AMHERST TOWN BOARD MEMBERS WILL VOTE ON THE 2008 BUDGET MONDAY OCT. 30
There will be coverage by Time Warner Cable Co. of Monday’s Oct. 30, 2007 afternoon Budget Meeting. The meeting will start at 3:00 pm. It will be held in Town Hall on Main Street.
The final resolutions will be discussed by the Town Board, then voted on whether or not they should be placed in the 2008 budget.
After this is done the Board will vote to accept or refuse to accept the budget.
Bush to Warn Cuba on Plan for Transition
Castro has been in control of Cuba for decades and if power transfers from one brother to the other the U.S. will not accept that as a political transition.
“As described by an official in a background briefing to reporters on Tuesday evening, Mr. Bush’s remarks will amount to the most detailed response — mainly an unbending one — to the political changes that began in Cuba more than a year ago, when Fidel Castro fell ill and handed power to his brother Raúl.”
“The speech, scheduled to be given at the State Department before invited Cuban dissidents, will introduce the relatives of four Cuban prisoners being held for political crimes. A senior administration official said the president wanted to “put a human face,” on Cuba’s “assault on freedom.””
[read whole story]
WITH KATRINA FRESH, BUSH MOVES BRISKLY
We have all seen the images on nightly news broadcasts. Flames leaping hundreds of feet into the air and embers floating to new areas setting them ablaze as well. Thousands of people forced to evacuate, homes burned to cinders, people needing help. For a presidency still haunted by memories of Hurricane Katrina, the forceful round-the-clock response to the California wildfires was a political no-brainer.
“It was not quite 2:30 a.m. in Washington on Tuesday when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California asked President Bush to declare an emergency because of the wildfires raging in his state. An hour or so later, the request — pre-approved by Mr. Bush before he left the Oval Office on Monday evening — was granted.”
“By the time most Californians awoke on Tuesday, the Pentagon had sent helicopters and troops to California and the homeland security secretary and head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were on their way. By Tuesday evening, the White House announced that Mr. Bush himself would go on Thursday. He canceled a trip to St. Louis, planning to send Vice President Dick Cheney instead.”
[read whole story]
IN FORAY INTO TV, GOOGLE IS TO TRACK AD AUDIENCES
Big brother is watching, and Google is going to help him. What do you watch on TV? How about commercials? Do you switch to other channels? Google plans to announce a partnership with Nielsen to give advertisers a better snapshot of how many people are viewing television commercials on a second-by-second basis.
“At a time when digital video recorders are proliferating, advertisers are thirsty for any data they can get about who is watching their ads, who is fast-forwarding past them and where it makes the most sense to invest.”
“Although the initiative between Google and Nielsen will start relatively small, with ratings gleaned from set-top boxes within a single cable operator’s network, the companies say that their deal spans several years and that the relationship will grow.”
[read whole story]
HOUSE PASSES LEGISLATION TO PREVENT VETERAN SUICIDE
Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) and his colleagues in the House of Representatives passed the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (H.R. 327), a bill that directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and carry out a comprehensive program designed to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans.
“Suicide among veterans who are not receiving proper mental health care is a serious problem,” said Congressman Higgins. “The system needs to be fixed now, so that not one more veteran who needs help is ignored.”
Veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than those without military service, but gaps in our current system cause many veterans who need help to slip through the cracks. The problem has been exacerbated by an increase in troops serving overseas for longer deployments. In the 12 months ending June 30 the number of war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder increased by nearly 70%.
“We have already lost too many soldiers and more brave service members are scheduled to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Higgins. “In January, New York families will see off the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which has companies that will be deployed from Buffalo and Jamestown. We cannot fail them.”
The Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act will develop a comprehensive suicide prevention program for our veterans, paying particular attention to those recently returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. It contains a number of provisions to help decrease the number of suicides:
· Mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors;
· Proper screening for and offer mental health assessments to veterans;
· Designated suicide prevention counselors;
· 24-Hour Mental Health Care availability to veterans;
· Establishment of a toll-free hotline;
· Outreach and Education for Veterans and Families;
· Establishment of a peer support counseling program;
“As Veterans Day approaches, let us not forget the sacrifices of the men and women of our Armed Forces. They deserve our respect and support. We have an obligation as a Nation to give back and to help them,” Congressman Higgins said.
• FOOTBALL & VOTE RALLY •
Bills vs. Jets
Watch the Bills win, and help support Guy Marlette’s victory!
North Bailey Fire Hall
966 Sweet Home Road
Amherst, NY
Sunday, October 28, 2007
3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Food, Pop, Beer
Cost: By donation
The New Leadership We Need
Please RSVP by Oct. 26 via mail or by phone (716) 838-6288
Committee to Elect Guy Marlette, 21 Brantwood Drive, Snyder, NY 14226
www.guymarlette.com
2008 AMHERST TOWN BUDGET WILL CAUSE TAXES TO GO UP DOUBLE FIGURES IN 2009
Supervisor Satish Mohan showed 18 different graphs and charts. As he talked over each of these he compared the 2006, 2007 and 2008 budgets. He talked for over a hour, non-stop. It was a masterful job of creating confusion in most everyone’s mind. He was trying to sell a budget with more holes in it than Swiss cheese.
The Supervisor talked about who received raises among the elected officials. He was as clear as mud about that and also about how much they received. He talked about the Town Savings or as some people called it , our Fund Balance, as if it wasn’t important for us in our Bonding rating. He said there was an 11% raise, over a 3 year period, for the Highway Department.
There probably wasn’t one person in Town Hall who had a chance to read or understand this very confusing Town budget, except the Supervisor. The reason for this is simply the Supervisor’s budget was kept secret because it includes mistakes and major overspending without the needed money already in the Town’s hands. Mohan is using ‘Phanton Money’ in the budget. ‘Phanton Money’ is money he believes will come to the Town on a later date but he put in our budget now and spent it.
Open government has been slammed shut by threats to citizens who try to speak the truth of what’s really happening in our town. This government isn’t an open government. A perfect example of this was the secrecy surrounding the 2008 budget. It was guarded from the Town Board as well as the public. Copies of the budget didn’t reach our public libraries until Friday, Oct. 17th, which gave little or no time to even read a part of it.
The Town Board members have untill 11:00 a.m. Wednesday to read the entire budget and turn their resolutions to add or detract from the budget, to the Supervisor. The Board will gather to discuss each resolution and vote on them on Monday, Oct. 29 at 3:00 pm.
As of Tuesday, Oct. 23, at roughly 12:00 a.m. 30 resolutions have been received from the Town Board members.
After they vote as to what changes will be made in the budget, then they will vote to accept or not accept the budget.
The public can not ask questions about any of the new resolutions but they should be able to ask questions about the resolutions. If the public is denied the right to ask questions about the Town Budget then Amherst should be seen as a government of Supervisor Mohan and not a government of the people and for the people.
Those who have fought to keep America free and open must be wondering why they fought when even a local town government like Amherst is forcing their residents to remain silent on their town budget and possibly their future.
This meeting will not be televised on cable or any channel.
THE PUBLIC IS LEFT OUT IN COLD
The residents of Amherst have every right to complain about the Town Budget not being in the Amherst Town libraries until late Friday, Oct. 20, which gave little or no time for the public to read this important document.
The public should come tonight for the Public Hearing on the budget at 7:00 pm at Town Hall. There will not be any filming of tonight’s meeting. Therefore it will not be shown on TV at any time.
FIRES IN CALIFORNIA KILL ONE AND DESTROY BUILDINGS
Thousands of acres are burning across Southern California. This is happening because they are feeding on the driest brush there has been in years. Trees literally ‘burst’ into flame sending sparks and embers out, sometimes a mile or more.
The wind-whipped wildfires have killed one person, injured four firefighters, destroyed and damaged several homes and scorched thousands of acres.
“By evening, a dozen fires had broken out from north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border, and firefighters strained to keep up and beat back flames that hurricane-force winds blasted over hills and through canyons.”
“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven counties, where flames had burned 30,000 acres.”
“Thousands of homes in Canyon Country, north of Los Angeles, were threatened by a fire that had engulfed more than 10,000 acres in a few hours. By early evening, the blaze had already burned several homes and other structures and had led to the evacuation of 800 homes.”
[read whole story]
PUBLIC HEARING ON AMHERST BUDGET TODAY - OCT. 22, 2007
Today, Monday the 22nd of Oct., there will be a public hearing on Amherst’s 2008 Budget. This will be the only chance for the public to ask questions about the budget. The meeting starts at 7:00 pm in the Amherst Town Hall on Main St.
Don’t miss your only chance to question your Town Board members about our proposed budget.
