BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Limba - ECPv6.16.5//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Limba X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://limba.net X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Limba REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20110313T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20111106T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20120311T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20121104T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20130310T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20131103T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121005T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121005T000000 DTSTAMP:20121005T040000Z CREATED:20121005T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121005T040000Z UID:4539-1349395200-1349395200@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Helena Williams LIRR Pres- Sponsored by GPI DESCRIPTION:Long Island Rail Road president\, Helena Williams was our speaker this morning. Ms Williams comes to report on railroad issues almost every year. The LIRR is a very large commuter rail system and there is usually something to report. \n  \nWe began today with the second track from Farmingdale to Ronkonkoma. The preliminary plans have been completed and build out has begun. This is an important link that will improve service and is expected increase ridership. Fortunately when the electrical system was originally laid in the ground it was built robust enough to handle the additional service. Now they merely tap into what is currently there. \n  \nMs. Williams said that the better service would probably include a Bus Rapid Transit link connecting Farmingdale station to Huntington. \n  \nEast Side Access is several years away\, but there is a serious commitment to completing that link. That work is very complicated inasmuch as three working rail systems have to operate while the work is being done. Construction on the Queens side has to work with soft dirt. This requires special equipment and the work is dangerous. Drilling through granite in the bowels of Manhattan is actually easier and safer because the granite is self-supporting. I believe the new goal is 2019 completion. \n  \nThe topic then turned to Penn Station. Helena brought a couple of pictures of the original station before real estate interests decided destroy it and build Madison Square Garden. The original structure was magnificent. (Fortunately Jackie Onassis was around to save Grand Central Station from the same fate). \n  \nMs. Williams wants to restore some of the greatness that was the original structure. I asked if that was even possible\, and Williams said that there are ways of making the station more spacious and having access to daylight streaming into the station. The task of doing that would be large and expensive. In the meantime there are ways of making the station more user friendly. Signage for ease of navigating the station is among the small interim changes that could be made. Among the final thoughts on Penn Station was that this newly renovated station could be the hub of a much greater development effort. \n  \nLastly we discussed train safety and the use of modern signal systems. Positive Train Control otherwise referred to as PTC. PTC is a very effective train safety system. It is also very expensive. This self-monitoring system will override the human operator if he fails to execute an avoidance maneuver. Over time it will be installed. \n  \n \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-helena-williams-lirr-pres-sponsored-by-gpi/ LOCATION:NY END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121012T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121012T000000 DTSTAMP:20121012T040000Z CREATED:20121012T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121012T040000Z UID:4523-1350000000-1350000000@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA Prog CHANGE Assenblyman Dean Murray DESCRIPTION:Our speaker this morning was Assemblyman Dean Murray from the 3rd district. Mr. Murray led off with the governor’s initiative known as "NY Youth Works" program. The program is designed to help create jobs for young people that are lacking saleable skills. Employing tools such as BOCES and training available through industry the goal is to make more productive lives for this segment of the population. \n  \nSchool districts in the past provided ample funds to train vocational skills\, but as their budgets tightened up they reduced the funding that they provided for training students. BOCES gets most or\, perhaps all\, of their funds from the school districts that they serve. If that money doesn’t come in the entire system is threatened. \n  \nThis training would be a formidable task in the best of times\, but with diminished resources it is infinitely harder. "You can’t abruptly change the course of young people’s lives\," stated assemblyman Murray\, but that is the job that needs to be done. \n  \nUnfunded mandates\, for schools and localities were also discussed. Murray’s argument is that\, while well intended\, the mandates should be created and paid for at the level of government that will implement them. Ideally a school district can create a mandate they will decide on\, and pay for. \n  \nIn the discussion that ensued after Dean finished his opening remarks the audience had a number of observations and suggestions that were helpful. Representatives of the Longwood school board and Dean Lucera from BOCES suggested a public private partnership. Lucera spoke of a two page article in Newsday that delved into the training that was available through BOCES and as a result businesses contacted BOCES to help them with the training they were looking to implement. That influx of inquiries was temporary\, and chances are if there was sustained information about programs the demand for BOCES services would remain high. \n  \nWhy not create a section of the newspapers that listed skills where manufacturers and service companies would be willing to participate. Advertisers could possibly support that resource. LIMBA can create a hyperlink to BOCES training programs. \n  \nThe consensus in the room was that manufacturing companies are the underpinning of the economy\, and the training of skilled crafts people is essential to a vibrant manufacturing region. It is true that Long Island has a very diversified economy\, but manufacturing is still important. Upstate that case is even more compelling. \n  \nAnother topic was the politics of change. Murray was complementary of governor Cuomo and his ability to motivate lawmakers to cooperate. The bigger problem politically was not so much between democrats and republican\, but difference in regions of the state. Each region has its own needs and they are often in opposition to each other. \n \n  URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-prog-change-assenblyman-dean-murray/ LOCATION:NY END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121019T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121019T000000 DTSTAMP:20121019T040000Z CREATED:20121019T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121019T040000Z UID:4504-1350604800-1350604800@limba.net SUMMARY:LIMBA meeting Congressman Bishop\, Sponsor-LICA DESCRIPTION:Congressman Tim Bishop was our speaker this morning. Mr. Bishop had asked me to give him input on what we should emphasize. Infrastructure was my reply. Our sponsor for the meeting was Long Island Contractors Association (LICA). These LICA members are deeply impacted by the fact that so little is getting done. \nThe Congressman proceeded to give an example of the ancillary effects of building infrastructure. His example was a roadway project that lent itself to development. In Middle Island. After the completion a business complex was approved that resulted in 350 new jobs that would not have been built otherwise. \nTim reminded us of the different world we live in today. “Back in the 70’s the federal government was in for 68% of the cost. The balance was paid by local and state.” Today\, of course\, that money availability does not exist. There had been in excess of $6 billion in federal funds for building local infrastructure\, and that was reduced to $650 million. That is about a 90% reduction. Bishop has a bill that will restore some of the money to the level $2.9 billion. That money will go to clean water resources. That trust fund will need a funding source\, perhaps similar to the highway trust fund where new money is constantly refreshed. \nWaste water limitations are inhibiting growth on Long Island. Bishop recited a number of locales that cannot build because the sewers in place cannot handle the demand\, Southampton being one of them. \nWe brought up the possibility of public/private partnerships. That seems to be the route that much of the world is traveling to achieve infrastructure needs. I pointed out that the transcontinental railroad was built under this concept. In that case the federal government owned much of the land that was deeded to the rail companies. This land that had little value at the time because transportation that could serve the people was very limited. On one hand you might say that this was one helluva gift to private industry\, but it gave us the transportation links that caused this nation to prosper. \nThe congressman than spoke of education and the continued funding of our important educational and research institutions. The SUNY system on Long Island provides an astounding 35\,000 jobs. These are jobs that bring families a good living. The second biggest employer is Brookhaven National Labs. Again high end\, high value jobs. Education and research that these institutions bring to Long Island are the tools that make a better future possible. Perhaps it would be better for all of us if industry was a much bigger part of the equation\, but this is the economy that we have and it serves far more than the local Long Island region. Assets that we have improve the job knowledge and science that serves the state and the country. \nMarc Herbst\, our sponsor this morning\, gave us some sobering stats on job losses in the construction industry that he represents. Ninety five hundred construction jobs lost in the past year. The job loss multiplier is three times that amount. \nDuring the Q&A BOCES board member Dan Tomeshevsky told us that the funds for vocational training are drying up. He stated that this segment of the population is very important since every student is not motivated toward college\, and yet we need these skilled workers. \nSt Joseph’s College professor Al Vitters suggested that there is possibly a student loan bubble looming. The congressman added that this problem is being increased by the predatory nature of some for profit colleges that are setting up “store front” operations right outside military installations. I suggested we spend little military funds for guidance counseling before we discharge our soldiers. Bishop agreed\, that would be money well spent. \nThis session covered a lot of issues and concerns. We got the message that there is a vast difference between the idea that we are spending too much and whether we are investing enough to seed the future. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/limba-meeting-congressman-bishop-sponsor-lica/ LOCATION:NY END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20121026T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20121026T000000 DTSTAMP:20121026T040000Z CREATED:20121026T040000Z LAST-MODIFIED:20121026T040000Z UID:4537-1351209600-1351209600@limba.net SUMMARY:Gary Wirth -Ask The Lawyer DESCRIPTION:This morning’s speaker was Gary Wirth with the law firm of Morritt Hock & Hamroff. The firm was also the sponsor of the meeting. \n  \nMr. Wirth was addressing the problems of collection. The collection issues that are germane to the construction industry in particular were central to the discussion. Not getting into an adversarial position in the first place was emphasized. When contractors fail to pay it is usually a chain of events that is the problem. \n  \nThe customer may fail to get solid funding commitments and does not pay the contractor. The contractor subsequently cannot pay the subcontractor. The subcontractor has done his job in a professional and timely manner and wants his money. The contractor says yes\, but too bad\, there is no money being transacted until I get paid. \n  \nWirth recommends that when there is an impasse don’t be docile and wait. That only makes collection less likely to happen. When the legal wheels start turning\, get out of the way. \n  \nThe other matter Gary addressed was the quality and the integrity of your legal representation. It is important but the way a client can ascertain those qualities was less apparent. \n  \nOther aspects of collection may not involve litigation. Arbitration is another route and that can be more or less effective than litigation depending again on the quality of the arbiter. URL:https://limba.net/calendar/gary-wirth-ask-the-lawyer/ LOCATION:NY END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR