The Amherst Town Board is considering downsizing from seven members to five members and many residents are opposed to the idea.  Last Monday night Bob Collins addressed the Board on behalf of his wife and himself.  Here is the text of his message.

Concerning the proposal to limit Town Board to 5  members:

I feel that the Town Board should remain at the present legal seven members.

Our Council members have anywhere from four to seven Boards and Committees where they have been appointed as Liaisons.  This is quite a burden now with six members and would be even worse with five.  Council members are part-time, and have their own business and professions that understandably occupy their time.  The obligation to the Town citizens also involves many other duties that require preparation prior to the Town Board decision.  Our Town Board members are elected to term limits, come from all walks of life, and are not the professional politicians that seem to hang on in Buffalo and Erie County.

My opinion is that a professional pollster has the ability to formulate the question sent at random in such a way that it will influence the vote to favor the desire of the financial backer.  I have more faith in the unpaid Bee opinion poll answered by subscribers that are interested in Town government, and knowledgeable of the many duties of the Council members.

The committees and Boards are volunteers who are willing to devote their time to make the government more effective.  Their best route to the Town Board is when the Liaison will present a resolution based on their collective research and opinions, as voted by the majority.

Bob Collins, Snyder NY

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A 60 year old  woman in Calvary, Canada gave birth to twins today.

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It’s not just bonuses that big businesses hand out, it’s other little perks, like country club dues, gym memberships, personal assistants, home security systems, chauffeur service and parking.  Oops, let’s not forget the luxury private jets.  Halleljah!  I want to be abanker in my next life.

“Like bonuses, these extravagances are likely to come under greater scrutiny. Indeed, in announcing a salary cap on Wednesday for some institutions receiving government financial aid, President Obama also called for greater corporate review of “excessive or luxury items” for executives.”

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Are four days in the summer enough?  When Buffalo celebrates the Italian Heritage Festival Hertel Avenue, from Delaware to Colvin, is taken over and a four day Italian festival atmosphere takes over.  Some students from RIT have presented their ideas to city officials and organizers of the annual Italian Heritage Festival.

“The five students enrolled in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences served up dozens of ideas to enhance Hertel’s image as the region’s Little Italy. Not only is Hertel home to the popular Italian Heritage Festival for four days in July, but there are also about two dozen businesses on the strip that have Italian themes — restaurants, pizzerias, dessert shops, meat markets and an imports store.”

“Murals, pavement markers, attractive hanging flower baskets and other amenities could help cultivate Hertel’s image as a unique business district, enhance the Little Italy theme.”

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In an effort to prevent local televisions from going dark on February 18^th, Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) and his colleagues in the House of Representatives voted to approve S. 352, a bill that will delay the digital television conversion allowing for additional time to get coupons to the 17,613 households in Western New York currently on a waiting list.

“My office has received dozens of calls from local residents who are experiencing difficulty with the coupon program,” said Congressman Higgins.  “By extending the deadline we provide relief to frustrated consumers working to prepare their households for the transition.”

The DTV Delay Act amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to delay the transition of television broadcasting from analog to digital by 115 days from the previous scheduled transition date of February 17 to a new date of June 12, 2009.  The Nielsen Company estimates that 6.5 million households would lose all TV reception if the February deadline remains in place.

Residents currently receiving their television signal through satellite or cable services will not be impacted by the conversion.  However, consumers who rely on antennas to receive over-the-air broadcast signals on TV sets having only analog tuners will need to obtain separate digital-to-analog converter boxes to watch TV. The Commerce Department estimates that more than 2 million households are currently on a waiting list to receive almost 3.7 million coupons to help them buy digital TV converter boxes.

In addition to the delay, this legislation allows for consumers who never redeemed coupons that have expired to apply for replacement coupons.  Residents still in need of a coupon can apply online at https://www.dtv2009.gov/, call the toll-free 24-hour automated system at 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009), mail a coupon application to: PO Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208-2000, or fax a coupon application to 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632).

The DTV Delay Act was supported by public safety organizations, civil rights and consumer groups, the National Association of Broadcasters and wireless providers.  The bill preserves broadcasters’ ability to transition before the new transition date, if such a move doesn’t interfere with another broadcast signal.

The legislation was approved unanimously by the Senate on January 29, 2009.  With approval by the House and Senate now complete, S.352 will now move to the President Obama’s desk for his signature.

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