Hi all...
Just one more thing to be set straight re: letter to editor in today's paper from Jan McGuire...
Adding insult to injury, McGuire states of local media that "they have been fair in reporting the news as it happens"...(?!?)...
Fascinating...
Sorry folks-- but really is now more true than ever; if you're not outraged you're not paying attention...
For the last two years I've served as Environmental Committee Chair of our County Legislature...
Can you imagine local papers ignoring all my resolutions below spearheaded through our County Legislature if Shannon Martin LaFrance (former Co. Leg. Envir. Comm. Chair) had achieved them?...
Wake up and smell the coffee, folks...
[for decades now G.O.P./media machine has existed here in Dutchess-- up to you all to stand up to it!]
Pass it on...
Joel
242-3571/876-2488
joeltyner@earthlink.net
[gosh; guess it's also just a coincidence that Pok. Journal endorsed Steinhaus last four times in a row]
[Note-- this is besides the Poughkeepsie Journal (again-- like last year when we had 200 folks come out for this) ignoring how we got about 150 people out Sunday to hear Pete Seeger in Poughkeepsie at Holy Light Pentecostal Church; speakers included Assemblyman Frank Skartados, NYS Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Ex. Dir. Tara Sullivan, Scenic Hudson Ex. Dir. Ned Sullivan, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies President William Schlesinger, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County Environmental Program Director Allison Morrill Chatrchyan, Bard Center for Environmental Policy Director Eban Goodstein,Sierra Club Mid-Hudson Chapter Coordinator Marie Caruso, Sustainable Hudson Valley Chair David Dell, Hudson Valley Network of Spiritual Progressives Cofounder Michael Ignatowski, Poughkeepsie Friends Meeting's Fred Doneit, Rev. Gail Burger of the Dutchess Interfaith Council, Rabbi Paul Golomb of Vassar Temple, folksingers Chris Ruhe and Pat Lamanna, and Salmon Finn (Sam Kogon and Finn Shanahan)-- and many students from Arlington and Rhinebeck High School-- along with great representation from Bard College Environmental Collective.]
[again, folks-- I'll gladly go back to graduate school, finish my Master's degree, and resume a high-paid teaching career if you don't want me to work for you for another two years to make Dutchess County the best damn county it can be...up to you; can't do this alone, hold PoJo, Freeman, HVNews accountable!]
[recall too-- week after week after week now The Hudson Valley News refuses to correct misreporting:
http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2009/10/part-ii-why-cant-hudson-valley-news.html ; see also
http://dutchessdemocracy.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-cant-hudson-valley-news-print-truth.html ]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thirty-Four Initiatives Spearheaded Thru County Legislature by Yours Truly Ignored by Local Papers:
[also-- it's not just the Poughkeepsie Journal; Freeman, HVNews have also largely ignored these; fact is local papers have not held County Exec accountable for stopping "his" dept. heads implementing these]
[...and yes-- there's quite a few of these that I even successfully found bipartisan support for-- ignored...]
1. Created Independent Dutchess Energy Alliance: $1 billion in savings on electric bills over ten years.
[based on successful green jobs/retrofits example of Cambridge, MA-- see http://www.CambridgeEnergyAlliance.org ; also Town of Babylon's http://www.LIGreenHomes.com ; much thanks to Co. Leg.'s Tom Mansfield, Pete Wassell, Bill McCabe, and Marge Horton on this too-- and team I brought together to make this happen; I facilitated many meetings last year to get IDEA nonprofit off the ground; it's finally happening!...I brought together these folks to create IDEA-- Lucy Johnson of Vassar College's Sustainability Committee, Allison Morrill Chatrchyan of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County's Environmental Program, David Dell of Sustainable Hudson Valley, Stuart Findlay of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Zywia Wojnar of the Pace University Energy & Climate Center, Larry Steele of our county's Environmental Management Council,
John Morgan of Rhinebeck Savings Bank, and many more]
2. For Dutchess County to become the fourth county in NYS to join DEC's Smart Communities pledge.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/50845.htm
3. For County Executive to delay no longer in hiring county historian (only 18 mon.'s in last 18 years)
[ http://www.petitiononline.com/hirehist ]
4. For $153,000 in '09 county budget so 10 Senior Friendship Centers could stay open 5 days a week.
[ http://www.co.dutchess.ny.us/Countygov/departments/aging/agindex.htm (Co. Exec wanted 4-day wk)]
5. For $100,000 added to county budget so homeless veterans/others not turned away from shelter.
[ http://www.HudsonRiverHousing.org ]
6. For Dutchess to keep using lever voting machines and state/federal gov.'t to make sure we can too.
[ http://nylevers.wordpress.com/ ]
7. For a zero-waste approach to resource recovery in our county: save money, create clean green jobs.
[join 34 other Dutchess residents on board this-- at http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes ]
8. For cost-saving green roofs, rain gardens, wind turbines, composting toilets to be on county property.
[ http://www.GreenRoofs.com ; http://www.RainGardens.org ; http://bianys.com/node/418 ; http://www.petitiononline.com/goldpoop ; http://www.CompostingToilets.org ]
9. For solar panels on County Office Building/22 Market St./Poughkeepsie (then all county buildings).
[ http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/mar08/030608.htm ; http://www.HVCE.com ]
10. For free energy audits of all county bldg.'s done by company like Johnson Controls, Honeywell, etc.
[ http://www.JohnsonControls.com ; http://www.Trane.com ; http://www.Honeywell.com ]
11. For chronic Lyme disease sufferers to no longer be jerked around by HMO's and insurance industry.
[ http://www.ILADS.org ; http://www.UnderOurSkin.com ; http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02100 ]
12. For Dutchess to save on power costs w/Municipal Electricity Gas Alliance (like Putnam, Ulster, Sullivan, and over a dozen other counties).
[ http://www.MEGAEnergy.org ]
13. For saving 30% on lighting bills in county bldg.'s switching fixtures from T-12's to T-8's/metal halides.
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Replace-T8-Or-T12-Lights-With-New-Energy-Efficient-T5-Lighting&id=2117699
14. For Dutchess to hold Home Heating Summit re: home heating oil crisis (as in Ulster, Orange co.'s).
[ http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/September08/10/DC_hm_heat-10Sep08.html ]
15. For Dutchess ESAN "Recommendations for Stream/Flood Management in Dutchess" to be followed.
[ http://www.dutchessemc.org/ESANRecomendations.pdf ]
16. For Green Map added to county website: list farmer's markets/green resources (as in Westchester).
[ http://greenmap.westchestergov.com/ ; http://www.GreenMap.org ]
17. For bike rental program in Dutchess at no cost to taxpayers (as is already in Washington, D.C.).
[ http://www.SmartBikeDC.com ]
18. For bulk-rate discount sale to county residents of rain barrels/compost bins (similar to Lake Co./Ill.).
[ http://www.rainbarrelsandmore.com/lakecountypromotion.htm ; http://www.RainBarrels.org ]
19. For Dutchess County to be part of Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act to save open space.
[ http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=101&sh=story&story=23825 ]
20. For county's Health Department to publicly report on chloramines in public water supplies in county.
[ http://www.Chloramine.org ; http://www.VCE.org ]
21. For listing of restaurants using oils without trans fats to be on county's Health Department website.
[ http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/October08/13/DCL_transfats-13Oct08.html ]
22. Initiated move for Family Justice Center for victims of domestic violence (similar to Orange County).
[ http://SafeHomesOrangeCounty.org/FJC.aspx ]
23. For a link to CarbonRally.com carbon cutting competition to be added to official Dutchess website.
[ http://www.CarbonRally.com ]
24. For an at-store plastic bag recycling law (like Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland, and Westchester counties).
[ http://www.petitiononline.com/recybag ]
25. For recycling plastics #3, #5, #7/recycling bins being placed next to all trash containers in county.
[ http://www.petitiononline.com/zeroyes ]
26. For particulate matter air pollution to be measured in Dutchess County as it was until 2002.
[ http://www.ALANY.org ]
27. For Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies recommend.'s air pollution/quality standards to be followed.
[ http://www.ecostudies.org/threats_from_above.html ]
28. For wetlands (even small ones) in county to be saved from being paved over by developers.
[ http://www.eany.org/capitolwatch/memos%202009/21_WetlandsProtection.pdf ]
29. For cost-saving "Green House Project" nursing home in county-- proven to make seniors happier.
[ http://www.TheGreenHouseProject.org ]
30. For NYSDEC & EPA Enviromapper websites to be added prominently to Dutchess County website.
[see http://www.ToxicsTargeting.com for info/link that should have been added to county website tho!]
31. For NYS Legislature to pass Cahill's A.2759/S.385: HMO's/insurance co.'s finally fully cover autism.
[ http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A2759 ]
32. For real relief for Dutchess Co. property taxpayers-- Omnibus Property Tax Relief and Reform Act.
[ http://www.OmnibusTaxSolution.org ]
33. For greatly expanding current circuitbreaker for school property taxes (bipartisan Little/Galef bill).
[ http://www.petitiononline.com/taxcut ]
34. For ending secret market manipulations on Wall Street causing higher gas/home heating oil prices.
[see http://www.StopOilSpeculators.com Enron loophole closed; "dark markets" speculation continues!]
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