October 30th, 2007
Local News
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SOMETHING COOL THAT XEROX IS DOING
If you go to this web site,
www.LetsSayThanks.com
you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them…
October 30th, 2007
Local News
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There were 37 resolutions the Town Board had to vote on before voting on the 2008 budget. During Monday’s budget session money was added and money was taken out of this confusing budget.
Council member Ward submitted a resolution which would create a $500,000 contingency fund in the event the Town faces unforeseen emergencies. The fund balance, which would have been the money source for such emergencies, was lowered when the Supervisor took 6.5 million out and transferred it to the revenue side of the Town budget ledger to help balance town spending and it lack of sufficient revenue.
The actual total of the 2008 budget isn’t known at this time. A good guess is it’s between $115 million and $116 million. The tax levy will roughly drop by 1.5% to 2.5%.
The Comptroller pointed out that the Highway Department needs $500,000 more added to their budget to pay the Highway Department’s workers their Retro pay for the last 2 years.
The Supervisor’s request for a Superintendent for the Waste Water Treatment Plant and a centralized Purchasing Agent passed.
Dr. Mohan wasn’t happy with the Republican controlled Town Board’s generous spending the taxpayer’s money. The budget was passed by 4 Republican Town Board members without any knowledge of its final cost or what the tax levy will be for the Amherst taxpayer.
Our town now has a budget which the Republican block on our Town Board passed with the exception of Republican Shelly Schratz.
The 4 members of the Town Board who voted to accept the budget were Republicans Mohan, McGuire, Kindel and O’Loughlin.
The 3 Town Board members who voted against the budget were Shelly Schratz(R), Dan Ward(D), and Debbie Bucki(D).
October 30th, 2007
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OK. Chinese officials have been cracking down on the production and sale of tainted food, drugs and agricultural products. They report that there have been 774 people arrested over the past two months as a result of this. Whoopie! Is that supposed to change everything? Are you kidding me?
“Government regulators hailed the arrests as a major step forward for food and drug safety, and said the “criminal suspects” were detained during nationwide inspections of thousands of restaurants, food and drug production plants and wholesale food markets.”
“Determined to counter accusations that it has been producing and also exporting tainted goods, China has vowed to revamp its food and drug safety regulations and to close illegal manufacturers and exporters.”
[read whole story]
October 29th, 2007
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If you have children you may be one of those over-scheduled families. You want your child to be successful in life so you have them involved in several after-school activities and sports. This will lead to a well rounded child. Right? Yes, and well stressed as well.
“It was 6:30 p.m. The lights were still on at Needham High School, here in the affluent Boston suburbs. Paul Richards, the principal, was meeting with the Stress Reduction Committee.
On the agenda: finding the right time to bring in experts to train students in relaxation techniques.”
“Don’t try to have them teach relaxation in study hall, said Olivia Boyd, a senior. Students, she explained, won’t want to interrupt their work. They were already too busy before or after school for the training.”
[read whole story]
October 29th, 2007
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I’ve watched Boston Legal. There are men and women, blacks and whites, even one fellow suffering with Asperger’s syndrome practicing in that office. They seem to make big bucks. According to a bunch of Stanford law students handing out “diversity report cards” to the big law firms, many of the biggest firms have atrocious, appalling records on diversity.
“A bunch of law students at Stanford have started assigning letter grades to their prospective employers, which pretty much tells you who holds the power in the market for new associates. It’s not easy to persuade new lawyers from the top schools to accept starting salaries of only $160,000.”
“The students are handing out “diversity report cards” to the big law firms, ranking them by how many female, minority and gay lawyers they have.”
““Many of the firms have atrocious, appalling records on diversity,” said Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford and the adviser for the project, called Building a Better Legal Profession. The rankings are at www.betterlegalprofession.org.”
[read whole story]
October 28th, 2007
Local News
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There are only a few days left before the Nov. 6th elections. It is a very important election that could change the direction Amherst is heading. We could turn to an upward swing. Go out and vote.
October 28th, 2007
Local News
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Just a reminder ~
Watch the Bills win, and help support Guy Marlette’s victory!
• FOOTBALL & VOTE RALLY •
the Bills vs. the Jets
North Bailey Fire Hall
966 Sweet Home Road
Amherst, NY
Today, October 28, 2007
3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Food, Pop, Beer
Cost: By donation
THE NEW LEADERSHIP WE NEED
October 27th, 2007
Local News
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Update: “Illegal immigrants who try to apply for driver’s licenses in Erie and Niagara counties will be subject to arrest — and deportation — under a plan being developed by the two county clerks and law enforcement officials.
The move is the latest — and potentially most serious — challenge to Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer’s new policy to permit illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses if they possess a valid foreign passport and other identification.
“I’m being asked to look aside to something that’s illegal, and I’m not going to do that,” Niagara County Clerk Wayne Jagow said Wednesday.”
Jagow and Erie County Clerk Kathleen C. Hochul have been in discussions with local police officials to determine what procedures will be used — and whether federal or local law enforcement agencies will be notified — if an illegal immigrant seeks to apply for a driver’s license.” Published Report ###
PoliticsNY.net
October 27th, 2007
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In California illegal immigrants provide the backbone of menial labor in the San Diego area, picking fruit, cleaning hotel rooms, sweeping walks and mowing lawns. Their often-invisible existence has been exposed during this time of tumultuous fires in ways that are sometimes deadly.
“Out of the burning brush, from behind canyon rocks, several immigrants bolted toward a group of firefighters, chased not by the border police but by the onrush of flames from one of the biggest wildfires this week.”
“Their appearance startled the firefighters, who let them into their vehicles. But with the discovery of four charred bodies in an area of heavy illegal immigration, concern is growing that others may not have survived.”
““Their hands were burned, and they were clearly tired and grateful,” Capt. Mike Parkes of the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported on what his firefighting team saw.”
[read whole story]
October 27th, 2007
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It’s been more than six decades since twenty-eight men were court marshaled and convicted of starting a riot that led to the death of Guglielmo Olivotto, an Italian prisoner of war. It was one of the largest Army court marshals of World War II. A ruling this week by a U.S. Army panel could lead to that being overturned.
“This week, a review board issued a ruling that could lead to overturning the convictions of all 28 soldiers, granting honorable discharges and providing them with back pay.”
“The board found that the court-martial was flawed, that the defense was unjustly rushed and that the prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, a young lieutenant colonel who went on to fame three decades later as a Watergate special prosecutor, had important evidence that he did not share with defense lawyers.”
“All of the 28 have died except for Samuel Snow, 83, and another soldier.”
[read whole story]
