One of the hot issues being debated in Congress is the Stop Online Privacy Act or SOPA (a similar bill in the U.S. Senate is called Protect IP Act).  The internet world is waging a fierce battle against it, and I am pleased to see the opposition.

It is my view that SOPA is deeply flawed and being rushed through Congress without the proper due diligence of a substantive review.  I believe it creates a prior restraint of free speech on the internet and grants way too much power to the federal government to regulate speech and commercial activity, while eliminating rule of law safeguards to those regulated and sanctioned by the law.  I strongly urge opposition to this law as currently drafted.

I don’t deny that internet piracy is a real problem, but this law is a massively overbroad remedy to the problem.  Unfortunately, it appears to be moving quickly through both houses of Congress since it is backed by the massive money and power of the media corporate world.  The U.S. Senate vote is currently scheduled for January 24.

I am a bit distressed about what I am reading on the Weyman Avenue site. Apparently the sales tax for the most part has gone down through the years. The debt service is not far from the sales tax received. Is this an example of how development has no clear cut financial reward for the city? Sales tax is at the bottom of this email. e.g. $3.2 million in sales tax minus $2.8 in debt payments equals less than half a million dollars and I wonder how much school tax and county tax we are paying. Note the school taxes and county taxes are not included. The Finance Commissioner intially sent me this breakout:

2010 figures for Weyman Ave development:

Property Taxes = $1,830,000
Sales Taxes = $3,400,000
Amortized land sale proceeds = $283,000
Total Income = $5,513,000

Debt Service = $2,900,000

Amount of Income in Excess of Debt Service = $2,613,000

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The Finance Commissioner also said that we can not get a breakdown of sales tax by store as below:. Notice the sales tax has decreased.

City Management Guts the Fire Department and Decides to Gamble With Your Safety all to Save Less Than 3 Cents Per Day Per Resident

As we celebrate our 150th The City of New Rochelle slashed its first responder protection on Thursday cutting its minimum on duty firefighting contingent to 24 firefighters, 5 less than 2 years ago. Additionally, one of the department’s three ladder companies (LADDER 12), which conduct search, rescue and recovery operations, is no longer in service.

The city is gambling with the lives of its citizens to save less than 3 cents a day per resident. Will fire victims stuck on the upper floors of a building be able to hold their breath or survive the extra minutes it will take to rescue them, “if we ever get to them?”

New Rochelle’s proposed 2012 city budget calls for the Fire Department to eliminate another 9 firefighter positions on top of the already 16 reduced in the 2 previous years. This action will permanently close Ladder 12. The $770,000 budget saving would amount to less than 3 cents per resident per day or ½ of 1 per cent of the city’s total budget.

The Council Chambers were as bright as the October weather the day the Awards Ceremony for the New Rochelle Fire Department was held. Mayor Noam Bramson set the tone for the program by acknowledging the great sacrifices family members of firemen make. He continued that celebration of the promotions today for the service given is a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of our Fire Department. Then he characterized the department as one of the best in the Country. Promotions followed and Lou DiMeglio was sworn in as Fire Chief, Robert Benz as Deputy Fire Chief, Theodore Ferrara as Fire Captain and Brian O'Keefe and Raul Perez as Fire Lieutenants.
Fire Chief DiMeglio addressed the large number of both firefighters in uniforms who were being honored and their families and friends who were in the audience. He thanked the City for the opportunity to lead the Fire Department and acknowledged the leadership of former Fire Commissioner Ray Kiernan.

Ever since I entered the political world, October has been a crazy month. I have been helping candidates in campaigns or running myself every year since 1992. (Plus, Barbara Keating for U.S. Senate in 1974 and Frank Garito for Mayor in 1975 as a kid). When you are in October of a campaign, your life is upside down. Any serious candidate is out there campaigning about 15 hours per day. I have accomplished some very difficult things in my life such as Marine Corps boot-camp, passing the bar exam and litigating trials, and the last month of a campaign ranks up there with those tough chores.

In September 2010 a Task Force was chosen to prepare a report on potential
uses of Davids Island. Residents remember when Fort Slocum, a military base,
was closed in l966. This was followed by a series of proposals listed
in the report for the Island, all of which were abandoned. Notable among these
was the purchase of the Island by Con Edison for a nuclear plant and the
company's subsequent plan to build this plant only a mile or so from
residential areas. Among the reasons why it was rejected were the Atomic
Energy Commission Regulations which required plants to be 50 miles from a
populated area.

Then proposals by Xanadu in l980 and Trump in l995 envisioning high rise
buildings were also defeated because of residents' and nearby
communities' opposition. Following this was a plan for Hotel Columbia in 1977
and Westchester County's commitment to acquire the Island during the period l990

to 2010.
The City Council of New Rochelle voted to allow the federal government to
tear down all the buildings on the Island to remediate areas contaminated by
the military. But even after that, the 180 acre island, 40 acres of which are