Is the handwriting on the wall for GM?  For thousands of white collar retirees it is.  GM will be elimating lifetime health care coverage for its legions of retirees at the end of this year.

“G.M. has had little choice this year but to make deep cuts wherever it can, including benefits that were long considered sacred.”

““Everybody felt like they were set for life,” said Mr. Ken Hewitt, 81, who retired from the former Chevrolet Engineering Center in 1982 and lives north of Detroit. “It’s been difficult, but the information they’ve given us has been beneficial. Still, when you get to be our age, it’s tough to make any big changes like that.””
more…

US ATTORNEY GARCIA: “In light of the policy of the Department of Justice with respect to prostitution offenses and the longstanding practice of this office, as well as Mr. Spitzer’s acceptance of responsibility for his conduct, we have concluded that the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter.”

Mr. Tricoli has the courage and push to get things happening in Amherst.  In this time where people are losing jobs, places are closing, we need a man of FDR caliber.  A man who isn’t afraid to buck the state or our federal government to get a big piece of the pie.  A pie which would help us with possibly our home problems, our job problems .  We no longer need patsies to stand up to Republican blowhards.  We need men with strong feelings for the people of Amherst who have never been afraid to show it.

Tom W.

There will be an opening on our Town Board when Debbie Bucki leaves our Town Board on December 31^st, 2008 to become our Town Clerk.  The Town Board must not choose someone who is a political stooge, hack, or has a political family name to fill in as her replacement.

It must be someone who has shown courage and stood up to the Town Board.  A man who has found several problems in our government which he help to correct; aman who never fears to name names and stand up to any special interest groups; a man who every Town Board member has praised for his honestly and integrity.  

His type of courage is not seen often in politics.

Tom,Tom,Kim,Jerry,Judy,Kate

On March 20th 2008, a young 12 year old child was abducted at knifepoint and sexually assaulted by Mitchell Brokob, who lived in the same neighborhood as the young girl.

He has been charged with abducting and sexually attacking her.  Our local FBI, working diligently, found a computer in his home which contained 40 images of child pornography, including images of adult males raping young girls.

He is now charged with felony possession of child pornography.  He could receive a federal prison term of 10 to 20 years.  If he is found guilty of the State crime, the federal charges carries a mandatory term of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years.

A big thank you to our local FBI.

There is no blame that can be placed on Len Lenihan’s leadership.  To begin with he couldn’t stop the political machine of Golisano and Pigeon and their picks.  They put out a great deal of money supporting Mesi, Konst and Powers.  Lenihan’s only option to stop this move was to say, “No” to Golisano‘s choices but he didn’t.

Then we also had Alice Kryzan running for Congress.  She took a great deal of money from sources that control downstate New York.  Her bid for Congress fell short.  Lenihan couldn’t stop her in the Primary yet her run did stop short of her goal in November.

Lenihan’s leadership could have been stronger but it wasn’t.  He did try to stop some of these candidates in the Primary but failed.  Thankfully four out of five met their demise in November.  The people’s wisdom was greater than the amount of money coming out of the “deep pockets.”

I understood that when if I broke a fluorescent bulb I had to take certain actions to clean up the area and myself to ensure no harm would occur.

Many of us are switching our old light bulbs to newer more energy efficient bulbs. But along with the change comes a risk. The new compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury.

Jill Mayfield is an energy miser. That’s why she’s switched almost all the lights in her house to newer compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLS, that last 10 times longer and use about 75-percent less energy.

“The more I put in, the more I saw the impact on my utility bill, so it was really a no-brainer for me,” she said.

Then one day, her bright idea shattered on the hall floor.

“I pulled one out. I dropped it on the floor and I was like, ‘Oh, man’,” said Mayfield.

As a spokesperson for the Austin Solid Waste Department, which includes the Recycling Department, she knew immediately that toxic mercury sealed in the light was now on her floor.

“I essentially took a broom, swept it up with a dust mop, a dust pan, and put in a plastic bag,” said Mayfield.

She gathered everything that touched the mercury, and set it aside in her garage.

“It’s in a plastic bag inside of a plastic bag. I put them out here in my garage. When I get a few more bulbs, I’ll take them to the city’s household hazardous waste disposal facility,” said Mayfield.

And that’s exactly where used or broken CFL’s should end up.

“You should not throw these away. They have a mercury vapor in them and when you break them, you release the mercury vapor,” explained Dawn Whipple, a hazardous waste specialist.

So how much mercury do the new CFL’s contain? It’s actually a tiny amount, about 100 times less than a thermometer you use to put in your mouth.

CFL’s contain four to five milligrams of mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency says mercury in high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune systems.

While the amount in any one CFL is small, throwing mercury out with the trash adds it to landfills, where it can seep into a community’s water supply.

The EPA says a single broken bulb is not likely to cause major damage to the environment or humans, but says it poses enough danger that these steps should be taken if a bulb is broken:

• Open a window, turn off the air conditioning and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.
• Scoop up the glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape to pick up any remaining fragments or powder.
• Wipe the area with damp paper towels and place them and anything else that touched the debris in the sealed jar or plastic bag.
• Wash your hands.“Don’t vacuum it, because when you vacuum, it just kind of spits the mercury vapor back into the air and kind of makes it airborne into your house,” said Whipple.The EPA says if a carpet has to be vacuumed after mercury is cleaned off it, the vacuum bag needs to be thrown out with the other hazardous waste.

  “I think people are right to be concerned about toxins in their environment,” said Bee Miller, who works on environmental issues for Texas Interfaith Power and Light. She says concern about mercury shouldn’t trump the good CFLs do for the environment. “There’s about five milligrams of mercury in a compact fluorescent light bulb. That’s about as much as would fit on the tip of a ballpoint pen.”

  Contrast that, she says, with the significantly higher amount of mercury released in the environment during the production of traditional bulbs in coal-burning plants.

  “Using the CFL’s, even with the little bit of mercury they have in them, ends up being a net reduction in mercury in our environment,” said Miller.

  And that’s just one reason Jill Mayfield says CFL’s will continue to get the green light from her.

(Amherst, NY)—Erie County Legislator Ed Rath, 15th District (R)will conduct an Open House Saturday, November 15, 2008 from 9:00AM to 11:00AM at his Williamsville District office, 5500 Main Street, Suite 1. The entrance is to the left of the main building entrance. Legislator Rath states “As a citizen legislator, I look forward to talking with residents of the 15th district and other concerned Erie County citizens.”

            Residents may learn more about how the budget process works and what

Mr. Rath’s focus is for the coming year. Please feel free to stop in with your suggestions, comments or concerns. Mr. Rath will be joined by Michael Ranzenhofer the Senator–elect from the 61^st Senate District. 

            Additionally, income qualified Seniors may visit the office that day to fill out a HEAP application to receive assistance with their winter heating bills.

For more information on this event, or to make a personal appointment with Mr. Rath regarding an issue please contact the  district office at 5500 Suite 1, Williamsville, NY or by E-mail at rathe@erie.gov or by phone 633-0617. No RSVP is required for “Coffee and Conversation with Ed Rath.”

The parent company of Fisher Price has announced that at 12:00 p.m. today they will be laying off globally1000 employees.  There will be layoffs at our Fisher Price Plant in East Aurora.  Approximately 70 higher-end workers are going to be laid of here.