Barring an unforeseen last-second compromise, there will be no civil confinement for sex offenders the very issue that prompted Pataki to call the special session. Nor will there be more charter schools, early retirement for state employees or raises for lawmakers, at least for now.
(snip)
Spitzer left the door open to pay raises for legislators, judges and state commissioners, if the Legislature enacts wide- reaching ethics, lobbying, elections and campaign-finance reforms.

Timothy’s Law was passed, which mandates for mental health insurance coverage equal to other illness coverage for some mental health issues.

The Assembly also passed legislation requiring insurers to cover certain mental health conditions, including major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and eating disorders, and to cover up to 30 days a year of hospitalization and 20 days of outpatient treatment. The Senate has passed the bill, but Mr. Pataki has not said whether he would sign it.

…insurers have to allow a minimum of 20 outpatient visits and 30 inpatient days a year for mental illness. Backers said it would put mental illness on a par with physical illness in regards to insurance coverage. Co-payments and deductibles for mental-health visits would have to be comparable to those for physical ailments. More than three dozen other states have such mental-health “parity” laws.

The state would pay for the extra cost of premiums for businesses that have fewer than 50 employees. Large employers would have to provide additional coverage for children and adults. Self-insured companies and governments would be exempt under federal law.

Let’s hope that Gov. Pataki won’t veto this bill.

Both houses appeared to go beyond mere brinkmanship as they closed their sessions. Senators approved some 60 nominations by Pataki of people to various boards and authorities. It also appointed at least five Court of Claims judges, including Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue and Henry Zwack, executive deputy commissioner and general counsel at the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, and a former Rensselaer County executive. Also approved for the court was Richard Platkin, one of Pataki’s closest legal advisers.

The Senate did not approve two Court of Claims nominees backed by Silver: Dan Conviser, counsel to the Assembly Rules Committee and Elizabeth Foley, director of special investigations for the New York City Department of Education.

Pataki agreed to leave some key state government positions open so they can be filled by Democratic Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer.
(snip)
Pataki had been criticized by Spitzer and others for filling slots on his way out the door after 12 years in office.

Here’s an honest assessment of yesterday’s session:

“We’re closing the Pataki era in classic fashion,” said state Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, referring to the governor’s final days in office before his term expires. “There’s a long list of matters we could attend to. But we gavel in and then there’s no agreement on anything and there’s poor communication.”

I can’t wait to see how this legislature is going to operate in conjunction with the Spitzer Administration.

Even though it appears that the proposal will become law in its entirety, there may be some room for change in the future:

Richard Gottfried, chair of the Assembly’s health committee, said lawmakers this week began talks with Spitzer’s transition team about compromising on some of the recommendations.

Even after the recommendations become law “room for negotiation” exists, said Bill Van Slyke, spokesman for the Healthcare Association of New York State, which represents hospitals and nursing homes.

The next state health commissioner will have flexibility in how the recommendations are implemented, he said.

As of this writing, I have no idea of details of possible negotiations.

Prior related post: Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century

None of the six returning GOP members of Congress from New York nor any of their staff attended. Some Republican aides complained of receiving very late notice of the meeting set up by Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, and others said they didn’t expect anything important to be discussed.

Not even staff members??? Can it be that NY State’s republicans, including our Representative, Randy Kuhl, didn’t think that this meeting was important enough in establishing and fostering a relationship with our new governor?

As a candidate, Spitzer stressed how he wanted to “organize” the often scattershot congressional delegation from New York, consisting of 29 representatives and two senators.

Even after missing a half-dozen of them at the first meeting, Spitzer said Wednesday he wanted to get them working together to bring back more federal dollars for New York.
(emphasis mine)

Republicans are not the majority party any longer, either at the federal or state level. Its time to start shedding the old ways of doing business and embrace unfamiliar ways for the benefit of the citizens of our state.

Common Cause Executive Director Rachel Leon said the member items going to such companies as Evident and Plug Power “raises red flags.”

“It seems like a slippery slope for government to hand out member items to a for-profit,” she said. “Government is not-for-profit and most of the things supported with member items are not-for-profit. That’s why the sunshine around it is so important.”

Jared Abbruzzese and Wayne Barr of Evident Technologies have contributed to Bruno’s and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee ($42,500 and $14,200 respectively). Abbruzzese loaned Bruno his aircraft several times and is described as a “close friend”. Sherrie Abbruzzese (wife of Jared) participated in a real estate deal with a firm in which Bruno is part owner. Barr was appointed by Bruno to be on the NY Racing Association Board of Trustees. He left that position earlier this year. Bruno and Abbruzzese also have interests in the horse racing arena.

Barr said his and Abbruzzese’s friendship with Bruno had nothing to do with the member item. Evident, he said, made agreements with the state before the money would be released. He would not discuss his private investments.
(snip)
Abbruzzese, a director of the Friends of New York Racing, is “a big racing fanatic and owner, and Sen. Bruno is a big racing supporter, and they talk,” Smith said in a deposition. He added that Abbruzzese helped the group get at least one meeting with the senator.

Barr said he traveled with Bruno to Kentucky last year for a tour of horse country. He said he resigned from the NYRA board a few months later to avoid the appearance of a conflict, since NYRA and Empire were competing for the racing franchise.

Click here for a graphic-type representation of the Bruno/Abbruzzese/Barr relationship and connection from Albany’s Times Union’s website.

Plug Power, the second for-profit company, “has employed officials who have worked for Gov. George Pataki”.

Kudos to the Times Union for their investigative work on this issue.

Spitzer said while he could not force the Legislature to go along with his ideas, he will adhere to these limits “to set a tone, to send a message and to set an example.”

His plan includes:

- stop accepting campaign contributions greater than $10,000
- loopholes in the state’s campaign finance laws won’t be used
- he nor his aides would hold fund-raisers in Albany during the legislative session
- no gifts of more than nominal value (current allowed value is up to $75)
- “neither he nor his lieutenant governor, David A. Paterson, would accept fees for speeches or appear in taxpayer-financed commercials”
- no contributions taken from members of his administration whom he can hire and fire

The changes would be seismic for Albany, where Gov. George E. Pataki has sometimes proposed reforms but has not agreed to abide by them unilaterally. Mr. Spitzer said he hoped the Legislature would follow his lead by passing far-reaching laws that would eventually apply to all state officials and candidates.
(snip)
His announcement put pressure on Senator Joseph L. Bruno, who was re-elected here Thursday as Republican majority leader of the State Senate, one of the three positions that in effect run state government. Mr. Bruno did not sound as if he has any plans to adopt Mr. Spitzer’s ban on fund-raisers in Albany during the legislative session, saying it was “nonsense” to argue that they fostered a bad perception.

“If they want to support people here, they ought to be able to do it,” Mr. Bruno said. “And for anyone that thinks that anybody that makes a contribution buys anything other than indicating their positive support — well, then, they’re just wrong.”

Spitzer feel differently:

Mr. Spitzer said he hoped to send a message by deciding not to attend fund-raisers in Albany during the session, which typically runs from January through June. “There is an unfortunate reality that there are many fund-raisers here in Albany on nights when the Legislature is in session when lobbyists and others congregate, can contribute to legislators, and then show up the next morning to ask them to consider A, B, or C,” he said. “And so we are simply saying, we will not participate in that.”

Well, at least the governor’s office will have ethics reform on their agenda. Will the legislature follow suit? We will be paying attention to see what they will do.

Three hospitals in our area, identified as the “Southeast Cluster” in Western New York, (TLC Lakeshore Hospital in Irving, TLC Tri-County Hospital in Gowanda, and Bertrand Chaffee Hospital in Springville) are subjected to recommendations in this report.

Summary of Recommendations:

– Eliminate all medical/surgical beds of TLC Tri-County Hospital
- Reduce the license capacity at Bertrand Chaffee Hospital so that the facility functions with less than 25 licensed beds.
- Eliminate the 40 bed Residential Heal Care Facility (RHCF) license at TLC Lake Short Hospital.
- Submit a CON for the approval of 10 detoxification beds under the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) for Tri-County Hospital.
- Consolidate laboratory services at Tri-County Hospital.
- Emergency and outpatient primary care will continue to be provided at the Tri-County Hospital.

… the provider has advanced a plan that may not be optimum for the region as a whole. … an understanding needs to be reached with regard to the ongoing viability of Bertrand Chaffee Hospital. … Although implied, attention to the Seneca Nation of Indians and its health care needs should be included in any analysis of services in the southern tier. … To date there has been no mention of the needs of the Seneca Nation among the various potential providers.

I found no mention of recommendations for Olean General Hospital in the report. Reaction to Buffalo area closures/reorganizations is mixed:

Kaleida Health’s CEO says he does not accept the commission’s report.

The Catholic Health System believes they have already closed facilities and should not have to close St. Joseph Hospital, as called for by the commission.

In contrast ECMC’s CEO Mike Young sees potential with the plan.

Buffalo area recommendations:

… St. Joseph Hospital in Cheektowaga and Millard Fillmore Gates Circle in Buffalo.

The commission also says DeGraff Memorial should convert to a long term care facility, while Mount Saint Mary’s in Niagara Falls should merge with Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

Also, Lockport Memorial could end up merging with Intercommunity Hospital in Newfane.

The commission also recommends closing the Williamsville Suburban Nursing Home.

At least one lawsuit has already been filed:

Governor Pataki and State Health Commissioner Antonia Novello are named as defendants in a law suit by the Catholic Health System seeking to stop the closure of St. Joseph Hospital. “It’s just wrong and people need to understand that, we’ve already paid our dues.” said Dennis McCarthy Catholic Health Systems.

So where does this report go from here?

Gov. George E. Pataki has until Dec. 5 to recommend the report’s findings to the Legislature, which has until the end of the year to reject or accept them. Lawmakers cannot pick and choose recommendations.

I find it highly unlikely that Gov. Pataki will reject the report; however, legislators can pass new legislation that would extend the statutory deadline.

…Governor Pataki negotiated with the federal government a waiver agreement that promises New York State an additional 1.5 billion dollars to help implement the commission’s recommendations.” Sandman said if the legislature were to reject the commission’s recommendations, then the state would forfeit that 1.5 billion dollars.

$1.5 billion is a pretty strong incentive. Any word from Governor-Elect Eliot Spitzer?

In a statement released Tuesday, Spitzer called the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century’s recommendation to close 9 hospitals and reconfigure 48 others “one step in the process.” He said it must be “considered as an important element of a broader plan to fundamentally restructure New York’s healthcare system.”
(snip)
“As I have repeatedly stated, fixing our broken health care system will require hard decisions, sacrifice and leadership,” he said. “In the very near future, once I have reviewed the report, I will say whether as governor I would send this report to the Legislature.”

Would you like to voice your concerns?

The state Senate Health Committee will hold a public hearing on the hospital consolidation report. It is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday in Hearing Room A, Legislative Office Building, Albany. The Assembly Health Committee will hold regional hearings and accept comments. E-mail testimony to HealthHearing@ assembly.state.ny.us or mail to 822 Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248. Comments should be received by Dec. 8.

And don’t forget, you can also contact Assemblyman Joe Giglio and Senator Cathy Young. Their contact information is listed on the right-hand side of this page.

LOCAL

County approves $188M budget for 2007
… The budget includes a tax levy increase of 3.31 percent over 2006. It will require a tax levy of $41.2 million. The legislature adopted the budget to include amendments recommended by the Finance Committee last week: deferring of tourism grant program allocations to five chambers of commerce/business groups, including the Salamanca Area Chamber of Commerce; an increase in the interest earned from county investments from $700,000 to $900,000; an increase in funding for the Olean Municipal Airport from $22,000 to $27,500; and an increase in funding for bonded capital improvements at The Pines Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Olean from $866,650 to $870,000.

City moves closer to reassessing
OLEAN — Members of Common Council’s City Operations Committee agreed to move a plan to reassess all property in the city out of committee Tuesday.

Olean explores creating water, sewer authority
OLEAN — Olean Common Council members are considering creating a regional water and sewer authority to control the city’s water and sewer systems.

Allegany County should end year in the black;
BELMONT – After reviewing the 2007 budget, Allegany County Legislators heard good news from individual departments’ 2006 budget numbers.

Over 2,000 votes later, Szabo loses to Fanton by 19
WELLSVILLE – Even though she won four out of six districts in the Town of Wellsville, after absentee ballots were counted, Democrat Brenda Szabo still lost to Republican Dar Fanton by a margin of just 19 votes in the Nov. 7 election.

Voting machines out of date
BELMONT – Voters pulled the levers on the county’s voting machines in a national election for the last time on Nov. 7.

Tompkins told how he can make changes to sheriff department; Crandall feels legislature will back new sheriff 100 percent
BELMONT – Before Allegany County-Sheriff-elect William Tompkins takes office on Jan. 1, 2007, he wants to make sure some of his new ideas for the department will work.

STATE

New minority leader goes against tradition
ALBANY — When state Sen. Malcolm A. Smith is elected minority leader today — almost certainly by unanimous vote of his Democratic colleagues — he will bring a distinctly new personal, business and political background to the job.

Donohue may don robe yet
Anticipating that soon-to-be-former Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue’s appointment to the federal bench has been delayed or even doomed by the recent Democratic takeover of the U.S. Senate, talks are under way to find her a landing spot on the state Court of Claims, Republican sources say.

Extra school money is cut
The state’s highest court on Monday upheld a special panel’s ruling that New York City schools deserve extra funding but slashed the amount of extra money the state must provide those schools from $5.6 billion to $1.9 billion.

Plan targets lower courts
ALBANY — Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye will unveil a $10 million action plan this morning to reform New York’s nearly 1,300 town and village justice courts.

Pay, reform top new minority leader’s agenda
ALBANY — Newly installed Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith on Monday touted legislative pay raises and pledged to work toward reforming state government.

Hevesi probe gains subpoena powers
ALBANY — Gov. George Pataki on Monday signed papers giving special investigator David Kelley subpoena powers in determining whether embattled Comptroller Alan Hevesi should be removed from office.

Court: Pataki violated rights of sex offenders
ALBANY — The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that New York violated the rights of a dozen sex offenders who were forced into psychiatric facilities when their prison sentences ended.

Caution urged on spending by board
ALBANY — A state board is rushing through billions of dollars worth of spending and future debt during the last few months of Gov. George Pataki’s term, Comptroller Alan Hevesi charged Tuesday.

Report: Justice courts need $10M in updates
ALBANY — The state’s top judges called Tuesday for reforming New York’s nearly 1,300 town and village justice courts by requiring recordings of court proceedings, monthly electronic revenue reports to the state comptroller, more legal training for non-lawyer justices and assessments of courtroom security.

Pataki transfers campaign funds to travel PAC
ALBANY — Outgoing Gov. George Pataki, who is contemplating a presidential run in 2008, has transferred the bulk of funds left in his state campaign committee to a Virginia-based political action committee he uses to pay for national travel.

Top commissioner weighs exit
ALBANY — Paul Shechtman, a former Pataki administration official and head of the state Lobbying and Ethics commissions, said Tuesday he is contemplating stepping down from his posts.

Bruno details secret spending
ALBANY — Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on Wednesday released a list of tens of millions of dollars in spending on member items, including the names of Republican legislators that he refused to identify until a court ordered him to do so.

GOP leadership comes into play
ALBANY — A battle is brewing for control of the state Republican Party, with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on one side and a former upstate GOP county chairman on the other.

Pataki adviser gets state Senate post
ALBANY — Senate Republicans opened a senior post for one of Gov. George Pataki’s top policy directors.
Jeff Lovell will become the Senate’s top fiscal officer, Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said Wednesday. Bruno’s office would not say how much Lovell will be paid, saying only that it would be more than his $175,100 salary in the governor’s office.

Governor to push bill to commit sex offenders
ALBANY — Legislators will have to work through some major sticking points if they want to pass a bill allowing for the “civil commitment” of dangerous sex offenders who have already served their prison terms, officials said Wednesday.

Court asked to stay out of leak case
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Saturday asked the Supreme Court to refrain from stepping into another First Amendment battle featuring federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and The New York Times.

NATIONAL

Schumer sees time for action
NEW YORK — Now that they have won control of both houses of Congress, Democrats must get to work on issues including raising the minimum wage, renegotiating prescription drug prices for seniors and lowering energy costs, Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday.

Rage, grief engulf Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq — At least 101 Iraqis died in the country’s unending sectarian slaughter Wednesday, and the U.N. reported that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll of the war and one that is sure to be eclipsed when November’s dead are counted.

Congress to focus on drug legislation
WASHINGTON — Efforts to allow Americans access to cheaper prescription drugs from abroad should blossom once Democrats assume control in Congress, but it won’t be a top priority, lawmakers and health care experts said.

Democrats raise security issues
WASHINGTON — Democrats poised to take control of Congress say they’ll work to implement the unfinished business the 9/11 Commission recommended to better protect America from terrorists. But it won’t be easy.

Gates had plan for Nicaragua
WASHINGTON — In 1984, Robert Gates, then the No. 2 CIA official, advocated U.S. airstrikes against Nicaragua’s pro-Cuban government to reverse what he described as an ineffective U.S. strategy to deal with communist advances in Central America, previously classified documents say.

Iraq violence upsets plans for summit
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran and the United States are playing a complicated diplomatic game, jockeying for influence in Iraq as violence there spirals out of control, but there is one major wild card in dueling summits planned for coming days: Syria.

Market pinched by oil firms?
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — In California’s lower San Joaquin Valley, petroleum has gushed up more riches than the whole gold rush. So the rumor that Shell Oil Co. would simply close its Bakersfield refinery seemed to make no sense. Yet it was true

Voting problems persist
After six years of technological research, more than $4 billion spent by Washington on new machinery and a widespread overhaul of the nation’s voting system, this month’s midterm election revealed that the country is still far from able to ensure that every vote counts.

Hopefuls seeking activists’ backing
CONCORD, N.H. — He does not come armed with posies and poetry, but when it comes to courting Democratic activists, John Edwards is a determined suitor.

Cheney meets with Saudi king
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Vice President Dick Cheney sought Saudi help on Saturday in dealing with Iraq’s spiraling violence and other regional trouble spots where U.S. policy is on the line: Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

Democrats vow an array of investigations
WASHINGTON – The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is promising an array of oversight investigations that could provoke sharp disagreement with Republicans and the White House.

Iraq group a study in secrecy, centrism
WASHINGTON – In the history of U.S. foreign policy, there’s been nothing like it: a panel outside government trying to bail the United States out of a prolonged and messy war.

The handwriting on the greenhouse wall
While the political debate over global warming continues, top executives at many of the nation’s largest energy companies have accepted the scientific consensus about climate change and see federal regulation to cut greenhouse gas emissions as inevitable.

New issues likely to emerge under Democrats
Black lawmakers are likely to lead key committees in the new, Democrat-led House, and that means issues such as Hurricane Katrina relief, hate crimes and voting problems are likely to get much more attention.

Huckabee goofs may not bode well for ’08
… Arkansas’ Ethics Commission has admonished Huckabee for violations five times in 14 years, once for taking money from an organization whose donors have never been listed. He jokingly attributed his weight loss to a “concentration camp” diet and once called his state a “banana republic.”

Is America ready for a Mormon president?
BOSTON – A charismatic communicator with an actor’s good looks, a glowing resume and socially conservative politics, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could be a dream candidate for Republicans in the 2008 White House race.
But is America ready to elect a Mormon president?

McCain stands alone on Iraq troops
WASHINGTON – As violence grips Iraq, some White House hopefuls want U.S. troops to start coming home now, or at least soon. Others say the United States must win at all costs. One has called for Iraq to be carved up along ethnic lines. And then there’s Sen. John McCain.

Reno, ex-Justice officials criticize terror law
WASHINGTON – Former Attorney General Janet Reno and seven other former Justice Department officials filed court papers Monday arguing that the Bush administration is setting a dangerous precedent by trying a suspected terrorist outside the court system.

How Moqtada al-Sadr Controls U.S. Fate in Iraq
Dec. 4, 2006 issue – One way to understand Moqtada al-Sadr is to think of him as a young Mafia don. He aims for respectability, and is willing to kill for it. Yet the extent of his power isn’t obvious to the untrained eye. He has no standing army or police force, and the Mahdi Army gunmen he employs have no tanks or aircraft. You could mistake him—at your peril—for a common thug or gang leader. And if he or his people were to kill you for your ignorance, he wouldn’t claim credit. But the message would be clear to those who understand the brutal language of the Iraqi Street.

Marines’ commander: Corps may need to grow
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Marine Corps may need to grow to sustain commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan and remain ready for other crises, the force’s new commander said Wednesday.

Number of uninsured children in state up 17%

ALBANY – The number of children in New York State without health insurance grew by 17 percent last year, marking the first time that it has gone up in nearly a decade, according to a report released Tuesday.

The spike marks a turnaround after years of steady progress in reducing the ranks of uninsured children in the state. Between 1998 and 2004, the number of uninsured children in New York was cut nearly in half, according to the Children’s Defense Fund of New York, which produced the report.

The increase last year means there are now about 415,000 uninsured children in the state, or 9 percent of children and teenagers. The vast majority of uninsured children – 70 percent – are eligible for state health insurance programs, according to the group.
(snip)
More families could simply be dropping out of increasingly costly private health insurance programs, Bragdon said. Rather than increasing enrollment in state insurance programs, he said, the report shows the need to make private health insurance more affordable.

Even if the 70 percent of uninsured children eventually are covered, that still leaves 124,500 children who are not be eligible for the state-run programs. This is simply unacceptable.

The “self-regulating market policy” is no longer an effective policy for health care in the United States.

The high cost of health insurance is affecting many aspects in our country, including employers, employees, and families and/or individuals who try to seek coverage on their own initiative. Its time for a change; time to no longer allow people to fall through the cracks; time for people to receive medical attention no matter their income level; time to let lapse the policy of people becoming extremely ill or even dying because they cannot afford medical care.

It is shameful that in a country as rich and advanced as the United States, we allow this type of (non) treatment to happen.

LOCAL

John, new SNI officials take office
IRVING – New Seneca Nation President Maurice John Sr. was administered the oath of office by new Clerk Jackie Bowen, but not without a little controversy before the ceremony.

Finance Committee to consider $188M county budget
LITTLE VALLEY – Review of the 2007 tentative Cattaraugus County budget of $188 million has moved on to the County Finance Committee.

Chambers may get less than they expected from county in ’07
LITTLE VALLEY – The Salamanca Area Chamber of Commerce and four other chambers/business groups may be receiving less than they hoped for in tourism promotion grant funding in 2007.

GV to begin comprensive plan work
GREAT VALLEY – Great Valley Town planners will start work later this month on the town’s first comprehensive plan.
The decision to create such a plan was made after results of a resident survey were tabulated over the summer. The survey was sent to 956 residents in June. Darts said the Planning Board received 187 responses – 19.5 percent.

New water, sewer zones created for GV housing development
GREAT VALLEY – The town board voted to create a new water and sewer zone at its regular meeting Monday night.
The new zones will allow a new housing development on Route 219, across the road from the Fred Schultz vegetable stand, to proceed.

Wastewater plant upgrade could cost $13M if BPU takes casino sewage
SALAMANCA – Wastewater treatment plant capacity expansion, mostly to treat wastewater coming from the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel, may cost roughly $13 million, consultants told the Board of Public Utilities.

John praises upcoming traffic safety improvements on Broad St., Route 438
SALAMANCA – Seneca Nation President Maurice “Moe” John Sr. today praised an announcement by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) that two traffic safety improvements will be made on Seneca territory.

City taxpayers may see drop in county tax rate
LITTLE VALLEY – Cattaraugus County committees have sent the $188 million 2007 tentative budget to the legislature with a tax levy increase of under 4 percent. The legislature may approve the budget when it meets Tuesday.

Revisions to budget reduce tax burden by $325,000
LITTLE VALLEY — The Cattaraugus County Legislature’s Finance Committee on Thursday approved revisions to the tentative 2007 county budget that cut the tax levy by $325,000.
The revised property tax levy is $41.1 million, a 3.31 percent increase from the 2006 levy.
After Thursday night’s Finance Committee action, the budget now carries a full-value tax rate of minus 1.9 percent. When the tentative budget was introduced last week the full-value rate was down 1.18 percent, going from the 2006 rate of $12.65 per $1,000 to $12.50 in the 2007 budget.

Judge reserves decision in bid to stop mining near Gargoyle
LITTLE VALLEY — A judge may decide in the next few days to stop gravel mining operations near Gargoyle Park in the town of Allegany and city of Olean.

Mayor’s business told not to claim tax credits on reservation gas
OLEAN — Mayor David Carucci’s business, Premo Limousine Service, was ordered by the state Department of Taxation and Finance to stop claiming tax credits on tax-free gasoline purchased from Seneca Nation gas dealers.
The state investigated the mayor’s business at the urging of Scott Paoletto. Mr. Paoletto is a former driver for Premo Limousine and a former candidate for mayor. He lost the 2005 election that Mayor Carucci won. He’s also been a frequent critic of Mayor Carucci’s administration.

City asks county for double the help
LITTLE VALLEY — Olean Public Works Director Thomas Windus pressed for $142,500 for the city-operated Cattaraugus County Olean Airport at county budget meetings Monday.

City meets with state, company officials on parcel reassessments
OLEAN — Common Council members met with officials from the state office of Real Property Services and a company hoping to win the city business to reassess all 6,500 parcels in Olean Tuesday.

Cleanup of site will cost millions
OLEAN — An environmental consulting firm has determined that it will take $3 million to $50 million to ready the former Agway-Felmont industrial site in North Olean for development.

County tax increase dropped to 3.29 percent; Increase in dump permits means decrease in taxes
BELMONT – The tax rate increase in the 2007 county budget continues to tumble.
Legislators reviewed the 2007 tentative budget Wednesday in a Committee of the Whole meeting at the Allegany County Jail and Public Safety Facility and made a couple of tweaks that will lower the property tax rate increase to 3.29 percent.

County employees still take home cars
BELMONT – The Ways and Means committee reviewed exemptions for take-home county vehicles Wednesday and made no changes.
Several department heads went in front of the committee to plead their case for having a take-home vehicle and all those made exempt in 2005, continued to be so this time.

Alternative for tourism department to be presented next month
BELMONT – Local business owners and Chamber of Commerce members asked legislators to allow them to develop their own proposal for the county’s tourism department.
During Monday’s Planning and Development committee meeting, some of those who lent support for Tourism Director Jesse Case at Thursday’s budget hearing were back to talk about alternative plans for the tourism department.

STATE

State paid millions for Medicaid patients who already were dead
ALBANY – The state paid medical providers $3.6 million in the past three years for thousands of Medicaid patients who were dead, according to an audit released Wednesday.

New voting machines called unlikely in ’07
ALBANY (AP) – Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Wednesday that new voting machines likely wouldn’t be available in New York City for the 2007 elections.

Weapons training on lakes opposed
ROCHESTER (AP) – A group of mayors from 80 Great Lakes cities called on the Coast Guard Monday to drop plans for offshore weapons training on the lakes.

Mondello to take reins of state GOP
ALBANY – The longtime Nassau County Republican Party leader has the votes to become the next chairman of the state GOP, according to State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick.
The expected takeover of the party on Nov. 30 by Joseph Mondello from Stephen Minarik of Monroe County comes a week after the GOP suffered one of its most humiliating electoral defeats, losing every statewide office as well as seats in the State Senate and Assembly.

Campaign pledges are put to test
ALBANY — During his first trip to Albany as governor-elect Monday, Eliot Spitzer told legislative leaders he considers them “friends” and asked them to help him end the gridlock that has long gripped state government.

Tedisco still leads minority in Assembly
ALBANY — Assembly Republicans re-elected James Tedisco as their minority leader Monday despite the fact that they lost three seats on his watch in last week’s elections, shrinking their already small conference to 42 members.

Negative report on parks disputed
ALBANY — A park advocacy group’s claim of a $140 million repair backlog in the state parks system drew fire Tuesday from Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Bernadette Castro.

Key fiscal job expected to open
ALBANY — The top fiscal officer for Senate Republicans is departing her job and a key aide to Gov. George Pataki is in the running for the post, government sources said Tuesday.

$8.4M plan sees more public access to canals
ALBANY — Grants for 54 projects to improve public facilities along New York’s 524-mile canal system were approved Thursday by the state Thruway Authority.

Election hopes fade for Spano
YONKERS — State Sen. Nicholas Spano, a 20-year incumbent and assistant majority leader, called his Democratic opponent “the apparent victor” Thursday but held out hope that paper ballots would still give him the election.

Spitzer leans to ouster of Hevesi
ALBANY — Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer will almost certainly ask the state Senate to remove Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, who used a state worker as a chauffeur for his ailing wife, after the Legislature’s new term begins in January, people involved in the discussions said Thursday.

Advocate calls for spending on needy
ALBANY — Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer is catching a couple of breaks on the financial front, with a booming Wall Street likely to boost state revenues more than expected and Medicaid costs increasing more slowly than predicted.

Spitzer Names Policy Advisers for Transition to Governor
Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer yesterday announced the leaders and members of 13 policy advisory committees who will counsel him while he prepares to take office as the first Democratic governor of New York in a dozen years. The choices provide an early glimpse of whom his main advisers may be as he seeks major reform in Albany.

NATIONAL

Afghanistan drug trade cited in rising attacks
KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgent activity in Afghanistan has risen fourfold this year, and militants now launch more than 600 attacks a month, a rising wave of violence that has resulted in 3,700 deaths in 2006, a bleak new report released Sunday found.

Scientists promise stronger proof of global warming
NAIROBI, Kenya — A long-awaited report by an international scientific network will offer “much stronger” evidence of how man is changing Earth’s climate, and should prompt reluctant governments into action against global warming, the group’s chief scientist said Monday.

A photo, number, a grave untold
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Baghdad’s morgues are full.
With no space to store bodies, some victims of the sectarian slaughter are not being kept for relatives to claim, but photographed, numbered and quickly interred in government cemeteries. Men fearful of an anonymous burial are tattooing their thighs with names and phone numbers.

Bush and Iraq bipartisan commission exchange ideas
WASHINGTON — President Bush traded ideas on Iraq with a bipartisan commission Monday and promised to work with the incoming Democratic majority toward “common objectives.” At the same time, he renewed his opposition to any timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops.

Fewer troops in Iraq urged
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in the Senate vowed on Sunday to use their new congressional majority to press for troop reductions in Iraq within a matter of months, stepping up pressure on the administration just as President Bush is to be interviewed by a bipartisan panel examining future strategy for the war.

Swept into a lair of terror
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Signs of the abduction were everywhere. A splatter of blood smeared on the gray floor. A black telephone, yanked out of its socket, tangled in a mess of cords. And at the receptionist desk, next to a pile of papers, a single pink rose, abandoned in the chaos.

Warrant fans flames of violence
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Shiite-led Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant Thursday for the top leader of the country’s Sunni minority — a move certain to inflame already raging sectarian violence in Iraq.
Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, a Shiite, announced on state television that Harith al-Dhari was wanted for inciting terrorism and violence among the Iraqi people.

U.N. calls on Israel to end operation
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly called for an end to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip on Friday, overwhelmingly passing a resolution in an emergency special session the Israeli ambassador blasted as a “farce” and a “circus.”

Bad start for Bush Asia trip
HANOI, Vietnam — President Bush, trying to stiffen global resolve to confront North Korea, failed to win South Korea’s support today for a tough inspection program to intercept ships suspected of carrying supplies for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missiles.

Modest goals on warming adopted
NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.N. climate conference ended Friday with a plan for a slow-paced timetable to get future cuts in global-warming gases. The deal reflected hopes that the United States, China and other outsiders will eventually join the controls regime.

States move to restrict mercury air pollution
WASHINGTON — Air quality regulators in at least 22 states — including New York — have concluded that the Bush administration’s approach to cutting mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants is too weak and are pursuing tougher measures of their own.

Convoy seizure spurs search
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The mystery surrounding the kidnapping of four American security contractors and their Austrian co-worker deepened on Friday, a day after their convoy was hijacked by about 30 gunmen in Iraqi police uniforms in a rugged desert strip near Iraq’s border with Kuwait.

A global problem is local in China
DOLKA, China — At the two glacial lakes that give birth to the Yellow River, a Tibetan nomad named Tsende stands at the river’s edge and rolls up his pants.

Democrats to focus on ethics reform
WASHINGTON — After railing for months against congressional corruption under Republican rule, Democrats on Capitol Hill are divided on how far their proposed ethics overhaul should go.

Drug used on troops could be a killer
BALTIMORE — A blood-coagulating drug designed to treat rare forms of hemophilia is being used on critically wounded U.S. troops in Iraq despite evidence it can cause clots that lead to strokes, heart attacks and death in other patients, The (Baltimore) Sun reported for Sunday’s editions.

A Tough Road Ahead for the President’s Closest Adviser
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 — Karl Rove, the top White House political strategist, is coming off the worst election defeat of his career to face a daunting task: saving the president’s agenda with a Congress not only controlled by Democrats, but also filled with Republican members resentful of the way he and the White House conducted the losing campaign.

U.S. Signals New Incentives for North Korea
HANOI, Vietnam, Nov. 19 – In a series of closed-door meetings on the edges of the economic summit meeting of Asian nations here, President George W. Bush and his aides have signaled that they will dangle a new set of incentives for North Korea to give up nuclear weapons and technology, United States officials said.

Unlike Clinton, Bush Sees Hanoi in Bit of a Hurry
HANOI, Vietnam, Sunday, Nov. 19 — President Bush likes speed golf and speed tourism — this is the man who did the treasures of Red Square in less than 20 minutes — but here in the lake-studded capital of a nation desperately eager to connect with America, he set a record.
On Saturday, Mr. Bush emerged from his hotel for only one nonofficial event, a 15-minute visit to the Joint P.O.W./M.I.A. Accounting Command, which searches for the remains of the 1,800 Americans still listed as missing in the Vietnam War.

Bush Compares U.S. Wars in Vietnam, Iraq
(AP) President Bush, on his first visit to a country where America lost a two-decade-long fight against communism, said Friday the Vietnam War’s lesson for today’s confounding Iraq conflict is that freedom takes time to trump hatred.

White House conducting its own Iraq review
WITH THE PRESIDENT, SINGAPORE – White House officials confirm that President Bush has ordered his aides to do their own review of the administration’s Iraq policy.

Pentagon money-saving travel site – doesn’t
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon that gave taxpayers a $434 hammer and a $600 toilet seat cover now has a half-billion-dollar travel booking system that is bypassed by more than eight in 10 users.

Florida opens criminal probe in Foley case
MIAMI – Florida has opened a full criminal investigation into sexually explicit Internet messages from disgraced former Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, whose resignation amid scandal helped Democrats win control of Congress, officials said Thursday.

Levin, Skelton may turn up heat on Iraq
WASHINGTON – The two Democrats who will lead the Armed Services committees next year indicated Wednesday they will not relent in opposing President Bush’s Iraq policies and may turn up the heat.

Democrats join to raise minimum wage
WASHINGTON – Democrats are readying a maximum effort to raise the minimum wage.
Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said Thursday that increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 would be his top priority as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Sharp Divides in Congress Over Iraq
(AP) Congress remains sharply divided over U.S. policy in Iraq, casting doubt on plans by leading senators to make a bipartisan recommendation to President Bush by January.

U.S. Backs Landmark Nuke Deal With India
(AP) The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly endorsed a plan allowing the United States to ship civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India, handing President Bush an important victory on one of his top foreign policy initiatives.

Dismay Grows Over US Torture School
…. Founded in Panama in 1946 and moved to Fort Benning in 1984, the SOA has trained more than 60,000 Latin American soldiers in military and law-enforcement tactics. The Pentagon has acknowledged that in the past the SOA used training manuals advocating coercive interrogation methods and extra-judicial executions, and over time SOA alumni have been linked to many of Latin America’s most heinous human rights atrocities, from widespread torture to massacres of young children.
A Sometimes Awkward Changing of the Guard
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 — It was a topsy-turvy week in the Capitol, one of resurrection and role reversal as ascendant Democrats — and a Republican or two — strutted back to power.
Most Republicans were trying to come to grips with their drastically reduced status as the new minority. Although they had contemplated the prospect of losing control of the Congressional apparatus, the reality was slow to sink in. The suddenly silent phones and the constant presence on cable news broadcasts of formerly obscure Democrats were unsettling, to say the least.

After 50 years, Holocaust archive going public
BAD AROLSEN, Germany – The 21-year-old Russian sat before a clerk of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate’s office, describing the furnaces at Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where he had been a prisoner until a few weeks previously.

Embittered insiders turn against Bush
The weekend after the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, Kenneth Adelman and a couple of other promoters of the Iraq war gathered at Vice President Cheney’s residence to celebrate. The invasion had been the “cakewalk” Adelman predicted. Cheney and his guests raised their glasses, toasting President Bush and victory. “It was a euphoric moment,” Adelman recalled.
Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that “the president is ultimately responsible” for what Adelman now calls “the debacle that was Iraq.

Democrats to push pocketbook issues
After retrieving control of Congress for the first time in a dozen years, Democrats will set out to redefine the domestic agenda through policies they say would address the economic needs of middle- and working-class Americans.
Striving for a few quick legislative victories in January and longer-term goals whose details — and viability — are not yet certain, Democratic lawmakers want to shift the dialogue on Capitol Hill to workers’ pay, college tuition, health-care costs, retirees’ income and other issues that touch ordinary families.

The U.S. government has vowed that Americans will never be hungry again. But they may experience “very low food security.”
(snip)
Mark Nord, the lead author of the report, said “hungry” is “not a scientifically accurate term for the specific phenomenon being measured in the food security survey.” Nord, a USDA sociologist, said, “We don’t have a measure of that condition.”

You know what? A hungry human being doesn’t care much about using a “scientifically accurate term” to describe how they are feeling. Just ask anyone who has experienced hunger.

The USDA said that 12 percent of Americans — 35 million people — could not put food on the table at least part of last year. Eleven million of them reported going hungry at times. Beginning this year, the USDA has determined “very low food security” to be a more scientifically palatable description for that group.

Are we as a nation ashamed of that fact yet? 35 million people is quite a large number. I don’t think we have enough charity-run soup kitchens to accommodate this amount.

From the Food Research and Action Center :

The number of people in the worst-off households (previously called “food insecure with hunger” and now called “very low food security” households) actually rose in 2005, from 10.7 to 10.8 million. The percentage of households in this category stayed flat at 3.7 percent. This lack of improvement in the worst-off households is consistent with other studies and the Census Bureau poverty data, which show worsening conditions for the poorest Americans.

“It is simply unacceptable that after years of economic growth, 35.1 million people in this country face a constant struggle against hunger,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). …

The 35.1 million number for 2005 includes 22.7 million adults (10.4 percent of all adults) and 12.4 million children (16.9 percent of all children). Of those, 10.8 million lived in households that were considered to have “very low food security,” a new USDA term that means one or more people in the household were hungry over the course of the year because they couldn’t afford enough food.

I agree. This is simply unacceptable in a country as rich as ours. However, I don’t look to this current administration to significantly help solve the problem. I get the feeling that they believe that social programs are something best left to churches and charities. (Remember Katrina and its victims? Many are still waiting for relief.)

NY Statistics:

Food Insecurity (low or very low food security): Average 2003 – 2005: 10.4%; Average 2000-2002: 9.4%; Change: 1.0%
Very Low Food Security: Average 2003 – 2005: 3.1%; Average 2000-2002: 2.9%; Change: .2%

NY State ranks 32nd in the nation for “Prevalence of household-level food insecurity and very low food security by State 2003-2005″

For your review – the complete USDA report: Household Food Security in the United States, 2005