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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Limba
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061222T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061222T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061222T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061222T050000Z
UID:4217-1166745600-1166745600@limba.net
SUMMARY:no meeting Holiday
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-holiday-2/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061215T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061215T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061215T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061215T050000Z
UID:4219-1166140800-1166140800@limba.net
SUMMARY:Southwest Airlines
DESCRIPTION:Our speaker at LIMBA\, this morning was Loretta Hohmann\, from Southwest Airlines. Loretta was not scheduled to speak\, but the person who was supposed to speak was flying in from the west and was weather delayed. As it turns out\, it didn’t matter. Ms Hohmann is very knowledgeable. Ms Hohmann began by speaking about the relationship the Southwest has built with the Town of Islip. From the beginning SW wanted major improvements at the airport. These airport upgrades would be paid for by SW and the improved property would remain in the ownership of the Town. This proved to be very attractive to the Town of Islip and satisfied the physical plant needs that SW said it needed to operate.\nMs Hohmann then spoke about the community involvement that the airline considers important from the standpoint of good community relations and a sense of corporate citizenship. In each of SW’s markets they have a program called “home for the holidays”. This program allows elderly people of limited means to travel at the airlines expense during holiday periods to see family members. They select one family from each of their markets.\nShe spoke briefly about a company BLOG\, where information can be exchanged on line. It is located at www.blogsouthwest.com\nSouthwest likes to operate out of smaller airports\, whenever possible. According to Hohmann the landing fees are lower and the efficiency of moving aircraft on time is better. Islip-MacArthur certainly fits that airport profile\, and they are happy with the arrangements they have made there. The company maintains an excellent cooperative relationship with other carriers. Sometime they help each other out with equipment and services\, such as snow removal.\nIn addition to airport selection\, Southwest attributes some of their financial success to standardized aircraft. If a plane is pulled out of service\, the replacement plane will be like the one that was sidelined and the crew is capable of flying it.\nDuring the Q&A portion of the program I asked if a light rail system would be built to tie the terminal to the LIRR train station. Ms Hohmann said the original plan was to put the terminal next to the rail system\, and that plan was blocked by the Town. However they have a shuttle bus to the train that costs $5 that is operated by Colonial Coach.\nWhen we closed the meeting Southwest raffled off a ticket for any place in the US that is served by the company.\nWe welcome Southwest and we pledged to support any reasonable enhancements that they think they should be made to serve the region better.
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/southwest-airlines/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061208T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061208T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061208T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061208T050000Z
UID:4216-1165536000-1165536000@limba.net
SUMMARY:Annual Holiday Gathering and Toy Collection
DESCRIPTION:This morning’s meeting was different\, to say the least. Our Holiday Gathering has been a success in the past and this year was no exception. \nWe were treated to the innovative creativity of Steve DePass. Much of what Steve does is inventing the songs that he sings on the spot. They are always witty and often downright hysterical. His grasp of the English language and the creative use of rhythm and rhyme are second to no others I have ever seen. \nThe audience was asked to throw out what Steve called “fine how do you do’s.” Each of these comments no matter how difficult it would seem\, were turned  around by Steve and delivered back to the crowd in a humorous lyric. Most of the time the audience could not see it coming\, leaving the crowd surprised at the songs he weaves on the spot. The nature of humor is the ability to break through the audiences expectations and deliver something that catches the audience off guard. He succeeded magnificently. \nWith all of this Steve DePass is a serious man. His insights on friendship\, race\, and loving relations places him in a category that distinguishes from the journeyman entertainer. In a conversation that I once had with Steve I told him that I used to pay someone $150 an hour to speak to me like that. He laughed and told me that those people charge more than that now. \nSteve has developed several programs that are designed to communicate the positive meanings of “Black History Month”. He will be performing these programs at colleges and corporate venues. He is very proud of this effort\n\nThese programs  are fun filled musical programs featuring the audience inter-active song improvisations which have hallmarked Steve’s long and distinguished career. If you have an interest in Steve DePass’s work he has asked me to field calls at my LIMBA number. 631 757-6663
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/annual-holiday-gathering-and-toy-collection/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061201T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061201T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061201T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061201T050000Z
UID:4209-1164931200-1164931200@limba.net
SUMMARY:Marc Allesi State assemblyman
DESCRIPTION:Members and friendsMarc Alessi is the NY Assemblyman that represents the North Fork of Long Island. He began his talk on education and how the formula for state aid is skewed by the high value of our homes. According to Alessi the village of Mattituck has the same income and employment of Syracuse NY\, but has a reimbursement rate for schools that is dramatically different. In Syracuse the state aid is 50% in Mattituck the state aid comes to 13%. The perceived wealth of Mattituck is much higher due to the value of their homes and therefore the aid is lower. He says that the discrepancy can be corrected without an income tax.\nHe then addressed the lack of oversight of LIPA. The fuel adjustment in the bills are essentially rate increases\, and should be called that\, according to Mr. Alessi. The fuel adjustment is allowed by law to be added when the cost of fuel rises unexpectedly. When a fuel adjustment is around for more than 12 months then it is expected to be in the rates as an increase. However if an increase amounts to more than 2.5% then the PSC (Public Service Commission) has the right and obligation to review the rate structure. By continuing to call the fuel increase an adjustment\, the review is not triggered.\nAs far as the National Grid purchase of Keyspan is concerned Alessi promises a thorough review of the sale of the company as required by statute\, keeping in mind that the transaction must benefit the ratepayer.\nMarc is jockeying for a leadership in the Assembly Energy Committee. He sees some excellent opportunities for biodiesel and other alternative energy scenarios\, and he’d like to be in the arena to influence a good outcome. He pointed out that there huge amounts of waste cooking oils entering the environment that may otherwise be used to replace conventional diesel.\nMr. Alessi then went on to speak about emergency preparedness. His perusal of the not-for-profits indicated that they were in a better state of preparedness than the government agencies.\nMedicaid fraud is another topic that Alessi touched on\, and his assessment was that there was more to do in this area. Mr Alessi was instrumental in discovering the school frauds that have come to light\, and Medicaid seems ripe for a careful review.Pictured: Ernie fazio\, Assemblyman\, Marc Alessi and Bill Miller
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/marc-allesi-state-assemblyman/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061124T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061124T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061124T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061124T050000Z
UID:4213-1164326400-1164326400@limba.net
SUMMARY:THanksgiving Holiday No Meeting
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/thanksgiving-holiday-no-meeting/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061117T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061117T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061117T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061117T050000Z
UID:4221-1163721600-1163721600@limba.net
SUMMARY:Richard Kessel\, LIPA Chairman
DESCRIPTION:Our speaker at LIMBA was LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel. As usual Richard connected very well with his audience. He began by speaking about the recent storm outages that seriously plagued the system. Communications and the proper workforce deployment were the hallmarks of the recovery. Kessel believes in communicating. Often we see communications from some corporations that is experiencing trouble as cover-up. Kessels attitude seems to be get out the news\, even if it’s bad. Not informing the public simply does not fly. \n \nHe spoke about rates and for historic perspective he cited the folly of Shoreham as part of the reason we are paying high rates. \n \nThe phenomenal growth of the needs that have been placed on the system has resulted in a constant need to increase capacity. However he stated that by various strategies the system has  maintained the balance of needs vs supply assets. The building of the 12 smaller\, quicker to build\, generators helped maintain the system. The Cross Sound Cable is now in place and has taken the stress off the system. The\, still to be completed\, Neptune cable will provide another 650 megawatts of power. \n \nKessel admits that the best way to provide on-island generation would be to use the most efficient combined cycle baseload generators of the magnitude of 300+ megawatts. These are difficult to permit and build. The Caithness plant falls into that category and has been permitted and will be built in North Bellport.\n \nSince LIPA took over the system the capacity has increased by 2300 megawatts. That is an enormous increase over a system that was less than 4000 megawatts at the time LIPA began. \n \nKessel reverted to high rates and went on to say that rates are high because;\n1) LIPA pays $334 million in taxes. \n2) Shorham debt load is still 4 Billion    \n3) Fuel. The cost of fuel has risen dramatically\n \nThe most exiting news was and is that LIPA is engaged in the largest demand side management in history. Finding ways not to keep expanding the need for power is essential. Reducing power needs by energy efficient lighting is a major savings. The more we do in the area of managing and reducing loads has dividends in less pollution and less generating needs. \n \nAlternative energy is no small item. There are numerous proposals for producing power by wind\, fuel cells\, solar and more exotic new methods. All of these will be part of an energy producing matrix alongside demand management.. He was disappointed that the Solar Roof Program had only 750 subscribers instead of the 10\,000 that were expected.\n \nIn the end Ritchie harkened back to the fact that we will still want to have more connections to the mainland and use generating assets that are not presently available to us. \nPictured: LIPA Chairman\, Richard Kessel and Ernie Fazio
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/richard-kessel-lipa-chairman/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061110T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061110T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061110T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061110T050000Z
UID:4201-1163116800-1163116800@limba.net
SUMMARY:Veterans Day NO MEETING
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/veterans-day-no-meeting/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061103T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061103T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061103T050000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061103T050000Z
UID:4215-1162512000-1162512000@limba.net
SUMMARY:Pamela Greene\, Candidate for Islip Town Supv.
DESCRIPTION:This morning our speaker was Pamela Greene. Ms. Greene is an Islip Town Councilwoman and she is running for the position of Supervisor\, formerly held by Pete McGowan. \n \nPamela began by giving us a “vision” of her idea of planned development of Veterans Highway in the vicinity of MacArthur Airport.. Her concept is high end\, high value structures and stores\, rather than the tacky strip development (my words) we often see on Long Island. As she put it\, a “miracle mile”\n \nShe then went on to the topic of affordable housing. Ms. Greene shared with us her own personal story of affordable housing. When she was 28 years old their was an opportunity for her to make application for one of these “affordable housing” units and she was awarded an opportunity to buy one of these units. Subsequently she was asked by the builder to testify at the Brookhaven Town Board on this topic. She told the board to alay their fears. “I am the kind of person that will benefit by affordable housing.” Perhaps because of her own experience she is a proponent of affordable units. The Town of Islip has a good record of pursuing housing in this range\, and has provided 3\,000 units. She promises to be an advocate in her new position of Supervisor\, if she attains it.\n \nThere is a parcel of land in Bay Shore that is being considered for conominioms. Ms. Greene is enthusiastic about the prospects of have the density that the vuillage needs to support the local business community and the units will be also in walking distance of the railroad. \n \nAccording to Greene\, Hofstra University did an analysis of Long Island Towns Islip and Hofstra rated it the highest in terms of “business friendly”. Islip Economic Development has helped the business community invest $700 million in Islip. Islip has benefited by the concept of “Economic Deveopment Zones”. The concept was first articulated by the then governor\, Mario Coumo when Pamela was new to public service and impressed with the idea and praised Coumo. Since then she has been an enthusiastic proponent of business devlopment.\n \nMs. Greene talked about taxes and stated that taxes in Islip have actually been reduced by 17% over the years that she had been able to observe them . She promised to keep the focus on development that lends itself to lower taxes.\n \nWhen asked about Pete McGowan she had little to say\, other than it was a tragic demise of Mr. McGowan\n \nPictured: Gina LeVechia\, Pamela Greene\, Ernie Fazio\, Bill Miller
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/pamela-greene-candidate-for-islip-town-supv/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061027T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061027T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061027T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061027T040000Z
UID:4202-1161907200-1161907200@limba.net
SUMMARY:Bob Catell\, Chairman of Keyspan
DESCRIPTION:This morning Keyspan’s Chairman\, Bob Catell spoke to our group at LIMBA. His message was of reassurance. He began by stating that the cost of Keyspan gas service has not increased in the last ten years\, but the cost of the commodity has. The amount of gas in storage at this time is high. When gas stocks are high the cost of the commodity is usually lower\, but much of the supply that we have now was purchased at a high price\, so the price of gas will decrease\, but not as much as you would otherwise expect.   \n \nMr. Catell explained the significance of increased availability of gas\, in particular the Iroquois Pipeline. He talked some on the travails of that effort that were obstructed by the state of Connecticut. The conversation with the audience went on to alternative fuels and Mr. Catell explained that extra cost may be as much as ten times the cost of a conventional plant\, making them less economically feasible\, even when the cost of saved fuel was considered.\n \nSome intriguing  technologies were discussed including “river turbines”. River turbines are placed in places like the East River. They are placed low enough in the river as to not obstruct marine traffic. They are capable of reorienting to the flow of the river when the tide changes.  \n \nAccording to the Keyspan chairman the best bang for the buck is state of the art “combined cycle” plants. These plants in addition to being infinitely cleaner than the old stock of plants\, will save enough fuel to justify the additional 30% cost of construction. \n \nWe spoke about the Northport plant. The Northport plant uses “once through cooling”a technology which is no longer permitted. Therefore the engineering challenge would be formidable\, according to Catell\, when creating new power facilities at that location.\n \nThe concerns that some of had about the National Grid takeover of Keyspan would result in some downsizing\, but that downsizing would come into being by the process of retirements and career changes initiated by the employees themselves. Mr. Catell believes that one of the reasons that Keyspan is so attractive to National Grid is because of the relationships Keyspan has with the community. \n \nPictured: Bob Catell\, Chairman Keyspan\, Vincent Frigeria\, Government relations Keyspan and Ernie Fazio\, LIMBA Chairman
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/bob-catell-chairman-of-keyspan/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061020T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061020T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061020T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061020T040000Z
UID:4214-1161302400-1161302400@limba.net
SUMMARY:Lance Mallamo\, Executive Dir\, Vanderbilt Museum
DESCRIPTION:Friday morning’s speaker\, J. Lance Mallamo who is the Executive Director of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium at Centerport as well as the official County Historian of Suffolk County enlightened LIMBA members about Long Island’s largest museum\, The Vanderbilt Museum.  Vanderbilt (Dutch) meaning Son of Built left this jewel to Suffolk County in 1941 along with a $2 million maintenance fund.  Today nearly 100\,000 school children and a “tremendous” number of foreigners tour this museum.\n \nThis sometimes arrogant\, yet insightful man had the foresight in the early 1900’s to believe Long Island would one day be home to over a million people.  Many Long Islanders think of Vanderbilt Parkway and associate it with car racing.  As a well traveled man\, Vanderbilt felt that Europe was eclipsing the development of the automobile and in 1904 he raced his Mercedes at 92 miles an hour and won the race.   Although Long Island was sparsely populated 250 people came to see the race  – many had never seen a car.  He was encouraging tourism even then!   Imagine this fact:  His doctors warned against this high speed because of his heart murmur! \n \nI thought the most interesting of reasons to go back to the museum is for the “Living History Tour”.  Tour guides are trained to portray the probable life style of the Vanderbilt family\, their servants and how life may have actually been lived between 1936 and 1944.  Current events play an important role here.  It must have been a great job to be a servant there during the great depression.  Both good times and bad are blended into the tours.  \n \nPresently there is no way to get down to the waterfront however plans are in the works for funding a boardwalk with the “goal of being Long Island’s premier waterfront institution.”\n \nOther interesting facts:\n–          The boathouse is being used again and has gone from one employee to over ten in the last four years. \n–          Water Loggers:  volunteers are coordinated to bring back water samples from various points off the Island for evaluation\n–          Hopeful restoration of the Seaplane hanger\n–          They have a Marine Science Program\n \nYou can visit the museum and enjoy planetarium\, the  “Living History Tours” and many of their special programs http://vanderbiltmuseum.org/flash.html
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/lance-mallamo-executive-dir-vanderbilt-museum/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061013T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061013T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061013T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061013T040000Z
UID:4212-1160697600-1160697600@limba.net
SUMMARY:Marty Cantor
DESCRIPTION:“Long Island\, The Global Economy and Race: The Aging of America’s First Suburb”..was the topic of this morning’s speaker\, Marty Cantor. Marty is a CPA and a former economic development officer in Suffolk County in the Patrick Halpin administration.\n \nIt sounds like a very broad subject and I can assure you it is. Mr.. Cantor started with a discussion of the minority communities of Long Island. He stated that they are not able to access the global markets. The reasons\, according to Cantor\, have a lot to do with the entrepreneurial capabilities and education levels of the minority communities of Long Island. While these factors weigh heavily on the African American communities\, it does not have the same profound affect on the Caribbean populations\, nor are those factors pronounced among Koreans and other Asian groups.   \nMarty’s presentation was more an overview of problems as he sees them\, rather than an approach to solving them. \n \nAssimilation of the various legal immigrant groups is important and it is ongoing. We should not resist this\, according to Cantor\, we should embrace it. Mr. Cantor moved onto the subject of the economy\, which is related to the other topics he covered. \n \nCantor suggested that we are not going to make the commitment to wages and that\, will prevent the businesses from retaining the high skilled workers that they will need more and more.\n \nProperty taxes are way out of line. We are paying a “regressive” real estate tax. That tax is onerous and should be lowered at the same time an income tax could make up the difference. He admitted that this would be a hard sell.\n \nThese compounding problems “will cause the Long island economy to contract”PIctured: Martin Cantor\, Bob McMillan\, Ernie Fazio
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/marty-cantor/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20061006T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20061006T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20061006T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20061006T040000Z
UID:4208-1160092800-1160092800@limba.net
SUMMARY:Jaci Clement- Fair Media Council.
DESCRIPTION:Jaci Clement is the executive Director of The Fair Media Council and addressed LIMBA this morning. Our speaker’s expertise is the media in general. She described the media as you would any other infrastructure. The varied elements are constantly changing and the speed of the change is knocking the media companies off balance. Thirty years ago there was the five minutes news on radio\, The nightly news on the three major networks\, newspapers and little else.\nToday there are 24 hour cable news\, blogging added to the mix and the new players are wreaking havoc on the old structures. Complicating the situation further is the competition to get the story first\, which sometimes precludes getting it right.\nIn their desire to remain relevant the old structures are disseminating their stories on the Internet\, as well as through their traditional outlets..Some have teamed up with radio. CBS’s 60 Minutes\, for example\, broadcasts on the radio simultaneously. Some of these arrangements work real well\, others merely reduce the amount of original material being produced. This is particularly true when newspapers devour their competitors and fire the reporters from one of the papers. The rational is “why do we need all these reporters”? But where that has been done the paper tends to have a more anemic content. The fewer the eyes and ears you have the blinder an deafer you get.\nThere are constraints on some forms of media and a lot less on others. The newspapers and broadcast media impose constraints of decency.The cable networks feel less constrained and the internet\, well they will display anything. The beheading of a journalist will not be found in the newspapers\, but it certainly will be found on the internet.\nMs Clement told us that the desire for market share has prompted media outlet owners to buy properties in all markets. The strategy hasn’t worked very well and now we are seeing them divesting entities that they do not understand\, or in any case not work for them.\nOther factors have disturbed the media business. The demographics are constantly changing and nearly impossible to keep abreast of. No media is building market share\, according to Clement\, there is one exception. That exception is the media that caters to the immigrant populations. The Hispanic Telemundo TV is building market share. That is also true of the media that serves the Asian market. I suppose it is true of all immigrant ethnic groups.\nThe important message that came out of this meeting is this. We are trusting our news sources less and less\, and in many cases for good reason. If the media feels so much pressure to produce a story they will fail to thoroughly check their sources\, that is not good for the republic\, and the onus to check the material is our responsibility if we truly want to know.\nPictured: Jaci Clement\, Fair Media Council and Mike DeLouise from Dowling College
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/jaci-clement-fair-media-council/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060929T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060929T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060929T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060929T040000Z
UID:4207-1159488000-1159488000@limba.net
SUMMARY:NO Meeting LIBDC
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-libdc/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060922T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060922T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060922T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060922T040000Z
UID:4211-1158883200-1158883200@limba.net
SUMMARY:Judith Pascale County Clerk
DESCRIPTION:Members and friendsNever knowing what a particular speaker brings to the forum is par for the course. Therefore I am often surprised at the content as well as the questions posed later. Our speaker this morning\, Suffolk County Clerk\, Judith Pascale\, was no exception.\nThe county clerk’s office handles many of the important documents that directly affect us. It may sound mundane\, but when you are in need of service from this bureaucracy\, it is a pleasant surprise when things are handled well. This well run unit of government transformed itself over the years under the watch of Ms. Pascale and her then boss Ed Romaine. I write this praise out of my personal experience with the department over the years.\nMs Pascale said her department can give insights. For example; as the economy runs out of steam the divorce filings increase. The agency is able to provide a “snapshot” of the economy. As they record mortgages and foreclosures\, we get a glimpse at what is trending in that arena.\nAccording to Ms. Pascale\, the agency shares information with other departments of government\, and because of the electronic data handling equipment that has been put in place over the years\, it does so in “real time”. The department is able to send records to other departments with automating redacting in place. This means only the pertinent information is transferred and items such as Social Security numbers are not. The integrity of confidentiality is built in.\nThe Suffolk County Clerk’s office has received several awards for excellence including “The Best of New York” award. They pride themselves with the short turnaround time that the requestors of information enjoy. Real estate transactions\, divorce decrees\, permits and other important functions are handled in this office\, and the results of mishandling these requests can easily subject the requesters to hardship and expense. Therefore the quality of the work product is extremely important. The holder of that office\, Judith Pascale\, recognizes that fact\, and according to her\, the work product is good. Having a little experience with that department\, it appears to be true. Pictured: Bill Miller Pres LIMBA\, Judith Pascale\, Suffolk County Clerk\, Ernie Fazio LIMBA Chairman \n 
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/judith-pascale-county-clerk/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060915T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060915T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060915T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060915T040000Z
UID:4196-1158278400-1158278400@limba.net
SUMMARY:Bob Yaro\, Pres\, Regional Plan Association
DESCRIPTION:Members and friends \nOur speaker was supposed to be the president of the Regional Plan Association\, Bob Yaro. Unfortunately he could not attend but was successful in finding another person in the organization to make a John Adkins\, who leads the RPA efforts in Connecticut was our speaker instead.\n \nIn June the RPA convened a mayors conference that took place at Adelphi. That conference was very enlightening to the mayors of Long Island. Mayor Paul Pontieri of Patchogue was in the room today and he had attended that conference. Mr Pontieri offerred that the conference was useful in seeing how other villages approached various problems. Each village has its own quirks and traditions but there are always some things that transcend. I suggested that a broader spectrum of the population be asked to participate in an open forum that would address many issues of planning\, and LIMBA should host such a meeting. Having a good idea of what may be done will give the people who have the trainning in planning\, to create what is perceived as being needed. I asked Mr. Adkins to bring that thought to the RPA board\, and be one of the major players.\n \nMr. Adkins limited his remarks to a few chosen subjects\, but we did spend some time on an important LIMBA goal\, enhancing rail freight. The RPA is enthusiastic about Congressman Nadler’s proposed cross harbor rail tunnel. He also thought the freight transload centers were a reasonable answer to the problem of abandoned rail spurs.\n \nThe RPA is predicting 4 million new people in the tri-state region over the next 20 years\, therefor the emphasis on transportation is in the forefront. Of course another LIMBA initiative\, the Shreham to New Haven ferry is an important part of those efforts. These projects are needed for the economy and the environment\, and now with Homeland Security at risk\, they are imperitive.\n 
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/bob-yaro-pres-regional-plan-association/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060908T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060908T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060908T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060908T040000Z
UID:4204-1157673600-1157673600@limba.net
SUMMARY:Steve Levy\, County Executive
DESCRIPTION:This morning our speaker County Executive\, Steve Levy addressed a number of issues that were of interest to the gathered guests. He explained the role of an executive in contrast to a legislator. As the county executive your programs and budgets have to recognize that one action may be in competition with another valid need. He didn’t describe it this way\, but apparently\, as an executive you are in a Solomonesque  situation. \nThe County Executive describes himself as a fiscal conservative\, and his actions indicate that he cares about dollars spent. “There is a need to provide services to the people\, but higher taxes\, can kill the goose that lays the golden egg.” Therefor a delicate balance is Levy’s goal.\nHe claims to have lowered cost by limiting services available to the executive and his staff. Most of the cars used by the executive department are gone. His own salary was cut upon him taking office. “You don’t solve a budget crises with these measures\, but you do set an example.” He said that the county must look for ways of raising revenues as well cutting costs. One of the ways he raised revenues was the leasing of county owned building roofs for cell phone towers. \nHe is an advocate of innovative ways of getting things done. As an example he contracted with the Town of Southampton to plow county roads. “After all their equipment is already clearing town own roads\, Why not let them keep going and clear county roads\, and save the county the trouble\, and we’ll pay them?”\nA similar approach to schools was proposed by Mr. Levy. He recognizes the difficulty of consolidating schools\, but consolidating services to schools can be achieved without the specter of losing local control\, a concept that the public likes. Pooling of school health plans are another example of savings opportunity. \nAffordable housing was also a passionate goal of Mr. Levy. Given the fact that the major cost of housing is land\, and the county owns a lot of it. Using that land in an intelligent plan to build these homes can alleviate the housing cost and fill those needs. \nHis goal of preservation of open land has resulted in the equivalent of three Central Parks being preserved. \nEarly in Mr. Levy’s presentation he discussed the need for an honest and transparent fiscal plan that makes sense to investors. As a result of that care to the balancing of the budget Suffolk County has enjoyed excellent bond ratings. Playing it straight in this area saves the taxpayers money\, according to Levy.\nPictured: Steve Levy\, Kevin Gershowitz\, from Gershow Recycling and Ernie Fazio\, Limba
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/steve-levy-county-executive/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060901T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060901T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060901T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060901T040000Z
UID:4203-1157068800-1157068800@limba.net
SUMMARY:No Meeting Labor Day Weekend
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-labor-day-weekend-4/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060825T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060825T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060825T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060825T040000Z
UID:4210-1156464000-1156464000@limba.net
SUMMARY:Vivian Viloria Fisher
DESCRIPTION:Today our speaker was Vivian Viloria-Fisher. Vivian is a Suffolk County legislator. The conversation was focused on an important emotional issue involving illegal immigrant labor.\nThere is bill that requires that all Suffolk County contracts use legal labor. Viloria-Fisher was very good at presenting the issue and the various slants on the issue. Her presentation was a fair exposition of the motivations for voting on this issue\, whether you are for it or against it. Here are some of the implications\nThis bill is presented as having no cost. No cost? How then do you enforce a law that does not estimate the cost of enforcement\, which is required? The contractors that do business with the county who are operating on the up and up\, often expose the “cheaters” as they refer to them. Thereby rendering the law redundant. The law appears to supersede the federal immigration laws\, which is prohibited\, and lends this law to endless challenge and expense defending it. On the other side.\nThere is a perceived or real problem that deprives legitimate businesses of the opportunity to deal with the county on a level playing field. There have only been a few complaints against the county for engaging contractors who were hiring these illegal\, and therefore an expensive exercise in solving a problem that really doesn’t exist. Labor is divided on this issue and many of them think this legislation has the aura of racism associated with it.\nAt the end of the discussion Vivian gave us her feelings\, and she believed it was inappropriate for the county to adopt this legislation\, and was against it. The votes at the moment are 14 for\, and four against. It looks like a go.\nAnother piece of legislation that was discussed was a proposal to regulate scrap recyclers in a the same way as pawn brokers. The idea behind this legislation is to create a chain of custody of every bucket of brass\, every junked refrigerator\, every bucket of electricians scrap copper\, in order to track stolen metals. I read this piece of legislation\, and it is onerous. For example\, and this is one of many unmanageable requirements of this legislation\, a laborer who scrambles to pick up recyclable metals at a construction site would be considered a scrap dealer and would have to register as a scrap dealer. He would have to be bonded and licensed in order to be able to sell the scrap metal he picks up. Yeah! That aint happening. Moreover there have only been a handful of complaints. Another case of overkill? I think so!. \nPictured: Vivian Viloria Fisher\, Sufolk Legislator and Kevin Gershowitz from Gershow Recycling
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/vivian-viloria-fisher/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060818T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060818T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060818T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060818T040000Z
UID:4197-1155859200-1155859200@limba.net
SUMMARY:Dr Lee Koppleman\, Planning and the Region
DESCRIPTION:Dr Lee Koppelman spoke at LIMBA and it has been about 12 years since he last spoke there. The master planner was generally in good spirits about the way Long Island has developed.\nHe began by citing the economic importance of the Long Island region. Suffolk County\, for example\, is still the largest agricultural county in the state of New York. Long Island with an annual Gross Domestic Product of $130 billion is bigger than more than half of the states in the union\, and bigger than most of the counties in the world.\n \nHe proudly pointed out the Hauppauge Industrial Park as an important contributor to this healthy economy. According to Koppelman It is a model for the rest of the country\, and possibly the most important facility of its kind. Lee reminded us of an earlier time when Long Island lost 110\,000 skilled jobs with the demise of the then\, robust defense industry\, but it was that defense industry that provided Long Island with the intellectual assets we needed to transform this economy and diversify. Dr. Koppelman expressed some concern about outsourcing\, but not because of call centers popping up in India\, but the loss of the good manufacturing jobs.\n \nDr Koppelman is the author of several pieces of legislation that protects open land\, and while he is happy that those measures were adopted\, in most cases the voters were more interested in arresting growth than aiding conservation.\n \nLee was less concerned about immigration than some of the pandering political types\, pointing out that as far immigration is concerned we’ve been there before. The Italians the Irish\, the Germans and the Jews were all “threats” in their time. The threat is not what it seems was the essence of his message.\n \nDr Koppelman was enthusiastic about our educational institutions and our world renown facilities at Cold Spring Harbor and Brookhaven National Labs. The future\, he feels will be very much shaped by these quality institutions and schools. And that future is heading in a positive direction. \n \nHe was less than sanguine about the prospects of rail freight when I asked a question about improving it\, citing objections from the passenger division and rail infrastructure deficiencies coming into NY City. (some of those problems are being addressed presently).\n \nDr Koppelan spoke breifly about the floating gas facility proposed by Broadwater and suggested that we allow the full process to proceed\, and learn as much as we can to see if this facility represents a net gain for the region. (That\, by the way\, is the position of LIMBA)\n \nHis biggest disappointment appeared to be the lack of sewers that will be needed to support better growth. The Southwest Sewer District scandal\, still has politicians running for cover whenever the topic is broached. Saying sewering to a politician is a little like Bud Abbot saying “Niagara Falls” to that maniac in that old  comedy classic film. (Sorry\, you have to be old enough to remember that bit)\n \n\nPictured: Judy McEvoy and Dr. Lee Koppelman
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/dr-lee-koppleman-planning-and-the-region/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060811T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060811T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060811T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060811T040000Z
UID:4198-1155254400-1155254400@limba.net
SUMMARY:Dr Matt Cordaro\, Dean of College of Management\, LIU
DESCRIPTION:Dr Cordaro\, Dean of the School of Management at LIU\, gave us an overview of the courses that are being offerred at the LIU\, which included criminal justice\, social work\, and not for profit. But that was the usual list of special training. What I thought was more interesting and important was the approach to teaching at the graduate level.\n \nMatt spoke of accreditation. Accreditation is a big item\, and standards are adhered to\, to create the quality of education that is widely respected. Universities on Long Island are very competitive. Most of them are keenly aware of the need to excel.  According to Cordaro\, this results in lifting the standards of all schools.\n \nThe MBA oriented “Accelerated International Business Program” is a concept that I thought was particularly interesting. The IABP is a one year program  beginning at the Post campus\, continuing in London\, and completing in Paris. It is easy to see why a program such as this would be popular. This is the kind of innovation that teaches a lot more than the formal course work.\n \nThere is  globalization of education has students coming from all over the world. There is also cooperation in teaching. There is a US and China university program that results in a diploma being issued from both LIU and the Chinese counterpart. \n \nCordaro spoke about the “non traditional” student. The older person\, the retired person\, and the otherwise fully employed. Accommodating these students is challenging\, but there are courses available to them\, and they are not only are taught in the evening\, but Saturdays and Sundays. There are also on-site programs that are being developed for large companies\, and these programs have been around for some time. As our lives\, and perception of our needs continue to change\, these programs are expanding and becoming more numerous. \n \nOne of my questions to Matt was; How does higher education teach “common sense”? I was surprised to hear that common sense is a consideration. And while being a rote student may lead to high marks\, a good education requires a sense of all things\, in total being considered.\n \nWhen Dr Cordaro has spoken at LIMBA in the past the topic was electrical energy. We didn’t let him go without him addressing at least one question. According to Cordaro\, LIPA has done a good job of increasing the amount of available power. He feels they have fallen short of the mark when it comes to cycling out old transformers and other infrastructure. The system is vulnerable because this kind of maintenance must be on schedule\, or failures will come with the stress of hot weather appears. \n \nPictured: Mike DeLouise\, Dowling College\, Terry Townsend\, Dowling College\, Dr. Matthew Cordaro\, our speaker From LI University \n \n 
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/dr-matt-cordaro-dean-of-college-of-management-liu/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060804T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060804T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060804T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060804T040000Z
UID:4205-1154649600-1154649600@limba.net
SUMMARY:Steve Jones "Water and Land Use Principles"
DESCRIPTION:Today’s meeting sponsor\, Cliff Sondock\, the Executive Director of The Land Use Institute\, and Steve Jones\, CEO of Suffolk County Water Authority\, presented a program to dispel myths about water and land use.\n \nAccording to Mr Sondock\, water quality preservation is being used as an excuse to limit how land may be used. Whatever arguments are being used to limit development\, water should definitely not one of them\, according to our presenters.\n \nMr. Jones went into a fairly detailed explanation of how water is extracted and treated. There are several aquifers that can be accessed by the water company. Each of them having their own benefits and cost. However in all cases the water being extracted can be treated and used\, it’s really just a matter of cost. In most cases it makes sense to avoid contamination by creating wells where the water has not suffered any adulteration. The SCWA’s operating principle is to extract water at the lowest cost without compromising quality. \n \nSome of the myths that were cited are;\n    Development is always harmful to the water supply\n    Development near drinking water well is especially harmful\n    Too much development will cause us to run out of drinking water\n    Underground aquifers once polluted can never be cleaned up\n \nThe water that is stored in the vast sand bank of long island is believed to be 100 Trillion gallons. It would take 300 years to run out of water at our present use rates if it never rained during that period. Long Island with an average annual rainfall of 40 inches is far more than is needed. Less than 20 inches is needed to replace the water we use. \n \nThis ever accumulating dome of water leaches out into the ocean and the sound despite the fact that we are constantly using it. Each of the “myths” are not true mostly attributable to this overflowing vast supply water. Where contamination is found\, remedial methods may prove too costly\, and that well will be abandoned.\n \nPictured\,  from left to right:  Steve Jones – CEO Suffolk County Water\, Vivian Viloria Fisher- Suffolk County legislator\, Cliff Sondock -Executive Director\, The Land Use Institute:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/steve-jones-water-and-land-use-principles/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060728T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060728T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060728T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060728T040000Z
UID:4195-1154044800-1154044800@limba.net
SUMMARY:Freight Rails Update - Fred Krebs
DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was NY & Atlantic RR’s president\, Fred Krebs. Mr Krebs began freight operations on Long Island about the middle of year in 1997. Since then the increase of freight has been relatively constant with the exception of the balance of 2001 and 2002.(due to 9/11)\n \nIn 1998\, which was the first full year 9468 freight cars were moved off and on Long Island. This year we are on schedule to move 21\,500 rail cars. This resulted in 956\,175 truckloads being removed from our highways. \n \nTwo years ago Coastal Distribution built a Transload Center as an agent to service the railroad’s freight distribution which includes\, lumber\, appliances\, stone aggregate\, steel\, and many other commodities\, as well as demolition removal business. After carefully designing and incorporating the required dust suppression and all other requirements they (Coastal and NY&Atlantic) approached the town of Babylon to get any permits that may be needed. The town said they were on railroad property and exempt from local control. The facility was built and went into business. That facility alone removed more than 37\,000 truckloads from our highways since it opened two years ago.\n \nAccording to Krebs\, after the fact\, the Town of Babylon got a “stop work order” The case went to court and the town lost. The case went back to court in a higher jurisdiction and the town lost again. The magistrate said that Coastal and the railroad had every right to operate in accordance with the federal rules. \n \nOur position at LIMBA has been that freight rails can and must replace as much long haul trucking as possible. The damage to the roads\, the air pollution caused by the trucks\, and the road congestion is not tolerable. \n \nRecently\, the town went to a friendly state Senator\, Owen Johnson and Legislator\, Robert Sweeney to write legislation that would give the town the powers to regulate the railroads. According to NY & Atlantic president Fred Kreb “There is not a single thing that you can do damage the movement of freight than this legislation.” It appears that the owners of Pinelawn Cemetery are behind this legislation.\n \nKrebs told us that there has not been a single complaint on the operation in two years of operation. \nI wrote a letter to governor Pataki asking him not to sign this legislation. It is our position that the players have to talk to each other\, and if there are any legitimate concerns\, work them out. A copy of the text of that letter is attached. \n \nLater in the day I spoke to a Town of Babylon employee in the supervisors office\, and asked that the supervisor come to LIMBA and explain what\, at the moment\, appears to be inexplicable. If the town is bending to the wishes of a well connected individual\, that is in appropriate. Legislation should have the welfare of the general public in mind and not the parochial interests of an individual. I hope Mr. Bellone sees fit to speak to us. We will give the same opportunity to state his case on this issue\, as well as any other issue he has on his mind. \nPictured: Joe Rutigliano\, Coastal Distributors\,Kevin Gershowitz\, Gershow Recycling\, Fred Krebs\, NY&Atlantic RR\, Martin Sternberg\, Coastal Distributors
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/freight-rails-update-fred-krebs/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060721T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060721T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060721T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060721T040000Z
UID:4200-1153440000-1153440000@limba.net
SUMMARY:Round Table Discussion
DESCRIPTION:At Round Table discussions we speak about advancing established goals as well as new things that we should consider. Always interesting
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/round-table-discussion-2/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060714T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060714T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060714T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060714T040000Z
UID:4192-1152835200-1152835200@limba.net
SUMMARY:Hank Ulrich- Port Security Technology
DESCRIPTION:At this mornings meeting a presentation of port security was given by Hank Ulrich. Hank Ulrich created E2E Consulting (E2E =End to End) to market a technology that he has developed. There are many vulnerable points in the journey of a cargo\, the loading dock\, the trucks and rail links that take cargo to the ports\, the ships and the final destination. Each of these transitions have varying degrees of opportunities for mischief.\nThere has been relatively little done to protect the ports up until now\, but this technology as it is proving out\, will be able to track each container that is in transport.\nThis electronic monitoring device is small. It fits across the locking device on the container and is about the size of a carton of cigarettes. The E2E monitor reads all the cargo in the container. It can detect radiation\, but not in a lead shielded environment. However after a cargo has been sealed at the point of origin it will detect any unauthorized opening of the unit\, holes being drilled in the container\, and any deviation of the predetermined route. Where there is a deviation from the predetermined route a secondary device inside the container reports the position of the container by use of GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) accurately pinpointing the location of the container on the globe to an accuracy of 5 feet. (similar to LoJack)\nWhat is particularly compelling about this technology is that it relatively inexpensive. The insurance companies see this as a theft mitigation device. The cost of installing this equipment could be totally offset by lower cargo premiums.\nMr. Ulrich plans to build the system right here on Long Island. If the E2E company can add jobs\, and contribute to the local\, while protecting our ports\, I would say that this is a win all around
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/hank-ulrich-port-security-technology/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060707T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060707T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060707T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060707T040000Z
UID:4199-1152230400-1152230400@limba.net
SUMMARY:NO Meeting
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-12/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060623T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060623T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060623T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060623T040000Z
UID:4193-1151020800-1151020800@limba.net
SUMMARY:Trevor Davis -Small Bus Financial services
DESCRIPTION:This morning’s informative breakfast meeting was about banking. Not traditional banking\, but the kind of banking that can and does help the small business person.\n \nTime was\, according to Community Development Corporation’s Trevor Davis\, when your banker could make an assessment of the lender that would take into consideration unusual and non-recurring events. For example a bankruptcy that was caused by a tragic health problem\, would put a small business lender out of consideration in the traditional banking community. However a loan officer in CDC could make a lending decision based on more complete knowledge of the borrower.\n \nPrior to the time that bankers went to a numerical rating system\, the traditional bankers would do that too\, now those otherwise credit worthy applicants are referred to banks like CDC.\n \nMr. Davis said that there are four kinds of small businesses entrepreneurs and all are important\n1) Survival – I’m in business because I lost my job at GE and I have to survive\n2)Lifestyle – I’m doing what I love and great wealth is of secondary importance\n3)Serial – Create businesses and later sell them or close them depending on viability.\n4) Growth-Here the purpose is to create personal wealth\, and community wealth\, with an eye toward creating a large company\, perhaps even going public.  \n \nNot all of the above\, perhaps none of the above\, would qualify for traditional lending\n \nTraditional bankers have a loan loss expectancy of 1%. The CDC has a default rate of about 4%. I asked if that rate of loss was sustainable\, and the answer was\, yes\, for various reasons including\, that there is no obligation for his bank to show a profit. Other reasons are that there are grants and donations from government and traditional banks to help CDC perform a valuable service.. The good news is that 96% of the loans are paid back\, and that has a social value to the region because many of these small businesses exist because of lay-offs caused by a constantly changing economy.\n \nMr Davis brought up an interesting development that is now being supported by Walmart and Home Depot. Walmart has been offering training for businesses. With the idea that both the local retailer and the big box store can co-exist. Indeed I have seen it happen several times. If you need a supplier that can also answer many of your question\, chances are you’ll be heading to your local hardware store\, not Home Depot. Perhaps the pressure exerted against these retailing giants has borne some significant fruit. These small\, in town stores\, are the natural clientele of the CDC\, and it is important good news that there appears to be a stabilization. That stabilization is aided by the resources made available by banks like the CDC. 
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/trevor-davis-small-bus-financial-services/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060616T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060616T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060616T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060616T040000Z
UID:4191-1150416000-1150416000@limba.net
SUMMARY:Roger Corbin
DESCRIPTION:“The taxes are so high it’s ridiculous” That was the opening statement from Nassau County legislator Roger Corbin at LIMBA this morning. Mr Corbin admitted that what was needed to change things would be difficult.Taking a page out of Ronald Reagan’s book when he could not advance his programs because he was faced with a Democratically dominated congress. said “I’m going to the people” Corbin quoted Reagan. And that’s just what Mr. Corbin is about.\nThe tax disparity in the various tax districts are substantial\, leaving the poorer districts with little industrial and commercial taxes to support them suffering. That\, according to Corbin\, must be corrected. \nRoger cited the cost of schools and the many school districts that the schools that make up the system. He has the firm belief that the schools can be consolidated\, and save an enormous amount of money without adversely affecting the quality of education. He cited as an example the school system in Montgomery County\, Maryland. Since consolidation the schools system is far less costly\, and improved in quality. Recently an evaluation of those schools put them among the 5 best systems in the country. \nMr. Corbin brought to our attention the numerous fire districts citing the ludicrous duplication and inefficiencies in the structure of the this ad hoc creation of these departments. Libraries were another example of inefficiency. Comparing Long Islands balkanized libraries to the citywide system of New York City. “In New York City you can borrow a book in Manhattan and return it in Staten Island.” stated Corbin. “It’s one system.”\nAccording to Corbin these are 19th century policies\, and must be changed Paraphrasing Reagan Corbin said “knock down these tax walls”\nAmong the other topics Roger spoke about was energy independence. He suggested that municipalities should step up and use the solar electric opportunities that presently exist. He said NY State\, and more specifically Long Island should be manufacturing solar panels.  \nThe Corbin’s articulation of the numerous opportunities that we are squandering reminded me of LIMBA’s founder\, Paul Townsend\,  when he was writing his weekly column.
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/roger-corbin/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060609T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060609T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060609T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060609T040000Z
UID:4194-1149811200-1149811200@limba.net
SUMMARY:Civil Liberties Union - Dolores Bilges
DESCRIPTION:This morning we had a presentation from Dolores Bilges\, Executive Director of the NY Civil Liberties Union. NYCLU is the local representatives of the national organization\, ACLU. \n \nWe\, or at least I\, had the image of a large organization with an active agenda. Not so! The NYCLU is a small organization with no legal staff. When they get a complaint and need a lawyer to bring suit\, they hire one or more lawyers. There is however an active board of directors. What surprised me was the makeup of the board. Seventy percent of the board are registered Republicans. \n \nAccording to Ms. Bilges\, the Civil Liberties Union has only one client\, the Constitution of the United States\, and in particular The Bill of Rights. Any suit brought on behalf of any person or group of persons is principally designed to protect those guaranteed freedoms \n \nWe discussed the PATRIOT Act in some detail. The CLU actually supports the bulk of the provisions in the act. However they take exception to the ability to harvest library records\, medical records and other personal information without a warrant. At the same time the PATRIOT Act forbids the person or institution that supplies records from disclosing that the records have been turned over.. \n \nWhen we began the Q&A portion the discussion was lively to say the least. There were some that felt that as long as you have done nothing wrong\, you have nothing to fear. Others were more adamant about keeping the ordinary citizens secrets\, just that\, secret. As the discussion continued there were nuanced rejoinders\, where participants were able to agree that some basic freedoms can be\, and must be\, protected\, while at the same time aggressively tracking terrorists.\n \nAs we were thanking our speaker\, I said that this was a good and honest debate from people who had differences on the topic. This is the debate that never took place in Congress. After 9/11 we were all so eager to stop the carnage demonstrated by the savage blow delivered to America. In their haste and fear Congress approved what many people now see as an over reaction. Of course\, not all the audience saw it that way\, but many of them on both sides of the argument said they were pleased that they attended.
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/civil-liberties-union-dolores-bilges/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060602T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060602T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060602T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060602T040000Z
UID:4190-1149206400-1149206400@limba.net
SUMMARY:Homeland Security - Ken Morelly
DESCRIPTION:Ken Morrelly\, President of Long Island Forum for Technology (LIFT) made a presentation this morning on Homeland Security. The state of New York has allotted $25 Million to establish a center for the development of new products that will be used in the effort to protect the nation. This will not be an incubator. The idea is to use technology that is presently available and apply that technology to the needs of security. The physical plant will be occupied by 20 different companies around the state. There will be a high tech theater to illustrate the various ideas that will be explored. Each of the 20 cells will be peopled by 2 individuals from these 20 participating companies. The site will be linked with the various companies throughout the state.\nThe upper floor will be occupied by Northrop Grumman\, and their mission will be homeland defense. They will have 150 people in the building. Some of the validation of present technology will have applications in defense. Otherwise the technology will be used to help create security systems. Mr. Morrelly pointed out to us the there is a distinction between Homeland Security and Homeland Defense.\nThey expect that in an environment such as this there will be cross pollination of ideas as well as a transference of ideas in systems that they are not presently using what is otherwise known. The chance that serendipity will come into play is great.\nWhile working for New York Telephone company many years ago we did something like this quite by accident. When we deployed personnel to tend to an emergency situation in another city the crafts people traded information on procedures that were not used in their home districts. The learning process was amazing even though we all worked from the very same manuals throughout the country they were able to innovate\, and those effective innovations were now taken home when the emergency was over. I expect we will see a similar transference of knowledge in this project.\nLIMBA has as one of its action projects high speed ferries. Another is better access to rail freight. When asked if these issues would be able to benefit from this center\, Morrelly said that transportation was not one of the issues that the center considered\, but those issues do have a homeland security aspect. \nPictured:  Ken Morrelly\, President of Lift and Pat Howley Executive Director of LIFT
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/homeland-security-ken-morelly/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20060526T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20060526T000000
DTSTAMP:20260425T104435
CREATED:20060526T040000Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060526T040000Z
UID:4189-1148601600-1148601600@limba.net
SUMMARY:NO MEETING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-memorial-day-weekend/
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