Viewpoint

Incredible, Amazing Mindblowers!

1. July 20, July 17, July 7, July 2, June 18, June 8, June 4, May 30, May 16. These are the days the postal carrier delivered publicly-funded mail featuring County Executive Ed Mangano. That’s only what has arrived since he threatened a $40 million budget cut if legislators didn’t approve additional borrowing. On July 13, we learned that Nassau County finished 2011 with a $50.4 million deficit and faces, conservatively, a projected $45 million deficit for 2012. One hundred more county workers were sacked last week, and it’s just starters. Yet the brochures, postcards and booklets keep coming, some from the Industrial Development Agency, which doesn’t need to mail anything to residents, let alone “Thanks to County Executive Ed Mangano” postcards. Clearly the county executive doesn’t do subtlety or nuance. Half the space on the new county prescription discount card, initiated by former County Comptroller Howard Weitzman, is now taken up by Mr. Mangano’s picture. It was mailed to hundreds of thousands of families that never asked for another one. Some other public officials are abusers, but given the county circumstances and the timing, scale and seven-figure cost of it, this is way over the top. Incredible!

Is The Gas Bubble Bursting?

Bradford County, Pennsylvania, lies along the border with New York, several thousand feet above the gas-infused rock formation called the Marcellus Shale and less than a half-hour drive from the cities of Corning, Elmira and Binghamton. Last week, three Bradford County families reached a $1.6 million settlement with Chesapeake Energy of Oklahoma City (“America’s Champion of Natural Gas”), compensation for the ruination of their water wells by methane gas migrations from nearby high volume hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) operations. This is the first time ever that details of a Marcellus Shale settlement have been revealed to the public, at the insistence of the families.

Meanwhile, thousands of residents around the Binghamton area say the unproductive leases they signed with gas drillers several years ago have expired, but the drilling companies are claiming that the leases may be unilaterally renewed because the state’s fracking moratorium is a akin to a natural disaster or act of God.

Our Brave New World

Large sections of Ottawa Airport are now covered by high-definition cameras and wired for sound. The technology “will record conversations” in key areas, such as the primary inspection area for arriving international passengers, according to the official statement. Video and audio will be stored and retained. It’s part of the Canadian Border Services Agency plan to keep everyone safe from “organized crime and internal smuggling conspiracies.” Border services officers now have expanded powers to question, examine and search airport workers and both domestic and international travelers. Once any kinks are worked out this summer, the airports at Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver go online, and then all border crossings.

These are the Canadians, the “nice” North Americans. Some of their politicians are now funded by the same people who fund some of our politicians.

Is The Gas Bubble Bursting?

Bradford County, Pennsylvania, lies along the border with New York, several thousand feet above the gas-infused rock formation called the Marcellus Shale and less than a half-hour drive from the cities of Corning, Elmira and Binghamton. Last week, three Bradford County families reached a $1.6 million settlement with Chesapeake Energy of Oklahoma City (“America’s Champion of Natural Gas”), compensation for the ruination of their water wells by methane gas migrations from nearby high volume hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) operations. This is the first time ever that details of a Marcellus Shale settlement have been revealed to the public, at the insistence of the families.

Meanwhile, thousands of residents around the Binghamton area say the unproductive leases they signed with gas drillers several years ago have expired, but the drilling companies are claiming that the leases may be unilaterally renewed because the state’s fracking moratorium is akin to a natural disaster or act of God.

We Haven’t Fixed Health Care Yet

Forgive me if I don’t join in all the merriment and celebrating over the Affordable Health Care Act decision by the Supreme Court. The delivery of millions of Americans into the clutches of the insurance companies, without adequate cost controls, is not going to fix what is making our health care system sick. We don’t even need a single-payer system or a “public option” to make important changes that will lower costs, although either would be improvements to the non-systemic mess we have now. We can maintain a profitable role for private insurance companies, which are still an important element in the health care systems of some other industrialized countries whose citizens enjoy outstanding health care and lower costs.

Who Really Runs Things In Albany?

Over a period of time now measured in decades, I’ve tried to pay attention to what generates attention for some issues and problems, while other worthy causes languish. Over the last year, two issues have suddenly entered the public consciousness with unusual speed and depth, and both involve the chemical industry. When I first wrote about hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) to release natural gas and other energy resources for processing, it was still a strange and exotic subject to most readers. Now, most of us are at least a little familiar with concerns over the chemicals and the wastewater. And the earthquakes.

Technology Citizens

It is estimated that local governments in the United States spend a little over $37 billion on computer software systems that are antiquated, difficult to use or performing below expectations. Across America, we see desperate municipalities turning off street lights, leasing out control of parking meters and walking away from providing services with long, popular histories. Yet every time some local government decision makers sit down at a desk, they stare at a way to achieve significant savings and maybe to upgrade service quality, but don’t recognize it.

Around the world, governments are catching on to “open source” and its immense potential not just to save some bucks, but to change the culture of frustration and dread now shrouding many local agencies into one of innovation and promise. This isn’t just an issue about ones and zeroes that might appeal to techies. Open source represents an ethos and a mindset that is sadly and conspicuously lacking across Long Island governments.

Don’t Miss Opportunity To Do Better

In North Hemsptead, momentary political expediencies from 10 years ago are about to be hardened in place, saddled on top of citizens and taxpayers who didn’t do anything to deserve them. They desire, and pay top dollar, for better. It’s a good example for everyone of how important it is to do things right in the first place, because in any bureaucracy or a static political environment even the most obvious bad choices can become fossilized in place, with implications for decades.

Everyone lives in a place. The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes 1,189 cities, incorporated villages and unincorporated places in the State of New York. Out of those 1,189 recognized places, the three with the highest percentage of Asian residents and seven of the 10 with the highest percentage of Asian residents are within North Hempstead. Parts of New York City have many more Asian residents, but overall Asians make up only 12.7 percent of the city’s population. Of the 34 places in New York where at least 15 percent of residents are Asian, 20 of them are in Nassau County and 14 are primarily in North Hempstead. In southwestern North Hempstead, moving east and south from the Lake Success area, nearly a third of over 57,000 residents in contiguous villages and unincorporated neighborhoods are Asian. The voter rolls are changing.

Is It Time to Dissolve Nassau County?

It doesn’t have to be the disorganized, seat-of-the-pants, helter skelter dismantling that we’re heading toward. There may still be time for a controlled demolition. It is time to put on the table the possibility of dissolving the government of Nassau County. At least most of it.

Dissolution as a strategy to salvage critical functions is increasingly being raised as local governments around the United States run out of options.

A New Hope

1. And yet, there is hope. All over, in the oddest places, some people are seeing the folly.

2. When Moody’s downgraded the bonds of 16 Italian banks last week, they cited “government austerity reducing near-term economic demand.”

3. A Republican, anti-tax state legislator who represents suburban Bucks County in Pennsylvania has introduced legislation phasing out school property taxes and replacing them with state income and other taxes: “I love M&Ms as much as the next guy, but I’d be willing to pay an extra 7 cents for a $1 bag of candy if it meant my entire property tax bill would disappear,” he said.