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

[Livyjr]

"Poestenkill water district planning begins - $9.7 million project could cost homeowners $55 to $65 per month"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, June 12, 2007

POESTENKILL -- The town has started planning its first water district, a $9.7 million project to serve the town's more-populated western side, that will be the biggest public undertaking in its history.

A year ago, the town was awarded a $9,029,151 no-interest loan from the state Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund and a $220,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Fund for a municipal water district.

The project has been considered for several years in the rural town of 4,054 residents who have private, drilled wells.

Under the plan, 12-inch mains would run from Troy, the source for the town's water, along Spring Avenue east, along Weatherwax Road and for a short distance on Snyders Corners Road.

A branch of the larger main will also be laid along Route 355.

Smaller 8-inch mains will branch out from the larger pipes.

The town will have the option later to drill its own wells and use the connection to Troy as an emergency backup.

Town officials are preparing a townwide referendum on the district July 31.

The time and place of the vote will be announced soon, officials said.

Some people at recent public hearing on the matter showed support, but there are detractors.

"Some people are intimidated by the costs of the project, while others just want to see the town left rural," Town Supervisor Peg Schmidt said.

"But development is coming."

"The town, for instance, will have 50 new homes built over the next two years."

The town also has another problem that would be solved by municipal water.

Tests have shown that traces of trichloroethane, dichloroethane, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), bacteria and other contaminants are in local wells.

"Some people's well water is actually orange," Schmidt said. "I don't think iron oxide is good to drink."

Schmidt also said many of the small residential lots in town do not meet the required separation distance between well and septic system.

Everyone within a water district pays for the capital costs of building the water system.

People opting to hook up to the system will also pay for using the water and the system's operation and maintenance.

Estimates of the cost of the water district are $55 to $65 per month for a typical household and include capital costs, water use and operation and maintenance costs.

The exact rate structure must be approved by the state comptroller's office.

Poestenkill Water District 1

Cost $9,767,606

Annual debt payment (30-year interest-free) $325,587

Homes and businesses served 745

Average customer cost per month $55-$65

[Livyjr]

"The gender gap narrows as girls take to violence - Assaults are on the rise among female teens, and officials hope to nip the problem in the bud"

By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, June 10, 2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Inside a closet-size office at Saratoga Springs High probation officer Kelley Bayer sits face to face with a petite girl.

Their conversation -- Bayer sounding like a mom, the teen mostly answering "nope" -- is serious.

The 15-year-old beat up a schoolmate and has been charged with assault, landing her on probation and facing twice-monthly sessions with Bayer.

"How are things at home?" Bayer asks the ninth-grader.

"They're going pretty good," the girl responds.

She hasn't had any run-ins with police and is staying out of trouble.

Across the Capital Region, such conversations are happening with increasing frequency as probation departments see more and more teens.

Saratoga County's probation officers are handling caseloads of up to 80 kids -- more than double last year.

Other departments have had to hire staff to keep up.

Albany County added five probation officers to its juvenile division in two years.

In many cases, the troubled teens are girls.

In just a year, Schenectady County saw criminal complaints involving girls double in 2006 to 162.

That exceeds national statistics compiled by the FBI that also show more arrests of girls.

From 1980 to 2003, arrests of teenage girls for aggravated assault rose 9 percent, while simple assault counts increased some 11 percent, according to that agency's Violent Crime Index.

"All of a sudden you have a justice system dealing with more and more girls and they don't know what to do with them," said Shari Miller Johnson, a Duke University researcher.

"Girls' dynamics are difficult to maneuver, and we still don't know to what extent what we know about boys applies to girls."

Though males still dominate the system, girls are landing on probation for fighting and other crimes traditionally associated with boys.

As a result, part of probation's new, tailored approach throughout the state is to directly address the needs of girls.

"We're seeing more of an influx in the numbers of females in the system," Albany County Probation Director Patricia Aikens said.

"We're consciously aware of what's happening."

Probation departments have turned to a high-tech tool to help them intervene earlier and tailor treatment to teens' individual needs.

Probation officers quiz the youngsters on everything from their crimes to their hobbies and their parents and plug their responses into a computer program called the Youth Assessment & Screening Instrument, or YASI.

Schenectady County provides the best lens by which to view the tool's impact.

YASI helped officials there see the number of girls likely to commit another crime triple in two years to 32.8 percent in 2006, according to Joseph Mancini, deputy director of probation who oversees Schenectady County for Juvenile Justice.

The county, which began using YASI in 2003, hopes to add four probation officers and -- for the first time -- have some work during after-school hours due to the increasing arrests.

And the YASI is providing a road map to solutions.

"The focus is on things in the child's life that can be changed," said Robert Maccarone, chairman and state director of probation.

"The software is taking the information and comparing it against the information from probation."

The program then generates a profile for each teen including whether he or she is low-, moderate- or high-risk to commit another crime.

A low-risk teen may need counseling while a high-risk one may need anger management classes or substance abuse treatment.

The juvenile system also uses YASI to assess teenagers referred to as "persons in need of supervision," which means they haven't committed a crime but are on a wayward path.

The goal is to catch kids -- whether girls or boys -- early in the juvenile justice system and give them the help they need before their crimes escalate, Aikens said.

Sports is no longer a panacea.

"We gave them a basketball or football and thought that would save their lives," said Andre Leppanen, a Rensselaer County youth gang specialist.

The answer to why girls fight seems to be as complex as the tools being used by the probation system to help them.

Daisy Smythe, a foster mother in Schenectady, says fighting can be a cry for help, especially for girls who don't have a sense of belonging.

"No girl is going to rip out a girl's hair because of what she's wearing; she is carrying some internal stuff," said Smythe, 72.

"She is angry and looking for a fight, and any little thing will tick her off."

Jessica, a 17-year-old who ended up in the probation system for fighting, landed at St. Anne Institute, a residential home in Albany for troubled girls.

She fought so much on her arrival in May 2006 that she ended up in a special unit.

Through counseling, she is managing to control her anger and is expected to leave St. Anne in August.

"When you don't have that right guidance from parents or adults, you really don't know which way to go sometimes so you just go the way you know and for me that was fighting and getting upset and expressing myself through fighting," Jessica said.

Richard Serapilio, house principal of school, math, science and technology at Schenectady High School, says girl fights can be tough to break up.

"I think the biggest issue is that females can't let things go and it tends to fester," the veteran educator said.

"You think you solve an issue and three weeks later, it's back again."

Michael Gunning, Shaker High School's psychologist, says girls face a greater expectation to stand their ground and avoid being labeled a wimp every time they are challenged, while boys -- who still fight more than girls -- can sometimes talk macho.

"When they say they're going to fight, they mean it -- they're going to fight," he said.

Yet researchers argue the perception of girl violence trumps the statistics.

The increasing arrests stem from tougher domestic abuse laws and zero-tolerance policies for fighting in schools.

And, they note, society's view of girls' behavior stems from the arrests.

Girls are not more violent than they were 10, 20, 30 years ago and the gender gap hasn't changed," said Darrell Steffensmeier, a Penn State University professor.

"They might be more verbally aggressive, more mouthier and use more foul language, but not physically violent."

Steffensmeier was among researchers, practitioners and policymakers who studied female delinquency and published the report "Girls Study Group: Understanding and Responding to Girls' Delinquency."

Researcher Melissa Sickmund points to the popularity of girl fights and female boxing that have further glamorized violence among females.

"We see it everywhere, so it warps our perception," said Sickmund, with Pittsburgh-based National Center for Juvenile Justice.

For the probation officers and counselors helping the teens, both the increasing focus on early intervention brought about by YASI and the increasing numbers of girls in the juvenile justice system have prompted shifts in the way they work.

Lisa Karam, a veteran Rensselaer County probation officer, says she looks at a teenager's body language -- such as a menacing glance -- when assessing how to help the juvenile delinquents change.

"My biggest thing is their attitude," Karam said.

"Is this person taking ownership for this or is this behavior acceptable for this family and they just got caught?"

Leppanen, the Rensselaer County gang specialist, said pairing misguided teens with a mentor or offering athletic programs isn't enough any more.

He has seen girls suffering from a lack of discipline, respect and education -- all wrapped around self-esteem issues.

Those psychological issues have prompted a combining of those programs with activities like prison visits and college tours.

"We want to show them where they are headed with this stuff (gang activity)," said Leppanen.

"A lot of these kids are born without hope and they don't realize there is a way out."

Bill De Joy, with Conifer Park in Glenville, which treats substance abuse, revamped its system that he said treated youngsters too much like "mini-adults."

A big change was holding more structured discussions, including group and individual therapy, and providing more recreational outlets.

"We have learned what works best is to get to know them and treat them as more than just an addict," said De Joy, the facility's adolescent program director.

"Instead of pointing out their flaws, we engage them, and they point out their own flaws."

The girls at Conifer, who De Joy said tend to experiment with pills, generally need the most counseling for guy problems and the scars of sexual assault.

"The girls' therapy tends to deal more with trauma, such as how they put themselves in precarious situations and how it's affected their state of mind," he said.

Back inside Bayer's tiny Saratoga High office, the girl tells Bayer that she assaulted her schoolmate because she had grown tired of the other girl spreading rumors about her.

The teen is now learning other ways to resolve such conflicts.

When Saratoga County goes online with YASI next year, the software program will help guide these conversations.

Now, Saratoga uses a single sheet of eight questions and relies heavily on the experience of its probation officers.

Kathy Kuznia, Saratoga County's deputy probation director, said YASI will be a godsend.

"It's the wave of the future," she said, noting that one-third of the county's increasing caseload are juvenile delinquents.

"It's going to help us assess the needs of juveniles and their families and initiate the appropriate services in a much more timely manner ... and hopefully cut down on recidivism."

The girl being supervised by Bayer has so far had two counseling sessions and says she has learned a valuable lesson from her first brush with the law.

"The lesson that I've learned is to deal with it differently because you can get into a lot of trouble," she says.

Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.

Risk factors

If you know a teen who might be troubled, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office identified the following life influences and character traits -- when viewed as a whole -- that could mean a child is heading toward delinquency or violence:

ages 6-11 influences -- family poverty, little parental involvement, harsh/lax/inconsistent discipline, abusive parents, weak social ties or antisocial/delinquent friends; traits -- substance abuse, aggression, hyperactivity, concentration issues, medical/physical problems, low IQ, dishonesty, poor performance in school ages

12-16 influences -- family poverty, broken home, little parental involvement, harsh/lax/inconsistent discipline, abusive parents, family conflict, delinquent siblings, gang membership, weak social ties or antisocial/delinquent friends, neighborhood with adult crime and drug use; traits -- aggression, hyperactivity, concentration issues, physical violence, risk taking/drug selling, crimes against people, low IQ, substance abuse, poor performance in school, truancy

[Snuffysmith]

I'm attaching the full text of a just completed paper, "A Critical Evaluation of the Energy Plans and Actions Announced in April 2007 by New York's Governor, NYSERDA and New York PSC." The Executive Summary is shown below. Unfortunately, the attachment is a rather long paper. It does demonstrate conclusively that Washington, DC, is not the only center of political-lobbyist power that produces "energy plans" devoid of rational underpinning..
********************************

June 12, 2007

A Critical Evaluation of the Energy Plans and Actions Announced in April 2007

by New York’s Governor, NYSERDA and New York PSC

Executive Summary



Recent energy policy announcements by the Governor of New York, the President of NYSERDA, and the Chairwoman of the NY State Public Service Commission must leave many people in New York – especially in Upstate and Western New York -- wondering what their elected and appointed leaders in Albany have against them.



New York’s Independent System Operator (NYISO), which manages the wholesale electric grid in NY and works to assure that electric service will be reliable, has concluded that New York will require additional generating capacity as electricity demand grows.



The Governor’s focus on the challenge of providing adequate electricity for New York may be a good sign, but the steps that he and other State officials announced in April are unlikely to achieve the goals he announced. Some of those steps would not be in the best interest of the people of New York -- particularly its electric customers and taxpayers, or homeowners in many rural areas and others who enjoy the state’s scenic areas. The claims of economic benefits and additional jobs, apparently assembled for the Governor by state officials, are not credible.



The costly proposals by the Governor, NYSERDA and NYSPSC to force greater use of “wind energy” are particularly puzzling. The state officials appear to be unaware of facts about wind energy that have been uncovered during the past two years – facts that contradict claims made by the wind industry and other wind advocates. For example, the officials seem unaware or unconcerned that:



· Huge wind turbines (35+ stories tall) produce very little electricity -- which electricity is low in quality and value because it is intermittent, volatile, unreliable and unlikely to be available when most needed.

· Wind turbines cannot be counted on to produce electricity at times of peak electricity demand (late summer afternoons on hot weekdays in July and August), and will not replace the need for the electric industry to add [i]reliable electric generating capacity to supply increasing electric demand or replace aging generating plants.

· Huge tax breaks and subsidies for “wind farm” owners – not environmental and energy benefits – are the primary reasons that companies are eager to build wind farms.

· Wind energy advocates have greatly overstated environmental and economic benefits of wind energy and greatly understated adverse environmental, ecological, scenic, property value and human impacts.



In fact, policies and programs announced by the state officials would result in:



· Transferring nearly $ 1.3 billion additional dollars from the pockets of ordinary electric customers and taxpayers to pockets of large “wind farm” owning companies, particularly Noble Environmental Power (majority owned by JP Morgan Partners, LLC), Massachusetts -based UPC Wind, and Community Energy, Inc. (wholly owned by Iberdola of Spain).

· Spending billions of capital investment dollars on energy projects that produce little electricity when needed and have little favorable local economic impact.

· Undermining the property values, peace and tranquility of thousands of families in rural New York who would be forced to live in the shadows of hundreds of huge, noisy wind turbines, and destroy some of New York’s beautiful scenery.



New York already has some of the nation’s highest tax burdens and, except for Hawaii, the highest residential electricity prices. The steps announced by the Governor, NYSERDA and NYSPSC are likely to make the situation worse.



This brief paper reviews and evaluates key aspects of energy policies and plans announced by New York State officials, and contrasts their electricity plans with those of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) which is responsible for the reliability of New York’s electricity grid. Both sets of plans have major implications for the people of New York.


[i] NYSERDA – New York State Energy Research & Development Authority

[Livyjr]

And thanks for that evaluation and information, Snuf ....

It does demonstrate conclusively that Washington, D.C. is not the only center of political-lobbyist power that produces "energy plans" devoid of rational underpinning ...

It's appreciated in the spirit of this thread ....

And so ....

[Livyjr]

WE

DID

IT!

MINED LAND RECLAMATION BILL PASSED WITH STATE BUDGET!

So reads the cover sheet of an exultant PROCLAMATION published all over the State of New York on or about June 17, 1991 by ESCAPA, the "Empire State Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association, Inc.", to trumpet its coup of burying an amended version of the New York State Mined Land Reclamation Law deep in the bowels of a lengthy "budget bill" that was before the New York State Legislature that year so that ESCAPA could have the law changed to suit its whims and needs ......

DESPITE THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION .....

A typical "BACK-ROOM DEAL" between LOBBYISTS, GOVERNMENT LAWYERS and POLITICIANS ON THE MAKE up here that then becomes the basis for how the "law" will be "interpreted" subsequently in the State of New York .....

DESPITE THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION .....

In a memorandum to ALL MEMBERS attached to that cover sheet above dated June 17, 1991, David S. Hamling, the then-Managing Director of ESCAPA states as follows with respect to how "business" is really done in the State of New York, DESPITE THE NEW YORK STATE CONSTITUTION AND ANY LAWS TO THE CONTRARY:

The Governor has signed the negotiated Mined Land Reclamation Law amendments into law as part of the State Budget!

This is a major piece of legislation which will dramatically improve conditions for the aggregate industry.

After many years of trying, the bill has finally passed and its provisions will become effective on September 1, 1991!

A fact sheet describing the major changes in the law is enclosed.

ESCAPA expects implementation of the Mined Land Reclamation law will SUFFER SOME "GROWING PAINS", so we have developed a strategy to smooth the transition.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL ACT ON THE STRATEGY ON JUNE 18, 1001, AND WE WILL KEEP YOU ABREAST OF PROGRESS.

AS THE IMPACT OF THIS NEW STATUTE UNFOLDS, OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH BOTH STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WILL CHANGE, SO WE ARE URGING DISCRETION IN THE EARLY STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION.

YOU MAY BE ASSURED, HOWEVER, THAT ESCAPA WILL AGGRESSIVELY PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS IN THIS PROCESS.

The regulatory climate for OUR industries is improving!

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT VICTORY, AND ONE THAT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE BY THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF OUR MEMBERSHIP.

CONGRATULATIONS!

end quotes

And thus .....

Was created ...

The "UNLEVEL PLAYING FIELD" in the State of New York, and especially the County of Rensselaer and its rural towns that Fred LeBrun of the Albany, New York Times Union newspaper makes reference to above ......

And here is perhaps HIGHLIGHTED one of the real strengths that this particular FORUM gives to us common citizens up here .....

Because Fred LeBrun and the Albany, New York Times Union have been as aware of this unconstitutional BACK-ROOM DEAL in 1991 between ESCAPA and the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the COUNSEL for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Governor of the State of New York as WE, THE PEOPLE ......

And yet ...

Both Mr. LeBrun and the Albany, New York Times Union, which has a corporate parent actively engaged in "development" up here, for its and their own personal reasons, HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY LARGELY MUM ON THIS ISSUE .....

To OUR detriment, of course ....

Since that particular newspaper could have been a force early on in decrying the unconstitutional manner in which ESCAPA had itself and its members IMMUNIZED AND EXEMPTED FROM COMPLIANCE WITH BOTH OUR STATE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE STATE WHICH DERIVE FROM IT by the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Governor of the State of New York, the Attorney General of the State of New York ...

AND THE COURTS .........

For without the courts on board, continued corruption in New York State would be an impossibility, and so .....

"Local mining bans win support in Assembly - Bill that keeps state from overruling community objections goes to Senate"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, June 14, 2007

ALBANY -- A bill that would block the state from approving mining operations in communities like Nassau over local objections passed the Assembly this week and is now in the Senate.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Tim Gordon, I-Bethlehem, was prompted by anti-mining forces in the town of Nassau, where the Department of Environmental Conservation granted a mining permit last month.

The bill passed in the Assembly, 141-3, on Monday.

West Sand Lake-based Troy Sand & Gravel got a permit to mine graywacke stone, which is used in road paving and other construction applications, from 93 acres of a 214-acre parcel southeast of Pikes Pond off Route 66.

The stone has a high-friction surface when crushed, and is highly valued by the state for highways.

The matter is tied up in the courts so the company has not started mining.

Opponents, including Residents Against Mining, planned to hire experts to challenge the project on issues of hydrogeology, visual impact and increased truck traffic.

But in December, DEC said opponents had not raised serious enough issues to warrant hearings.

The town, facing three mining applications, all in one general area containing a vein of the rock, passed a law last year banning all mining.

Town Supervisor Ray Seney has said the town intends to enforce the law.

Andrew Gilchrist, the attorney for the mining company, said the company has already begun legal action in state Supreme Court in Rensselaer County challenging the legality of the town law and whether it applies to the permit.

The company notes the application was filed two years before the local ban was passed, and argues it should be grandfathered in under the law and any state mandates.

Callanan Industries has applied to mine 76 acres near the intersection of Dunham Hollow and Greenman Hill roads, about two miles southeast of Troy Sand & Gravel's proposed site.

It has also applied for a 39-acre mine on the east side of Route 66 and north of Gardner Hill Road.

[Livyjr]

"NY unemployment rate increased to 4.4 percent in May"

Associated Press

Last updated: 3:44 p.m., Thursday, June 14, 2007

ALBANY -- New York's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.4 percent in May, up from 4.1 percent in April, but down from 4.5 percent in May 2006, state Labor Department officials said Thursday.

Nationally, the rate was 4.5 percent in May.

New York City's rate rose to 4.9 -- the same as last May -- from 4.4 in April.

Of the five boroughs, the Bronx had the highest rate -- 6.1 percent.

Excluding New York City, the state's rate rose slightly from 3.9 percent in April to 4 percent in May, down from 4.3 percent last year.

For individual counties, the highest rate was 5.3 percent, which was registered in Hamilton, Clinton and Fulton counties.

Putnam and Tompkins counties both had the lowest rate at 3.1 percent.

------

On the Web: http://www.labor.state.ny.us

[Livyjr]

"Bruno, Silver break with routine - Legislative leaders meet in public in cafeteria, discuss medical marijuana bill"

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

First published: Thursday, June 14, 2007

ALBANY -- As they work on a deal to legalize marijuana for treating very sick New Yorkers, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver met publicly in an unusual coffee break to field press questions and declare they have never smoked pot.

The two caused some intrigue during a relatively routine week.

Lawmakers have noted the lack of a sense of urgency as dozens of issues remain unresolved and the June 21 close of session nears.

In a meeting dubbed "two men in a cafeteria" by Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, Bruno and Silver invited the press to sit in while Bruno drank a Dasani water and Silver sipped a large decaf.

For a half-hour they fielded questions, while Gov. Eliot Spitzer attended a fundraiser in Seattle.

"We have to keep reminding them that there are 212 legislators and just one executive," Bruno told Silver.

He also showed disappointment that Spitzer has not included the legislative leaders in plans to give the racing franchise to one of four bidders.

"The governor took total control," he said.

"It has to end up in the Legislature."

The Assembly passed Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried's bill to legalize marijuana use for sufferers of various "life-threatening" illnesses, such as cancer patients dealing with both pain and chemotherapy.

The bill, opposed by many Assembly Republicans, would let patients or their caregivers possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana that they grow themselves or obtain from illegal dealers.

Bruno supports legalization for medicinal purposes, although the Senate will consider an alternative bill being prepared by Sen. Kenneth Leibell, R-Patterson, giving the state Health Department authority to grow and distribute marijuana for a narrow group of patients with chronic diseases, including glaucoma.

Gottfried said that would put the health commissioner in danger of violating federal narcotics laws.

Silver said he has never used marijuana; Bruno said he doesn't even know what it smells like.

Silver said the Assembly won't vote on a bill to allow cameras in courtrooms, which passed the Senate, because of concerns it would sensationalize trials.

Bruno said he and Silver want to reach a deal on capital projects and extra money for schools and community projects, along with discretionary legislative funds.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

Session rolls on

Five days remain in the scheduled legislative session.

Wednesday's developments: The Assembly passed a bill legalizing medical use of marijuana.

The Senate pledged to come up with its own version.

The Senate passed legislation to let school districts phase out property taxes and substitute the revenue with increased state aid, and freeze school taxes for senior citizens, but it isn't expected to go further this session.

Today: Leaders will meet publicly with Gov. Eliot Spitzer at 2 p.m. to discuss outstanding issues.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK SUN

"Big Spitzer Donor In Line For Lucrative State Deal"

By JACOB GERSHMAN, Staff Reporter of the Sun

June 15, 2007

ALBANY — A casino entrepreneur who was one of Governor Spitzer's largest political donors and who provided Mr. Spitzer with discounted trips on a private jet during the gubernatorial campaign is positioned to win a video gambling contract with the state worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Excelsior Racing Associates, one of whose main investors is Richard Fields — who donated $200,000 to the Spitzer campaign through his various limited liability companies — has emerged as the leading candidate to take over video lottery gambling operations at one or more horse racing tracks in the state.

The emergence of Excelsior as the leading contender to run the lucrative casinos is threatening to place Mr. Spitzer, who has vowed to restore integrity to state government, in an awkward position.

Mr. Spitzer is aggressively pushing lawmakers to rein in campaign finance rules, urging them to agree to slash contribution limits across the board and to ban donations from limited liability companies, which have been used by contributors to circumvent individual donor limits.

Mr. Fields was one of the top LLC contributors last year, giving about four times the individual limit to the Spitzer campaign through his various entities.

Earlier this year, the Spitzer administration indicated that despite the contributions, Mr. Fields was unlikely to find the state accommodating.

"Time will tell whether Fields means anything to us."

"I think you're going to find out pretty quick the answer is no," an administration official who asked not to be identified told The New York Sun in February.

"He was a means to get from point A to point B at one point during the campaign."

"And later on, he wanted to be helpful in a campaign context."

Said the official: "I am positive we won't be talking about Fields in three months or six weeks."

A spokesman for Mr. Spitzer said yesterday the administration is not inclined to favor Excelsior but is left with few options because the other two companies bidding for the franchise have indicated they are not interested in a partnership with the racing association.

This month, the administration decided that rather than prolonging a legal battle with the New York Racing Association over land claims — the association has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to block the transfer of the franchise, claiming it owns the land on which the tracks sit — it would seek to allow NYRA to continue operating the tracks under a new leadership, with a separate private entity in charge of video gambling at Aqueduct and possibly Belmont.

The Assembly and the Senate, which have the power to approve the awarding of the franchise, are considering the arrangement.

"We are not pushing anybody."

"Obviously, we would have preferred that there would be other bidders," the spokesman, Darren Dopp, said.

"At this point, there doesn't appear to be other bidders interested in this particular arrangement."

Excelsior's strong standing has provoked outcry from one of its competitors, Empire Racing Associates, which is alleging that the for-profit venture colluded with the New York Racing Association to split up operations in an arrangement that would give the association control over racing and one of the bidders control over gaming.

NYRA, a nonprofit entity, has held the franchise to operate Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, and Aqueduct since 1955, losing millions of dollars and facing charges of financial mismanagement.

The franchise is set to expire on December 31.

A spokeswoman for Excelsior, Katie Burke, denied the charges, saying, "The allegations of collusion are unequivocally and patently false."

"The meetings with NYRA never transpired nor did the conversations they allege."

Empire is denying that it is not interested in a partnership with the association.

"We are interested in any scenario that protects the interest of New York's horsemen," said David Vermillion, a spokesman for Empire, which is backed by major players in the national horse racing industry.

Mr. Fields's assistance to the Spitzer campaign emerged as a campaign issue in August when campaign records showed that the then attorney general received discounted trips on a private jet belonging to Mr. Fields that shuttled the candidate to fund-raising stops in Arizona and Ohio.

Following federal standards, Mr. Spitzer reimbursed Mr. Fields at a first-class commercial rate that was significantly less expensive than private air transportation.

The state lobbying commission launched an investigation into Mr. Fields to determine if the trips violated lobbying rules.

Soon after, Mr. Spitzer, who was never accused of any legal wrongdoing, announced that going forward he would pay for the full cost of such flights.

In January, it emerged that Mr. Spitzer and his wife also flew on private jets belonging to Mr. Fields to attend a July fund-raiser hosted by the developer in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Mr. Spitzer's January 15 campaign filings showed that the campaign returned more than $100,000 to Mr. Fields to cover expenses that exceeded the maximum amount that each of his companies was allowed to contribute.

http://www.nysun.com/article/56687?page_no=1

[Livyjr]

ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION CAPITAL CONFIDENTIAL BLOG:

ITEM: Chief Judge Judith Kaye renewed her threat to sue over judges’ salaries …

JOHN GALT REPLIES: And what a load of crap this judicial salary business is getting to be!

Click on this link:

http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/bronx/...pay_scal-1.html

Which takes you to a NEW YORK DAILY NEWS story entitled “Biz leaders rip paltry N.Y. judge pay scales” by JOE GOULD, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER, Wednesday, June 13th 2007, 4:00 AM, where you will find this following:

“We all want a first-rate justice system for the State of New York,” said Barry Kamins, president of the New York City Bar Association.

“We need it to protect the business interests in this, the business capital of the world.”

end quotes

NEWS FLASH, there, Barry Kamins ….

We citizens of this state don’t have judges here in NYS to protect business interests ….

We citizens have judges here in NYS to protect OUR rights from transgressors like business interests ….

We don’t want judges who are blatantly biased towards protecting business interests here in NYS ….

We want judges who are in there to dispense justice, fairly and impartially …

This sounds like a QUID PRO QUO deal here, to me ….

Big business comes out to lobby on behalf of hefty raises for NYS judges, in return for which the judges then protect the interests of business, against us ...

And so …

Comment by John Galt — June 13, 2007 @ 6:29 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=4824#comments

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

And on another note, Mr. Ravi Batra, related to these newly-minted law school graduates here in NYS getting $160,000 a year to start out as lawyers in NYS, which then allegedly necessitates boosting the salaries of sitting judges in NYS so as to be able to buy their alleged continued independence from something, anyway ....

I note in my studies and researches that in the time of your hero, Cicero, in the days of the Roman Republic that it was unlawful or illegal for Cicero or other lawyers or advocates in that time to charge a fee to the person that they were representing in court for that representation ....

In our own time, with these law school graduates getting $160,000 before they have done a single thing on behalf of anyone, we as a society have obviously gotten quite far away from this Roman practice, where the amount of justice that one received was not supposed to be tied to the amount of justice that one could afford to buy, as is the case here in NYS today, or at least that is the perception ...

Which leads me to believe that rather than asking how much these judges should be getting on a yearly basis as their salaries, we should be asking why these young lawyers just out of law school are worth a thin dime, let alone $160,000, before they have proven their worth to society as a whole, and not just the segments of it that can afford to buy the justice not available to those without the similar resources to buy it for ourselves ....

What we need to do here in NYS is to go back to the principles in place in the time of Cicero and once again make it illegal for lawyers to charge a fee for representing people in court, and then what we need is a set of laws calling for mandatory jail time for lawyers who suborn perjury in the prosecution of innocent people, as well as mandatory jail time for lawyers who conceal evidence and who bring on false and malicious prosecutions to harass and intimidate citizens here in NYS who are fighting to root out corruption in our government here in NYS ....

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | June 17, 2007 8:26 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...nd_ends_41.html

[Livyjr]

What we need to do here in NYS is to go back to the principles in place in the time of Cicero and once again make it illegal for lawyers to charge a fee for representing people in court, and then what we need is a set of laws calling for mandatory jail time for lawyers who suborn perjury in the prosecution of innocent people, as well as mandatory jail time for lawyers who conceal evidence and who bring on false and malicious prosecutions to harass and intimidate citizens here in NYS who are fighting to root out corruption in our government here in NYS ....

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...nd_ends_41.html

"N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor"

By AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer

16 June 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. - District Attorney Mike Nifong will be disbarred for his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, a disciplinary committee decided Saturday.

Even the veteran prosecutor said the punishment was appropriate.

"This matter has been a fiasco."

"There's no doubt about it," said committee chairman F. Lane Williamson.

Nifong sat motionless, one hand resting over his mouth, as Williamson recounted how he engaged in dishonest and deceitful conduct.

He said Nifong's early comments about the case — which included a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl" — were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.

"At the time he was facing a primary, and yes, he was politically naive," Williamson said.

"But we can draw no other conclusion that those initial statements he made were to further his political ambitions."

Nifong will not appeal the punishment, his lawyer said.

"He hopes this helps restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system of North Carolina," said attorney David Freedman.

"On one hand, it's very devastating."

"On the other hand, he's been going through this process for a long time, so you always have some semblance of relief when the process is over with regardless of the outcome."

The North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

The committee, after deliberating for a little more than an hour on Saturday, unanimously agreed with the bar on almost every charge — including the most serious allegations — that Nifong's actions involved "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation."

State Bar prosecutor Douglas Brocker told the committee that as Nifong investigated the allegations that a stripper was raped and beaten at a March 2006 party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team, he charged "forward toward condemnation and injustice," weaving a "web of deception that has continued up through this hearing."

"Mr. Nifong did not act as a minister of justice, but as a minister of injustice," Brocker said.

The verdicts and the punishment did not appear to surprise Nifong, who acknowledged during sometimes tearful testimony Friday that he would likely be punished for getting "carried away a little bit" when talking about the case.

During Saturday's closing arguments, Williamson repeatedly interrupted Nifong's attorney, Dudley Witt, as he discussed the DNA testing.

Williamson questioned why it took several months for the defense to get DNA test results that found genetic material from several men in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player.

"It wasn't just one little oversight," Williamson said later.

"This was conduct over an extended period in a very high-profile case."

Aware of those test results, Nifong pressed ahead with the case anyway and won indictments against Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty.

State prosecutors later concluded the three players were "innocent" victims of a rogue prosecutor's "tragic rush to accuse."

Nifong made "multiple, egregious mistakes" as he pursued the charges, but not intentionally, his attorney said in closing statements.

"It didn't click," Witt said as he tried to explain one of his client's errors.

"His mind is just his mind."

"That's the way it works."

"It just didn't click."

Brocker said Nifong had to have known he was making improper comments to reporters.

Nifong said he regretted some of his statements, including a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl."

He also focused on when Nifong learned about the full extent of the DNA test results and when he shared that information with the defense.

Nifong gave defense attorneys an initial report on the DNA testing in May 2006 that said private lab DNA Security Inc. had been unable to find a conclusive match between the accuser and any lacrosse players.

But lab director Brian Meehan testified this week that he told Nifong as early as April 10, 2006 — a week before Seligmann and Finnerty were indicted — about the more detailed test results.

Nifong testified that when he gave the defense the initial report, he "believed at the time that I had given them everything."

The disciplinary hearing committee had the choice of suspending Nifong's law license or taking it away entirely.

Nifong told the panel hearing the case Friday that he would resign from his post as Durham County district attorney over his handling of the rape charges.

The players' attorneys have pledged to seek criminal contempt charges next week in Durham.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

Mark, from my perspective as an older upstate NYS citizen, that business in the state of North Carolina in connection with the disbarment of District Attorney Mike Nifong for his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape really serves to demonstrate the disparity in legal ethics between the state of North Carolina and New York State, where in the article "N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor" by AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer, 16 June 2007, Nifong's attorney, David Freedman, stated with respect to Nifong that:

"He hopes this helps restore some of the confidence in the criminal justice system of North Carolina" ...

Up here, in "IRON DUKE" Joe Bruno's personal fiefdom of Rensselaer County in upstate NYS, the Democrats, Eliot Spitzer's people, are running for Rensselaer County District Attorney a political lawyer who openly and blatantly covered up a politically-connected hit-and-run assault on an engineer up here who was attempting to prosecute Joe Bruno on misdemeanor charges of alleged wilfull violations of the NYS Public Health Law in connection with Joe Bruno's subdivision in Brunswick, N.Y. across the Hudson River from Albany, by prosecuting the victim of the hit-and-run based on suppressed evidence and suborned perjury ....

In North Carolina, that same conduct just cost Nifong his job as district attorney, and it got him disbarred, to boot ....

Whereas here in NYS, that same type of conduct is what gets you certified as "politically-reliable", and it earns you a shot at being the district attorney ...

And you don't have to fear being disbarred ....

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | June 17, 2007 5:01 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli..._41.html?page=2

[Livyjr]

"Prosecutor charged with DWI"

By RYAN HUTCHINS, Special to the Times Union

Last updated: 2:37 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2007

ALBANY -- An Albany County assistant district attorney assigned to city court was charged early Saturday morning with drunk driving, police said.

Joseph Meany was arrested after a neighbor called police around 3:15 a.m. and said the prosecutor had crashed into two parked cars on the way to his Eliot Avenue home, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Detective James Miller.

"When they interviewed him he was slurring speech, glassy eyed and they detected the odor of alcohol on him,'' Miller said Sunday.

Meany refused a field sobriety test and was also charged for that, Miller said.

He took one several hours later and allegedly recorded a blood-alcohol content of .24 percent, three times the legal limit.

"It was definitely an unfortunate situation,'' District Attorney David Soares said in a statement read by spokeswoman Heather Orth.

"Joe is a valuable prosecutor.''

The Albany DA's office will not be prosecuting the case, Orth said.

They will apply for a special prosecutor first thing Monday morning.

Meany has no prior drunk driving arrests and is charged with misdemeanor DWI.

He was released from custody after an arraignment Saturday morning.

[Livyjr]

"Lawmakers push to divest NY from companies with terror ties"

Associated Press

Last updated: 2:03 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2007

NEW YORK -- State Sen. Jeff Klein called Sunday for New York state to divest its pension funds from companies that do business with the nations on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist nations: Syria, Iran, Sudan and North Korea.

"Do we really want our dollars going to our enemies?" said Klein, a Democrat who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester.

"Clearly it seems strange that New York state is sending young men and women overseas, however we're not yet tapping our most important weapon, our pension fund."

Joined by other lawmakers at a news conference in front of the United Nations, Klein released a report that found that New York's public employee pension fund has about $12 billion invested in 235 companies that have direct dealings with the four nations.

Those companies include Chevron Corp., Coca-Cola and Royal Dutch Shell.

"As citizens of New York we can show that we are still as united against terrorism as strongly as we were on September 11th, but New York's future cannot be in conflict with the crusade for moral righteousness that this country faces on a daily basis," Klein said.

A growing number of states have passed or are considering legislation to pull their investments out of companies that conduct business with the four nations on the State Departmet list.

Misssouri led the way last year when it became the first state to order its employee pension funds to dump shares of companies that deal with those four countries.

At least six states -- California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey and Oregon -- have begun to divest public pension funds from Sudan, where the government and its militia allies are accused of pursuing a genocide campaign in the Darfur region.

Last week, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said he would pursue possible divestment of funds from Sudan, saying, "The genocide in Darfur is a challenge to our collective capacity to do good."

Klein said he has introduced legislation, The New York Terror Free Investment Act of 2007, that would require the state comptroller to to divest from and refrain from any further public pension fund investments in the four nations on the terror list.

"New York State has the second largest pension fund in the United States after California," he said.

"If the big pension funds get together and pass these laws there's a tremendous amount of leverage."

State Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat, said, "By diverting our investments from countries that sponsor terrorist organizations, we are not only securing the future of New York's investment portfolio, we are making the world safer from terror."

"New York should lead the march toward fiscal and moral responsibility."

Klein's report was compiled with the assistance of Conflict Securities Advisory Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based research and consulting firm.

Divestment as a means for political change was used successfully against South Africa's apartheid government during the 1980s.

[Livyjr]

"Bruno backing daughter's employer"

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, June 18, 2007

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's push to keep Bellevue Woman's Hospital open has a personal subtext: his daughter, Katie Bruno Hynes, works at the Niskayuna institution.

The eating disorders program she works for was funded under a Bruno initiative about two years ago.

Bruno Hynes, the mother of Rachel Bruno, a 21-year-old whose anorexia made headlines when she went missing last summer, makes $15 per hour as a part-time counselor, said Bellevue President Anne Saile.

Bruno's daughter began working at Bellevue last fall after her daughter was found.

Saile said Bruno Hynes was hired for her skills, not because of her father.

The $30,000 the senator directed to the hospital doesn't pay his daughter's compensation, which comes from different funding, Saile said.

Saile said Bruno's daughter, one of four outreach coordinators, helps set up support group meetings and serves on an advisory board.

"I reached out to her because Kate has life experience that none of our outreach coordinators have," Saile said.

"I thought it was important to have someone with her perspective join our team."

On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill to exempt Bellevue from the list of hospitals slated to be closed under the Berger Commission plan to consolidate New York's health care system.

It was the only bill among several dealing with preserving hospitals that made it to the Senate floor for a vote.

Some GOP majority officials were curious that Bruno had gone to bat for Bellevue when bigger hospitals are destined to be closed and tampering with the closing plan risks $1.5 billion in federal funds.

Asked if Bruno's daughter's employment is a factor in the senator's support of Bellevue, Bruno spokesman Mark Hansen said the Brunswick Republican has determined the hospital provides "unique and critically important health care services ... to women throughout the Capital Region" and enjoys strong community support.

Bruno himself picked up an award last Friday from the New York State Comprehensive Care Centers for Eating Disorders, a group of institutions, including Bellevue, that received a total of $1.5 million because of Bruno.

Tax rebate touted Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Democratic Assemblyman Bob Reilly of Colonie will push this week for a "home rule" message allowing Clifton Park residents to receive $150-per-household checks.

Both have both offered legislation to allow the rebate, totaling $2.25 million, which would come from surplus money in the town.

Clifton Park in past years has been criticized by the state comptroller for having too much cash on hand.

The rebate, believed to be the first of its kind statewide, faces legal and technical questions since it represents essentially a redistribution of income.

Much of Clifton Park's money comes from county sales tax receipts, but those revenues come from all over the county.

The Town Board may vote tonight on the rebate, said Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett.

Contributors: Capitol bureau reporters James M. Odato and Rick Karlin. Got a tip? Call 454-5424 or e-mail jjochnowitz@timesunion.com.

[Livyjr]

"Parole officers inquiry target - Some subpoenas for personal phone and e-mail records were issued after reports of allegations that managers imposed a policy which left violent parolees free"

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

First published: Monday, June 18, 2007

ALBANY -- The state Division of Parole used governmental subpoenas to sift through the private telephone and e-mail accounts of an unknown number of parole officers on more than two dozen occasions over the past several years, according to documents released to the Times Union under the Freedom of Information Act.

The subpoenas were issued under laws that give state agencies broad authority in examining the job performance of employees.

But it's not clear that the state workers were ever told their private records had been subpoenaed, nor is it known whether the information gleaned from the documents resulted in any disciplinary action.

It's unclear why state officials needed access to the private telephone records of parole officers and-or their spouses and acquaintances, whose records also may have been subpoenaed, according to a former internal affairs officer.

The information sought included detailed telephone records, the identities of people using certain Internet screen names and information on private e-mail accounts.

Some of the subpoenas were issued in 2005 and 2006, following a report in the Times Union exposing allegations that dangerous parolees were being set free and going on to commit crimes such as murder, rape and assault.

The report was based, in part, on an internal document that raised questions about whether there was an informal policy to limit the arrests of parole violators.

Parole officers privately accused the Pataki administration of trying to curtail the rearrest of parole violators to reduce the number of people being returned to jail and prison.

Administration officials said the allegations were unfounded.

Officials under Gov. Eliot Spitzer, including new parole Chairman George Alexander, said no subpoenas were used to try to identify agency sources who might have provided information to the newspaper.

The leak investigation included instances of parole officers being whisked into unmarked sedans and brought to headquarters to be interrogated, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Manuelita Clemente, an outspoken Manhattan-based parole officer and union leader, said her telephone company refused to disclose whether her records had been subpoenaed, and many other officers also have been left wondering if their information was targeted, and why.

Telephone and Internet service companies routinely decline to inform customers, even upon request, that their records have been subpoenaed.

The companies, which usually turn over the records without question to government agencies, invoke their secretive policies even though they are not prohibited from telling a customer their records have been turned over.

The subpoenas were signed by top officials, including former chairman Robert Dennison.

Many were issued during a period of unrest at the agency, under former Director Anthony G. Ellis.

Ellis, a colonel for State Police internal affairs, had been appointed to the parole job by then-Gov. George Pataki.

During his tenure, internal investigations increased dramatically and rank-and-file employees accused administrators of using strong-arm tactics to monitor workers' activities, including during off-duty hours.

Copies of the subpoenas were released to the Times Union only after the newspaper appealed the agency's initial decision to deny access to the records.

But before being turned over, the subpoenas were heavily redacted.

Robert J. Freeman, executive director of the state Committee on Open Government, said the agency went too far.

Terrence X. Tracy, the Division of Parole's chief counsel, removed the names of all telephone or Internet service companies that received the subpoenas, as well as government agencies, including Nassau County, which was subpoenaed last year for the personnel records of five parole officers who worked part-time jobs as child protective caseworkers.

"It seems clear the disclosure of the recipient in no way identifies the parole officer who might have been the subject of an investigation," Freeman said.

"The provision in the Freedom of Information Law that deals with personal privacy does not extend to corporate or government entities."

Parole officials declined last week to explain why they needed access to a parole officer's personal telephone or Internet accounts.

"We stand by our position that there may be circumstances that require the use of such subpoenas and we believe that we have the statutory authority to issue them," said Mark Johnson, an agency spokesman.

He added: "The division is currently putting together a policy concerning the issuance of subpoenas for personnel matters."

"We will share that policy with you when it is completed."

A former Division of Parole internal affairs officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of strict rules that prohibit employees from speaking to the media, said last week that parole officials may have crossed a line.

The officer said parole officials are not empowered to conduct criminal investigations that do not involve parolees.

"There is no occasion where they would have to access an outside (computer) server for anything that had to do with employment purposes, unless they were suspected of criminal activity," the former internal affairs officer said.

"There is no employment reason for it, and if it's a criminal investigation it should be turned over to a law enforcement agency."

Under state law, parole officers are considered peace officers and do not have the same investigative powers as police officers.

The Division of Parole, like certain other state agencies, already has the ability to keep tight tabs on the telephone calls and Internet activity of parole officers who are using state equipment.

The former internal affairs officer said parole's Albany headquarters -- called Central Office -- once had two computer screens set up so that internal investigators could monitor the online activity of parole officers in real time.

"For private e-mails, though, they're just snooping," the source said.

"I can't think of a single reason that they would have to access an officer's home server."

State laws that empowered agencies to subpoena documents, records and testimony of witnesses as part of personnel investigations predate the advent of the Internet.

In some states, and federally, lawmakers have sought to curtail abuses of authority by enacting privacy laws that limit the type of information that can be obtained by government agencies.

For now, though, the Division of Parole may not have overstepped its authority.

"The provisions are stated so broadly that as long as the information is pertinent in the most general way to a legitimate investigation of the agency or other official body, it seems to be covered by the statute," said Vincent Bonventre, an Albany Law School professor.

"There are other privacy concerns because of cellphones and e-mails that were just not addressed when these statutes were originally (enacted)," Bonventre continued.

"I think it's reasonable to expect that if you work for the government you give up some privacy, but I think some people would be surprised the extent to which they've surrendered their right to privacy when they work for the government."

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

Internal inquiry

Internal investigative subpoenas by state Division of Parole 2002-06:

Internet: 10

Telephone: 15

Employment records: 6

Arrest reports: 2

Sign-in books at detention facilities: 2

Real estate transactions: 1

Source: NYS Division of Parole

[Livyjr]

"Prosecutor charged with DWI"

By RYAN HUTCHINS, Special to the Times Union

Last updated: 2:37 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2007

ALBANY -- An Albany County assistant district attorney assigned to city court was charged early Saturday morning with drunk driving, police said.

Joseph Meany was arrested after a neighbor called police around 3:15 a.m. and said the prosecutor had crashed into two parked cars on the way to his Eliot Avenue home, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Detective James Miller.

"It was definitely an unfortunate situation,'' District Attorney David Soares said in a statement read by spokeswoman Heather Orth.

"Joe is a valuable prosecutor.''

"Soares fires prosecutor charged with DWI"

By CAROLE DEMARE, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 1:32 p.m., Monday, June 18, 2007

ALBANY -- District Attorney David Soares fired today the prosecutor who was arrested for drunken driving over the weekend.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph Meany was charged early Saturday after he crashed into two parked cars on the way to his Eliot Avenue home.

Meany was assigned to Albany City Court where he handled misdemeanor cases.

"As the District Attorney, I cannot in good faith allow a person who took an oath to enforce the law, to knowingly break the law and then continue prosecuting people for the same crime,'' Soares said in a statement.

"Mr. Meany was a valuable member of this office but unfortunately, he will no longer be working as a prosecutor in Albany County,'' the DA said.

"I have recused my office from prosecuting Mr. Meany."

"As with any citizen who abuses drugs or alcohol, I hope he receives the treatment he obviously needs and I wish him well in all his future endeavors.''

Meany refused to take a field sobriety test, police spokesman Detective James Miller said.

Hours later, at the station, he took one and allegedly recorded a blood-alcohol content of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit.

[Livyjr]

RE: U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby mightily agitated by leaks concerning the federal investigation of Republican NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph "BIG JOE" Bruno ...

http://www.wten.com/global/video/popup/pop...mp;rnd=52308452

[Livyjr]

THE ALBANY, NEW YORK TIMES UNION LOCAL POLITICS BLOG:

"WFP party names its picks"

June 15, 2007 at 3:09 pm by Tim O'Brien, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

The Working Families Party is endorsing candidates in dozens of local races.

They are especially highlighting their support for Democrat Mike Manning in the race for mayor of Watervliet and Democrat Ken Zalewski in his bid for the District 5 seat on the Troy City Council.

Interestingly, the WFP — which often (more than often really, closer to usually or almost always) backs Democratic candidates - also endorsed incumbent Marjorie DerGurahian for an at-large seat on the Troy council.

DerGurahian, a past council president who has fallen out with the GOP, was discussed as a possible Democratic candidate but was not endorsed by that party.

The WFP endorsed two of the three Democratic candidates running at-large but substituted DerGurahian for Wayne Foy, another former Republican.

Comments

It’s interesting to note that the WFP endorsed Rensselaer County DA candidate Richard McNally over Greg Cholakis ….

By endorsing McNally, of course, the WFP has endorsed McNally’s prior conduct as an assistant Rensselaer County District Attorney ….

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=193#comments

Which puts the integrity quotient of the WFP right on down to the bottom of the barrel ….

And takes away any credibility that that party might have had with respect to restoring integrity to government in Rensselaer County …

And so ….

Comment by John Galt — June 18, 2007 @ 4:33 pm

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=345#comments

[Livyjr]

"No shuffle to Buffalo for upstate czar - Saratoga Springs is home of governor's nominee, as Senate GOP questions help for ailing areas"

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

First published: Tuesday, June 19, 2007

One state senator criticized him for living in the relatively prosperous city of Saratoga Springs rather than down-at-the-heels Buffalo.

Another complained he hadn't returned her calls.

Still another gave him a pop quiz, asking if he could name Long Island's largest pharmaceutical company.

Daniel Gundersen, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's choice for upstate economic czar, didn't know that answer (OSI Pharmaceuticals), and he endured a morning of complaints Monday and tough questioning by Senate Republicans.

But he also showed he can dish out the criticism.

Gundersen told senators who will likely vote on his confirmation later this week that New York lags in attracting new businesses.

"New York is behind the curve when it comes to economic development."

"Let's realize that."

"Let's move forward," he said.

And when one of Gundersen's main questioners, Sen. John Flanagan, R-Northport, pointed out that the Department of Economic Development is controlled by a public corporation rather than the Legislature, Gundersen reminded him that also was the case under former Gov. George Pataki.

"This is the way, senator, that it's been structured now for a very long time," he said.

Gundersen, who comes to New York after running economic development efforts in Pennsylvania, has been nominated by the Democratic governor as co-chairman of the department, better known as Empire State Development Corp.

There was little indication he wouldn't be confirmed for the $160,000-a-year job by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Also expected to be confirmed is Patrick Foye, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer and former United Way executive, as co-chairman, focusing on downstate.

Still, the hearings gave Republicans an opportunity to take issue with Spitzer's economic development plans.

Sen. Dean Skelos of Long Island asked whether his region was being taken for granted, while James Alesi, of East Rochester, expressed dismay at Gundersen's Saratoga County choice of residence.

"When we were promised an economic czar for upstate, we were told he would be in Buffalo," said Alesi, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.

Flanagan said the Department of Economic Development is "not even listed on the state Web site as a state agency."

"We need to be able to figure out who do we go to, who do we thank and who do we blame?" he said.

Gundersen replied that he and Foye will be held accountable, adding that until now, "there has been no scorecard for the agency."

Empire State Development Corp. spokesman Errol Cockfield Jr. said Gundersen has temporary housing in Buffalo, and that since Albany is the state capital, he needs to be close to it.

"He spends a considerable amount of time in both places," Cockfield said, adding Gundersen is logging about 1,000 miles per week traveling upstate.

Monday's hearing came as upstate Republicans, led by Sen. Majority Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, have been tussling with Spitzer over capital funds for economic development.

Spitzer is proposing $300 million for the Sematech nanotechnology computer chip research program in Albany and another $300 million for Empire State Development Corp.

Bruno says he wants $300 million for projects his members want funded.

Gundersen had his supporters in the Senate, even from the Buffalo area.

"It would have been nice to have him in Buffalo or Niagara Falls but Saratoga is considered upstate," said Sen. Antoine Thompson, D-Buffalo.

Thompson said he believed Gundersen will take a more holistic approach to economic development than Empire State Development has in the past.

The agency has been run by Pataki appointee and fund-raiser Charles Gargano.

"It's been project-based as opposed to having a specific strategy," he said.

Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com.

Gannett News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Livyjr]

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"The incredible shrinking gov - Spitzer is drifting away from bold reforms we need"

Tuesday, June 19th 2007, 4:00 AM

So this is the way Gov. Spitzer's first legislative session ends, not with a bang but a whimper.

The guy who barreled into office vowing to change everything is reduced to dickering with the Legislature over video game violence and the fat content of school snacks.

These worthy but small-bore initiatives are a far cry from the sweeping reforms that Spitzer promised to bring to Albany.

"Mark my words," he famously pledged to the Democratic convention last summer.

"We will change the way the state does business, and it will start on day one."

He repeated that sentiment in his State of the State speech in January.

"Our first objective is to reform our government - not merely for the sake of reform, but because if our state is to prosper again, we need a government that is a catalyst for change instead of an impediment."

Almost as soon as those words left his lips, however, Spitzer fell into one of Albany's worst habits: engaging in secret negotiations with legislative leaders and selected interest groups.

As a result, state government still does business pretty much the same way as ever - behind closed doors - and that's ultimately why Spitzer's reform agenda stalled.

Impatient to get things done, Spitzer chose to focus on getting results fast rather than slogging through a balky democratic process.

He figured he could save a lot of time and energy by haggling with two leaders - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno - instead of all 212 members of the Legislature.

This time-dishonored system produced quick agreements on some fronts.

After huddling behind closed doors with business leaders and labor unions, for example, Spitzer won a deal that promises to cut the cost of workers' compensation insurance even as it improves weekly benefits for injured workers.

He reached a similar accord with Silver and Bruno on confining certain sexual predators in psychiatric centers after they leave prison.

But secret talks proved costly in the state budget.

While Spitzer declared victory because he overhauled funding for schools and won key cost controls in Medicaid, overall spending mushroomed at several times the rate of inflation.

And when it came to fixing government itself, closed-door talks with Silver and Bruno were exactly the wrong way to go.

Even though he won with a 70% mandate, Spitzer is outnumbered two to one whenever the three men go into their room.

Thus, an ethics law negotiated by the Big Three disappointed good government groups because it still allows the Legislature to police its own members, a recipe for inaction.

And the so-called "budget reforms" they agreed to were so weak that the Legislature violated the law almost as soon as the ink dried.

The Assembly and Senate were supposed to give their members written summaries of the final spending plan before putting it to a vote, and that didn't happen.

Meanwhile, a far more important item on the fix-Albany to-do list - limiting excessive campaign donations - seems to be going nowhere.

Spitzer wants reform.

So does the public.

But Silver won't give up money from labor PACs and Bruno won't close a loophole that brings him big bucks from business interests.

Spitzer is dangling a pay raise for the Legislature in hopes of changing lawmakers' minds in the last three days of the session - exactly the kind of sleazy deal that you'd expect from Albany.

Spitzer should get out of that back room - and go back to the people who elected him in the first place.

whammond@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/0...inking_gov.html