January 31, 2008

Dear Local Government Official:

As you may know, two bills have been introduced in the state Legislature that would re-authorize Article X of the Public Service Law which is designed to streamline the siting review and approval process for major electric generating facilities. (A brief summary of the proposed provisions is shown on Page 2). Wind farm projects that meet certain thresholds established for power plants are included in these proposals, with the process governed by a statewide siting board.

Town of Warsaw Democratic Committee announces after endorsing Douglas Ingles as their candidate for Warsaw Town Council, November 2007 elections were held and Doug was sucessful in obtaining a seat on the Town Council!

I love living in the country. On summer nights, I hear cows, crickets, the occasional squirrel battle, and one other sound that has become very familiar. The best description I can give is this: close your eyes and imagine the sound of a metal garbage can hitting a cement wall. Got that sound? Good.

My children attend Pavilion Central School, where a lunch ticket costs $12 and serves 10 lunches. I priced it out a while ago - for a sandwich, side, fruit, dessert and beverage I can hardly beat that price. And I like that my kids are having varied lunches with nutritional content.

I never like to post one of these without a few comments, so here they are:

- Make sure that you check out convictions. We had a "sex offender" move in the neighborhood two years ago. Turns out he was 18 at the time and the girl was 14. It's entirely possible she said she was older - stuff happens - and I won't throw tomatoes at his house without knowing more. Now, a guy who's 60 and convicted of sex with a 14-yr-old I'd stay far, far away from.

So my kids (ages 6 and 4) have this write-on, wipe-off white board that they color on. We like it because it doesn't spread paper all over the house. They like it because it's easy to color on.

But, over time, it gets stained. The white isn't as white as when we first bought it. And when the youngest accidentally colored on it with permanent markers (Sharpies), we figured it was toast.

If you haven't heard of it, there's a high school science teacher in Batavia who is going through the process of becoming a woman.

Some parents want their students removed from the classroom and are being denied. Most students say "it's no big deal," but really, what are they supposed to say? Can any teenager in the social pressure cooker that is high school be expected to make a stand one way or the other?

you're surely SOL this week.

This summer, in fact. I can't remember when it's been this bad in July and I'm a person who can't take the heat, so I remember.

Gah! There are days when I can't even type straight.

We went to Six Flags this holiday weekend and, once again, someone stopped to ask us about our car. The conversations are pretty much the same. By this time, I have the responses memorized.

Here's the car: a Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid that is in such demand there is a waiting list for them. We waited about three months for ours, but we were very lucky.

It's been a long, busy Mother's Day full of food, visits and activities. I'm just getting my kids to bed when I hear it ... fireworks.

To my fireworks-happy neighbors: believe it or not, I'm not interested in calling the sheriff. I believe you are allowed to be stupid on your own property. Or not, provided you have actually taken the time to figure out what you're doing.