it. \nWhen asked about the school taxes and the objections raised by school boards he told us that the added value gave the village the needed tax money to address the increased needs for services. \n  \nDuring the Q&A someone asked what advice he would give to other mayors\, Pontieri said spend the money quickly before it goes away and take a lot of pictures for the press with the person who helped you get it. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/paul-pontieri-mayor-of-patchogue/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120914T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120914T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120914T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120914T040000Z UID:4529-1347580800-1347580800@limba.net SUMMARY:Ed Romaine-GOP Candidate Brookhaven Supv DESCRIPTION:  \nOur speaker this morning was Ed Romaine. Mr. Romaine has been in county government as a legislator\, a 5 times elected County Clerk\, and in recent years he returned to the legislature. \n   \nWith the vacancy created when Brookhaven Town Supervisor resigned to lead Accelerate Long Island\, The GOP asked Mr. Romaine to run for the position\, and Ed accepted. \n   \nThe funding of government services was addressed by Romaine. The practice of one-time fixes such as selling off assets has no sustainability. The real sacrifices that must be made are difficult but needed. \n   \nWhen Mr. Lesko made his budget he made substantial cuts on items that he called "non-essential." Romaine disagrees with some of those service cuts that Lesko termed non-essential. \n   \nLooking at the revenue side there are landfill fees and mortgage taxes. Romaine wants to explore the possibility of using the methane gasses produced by the landfill. He is very much in favor of alternative energy produced by wind and solar and this could be part of that mix of energy production. \n   \n"It is difficult to tie together a region that is so spread out with public transportation" Brookhaven is physically the largest county in the country\, and the population is the second largest. That statement brought us to the topic of The Ronkonkoma Hub. By concentrating residential\, business and industrial components in close proximity to each other\, it is easier to serve that community with transportation\, power\, and sewers. \n   \nAs far as sewers are concerned there has been much trepidation by the county in building sewers due to the Southwest Sewer District scandal of the 70’s. Today where there are sewers they are isolated from each other and many by now are old and failing. Mr. Romaine thinks we should recreate a large-scale sewer district under a single management team. This way efficiency of scale can be achieved and quality standards can be applied. \n   \nThere are several goals that Romaine has in mind and they range from rail infrastructure to more emphasis on vocational training\, such as that provided by BOCES \n   \nBusiness can be given incentives by tax abatements\, IDA loans\, and allowing industrial density\, and Romaine said he would bring those incentives about. \n   \nDuring the Q&A portion I asked Dr. Matt Cordaro to comment on the experience he had as the president of Nashville Electric Nashville where they consolidated several layers of government into one more efficient body. According to Cordaro approvals for major work was facilitated by this structure of government \n   \nErnie Fazio \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ed-romaine-gop-candidate-brookhaven-supv/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120907T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120907T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120907T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120907T040000Z UID:4531-1346976000-1346976000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA speaker- Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter \nToday we were brought up to date on the Riverhead project known as “EPCAL” http://www.townofriverheadny.gov/files/documents/Epcal.OFB.home.pdf \nThis Navel Weapons Reserve Plant had been leased to Grumman. It was turned over by the Navy to the Town of Riverhead at no cost when the Grumman Company no longer needed to test planes there. The property grant was supposed to create jobs to replace those jobs lost when defense collapsed. \nAccording to Walter “the potential is a billion dollars\, if it’s a dollar.” Walter thinks the sale of the property to Jan Burman for $17 million was a mistake. Since then numerous proposals have been made\, and some of them bordered on ludicrous\, including an indoor ski mountain. Yes\, I did say ski mountain. There are probably worse ideas\, but I’m not yet insane enough to imagine them. \nThe property suffers from the need of multiple layers of approvals to get anything done. Approvals from the Town\, County\, and I believe the state. A similar property in Massachusetts was offered-up to local jurisdiction. These obstacles were overcome when various interested parties cooperated. \nIn Riverhead there are people who are working on introducing an overall plan and making changes in zoning to facilitate the development of this valuable place. \nWhen municipalities have complex problems and many conflicting interests the remedy in the past has been to create an “authority.” However a good idea that may be\, the term authority has a negative ring to it. Instead Senator Lavalle and the town officials are trying to create legislation that makes it more like the structure of the Pine Barrens. Here are some features they have to work with. \nAir Strip \nThe plan at this time is quite comprehensive and the property has some very assets including an airstrip that will be preserved and used by aviation related businesses. The idea of moving airfreight at EPCAL has been roundly rejected years ago. And use as a general aviation airport will not happen either \nRail Link \nThere is a rail link into the property and with our more recent enthusiasm for rail freight; this becomes a very valuable feature. However it is not being considered as a secondary rail trans-load center as was built in Yaphank. The perceived value is a conduit for local business. \nMaglev Test Track \nThe inventors of the Maglev train have created a system that makes the Maglev compatible with conventional rail. There is a TIGER grant filed with the federal government. TIGER grants need an agreeable municipal partner to be funded and Riverhead has been on board for some time. The State of New York is considering lending support as well. The track is too short\, (2 miles) to demonstrate Maglev speed but what will be demonstrated is the ability to lift heavy loads and be more stable than any rail technology devised so far. Riverhead and the state do not need to come up with money they merely need to declare the idea as being useful to that municipality. \nErnie Fazio \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-speaker-riverhead-supervisor-sean-walter/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120831T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120831T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120831T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120831T040000Z UID:4536-1346371200-1346371200@limba.net SUMMARY:Labor Day Weekend NO MEETING DESCRIPTION: No meetings are scheduled on holiday weekends URL:https://limba.net/calendar/labor-day-weekend-no-meeting-3/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120824T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120824T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120824T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120824T040000Z UID:4527-1345766400-1345766400@limba.net SUMMARY:Ken Daly Pres National Grid NY DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Ken Daly\, President of National Grid NY; this was a good follow-up to our last week’s speaker from LIPA. The major players in electric energy are in flux\, and the audience was very interested in what we could expect. \n  \nMr. Daly began by stressing that the corporation considers safety to be an important aspect of their business. Hurricanes and winter related failures are of primary importance. Now that National Grid no longer has the LIPA distribution contract\, but it will still generate 2/3 of the electric power. And they will still be supplying gas just as they did in the past.   \nPSE&G will be LIPA’s contractor. The good news is that the workforce will remain the same. \n  \nNational Grid will continue to build out the gas supply distribution system. According to Ken it is a slow and costly process\, but there are plans to serve a lot more people. After these last two weeks presentations we can appreciate some of the complex issues that these entities are dealing with.   \nNational Grid is building a gas supply line that will cross the water coming from Brooklyn to the Rockaways near the Marine Parkway Bridge. It will travel down the Rockaway peninsula and emerge in Nassau County. This will be an additional source of natural gas for Long Island. \n  \nKeeping rates low requires a concerted effort to keep company operations efficient. In addition they are working on efficiencies that are on the customer side. He also noted that the gas itself has never been less costly as it is presently. That may fluctuate a little\, but Daly thinks the long-term prospects of low price gas are excellent. He based that prediction on the fact that we are producing a lot of gas at the wellhead and there appears to be an enormous amount of gas in the ground. According to Daly a home gas conversions from oil reduces pollutants that are equivalent to removing 45 cars from the road. \n  \nKen then spoke about the many community involvements that National Grid addresses. The Girl Scouts and United Way had representatives in the room and both of them praised National Grid for the assistance they provide. National Grid’s school speaker program encourages students to pursue STEM. This acronym stands for Science Technology\, Engineering and Math. This education formula leads to well paying and interesting jobs\, and industry needs these people. Encouraging students in this direction is good for the Long Island region and it has long-term benefits to business. In other words we all win.   \nThe Cinderella Project was first developed by the Brooklyn Union Gas Company National Grid’s predecessor in 1966. That community initiative revitalizes areas that need to be rehabilitated. The modern Cinderella program is a more focused on green technologies when executing Cinderella projects   \nQ&A \n  \nIt was pointed out that methane gas (natural gas) has a higher potential for greenhouse effect than CO2. How good is leak prevention and detection? Daly said the new distribution system components are very effective at providing system integrity. \n  \nAnother question was on repowering old plants. Daly said that interim work has made the old generating units measurably cleaner. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ken-daly-pres-national-grid-ny/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120817T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120817T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120817T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120817T040000Z UID:4525-1345161600-1345161600@limba.net SUMMARY:Michael Hervey -LIPA DESCRIPTION:  \n \nMr. Michael Hervey\, President of LIPA was our speaker this morning and he covered a lot of topics. He explained the considerations that LIPA was making when it came to the workforce that makes it all happen in the new contractor selection \n  \nBut there were other options that LIPA had. \n\nIt could have become a true municipal power company\nIt could have continued with National Grid with a newly negotiated contract\nIt could select a new contractor\n\n  \nThe issues that were involved with true municipal were concerns over the nature of the workforce and how that would be handled \nAs far as generation is concerned not much would change. LIPA would still have to buy the power from outside vendors. \nThey chose to select a new vender under what we could gather\, was better financial terms. That vender turned out to be PSE&G (Public Service Power & Gas) \n  \nThe transition is actually quite complex and much of the complexity is the workforce. Some of the workforce was dual purpose serving National Grid’s gas division and also the electric power division. None of the PSE&G people will be in the gas division. That will still be in the hands of National Grid. Then there is the issue of management PSE&G can absorb the union labor but the management will be theirs. It was not clear to us what would happen regarding the management employees. \n  \nHervey talked about the “storm hardening” measures that have been taken. The system was upgraded to withstand winds of up to 130 MPH. There has been a considerable amount of new equipment to support that effort and Hervey claimed that LIPA’s readiness was credited with being the best overhead system in the state. \n  \nThe renewable energy plan has been installing solar at train stations parking lots and other places. These systems are performing\, according to LIPA’s Mike Deering\, at about 30% higher than the projections when the plans were made. These installations are capable of recharging electric cars that are parked in the lots while introducing excess power into the grid. With the small number of electric cars presently\, most of the power generated is going into the grid. \n  \nAnother area where LIPA tells us they have been aggressive is energy conservation. The main benefit of conservation is the avoidance of building more capacity because more capacity means the commitment of resources for a long period. \n  \nThere has been some relief in the cost of power. We have seen the cost of power rise considerably in the past 10 years\, but now the there are more plants designed for gas\, and gas has been at a low price. The lower generating costs are being seen in our bills. The long term prospect for having low cost for gas seems to be pretty good. \nWe do not benefit from the low cost of Hydro-power from Canada because we simply do not have an energy trunk that can handle the power we need. The Governor has been working out the obstacles to moving that power to lower New York State and that would include Long Island. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/michael-hervey-lipa/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120810T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120810T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120810T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120810T040000Z UID:4526-1344556800-1344556800@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting Summer Schedule DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-summer-schedule-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120803T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120803T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120803T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120803T040000Z UID:4528-1343952000-1343952000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Randy Altschuler DESCRIPTION:Our LIMBA speaker this morning was Randy Altchuler\, the Republican congressional candidate for the 1st congressional district\, a seat that is presently occupied by Tim Bishop. \nMr. Altchuler addressed the audience stating that job creation would be of paramount importance. One of the impediments to higher employment according to Mr. Altchuler was regulation. I pointed out to the speaker that there are some regulations that are beneficial to the public as protection. When asked about the Glass- Steagal Act he was not sure. (Glass Steagal Act separated banking and investment houses since the days of FDR) It was disassembled over the past three presidents. Its removal has been cited as one the causes of our recent financial debacle. \nMr. Altschuler told us that he could work in an independent bi-partisan way in congress. During the Q&A Mike Cooney asked if he signed the famous Grover Norquist tax pledge. He said he had. The follow-up from the same person then asked\, “Where is your allegiance to Norquist or the Constitution? Randy said the pledge also reflects the wishes of the people he expects to represents. \nAltschuler spoke about the Affordable Healthcare Act otherwise known as Obama Care. He stated that there were some desirable aspects of the legislation but he objected to the size and scope. He did not say he would try to repeal it. He left us with the impression he would look for some modifications\, but was not specific. \nThe topic of size and scope began a new area of discussion. Most legislation is too large and generally incomprehensible. The audience was solidly with him on this point. We all know why omnibus bills are presented and that is to hide all sorts of “goodies” for one or more special interests. \nRandy stated that infrastructure funding was essential and he would support it. It was pointed out to him that the Republicans in the house have not voted for infrastructure projects. I asked since the party was committed to making Barack Obama a one term president\, how would that happen? Randy said ‘that’s a loaded question”. I agreed\, it was a loaded question\, but I wasn’t making it up\, those were Mitch McConnell’s words. Altschuler insisted that he understood the issue well enough to know investments in transportation and other projects were essential. \nChris Garvey\, a Ron Paul supporter\, was in the room and asked if the candidate would join in abolishing the Federal Reserve. He stated that he would not support such an effort. \nVictor Yannacone posed several items\, one on taxing people such as hedge fund operators the same as most other people. Another was revising corporate taxes to encourage investment while discouraging debt\, and still another to re-instate the penny tax on stock transactions that would discourage the mega-trading that has disrupted the stock market. (That tax if it did not discourage the same behavior would raise many billions of dollars.) \nThis audience was very active during the Q&A and it was clear that that they are not bashful about asking pointed question even if they were politely phrased. \nGreenworld Marketing a company that promotes the use and installation in the most efficient compact and safe wind energy technology sponsored this meeting. Greenworld also owns technology for the building of high-speed ferries. \nThank You Gerry Fitzpatrick for your sponsorship URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-randy-altschuler/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120720T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120720T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120720T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120720T040000Z UID:4507-1342742400-1342742400@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting Summer Schedule DESCRIPTION:  \nMeeting will be held at the Holiday Inn 3845 Veterans Memorial Highway\, Ronkonkoma  hotel phone 631 585-9500 \nRoom opens at 8AM Program begins 8:30 and adjourns at 9:30AM     Member fee $15   non member fee $25 \nRegister on-line     https://limba.net/breakfastform.php    or call 631 757-1698 URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-summer-schedule/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120713T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120713T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120713T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120713T040000Z UID:4524-1342137600-1342137600@limba.net SUMMARY:Frank McKay National Leader of the Independence Party DESCRIPTION:Our LIMBA speaker this morning was Frank McKay. Frank has a wealth of knowledge about politics\, but he is far from one-dimensional. His varied experiences in music\, communications and politics give him the ability to weave an interesting story. He is the national chairman of the Independence Party. The Independence Party is still small compared to the Democrats and Republicans\, but it is the largest “third party” in the country and they are established in every state in the union. There influence is much larger than their physical size. Locally it is difficult to win an election in either party without the endorsement of the Independence Party. The party endorses Republicans and Democrats with no special loyalty to either one. \nFrank did not create the party but he is credited with making it the force that it is. When questioned about the philosophy of the party\, Frank told us that they are not at all involved with social issues. Gay marriage\, abortion rights\, and other social issues that a candidate may promote are not part of the litmus test that determines the support of a candidate. When they look at a prospective officeholder overall effectiveness is judged. The party has been criticized for not having the constricting viewpoints that other parties demand. In other words they have no catechism. He said some refer to them as the “Seinfeld Party” \nIn his interesting raconteur style McKay told of encounters with colorful political people he has had contact with. Among them was Mike Blumberg who he tried to lure into the last presidential race. Blumberg assured him that if he thought there was a real possibility that he was prepared to commit $2 billion to a nationwide race \nBeyond politics\, Frank’s enjoys communicating. He has a television interview show called “Turning Point” The programs are created in Out of The Box Studios in Bohemia and air an NBC affiliate and will soon go to a few NPR markets. The topics vary but politics and scientific discoveries are among the topics. The tapings avoid the news items of the day or local disasters in order to retain an “evergreen” nature. In other words a show produced today may have a long shelf life and can be shown in different parts of the country\, and in different times of the year. For example you’ll hear no references to the snowstorm they fought getting into the studio. Recently we taped an interview with Maglev inventors Drs Gordon Danby\, James Powell. \nThis was a particularly animated and informative meeting where the audience and the speaker remained and continued to chat for about a half hour. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/frank-mckay-national-leader-of-the-independence-party/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120706T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120706T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120706T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120706T040000Z UID:4521-1341532800-1341532800@limba.net SUMMARY:JUly 4th Recess No Meeting DESCRIPTION:  Meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn 3845 Veterans Memorial Highway\, Ronkonkoma hotel phone 631 585-9500 Room opens at 8AM Program begins 8:30 and adjourns at 9:30AM Member fee $15 non member fee $25 Register on-line https://limba.net/breakfastform.php or call 631 757-1698 URL:https://limba.net/calendar/july-4th-recess-no-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120629T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120629T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120629T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120629T040000Z UID:4522-1340928000-1340928000@limba.net SUMMARY:JUly 4th Recess No Meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/july-4th-recess-no-meeting-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120622T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120622T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120622T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120622T040000Z UID:4520-1340323200-1340323200@limba.net SUMMARY:Theresa Regnante- United Way DESCRIPTION:Theresa Regnante is the Executive Director of the United Way of Long Island. Theresa was our speaker this morning. The United Way has a 48-year history on Long Island and while the mission remains the same the elements that need attention do vary. However the range of services has always been quite extensive. \n  \nThe mission pays a lot of attention to programs that foster access to healthcare\, providing financial information\, family counseling\, and education for children. \n  \nOne of the items that concern the United Way in addition to providing immediate services is the preparation of younger people to avoid the trap of need in the first place. That means vocational training to obtain skills that are in demand and are fairly compensated for. While pondering this need the United Way decided that instead of creating their own training unit\, why not partner with BOCES. BOCES has programs that have been developed over the years and the partnership works well. \n  \nUnited Way investments in the community are prioritized. Having limited resources means care must be taken in selecting programs. The entire budget for Long Island United Way is $18 million. Really not a lot of money when you consider the breadth and scope of the units demands. There are 38 people on staff and the net flowing to the programs is 88 cents of every dollar after paying staff\, insurance\, utilities\, and all ancillary costs. \n  \nThe agency has created other partnerships to deal with various problems. Project Warmth gets the support of National Grid and LIPA. National Grid will provide direct help as well advertising for the program in the bills. LIPA bills contain envelopes for contributions by the public to help support that program \n  \nWe were reminded of the corporate sign-ups that in the past were directed at the regions largest employers. Grumman\, NY Telephone LILCO were all big contributors through their very broad based employee enrollment plans. That still exists in many companies today\, but some very large companies have shrunk or disappeared. Republic Aviation\, and Fairchild\, gone. Grumman is a shadow of its old size and these dramatic business changes has made funding needed for programs that much more difficult. \n  \nThere is federal money that is dispersed through the United Way but the formulas for distributing those funds are convoluted and usually bear no semblance to need and logic. Areas that can certainly use the funds may not be getting it\, while on the other hand an equally deserving group is. This is one of the problems that the United Way is hoping to make some progress on. This inequity is governed by the way an area is structured. Incorporated villages will do better than unincorporated areas. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/theresa-regnante-united-way/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120615T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120615T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120615T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120615T040000Z UID:4514-1339718400-1339718400@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Doing business with India -Pradeep Gupta DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning\, Pradeep Gupta\, gave us an overview of the nature intricacies of doing business in India. Mr. Gupta is an accountant by profession but has built an expertise in American / Indian Trade. \nIndia has been on an unprecdentent growth pattern\, as have the other BRIC (Brazil\, Russia\, India\, China) countries. Each of these countries have various strengths and weaknesses. Mr. Gupta’s objectives included showing us the areas that are open to partnerships. India is the 4th largest economy in the world\, of the $450 billion in imports 5.7% come from the United States. The implication here is that\, that number could be considerably higher. On the other hand 12.6% of India’s exports are destined to the USA.  \nIndia is an attractive place to invest for several reasons. India has numerous dialects\, but English is almost universal (less so in the rural areas).  American brands are respected because we are considered innovators and that desirable trait is valued. The MADE IN AMERICA is a big plus. In the minds of the Indians\, American made implies quality. Intellectual property is generally respected. Architectural and engineering are among the desirable services that are used by the Indians.  \nHere are the key sectors in the Indian economy; \n\nAutomotive- American brands are being built in country- they are also creating replacement parts.\nClean Technology- That would include wind and solar technology as well as alternate fuels among others.\nDefense- This sector is protected and there may be limited opportunity\nEducation\nFinancial Services\nPharmaceuticals\nMedia and Entertainment- Including a big movie industry “Bollywood”\nRetail & Services\nTransport and Infrastructure – This sector includes India’s extensive rail system\, probably the world’s largest system.\n\nAmericans should pay attention to the fact that the population is growing wealthier\, and as wealth grows this large populace (1.2 billion people) will demand more and more consumer goods as this youthful nation develops.  We could benefit from that upward shift. \nNavigating- Local relationships and cultural knowledge is essential \n\nFind local partners\nAttend Trade Fairs or Road Shows\nSet up Liaison Office or Branch Office\n\nAs resource information Mr. Gupta offered the following; \n\nUSA / India Chamber of Commerce http://www.usaindiachamber.org\nUS Embassy in India. US Commercial Service\, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs\nIndian Consulate Office\, NYC http://www.indiacgny.org\nFederation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) http://www.ficci.com\nExport Import Bank of the United States http://www.exim.gov and http://export.gov/india\nStory of India documentary www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia\n\nWe are pleased to present this interesting topic and will create more programs in this vein in the future \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-doing-business-with-india-pradeep-gupta/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120608T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120608T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120608T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120608T040000Z UID:4516-1339113600-1339113600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA - Bob McMillan- Healthcare Supreme Court Decision DESCRIPTION:Bob McMillan has had an interesting and diverse career. His profession is law but he has served in many high profile executive positions including being a corporate officer at Avon\, CEO of the Panama Canal Commission\, a board member of Empire Blue Cross\, and board member of the American Medical Association. \nThis morning he took on the task of explaining the national healthcare plan that many people refer to as Obama Care. The discussion was centered on the possible outcomes of the Supreme Court as they test the constitutionality of the legislation. \nMcMillan pointed out that Teddy Roosevelt promised to enact a healthcare program if he had been re-elected in the early part of the 20th century. President Nixon proposed a healthcare plan that was more encompassing than this one. Mr. Nixon unfortunately had another bag of alligators he had to attend to\, namely Watergate and impeachment. Hillary Clinton guided the Bill Clinton administration efforts toward a healthcare plan. Well that went nowhere as we all remember \nNow that a healthcare plan is in place and has been challenged by lower courts\, and the results of those challenges are mixed. So here come the Supremes. What will they do? \nBob drew for us a very pessimistic picture of the present cost of Medicare stating that the system would be kaput by 2024. He cited the cost of drugs\, the duplication of testing\, the cost of creating and maintaining paper files\, malpractice insurance costs\, end of life heroic measures and the associated costs \nAll of the negatives in the plan revolve on the items in the above paragraph. All of which can and should be addressed. \nHe went into some positive points in the legislation\, such as; keeping children on the parents policy until age 26\, no lifetime caps\, insurance exchanges which should bring the cost down but 30 states do not have them. \nThe possible Supreme Court decisions run the gamut from; \n1)      Totally upheld – nothing changes \n2)      Individual mandate rejected \n3)      Employer mandate rejected \n4)      Challenge is premature- this essentially says that no harm has been done to any entity as of yet\, and can only be challenged when a party can show harm. \nThe most interesting points were made by the speaker and by the audience after the formal presentation. The out of control elements cited above already exist. It is the reason US healthcare costs are twice as much as the next most costly system. While that is bad the cost is not justified by better outcomes. There are numerous countries that have better health outcomes. \nIt was pointed out by the speaker that some states have severely limited malpractice and their malpractice insurance is commensurately less. As much as 70% less. \nI asked why the medical profession does not do what industry has done with workers compensation. There was a time when employers could be sued. Workers compensation has removed that sword of Damocles from employers and created an orderly no fault process that compensates every injured worker. In medicine there are outsized awards in some cases and absolutely no compensation in others. Why not create medical compensation boards with the same no-fault mentality guiding the system. \nI think most of us came away thinking that this is not real good legislation\, but there is nothing here that cannot be fixed if congress wanted it fixed. Let’s see! URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-bob-mcmillan-healthcare-supreme-court-decision/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120601T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120601T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120601T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120601T040000Z UID:4519-1338508800-1338508800@limba.net SUMMARY:Savio Chan 5 Rules For Doing Business in China DESCRIPTION:Today’s speaker was Savio Chan\, President and CEO of China US Partnership. Mr. Chan is a native of China and uses his education and exposure to American business and culture to be an effective bridge builder for both sides of the partnership. \n   \nSavio began his talk by telling us about the call he got from Steve Jobs when Jobs was trying to do business in China. He was able to give Jobs the information on the cultural differences that impede the non-Chinese in that country. Today China represents 25% of Apples earnings \n  \nMr. Chan gave us a relatively easy to remember set of rules; \nC – Cultural complexity\, be familiar with custom and hidden meanings. He told a story of a businessman that gave a Chinese executive a very expensive Tiffany clock\, and was totally ignored. A clock is recognition of mortality and such a gift implies you do not wish that person a long life. As we say in Brooklyn "Who Knew?" \nH -Harness the influence of government. Be aware of the need to marshal the good will and cooperation of the government \nI – Intellectual Property rights are very differently interpreted. There are ways to protect your intellectual property\, you must know the nuances \nN – Navigate the landscape and look for partners. There are various special skills available throughout the country. He spoke of a company that wanted to create crystal pieces and was able to find a small village that was already producing work for Steuben and Swarovski. \nA – Anticipate strong local competition\, cloning\, copying\, and reverse engineering. You have to address remedies for this going in. \n  \nRegister your trade name in Mandarin as recognition of the culture and use the three P’s; Be patient\, Be Persistent and create Partnerships. \n  \nDeals are not made over a single lunch or diner. Relationships are slowly and patiently built. \n  \nSavio told us that with all of the changes that have taken place in China it is still a command economy. Whereas America tends to have its markets design growth. \nThese basic differences create challenges that can be\, and need to be overcome. Chan pointed out that China is one of America’s most important trade partners. In addition Chinese manufacturers are now slowly moving factories into the United States. This moving of manufacturing facilities to the US is old policy with some European and Japanese companies\, but is new for China. \n  \nDuring the Q&A the question of human rights came up. According to Savio those concerns can be discussed\, and conditions can be agreed upon. Another question was; "How long will it be before China is no longer the low cost labor pool? Will it then be a further race to the bottom?" Chan said that in some cases China is no longer the cheapest labor pool. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/savio-chan-5-rules-for-doing-business-in-china/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120525T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120525T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120525T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120525T040000Z UID:4513-1337904000-1337904000@limba.net SUMMARY:NO Meeting Memorial Day weekend DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-memorial-day-weekend-3/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120518T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120518T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120518T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120518T040000Z UID:4508-1337299200-1337299200@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA - Jeremy Brown PhD - Dowling President DESCRIPTION:Dr. Jeremy Brown\, president of Dowling College\, was our speaker this morning\, and he got our attention when he stated that more information was made available last year than in the previous 5\,000. The implication is that this avalanche of information is likely to continue. Moreover that information is available worldwide and America no longer has the natural advantage. The competitiveness of other regions of the world will force us to think anew on how to remain the economic leader. \nAccord to Brown\, training for specific skills may still be appropriate\, but the expected reality is that a student will encounter opportunities that require quite different skills. Therefore the training of student should address that probability. Specific training should be looked upon as a platform from which to grow\, according to Brown. Change being a constant is what we need to adapt to\, bearing in mind that we may have numerous jobs over a lifetime. \nCollege needs to be entrepreneurial\, and the arts may be as important as hard sciences. In other words creativity is nurtured by more than an assemblage of “facts.” \nDr Brown thinks failure has a bad and undeserving name (my words). Failure is the process that helps us discard the ideas that are unworkable and leads to solutions. \nAs far as non-academic pursuits such as sports are concerned\, they have value too. Dr Brown told us that he has learned much playing basketball that gave him knowledge that was converted usefully in his serious endeavors. \nThe feeling I got from the meeting was that we are in a new world. We are grappling with new concepts of learning and working\, and we are learning all the time about the new chapter. Moreover that new chapter will help write the next chapter. The future may be a bit scary\, but scary can also be exciting. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-jeremy-brown-phd-dowling-president/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120511T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120511T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120511T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120511T040000Z UID:4506-1336694400-1336694400@limba.net SUMMARY:Tom Croci- Islip Town Supervisor DESCRIPTION:The new supervisor of Islip\, Tom Croci was our speaker this morning. Every changing of the guard has surprises that appear after the transition. Islip was no exception. But Tom went into this election knowing that hard decisions would have to be made. \n  \nThe problem with cutting costs is that there is usually a good rationale for creating a service or a department. Therefore cutting something out of the budget means hurting good programs. Mr. Croci has taken the stance that in many cases you can strip a program of some if the administration costs and still retain the program by consolidating departments. That is what he has done in some cases. \n  \nRevenues on the other hand can be enhanced\, not by raising taxes\, but by marketing useful services that bring revenues to business such as the Free Trade Zone. The utilization has risen to 80% from 14% in a few short months. \n  \nCreating awareness that there is urgency in solving problems is useful in getting things to change\, according to Croci. Doing so with a team approach where people feel that they are part of a big picture helps create the right attitudes. Whether they are appointed or unionized public service workers\, adept leadership will get you where you need to go. Croci told us that so far the unions are cooperative\, and seem to understand the urgency as well everybody else. \n  \nAnother area that can be made to be more of a municipal contributor is the airport. “This will not be another JFK or LaGuardia but the level of service we had in the past should be maintained.” We have one major airline\, Southwest\, and while that has been a good service the planes have been packed and other airlines could come in and take on direct routes that Southwest is not interested in serving. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/tom-croci-islip-town-supervisor/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120504T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120504T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120504T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120504T040000Z UID:4489-1336089600-1336089600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Dr. Matt Cordaro- Governors Energy Highway DESCRIPTION:Our Speaker this morning\, Dr Matt Cordaro has been a constant voice on energy matters since the 1970’s. His experience in the utility field is matched by very few people anywhere. With the level of expertise he brings to the table you can expect the presentation to have some depth\, and it did. \nCordaro’s topic was the Governors Energy Highway. The idea is to knit together a wide system of generation coming from various sources in the state. More pointedly\, bringing generally low polluting\, low cost power from upstate to downstate. Presently there is an abundance of available power from Hydro Quebec and wind generation in New York that cannot efficiently be moved to the so-called load pockets such as Long Island \nMatt stated that there are a large number of generators locally that “were already old when I was young.” 40% of the power plants are over 40 years old and 22% are over 50 years old. \nLast month an advisory board was formed to create an unclogging project. The panel will address; Efficiency\, Renewables\, and Repowering\, The underlying objectives are to lower costs\, create competitive rates\, and develop new technologies. \nThe grand idea of building a 1000 megawatt had broad initial support. The environmentalists liked it because it would tap non-polluting sources such as wind and previously built hydro. Already on the planning boards is the Champlain-Hudson Express planned for the northern part of the state. That will cover the area coming down from Canada toward Albany. The overall plan is very complex and just refining the connections is going to cost about $2billion. The other elements are new generation facilities\, repowering old power plants\, and abandoning old inefficient plants\, particularly high polluting coal burning power plants. Some of the repowering efforts will be right here on Long Island. \nDuring the Q&A which was quite lively due to the level of expertise in the room\, the question of vulnerability came up. Would we become too dependent on this new system if that power link was sabotaged\, or broken? The answer is no because we would still be required to have 80% of the needed generating capacity in place. In other words we would still have generators in place that could be fired up if needed. \nThe question about carbon based energy still being an important component of the energy mix was raised. Cordaro agreed that the natural gas plants would still be used\, but any new plants would be combined cycle gas burning plants that pollute very little. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-dr-matt-cordaro-governors-energy-highway/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120427T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120427T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120427T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120427T040000Z UID:4518-1335484800-1335484800@limba.net SUMMARY:Laura Shabe Port of NY & NJ Authority DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning\, Laura Shabe is a professional city planner that has taken on the responsibility of the Cross Harbor Float facility that was purchased by the NY\, NJ Port Authority. Laura comes to NY-NJ Port Authority with a formidable background in city planning here in the United States and previously in Germany where\, according to Laura\, planning and building was more of a rational process. \n   \nThis facility that she is shepherding to operational status is designed to carry rail freight cars from Greenville Yard in Jersey City to Brooklyn. In Brooklyn the cars will be assembled into trains to service the freight needs of Long Island. \n   \nThis connecting point is important because there is a robust network of tracks already in place in Brooklyn. On the Jersey side the tracks are directly connected to the national rail system. \n   \nThere was $100 million set aside for the tunnel and was not being used. That money is now being used to study and repair the existing float system. The float system can be fully operational in a relatively short time. When it is done it will be able to move 900 freight cars per day. Ms. Shabe told us that full capacity would be reached almost immediately. We expect a 137% increase in need by 2035 by calculating population projections \n   \nThis is approximately the same place that Congressman Nadler proposed the Cross Harbor Tunnel. The tunnel\, if built\, would be able to handle for more traffic than the float system\, but the cost may be proportionally much more. We discussed at length the benefit of a tunnel as well as different ways it may be configured. Would it be a train only? Would trucks be accommodated? Would it be able to handle diesel\, or would the ventilation requirements make it an electric only connection? Actually this would be a perfect application for Maglev because there would be no emissions and the electric power requirements are completely contained and safe. \n   \nWill the tunnel be built? It probably will have to be built someday\, in the mean time this operation can and will operate. The tunnel when it is started will take a number of years to complete. Until then this will be an effective stopgap measure. The rail float was "state of the art" when it was originally built\, but needs considerable rehabilitation. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/laura-shabe-port-of-ny-nj-authority/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120420T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120420T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120420T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120420T040000Z UID:4515-1334880000-1334880000@limba.net SUMMARY:Mark Alessi DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was former NY Assemblyman\, Marc Alessi. Since leaving elected office\, he has embarked on a venture that is geared to helping tech companies get funded. He has assumed the position of Executive Director of Long Island Angel Network. Of course\, this is not a new idea\, but what is new is the structure and size of the funding. In the usual structure the venture capital is provided by a panel of investors that make a determination to fund a business or a technology\, and the venture group secures an interest. In Marc’s model\, the group is a not for profit entity and the amount of investment is much smaller. An additional difference is that one or more investors may invest and take an interest\, but the entity does not. They are interested in companies that can launch themselves with $1Million or less in start-up or additional cash. \n  \nMarc has in the past advocated for inexpensive upstate power for Brookhaven National Laboratory’s supercomputer here on Long Island. That effort was resisted by upstate political people who were representing the interests of their local constituents. Marc successfully made the case that the upstate technology companies will benefit from having access to that computer capacity. Development of batteries require computer modeling and that can only be done effectively where there is enormous computer capacity. There are many other applications that are now available to up-state companies. Brookhaven Labs share their equipment with many other private ventures. \n  \nHe pointed out that NY State is the greatest generator of patents in the world\, yet we do not have the same record of creating high- tech companies as Boston or places in California. The reason\, according to Alessi\, is that we have not developed a culture of nurturing those efforts. Accelerate Long Island\, Long Island Forum for Technology\, LISTNET and others are now trying to bring us to that culture. \n  \nThe Q&A was lively because most of the people in the room were directly involved in technology development. We will follow the progress of the Angel Network and invite them back sometime in the future. The possibilities are too big to be ignored. \n  \n \n698 URL:https://limba.net/calendar/mark-alessi/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120413T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120413T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120413T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120413T040000Z UID:4512-1334275200-1334275200@limba.net SUMMARY:Legislator Kate Browning DESCRIPTION:Our speaker today was Kate Browning\, a member of the Suffolk County legislature. Ms Browning was born in Ireland when peace was a distant hope. She left Ireland to go to Germany where she met her husband\, an American military officer. Subsequently she came to the US and became a citizen.\n  \nAs a legislator her area includes Yaphank and Gordon Heights. In her efforts to bolster business in those areas\, she became aware that economic opportunities were being stymied by the lack of essential infrastructure. An important part of that infrastructure is sewers. Without sewers an application for building a Starbucks was rejected\, as was an Applebee’s. This began a discussion in the room focused on how sewers could be funded. Going to the feds may be like Waiting for Godot. The federal and state governments don’t have the money. This was all very strange to the legislator because in Belfast\, where she lived as a child every neighborhood had sewers.\n  \nA suggestion from Harry Davitian was that interest rates are so low it is almost like free money. Of course that presents another problem and that is debt is already quite high.\n  \nBob Bender deals in environmentally friendly bio products that can increase the capacity of present sewer plants. Another observation was that regardless of whether we have the money to actually build sewers the planning and engineering should be done anyway. They could be built when the funds do become available.\n  \nThere is a large development project being pursued by Rose- Bresiln. They have stated that can pay for any sewering that is needed for their development. That’s helpful but it is only a small part of the answer. \n  \nThe Q&A became more of a brainstorming session than a traditional Q&A.\nThe speaker was quite impressed with the level of discussions in the room.\n  \nErnie Fazio\n  \nCongratulations to Frank Boulton co-owner of the Long Island Ducks. He is being honored this week as an outstanding citizen for his achievements by his alma Mata Villanova. Frank is a great friend of LIMBA and of Long Island. His Long Island Ducks are a masterstroke of community building. His work with the Boulton Theatre and the Bay Shore YMCA are further tributes to his love of community. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/legislator-kate-browning/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120406T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120406T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120406T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120406T040000Z UID:4511-1333670400-1333670400@limba.net SUMMARY:NO Meeting -Beginning of Passover and Good Friday DESCRIPTION:Most of our members will be preparing for the holiday\nHappy Easter and Passover to all URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-beginning-of-passover-and-good-friday/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120330T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120330T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120330T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120330T040000Z UID:4509-1333065600-1333065600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Round table Discussion DESCRIPTION:We had a "Round Table discussion this morning and the purpose was to see what we could do to advance some ideas we are supporting. \n   \nOne of the projects we believe is a good idea is the Hub at Ronkonkoma. That project can happen but sewer infrastructure needs to be planned. According to Bob Bender the existing plant’s capacity could be increased by employing some bio-tech solutions. Bob will be making a presentation to the Suffolk legislature to explain the technology. Bob can be reached for comment or assistance r_bender@msn.com   \n  \nDan Tomaszewski spoke about volunteerism. His experience is with the schools and he has suggested a closer relationship with students and staff at the high school level. Dan will be thinking of ways that LIMBA can be helpful. Getting the education system working in concert with the business community is the goal. He can be contacted  dantski@optonline.net \n   \nLIMBA has had presentations from the Port Authority in the past. Now that Pat Foye in a leadership position we thought that he may make himself available since some of us know him quite well. I will be working with Mike Cooney on that\, and mike Cooney will invite United Way Director Theresa Regnante to speak on several aspects of United Ways efforts including an outreach to returning military.  mcooney@unitedwayli.org  \n   \nEnergy sources were also a topic of discussion. Alternative energy needs to be developed even while the cost is still higher than fossil fuels. The reliability factor needs to be considered. Encouraging municipalities to move forward on alternate energy creates a large market. When manufacturers have a steady and increasing stream of new business\, better and less expensive alternative energy will emerge. Tim Harris has expressed an interest in bringing to the organization his experience on that topic.  Tim.harris@lipangrid.com      \n   \nWe have expertise in our midst and we should be tap into it as much as we can. \n   \nNext week we will be celebrating Passover and Good Friday so there will be no meeting the week after April 13th County legislator\, Kate Browning will be addressing LIMBA. We look forward to hearing from her \nEnjoy the holiday URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-round-table-discussion/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120323T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120323T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120323T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120323T040000Z UID:4503-1332460800-1332460800@limba.net SUMMARY:Steve Levy- Concepts of government reform DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Steve Levy. While in office he pushed very hard to reduce costs and while he was sometimes successful\, he often was not. The tide and pull of forces on an executive are difficult to overcome. Vested interests have a way of wearing down your efforts. \n  \nThis valuable experience has made him come to the conclusion there needed to be a new approach. Perhaps it is better to be outside of government in order to effect change. Levy has embarked on an effort to counter the forces that perpetuate the inefficiencies that make living here so costly. \n  \nHe has assembled an array of Long Island leaders that is impressive. None of those he mentioned are presently in public office. They are owners of formidable businesses and respected organizations. The formal name of the organization is "Center for Government Savings". Mr. Levy discussed several situations that he felt were good places to start. One of them was a fire district\, Gordon Heights. That fire district has a cost that averages $1500 per household. Bureaucracies once entrenched are difficult to get rid of. They’re many people in that fire district that want to consolidate with another near-by district\, and those that benefit directly want it to continue. Changing things means having the foot-soldiers canvassing the neighborhood\, informing the people of a better option\, and signing petitions. \n  \nAnother example he gave is a water district in Farmingdale with its own bureaucracy. Each of these fiefdoms have there own administrators being paid over a hundred thousand dollars for a part-time job\, a job where little work needs to be done. Levy poses the question of "why not take these small\, but egregious examples and marshal the resources of many communities"; including "good government" groups and solve one problem at a time. \n  \nAs successes mount up\, bigger problems will be addressed. When asked about school consolidations Levy felt that item was a big fish\, better left to when the group matures. The MTA tax will be revisited and completely removed\, but that is down the road as well. \n  \nIn the meantime much thought and preparation has been started. An arrangement to have the group headquartered at Tauro Law School will be conducive to having law students volunteer their time getting real-life credits and guiding the efforts of the various organizations. \n  \nLIMBA will work with Mr. Levy and provide an update in about six months. Steve can be reached at Steve@commonsensestrategies.com  \n  \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/steve-levy-concepts-of-government-reform/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120316T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120316T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120316T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120316T040000Z UID:4510-1331856000-1331856000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA-Mark Grossman NYS Labor “New York Youth Works” DESCRIPTION:Today’s LIMBA program featured a New York State Labor Dept initiative created in January. It is called "NY Youth Works." Mark Grossman is the regional representative for the NY State Labor department and he was here giving the presentation. \n  \nLong Island suffered a job loss demonstrated by a graph that looks very much like the national job loss. And like the national picture jobs are recovering\, but many young people are still unemployed. This program is directed at the younger workers ages 16-24 and that number can be stretched. \n  \nThere are $25 million dollars in tax credits going toward the effort and another $8 million in job-readiness funds. There is a certification period for job applicants and prospective employer\, but the window is short June 1\, 2012. Once certified you have one year to complete a program \n  \nThe actual allotment is $4\,000 per employee @ $500 per month. At that point the employee will be deemed employable and be retained or let go. It’s a great opportunity for employing a new hire while minimizing the financial risk of doing so. For the employee it is an opportunity to prove himself. \n  \nThe program has targeted areas where unemployment is more severe. That target area pertains to the job seeker\, the employer can be out of the target area as long as the travel distance is one hour or less. \n  \nWe had Eastern Suffolk BOCES representative\, Dean Lucera in the room. BOCES does an excellent job of training young people and there seems to be a natural symbiosis with this program\, and the business community. \n  \nA question came up about helping non-profits and municipal entities\, and of course they cannot benefit from tax benefits\, but they can have the training portion of the program. Mr Grossman indicated that some additional thought is presently going into doing even more for those entities. \n  \nA question came up about using this state program in tandem with any available. It was not entirely clear\, but Mark got back to me later in an email and the answer is yes. Here is that communication. Please note there is a link that can get you to the program for more information \n   \nDear Ernie\, \n  \nThank you once again for allowing me the opportunity to present NY Youth Works to LIMBA this morning.  The feedback from those who attended was very positive.  \n  \nTo answer the question that was raised about stackable tax credits\, I have good news.  The answer is "yes\," a certified employer can receive both NY Youth Works tax credits and additional tax credits such as Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) and Workers with Disabilities Tax Credits (WETC) if a worker also meets the eligibility requirements for one of those programs.  Information about WOTC and WETC can be found at http://www.labor.ny.gov/businessservices/PDFs/p438.pdf. \n  \nThe reason is that NY Youth Works in state-funded and WOTC/WETC is federally-funded. \n  \nThis morning’s meeting was been sponsored by LIFT. The Long Island Forum for Technology has been promoting technology and helping technology companies for as long as LIMBA has been around. \nThrough the years they have developed many programs that help fledgling companies take root. \n  \nLIFT Executive Director\, Bill Wahlig was on hand with us this morning to give a little more depth on the organization. \n  \nWe thank LIFT for their support. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-mark-grossman-nys-labor-new-york-youth-works/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120309T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120309T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120309T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120309T050000Z UID:4505-1331251200-1331251200@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA -LICA Meeting OVERSUBSCRIBED DESCRIPTION:This meeting is oversubscribed- no additional sign-ups under LIMBA \nIf you sign up now the money will go to LICA and the price is $50 for members and non-members \nOur speaker\, Savio Chan\, has postponed his scheduled meeting at LIMBA to a later date. On that date  Long Island Contractors Association is having a breakfast meeting on March 9th that LIMBA is supporting. \nLIMBA\,s purchase is oversubscribed- no additional sign-ups under LIMBA– All money collected now will be sent to LICA and LICA’s price is $50 \n The speakers at the LICA event will Senator Schumer and State Senator Dean Skelos \n  \nTo register on line use the usual method at LIMBA.net. The system will not accept $0 so there is a $1 charge. \nYou can also call 631 757-1698. Pre-registration is an absolute requirement \nErnie Fazio  \nThis meeting will be held at Fox Hollow 7725 Jericho Tpke\, Woodbury. Meeting begins at 8:30AM adjourns at 10:30AM URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-lica-meeting-oversubscribed/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120302T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120302T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120302T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120302T050000Z UID:4501-1330646400-1330646400@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA -Gary Bixhorn- Vocational Trainning at BOCES DESCRIPTION:Eastern Suffolk BOCES hosted the LIMBA meeting this morning at the Edward J. Miliken Training Center in Oakdale. In recognition of the symbiotic relationship BOCES has with the business community they opened their doors to us for a tour of the training facilities. \n  \nWe began by being served breakfast that was prepared by the students. The room was beautifully decorated with flowers on each table. Full arrays of breakfast foods were available. \n  \nThe Director\, Gary Bixhorn\, gave an overview of the services that BOCES makes available to students that are not motivated to a regular college curriculum. The purpose of the training is to give the means of a livelihood to people with good craft aptitudes. \n  \nIn the past young people who wanted to work in the crafts such as electrician\, carpenter\, auto repair or nursing did so by apprenticeship. Those apprentice opportunities are not readily available these days and employers need to have productive workers on day one. \nBOCES has been fulfilling these needs for many years yet most of did not know what they did. Most of us have the image of special needs children being schooled at BOCES. It does do that too\, but that role is actually much smaller. \n  \nOur LIMBA group was divided into smaller groups and taken to the various shops. The equipment the students are learning to use is at the level you would find in a good production shop. The tools they have\, and the training they are getting\, is at least equal to industry. That is very important because it makes no sense to teach them yesterday’s technology \n  \nWhen we were leaving the people in the group were making comments that indicated that they were pleasantly surprised by the quality that they witnessed. \n  \nThese facilities are expensive\, but we are getting a lot of value for the money spent. Industry needs this and the craft oriented youngsters need the training \n  \nMr. Bixhorn\, and the school’s administrators\, Dean Lucera\, and principal\, Tom Mcgrath suggested we do this tour on an annual basis and we agreed to do that \n  \n(This program was suggested by BOCES board member and LIMBA president Bill Miller) \n  \nErnie Fazio \n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-gary-bixhorn-vocational-trainning-at-boces/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20120224T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20120224T000000 DTSTAMP:20260421T205417 CREATED:20120224T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20120224T050000Z UID:4490-1330041600-1330041600@limba.net SUMMARY:Jack O'connor- Where's the Comm Real Estate Market? DESCRIPTION:This morning’s program was a bit unusual. The speaker that was on the announcement was Jack O’Connor. Jack assembled some people for a panel and they were important and knowledgeable people that helped round out the subject. \n  \nAmong them were Andrea Lohneiss\, an economic officer with NY State. \nPeter Curry\, Attorney with Farrell Fritz PC \nJim Carpenter Sr VP NY Community Bank \nTom Murray Managing Partner (moderator) AVZ CPA’s \n  \nThe commercial and industrial real estate business does not operate in a vacuum. Each participant verbalized what effect they were seeing from their point of view. And the fact is while the economy is improving there is still sluggishness in the recovery. \n  \nThe good news is that properties are relatively cheap and the banks have plenty of cash to loan. In addition interests are at historically low levels. According to O’Connor properties that would sell for $125 per foot can now be bought for $70 per foot. On the other hand buyers must be very credit worthy and be willing to put up substantial down payments. \n  \nAnother factor is pent-up demand. The long recession has frustrated any forward motion\, yet demand continues to build. As business improves and confidence builds recovery should accelerate. \n  \nAndrea Lohneiss told us that the low end of the market is not improving as fast as the high end real estate \n  \nJack pointed out that the statistics on vacancies is skewed by the way vacant space is measured. Spaces of less than 20\,000 feet are not counted. \n  \nJim spoke about non-judicial foreclosures. The process where it can be used\, is quicker and cheaper to execute. The goal is to clear up most of the foreclosures so they don’t undue weight on the market. \n  \nThe question of available money for multiple family dwellings came up. Good news\, here again. The bad news is that there is often opposition to workforce housing that are usually provided in these rental properties. \n  \nI pointed out that workforce housing has a symbiotic relationship to industrial and commercial real estate. The needs of industry demands that employees have a reasonable cost housing. The elements go hand in glove. Most towns and villages want businesses within their jurisdiction so they can benefit from the tax revenues. The local governments\, driven by organized opposition\, oppose the housing that business needs for employees. The result is that an old problem gets older without signs of it abating. \n  \nThe take-away for most people was that the economy is improving\, but there are serious roadblocks slowing down a more robust \nrecovery URL:https://limba.net/calendar/jack-oconnor-wheres-the-comm-real-estate-market/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR