3-3-11: look at the assessment rolls, go to the public hearings, make a bit of news myself, learn a lot in three blog entries, and more vintage postcards (just scan the pictures and upload them to wikicoco!)

The following towns have assessment rolls for inspection and someone needs to inspect them carefully: Taghkanic, Claverack, Clermont, Kinderhook. Look at them! More info here. If you get a copy of the rolls, upload it.

Ads at the tollbooths near us soon. Something else on toll booths: why are the booths open at night on the Rip Van Winkle bridge? I've crossed the bridge at 1AM and paid a dollar. I wonder is 20 cars would pass that night to cover the pay and benefits paid to the toll collector. Wouldn't it be cheaper to make the bridge free after midnight and send the collector home to sleep?


Philmont is doing the same thing Stuyvesant wants to do: build themselves some digs. I don't like the smell of it. Where is the referendum? This has to go to the voters!


Who's gassing up what vehicles in Copake?


There is an ethics situation in Copake and I can't figure it out. Sounds serious: town board is on the verge of collapse? Someone explain it to me.


And what's up with this slap charge and dog feces stuff? There has to be more to this story, or two stories. Gossip, I guess.


The unemployment rate in Columbia County is 7.40 percent (U.S. avg. is 10.20%). Recent job growth is Negative. Jobs have Decreased by 4.09 percent in the previous 12 months. Home appreciation the last year has been -4.14 percent.


Supervisor William Hughes of Hudson, a gutsy, smart guy, chimes in on the state's efforts to keep good teachers and get rid of seniority rules. Nice blog entry.


Property taxes in New York are hurting farmers. 


Bye bye birdie. You didn't know that?


Dancing and more dancing at the Hudson Opera House this Friday. 

Want a piano keyboard? One for sale in Stuyvesant.

Church in Stuyvesant Falls gets a blog entry.


Okay, time for me to make some news and not report it.


Here is the report from the Stuyvesant court house tonight, as adapted from report by Martin Roby:

Will Pflaum's lawyer questioned several aspects of the appearance ticket for habitual, loud dog barking. Stuyvesant Joseph A. Bruno suggested Ms. Elena Vaida, attorney for Will, submit her concerns about the way the ticket was issued in a written motion to dismiss. Judge Bruno then accepted Will's plea of not-guilty and set a date for April 6th, perhaps a date to hear formal motions. 

Dan Barber was instructed to talk with Tal Rappleyea (town attorney) in regard to his violations of local laws for the apparent accusations of zoning violations. Dan is representing himself. Town attorney did not appear and no hearing proceeded. 

So that's it for me in the news and that which I witnessed personally. Thanks to all the people that came out in support. Nice to have some back up in case things go wrong.

Dan's case is odd: why is he in court for zoning issues while the boat club, with many houses built without permits at all, is not an issue?


Author, book about the negative effects of electronic media on kids, comes to Hawthorne Valley. Talk about distracted... where was I again?


Taconic gets money from National Grid. I think it's for the company not the town and, no, I didn't read the press release carefully.

Conclusion from 3 days blogging: The bigger the story gets, the less important it is. The less coverage the story gets, the more it shows what is fundamentally wrong with this town (Stuyvesant), county (Columbia), and state (New York).


Stories that got bigger: ethnic slur, mosque vandalism, embezzlement charge (see March 1). More stories ran about the embezzlement regionally here and here. Only the embezzlement strikes me as big but not only for the sums involved. This charge only came to court after a change in government. This part of the story seems to have slid by uncommented on. Has the DA tackled any government corruption cases, frankly, when the government didn't change hands? When the party in charge was, well, her party? I'm not saying she wouldn't take such a case, but has she? If not, it's not because no such cases exist.


Stories that went no where: the drinking sting in Hudson (best post on this goes to Sam Pratt), law enforcement in Stuyvesant. Why is the Hudson drinking sting a big story? Because policy on law enforcement and under age drinking are so irrational here in America. It occurs to me, following this, that 16-21 year olds should be allowed to drink at a bar or restaurant if they are in the company of someone over 30 who signs something taking responsibility for them and the young person signs a waiver that they won't drive for 24 hours.


Germany seems to have a reasonable system, as far as can make out: beer and wine at 16, hard liquor at 18... although driving is not as necessary in most parts of Germany. The death rate per vehicle mile is the same in Germany as in the United States. 


The combination of cars and alcohol is the problem, not the alcohol in isolation. I mean, that's the point right? A 15 year old can drink moderately and there are no adverse health effects. A law, as above, would encourage responsible drinking with older people who know how to handle alcohol (or not and if you senior role models aren't responsible, what hope is there)? The drinking age is too high to be enforced like they did in Hudson. The point is harm reduction in terms of traffic accidents not to use the law and enforce it like a computer when there isn't a problem.

If you're 21 you can vote, serve in the military, have children, drive, pay taxes, but you can't go to a bar with your parents and have a beer?

And legalize pot and get the government out of people's bedrooms while we're at it. And don't pay for public education with property taxes. And abolish the town courts and town assessor offices, town highway department, and consolidate those functions in a cheaper and more professional way. And... so many things we keep doing although they don't really make sense. 

The little stories are big because they happen all the time, so we take these things for granted, therefore it's not a story. But it is a story: when you fund schools with local property taxes, you are asking for inequality, unfairness, and high stakes subjective assessments. When the government pisses away your tax money on boondoogles like the town highway department, you shrug, "that's the way it is." People go to jail for growing and smoking a plant. That's as crazy as putting me in jail for dog barking. Kids get taken away from parents because the parents get caught with drugs, with no evidence that they mistreated the kids. It happens ALL THE TIME. It's still totally wrong.

So much attention on stuff that is hard to change, like racial, ethnic and religious bias, and so little on stuff that should be easy to change, like how we do business in government, how we pay for schools and road, and getting the police state out of people's business. Stuff we could snap our collective fingers and change isn't even a story. It's the way the world works... but it doesn't have to. Snap! The police state is gone. 

That's why Dan's story is big: why should a tiny town like Stuyvesant even be in a position to have so officers and judges? Don't this micro-jurisdictions produce worse justice at a higher cost? Looks like it, but we'll just keep on doing the same ole same ole...

I think I made my point.  Big and little stories: the worse and more common the injustice, the smaller the story.


Want to buy vintage local postcards? More for sale here.


More useless happy talk from our congressman here.


There is a golf course in Missouri called Old Kinderhook. Just to confuse my google alerts?

Public Hearing at the Columbia County Board of Supervisors: NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that on the 9th day of March, 2011 at 7:25 P.M. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the Columbia County Office Building, 401 State Street, Hudson, New York, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors shall hold a Public Hearing, pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Ch. 36-a, Art. II, §20(5), on the enactment of Local Law No. 4 of 2011, establishing the annual salaries of Elections Commissioners in Columbia County at an amount of $20,000. The proposed Local Law is subject to referendum on petition pursuant to § 24(2)(h) of the Municipal Home Rule Law and § 400(3) of the County Law. This Notice is given pursuant to a directive of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. Dated: February 28, 2011 Hudson, New York Gail DiCosmo Clerk, Columbia County Board of Supervisors RS1T#49594 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that on the 9th day of March, 2011 at 7:20 P.M. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the Columbia County Office Building, 401 State Street, Hudson, New York, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors shall hold a Public Hearing, pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Ch. 36-a, Art. II, § 20(5), on the enactment of Local Law No. 3 of 2011, authorizing members of the Columbia County Community Services Board to serve for more than two consecutive terms. This Notice is given pursuant to a directive of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors. Dated: February 28, 2011 Hudson, New York Gail DiCosmo Clerk, Columbia County Board of Supervisors

RS1T#49597

Want to be on the town board in Ghent? PUBLIC NOTICE TOWN OF GHENT. The Ghent Town Board is accepting Letters of Interest including resumes to fill a vacancy on the Town Board. The term will run through Dec. 31, 2011. Please reply to Ghent Town hall, Box 98, Ghent, NY 12075 by March 14, 2011.