Time Passes

The Uncle is ignoring the New Year in hopes that it will go away.

If it doesn't, here's hoping that we all make it through 2015.

May you and your families be well. 

I Drink Your Milkshake

The story so far: petitions were filed this past year to annex unincorporated parts of Monroe into the Village of KJ.

Now members of United Monroe have filed a petition to annex most of that land into Blooming Grove.

All this comes from a story on News 12:
http://hudsonvalley.news12.com/news/residents-file-petition-to-annex-land-requested-by-kiryas-joel-1.9760924

What isn't clear from the News 12 story is

A) Who owns the land in question?

and

B) Does United Monroe's petition seek to make the land part of unincorporated Blooming Grove, or do they also seek to have it annexed into the Village of South Blooming Grove.

The first question matters because if the land is owned by people connected to KJ, what standing does United Monroe have in the matter?

And If the petition seeks only to move the land into the Town of Blooming Grove, but not the Village of South Blooming Grove, this does nothing to stop KJ from annexing the land into the Village of KJ.  Villages can contain land in more than one town (as is the case with Harriman).

Cuuriouser and curiouser.

The Calm Before The ...What?

Christmas is over and New Year's is yet to come.  The weather is as mild as the autumn we never got.  And change is coming to Woodbury.

So what's around the corner?  

Will the Town Council be all sweetness and light?

Will Lyn Prestia suggest a coronation?

Will the Rump Roast and the Ankle Biter gift us with their wisdom?

Lord, I do so hate uncertainty.

Wishing Us All

Your Uncle Is A Stupid Head

So, the Uncle received the following email:

	FedEx
	Dear Customer, Your parcel has arrived at December 19. Courier was unable to deliver the parcel to you. To receive your parcel, print this label and go to the nearest office.
		Get Shipment Label
	FedEx 1995-2014

And the stupid headed Uncle clicked on "Get Shipment Label."  The computer whirred and clicked in ways that it normally doesn't and then my anti-virus program showed up and said "You stupid head, you are trying to open an evil virus loaded bad thing.  Stop that!".

So I stopped and then ran my virus scan for a very long time.

If any of you happen to get a similar sort of email from Fedex or UPS or USPS or someone, try giving those folks a call to ask if it's for real.

Longest Night of the Year, Or Not?

Tonight the sun set at 4:30 PM and it will rise at 7:19 AM.  That's 14 hours and 49 minutes.  So is this the longest night of the year.

Or was that back on November 2nd when the length of time between 4:30 PM and 7:19 AM was 15 hours and 49 minutes?

New Yorkers Denied The Opportunity To Have Flammable Water

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) will ban hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in his state, officials announced Wednesday.

Amazing Discovery In The Caribbean

As all Americans know, this is a map of the Caribbean off the Florida Keys:

But today, U.S. State Department cartographers announced the discovery of a large island adjacent to the Guantanamo Naval Station:

Who knew?

Bets Are Off In Orange

NYS Gaming Panel Recommends 3 Upstate Casinos, Including Sullivan County

Jacob Kornbluh

(AP). Three economically distressed communities in upstate New York have been selected as sites for casinos, a panel announced Wednesday, bringing an end to a fierce competition among 16 developers and job-hungry communities.

The Gaming Facility Location Board chose sites in Sullivan, Schenectady and Seneca counties and decided not to recommend a fourth license amid an increasingly saturated gambling market where consumers have more options closer to home. While casinos were once limited to Las Vegas, Atlantic City and a handful of tribal reservations, most Americans are now within a few hours’ drive of a gambling facility.

Voters last year authorized up to four casinos in three upstate regions: the Albany-Saratoga area, the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes region and the Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley.

The projects announced Wednesday:

— The Montreign Resort Casino is to be built in the Catskills town of Thompson on the grounds of the old Concord hotel. The $630 million project will come with an 18-story hotel, meeting spaces and an indoor waterpark. Its developer, Empire Resorts, operates through a subsidiary, the nearby Monticello Casino & Raceway.

— The Rivers Casino & Resort at Mohawk Harbor in the city of Schenectady will be part of a larger redevelopment effort at a formerly blighted riverfront site. The $300 million development will include a hotel, a high-end steakhouse and more than 1,100 slot machines.

— Lago Resort & Casino, a $425 million project in the Finger Lakes town of Tyre in Seneca County, will include 2,000 slot machines. Lago, which was the largest contender in the Finger Lakes-Southern Tier region, is named for the Italian word for “lake.”

At Bernie’s Holiday Restaurant in Sullivan County, dozens of casino supporters who gathered to watch the decision live cheered and hugged after the Montreign proposal was announced.

“It’s going to be huge,” said Pamela Pesante, a local real estate agent. “Jobs! People! Homes can get sold! It’s exactly what we need to boost our economy and our spirits.”

“This mean rebirth. This means new life,” said restaurant owner Randy Resnick. “Basically, it’s our shot. This is our time.”

Applicants submitted 16 bids for licenses. With its proximity to New York City, the Catskills and mid-Hudson Valley attracted the most interest, with nine bidders.

The board decided not to recommend any sites in New York City’s suburban Orange County, where developers concentrated proposals.

The board pored over 75,000 pages of application materials, heard from more than 400 people during public comment sessions and received more than 3,000 written comments over several months before it made its decision. Members of the panel said they were looking for the best project that would have the most significant economic impact on struggling communities.

The three regions were picked to spread out the benefits — and to avoid competition with existing tribal casinos.

The board’s decision isn’t the final step. Background checks and environmental reviews will be completed, and the licenses must be formally awarded by the state’s Gaming Commission. There’s also the possible threat of lawsuits from local opponents concerned about traffic, environmental effects, zoning and the effects of expanded gambling.

Bidders for the licenses and their allies spent more than $11 million on lobbying and campaign donations in 2012 and 2013, according to an analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group. Reports for 2014 are incomplete but show millions more in lobbying expenses. Lobbying efforts in cities of fewer than 50,000 people aren’t counted because they’re exempt from state reporting rules.

Odds Against Tomorrow

Huzzah!  I get to use an old movie poster.

Tomorrow, December 17, the Casino Siting Committee is supposed to announce their recommendation for where the casinos should go.

Bear in mind, even if they keep to their schedule, it's just a recommendation.  The politicians can ignore them.  But it brings us one step closer.

Reason To Celebrate

We just had our third Autumn day and it's not expected to snow again until the weekend.

YAY!

Taken For Granted

From the Mid-Hudson News

Skoufis blasts state grant for Kiryas Joel

MONROE – State Assemblyman James Skoufis (D, Woodbury) criticized the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council’s awarding of a $600,000 grant to the village of Kiryas Joel. He called the award “nothing more than yet another taxpayer-funded bailout for the village of Kiryas Joel to correct deficiencies in its infrastructure.” Skoufis said the money would be applied toward getting the village’s backwash filtration system up to code because its iron and manganese removal do not currently meet the requirements for sewer discharge as described in the project’s application. The assemblyman said that follows another grant of close to $600,000 two years ago that was awarded to Kiryas Joel to correct violations to its wastewater treatment plant. “This grant is an outrage that never should have seen the light of day,” Skoufis said.

Cosmic Debt

The universe owes us an Autumn!

While In Washington...

A CIA spokesman defended the agency against accusations that it had lied to Congress, stating "Don't you guys get irony?"

Meanwhile, Next Door, Business As Usual

Orange Confidential: KJ sewer plant permit expired in July

December 06, 2014 - 7:27 PM

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has cited the Village of Kiryas Joel for violations at its sewage treatment plant, including the fact that it had been operating with an expired discharge permit since July 31.

The notice of violation, dated Nov. 7, stems from a plant inspection the DEC conducted on Sept. 17 to test compliance with that permit, known as a State Pollution Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit. Inspectors found fault with a mechanical screen that had been out of order since June 1, and noted that several other issues hadn't been corrected since the DEC's last inspection letter, in August 2013. They also noticed the expired permit, which meant the plant technically had been operating without one for more than three months.

The village was given until Dec. 1 to submit a corrective action plan. The DEC didn't respond to a question from the Times Herald-Record about whether Kiryas Joel has since renewed the SPDES permit for the treatment plant.

Chris McKenna

Times Herald Record

Up, I Am Fed

I'm sick of this unseasonably cold weather.  I can't wait 'til winter starts so the lousy weather will be seasonal.

New Law In Town, Not!

Catch tonight's Town Board meeting?

It was somewhat interesting.

The Board was discussing an Inter Municipal Agreement with the Town and City of Newburgh relating to the Woodbury and Newburgh police forces working together in case situations arise requiring the response of a tactical police team.

All well and good.

Except that Town Councilwoman Prestia felt that the IMA should assign overall control to the incoming Supervisor. 

It seems that Ms. Prestia thinks that Ralph should be running the police department.  No doubt because of his extensive experience in law enforcement.

The Pieman pointed out to the Councilwoman and the incoming Supervisor (who was sitting there silently) that unlike a city or village mayor, town supervisor is not an executive position.  A supervisor is a legislator,  just one more vote on the town board.

So much for Ralph's dreams of riding around in a squad car with the lights flashing and the siren blaring.

Looking At It Another Way

There are some who feel that the "Not Caruso" votes of 548 people who refused to name a choice, shouldn't be lumped in with the write-in votes.

So, if you wish to be hyper-technical about breaking down the vote, the results are as follows:

Independent D. Sutz   1,316 (48.6%)
Republican R. Caruso 1,116 (41.2%)
Unnamed                        548 (16.8%)
Conservative R. Caruso 272 (10.1%)

A Victory for Mr. Sutz.

It's Official. Not Caruso Wins!

On Election Day 3,252 Woodburians showed up at the polls to vote for Town Supervisor.  

Ralph Caruso's combined vote (Republican and Conservative totals) was 1,388 or 42.6%.  

Not Caruso's total was 1,864 or a whopping 57.3% - the clear winner.

Unfortunately, Not Caruso declined the position and so the runner-up (and Miss Congeniality) Ralph Caruso was given the title.

Fested, Rested, Digested

OK, Thanksgiving is done and it's weeks til we have another gigantic family dinner.

Meanwhile the Uncle is waiting for the Board of Elections to put out the official vote tally, cause nothin aint nothin til it's official.

We'll let you know what we know when we know it.