Thrusday, January 31, 2008



Our Readers Respond...




Reader Defines Guardian’s Mission


Dear Editor:




Great job on your paper. You are the only one telling the real story of what goes on in the County.


Chris Bonante




Thank you! It’s nice to be appreciated. - Editor


Assemblywoman Galef Sets Forth 2008 Priorities




Dear Editor:


After working hard for years on critical issues facing the 90th Assembly District as well as New York State, I was very pleased to hear many of my priorities for 2008 echoed in Governor Spitzer’s State of the State message.


Currently, property taxes are spiraling out of control. That’s why, as chairperson of the Assembly Real Property Tax committee, I introduced legislation calling for a Blue Ribbon Commission of experts to come up with solutions for alternative school funding mechanisms. One possible solution, similar to the fix in place in Massachusetts, caps taxes but allows school districts to override the cap for high need items.


I also introduced a middle-class circuit breaker bill to help those most acutely impacted by property tax increases. Governor Spitzer proposed a similar bipartisan commission to offer recommendations that look at root causes of high taxes, make tax relief fairer for middle class taxpayers, and offer a fair and effective cap to school property taxes. I will continue to work with this commission and support
property tax relief.


My commitment to help constituents rein in costs also aligns with energy savings in my Smart Meter bills, another priority Governor Spitzer highlighted. Smart metering allows homeowners to control utility costs with an in-home monitor that displays minute-by-minute costs of energy based on demand. This reduces costs and helps households cut back overall energy consumption, specifically at highcost,
high demand times. It mitigates potential overflow on the utility’s grid, and helps the environment.



I have and will continue to push for consolidation of government and shared services between school districts, municipalities, county and state government. Surely, in this time of economic hardship we can do better at reducing overlap and streamlining processes. My work on children’s health and wellness, education and government reform are renewed priorities which the Governor supported in his message.


Please join me at my upcoming town meetings, call my office, and/or respond to my newsletter survey to let me know how we can partner. Together, we can maintain and improve the quality of life we’ve come to expect in New York State.


Sandy Galef, Assemblywoman 90th Assembly District




In Our Opinion....



Andrew Cuomo Is Getting Bad Advice And, What’s Worse, He’s Taking It


Firstly, Andrew Cuomo should not have stepped in to the Marty Tankleff case, particularly, as a Special Prosecutor at the behest of Governor Eliot Spitzer. For one thing, the separation of powers between his office and the Governor’s would suggest a serious conflict.

Also, by accepting the Special Prosecutor status, a State Attorney General compromises his autonomy. He had the authority to step into the case without the Governor’s assignment.


Attorney General Cuomo should realize that if he had the power to investigate the “TrooperGate” misconduct of the Governor’s Office, and
the Governor had no power to quash it, he ought not be taking investigative assignments or prosecutorial assignments, from the Governor.
After all, the State Commission of Investigation was already involved in the case for a year. What was Spitzer up to? What is Cuomo up to?
Secondly, Andrew Cuomo was on the wrong side of the judicial candidate issue; nomination of State Supreme Court candidates by corrupt
horse-trading creatures like Judges Joseph Alessandro and Jonathan Lippman; using cross-endorsements to lock up election in the State’s
judicial districts, horse-trading patronage jobs with creatures like Giulio Cavallo, Zehy Jereis, and the like.


What does Mr. Cuomo know about the widespread RICO enterprise in the Matrimonial Part of State Supreme Court? What does he know
about the issuance of bogus Temporary Orders Of Protection, and the appointment of corrupt money-hungry law guardians? Why would he
opt to keep the courts as they are, shameful as they are? Is there no Constitutionally-forbidden issue that this Scalia-controlled Supreme Court will not put their shoe print on?


At law school, in Constitutional Law 101, we learned that the Supreme Court of the United States was not supposed to involve itself in matters political. Of course, that highest of all tribunals trashed that sacred rule in 2000 when it stepped into the election dispute between Al Gore and George Bush.