Training of planning officials becomes law

ALBANY, NY — Starting on January 1, 2007, local planning and zoning officials will have to meet certain minimum training standards, due to a bill signed into law last week. The new law, Chapter 662, establishes a minimum training standard of four hours annually for members of local planning boards, zoning boards of appeal and county planning boards. The new law provides municipalities with the flexibility to structure the training requirement in a variety of ways. For instance, the New York Department of State hosts training courses throughout the year at various locations statewide at no cost. The state Association of Towns, Conference of Mayors and New York Planning Federation also offer training. In addition, free training and distance learning is available online.

Siptroth targets rising crime

HARRISBURG, PA — State Rep. John Siptroth, D-Monroe/Pike has presented a package of three proposals for consideration at the House of Representative’s Committee of the Whole session being held to discuss issues concerning crime and violence in Pennsylvania.

The first proposal would change the existing law that limits the number of state police officers in Pennsylvania. The 1929 law caps the number at 3,940 officers, excluding those assigned to duty with the Turnpike Commission or as resident state troopers. Siptroth’s plan would eliminate the cap.

The second proposal would allow private communities of 100 homes or more to apply for special police to patrol their communities, and would require those police to have the same training, and the same power and authority, as municipal police officers. Compensation for these special police would be borne by the community’s developers or homeowners’ association.

The third proposal would create a program under the state Department of Community and Economic Development to offer grants to municipalities to develop youth community centers. The measure would allocate $5 million in state funds and require communities to commit a minimum of 10 percent in matching funds for the community centers.

NY Senators request inquiry into partisan Pentagon hiring

WASHINGTON, DC — Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), together with several colleagues, have requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the hiring practices of the Pentagon following reports charging that partisan affiliations shaped the personnel decision for the Bush Administration in Iraq.

According to media reports, qualified applicants with language skills and experience in post-conflict reconstruction were rejected in favor of unqualified Republican Party loyalists. Individuals with political connections and little or no professional experience were placed in key positions to rebuild Iraq, including a 24-year old who had never worked in finance, but was assigned to reopen the Baghdad stock exchange.

The letter sent to the GAO expresses concern that the lack of qualifications in persons in charge of the reconstruction of Iraq may be partially responsible for the failure of American forces to establish stability in the region.

Clinton pushes for passage of AgJOBS bill

WASHINGTON, DC — Senator Hillary Clinton is urging the passage of the bipartisan Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act (AgJOBS) before Congress’s October recess. Clinton says her advocacy is a response to complaints that she has received from farmers around the state who are suffering from a severe labor shortage.

The AgJOBS bill would not only expand the current H-2A program, which allows farmers to bring foreign workers into the country on a temporary or seasonal basis, but would also modernize its procedures. The legislation would also provide a one-time adjustment to legal status for experienced farm workers who are already working in the country but who currently lack legal documentation.

According to the Farm Bureau, New York’s agricultural industry stands to lose $289 million with fruit and vegetable growers estimated to lose more than $100 million, if the labor shortage is not addressed.

Hinchey calls for investigation of suppressed media studies

WASHINGTON, DC — Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), along with several Senate colleagues, led a group of 34 House Democrats in calling on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Inspector General Kent R. Nilsson to conduct an investigation into the recent revelation that the agency hid two studies on media consolidation from the public. One of the studies illustrates the negative impact media consolidation has on the American public’s ability to receive local and diverse news coverage, while the other demonstrates the marked decrease in the diversity of radio station ownership in America. The Bush administration’s position has been that limits on media ownership should be removed, allowing for further consolidation.

“If one or both of these reports were suppressed because they did not support official FCC policy, such actions could not only constitute fraud, but could also run counter to the FCC’s stated goals of transparency and public involvement in its media ownership proceedings,” the 34 House Democrats wrote in a letter sent today to Nilsson. “We believe that a full accounting of the circumstances surrounding the possible suppression of these reports is essential if the FCC is to be perceived as acting in good faith on media ownership issues by Congress and the American people.”

New litigation against Yukiguni

WURTSBORO, NY — The Basha Kill Area Association (BKAA) has filed another lawsuit against Yukiguni Maitaki Manufacturing Corporation of America and the Town of Mamakating Planning Board regarding the proposed mushroom plant. The suit contends that the board has failed to address the potential impacts of the project on the Basha Kill Wildlife Area and the Shawangunk ridge and that there were 12 or more required mitigations that had not been dealt with at the time approval for the plan was given last August, among other charges.

In previous litigation on this matter, courts have so far ruled against the BKAA. Yukiguni will move to have the charges dismissed over the next few weeks.