THE "PORK" IN NEW YORK, Thoughts of an older American on Constitutional Government in the USA Options

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"Truth issue rises at Capitol - Is it just Albany politics, or is Gov. David Paterson letting his power slip away to the Legislature because of his mixed messages?"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Sunday, February 1, 2009

In politics, where half-truths and equivocation are common or even expected, Gov. David Paterson faces a credibility problem that undermines his ability to lead the state out of fiscal crisis.

The perception that Paterson fudges the truth, whether deliberately or out of a desire to please, has until this past week only had small-bore political implications — isolated incidents that have frustrated Capitol operatives and bewildered reporters.

In the nine months since he became governor, Paterson may or may not have called New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg a tantrum-prone liar.

He may or may not have offered North Country Democratic Sen. Darrel Aubertine a position with the New York Power Authority to help the Senate GOP retain its majority.

And he did or did not make a promise to Senate Republicans to stay off the campaign trail during their fight to keep their majority.

But the credibility blips turned into a pattern during the governor's handling of the Senate appointment process, and reached critical mass with Paterson's continued denial of involvement in his staff's whisper campaign against Caroline Kennedy.

The governor maintains that he did not sign off on the trash-talking after Kennedy withdrew from consideration for Hillary Rodham Clinton's seat.

But reporters in the Capitol, constrained by their obligation to protect anonymous sources, are convinced that's not the case.

In the wake of the appointment debacle, Paterson's credibility has taken a hit among lawmakers, lobbyists, the media and voters — the very constituencies he must appeal to in his efforts to close the state's projected $15.4 billion deficit.

According to a Siena Research Institute poll released Thursday, Paterson now has his highest disapproval ratings since becoming governor in March 2008: 54 percent favor him; 30 percent have an unfavorable opinion.

Things were not always this way: "I think when the governor first started, there was a lot of good will."

"Everyone wanted to help him out, give him the benefit of the doubt," said a top Senate GOP staffer, referring to Paterson's early successes in producing an on-time budget in April and mid-year cuts in August.

"His bully pulpit has shrunk," said a Democratic lawmaker.

Paterson's power "is really based on his poll numbers."

"If everyone hates the guy — look at George Bush — no one will listen."

"If you're popular, most people listen to you."

Another Democratic lawmaker said that the past week's events have only worsened a perception of disorder in the Paterson administration.

"It's tough to take him seriously given the whole series of events last week, and the problems he's had with staff leading up to last week," the lawmaker said.

"You want a strong leader to say, 'The buck stops with me and I'm in charge here.'"

"And it doesn't appear that he's in charge."

In recent days, the governor has appeared to be reacting to the events around him rather than setting the agenda.

On Monday, he abruptly canceled a state-funded junket to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after the media criticized the trip.

That evening, he attempted to return focus to the budget by hastily scheduling a leaders' meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith for Tuesday morning.

The purpose of the meeting was never made clear, even after it was scheduled, according to Assembly and Senate sources.

In a news conference after the leaders' meeting, the visibly subdued governor was uncharacteristically vague in his comments to reporters.

He said the leaders would close this year's budget gap as "soon as we possibly can" and would reconvene the leaders "as soon as possible."

Filling in the details, Silver and Smith said they expected to act on a proposal by the end of this week.

Silver, who usually chooses to hang back and let others speak during news conferences, was noticeably more assertive in Tuesday, even jumping to Paterson's defense when a reporter questioned why the governor hadn't called a leaders' meeting earlier.

Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, who was not invited to the meeting, held his own news conference, and told reporters that Paterson had a "massive credibility problem."

With the governor weakened and the Senate Democrats scrambling to hire staff after only three weeks in the majority, lawmakers and lobbyists agree that Silver — a skilled negotiator among even the most experienced politicians — will take the reins in addressing this year's deficit reduction proposal and next year's budget.

"The speaker's in charge," said a prominent lobbyist and longtime Albany observer, who added that this week's deficit reduction plan is a political gift to Paterson in the short-term, but will ultimately weaken Paterson's position negotiating next year's budget.

Political logic holds that lawmakers should wait to see what comes to New York in the federal stimulus package that passed the House last week and is expected to move through the Senate in the days ahead.

"The only reason to do a deficit reduction proposal right now is to keep the governor on life support — but not strong," the lobbyist said.

Staff writer Irene Jay Liu can be reached at (518) 454-5081 or iliu@timesunion.com.

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"No-work state worker big surprise to legislators - Leaders of legislative insurance panels to grill agency about how investigator lacked duties"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Saturday, February 7, 2009

ALBANY - Dumbstruck leaders of the Legislature's insurance committees say they will be demanding explanation from the New York State Insurance Fund's top officers about how one of their employees has gone without work for years.

Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Monroe County, and Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem, said they were flabbergasted after reading the tale of Randall Hinton, the Insurance Fund's Albany branch employee with the title of director of investigations.

A story in the Times Union Thursday detailed how Hinton is paid nearly $94,000 a year but laments that he has done no meaningful work since 1999 and nothing for the past three years.

Hinton blamed his superiors for denying his requests for duties commensurate with his qualifications because he was being punished for suing their colleagues.

As a result, Hinton said he has languished in an out-of-the way office without any work for three straight years.

Amid millions of layoffs nationwide, the article sparked widespread interest after being listed on the Drudge Report.

It has drawn hundreds of thousands of visits to the Times Union's Web site.

Comments on the site have ranged from some supporting Hinton for going public and saying they suffer from hostile work circumstances to many sharply critical of a man with a good paying job complaining about anything.

Hinton said he sits with his feet up on his desk and watches cars go by on I-90, listens to his iPod and reads every day.

"I want some answers," said Breslin, a lawyer who said he was measuring his words carefully.

"I'll talk to Joe (Morelle) first and ask for some responses from the parties involved and if we're not satisfied we'll call a hearing."

"We would want responses from the parties involved."

Morelle said he knows Insurance Fund Chairman Robert H. Hurlbut well and will be calling him first, but he will also seek information from Executive Director David Wehner about Hinton's situation.

"The suggestion that he hasn't done anything for 10 years, I don't have the words to describe how disturbing that is," said Morelle, who is also a private businessman near Rochester.

"Unbelievable."

He said he doesn't want to jump to conclusions but if necessary he would conduct a full blown investigation.

"It sounds almost too fantastic to be true," Morelle said.

Hinton said he did not want to comment at this time because he is seeking a lawyer.

Robert Lawson, a spokesman for the Insurance Fund, maintained Hinton has an assignment as supervisor of an injury report program, although Hinton and his former boss have said the program was disbanded about three years ago.

Even before then, the assignment was very light duty, Hinton and his former boss said.

Hinton has objected to being denied the work associated with an investigations director and the tools to do the job.

He said he has sought opportunities for advancement and has been ignored.

His post at the Insurance Department was provided him through a settlement of a lawsuit he lodged a decade ago against the Department of Environmental Conservation, where he had served as director of investigations.

He said he was required to work in a storage closet for two years before the suit.

His discrimination suit settlement called for him to get a similar title and said that he would supervise personnel at the Insurance Fund, which sells workers' compensation and disability insurance policies to private businesses.

A Native American, Hinton, 55, with 27 years of state service, alleges in a new Division of Human Rights complaint that he is being discriminated against and is suffering from retaliation.

He asserts that Republicans at the helm of the Insurance Fund are blackballing him for having sued officials in the Pataki administration, from which they came, a claim that his former boss backs up.

The Insurance Fund's top posts come with nine-year appointments, allowing them to hold jobs for years beyond Gov. George Pataki's December 2006 departure.

For instance, Wehner's post expires in January 2015.

Breslin and Morelle said the length of the terms may need to be modified.

"That's incredibly long," Morelle said.

As for Hinton seeking a post as director of fraud investigations, a position already occupied by an appointee making $140,000 a year, Lawson said:

"I'd like to be PR for the New York Yankees too."

"I do not put any credence in this business that people who worked for the Pataki administration are trying to keep him down."

Asked if Hinton is doing any work, Lawson said:

"I have to assume he is."

Gov. David Paterson's spokesman had no comment and after being pressed, Lawson called from the Insurance Fund with the following statement:

"NYSIF does not tolerate the type of behavior described in Thursday's Times Union story."

"Such behavior would violate our longstanding policy against fraud, waste and abuse."

"Mr. Hinton had definite duties and responsibilities and we intend to investigate the matter and take all appropriate steps to address the situation."

Lawson said he expects there will be "continuing discussions with him" and that public disclosure may be limited because of the action Hinton has filed against the Insurance Fund.

Hurlbut was unavailable, but board member Denis Hughes, president of the New York AFL-CIO, said he was unaware of the work concerns involving Hinton, a non-union employee with a civil service protection on his post, until told about it by a reporter.

He said Hinton should use the proper channels to resolve his complaints.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 and jodato@timesunion.com.

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"'An operational dysfunction' - Cuomo speaks to redundancy of local government structures"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Tuesday, February 10, 2009

COLONIE — Attorney General Andrew Cuomo began his week by taking his quest to consolidate New York's byzantine collection of local governments on the road.

Specifically, Wolf Road.

While his travels on Monday were confined to a roughly two-mile stretch of that suburban thoroughfare, Cuomo managed to span the state's political spectrum, meeting with members of the New York Conservative Party as well as a convention of county executives.

While the first group might sound like an unlikely stage for a Cuomo — a Democrat and Clinton administration alumnus whose father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, was ousted from office in part by their opposition — the attorney general found the Conservatives to be a surprisingly receptive audience for his warning that overlapping or outdated government structures are crippling New York.

Cuomo's address "resonated with most people," said Thomas Teresky, a Conservative Party member from Suffolk County, Long Island.

Cuomo got a similarly warm response from county officials, even as he called for less government and bemoaned the calcified condition of New York's bureaucracy.

"There is an operational dysfunction in the state of New York," said Cuomo, who threw in a bit of soaring rhetoric that recalled his father's oratorical style.

"It was very much a speech that would appeal to a lot of New Yorkers," said Kathy Jimino, the Republican Rensselaer County executive.

Cuomo's proposal, unveiled in December, would make it easier to consolidate some of the state's 10,521 governmental bodies, ranging from sewer or sanitation districts to villages and towns, if residents so desire.

(The actual number of bodies, he noted, could be even higher.)

Many of these districts are strongholds for local political machines, and Cuomo acknowledges that passing a bill to eliminate them would be a challenge, given the number of state lawmakers who view them as the "bread and butter" of the state's vast patronage landscape.

But during a meeting Monday afternoon with the Times Union editorial board, he said history has shown that such government mergers are possible: In the 1930s, there were some 10,000 local school districts in New York; today, there are 700.

"If you can consolidate school districts, why can't you figure out how to consolidate sewer districts?" Cuomo said.

Pushing for government consolidation — which some good-government groups, editorial pages and business boosters have long advocated — may sound far afield from the duties of the state's top lawyer.

Cuomo said he launched the campaign after realizing that the laws surrounding these districts are so impenetrable that even his own attorneys can't understand them.

Additionally, he's found that many of the pension abuses he's been uncovering since last year have come through these entities.

"It's everywhere," he said.

Political observers note that launching such a nuts-and-bolts legislative campaign would make sense if Cuomo, as many have speculated, is interested in running for governor in 2010.

"If you want to consider this a preview of a gubernatorial run, no one could blame you," said Doug Muzzio, a political science professor at Baruch College.

The consolidation initiative "is an unsexy but clearly important endeavor, and the fact that he's even pushing it is interesting," said Muzzio.

The issue, he added, appeals to suburban and upstate voters who are hard-pressed by local property taxes.

Add Cuomo's successes in curbing college loan kickbacks and conflicts of interest in the health insurance field and he's building a track record as a pragmatic reformer, noted Muzzio.

"It's hard to attack a crusader," said Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf, who like Muzzio said Cuomo's activities could also serve him well if he seeks a U.S. Senate seat or simply wants to reinforce his campaign for another term as attorney general.

Muzzio noted that Cuomo's outreach to the Conservatives — who historically have backed Republicans in statewide races — makes tactical sense: While the party is unlikely to embrace Cuomo on social issues such as abortion, they might be convinced to simply stay out of a gubernatorial race, especially if they aren't happy with the Republican candidate.

"There can be benign neutrality," Muzzio said, explaining that Conservatives could deprive a Republican candidate of an important voting block in a close race.

"All they have to do is shut up."

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or rkarlin@timesunion.com.

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"AMD's chip fab plans hit snag - Vote delayed a week after not enough shareholders cast their votes"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 2:26 p.m., Tuesday, February 10, 2009

MALTA — In a surprise development this morning, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. adjourned its shareholder vote to approve the spinoff of manufacturing and clear the way for a $4.6 billion computer chip factory in Malta.

The company, meeting in Austin, Texas, did not get enough shareholders to vote on the matter.

Only 41.7 percent of the company's shares were voted, meaning there was no quorum.

Therefore, the company needs more time to collect more votes to get to the 50 percent required for a quorum.

AMD spokesman Travis Bullard said that 97 percent of the votes received voted in favor of the deal, which would create a joint venture with a fund controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The vote was rescheduled for next Wednesday in Austin.

"All parties remain fully committed to closing the transaction in the next few weeks," Bullard said.

AMD shares dropped after the delay.

MarketWatch put the decline at 8.9 percent, to $2.15.

It's unclear which shareholders have not sumitted their votes yet.

An examination of AMD's recent regulatory filings by the Times Union shows that large institutional investors, including a fund managed by the government of Abu Dhabi, control 43.24 percent of the shares.

Company directors and officers control an additional 1.39 percent.

That adds up to 44.63 percent, which is more than the percentage of votes received to date.

The vote is the final approval AMD must get to spin off its manufacturing to the joint venture, which has been dubbed The Foundry Co.

In follow-up questions, the Times Union asked Bullard if some shareholders were holding back their support of the deal.

"This shouldn't be interpreted as a lack of shareholder support," he said.

"AMD just needs additional time to solicit proxies from its stockholders to establish the requisite quorum for the conduct of business at the special meeting of stockholders."

Bullard added this: "While we all would have preferred that the vote had occurred as originally scheduled, we recognize that the timeline we set for the special meeting of stockholders was too aggressive, and that we ultimately needed to allow more time for stockholders to participate in the vote. "

He said the company is confident it can get all the votes it needs to hold the vote by next week.

Because of today's inaction, the transaction with Abu Dhabi might not close until early March.

Just a few weeks ago, AMD said it had hoped to close within 24 to 48 hours of today's vote.

"All parties remain fully committed to closing the transaction in the next few weeks," Bullard said.

"We continue to aggressively pursue closing the transaction in February, but given the adjournment of the special shareholder meeting, the transaction close may occur in early March."

He added later that the company will try its best to close the deal by the end of February.

The agreement between the Abu Dhabi investment fund called Advanced Technology Investment Corp. and AMD contains a clause specifying that if the deal doesn't close by March 7, ATIC can back out.

ATIC is 100 percent owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Another Abu Dhabi investment fund, known as Mubadala Development Company, is an 8 percent shareholder of AMD and will increase its holdings under the deal.

Representatives from both funds said that both entities voted their shares are are ready to move ahead with the deal.

"Mubadala voted their 8.2 percent," said Mubadala spokesman Richard Mintz.

"We're ready to go."

"We're totally committed to the vote."

Bullard said the delay should not have any impact on site plans, submitted to the Malta Planning Board, to start clearing trees at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta by March 17.

But he said that date is merely a target and not set in stone.

The chip fab is expected to be one of the largest economic development project in state history.

Michael Relyea, president of the Luther Forest Technology Campus Economic Development Corp., the nonprofit that owns the property where the chip fab will be built, cancelled a previously schedule press briefing with reporters after the vote was adjourned.

"The adjournment of today's shareholders vote is essentially a non-issue," Relyea said in a statement.

"Luther Forest Technology Campus considers the 97 percent approval rating from the initial 42 percent of votes as an overwhelmingly positive indicator for the final steps of the deal."

Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunon.com.

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"Bruno trial slated for November - Defense team plans to challenge use of honest services statute, calling it a 'controversial theory'"

By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Wednesday, February 11, 2009

ALBANY — A November trial has been tentatively scheduled for former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, who was indicted by a federal grand jury last month on allegations he made millions of dollars through his senatorial position.

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday told U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe they are ready to go to trial in three months.

''The United States would like a quick trial on this matter,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Coombe said during a pretrial conference in Sharpe's chambers.

But Bruno's attorneys, William Dreyer of Albany and Abbe Lowell of Washington, D.C., said they intend to file pretrial motions challenging the integrity of the government's indictment and a criminal case that has been built largely on the federal theft of honest services statutes.

''It's a controversial theory,'' Lowell told the judge.

''I can see no realistic way we can go in May,'' Sharpe said.

The judge then outlined a motion schedule that would lead up to a trial he tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 2.

Attorneys in the case said they expect the trial to last about a month.

The government last week turned over dozens of boxes of evidence and electronic files to Bruno's attorneys.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, one of the prosecutors on the case, said his office had not turned over all documents to the defense that may be related to the Bruno investigation.

''We've investigated other things, other people,'' Pericak said, adding those records were not part of the discovery materials turned over last week.

Among the documents that were turned over was an FBI report from an April 2006 interview that Bruno had with FBI agents in Albany.

The FBI report, which is known as a ''302,'' is not filed in public records.

It allegedly contains notes from at least two FBI agents who interviewed Bruno that spring after he requested to meet with them when he learned of the probe.

The document's existence confirms that Bruno knew roughly three years ago that he was the subject of a federal criminal probe.

It also means he waited more than 18 months to publicly disclose the investigation to his senatorial colleagues and the public.

Bruno finally went public in December 2007 after his office began receiving questions about the probe from newspaper reporters.

Lowell, who has extensive experience in white-collar crime and public corruption cases, told the Times Union Tuesday that the defense intends to challenge the veracity of the government's indictment with an eye towards getting it dismissed before reaching trial.

''We will be filing motions that address three issues, (including) the impartiality for the grand jury, and the process by which the indictment occurred, more to do with whether this was a case brought in the press,'' Lowell said.

The four attorneys and the judge agreed that jury selection in Bruno's case, if it reaches trial, may require a large pool of potential panelists and necessitate that jurors are ''pre-screened'' through a questionnaire to eliminate people who have conflicts such as political biases or preconceptions about Bruno's innocence or guilt.

''We're going to have all of the issues associated with notoriety,'' Sharpe said.

Bruno did not attend the pre-trial conference.

Lowell said jury selection could be fickle because of Bruno's iconic political status and ''people are going to have strong opinions on the politics, on the public official.''

If convicted on any of the charges in the eight-count felony indictment, Bruno, a 79-year-old Brunswick Republican, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, although under federal sentencing guidelines he would likely face much less time behind bars.

The indictment outlines more than a decade of instances where Bruno, while occupying the state's powerful position of Senate majority leader, allegedly concealed one after another payments steered to him personally by people and organizations seeking an advantage in state politics.

The indictment claims that from 1993 through 2005, all of Bruno's annual financial disclosures, required by the state's Ethics in Government law, contain false, misleading and incomplete information.

The indictment also outlines a series of deals and business arrangements dating back to 1993 in which Bruno made money from companies or individuals who had an interest in state government, or profited as a ''consultant'' for steering labor unions, which rely heavily on state government contracts, to invest in companies that were paying Bruno hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The charges also delve into Bruno's penchant for race horses and several shadowy financial deals tied to the thoroughbred industry.

Bruno's consulting work for a Connecticut investment firm, and his efforts to steer New York labor union leaders to invest their pension funds there, brought him the most private wealth, more than $2 million, according to the charges.

The indictment is the culmination of a more than three-year FBI investigation into the public and secretive private dealings of a powerful politician who emerged from a childhood of poverty to become arguably the Capital Region's most iconic political leader.

Bruno retired from his state Senate seat in July after 32 years in legislative service.

He is now a lobbyist and chief executive of his close friend Kay Stafford's Latham company, CMA Consulting.

There are no allegations of wrongdoing related to CMA Consulting.

Brendan J. Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.

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"Analysis: Fed stimulus doesn't end NY fiscal fight"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:25 p.m., Monday, February 16, 2009

ALBANY -- A sad school girl in a dark classroom all alone.

A frantic mother racing her unconscious child to a hospital that had closed.

These and other images are still being broadcast as special interests spend millions on ads blasting the spending cuts Gov. David Paterson is pursuing despite New York's $24.6 billion share of the new federal stimulus package.

"Their conduct has been, I think, reprehensible," Paterson told The Associated Press Monday, referring to the health care lobby ads.

The stimulus money headed to New York for use over the next two years has turned a historic fiscal crisis into a manageable, almost routine shortfall.

So why are the million-dollar TV commercials from unions still warning of a threat to the American dream in New York?

And why is Paterson still calling for painful cuts?

"The ads say this is the worst cut ever."

"Yes!"

"Exactly!"

"This is three times the worst budget ever," Paterson said Monday, after seeing the ads over the weekend.

"They can keep running their ads, do whatever they think they can do to my polls, and roll out as many blind people in wheelchairs as they like," Paterson said, referring to one recent ad attacking his cuts.

"I'm still going to reduce this deficit."

Paterson said the cuts he's proposed for hospitals, schools and just about every other state-funded program are still needed in the 2009-10 budget due April 1 to end decades of overspending.

Failure to do so, he said, will inevitably create another fiscal crisis in just three years, when there will be no federal bailout.

And while the bailout could cover most of the projected $30 billion in deficits forecast for the next two fiscal years, Paterson notes that if spending isn't reduced, the state will face deficits totaling $38 billion between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 fiscal years.

That would force much deeper cuts and higher taxes.

Just click from this story or turn this page for an illustration of what Paterson sees as New York's future if spending isn't checked: California faces insolvency without midyear fixes that include $14.4 billion in higher taxes, deep cuts, and the possible layoffs of 10,000 state workers.

Back in New York, however, the public worker unions note that the federal stimulus bill is intended to prevent public worker layoffs that would worsen the recession and reduce services.

Worse, they say the cuts to education will threaten the future of New York.

"It's the story of a place where the American dream is in danger," states one of the TV ads by the New York State United Teachers union.

The warning includes images of sad faces on children, concerned nurses, scared seniors, and an angry laborer in a hard hat.

The two sides don't even agree on terms.

The stimulus aid is targeted to eliminate cuts in education, from elementary schools to colleges.

But what is the cut?

Paterson said it's the nearly $698 million cut he proposed in December, or about 3.3 percent less than the current $21 billion in school aid.

He notes that would still leave school aid at 42 percent above the 2003-04 level.

But the teachers' union and other advocates say Paterson's December proposal amounts to a cut of $2.5 billion, based on what was projected to be an increase in school aid under a 2007 law requiring a four-year plan to increase school aid.

William Van Slyke, a spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York State, which represents hospitals, said at least a half-dozen upstate hospitals have announced layoffs and cutbacks in anticipation of cuts and two hospitals in Queens are planning to close.

"We think we're going to see more and more of that," Van Slyke said Monday.

"And we are resting on nearly $9 billion in (health care) stimulus relief and a $1.3 billion cut ... I think it will be very difficult for legislators to explain to their constituents who lost their access to health care or their health care job why they didn't act when they had the means to do so."

In one of the HANYS ads, a frantic mother finds her child unconscious, and the parents race in their car to the hospital.

"I don't believe it!" the mother shouts, turning to the child as the car pulls to a stop.

"The hospital is closed?"

"Where are we supposed to go now?"

The narrator then blames Paterson: "Is yours next?"

The ads call for Albany to avoid cuts by more deeply taxing the rich -- described as low as the $250,000 per household annual income many consider middle class, especially if a kid or two is in college or the household is located near New York City.

"An unfair tax system shouldn't put our kids and our future at risk," the NYSUT ad continued.

"We continue to believe it makes more sense to balance the budget by asking the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay their fair in taxes than by asking working families to pay in the form of deep cuts to schools and health care and increases in taxes and fees aimed at the middle class," said Dan Cantor, executive director of the Working Families Party, which is influential in the Democratic party, which controls state government.

Multimillion dollar ad campaigns by lobbyists decrying cuts have hurt governors' approval ratings and clout with the Legislature in recent years.

"My sense is, because they have shown they have millions of dollars to spend, it shows we should cut them," Paterson quipped last week to students at Morrisville State College as he discussed the lobbying.

On Monday, he sketched a picture of life in New York if his cuts are rejected and income taxes are increased:

"We can't use taxing on the rich, because theoretically we'd have done it, and we can't use the stimulus because we've spent it."

"And that's what I want people to start looking at."

"We've got to stand up to the culture of spending in Albany and put a stop to it."

"Because what are we going to do in 2011, when there's no stimulus."

"What are we going to do then?"

------

Michael Gormley is the Albany, N.Y., Capitol editor for The Associated Press. He can be reached by e-mail at mgormley(at)ap.org.

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"Big business, Bloomberg top political donor lists - New York mayor is top individual giver: real estate, health care industries give the most as Albany's pay-to-play culture is criticized amid $94 million in contributions"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 3:15 p.m., Tuesday, February 17, 2009

ALBANY - The real estate and health care industries made up the state's major contributors during the 2008 legislative election cycle, which saw an eye-popping $94 million in contributions, according to a study released today by NYPIRG.

"This is a record setting number,'' remarked NYPIRG's legislative director Blair Horner, who along with others said the findings show how business interests as well as a tiny number of wealthy individuals make up the lion's share of campaign donors.

Each industry coughed up about $5.4 million.

That was followed by the insurance/financial/banking sectors which gave $4.2 million then lawyers/lobbyists and food/alcohol which gave $2.9 million and $2 million respectively.

NYPIRG also listed the state's top 115 donors which included some familiar names such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, $878,000; lobbyist Patricia Lynch, $80,125; and former Senator Alfonse D'Amato, $43,500.

Small donors -- that is those who gave less than $100 to political candidates -- barely registered in the survey, comprising less than 2 percent of individual contributors.

The numbers suggest that average New Yorkers have no real influence in the state Capitol's notorious pay-to-play culture, said Horner and others who are calling for campaign finance reforms and eventually a move to publicly funded elections.

Rick Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or rkarlin@timesunion.com

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"AMD spin-off gets OK - Shareholders' decision on manufacturing operations clears path to chip plant"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Thursday, February 19, 2009

MALTA - After a week of some doubts, shareholders of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. approved the spin-off of the company's manufacturing operations Wednesday, paving the way for construction of a $4.6 billion computer chip factory here.

AMD needed the OK to create a joint venture with an investment fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi known as the Advanced Technology Investment Co.

The move also includes an infusion of cash from the oil-rich city state that will stabilize AMD's finances.

The joint venture, currently being called The Foundry Co., will make computer chips for AMD and other companies using AMD's two existing chip fabs in Dresden, Germany.

It is also planning to expand its manufacturing capabilities by building a third fab at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta that would employ 1,465 people.

Initial ground-clearing on a 222-acre site is slated to begin next month.

The approval has been in doubt since last week after fewer than 50 percent of the company's shares were voted during the regularly scheduled shareholder vote on the spin-off.

Such a quorum is required to make the vote official.

The vote had been adjourned until Wednesday, when AMD was able to obtain a razor-thin margin of 50.26 percent of the shares to be cast.

Of those, an overwhelming 94 percent voted in favor of the plan.

Now AMD says it expects to close the deal by March 2, just two weeks before it wants to start initial tree and soil clearing at Luther Forest.

"AMD did not have a plan B," Malta Town Supervisor Paul Sausville said.

"They voted, and shareholders obviously understood the importance of this to their business."

Now starts the meticulous process of site plan approval by the Malta Planning Board, which will meet next Tuesday to continue reviewing plans for the chip fab, which were submitted to the town earlier in the month.

Sausville said the Town Board will discuss hiring a project management firm to help the town oversee the project during its Monday meeting.

AMD is funding that hiring, although AMD spokesman Travis Bullard said the project manager will have total autonomy and will get its direction from the town, not AMD.

"They'll just send us the bill," Bullard said.

Sausville said the project manager will keep the town on top of needed approvals and project requirements.

He noted that the lost opportunity costs on a $4.6 billion project come out to $300,000 for each day the project is delayed.

Sausville said there are other small yet important details that must get taken care of before the chip fab can get its certificate of occupancy from the town, scheduled for 2011.

The zoning law that covers the fab requires 7.5 miles of pathways and trails be constructed at Luther Forest and that those trails be connected with existing public trails in the towns of Malta and Stillwater, including the Zim Smith Trail, a major trail that runs through Saratoga County.

A $100,000 state grant given to the nonprofit Saratoga PLAN to design an extension from the Zim Smith to Luther Forest has been held up due to government red tape.

"This is just one of several issues that could be problematic for the project," Sausville said.

Bullard, the AMD spokesman, said some of that trail work at Luther Forest will be done this spring.

"It shouldn't be an issue," he said.

"A lot of that stuff is under way."

Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"AMD changes chip fab design - Malta Planning Board is shown plans for more-compact factory"

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Thursday, February 12, 2009

MALTA — Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has changed the design of its $4.6 billion computer chip factory planned for Luther Forest Technology Campus.

Company officials and their engineers discussed the design Tuesday night with the Malta Planning Board as AMD seeks site plan approval and construction permits.

The 1.3 million-square-foot complex, which also includes office building and manufacturing support space, will be esthetically different than originally planned.

Renderings previously shown to the town had large footbridges between the clean room manufacturing space and the administrative offices.

Those plans included a large rotunda at the entrance, which looked much like AMD's corporate headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif.

The new design, created by M+W Zander — the same company that designed and built Albany NanoTech — is much more square and compact and doesn't include the bridges or rotunda.

The office space is now flush with the manufacturing area.

Steve Groseclose, AMD's global environmental, health and safety director, told the planning board that the new design fits better with the 222-acre parcel where the factory will be located.

"It nestles in there quite gracefully," he said, adding that the new design will better reflect the fab's future owners.

AMD is in the process of spinning off its costly manufacturing into a joint venture backed by money from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The new company will have its own name and branding that has yet to be disclosed — a closely guarded secret.

Creation of the joint venture — temporarily called The Foundry Co. — has been delayed for at least a week.

That's because AMD hadn't yet received enough votes from shareholders to approve the deal.

As of Tuesday morning, 41.7 percent of shares had been voted, short of the 50 percent required.

It was unclear if large institutional shareholders or individuals were holding up the process.

The Times Union called five of AMD's largest shareholders, such as Oppenheimer Funds Inc. in New York and Capital World Investors in Los Angeles, and they either did not respond or declined to say if they cast their votes.

The only shareholder that has confirmed having voted is Mubadala Development Co., an Abu Dhabi government investment fund that owns more than 8 percent of AMD's shares and is headed by Abu Dhabi's crown prince.

AMD is hoping to secure approval to begin clearing trees and moving soil at the Luther Forest site by the planning board's March 10 meeting.

Larry Rulison can be reached at 454-5504 or by e-mail at lrulison@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Paterson's poll numbers head south in Siena survey"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 2:35 p.m., Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The latest statewide poll from the Siena Research Institute poll is more bad news for Gov. David Paterson, who according to its findings is the weakest he's ever been since becoming governor last March.

His favorable rating, his job performance rating and his position in 2010 primary and general election head-to-head matchups have all fallen to their lowest levels.

The survey indicates that recent challenges faced by Paterson — from the ugly endgame to the selection of New York's newest U.S. senator to ongoing resistance to his budget proposal for the fiscal year ahead — are beginning to have real impact on his previously high levels of popular support.

The poll, relased this morning, finds that:

Paterson is now viewed favorably by 40 percent of voters and unfavorably by 47 percent, down from last month's favorable-unfavorable rating of 54 percent to 30 percent favorable rating, and his high of 64 percent to 19 percent in November.

His job performance rating is 28 percent positive, 69 percent negative — a considerable change from 51 percent to 45 percent last month.

The Siena poll also finds that only 19 percent of voters are prepared to elect Paterson as Governor in 2010, compared to 57 percent who prefer "someone else."

That's well down from 32 percent and 36 percent last month, and 42 percent to 32 percent in November.

In terms of Paterson's chances in the 2010 gubernatorial race, the polls finds that in a hypothetical Democratic primary, Paterson trails state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo 27 percent to 53 percent.

Last month Paterson led Cuomo 35 percent to 33 percent; in November, the governor led the AG 53 percent to 25 percent.

In potential general election matchups, Paterson trails former Mayor Rudy Giuliani 36 percent to 51 percent, after leading Giuliani 44 percent to 42 percent last month and 51 percent to 38 percent in December.

Cuomo leads Giuliani 51 percent to 38 percent.

This is the second set of bad polling news for Paterson in recent days: A Quinnipiac survey released last week found a similar softening of support for the governor.

Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or iliu@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Poll: Paterson's popularity tanks in budget fight"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:35 p.m., Tuesday, February 24, 2009

ALBANY -- In July, Gov. David Paterson made a rare televised address to warn New Yorkers of deficits and the need to cut Albany's overspending, declaring, "These times call for action and today I promise you there will be action."

His polls soared.

Now he's acting, and the public worker unions and hospitals fighting those spending cuts are using TV to help sink Paterson to his lowest approval and favorability ratings in his 11 months in office, according to Tuesday's Siena College Research Institute poll.

The Siena poll showed Paterson was viewed favorably by 40 percent of voters -- down from 64 percent in November.

His job performance got a favorable rating from 28 percent.

Only 19 percent said they would vote for him in 2010, and he now trails Republican Rudy Giuliani and Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in potential races for governor.

Paterson admits some mistakes leading up to the fall in approval rating: a "circus" of a U.S. Senate appointment he said he let go on too long, mixed signals and the appearance of disarray on his staff.

But another big factor is the millions of dollars of TV and radio ads by the health care industry and public employee unions saying Paterson is trying to close hospitals, cut off medical services for the needy, and lay off their workers.

"The commercials against the governor's budget proposals are having an impact," said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena poll.

"More than 80 percent of voters are concerned that the proposed budget cuts in health and education would adversely affect the quality of health care and education in New York."

That's been the kind of hit endured by governors Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat; and George Pataki, a Republican, before him, weakening the power of the bully pulpit.

During that time, public worker unions and health care and education lobbies grew to be among Albany's most powerful forces, and prolific campaign contributors to legislators.

One of the ads, since pulled, featured a blind man asking Paterson, who is legally blind, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Another featured a woman portraying a frantic mother racing her unconscious child to a hospital that turns out to be closed.

Similar ads featuring sad children in empty schools ran before the federal stimulus package signed last week promised to restore school aid.

"At some level, they are appalling," said political science Professor Robert McClure of Syracuse University's Maxwell School.

"This is the kind of use of fear that has been a part of American politics ... not that there is nothing we need to consider, but all of these ads present this in a way that does not allow for thoughtful consideration, but only allows us to operate at the primitive level of fear and gut instinct."

"It's happened before," said political science Professor Doug Muzzio of Baruch College.

"You don't buck those interests because they will hammer you unmercifully."

"The public needs to resist," said Elizabeth Lynam of the independent Citizens Budget Commission.

"The ads that are run are unfortunately very hard hitting, very dire and unfair," she said.

"New York is running a bloated program that's in need of restructuring -- that's the bottom line."

The warnings are real, said William Van Slyke, a spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York State, which represents hospitals.

He said at least a half-dozen upstate hospitals have announced layoffs and cutbacks in anticipation of cuts and two hospitals in Queens are planning to close just when a bad economy will make more people uninsured.

He also said it was Albany, not hospitals, that enacted better care for the poor and working poor, all of whom are now threatened by cuts without using more federal stimulus funding.

"So you have this dark scenario, and the dollars are there to stem it," he said.

"They are not telling the side the story the public really needs to hear," Paterson said Tuesday, noting the head of a hospital lobby refused his challenge to debate the issue publicly.

Paterson said his cuts would total less than 2 percent of funding.

"This is something other governors have gone through," Paterson said.

"If you pound away at someone in very short commercials, they have an effect."

"This is why in political campaigns, the person with the more money usually wins."

Yet the public backlash is almost inevitable whenever a governor goes from generalities as in the June televised speech to specific cuts such as in his 2009-10 budget proposal presented in mid-December.

The survey of 622 registered voters was conducted from Feb. 16-18 and has a margin of error of about 4 percentage points.

------

On the Net:

http://www.Siena.edu/SRI/SNY.

[Livyjr]

"Capital Region housing market shows steep declines"

February 25, 2009 at 11:14 am by Chris Churchill, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union

The bottom fell out of the Capital Region housing market in January, with the area recording a dramatic decrease in the number of sales and significant price declines for the second straight month.

Members of the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc. closed on just 356 homes in their 11-county region during the month, a 33 percent drop from January 2008 and a 42 percent decline from 2007, according to numbers released this morning.

Overall, the region’s median sale price was $175,000 in January, a 9 percent drop from a year earlier.

In several counties, the decline was steeper.

Rensselaer County saw a 12 percent decline in the median sale price in January, to $159,800, while Saratoga County showed a comparable drop, to $224,250.

The median sale price fell 8 percent in Schenectady County, to $151,800, while it was stable in Albany County at $202,000.

For much of 2008, the housing market in the Capital Region showed remarkable resiliency, even as markets in much of the country tumbled.

But some economists warned that upstate New York tends to lag other housing markets, suggesting that the market here would eventually follow the rest of the nation into decline.

And, with the numbers released this morning, that seems to be happening.

GCAR, in a news release, conceded that the numbers are grim, at least from a Realtor’s perspective, but stressed that dropping prices present an opportunity for buyers, particularly first-time buyers, who were shut out of the boom market of recent years.

“Many people will be surprised by the home-buying power they have in today’s market,” said Sandra Nardoci, president of the association.

National numbers released this morning by the National Association of Realtors were similar, with the group reporting that purchases fell by 5.3 percent while the median sale price dropped 15 percent to a six-year low of $170,300.

[Livyjr]

"Paterson reviewing top staff - As poll numbers collapse, administrative chaos hurts"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Wednesday, February 25, 2009

ALBANY — With his job approval among voters in free fall, Gov. David Paterson is hoping to resuscitate his administration by retooling his staff.

But while recruiting qualified staffers in the face of sagging poll numbers is hard enough, Paterson's problems may be more endemic: Longtime observers of the governor say staffing chaos has been a problem for him since his days in the state Senate.

Paterson told reporters Tuesday that he would complete a reassessment of his staff by the beginning of March — something he had intended to do earlier in his administration before it was sidetracked by last year's budget and the fiscal crisis.

"Nothing was really going wrong at that time and ... since nothing is going wrong you don't address (staff issues)," Paterson said after speaking at the State University of New York's annual legislative luncheon.

"But I think there were some structural problems that I needed to change."

"There were some very good people from the last administration who left and we didn't totally adjust for it — and we'll try to do that now."

The governor is the weakest he's ever been since taking office last March, according to the latest statewide poll from the Siena Research Institute, released Tuesday.

His favorable rating, job performance rating, and his position in 2010 primary and general election head-to-head match-ups have all fallen to their lowest levels.

Paterson's decision to re-evaluate his staff comes in the wake of weeks of bad press portraying his administration as rudderless.

Last week, Paterson publicly entertained the option of bringing back Charles O'Byrne, his former chief of staff, who resigned in October after it was revealed that he had failed to pay over $300,000 in federal and state taxes.

O'Byrne declined the job offer, but will volunteer on Paterson's political campaign.

The governor has not articulated what O'Byrne's role will be, and how much it will affect the current operations of the governmental staff.

Paterson's public ruminations about staff changes, particularly as it relates to O'Byrne, has only further destabilized the administration and depressed staff morale.

"It's a disaster; it's a mess up there," said a source close to the governor's staff.

There is particular frustration among the deputy secretaries, who have largely been kept in the dark about the major issues rocking the administration —the whisper campaign against U.S. Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy, the governor's sinking poll numbers, and rumors about people entering or leaving the administration.

The issues bombarding the administration are "the drunk uncle sitting in the middle of the room that no one wants to talk to."

"... No one wants to deal with it," the source said.

The lack of a clear leadership structure hampers even the most mundane decisions.

"For weeks on end, there's just this endless circle of e-mails: Someone will put out a request, 'I need to know whether or not we can fill-in-the-blank' — who then sends it to the second, third, fourth person, only to go back to the person who originally sent the e-mail with no answer."

While this issue has come to a head recently, legislators, lobbyists and former staffers say the pattern of leadership in chaos existed when Paterson was Senate minority leader from 2002 until his election as lieutenant governor in 2006.

"David avoids making the tough decisions — or that was how it was until Charles (O'Byrne) came in," said an ex-Senate aide who worked with Paterson in the Senate.

"Leading by chaos is a bit charitable," the former aide said.

"Under David there was a 'Lord of the Flies' environment where you claim your territory and hold on to it."

Paterson's ambition to remake his staff comes as he faces a brutal to fight to close an estimated $14 billion budget deficit by April 1.

Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or iliu@timesunion.com.

Highlights from the most recent Siena Research Institute poll about Gov. David Paterson's performance:

Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion about David Paterson?

Favorable 40
Unfavorable 47
Don't know 13

Who would you vote for as governor in 2010?

Paterson 19
Someone else 57
Don't know 24

Conducted Feb. 16-18; margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Paterson vulnerable in 2010 match-ups:

Gov. David Paterson vs. Andrew Cuomo: Paterson trails the attorney general 53 percent to 27 percent, with 20 percent undecided.

(Last month Paterson led 35 percent to 33 percent, and in November he led 53 percent to 25 percent.)

Paterson vs. Rudy Giuliani: Paterson trails former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani 51 percent to 36 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

(Last month, Paterson lead Giuliani 44 percent to 42 percent, with 14 percent undecided)

Cuomo vs. Giuliani: Cuomo leads Giuliani 51 percent to 38 percent, with 11 percent undecided.

Conducted Feb. 16-18; margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

TIMES UNION

[Livyjr]

"Paterson fills key jobs in staff shakeup - Secretary to governor, communications director named amid turmoil"

By IRENE JAY LIU, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published in print: Thursday, February 26, 2009

With his poll numbers falling and a budget battle looming, Gov. David Paterson is shaking up his management team.

In a news release late Wednesday, Paterson announced the following changes:

Secretary Bill Cunningham III is resigning from the post of secretary to the governor, but will stay on during the transition as a senior adviser.

Newly appointed First Deputy Secretary Larry Schwartz will replace Cunningham and will rise to secretary, with a $178,000 annual salary.

Peter Kauffman will be appointed communications director, at a salary of $175,000.

Kauffman is currently a vice president at the Glover Park Group, a firm specializing in public affairs and campaign management.

According to the biography provided by Paterson's office, Kauffmann "has focused mainly on strategic and crisis communications work for corporate and political clients" — not a bad skill set considering the governor's recent poll numbers, which find him losing to both state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in hypothetical 2010 match-ups.

All this change comes at whirlwind pace: In less than two weeks, Paterson has shed Cunningham as well as former Communications Director Risa Heller, political communications strategist Judith Smith, and campaign fundraiser Cynthia Darrison.

In addition, the governor tried to bring back top aide Charles O'Byrne — who left in October in the wake of a tax scandal — before talking to O'Byrne about it.

O'Byrne declined the job, although he will apparently play a role in Paterson's election bid in 2010.

Irene Jay Liu can be reached at 454-5081 or iliu@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"AMD's new CEO got $5.3 million pay package in '08 - AMD's new CEO got $5.3 million pay package for first year in charge of slumping chip maker"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:35 p.m., Friday, February 27, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s new chief executive, Dirk Meyer, pulled down a pay package valued at $5.3 million in his first year at the helm of the struggling chip maker, a big piece of which came in the form of stock and options tied to his promotion last summer, the company said in a regulatory filing Friday.

Meyer's compensation for 2008, a year in which the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company launched a major restructuring to improve its sagging finances, included a salary of $856,732 and stock and options valued at $4,386,448 when they were granted.

Meyer also got $26,220 in perks, including $9,576 in travel expenses AMD paid to allow his spouse to accompany him on some business trips.

He did not get a bonus.

AMD's executive compensation report, filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, also shows that the company's former CEO, Hector Ruiz, who turned the job over to Meyer in July, saw the value of his pay package fall 40 percent to $4.4 million because he got less in stock and options.

Ruiz, however, is in line for a big payday that makes up the difference: he has been promised a $3 million payout once AMD completes the spinoff of its factories into a joint venture with the government of Abu Dhabi, a deal he was instrumental in spearheading.

AMD won shareholder approval for that plan last week.

Ruiz, who has been serving as AMD's executive chairman, will leave that job to become chairman of the new joint venture, The Foundry Co.

Before stepping down as CEO, Ruiz had been the only person to head AMD other than founder and longtime Chief Executive Jerry Sanders.

The handoff this summer from Ruiz to Meyer came as the chip maker -- the world's No. 2 maker of personal-computer microprocessors, behind Intel Corp. -- was facing a cash crunch that threatened its survival.

AMD's decision to spin off its factories helps the company save money.

Chip factories cost billions of dollars to build, and it takes billions more every few years to outfit them with the latest technology.

AMD couldn't afford to go at Intel alone on manufacturing, and needed a partner to help shoulder some of the cost.

AMD has racked up nearly $7 billion in losses over the last nine quarters amid a punishing slowdown in PC sales, which drags down processor demand, and as the company has paid down huge debt from its $5.6 billion acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI Technologies.

In 2008, AMD lost $3.1 billion on sales of $5.8 billion.

Another part of AMD's restructuring has been cutting executives' pay and eliminating 3,300 jobs.

Meyer's salary was lowered to $720,000.

Meyer had $508,721 in stock vest during the year.

Ruiz had $1,240,975 in stock vest.

The AP's calculations of total pay includes salary, bonus, incentives, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations exclude changes in the present value of pension benefits, and they sometimes differ from the totals companies list in the summary compensation table of proxy statements filed with the SEC.

[heart]

Liv,

I just wanted to pay tribute to someone that we have both read and loved reading! He lived a good and long life, and his ideas and vision live inside of us, and all that we touched along the way! And really, when you get right down to it, that's the best life after all isn't it?

PEORIA — Science fiction author Philip Jose Farmer died Wednesday morning at his North Peoria home. He was 91.

"There is no funeral," said Bette Farmer, his wife of nearly 68 years. "Just a memorial service. That's what Phil wanted. We talked about it."

"This was a bit of a blow," said Paul Spiteri, who helped publish some of Farmer's work and has talked with the Farmers weekly during the last few years. "No matter how much you feel you're expecting it, you're just never prepared."

Spiteri flew to Peoria from his home in the United Kingdom to surprise Farmer on his 90th birthday last year, and returned just a few weeks ago for the author's 91st.

"I guess if there was something I'd want to say, it's that even though Phil may have left us, our memories of him and the words he left will stay with us and future generations forever," Spiteri said via e-mail.

He is one of the group Bette Farmer sometimes calls "the boys" - the devoted fans who have produced "Farmerphile" magazine and attended a mini-convention they call "FarmerCon" for the last several years. Even after Phil Farmer quit writing, Bette included her own articles in the fan publication. That includes her account of the time Farmer literally threw himself at her feet in the basement of Bradley Hall - twice - when both attended Bradley University.

"I turned around and said, 'You're going to kill yourself,'" Bette Farmer wrote. "He jumped up and started a long diatribe about how he had looked at me from afar for so long and it was like viewing a beautiful sunset or some such thing. He has started many stories through the years with just such an opening BANG!"

While Farmer was known for his prolific writing, Bette Farmer handled most of the business. Tracy Knight, a fellow writer, described the author as "inspired, but not ambitious" and credits Bette Farmer's focus as a key complement to Farmer's work through the decades. Given the author's failing health, he said he has "very mixed" feelings about Farmer's death.

"I don't know that we deserved him this long," he said.

[Livyjr]

Liv,

I just wanted to pay tribute to someone that we have both read and loved reading!

He lived a good and long life, and his ideas and vision live inside of us, and all that we touched along the way!

And really, when you get right down to it, that's the best life after all isn't it?

Well, heart ....

I share your feelings here about the man, and you have expressed them better than I could articulate them ....

Certainly his writings serve to form a backdrop with respect to my own thought patterns about human nature and the pursuit of power ....

The man had a lot of insights into life is my thought ....

And his service to mankind was that he took the time to share those thoughts and insights in a way that made them very understandable ....

And so ...

[heart]

That's what you do too Livyjr! Thank You!

[Livyjr]

That's what you do too Livyjr!

Thank You!

And thank you, too, heart ....

And you are a vital part of that process, as well ....

And so it goes ...

On into the future ...

Armed with knowledge of the past and human nature thanks to people like Philip Jose Farmer .....

And so ...

[Livyjr]

"AMD, Abu Dhabi ink Foundry deal"

By ERIC ANDERSON, Deputy business editor, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 6:03 p.m., Monday, March 2, 2009

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. announced this afternoon it has completed the deal with Advanced Technology Investment Co. and Mubadala Development Co., both of Abu Dhabi, to create The Foundry Co., a new manufacturing unit that will build and operate the $4.6 billion semiconductor fabrication plant at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County.

AMD and ATIC will each own 50 percent of the new company, which will get a new identity and new name later this week.

But ATIC will own 65.8 percent of the company on a fully converted to common shares basis, while AMD will have the other 34.2 percent.

The deal improves AMD's cash position by $825 million.

The Foundry Co. will have its headquarters in California's Silicon Valley, with manufacturing plants in Dresden, Germany.

Research and development will be based in New York state.