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:20060402T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20061029T060000 END:STANDARD 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:20080118T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080118T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20080118T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080118T050000Z UID:4274-1200614400-1200614400@limba.net SUMMARY:Victor Yannacone DESCRIPTION:This morning’s topic raised a few eyebrows\, "Global Warming Fact or Fiction." Our speaker was respected attorney and environmentalist Victor Yannacone. Victor has numerous credits to his name including being a founding member of the "Environmental Defense Fund" and lead attorney on the Agent Orange legal suit in support of Viet Nam era soldiers.\n \nThe title of his address was a little misleading. The argument presented was that the activities of human beings are not the cause of global warming. The larger impact on the phenomenon are other naturally occurring forces. There is a problem\, but to ham string the United States with rules that will inhibit economic growth\, is not fair because developing countries such as China and India are not bound by the same rules. Moreover\, according to Yannacone\, human activity accounts for only about 1% of the greenhouse gasses. I challenged Yannacone’s premise when he said that the same phenomenon has occurred numerous times over the life of the planet. I reminded him that the ice cores from which we get our data on CO 2 goes back 700\,000 years\, and that data suggests that the CO 2 has been dramatically higher since the industrial revolution.\n \nYou can take issue with his premise\, and I did\, but what he went on to say was more interesting. Conservation and alternative fuels need to be a major part of our future. He then brought the story back home. He did not cede his original proposition\, but stated we must reduce our use of fossil fuels by a better use facilities we have. The Long Island Railroad should have at least one tie that binds the three track systems together. He suggested the Port Jefferson Medford and Patchogue could be tied together to create a loop. This would make the railroad more useful for intra-island transit. Housing should be more clustered and in a mixed use grouping.\n \n"The present model under which Long Island operates is dead." The entire country needs to build the equivalent of the interstate highway system to deliver our electrical power. Building a robust rail system and electrical transmission system will substantially mitigate the greenhouse gasses that people talk about\, but Yannacone was approaching some of the same conclusions without the vitriol that is usually directed to the Hummer owners  \n \nAha….we have an ally after all. LIMBA has been advocating for a robust rail freight system for years. We now get less than 2% of our freight by rail. If we increased that amount to 10%\, we would take 325\,000 tractor trailers off the highways each year.\n \nIt was a very encouraging presentation because the challenge presents enormous development opportunities according to our speaker. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/victor-yannacone/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080111T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080111T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20080111T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080111T050000Z UID:4275-1200009600-1200009600@limba.net SUMMARY:Martin Luther King Holiday weekend no meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/martin-luther-king-holiday-weekend-no-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20080104T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20080104T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20080104T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20080104T050000Z UID:4272-1199404800-1199404800@limba.net SUMMARY:Helena Williams\, LIRR President DESCRIPTION:Helena Williams\, newest\, and first female President of the LIRR came to LIMBA today to give us an update on her first six months at the throttle of the nation’s busiest commuter railroad.  Drew Scott of News 12 was in attendance and snagged a post-meeting interview.  Ms. Williams has a long career in public service\, from positions in New York City Government\, Nassau County\, and running the Long Island Bus division of the MTA.  Her enthusiasm for the job is evident\, and it is an exciting time to be at the LIRR\, working on the first expansion of the system in over a hundred years\, East Side Access (ESA).  Her approach has focused on three key areas\, safety\, security\, and service reliability.  Her talk today was focused on the third area\, reliability.  She said that this was what has arisen most in her interactions with customers. \n  \nThe two projects that will have the biggest impacts on service reliability will be ESA and the third track on the mainline between Floral Park and Hicksville.  Ms.  Williams is not a career railroader\, but her demeanor\, carriage\, and experience appear to make her the right person for the job at the right time.  For ESA to be a success\, supporting projects in the region must also be implemented successfully\, and the attempts by her predecessors to move these forward have met with ferocious resistance from those unwilling to shoulder burdens for the greater good.  Her recommendation of Conquering Gotham as a reference bodes well for her prospects in completing the supporting projects.  In presenting these projects\, she spoke of sharing benefits and burdens on a bi-county\, regional basis.  To put it in a nutshell\, ESA brings huge benefits to both counties\, but Nassau must bear the burden of Main Line Corridor Improvements ( MLCI – third track )\, and Suffolk must bear the burden of a new train storage yard somewhere.  The third supporting project\, trackwork in Jamaica\, imposes burdens on the existing ridership\, having to have things juggled while trackwork takes place within the space and time envelope already owned by the railroad. \n  \nHer description of the review process and emphasis on the railroad’s acceptance and integration of community feedback into the plans for MLCI\, and a plausible description of road traffic conditions if the supporting projects don’t take place indicate that an understanding of the landscape and a recognition that different sales approach is necessary has arrived in Jamaica station on Track #1.  A quick overview with light detail of some trouble spots and how MLCI can solve them shows an engaged manager with both strategic and tactical skills.  All those skills will be called upon to guide the nation’s busiest railroad\, running 728 daily trains with just about 1200 pieces of rolling stock carrying 289\,000 customers per day. \nIntra-island service was another highlight of her talk\, where she described the integrated project to deal with County Road 39 construction.  The LIRR’s shuttle service between Speonk and Montauk was a large\, but not the only part\, of this effort.  She gave kudos to the East End planners that brought together van and carpooling services from LIRR stations to end destinations\, plus communication facilities as a model for future projects.  She emphasized the integration part of the equation\, where the LIRR is part of a holistic approach to transportation\, and transportation oriented development.  \n  \nOnce again\, we had a lively Q & A session\, which covered the prospects for additional shuttle service projects and the Moynihan Station/Farley Post Office project\, which prompted a declaration by Ms. Williams that we should have her back for another meeting just to discuss the issues surrounding that particular item.  We look forward to another informative Friday morning visit from Madame President. \n  \nRecap and pictures were provided by  \nCraig Plunkett\nCEDX\, UrbanHotspots\, Fire Island Wireless\nVoice:516-672-3146\,Fax:631-824-9019 URL:https://limba.net/calendar/helena-williams-lirr-president/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071228T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071228T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071228T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071228T050000Z UID:4266-1198800000-1198800000@limba.net SUMMARY:No Meeting-Holiday week DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-holiday-week/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071221T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071221T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071221T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071221T050000Z UID:4271-1198195200-1198195200@limba.net SUMMARY:Holiday Recess No Meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/holiday-recess-no-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071214T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071214T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071214T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071214T050000Z UID:4267-1197590400-1197590400@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Holiday Breakfast DESCRIPTION:The Holiday Gathering was held today and our performers were Jim Graseck on his magical violin\, and Vince Dantona & George (George is a puppet). \n \nJim began by playing for the guests as they entered the room and until we settled in after having breakfast. His violin ability and variety of music is astounding. I sang a few songs with him and then we introduced the ventriloquist. Vince was fed a few names of people who were expected to attend and then he singled them out for a little shtick. I had hired Vince a few years ago for another Holiday party so I had seen his routine\, but he was as fresh and funny this time as it was the last time. It’s been a while since I laughed as hard.\n \nJim Graseck has a humorous take on music and the violin in much the same way that Victor Borge had with the piano. He is classically trained and will break out in conversation with his audience while playing the most intricate piece\, and never miss a note. He came back and closed out the morning with a some more holiday music and ethnic music that included Danny Boy\, The Tarantella\, Maleguena\, A polka\, and several others. \n \n\nBoth of these talented performers are native to Long Island and it was a pleasure to have them. \nThanks to the support of Terry Townsend\, Waldo Cabrera of Islip.TV\, and Doreen Guma of Adcount Direct we were able to help fund and advertise a wonderful event URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-holiday-breakfast/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071207T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071207T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071207T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071207T050000Z UID:4268-1196985600-1196985600@limba.net SUMMARY:Robert Catell\, Chairman\, Keyspan DESCRIPTION:This morning our speaker Bob Catell\, Chairman of the new utility entity National Grid US\, gave us a recap of the transition to our new situation. In Mr. Catell’s opinion there are now opportunities that are available to the utility and the service area that would not have otherwise existed. For example the costly repowering of existing plants are more viable if the company has the resources\, and it does. That does not imply that repowering is the most advantageous way of retiring old plant equipment. In some cases it may be better to build a brand new state-of-the-art plant on a new location.  \n \nAnother item was the transporting of power from Canada to downstate. While Canada has ample power available to sell\, the transmission lines are presently inadequate to handle the added demand. National Grid owns some of the upstate companies that would benefit from the additional\, clean and abundant Hydro Quebec power. Now\, National Grid owns the downstate market that was serviced by Keyspan. With that in mind it makes economic sense to invest large sums of capital in transmission lines to service all of their companies.\n \nThe subject of synergy was discussed as well. By avoiding duplicative systems there is an opportunity to save money. But there is also an opportunity to have more cross-trained personnel to help when there is a disaster. Presumably when disaster strikes\, it does not disable all parts of the system equally. Trained people from New England can migrate to the effected area. The utilities have done this in the past\, but now the utility will now have control over training of all of the crafts people. Thereby insuring that there is enough\npersonnel with the required multiple skills.\n \nThe topic of Islander East Pipeline was brought up\, and although that project has been challenged by the state of Connecticut it looks probable those issues will be resolved. Broadwater was also discussed and Bob admitted that Broadwater would be helpful in servicing the needs of the region\, but that issue is more murky.\n \nCatell discussed the Advanced Energy Research program that will operate out of SUNY Stony Brook. That facility has the prospect of changing dramatically the nature of electric power production\, distribution and use\, as well as many other facets of the energy picture. Mr. Catell and Shirley Strum Kenny are co-chairs of that facility. We wish them well.\n### URL:https://limba.net/calendar/robert-catell-chairman-keyspan/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071130T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071130T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071130T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071130T050000Z UID:4273-1196380800-1196380800@limba.net SUMMARY:Frank MacKay\, Independence Party\, National Chairman DESCRIPTION:Members and friends\nAll that we try to accomplish at LIMBA is dependent on creating the political climate so that it can happen. However we do not declare any allegiance to any political party. But today we examined under the tutelage of Frank MacKay\, National Chairman of the Independence Party\, the workings of the political parties. We examined the effect that the so-called minor parties have on the political process.\n \nFrank had us look at some recent elections to make his point that a "minor" party endorsement is not only helpful\, it is often pivotal. In New York City where some voters "would rather cut off their right arm than pull a lever that said Republican" according to Frank\, these people did pull the third party lever and Mr. Bloomberg\, the Republican was voted into office. The number of people that voted on the Independence line was greater than the difference between the Republican and the Democratic votes. That Independence line was needed to put Michael Bloomberg in office.\n \nIn 1992 Ross Perot\, despite running a miserable campaign\, garnered 19% of the vote and Bill Clinton\, won over George Bush with a mere plurality. In 2000 Ralph Nader created the same scenario and sank the campaign of Al Gore.\n \nWe then discussed the current politics at the presidential level and the contempt the public has for the president and the congress. With the president’s approval rating at 30% and the Congress at 11% MacKay thinks a third party candidate\, such as Mayor Bloomberg\, would have an excellent chance of winning.\n \nTo Frank’s way of thinking\, social issues are not part of the process\, "we don’t wear clerical collars in politics" MacKay said\, "discuss those matters with people who do wear those collars. Politics to MacKay is more about political process. Election reform is the most important issue if you are interested in preserving democracy. The Independence Party recently opened their primaries to every citizen that is registered to vote in every state in the Union\, and was subsequently sued by the major parties. The Independence Party won that tussle.\n\nErnie Fazio \n  \nPictured: Independence Party\, National Chairman\, Frank MacKay\, and Ernie Fazio\n\n\n  \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/frank-mackay-independence-party-national-chairman/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071123T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071123T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071123T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071123T050000Z UID:4262-1195776000-1195776000@limba.net SUMMARY:Thanksgiving Holiday -No Meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/thanksgiving-holiday-no-meeting-2/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071115T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071115T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071115T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071115T050000Z UID:4254-1195084800-1195084800@limba.net SUMMARY:Karaoke Night at LIMBA 5:30 PM (No morning mtg) DESCRIPTION:Karaoke will begin Thursday afterwork at 5:30. The great Anita Bloom will preside. She is a knock-out of a performer\, and runs a great show for the audience/singers.\nVenue is not yet determined. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/karaoke-night-at-limba-530-pm-no-morning-mtg/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071109T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071109T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071109T050000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071109T050000Z UID:4261-1194566400-1194566400@limba.net SUMMARY:Veterans Day/Armistace Day NO Meeting DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/veterans-dayarmistace-day-no-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071102T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071102T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071102T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071102T040000Z UID:4270-1193961600-1193961600@limba.net SUMMARY:Dr Mathew Cordaro\, LIU DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Dr. Matthew Cordaro. Matt heads up energy research and policy development at The Center for Management Analysis at Post Dr Cordaro Has been in the utility field for many years and was SR VP of LILCO at one point. \n\nMatt pointed out that National Grid is a formidable entity with the wealth and experience to service the region\, and they were approved as an operating company based some promises that were made to the regulators. Basically those commitments revolved around the need for Grid to maintain a workforce large enough to be able to restore power in the case of a major catastrophe. According to Cordaro 90% of the present workforce has never experienced a major hurricane and that fact creates an exposure. \nCordaro said it is up to us to maintain pressure on the operators to live up to the commitments that they made. \n  \nDr. Cordaro said he was confident in the new leadership under Kevin Law at LIPA\, but Law never had any direct utility experience. There are serious challenges that Mr. Law will have to deal with. The system is aging and there is a complicated contractual arrangement with Grid. There have been $2 Billion in investment by LIPA and that has to be paid for as well. \n  \nConservation has always been promoted as a means of avoiding the cost of new power plant construction\, but these conservation programs cost money and they too have to be paid for. There are many challenges for LIPA and Grid\, but none insurmountable. \n  \nThe conversation then went on to repowering. LIMBA has been a long time proponent of repowering. Repowering is essentially rebuilding high efficiency\, state of the art power plants at existing locations. The problem here is that not all the existing sites are good candidates for repowering. As one of the audience pointed out the task is more costly than creating a new power plant in a new location. The old sites have in some cases real estate limitations. That is\, not enough room to build while leaving the old plant in service. The one plant that everyone seems to agree is viable for repowering is Barrett. There probably is one or two others. An alternative is building new plants in new places “virtual repowering” The examples given the new Caithness plant in Bellport and the proposed Keyspan plant on Spagnoli Rd in Melville URL:https://limba.net/calendar/dr-mathew-cordaro-liu/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071026T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071026T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071026T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071026T040000Z UID:4269-1193356800-1193356800@limba.net SUMMARY:Round Table Discussion DESCRIPTION:Members and friends\nThis morning we conducted one of our occasional "Round Table Discussions" I find these sessions very helpful in setting the agenda for LIMBA. \nOne of the suggestions was to re-create that staccato of issues that are worth repeating again and again. Paul Townsend was very successful at moving issues along because he wouldn’t let them die.\nHere are some of the issues that our members decided should be on that list;\n \nSewers-All attempts to provide denser housing are thwarted by the need for sewers. Instead of committing all of the 1/4% sales tax for land acquisition\, perhaps we could address sewers and make it possible to retain strategically located open space. This would assist economic development\, create more housing\, and still preserve open space\nReduce\, realign\, and condense government services. It would be more efficient to give more authority to county government and reduce town government. Park districts on Long Island would be recognized as regional resources. People from Smithtown should be welcome in Huntington and Babylon parks as well as all other jurisdictions\nWe need to rethink fire districts-Are we better served by this costly redundancy of fire equipment and locations\, or should we consolidate fire departments? And while we are at it\, shouldn’t we examine the idea of a paid fire department\, under county auspices? Wouldn’t we then have more coverage over all periods of the day\, at possibly less cost?\nThe schools are Long Island’s "sacred cows". However the schools have done their critics a favor recently. School financial scandals are more widespread than previously suspected\, giving rise to the notion that a county-wide oversight would be able to reign in the rogues. Even where blatant fraud and theft were not apparent\, there seems to be a cavalier attitude to spending.\nLIPA is excluded from NYSERDA’s energy research programs. I believe the reason for that is\, that as a state authority LIPA is not obligated to participate in NYSERDA"s programs and dose not pay for them either. Perhaps we can legally change that and then Long Island can partake in NYSERDA largesse.\nLastly we discussed the concept of pumped storage. This concept allows a generating facility to buy inexpensive off-peak hydro-power from upstate during the night and pumping water to a higher elevation. During the day the water is released to operate generators to supply power at peak load times. A serious look at this technology should be considered in adding to an array of generating options for the future.\n \nLIMBA is always true to its own self imposed time restraints and we adjourned at 9:30. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/round-table-discussion-4/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071019T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071019T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071019T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071019T040000Z UID:4263-1192752000-1192752000@limba.net SUMMARY:Hon Tom Spota\, Suffolk County District Atty DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Suffolk District Attorney\, Tom Spota. Mr Spota began by stating that his most important contemporary duties are involved with terror attack prevention. An audience member mentioned that there were Middle Eastern men taking parachuting  lessons on the east end. Mr Spota acknowledged that fact but declined to discuss it further.\n \nA while back DA Spota created a street gang unit and gave us some insights on how sophisticated some of these gang leaders were. He told us of a gang leader that was in his 40’s and was using his illegal gains to buy real estate. All of which Mr Spota seized when an arrest was made.\n \nAs important as those two items of law prosecution are the item that resonated with the audience more than others were the government corruption cases. White collar crime is not dismissible to Spota just because it is "an insurance company" or the "government" that is taking the hit. It is important crime because it challenges the trust we place in the system we live in.\n \nTom told of a school superintendent that was being paid $340\,000\, was issued a car and credit card to pay car expenses\, plus a $700/ month car allowance. In addition to that he was getting a $40\,000/ year guaranteed annuity. He then wrote himself a check from the payroll account for another 168\,000. The following week he wrote another check from the same account for 178\,000. Nobody in the school district picked up on any of this. This grand theft was discovered after his office made a routine investigation. This was a particularly egregious case\, but Spota said they found many other troubling mishandling of funds in other districts.\n \n\nHe then discussed identity theft and computer fraud. In these cases the amount of the theft was enormous compared to armed robbery and violent crime\, but the more troubling aspect of these thefts were that in the large majority of cases the money was transferred overseas to countries that are hostile to America. \nPictured: Bill Miller\, Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota and Ernie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/hon-tom-spota-suffolk-county-district-atty/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071012T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071012T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071012T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071012T040000Z UID:4256-1192147200-1192147200@limba.net SUMMARY:Brookhaven Supervisor\, Brian Foley DESCRIPTION:This week\, 10/12\, our speaker was Town of Brookhaven Supervisor\, Brian Foley. Mr Foley began by telling us that the Town of Brookhaven has taken the position that they must be business friendly. Good projects will be assisted by the towns planning department. Where the town employees can assist in cutting red tape\, they will. The NY State Empire Zone was begun under a previous administration. It is being preserved and expanded by the Foley team.\n \nThe Town has inaugurated a system that tracks requests and makes sure that inquiries for assistance are properly routed. That system has helped builders and developers get things approved or rejected quickly to save time and money. where and when follow-up is needed it happens.\n \nThe issue of the "Ferries for Homeland Security" was brought up and a copy of LIMBA’s proposal on that project was given to the Supervisor ( a copy is attached). We asked if the Town could support our efforts and the economic development officer\, Ray Donnelly\, said it would be looked at favorably.\n \nWe also suggested that having LIPA sell power to Gershow recycling would have a beneficial effect on air quality. There are issues with that request that are presently being dealt with.\n(We held this meeting on the premises of Tradewinds Environmenta Restoration. We thank them for their hospitality) URL:https://limba.net/calendar/brookhaven-supervisor-brian-foley/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20071005T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20071005T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20071005T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20071005T040000Z UID:4265-1191542400-1191542400@limba.net SUMMARY:Fuel Cell Technology\, John Francescina DESCRIPTION:John Franceschina of Fuel Cell Energy spoke on the use of major size fuel cells that his company builds. John Eff of Long Island Energy Partners wrote the report. Here is John’s report;\n\nOn Friday October 5\, attendees at the weekly LIMBA meeting were treated to a very informative presentation by John Franceschina of Fuel Cell Energy. Fuel Cell Energy\, located in Danbury\, Ct  is a manufacturer and installer of Fuel Cells. Fuel Cells generate electrical and thermal energy from a chemical \nreaction with the introduction of a source fuel such as natural gas. Mr Franceschina presented the advantages of fuel cell technology and how Fuel Cell Energy’s stationery cells can help Long Island increase electric supply while decreasing the carbon footprint. The commercially available products come in several size ranges for various market applications such as hospitals\, nursing homes\, manufacturing plants\, waste water treatment plants\, large hotels and colleges and universities. Numerous installations have been in operation across the country. Coupled with 90% availability\, low emissions\,and low noise\, fuel cells can be the commercially "green" technology sited easily. \n\n–John Eff URL:https://limba.net/calendar/fuel-cell-technology-john-francescina/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070928T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070928T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070928T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070928T040000Z UID:4257-1190937600-1190937600@limba.net SUMMARY:LIBDC Conference at Montauk-NO LIMBA MEETING DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/libdc-conference-at-montauk-no-limba-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070921T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070921T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070921T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070921T040000Z UID:4250-1190332800-1190332800@limba.net SUMMARY:Hon. Tim Bishop\, Congressman 1st Congressional District DESCRIPTION:The Honorable Tim Bishop\, Congressman from Long Island’s 1st District\, was our speaker this morning. We requested that he speak about energy. In particular we wanted to hear about Congressman Steve Israel’s legislation. We also asked to comment on the conduct of the  occupation of Iraq\, and how that is going.\n \nMr Bishop pointed out what\, columnist\, Tom Freedman stated a while back\, United States is funding both sides of this war. We buy oil from a region that supports terrorism\, and we suffer the economic costs of fielding our own troops and equipment. That answer actually bridged the two initial focal points we asked about.\n \nBut sticking to the original question Tim said their was some good news. Where global warming has been questioned in the past\, it is now taken for fact. The earth is getting warmer. The fact that we recognize that puts us in the position of doing something about it. Some of the things we should be doing are;\n\nRoll back the $16.5 billion in tax breaks given to the oil industry. There is no rational for selecting the industry for tax abatement when they are probably the most profitable sector of the economy.\nMandate that utility companies produce at least 15% of their power using non-polluting alternative energy by a date certain.\nReconsider properly sited Nuclear Power plants.\nPass an alternative energy research and development bill such as the one proposed by Congressman Israel\nHe suggested that bio-fuels can and should be developed\, although corn based fuel is less than an optimum use of that product for fuel. He was being kind\, but having corn farmers as your constituents could color your opinion.\n\nThere are two alternative energy bills that are presently being considered. One in the House and one in the Senate. There is considerable differences and according to Mr. Bishop\, they may be difficult to resolve.\n \nTurning his attention back to Iraq he told us the United States has invested more than $20 billion in training and equipping the Iraqi security forces\, and they have little to show for the effort. The chief of staff\, General Petraes boss\, General Mullen said we are not going to resolve the Iraqi situation by military means. Tim then gave some statistics on the polling of the Iraqi people. 70% of Iraqi’s think it is OK to attack American soldiers. Congressman Bishop is adamant on our need to redeploy our troops away from the centers of the action. The president is equally adamant about keeping on doing what we are doing.\nHe then cited the GAO report that bluntly stated that Al Queda has completely reconstituted itself with the net result being interpreted as\, we are no more secure now than we were before 9-11.\n \nIt was suggested that enough criminal behavior has occurred in this White House to warrant impeachment. He rejected that idea on the grounds that it would tie up the country and be seen as a "bloodless coupe" if Bush and Cheney were impeached and convicted. That scenario would leave Speaker Pelosi in the presidency. In other words\, it aint gonna’ happen.\n\nErnie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/hon-tim-bishop-congressman-1st-congressional-district/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070914T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070914T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070914T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070914T040000Z UID:4255-1189728000-1189728000@limba.net SUMMARY:Dr Robert Scott\, President\, Adelphi DESCRIPTION:This morning’s speaker was Dr. Robert Scott\, President of Adelphi University. Dr Scott is keenly aware of the pitfalls of institutions of higher education. Of the many things that can detract from the essential missions of our colleges is the fact that we can go astray in academia as much as we can in business. \nThere were miss-steps by universities in dealing with big pharma\, defense contractors and other powerful business interests. These miss-steps tend to compromise the core values of educational institutions\,  but on balance they resist and make corrections in course.\n\nHis warning for himself and others in his position is to be wary of the temptations that are presented to people who are dealing with budgets. Building a sports stadium and then selling the sky-boxes for hundreds of thousands of dollars is not in the best interest of the institutions. According to Scott it compromises the integrity of the school. On the other hand he admits to renting the rooftops of university buildings to cell phone providers and garnering a handsome fee for that use.\nDr Scott went on to express his belief that universities are not the trainning rooms for industry. They are the places where we deal in more than just the established knowns. They are the places where we discuss the unknowns. Universities are supposed to question what we think. He pointed out that slavery was legal and rationalized in our concept of law. Nevertheless it had to be challenged\, not in legal terms\, but in terms of ethics. In other words what is fair. He closed that part of the presentation with the notion that universities most function\, and be viewed as ethical  centers for the larger society.\nDr Scott pointed out that curiculum standards for American learning institutions are models for much of the world. As a result we attract students like no other country on earth. Long Island schools are among the best in a nation that can claim superlatives in education. (About $60 billion pours into the US institutions of higher learning attributable to fees paid by foreign students)\nAs an economic entity much can be said for education at this level. Adelphi has an operating budget of about $200 million per year. The combined operating budgets of all of Long Islands universities and colleges is $3.7 billion. That has an overall effect on the economy of Long Island of $10 Billion. As you can see\, not small potatoes.\n\nDuring the Q&A period a comment was posed about the beneficial effect of the GI Bill that rewarded our military servicemen and women after WWII. It was arguably the most effective way of keeping America competitive. Dr Scott launched into this one\, and said we now have a GI Bill that young soldiers have to opt into at the cost of $100 per month. A soldier with a wife and child may opt not to sign on because of his needs and limited pay. According to Dr. Scott that was a recruiting tool with an obvious flaw. He went on to say that many of the companies that now exist here on Long Island and around the country were started by these fortunate recipients of higher education\, and we all profited by their gain. \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/dr-robert-scott-president-adelphi/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070907T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070907T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070907T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070907T040000Z UID:4260-1189123200-1189123200@limba.net SUMMARY:Joseph Ambrosio\, Odyne Corporation DESCRIPTION:The presentation today by Dan DeMeo of Odyne Corporation was outstanding\,\nboth in content and presentation. \nThe topic today was\, creating the systems needed to use hybrid technology on\nlarger vehicles. Odyne has approached the advancement of Hybrid on the concept\nof modular construction vs whole vehicle manufacture. Many of the components of\ntheir system are off-the-shelf technology. By using heavy duty electric motors\nthat were built by GE and used by the elevator industry for decades\, Odyne has\nadapted them for use in buses and trucks. These are high voltage units that\noperate off DC battery power. The vehicles also have small internal combustion\nengines that are used to recharge the batteries and they operate at more or less\nconstant speeds without the need to accelerate. The internal combustion engine\nis 1/3 the size that would be otherwise needed. \nThe applications that are most advantages are heavy vehicles that make many\nstops and starts\, such as garbage trucks and buses. Fuel costs are reduced\ndramatically. We have seen this demonstrated in  passenger vehicles. Now we have\nthe technology modified to work in larger vehicles. \nThe electric motors have much higher performance features at low speed than\ndo conventional engines. The  vehicles also have the capacity to recapture\nthe braking energy of the vehicle and drastically reduce brake wear. \nThere is a very healthy return on investment too\, according to Mr. DeMeo\,\nmaking this technology attractive in the pursuit of cleaner air\, as well\nas better operating economics. \nI found that the most exciting part of Odyne’s efforts is that the technology\ncan be used in old equipment as well as newly manufactured units. They refitted\nan old garbage truck that was destined to the salvage yard\, replaced the\noperating power train\, painted it and put it back on the road. It works better\nand more efficiently than a brand new non-hybrid truck of similar size. \nWebsite Photographs were provided by John Rigrod of Hammer Magazine and Craig Plunkett of CEDX Corporation. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/joseph-ambrosio-odyne-corporation/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070831T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070831T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070831T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070831T040000Z UID:4251-1188518400-1188518400@limba.net SUMMARY:NO MEETING LABOR DAY weekend DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/no-meeting-labor-day-weekend-5/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070824T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070824T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070824T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070824T040000Z UID:4264-1187913600-1187913600@limba.net SUMMARY:Kevin Dahill Pres & CEO Nassau Suffolk Hosp Coop DESCRIPTION:This morning’s speaker Kevin Dahill\, President and CEO of Nassau Suffolk\nHospital Council spoke about a topic that is more and more a concern of all of\nus\, the cost of healthcare. In the past six years the health care system has\nleft out 5 million more people. The total of documented uninsureds is 45\nmillion. The actual number is believed to be much higher. \nDo these people go without care? No! We don’t do that in this country\, we accept\nthe indigent and otherwise uninsured in our hospitals. The problem is that this\nsituation creates sicker patients among the uninsured than the insured\npopulation. The cost of caring for these people is much higher than it may have\nbeen if they had ordinary access to care. Moreover that cost must be borne by\nthose that are insured. It isn’t difficult to see that such a system is destined\nto collapse on itself. \nMr Dahill pointed out another problem that comes in the form of how medical\ninstitutions are reimbursed. As an example\, a simple case of pneumonia will be\neasily corrected and reimbursement is minimal. The hospital is likely to lose\nmoney on such an admission. On the other hand interventional procedures are\nlikely to be a money maker for the hospital. In his words\, "We don’t have a\nhealthcare system\, we have sick care system. There is little or no incentives\nfor the long term health of our citizens"(not an exact quote). \nDahill advocates that our systems for healthcare be more transparent\, and\nconsumer friendly. He also believes that the present delivery system is failing\nus and some form of universal healthcare must be devised. I reminded him that\none of the smallest states in the union\, Vermont\, now has universal healthcare.\nI asked Kevin if it was working. According to Dahill\, it is. He went on to say\nthat he has looked at the efforts of other states and they are less committed\nand therefore are doing less well. His example here was Massachusetts. \nDahill suggested that we challenge every presidential candidate\, Republican or\nDemocrat on the issue of universal healthcare. The model we now have according\nto Dahill is not sustainable. \nWe also discussed the awards being made in malpractice suits\, and the impact on\ncosts. We suggested that a medical malpractice board similar to a workers\ncompensation board might work. Dahill had a slightly different take on that\nidea. he thinks a special awards court could be devised. Judges on that court\nwould have to have good medical knowledge. \nOne of Dahill’s final remarks was that prevention takes a backseat to\nintervention and that should be changed. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/kevin-dahill-pres-ceo-nassau-suffolk-hosp-coop/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070817T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070817T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070817T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070817T040000Z UID:4259-1187308800-1187308800@limba.net SUMMARY:Matt Crosson\, LIA president DESCRIPTION:Today our speaker\, LIA President Matt Crosson\, was asked to speak about\n the need to marshal the resources of all of the organizations that would\n like to bring about positive change. Matt buys into that notion and he\n has led the way that helps others find their voice. Personally I have\n worked with LIA over the years and gave my input.\n \n\n  \n\n Mr. Crosson chose to attack a specific area of concern to all of us\,\n workforce housing.  There are several facets that are part of this\n intractable problem\, and that makes it complex and difficult to solve.\n Not  getting it done will have consequences. According to Crosson our\n economy will suffer as we move into the future. He contrasted what is\n happening today to what has happened in the past\n\n  \n\n From about 1960 to 1989 there was an increase of 289\,000 people in the\n age range of 20-24. From 1990 to 2005 there was a net loss of the same\n demographic. What is involved is housing\, transportation\, and sewers.\n The problem becomes more difficult when you consider the negative\n attitudes that established residents have toward workforce housing. It\n doesn’t seem to matter that some of these people will be our own\n children. \n\n  \n\n There is an estimated shortage of 120\,000 living units. According to\n Crosson\, and I have heard this from builders as well\, there is no way we\n can achieve this without having a certain density. We cannot have this\n kind of density without good transportation and SEWERS. Sewers are\n everywhere in Nassau County but not in Suffolk.  Crosson also spoke\n about the livability of this denser housing. It can be quite attractive.\n \n\n  \n\n This is an area where LIA and LIMBA have had the same message. This\n is problem that must be addressed because negative long term effects of\n poor planning are too expensive in the long run to correct. Matt Crosson\n is well versed on the topic and a very good presenter. We thank him for\n his appearance at LIMBA \n\n  \n\n Of course there are other infrastructure items that align the purposes\n of LIMBA and LIA. Robust rail freight and increased  ferry\n transportation are two important issues we thoroughly agree on. \n\nPictured: Ernie Fazio\, Matt Crosson and Bill Miller. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/matt-crosson-lia-president/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070810T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070810T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070810T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070810T040000Z UID:4252-1186704000-1186704000@limba.net SUMMARY:NYIT Solar Decathlon Program; Mathew Mathosian Dan Ripka DESCRIPTION:Members and friends\nThis morning we had a presentation about building energy efficient dwellings. NY\nInstitute of Technology’s Dan Rapka told us about The Solar Decathlon This is an\ninternational competition to create the right design and combination of\ntechnologies to create a low energy use house. The competition includes\nprestigious engineering schools around the US and Europe. The NYIT entry was\nbuilt on the campus of NYIT and will be disassembled and reconstructed on The\nMall in Washington DC. NYIT alumnus and LIMBA Energy expert\, John Eff introduced\nthe speakers.\n \nOver the years we have seen the prospects of new sources of energy and new\nways to use this precious resource. Most of it was encouraging. The photo\nvoltaic technology has been a factor for about 40 years. Geothermal has been\naround in some form or another an equally long time. Structural insulated panels\n(SIP)\, as they are often referred to are also a known and trusted technology. So\nif these avenues of energy conservation are so proven\, why aren’t we using them\non a large scale? Actually we did not pose that question to our presenters this\nmorning\, at least not directly. However we are now at a juncture that may make\nthese technologies more commonplace in our structures. \n \nOne of the technologies that I thought was very interesting is Geothermal.\nGeothermal uses the same basic principles as a refrigerator or an air\nconditioner. The system can extract room temperature (72 degrees) from the\nground in even subfreezing weather even though the ground may not be any warmer\nthan 55 degrees. In the summertime the system can extract room temperature (72\ndegrees) and the ground temperature is again 55 degrees. The mechanical\ncomponents are pumps and compressors. They are far more energy efficient than\ntraditional furnace and air conditioning technology and there is no on site\npollution.\n \nIntegrating Solar PV and Solar Thermal systems into homes that require\nminimal energy by virtue of their designs. The idea that we supplant the energy\nuse in homes of a design that wastes energy is not the way to go. The Solar\nDecathlon project takes advantage of the building "envelope" technology that\nreduces the need for energy and then manufactures that energy\, or efficiently\nuses grid supplied power. By combining various technologies and then applying\nhighly sophisticated control systems we can deliver an energy efficient home\nwithin reasonable costs. By doing all of these things in concert we can create a\nbetter functioning home.- With all this the house is in a symbiotic relationship\nwith the utility grid\, using grid power when needed.\n \nThe emphasis is on comfort\, dependability\, and cost. The implication is we do\nnot require a sacrifice in comfort to achieve what is needed for our times. We\ncan do more with less URL:https://limba.net/calendar/nyit-solar-decathlon-program-mathew-mathosian-dan-ripka/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070803T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070803T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070803T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070803T040000Z UID:4258-1186099200-1186099200@limba.net SUMMARY:Michael White\, Long Island Regional Plan Director DESCRIPTION:This morning’s speaker was Michael White\, Michael is the Executive Director of\nthe Long Island Regional Board. Mr White outlined the breadth and scope of the\nplanning group. Workforce housing\, transportation\, energy issues\, and\nenvironmental planning are all considerations. All of the planning must consider\nthe ramifications that each piece of the planning puzzle creates for another\npiece. \n \nWorkforce housing must take into consideration the ability of the schools to\nabsorb the children that will be new to the district. That means having a tax\nbase that supports that move. In turn there is a need to create industrial\nviability to provide the taxes that will be needed. It’s a complex puzzle. The\ntransportation needs of any such development must be addressed too\, whether the\nsolution is road access or public transportation.\n \nWater supplies and waste water management are essential to good planning. The\nstigma of the Southwest Sewer District scandal still hangs over any planning to\ncreate new sewers. This timidity on the part of policy makers may be\nunderstandable\, but that does not change the fact that these infrastructure\nneeds must be met. \n \nMr White spoke about the need to work with\,and communicate with Nassau County\nas well as the towns and villages of both counties. The Regional Plan\nAssociation of New York is a big player in the city’s planning and has been\neffectively guiding development for many years. A few years ago the RPA made an\noutreach to Long Island to help us with issues that affect both regions. (the\nRPA has also reached out to northern New Jersey and western Conecticutt). LIMBA\nis a part of the RPA Long Island Committee\, and we have been looking at issues\nsuch as ferries\, road and rail transportation. Seeing ourselves as part of a\nlarger region is useful and instructive. Mr White seems to have the scope and\ntechnical trainning to take advantage of the input that is available. \nWe questioned Michael with the fact that planning in the past\, as good as it may\nhave been\, it went largely ignored. Our question to him why was "Why is this\ntime different?" His answer was that "We are probably ready". Maybe? We’ll see!\n\n \nIn Today’s Newsday\nIn today’s paper there was an article citing support by Senators Flanagan\,\nTrunzo\, and Johnson for disgruntled activists who do not want to see a freight\nrail/truck transfer at Pilgrim State. Blocking the building of that facility is\nthe wrong way to go. Politicians who demonstrate no vision and courage have sunk\nthe planning process in the past. Perhaps we are seeing more of the same.\nLIMBA’s position on rail freight is established. We believe that more rail\nfreight will reduces wear and tear on our roads\, cut down on pollution\, reduce\nair pollution and lower the cost of goods. LIMBA will give the Senators a forum\nto explain their positions\, if they are interested. We will publish exactly what\nthey say. I placed the calls to each of their offices this afternoon. \nPictured: Michael White and Ernie Fazio URL:https://limba.net/calendar/michael-white-long-island-regional-plan-director/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070727T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070727T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070727T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070727T040000Z UID:4247-1185494400-1185494400@limba.net SUMMARY:Subi Chakraborti\, NY State DOT\, Regional Director DESCRIPTION:Members and friends\n\n This morning’s speaker\, NY State Department of Transportation Regional\n Director\, Subi Chakraborti\, gave us an overview  of the\n responsibilities of the NYSDOT. We also discussed specific projects that\n are either planned or in progress.\n\n  \n\n The department does not have direct responsibilities to rail service\,\n however where rail service has an impact on the roads there is\n cooperation. One of LIMBA’s long standing goals has been increasing rail\n freight because it significantly reduces the impact of pollution and\n road damage caused by trucks on the roads. The NYSDOT believes strongly\n that an inter-modal rail truck transfer station would be a good idea for\n the Pilgrim State hospital property. We agree! With less than 2% of all\n freight coming to Long Island by rail\, an increase to 10% would remove\n 325\,000 trucks each year. (these statistics were developed by NY &\n Atlantic RR)  \n\n  \n\n While a lot of NYSDOT’s works are not ribbon cutting events because they\n are maintaining the enormous infrastructure we already have\, there have\n some noteable changes. The HOV lane \, like it or not\, was one of them.\n Most the  of the NYSDOT budget is devoted to rebuilding the roads and\n briges that we have in place. There was the redecking of the southbound\n Robert Moses Causeway bridge a few years ago. There are now plans to\n rebuild the northbound lanes of that structure. They will be redesigning\n the traffic circle at Jones Beach. The revised situation is called a\n "Roundabout"The nature of the changes will produce less accidents. One\n more thing on Jones Beach\, there will be a bicycle path built along\n Ocean Parkway from Jones Beach to Captree\, a 12 mile link. Now what we\n need is a bicycle path over Robert Moses Causeway.\n\n  \n\n Other projects around Long Island include the rebuilding and redesigning\n Rt 347. This is a very large project involving at least 2 overpasses and\n additional lanes. That contract will be let in sections.\n\n  \n\n The NYSDOT has already converted 80% of its traffic signals to Light\n Emitting Diode technology (LED). This technology reduces power\n consumption by about 90% and reduces service needs significantly.\n\n  \n\n Subi or someone in his department will now be giving LIMBA updates on an\n annual basis. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/subi-chakraborti-ny-state-dot-regional-director/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070720T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070720T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070720T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070720T040000Z UID:4245-1184889600-1184889600@limba.net SUMMARY:Duke Dufresne\, Northrop Grumman DESCRIPTION:Members and friends \nFriday morning at LIMBA\, on the 38th anniversary of the first moon\nlanding\, we had\nDuke Dufresne\, the current chief of Northrop Grumman\nCorporation’s Integrated\nSystems Eastern Region (Ticker NOC)\, the current incarnation of the\nLunar Module\nbuilder\, give us an update on what is going on with the storied\naerospace\ncorporation\, long a mainstay of the Long Island economy.\nDuke is head of the eastern region of NGC Integrated Systems\, which is\na 2\nBillion dollar division of the company\, working with the Navy and Air\nForce to\nconnect the warfighter on the ground\, sea\, and air\, with the\ninformation they\nneed to execute their missions.  Today\, there are\napproximately 4\,600 employees\nin the Eastern Division of which 2000 are on Long Island.  A\nrecent highlight\nwas the win of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye pilot production contract\,\ntotaling 408\nMillion dollars to build 3 new aircraft.  Duke expects the\nNavy to buy 75\naircraft in the full production program\, and the Bethpage location will\nhave a\nstrong role in the engineering functions\, with the airframes being\nbuilt in St.\nAugustine in Florida.  The team is busy pursuing opportunities\non the Navy’s\nBAMS project and the AF’s Tanker replacement program\, which\nare both due to be\nawarded later this year.\nDuke discussed some of the challenges that doing business on Long Island\npresents\, such as the cost of housing\, and the recruiting problems that\nthey\npresent.  He also detailed some of the programs that Northrop\nhas in place to\naddress these issues\, such as a grant program for employees that are\nfirst time\nhome buyers.  One of the great programs that they run is an\noutreach program to\nget school kids interested in careers in engineering\, that not only\ngoes into\nhigh schools\, but starts in the middle schools\, catching their interest\nearly\,\nand hopefully recruiting more local talent that will stay on Long\nIsland.   An\navid boater\, the southern California transplant was effusive in his\npraise for\nhis new home\,  a reminder that some of us natives take what we\nhave here for\ngranted because we grew up with it.  \nThe aerospace community was well represented at our meeting\, with many\npartners\nof Northrop Grumman on hand to educate us on the extensive programs\nthat affect\nsubcontractors during the Q and A session.  It was again\, a\nvery well spent\nmorning at LIMBA with a chance to meet and greet Duke Dufresne\, one of\nthe region’s most\ninfluential people\, and NGC’s partners. Included in the mix was; \n\nJoseph Battaglia — President\, Telephonics\nEd Palacio — Vice President\, EDO \nJohn Capacchione — CAPY Machine \nPeter Rettaliata — President\, Air Industries \nKenneth Nevor — NDIA (National Defense Industrial\nAssociation) Conference \n \n\nalso in attendance were Northrop Grumman associates: \n\nDiane Dufresne\nPatricia McMahon  \nDianne Baumert-Moyik \nStacy Simpson  \n \n\n and of course  the ever curious and involved LIMBA\nmembership\n \nOfficiating for LIMBA\, Bill Miller\, Pres \nPresiding over meeting Dick Dunne\, LIMBA Board Member\nReport Written by;Craig Plunkett\, CEDX Corporation\n \nThanks to all. The meeting was a big success URL:https://limba.net/calendar/duke-dufresne-northrop-grumman/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070713T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070713T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070713T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070713T040000Z UID:4249-1184284800-1184284800@limba.net SUMMARY:Frank Boulton\, Owner\, Long Island Ducks DESCRIPTION:LI Ducks owner Frank Boulton began with a 5 minute news piece that\n appeared on CNBC. As Boulton put it\, "this was coverage you cannot buy."\n Frank’s affection for the game of baseball\, the players\, and the\n community is undeniable. Bud Harrelson and Boulton came to LIMBA eight\n years ago and made a presentation on what they hoped to accomplish.\n Today the dream they had\, creating excellent and affordable baseball on\n Long Island is a reality. The tickets are $10 and they maintain the low\n cost through good corporate sponsorship.\n\n  \n\n This is not amateur baseball. Sometimes a player gets bumped from the\n majors\, and instead of languishing waiting for his million dollar plus\n contract to return\, he will opt to work for $2100 to $3000  per month\n just to keep up his skills. A player may restart his big league\n career after playing a year or two\, and little or no restrictions are\n put on them. Frank did not say this\, but I’m sure that the fair\n treatment gives them an never ending supply of talent. \n \n\n  \n\n From a business point of view\, whatever they are doing is working.\n Maxing-out on the income revenues is always tempting\, but to be\n sustainable in a sector of the economy\, that is not  notably successful\,\n (minor league baseball)\, they have done very well. Most of their seats\n are presold. They are technically\, usually "sold out." Although\, if you\n come to the park as a Standing Room Only customer\, you can find a seat\n after the first inning when they can identify the "no-show" seats. This\n also explains why they have a 103% sold capacity.\n\n  \n\n The owners are very sensitive to the community in which they operate.\n They have hosted large events for Breast Cancer Awareness as well as\n other charities. They really get into the spirit. The players all wore\n pink campaign shirts and used pink bats. It was a big success. \n\n  \n\n The team has 3 million fans and that number was reached in less time\n than any team in history in the country. I came away believing these\n owners care about the players. They want to provide quality family\n entertainment. They routinely test for drugs such as marijuana\, and\n reprimand players when drugs are found. Steroids tests have not been\n routine\, and every year the debate the value of doing so.\n\nPictured: Bill Miller\, LIMBA & Frank Boulton URL:https://limba.net/calendar/frank-boulton-owner-long-island-ducks/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070706T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070706T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070706T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070706T040000Z UID:4248-1183680000-1183680000@limba.net SUMMARY:4th of July Week - NO MEETING DESCRIPTION: URL:https://limba.net/calendar/4th-of-july-week-no-meeting/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20070629T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20070629T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T063942 CREATED:20070629T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20070629T040000Z UID:4243-1183075200-1183075200@limba.net SUMMARY:Dr Joseph Mcdonell\, Associate Dean of Bus. at Stony Brook DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was SUNY Stony Brook\, Associate Dean of Business\, Joseph McDonnell Phd.\nChina\, the fearsome juggernaut? Maybe\, maybe not so much\, According to Dr McDonnell. While China is being recognized as the “worlds factory\,” they have a long way to go before they surpass or marginalize the economic giant that is the United States. That was my take on the talk given at this morning’s LIMBA breakfast. \nChina is growing at an unprecedented rate over the past 25 years\, and with that rate of growth are numerous problems. Dr W. Edwards Deming introduced management techniques to Japan that made them a formidable competitor\, China has not embraced the “quality” idea yet (pet food\, toothpaste etc). More than that\, they are not the great innovators that they consider the Americans to be. According to McDonnell they admire us. On the other hand America is treated with wariness\, as are many western countries. They almost expect others to rake them over the coals (my words\, not his). As a result the Chinese are difficult to deal with. \nMcDonnell went on to say that the Chinese desire to save\, has made them small consumers. China being a low cost provider of goods is actually a double edge sword that tends to give them great growth. But there is not a lot of wages paid out to support a home grown demand for products. That fact will limit growth going forward. And now they are beginning to deal with pollution. \nAs we work to make trade with China\, safer and fairer\, we probably have perceived them as a bigger threat than they actually are. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/dr-joseph-mcdonell-associate-dean-of-bus-at-stony-brook/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR