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:20070311T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20071104T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20080309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20081102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20090308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20091101T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20081017T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20081017T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20081017T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20081017T040000Z UID:4316-1224201600-1224201600@limba.net SUMMARY:Jim Staudenraus\, 1st Assm. Karen Kerr-Ozimek9 dis. candidate DESCRIPTION:This morning’s meeting at LIMBA was a little different from our usual format. \nWe had two speakers Jim Stadenraus Republican Candidate foe the 1st Assembly district and Karen Kerr-Ozimek\, Democratic candidate for the 9 Assembly district. \nEach candidate was given 15 minutes to introduce themselves\, and their immediate concerns. \nJim began by outlining his program for reform. He supports the 4% tax cap proposal that Governor Paterson has put forth. He would also like to see districts amalgamating their purchases for supplies and services to increase buying power. This would not root out the many redundant administration\, but it would likely reduce costs of school operations. \nAccording to Stadenraus\, the taxpayers would be better served if there were a single state teachers system. The salaries would be higher on Long Island because a cost of living factor would be built in\, but the difference of salaries between local school districts would be small or non-existent. Neither Kerr-Ozimek nor Stadenraus mentioned anything about teachers salaries being too high\, but they are convinced that the school system can be reformed to get the taxpayers a lot more mileage from tax dollars by virtue of better management. \nKaren Kerr-Ozimek suggested that a review of the entire school system was in order. There are no effective internal checks on this enormous system\, and the fruits of that neglect were demonstrated when the investigation into school lawyers was uncovered by Newsday. \nBoth candidates were more or less on the same page despite the fact that they are running in opposing parties\, though not against each other. Jim Stadenraus quoted that old chestnut\, “Nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of being hanged.” Being under the yoke of the highest taxes in the country with the real possibility of it getting worse\, does not have the same severity of being hanged\, but the problem has gotten us a little more focused. \nThe economic stress the country and this region is experiencing has given us an opportunity to reassess what we are getting for our money. Anytime we are stressed by adversity we are either crushed\, or we gather the resources and imagination to do better than we ever have. Perhaps we are at that critical juncture. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/jim-staudenraus-1st-assm-karen-kerr-ozimek9-dis-candidate/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20081010T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20081010T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20081010T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20081010T040000Z UID:4327-1223596800-1223596800@limba.net SUMMARY:Kevin O'Neill - John Engeman Theater in Northport DESCRIPTION:Today we had the pleasure of hearing from a passionate advocate of fine Theater experiences in a local jewel setting – The John Engeman Theater.  Mr. O’Neill\, an ex bond trader turned theater impresario\, plays Bloom to Richard Dolce’s Bialystock\, filling the house and running the infrastructure\, where Mr. Dolce concentrates on staging Broadway quality productions in a luxurious four hundred seat theater space.  The seats are roomy\, and the ladies will appreciate the more ample bathroom facilities\, long a bane of the Manhattan theater scene.  The only year round Actor’s Equity house on Long Island\, the renovations that took the single screen seven hundred seat movie theater to its current stage incarnation included the previously mentioned bathrooms\, and a warren of dressing rooms underneath the building\, to make its New ! York based troupes more comfortable.  Casting and Rehearsals are done in the city\, with a cast shuttle bus to make sure everybody makes curtain. \n  \nThe business angle is to cultivate the season subscriber\, with seven shows a year\, flexible seating and scheduling.  The reasonable price of $355 per seat per season makes it a low-risk purchase.  Reviews have been consistently good of all the productions\, and surrounding restaurants like Skipper’s are running dinner + show packages.  The theater is a great complement to the village\, a beautiful physical presence\, and a vital social component.  The inviting piano bar\, "The Green Room" is open to ticket holders an hour before curtain\, closed during the first act\, reopens for intermission\, and then opens to the public after the show.  You may get a treat from a cast member who hangs around to belt out a couple of specials from time to time. \n  \nMr. O’Neill used a sports venue analogy to the marketing of the theater.  Season subscribers\, single ticket purchasers\, and groups are the three target markets.  Quality\, entertaining theater in a luxurious environment are the drawing cards.  Angst-ridden Chekov plays will probably not find themselves staged here.  Flexible plans for groups are available for fundraisers and such.  Corporate rewards or entertainment programs can arrange a private performance of the current run based on the size of their audience. \n  \nThe Q&A was threaded throughout the discussion\, focused mostly on the differences between the Engeman and other Long Island houses\, and the merits of quality theater without the schlep into Manhattan.  Once again\, another well-spent Friday morning at LIMBA. \n  \n Recap Written by Craig Plunkett of cedx.com. \n  \nSub note; John W. Engeman was a 28 year veteran of the military when he was killed in Iraq. Mr. Engeman is the brother-in-law of theater founder Kevin O’Neil. The theater bears Engeman’s name as a tribute. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/kevin-oneill-john-engeman-theater-in-northport/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20081003T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20081003T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20081003T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20081003T040000Z UID:4312-1222992000-1222992000@limba.net SUMMARY:Rich Kruse - The art of effective networking DESCRIPTION:Rich Kruse is the creator of Execuleaders\, an outstanding organization that uses process to achieve effective networking. Rich Kruse has given a lot of thought to the process of networking. According to Kruse it is not a haphazard endeavor\, but rather\, a thoughtful set of strategies.   When you walk into a room of people you would like to network with\, you may feel a little ill at ease\, but you can still make quiet one-on-one encounters. These encounters have to be many because your odds of meeting some person who immediately needs your product or service is small. The process becomes more comfo! rtable as you do it more and more. \nAppearance is very important too. We can’t all look like Robert Redford and Sophia Loren\, but we can dress nicely\, and make sure our shoes are shined. Good personal grooming makes us more attractive even if nature has not blessed us. \nThoughtfulness and being a good listener. – In the process of listening to a new aquaintance you may find that you have information that can benefit that person. Make a note and mail him a copy of an article\, or name a website that will be useful to his efforts\, or send him a book. Will you get business from this behavior? Possibly\, possibly not\, but you have established yourself as a quality person. Rich quoted an old sales axiom that says\, Nobody cares how much you know\, until the know how much you care. \nKruse advises to always carry a pen. In fact carry several pens. Be ready to give that pen to your new friend so he has one for the rest of the day. The give away of an inexpensive pen costs you little\, and may make a very favorable impression. \nWe all can have a bad day and be less than enthusiastic from time to time\, but avoid people who are "wet blankets\," They are bad news\, and sales is a business of attitude. Listening to a littany of negative comments does not help that person\, nor does it do anything positive for you. \nAnd probably the most important tip- Be consistent. Going out to a network event once never to return again will do you little good\, regardless of the number of business cards\, you collected\, or gave out. Choose a few networking groups and visit those groups on a regular basis. You’ll get better at the process when you can create a smile on a persons face when you walk in the room. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/rich-kruse-the-art-of-effective-networking/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080926T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080926T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080926T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080926T040000Z UID:4311-1222387200-1222387200@limba.net SUMMARY:No meeting\, LIBDC meets in Montauk DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-libdc-meets-in-montauk/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080919T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080919T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080919T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080919T040000Z UID:4308-1221782400-1221782400@limba.net SUMMARY:Hubert Keen PhD- President SUNY Farmingdale DESCRIPTION:Dr. Hubert Keen\, president of SUNY Farmingdale was our speaker this morning. Some of us can remember when this institution was known as an agricultural school. The farm animals are long gone\, and the march to progress has brought Farmingdale to a new and important place in the multi-billion dollar education industry on Long Island. After a long slide in enrollment the college is growing in enrollment at a rate that they literally cannot keep up with. Under this administration the enrollment continues to increase and programs are growing. Farmingdale\, until recently\, was issuing more associate degrees than bachelor degrees. That trend has been reversed in recent years. \nThe operating budget for the school is $64million and the present capital budget is $14 million. The capital part is being used to build a student center and a Business Studies school. There are 1100 employees at Farmingdale; half of them are full time. To accommodate the expanded bachelor programs there have been 30 new instructors hired in the last two years. \nThere have been solar photovoltaic trainning at Farmingdale for many years. In recent years the work in this field has expanded considerably. Research in solar PV and fuel cells has become an even more important part of the educational mix because of our present day needs. \nOther important educational components are the Dental Hygiene school\, Nursing\, Bio Tech\, Information Technology\, and Security Systems. Each of these disciplines are in a collaborative relationship with other important institutions such as Brookhaven National Laboratories and North Shore LIJ. \nThe school has been designing degree programs to provide the variety of personnel that are needed for us to grow\, and prosper as a region and a country\, but the emphasis is on educating local people. The enrollment at Farmingdale is principally Long Islanders. \nThe present economic situtaion has been having a detrimental effect on the institution\, and Dr Keen acknowledged\, that has been a serious challenge URL:https://limba.net/calendar/hubert-keen-phd-president-suny-farmingdale/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080912T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080912T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080912T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080912T040000Z UID:4304-1221177600-1221177600@limba.net SUMMARY:Bob McMillan- Health care issues DESCRIPTION:Our speaker today was Robert McMillan.  McMillan\, until June of this year\, served on the board of the American Medical Association.  McMillan began by giving us some pretty stagering numbers on the cost of health care. He stated that it was the largest segment of the economy at $2.2trillion\, yet there are 18\,000 deaths that are directly attributable to having no access to health care. It costs $100 billion just to provide for the uninsured. There is another $20 billion that is donated services by doctors\, and still another $20 billion on medical services that are simply written off. In short\, according  to McMillan\, we have an excellent system in terms of advanced medicine\, that is failing to serve the whole population. \nThe cost of healthcare has increased 87% from 2000 to 2007\, and the number of uninsured has balloned. He then went into some of the reasons why the cost have risen. One of the reasons is the costly new analytical tools and machinery for diagnosis and care. McMillan stated that every medical facility wants to have all of the latest equipment\, even when the equipment exists at another hospital a short distance away. Another cost factor is the ability to keep the hopelessly ill "alive" when there is absolutely no chance of recovery\, or ever gaining consiousness. \nThere are so many facets to this problem. The medical costs dictates to the general economy in many ways. Bob stated that the steel in an automobile actually costs less than medical insurance costs for the assemblers. There are 300\,000 medical bankrupcies each year\, and some of these bankrupcies are with people that actually have insurance. He went on to say that Medicare will be broke in 20 years and as these costs escalate\, the period of Medicare solvency may even be shorter. \nWhile both presidential candidates are speaking about health care\, the solving of this cost and availability problem is enormously complex. To be considered are the interests of the doctors\, the pharmaceutical companies\, the insurance companies\, the trial lawyers\, and the legitimate needs of the public. None of these interests are going to sacrifice anything voluntarily. \nWhen Mr. McMillan discussed medical malpractice he pointed out that 80% of all medical lawsuits were dismissed. Despite that statistic\, medical malpractice insurance costs have caused many doctors to simply retire rather than deal with the enormous costs which he stated could be $200\,000 per year. During the Q&A period I asked if the malpracice insurance problem could be mitigated by having a no-fault compensation system that would be similar to workers compensation.  McMillan said that this topic is among the many tasks he tackled while on the AMA board. Medical Compensation is not supported by the trial lawyers and they have a very powerful voice in congress. He didn’t hold out much hope for that item. It appears that the 100 year dicussion on universal health care\, which was first proposed by Teddy Roosevelt\, will go on a little longer. All things considered the resolution looks bleak. \nPictured: Bill Miller\, Bob McMillan\, Phoebe McMillan and Ernie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/bob-mcmillan-health-care-issues/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080905T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080905T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080905T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080905T040000Z UID:4309-1220572800-1220572800@limba.net SUMMARY:Michael Watt - Exec Dir Long Island Builders Institute DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this week was Michael Watt\, Executive Director of Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI). Michael began by talking about the numbers of young people who are leaving the region. Young men and women starting out\, have a slim chance of establishing themselves here\, and the situation is not resolving itself. Even the mortgage crisis that is causing housing prices to drop like stone in some parts of the country\, is not having the same effect on Long Island. He attributes that fact to the cost of land. High land prices has inhibited the speculative builder\, as a result our surplus of homes is not as bad as in other places. The reduction in home costs has not been enough to entice young\, or new buyers. \nMr. Watt said there is a myth that says new construction would inundate the local schools with new students that could not be absorbed without creating enormous expenses. He then pointed out that the typical family demographics on Long Island is that the average family is only three people\, refuting that assumption. He went on to say the rental apartments in the downtowns could be part of the answer. In some places downtowns already are building second story apartments. These apartments are largely occupied by single people. \nWatt addressed the "green building" movement\, and claimed that building green was more costly\, but resulted in lower utility bills for the life of the home. A few months ago we had "green" architecht\, Peter Caradonna speak at LIMBA\, and according to him\, even the initial costs were similar. So\, here we have a difference of opinion. Nevertheless\, LIBI has signed on to the new concept of building in an environmentally friendly way. As we get more used to building in the new style there will be more and more people who are knowledgeable in the new methods. \nBuilding "vertical" was discussed in the Q&A session. Building one or more acre housing is wasteful and costly. Where you have multi family housing land it is easier to keep open land. Here we get into the chicken and the egg problem. You cannot build multi family housing without sewars. At the same time municipalities are reluctant to invest in them. It appears the leadership we need is sorely absent\, but some of our recent political speakers do seem to be coming on board to do the things we need. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/michael-watt-exec-dir-long-island-builders-institute/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080829T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080829T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080829T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080829T040000Z UID:4303-1219968000-1219968000@limba.net SUMMARY:Labor Day weekend No Meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/labor-day-weekend-no-meeting-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080822T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080822T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080822T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080822T040000Z UID:4307-1219363200-1219363200@limba.net SUMMARY:Ryan Lynch - TriState Transportation Campaign DESCRIPTION:Friday we had the pleasure of the company of Ryan Lynch\, native Long Islander and well traveled Senior Planner for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.  The Campaign focuses on promoting sustainable transport solutions and working with governmental bodies and community support groups in furtherance of this goal. \n\nRyan arrived to speak with us regarding what the Campaign regards as the three top priorities for Long Island’s transportation issues\, and shared his opinions on how to further those goals. \nThe LIRR Third Track project is the highest priority on The Campaign’s list for Long Island.  It will enable a normal schedule for reverse commutes\, allowing Long Island businesses to take advantage of the large and ready labor pool from New York City.  Reverse commuters have been increasing in number in spite of the very sparse selection in trains.  The third track will also help us take full advantage of East Side Access to Grand Central.  It is estimated that the project will remove at least 6000 cars per day from the roads.  Opposition to this project is very small but very vocal and are making their case against the greater good that this project will bring. \n\nLITRIM\, the intermodal facility in Brentwood\, is the second priority for the area.  The increase in freight rail shipments and corresponding reduction in long haul truck traffic on and off island will be a great boon environmentally\, and economically.  There is too much of a common benefit for this project not to go through.  The Campaign applauds Governor Paterson’s veto of the parkland bill\, and looks upon it as a time-out for the project\, so that both sides can re-approach it with more community input. \nNurturing the Bus services on Long Island is the third priority\, with more funding and increased routes and frequency being called for. \nAnother subject that Ryan brought up was bringing the NYSDOT in this region around to a different focus\, from expansion and capacity building to one that emphasizes maintnenance and repair\, so that we can keep the existing network in better condition.  This also allows more attention towards transit-oriented development\, a more advantageous strategy for open space starved Long Island.  He brought out the example of New Jersey’s DOT as a model for success in this area.The Campaign is opposed to the NYSDOT’s plan for the 347 corridor\, it only offers more of the same expansion that gets quickly consumed without any real benefit. \n\nRyans’ request of us to help The Campaign in its goals were to help our fellow Long Islanders be open to the concept of increased density\, which we need sewers to support\, and join the Third Track Coalition to over come the vocal opposition to this valuable project.  The Q and A session was lively\, with the universal agreement among all that it was a bad idea to stop the LIRR shuttle existing during the County Road 39 project that had proved so effective. \n  \nRecap by Craig Plunkett of CEDX  www.cedx.com URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ryan-lynch-tristate-transportation-campaign/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080815T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080815T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080815T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080815T040000Z UID:4306-1218758400-1218758400@limba.net SUMMARY:Round Table Discussion at Holiday Inn DESCRIPTION:This Morning we conducted a round table discussion. We usually encourage the audience to create conversation on topics they think are important. We deviated from that format by asking Republican Ed Romaine and Democrat Wayne Horsely of the Suffolk County Legislator to start the conversation on topics that they think are ready to be addressed. Interestingly they both concentrated on the building of infrastructure. \nLegislator Horsely began by bringing up the proposed tunnel across the Long Island Sound. This tunnel will be expensive but it actually has a chance of being built because it will be done with non-government money. Investors will be supporting this construction. The question of bankrupcy was raised. What would happen if the builders ran out of money\, would the taxpayers be left holding the bag? The answer given by Mr. Horsely was\, no there will be money to be made by the promoters and a new entity would merely pick up where the failed company left off.  \nWhen Mr. Romaine had his opportunity he concentrated on East End roads\, rails\, sewers. Sewers are key to building affordable housing\, because you need to locate people in closer proximinty to each other and that can only be done if we have a comprehensive sewer program. Mr. Romaine was clearly in favor to increasing rail freight traffic by providing rail transload sites. These sites will be distribution points where rail freight can be loaded onto local trucks. When we discussed development of the Calverton Airport there were various opinions on what should be developed\, and how. Keeping those very substantially built airport runways was important to both legislators\, and that appeared to be the consensus in the room as well. There did not seem to be much support for that proposed indoor ski slope. I pointed out that the extra need for electrical power generation just to service that behomoth preclu! des it ever being built. We moved on to the possibility that the Shinecock Tribe achieving the status that would allow them to build gambling facilities. The conclusion was not to fight it\, those dollars are going somewhere\, they may as well stay here. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/round-table-discussion-at-holiday-inn/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080808T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080808T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080808T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080808T040000Z UID:4315-1218153600-1218153600@limba.net SUMMARY:Jovanna Little - Good Shepherd Hospice DESCRIPTION:Jovanna Little\, Good Shepherd Hospice’s development officer\, was our speaker this morning and she gave a wonderfully informative presentation of the mission of hospice. Originally hospice was the place where the dying indigent were cared for. The movement has evolved. Today it represents the services needed by anyone who is suffering from a terminal illness. Jovanna gave us an overview of what hospice is\, and is not. It is not a place to convalesce. It is not a place where curative methods are used. It is a place where those facing death can do so with the physical needs\, and the spiritual needs met while on this final journey. \nWith rare exceptions there is no curative therapy administered. Those curative methods may be used are\, healing bed sores to enhance the comfort of the sick. Palliative care is among the services provided\, They inform the family of the different phases that the patient may be going through as they progress to death. They answer questions that the family needs as they witness the waning health of the patient\, with much love and attention from the family and the care givers.  \nHelp in the preparation for death diminishes a lot of fear and doubt on the part of the sick\, and puts it into prospective for the family. There are no resuscitation orders that must be signed. Hospice wants the family and the afflicted to know that the terms of hospice care are for the final journey\, although that final journey can be long at times. There are funeral arrangements to be made\, and family is encouraged to go about these needs with the confidence that all of this is appropriate. \nGood Shepherd Hospice is completing a new unit for those people \, who for one reason or another\, cannot be cared for at home. They also will be using these facilities for bereavement service and providing a place to stay for family members. The facility is decidedly not hospital like in its’ appearance. Hardwood floors\, wall portraits\, fireplaces\, comfortable seating  and place for families to gather and share meals\, are all part of the mix. \nDeath is a part of life. It may be traumatic\, but much can be done to alleviate pain and fear. That is part of the mission of hospice and they do a great job. \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/jovanna-little-good-shepherd-hospice/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080801T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080801T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080801T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080801T040000Z UID:4314-1217548800-1217548800@limba.net SUMMARY:Kevin Trotman DESCRIPTION:This week our speaker was Kevin Trotman. Kevin represents the New York Islanders. \nThe focus of this morning’s talk was not so much about the Islanders as it was about the community involvement of the team and the facilities. These facilities are a part of the Lighthouse Development plan \n  \nAmong the items that Kevin spoke about was the redevelopment of the coliseum\, which will be accomplished during the off-season. He spoke about the sports Technology Center\, which in conjunction to Hofstra’s newly inaugurated medical school\, will develop a body of knowledge encompassing the science of sports performance\, as well as injury rehabilitation. \n  \nMr. Trotman gave a very brief overview of the Lighthouse efforts\, which will create 20\,000 permanent jobs and encompass 150 acres\, including all the various components of this very substantial project. \n  \nThe Islanders have embarked on a comprehensive program called Islanders Community Extension (ICE). ICE engages the community charities by lending support in terms of making faciulities available and by providing food and beverages for various events. There are ICE sponsored day camp programs as an example. \n  \nThen there is the Islanders Business Club\, which was developed by Execuleaders president Rich Kruse. Rich is presently on staff at the Islanders. The concept is very interesting. It is essentially a networking event open to Islander supporters\, which would include season ticket holders and other important members of the Islander family. An enterprise the size of a professional sports team has many needs that include anything from printing to facilities maintenence. In those gatherings the supporters learn how to do business with the Islanders and with each other. It’s a way of binding it’s supporters to the team and advancing the business goals of the same supporters. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/kevin-trotman/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080725T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080725T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080725T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080725T040000Z UID:4305-1216944000-1216944000@limba.net SUMMARY:Sean McGuinness\, Supt. Fire Island Nat. Seashore-Holiday Inn DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this week was Sean McGuinness\, Superintendent of the Fire Island National Seashore (FINS). This national park is like no other\, in that it encompasses whole independent communities. These communities are part of the mainland townships of Brookhaven and Islip\, yet they fall within the boundaries of the national park. FINS works closely with the various communities when they have needs that must be addressed\, but FINS takes a cooperative role rather than a primary role. As a result of this close cooperation with the towns and communities it has a very complicated role.  \nThe Sunken Forest is a part of the park that is accessible to visitors but there are no residential buildings. This very interesting section has a very dense canopy and even on the brightest days it is usually cool and relatively dark on the floor of the forest. There is walkway about 5 feet above the forest floor and visitors are not permitted to get of the walks. The wildlife in this section is very diverse and it is a favorite visiting spot for school outings. \nThere is also a wilderness area that allows no mechanized activity\, even the park service’s own chain saws are not permitted to be used. \nThe park service maintains this facility on minimum funding about $3.5 million per year. Concessions such as the restaurant at Watch Hill and the snack bar at Sailors Haven do contribute to the park’s revenues by paying a percentage of sales to the park as well as maintaining there own infrastructure. \nThe island and the adjacent mainland property in the Mastic area was originally owned by William Floyd\, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Floyd home is in Mastic and it is also part of the FINS and it is open to the public as well. \nWhen Robert Moses was riding high he was arguably the most powerful man in the tri-state area\, having a mandate to build the region. He built bridges tunnels\, parks and numerous roadways. Some of his accomplishments were admirable\, but when he came to Fire Island he wanted to build a highway down the spine of the island. This would have destroyed the communities\, the Sunken Forest\, and the wilderness area. LIMBA’s founder Paul Townsend objected\, and built a coalition that was able to convince the US Congress to create the park. It was one of the few defeats that Moses was ever dealt. The Fire Island we have today is the result of that good leadership. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/sean-mcguinness-supt-fire-island-nat-seashore-holiday-inn/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080718T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080718T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080718T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080718T040000Z UID:4301-1216339200-1216339200@limba.net SUMMARY:Peter Caradonna - Green Architect -at LaQuinta DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Peter Caradonna. Peter has been an advocate and practicing architect in designing “green buildings” for many years. It appears from the general buzz that someone is listening. While Peter has something of a pioneer\, today there is a proliferation of people who are providers of green technology. \n  \nThe new building materials that are needed are more available\, and people who are designing have sources of supply that either did not exist\, or were expensive and in short supply. Good news for sure\, as we realize our old methods are simply unsustainable. \n  \nPeter pointed out the many benefits beyond the usual metrics of building costs\, and return on investment. The cost of employees is about 91% of most businesses operating expense. The cost of a building to house them is only 6% and the ongoing expense of the building is 2%. Better health and productivity of employees can be gained by putting slightly more into the building\, the small additional investment has a great return. We now have a body of case study to substantiate that claim. \n  \nIn the classrooms the net effect on student achievement is measurable and dramatic. Controlled testing have shown that properly designed classrooms can increase achievement scores by 20% \n  \nThe United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has set standards for building technology. This is a group that was formed to cross-pollinate the ideas of many innovators as well as to set performance standards. The USGBC has grown its’ membership considerably in recent years and is a nationwide network. The Leadership in Energy Design (LEED) program is their standard. All of the levels exceed local code\, which Peter describes as “just above the level where you may be arrested for doing something illegal”. The lowest LEED designation is no more costly than standard construction. The higher LEED designations are more costly to build\, but there are often tax breaks\, and utility grants\, that mitigate costs. With or without subsidies\, there is still a reasonable rate of return. With the ever-increasing cost of energy\, the case for better\, more efficient design is even more compelling. \n  \nMr. Caraddona went into the peripheral considerations of energy site planning. The “heat island” effects of a paved parking lot\, the planting of trees\, the natural treatment of waste water\, Using recycled products\, avoiding exotic imports\, planting naturally indigenous plants and trees all contribute to the stated goal of sustainability. \n  \nEducational institutions have taken on the responsibility of training the new energy practitioners. In particular is NYIT is forming a national building advisory council. Last year they built an energy efficient home that was deconstructed and reconstructed at an exposition held at the national mall in Washington DC. SUNY at Farmingdale has been training solar installers and adding related course to the curriculum\, and of course\, The Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at SUNY Stony Brook is presently being built. Much of this is happening through cooperation with the congressional office of Steve Israel. \n  \nPeter Caradonna’s understanding of the energy efficiency field and the related field of sustainability is very comprehensive\, and goes far beyond his stated discipline of architecture\, but that makes him more valuable because he sees the nuances that may be missed by another equally talented practitioner. We wish we could have had more time. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/peter-caradonna-green-architect-at-laquinta/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080711T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080711T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080711T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080711T040000Z UID:4302-1215734400-1215734400@limba.net SUMMARY:Marc Herbst\, Exec Dir Long Island Contractors Assoc DESCRIPTION:This morning our speaker was Marc Herbst\, Executive Director of the Long Island Contractors Association.  Mark’s backround is deeply rooted in infrastructure technology and is uniquely suited to his position. The contractors that he represents are mostly interested in transportation projects. \nMark made reference to the great empires of the past and the emphasis they had on infrastructure. The Romans were able to build great systems that supported the cities of the empire. These systems were useful in housing\, sanitation\, and defense. America\, and this region in particular\, has stopped building the great infrastructure projects that make living in a region with many people viable. He referred to this allocation of resources as investment. Due to the transit investment of past generations New York City has the most energy efficient transportation  of any state in the union\, but we stopped building these tunnels bridges\, and roads 40 years ago. We forgot what made us successful.  \nWe spoke about the revenue sources for transportation and the shortsightedness of a gas tax "holiday". Without those sources of revenue our situation will be infinitely worse. The first gas tax that was implemented was in the state of Oregon. It was a wildly popular tax because it was dedicated to building modern roads for the newly invented automobile.   \nMr Herbst pointed to other problems we are facing. A few years back we demanded that major construction should be done at night\, which on the surface seems like a reasonable idea. However costs of working nights are much higher than daytime operations. As an example he cited the high lumen lighting stands burn a lot of fuel. The workers are paid a 25% night differential. When paying union rates these costs are substantial. In addition to that the gas tax is a per gallon fee. As people adjust to using less fuel\, revenues drop. All of these factors and some I did not articulate will bankrupt the highway trust fund in one year. Clearly\, this is unacceptable\, and a new commitment to funding projects to make the region and the nation more efficient\, and therefore more competitive with the world will be needed. \nWe spoke briefly about the rail/truck inter modal facilities. The transfer stations will take hundreds of thousands of tractor trailers off the Long Island Expressway and the George Washington bridge\, which is the main conduit for these trucks.  So far they have not been built  because of local opposition and the total lack of leadership on the part of our elected officials. Too bad we can’t hire people in politics with a spine. \nPictured: Bill Miller\, Ernie Fazio\, and Mark Herbst URL:https://limba.net/calendar/marc-herbst-exec-dir-long-island-contractors-assoc/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080704T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080704T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080704T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080704T040000Z UID:4300-1215129600-1215129600@limba.net SUMMARY:July 4th Happy Birthday America - no LIMBA meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/july-4th-happy-birthday-america-no-limba-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080627T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080627T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080627T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080627T040000Z UID:4299-1214524800-1214524800@limba.net SUMMARY:BlueWater Wind - KC Sahl - at LaQuinta DESCRIPTION:This week our speaker  was KC Sahl of Blue Water Wind. When Mr. Sahl gave his presentation this morning he began with a film of the project that has been proposed off the coast of Delaware. In that region the public response was considerably different from the proposal that was advanced by Florida Power & light here on Long Island. Yes\, there were the usual questions about the affect the towers would have on migrating birds\, but those questions were answered years ago when the original wind farm was placed off the coast of Denmark. \nThe Blue Water presentation showed interviews with the Danes\, and the Danes treated any controversy about wind power as old\, and debunked news. "Birds are not stupid" said one Danish engineer\, "they simply avoid these towers or fly in straight lines between them." Then he went on to show migratory studies that proved his point. Delaware as of last week is a "done deal"\, when a power agreement was signed. There seems to be no controversy about marine life. Everything points to a positive marine life effect. These structures are natural havens for marine growth. mussels clams\, oysters and fin fish are abundant when structures are in place on the ocean floor. \nThe towers that are proposed by Blue Water for Long Island are twice as far away from shore than the original proposal called for\, and the generators will be larger\, at 3.6 megawatts each. Not only will this added distance make them difficult\, or impossible to see\, it puts them in an even more reliable wind field. I asked about the additional cost of the cabling\, which costs $1 million per mile. The answer is that three million extra dollars is not significant as a percentage of costs for a project of this size. \nThe generators for wind power are getting bigger\, and the question came up about putting in larger generators if they were developed while the process continued. KC said that not only would they shift to the new generators if developed during the process\, they would eventually add more towers if they were developed after the original installation. He also said that the cabling being used would be robust enough to accommodate the additional towers and/or er generators. \nThe builders are a $70billion global enterprise with many completed wind projects. They will build\, and maintain the towers\, and generators under a power agreement with LIPA. Since fuel never enters into the picture they can project 30 years out with stable costs. We know that is not something you can say about any generator that uses fuel\, regardless of what fuel you may be talking about.         \nWhen asked what would happen if there was an abundance of power when it was not needed\, as in the dead of night in the middle of winter\, Mr Sahl said the generators would be shut down. I then asked\, “Why not use the energy being produced to elecrolitically produce hydrogen and oxygen from water?” The answer\, perhaps we can. \nPictured: KC Sahl\, Blue Water Wind\, Ernie Fazio\, LIMBA Chairman URL:https://limba.net/calendar/bluewater-wind-kc-sahl-at-laquinta/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080620T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080620T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080620T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080620T040000Z UID:4296-1213920000-1213920000@limba.net SUMMARY:Ken Morelly\, President\, LIFT Held at LaQuinta DESCRIPTION:Ken Morelly\, President of LIFT\, Long Island Forum for Technology\, was  our speaker this morning\, and as promised\, gave us some insights. LIFT is engaged in research\, education and the coordination of efforts among various groups. Morelly stated that the great driver of technology is manufacturing. Using resources to leverage the manufacturing process is among the efforts that LIFT is engaged in. By concentrating on the manufacturing all the disciplines are spurred to perform. He emphasized the transformational nature of the way we educate our skilled engineers and others that are involved in manufacture. According to Morelly there must be the ability to move quickly into a new way of doing things and that open minds must be recognized\, not as a lack of focus but a requirement in a fast moving world. \nKen said something that surprised me. He said that Long Island is a product development community rather than a research community. Many of us think of Brookhaven National Labs and Cold Spring Harbor as centers of research\, and while that is true\, according to Morelly it is a much smaller component of our economy. On the other hand some companies concentrate on research and do very little manufacturing. He gave the example of Corning in upstate NY. \nWe must study the requirements of industry and gear education toward those needs. He then went into the subject of material development. That discussion began with aviation technology\, which\, early on\, was principally based on wood frames and canvas skins. With the advent of aluminum\, aviation was greatly advanced. Presently\, new composites comprise more and more of the aviation parts. These components are stronger and lighter. The first use of new composites were only 2% of the plane\, today we are approaching 50% in the latest aviation technology. \nMaterial research is on a roll.  Advanced Material Research under the direction of LIFT  will be linked to 16 educational units in New York. We spoke about the prospect of using materials that are used in automobile manufacture that are ten times stronger than steel\, and 1/3 the weight. The implications of this technology are enormous. Using these new materials would mean needing much smaller engines that use less fuel. Combining these lightweight cars with hybrid technology would make the fuel consumption even less. I think we could speculate that a mid sized car could conceivably get 80 miles to the gallon. \nWe finished by discussing Homeland Security. $25 million has been set aside for advanced homeland security systems. The many companies that will be participating will be housed at the center. The expectation is that the cross pollenation of ideas in this unit will create new systems that will eventually be deployed. \n\nPictured: Mitchell Pinckney\, US Chamber of Commerce\, Ken Morelly President of LIFT and Ernie Fazio\, LIMBA Chairman\n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ken-morelly-president-lift-held-at-laquinta/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080613T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080613T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080613T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080613T040000Z UID:4298-1213315200-1213315200@limba.net SUMMARY:The State of Healthcare with Panel of Experts- TBC @LaQuinta DESCRIPTION:This morning’s program was a panel discussion about health and wellness as well as the aspects of insurance. \nThe panel consisted of three experts with different perspective. Mike Mussler of Edwards Insurance\, Dr Mathew Lewis\, president of Health maintenance company and John (last name will be inserted later)  a health program administrator from St Joseph’s College \nMussler circumscribed some of the reasons health insurance is so expensive. Over use of available resources is one reason and that stems from the fact that the user is not accountable. MRI’s are often ordered simply because the plan will pay\, but that attitude adds to cost without any increase in patient well- being. He then gave several examples. \nWhen Dr. Lewis presented his opening remarks he stunned us with some statistics. According to the doctor 70% of all illness is preventable. Here is how he backed that up. Only 20% of health issues are attributable to genetics. Another 20% is caused by environmental factors\, and 10% is attributable to lack of access to care. The other 50% is attributable to lifestyle. In other words smoking\, obesity\, lack of exercise\, our stress\, and food choices play an enormous role in whether we are healthy or not. There is some very good news here as I see it. We can make a serious impact on our good health probabilities\, if we pay attention to those factors which are largely within our control. \nWhile the above suggests that we can lower costs\, there are other factors. The example of a doctor who spends 1/3 of his income on malpractice insurance drives up costs. We discussed the imposition of a medical compensation board. This would be similar to a workers compensation board. Under such a system all negative medical outcomes would be paid for under a formula. There would be no need to establish culpability under this system. Bad doctors would be ferreted out but the injured patient would be compensated.  This would be preferable to one family collecting many millions\, while another family with a similar case could receive very little\, or nothing. Usually the way things are settled now the lawyers receive 1/3 of the settlement. It would be interesting to see how that system could be developed\, but it may be a good idea. It was also pointed out that most states have limits on medical suits. \nAccording to John\, 40% of all deaths are preventable. He also pointed out that as premium costs increase participation decreases\, and that too drives up costs further as the insured class shrinks. The last staggering statistic is that we spend $3 trillion on health care in the US. That’s more than any country in the world on a per capita basis\, yet we rank 37th in good health outcomes. Obviously this system needs work. \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/the-state-of-healthcare-with-panel-of-experts-tbc-laquinta/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080606T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080606T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080606T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080606T040000Z UID:4295-1212710400-1212710400@limba.net SUMMARY:Lawrence Gray held at LaQuinta DESCRIPTION:Lawrence gray was a prosecutor that has had notable success prosecuting corrupt public officials in the city of New York and seems to have a keen sense of smell when dealing with official corruption. As our guest this morning\, Mr Gray was forthcoming and  disturbing. Disturbing if you think your public officials are always doing things in the best interests of the people they serve. He gave the example of how the highway departments in the various towns have enormous economic power. The highway department has the responsibility of buying goods and services\, such as asphalt concrete\, lumber and a number of other commodities. Strangely the contributors of the parties political campaigns also get the contracts to do business with the town. This is not confined to a specific town. It’s just the way the system operates\, and it is corrupt.  \nGray did get specific about the town of Smithtown only because that is the town in which he lives\, and he is most familiar with the antics that are practiced there. He was involved in exposing the malfeasance of a former highway superintendent\, Edmund Lynch. An investigation into Lynch uncovered by Gray showed the  direct correlations of money donated to bids let. Lynch was prosecuted for the various charges against him. \nAnd don’t rely on local newspapers\, according to Mr. Gray. These journals are the handmaiden to the corrupt politicos because they derive so much revenue from the legal notices that every town uses. One of the local newspapers is run by David Ambro\, and that newspaper has been rewarded handsomely and as a result\, they have been the chorus for what ever comes out of town hall. Having two newspapers does not seem to matter either. He calls them Pravda and Izvestia. \nIn listening to this\, I was trying to determine if it was the Republicans of whom he was most critical\, but as he spoke further\, he was clear that he was no kinder to the Democrats. "Corruption is to New York what racism is to Mississippi" and then he said that remark was unfair to Mississippi. Gray quoted John Mc Laughlin when he asked his panel one Sunday morning\, "What posses the most danger to America?" the answer "Official corruption\, bye bye" URL:https://limba.net/calendar/lawrence-gray-held-at-laquinta/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080530T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080530T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080530T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080530T040000Z UID:4294-1212105600-1212105600@limba.net SUMMARY:Gary Besemer\, Long Islanders for Educational Reform DESCRIPTION:This past Friday our speaker was Gary Bessemer. Mr Bessemer represents a group called Long Islanders for Educational Reform.  Mr Bessemer’s message pointed out some problems that are costing the taxpayers a lot more than our educational system should. His contention is that good stewardship has not been practiced. This was borne out by some of the things that we learned at the meeting.  \nWhen comparing the administration costs of similar upscale areas such as\, Montgomery County in Virginia we are very top heavy. Administration staffs are excessive and continue to grow. Several school superintendents earn more than the US president\, and there are well over 100 of these positions on Long Island\, whereas there is only one in Montgomery County. Newsday reporter\, John Hildebrand wrote about this earlier this year. \nWhile not bashing unions\, he did say that the educational unions call all the shots\, and politicians are fearful of bucking the tide. The result is whatever they want\, they get.  Including 4 to 6% COLA increases while many of the taxpayers are losing wages. Salaries of $100\,000 for teachers are commonplace\, but that’s not the whole problem. There is no correlation between salaries and teacher competence. In order to fire an obviously bad teacher we must be prepared to spend $300\,000 in legal fees. Any citizen that comes to a school board meeting to challenge anything\, is ignored and marginalized. \nSchool administrations have no fear\, because they know that only 14% of the eligible school district voters actually vote. When a school budget is voted down\, the school will take something away from the children\, such as band funding\, but scheduled increases in salaries happen despite a failed  budget. School budgets are often passed by people who have a direct relationship to the school\, that is; teachers administrators\, and other staff that live in the district \nGary also took on the costs of teaching autistic children\, $50\,000 per child. He did not object to the program’ but insisted that the local district should not be totally responsible its funding. He noted that autistic group homes set up in a district can stress a  budget and should be paid for by the state. \nNear the end of the Q&A period we discussed the reason for such low bvudget voting turnout. Most people agreed that they simply did not know when the budget was being voted. There was a suggestion that the school budget should be voted on in November. It would then be just another item to vote on while you were at the ballot box anyway. The audience seemed to like that idea\, but someone threw out the fact that the school budget comes up earlier in the year. So….? Change it! Change the budgets so they co-incides with the November election. Bessemer liked the idea. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/gary-besemer-long-islanders-for-educational-reform/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080529T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080529T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080529T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080529T040000Z UID:4297-1212019200-1212019200@limba.net SUMMARY:Karaoke Networking Evening DESCRIPTION:LIMBA will be holding its second Karaoke Networking evening. We will be holding it again at Dave & Busters in Islandia. We have asked the fabulous Anita Bloom to run the Karaoke and perform. She was great the last time and will be again. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/karaoke-networking-evening/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080523T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080523T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080523T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080523T040000Z UID:4291-1211500800-1211500800@limba.net SUMMARY:Memorial Day weekend -NO MEETING DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/memorial-day-weekend-no-meeting-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080516T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080516T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080516T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080516T040000Z UID:4292-1210896000-1210896000@limba.net SUMMARY:Scott Passeser DESCRIPTION:Scott Passeser\, Director of Industrial Outreach for Stony Brook University’s Economic Development programs\, spoke at LIMBA this morning             \n Scott was able to provide some interesting stats on the needed workforce. While we are lamenting the existence of high paid manufacturing jobs there is no shortage of high tech jobs. There is\, in fact\, a dire need of high tech workers\, according to Passeser. There is a projected need of 5 million tech jobs nationwide\, but that does not take into account the industries that are transforming themselves into high tech enterprises. In on other words that is just the tip of the iceberg. \nIn Europe\, Scott told us\, the government intercedes when critical needs such as trained worker shortages occur. Philosophically\, we do not believe in that kind of help to the workforce. And the problems are getting worse. SUNY has always been a leader in graduating computer science majors. Yet today the number of computer science graduates is actually falling over the last three years. \nHe also informed us that the top 10 jobs that are emerging didn’t even exist 5 years ago. The fields of bio-tech and alternative energy have been around for a long time\, but they never employed more than a very small percentage of the population. Today they are among the fastest growing fields of endeavor and the schools cannot keep up with the needs of those industries. \nThe inability for America to produce the workers that are needed has caused the US to fall into the 19th ranking in broadband coverage. Even Luxemburg is ahead of the US on that score. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the only way to go is up.  \nScott spoke about the transforming effects that The Center for Excellence in Wireless Information Technology ( www.cewit.org)  and the Advanced Energy  and Research  Center at SUNY Stony Brook  (www.aertc.org) will bring. They are creating emerging technologies that are desperate for people to understand them and work in those fields.  Learn more about the technology efforts that are being conducted at SUNY using the links above URL:https://limba.net/calendar/scott-passeser/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080509T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080509T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080509T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080509T040000Z UID:4293-1210291200-1210291200@limba.net SUMMARY:Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice DESCRIPTION:This morning our speaker was Nassau County District Attorney\, Kathleen Rice. Kathleen has all the youthful enthusiasm we get from newly elected officials. She told us that she never remembers having political ambitions growing up\, and her ambition today is to serve two terms and leave. That’s a promise often made and rarely kept.  In her case however\, she may be intellectually honest about that.\, given that she has moved from one success to another in the past. \nShe spoke about the failure of law enforcement in the area of "white collar crime." According to Ms. Rice white collar crime is not some innocuous crime we can easily ignore. The effects on society are damaging to family lives of the victims. We don’t know how much family violence\, divorce\, and suicide are attributable to say\, a collapse of ENRON. We may not know exactly but we know there is wide spread pain. Rice said her office treats white collar crime as a serious problem\, and has addressed it appropriately. \nAnother big issue with this DA is DWI. Kathleen stated that the innocent victim has no control over the reckless behavior of a drunk driver. We can do all the right things and still be killed by an irresponsible drunk. She gave the example of the drunk driver that drove the wrong way on the Meadowbrook Parkway killing the little girl and the limo chauffeur. DA’s can do a lot in this area and she challenged the audience not to be inured to the consequences just because of the frequency. \n Guns\, drugs\, and gangs are a scourge to some communities. Rice’s answer that situation is the enlistment of the community while at the same time boosting police presence in the area. By this means the community residents are empowered by taking charge. Once there is a feeling that we are all in this together\, they can maintain the safety of the area even after the police presence subsides to normal patrols.  \nRelated to community involvement is the "weed and seed" program. Here the residents clean up a play area removing trash and debris and then plant flowers and shrubs to enhance an area. And because the community as a whole had so much invested\, there is a tendency to protect that rehabilitated playground. DA Rice says that the program has been quite successful. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/nassau-county-da-kathleen-rice/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080502T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080502T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080502T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080502T040000Z UID:4289-1209686400-1209686400@limba.net SUMMARY:Marie Zere and panel-Commercial Real Estate Perspective DESCRIPTION:This morning we had a panel discussion on real estate led by Marie Zere of Zere Real Estate. The other participants were Ted Sasso president of Renaissance Real Estate Service and Don Gallagher president of Gallagher Associates \nSasso began by telling us there is more office & commercial space on Long Island than in all of Boston\, making Long Island larger entity than most cities. With all that large space is in limited supply. A bright spot according to Sasso is that downtowns are flourishing. They are doing well for various reasons\, among them is the choice of lifestyle\, and energy conservation. From an owners perspective rents are slowly climbing\, but the net profits are being squeezed by costs. Financing is available\, but not at the asking prices of many properties. \nMarie Zere’s take on the real estate scene is that it is still a sellers market\, but the commercial will eventually suffer some of the problems being experienced in the residential sector. She went on to state that the higher end residential market in the Hampton’s experienced a 7% drop in prices recently\, while at the same time the luxury part of the spectrum\, $3million plus is still on the rise. She told us that small companies are reducing their need for space because some\, or all\, of their staff people can work electronically. With transportation fuels being what they are\, there is even more pressure on companies and individuals to work from their computers at home. Zere spoke about the concept of cond-ing a residence\, essentially making it a two family house. And she advocated for a more robust program of accessory apartments. \nWe learned that there is a lot of activity in small retail space\, medical buildings\, and restaurant settings. On the other hand deals are more tenuous and can easily fall apart in the 11th hour.  We also learned today that real estate comprises 40% of the Long Island economy.  \nGallagher\, who has enormous experience in IDA bonds\, said that the use of IDA Bonds are happening less and less. There are several factors for this\, among them is these are more complex dealings\, and since all financing is cheaper the IDA’s are less attractive. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/marie-zere-and-panel-commercial-real-estate-perspective/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080425T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080425T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080425T040000Z UID:4290-1209081600-1209081600@limba.net SUMMARY:Hon. Ed Romaine\, Suffolk County Legislator DESCRIPTION:Suffolk County legislator\, Ed Romaine was our speaker this morning. Mr. Romaine is adamant that the need for sewers must be recognized and addressed. There are issues where the the county executive and him differ\, but this is not one of them. Ed gave us some back-round on why county government has been gun shy about going ahead with sewers\, but despite any previous reluctance\, there is a consensus that we must move forward. \nAccording to Romaine new development is severely constrained without this infrastructure asset in place. He noted that developers were required to build small sewer systems on the premises of their projects over the years and the result is a hodgepodge of 182 sewer districts that do not connect with each other\, and are expensive to maintain. Romaine suggested that these sewer districts are an on-going expense and should be turned over to the county and maintained in a larger county owned system that the county can fully integrate\, and operate at a lower cost. Having a good system will allow for housing density instead of continuing the sprawl development we have seen in the past. That in turn will make affordable housing possible. \nMr Romaine pointed out that sales tax revenues are diminished\, and the county relies heavily on those taxes. There is a more stable property tax\, but that only accounts for $50 million in a budget of 2.3 Billion\, therefore sales taxes are of paramount importance. \nThe county has been on a pay-as-you-go basis. According to Romaine County Executive Levy is asking the legislature to approve borrowing to support the operating budget. Romaine isn’t buying it. Nor is he very happy with the proposal to capitalize the tobacco settlement monies.Under this scenario the county would give up about $25 million a year for a cash settlement. On the other hand he would be willing to securitize tax liens because that would be collecting money from the past and not eating into on-going future revenues. These issues are somewhat esoteric\, and sometimes difficult to understand\, but they are important. \nMr. Romaine was also critical of Mr. Levy’s proposed county land sale in Yaphank. Mostly because there has been no public discussion. In a discussion with me after the meeting Ed was critical of President Bush’s economic stimulus plan\, saying it would be much better to invest in infrastructure. Putting people to work solves myriad problems. Of course\, we at LIMBA\, have been saying that all along. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/hon-ed-romaine-suffolk-county-legislator/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080418T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080418T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080418T040000Z UID:4288-1208476800-1208476800@limba.net SUMMARY:Theresa Rizzuto\, MacArthur Airport manager DESCRIPTION:This morning we had the distinct pleasure of greeting the new Commissioner of Long Island MacArthur Airport (LIMA)\, Teresa Rizzuto. Her disarmingly modest and self-deprecating manner temporarily masks the display of a deep knowledge of the airline industry\, garnered through over two decades of experience. That experience started with slinging eighty pound bags as a ramp service worker for United Airlines (UAL) in 1992. In that day\, the petite powerhouse needed to lift twice as many bags as her male counterparts to be taken seriously. After having gained entry to the business through UAL’s diversity program\, her hard work and talent drove her up the ranks\, eventually supervising UAL’s operations at Newark Airport\, in charge of a $30 million dollar budget\, and a terminal that served six airlines. \nShe capped her stay at UAL with an assignment as hub manager at Dulles International in Washington DC\, leading a staff of 1\,600.  Taking some time off the flight line in 1993\, she stepped into her family’s orthotics business in Freeport in the role of Operations VP\, before bringing here fashionably-shod feet to LI MacArthur Airport in February of this year. Her talk opened with a recap of her experience and an expression of delight at coming back to Long Island after her stint in the Garden State\, followed up by a description of the economic importance that LIMA has to the Town of Islip and Long Island. The meat of her presentation concerned the plans that she and the Town have to revitalize the airport\, which has been underutilized in recent history. Some of her goals are adding carriers\, redeveloping the west side of the airport\, ( where I once took BOCES Airframe and Powerplant vocational courses\, longer ago than I care to remember)\, renovating the western portion of the main terminal\, adding wi-fi to the airport\, and marketing LIMA as a more convenient alternative to the Port Authority Airports. \nMs. Rizzuto also wants to accomplish these goals while keeping the airport the good neighbor that it is today. She emphasized the necessity of picking the right carriers to partner with\, that will be in it for the long haul\, and be a true partners\, where the destination compliments the carrier. \nOnce again\, the Q and A was lively\, and I will summarize and paraphrase here: \nQ: What are the largest kinds of aircraft that we could expect to see?  \nA: LIMA is capable of handling large aircraft such as the 767 and 777\, but it would probably not be economical for carriers to use those types at LIMA. Most likely\, we could see the mid range Airbuses\, and 757s\, and the forthcoming 787 Dreamliner. \nQ: What is keeping LIMA from becoming an International Airport?\nA: A chicken and egg problem. Customs needs to establish a facility here for clearance\, and needs the traffic to justify it\, and the carriers need the clearance facility. A novel approach would be to introduce flights to and from Pre-Clearance locations\, such as the US Virgin Islands\, Shannon Airport in\nIreland\, and several other locations. These possibilities are being researched. \nQ: What impact does the Port Authority’s marketing of Stewart Airport have on LIMA?\nA: Stewart’s marketing machine is in full gear\, and they have a longer runway\, having been a former Air Force Base. LIMA has better transportation infrastructure surrounding it\, such as the LIRR and is closer to NYC than Stewart. The Port Authority also has deeper pockets to promote and improve Stewart. \nQ: Why is it more expensive to fly out of LIMA?\nA: The carriers generally run smaller aircraft out of LIMA\, and as such have to spread expenses over fewer seats than those run out of the Port Authority airports. One of our audience members contributed the suggestion that the cheaper price of a NYC airport ticket is offset by the expense ( car service )\nand aggravation ( traffic ) of getting into a Port Authority airport\, and no real savings is realized. \nQ: What do you see for the airline industry in the near future?\nA: The industry is completing another life cycle\, where there will be a few carriers left after the mergers of Delta and Northwest\, plus she sees some other large carrier mergers in the offing. After that\, there will be another period\nwhere startups working the seams of the industry come alive and grow. \nMs. Rizzuto’s visit was warmly received by our group and we look forward to her fantastic attitude infusing the airport with a long overdue shot of enthusiasm and accomplishment. We look forward to her next visit\, where I’m sure she will regale us with tales of airport improvements\, and adventures in the airline industry. \nRecap by Craig Plunkett of Fire Island Wireless. \nPictured: Bill Miller\,  Teresa Rizzuto and Craig Plunkett URL:https://limba.net/calendar/theresa-rizzuto-macarthur-airport-manager/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080411T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080411T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080411T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080411T040000Z UID:4286-1207872000-1207872000@limba.net SUMMARY:Terrell Cass\, President WLIW Channel 21 DESCRIPTION:Our invited speaker this morning was Terrel Cass\, the president and General Manager of WLIW channel 21. He is a dyed-in-the-wool television executive with a long and deep backround in Public Television. In his stewardship role at WLIW he has presided over a remarkable change in technology and production capabilities. WLIW is the third most watched public television station in the nation\, and produces many original programs for distribution to other public stations. \nHe began by discussing the diversity of media that is available to us. And while the diversity of delivering information has expanded dramatically\, we have sufferred a paucity of good content. He panned internet sites like You-tube and Myspace as well as those dumb-ass (my words) "reality" shows. Showing people eating worms were not among his favorites. An audience volunteered that daytime soaps be included. Terrel said soaps are a "cultural oasis" compared to what’s out there. \nCass then went on to speak about the political landscape changing in the ways that issues are brought to the people and how money is raised. He implied that there were pluses and minuses in modern day media as it relates to politics. \nHis societal concerns were discussed and he had little good to say about the trend\, while conceding that programs like "John Adams" were excellent. The News Hour" with Jim Lehrer is a good example of in-depth news. This model has been emulated by programs like 20/20 but the usual good reporting on news has been relagated to cheap entertainment because good reporting doesn’t come cheap. WLIW also owns the US distribution rights to BBC World News. BBC offers Americans a better window on the world in that it is not American-centric. Lastly\, we discussed the ethic series productions and the productions of "Visions" A series that has taken us to many places in the world with the most sophisticated and breathtaking aerial photography URL:https://limba.net/calendar/terrell-cass-president-wliw-channel-21/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080404T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080404T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T002638 CREATED:20080404T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080404T040000Z UID:4287-1207267200-1207267200@limba.net SUMMARY:Ken Morelly\, President\, LIFT DESCRIPTION:The Long Island Forum for Technology (LIFT) has been a strong advocate and facilitator for the benefit of technology driven companies on Long Island. There are many services available to these tech companies under the guidance of LIFT professionals. Join us at LIMBA and hear from President Morelly of LIFT\, and learn more. \nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/ken-morelly-president-lift/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR