3-12-11: melting, Congressman Gibson and his nuclear obsession I mean, Tom Curran for Mayor, ebay history, invoices again

Be sure to vote for Tom Curran for mayor of Chatham! No doubt. Election soon: abolish the village assessor as recommended in 2008. TOM CURRAN for mayor of Chatham Village,  vote March 15, I think.


Gibson, our representative in congress,  speaking about nuclear power again. Meanwhile, in Japan... Any revisions to his speech planned due to current events?


What suit? (see Matter of Granger Group v Town of Taghkanic, 77 A.D.3d 1137, 1141 [2010], lv denied NY3d [Feb. 22, 2011]). Oh, that's the motorcycle guy.


Here is the decision of the judge.


I would buy this coin. Mad cool thing. Hudson should make these again.


And I'm sorry I missed this sale from a law office. The butterflies and photos are terrific but the old legal documents are quite interesting too. A website of old legal documents would be nice... and maybe useful. Start collecting old documents?


Report from the Hudson Library board meeting. Full report by Theresa Parsons.


Valatie water problems.


How about a book on Shaker peg boards? New Lebanon 1966.


Basilica Industria kicks off in April.


Discovery of the grave of this painter. Check out the blog and visit the grave.


The guy in Texas who lives in the shack, as featured in the New York Times, made enough money by selling his house in Spencertown, NY, Columbia County, to live a pauper's existence off the grid in comfort.


Kindhook Creek river overflows.


Estate sale in Valatie this weekend.


Copake video. Nice.


These guys fixed my computer.


Sam twitter feed.


Arsonist in Copake?


Computer animated tour of Austerlitz complete with annoying robotic voice.


Ever want to know what Kinderhook means?


This has got to be really big story.


Painting of Camphill Village for sale on ebay.


Rehab officer job. Apply now.


Upcoming Wikicoco investigation: highway spending per road mile, between towns and comparison to other counties.


If Tal Rappleyea says he "fixed" a problem with inappropriate payments at planning board in Stuyvesant, why do FOIL submissions produce no evidence of any fix or discussion?


Original FOIL Thursday, February 3, 2011:
All documents (memos, minutes, resolution, bylaws, etc.) from the Planning Board relating to billing procedures for contractor invoices. Tal Rappleyea referred to changes in procedure at the December 30, 2010 Town Board meeting. Publicly available minutes do not seem to reflect Planning Board consideration of contractor billing (escrow, etc.).

Response from Ms. Naegeli Friday, March 11, 2011:
No such document exists as you have described in your original request. The requirements are discussed in the Zoning Law of the Town of Stuyvesant (on or about page 21). The aforementioned law may be found on the Town website.

My response on Friday, March 11, 2011:
Thank you for your clarification. The practices in place on June 2009 are still in place now with no revision. Mr. Rappleyea was apparently in error on December 30, 2010when he indicated that the issue of escrow accounts had been raised with the planning board and that no more payments would be sprung on applicants at the end of the process. No discussion of the error made at the June 2009 planning board meeting, when an inappropriate request for payment was made, has ever occurred among the members of the planning board. Thank you for clarifying that the statement indicating that such a process of correction of practices, the statement of December 30, 2010, was inaccurate.

"To seek 'causes' of poverty... is to enter an intellectual dead end because poverty has no causes. Only prosperity has causes."

—Jane Jacobs, The Economy of Cities