Over 30 Long Island Bands Play for Kids
November 26, 2007
(Long Island New York) - The Long Island Music Scene will join together to support the Toys of Hope Childrens Charity on December 14th, 15th, and 16th. The sole purpose of this event is to unite the Local Long Island Music Scene for a worthy cause. The goal is to assist Toys of Hope with their personal mission to provide new toys, educational books, clothing, household goods, etc to those children and their families during this holiday season. Together we can make a difference!
This event will feature over 30 of your favorite local bands plus more to be announced including surprise guests. For the offical band lineup and to view the event flyer visit: http://www.toysofhope.org/jammin_for_kids.jpg
About Toys of Hope
The mission of Toys of Hope is to provide toys, books, clothing, activities and other items to needy and homeless children and their families. The guiding principal behind the Toys of Hope mission is that all children, regardless of financial status, race, religion or nationality, are deserving of those things which can help give them a happier and more fulfilling life. A now toy can mean everything to a needy or homeless child. It provides fun and enjoyment and gives a child a sense of pride in having something of their very own. Toys of Hope also provides essential items to needy families so that they can become more self sufficient and in turn help to improve their children’s lives.
Toys of Hope operates all year round and relies solely on volunteers to accomplish its mission. There are no paid employees and ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of all funds contributed goes towards helping needy and homeless children and their families.
The event will be held at the following locations:
December 14th: 5PM - 4AM
DJ Riders Rythm & Blues
3297 Long Beach Road
Oceanside, New York 11572
Bar: 516-766-9822 Bookings: 516-712-8929
www.djriders.com
December 15th: 3PM - 4AM
JD’S Place
1005B Fulton Street (Route 109)
Farmingdale, New York 11735
Bar: 631-755-8695
www.jdsplce.com
December 16th: 1PM - 10PM
DJ Riders Rythm & Blues
3297 Long Beach Road
Oceanside, New York 11572
Bar: 516-766-9822 Bookings: 516-712-8929
www.djriders.com
$10 Door Cover without donation
$ 5 Door Cover with donation.
You can bring your donations at the event or the Bars will be accepting drop off donations from Monday, October 1st through Sunday, December 16th 2007.
100% of All Proceeds and Donations go directly to the Toys of Hope Children’s Charity.
For more information about this wonderful nonprofit organization, please visit www.toysofhope.org
For more information about this event or should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Event / Media Contact:
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Christine McGuigan
Mcgiggs528 (at) aol.com
(516) 330-3378
SUPPORT the Local Long Island Music Scene and this worthy cause.
We’re Jammin’ For The Kids!
TOYS WANTED FOR THOSE KIDS IN NEED HERE ON LONG ISLAND!
Mysterious Crude Oil Spill on Long Island
November 26, 2007
The Nassau County Coast Guard has reported mysterious crude oil deposits which began washing ashore near Atlantic Beach Long Island. The spill is reported to be near 500-gallons. According to the New York Times, the incident was first reported by surfers who called the Coast Guard on Thursday morning to report oil clinging to their wet suits and tarlike balls along a mile of Atlantic and Long Beaches on the barrier island west of Jones Beach.
The spill, which is estimated to have originally happened on Thursday, affected a 2-and-a-half mile south shore section of Long Island beaches. Crews worked over 3 days to remove about 75 percent of the oil.
The Coast Guard still hasn’t pinpointed the source of the oil although Nine merchant ships have been identified to have passed in the area within 48 hours before the appearance of the discharge. Samples of their fuel will be taken and compared with the oil found on the beaches.
As many would like to believe that a ship could have been punctured or leaking, a discharge could have been intentional. Apparetnly it is a lot cheaper to get rid of the oil by dumping it rather than transporting it to a waste oil facility that can burn it to create electricity. That is what will happen to the oil collected from the beach.
People who find oil remnants are encouraged to call the 24-hour DEC Oil Spill Hotline at 800-457-7362 or the DEC Region I Spill Response Office at 631-444-0323.
Professionals Urge End to Water Fluoridation
November 25, 2007
New York - Over 1,100 dentists, physicians, scientists, academics and environmentalists urge Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. (fluorideaction.org)
Signers include a Nobel Prize winner, three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride’s toxicology, two officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters, the President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, and hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and environmental professionals, worldwide.
Signer Dr. Arvid Carlsson, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine, says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It’s really obsolete.”
An Online Action Petition to Congress in support of the Professionals’ Statement is available on FAN’s web site, www.fluorideaction.org.
“The NRC report dramatically changed scientific understanding of fluoride’s health risks,” says Paul Connett, PhD, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network. “Government officials who continue to promote fluoridation must testify under oath as to why they are ignoring the powerful evidence of harm in the NRC report,” he added.
An Assistant NY State Attorney General calls the report “the most up-to-date expert authority on the health effects of fluoride exposure.”
The Professionals’ Statement also references:
– The new American Dental Association policy recommending infant formula NOT be prepared with fluoridated water.
– The CDC’s concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical not systemic.
– CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children.
– Major research indicating little difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
– A Harvard study indicating a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer.
– The silicofluoride chemicals used for fluoridation are contaminated industrial waste and have never been FDA- approved for human ingestion.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a DC watchdog, revealed that a Harvard professor concealed the fluoridation/bone cancer connection for three years. EWG President Ken Cook states, “It is time for the US to recognize that fluoridation has serious risks that far outweigh any minor benefits, and unlike many other environmental issues, it’s as easy to end as turning off a valve at the water plant.”
Partially, as a result of this statement, at least one city, Cobleskill NY, stopped 54 years of water fluoridation. See: http://www.fluoridealert.org/news/2998.html
Many communities rejected or stopped fluoridation over the years. See: http://www.fluoridealert.org/communities.htm
On October 2, Juneau Alaska voters rejected fluoridation despite the American Dental Association’s $150,000 political campaign to return fluoride into the water supply after the legislative body voted it out.
Take Action to End Fluoridation. Sign the Online Petition to End Fluoridation and call for a Congressional Hearing
http://www.actionstudio.org/public/page_view_all.cfm?option=begin&pageid=8276
Contact: Bill Osmunson, DDS, MPH, Fluoride Action Network Spokesperson
bill@teachingsmiles.com Office 503.675.7300 Cell 425.466.0100 (Pacific Time)
or
Paul Connett, PhD, Canton, NY, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network, 315-379-9200 paul@fluoridealert.org
Sent: NYSCOF
Source: Fluoride Action Network http://www.FluorideAction.Net
Greed May Find Greedy Suitor
November 20, 2007
The Yankees may have lost all the respect they almost earned for once. When third baseman Alex Rodriguez opted out of his enormous contract during Game 4 of the World Series, the front office of the Bronx Bombers put their collective feet down and said that enough was enough. It seemed to be a decision that had to be made, regardless if they were a better team with him. What seemed to be an irreparable relationship that was headed for divorce court just made a detour at a marriage counselor.
Looking for a raise from $25.2 million a year to a repulsive $30 to $35 million, A-Rod walked away from his $252 million, 10-year free agent deal he signed with the equally oblivious Texas Rangers in 2001. The Yankees did not want to lose the Rangers’ $21 million pay-off throughout the final three years of the original deal and publicly stated that they were not going to negotiate with Rodriguez if he decided to opt out, which was a stipulation put into the contract.
The Yankees were set to sit down and talk with Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras, on an extension, but the slugger and Boras decided to use the opt-out clause before giving the Bombers a chance to make their offer, even ignoring requests from the team for a face-to-face meeting. This apparently infuriated Hank Steinbrenner, theson of George and main decision-maker since the elder Boss has taken a back seat of late.
At Boulton Center for The Performing Arts
November 20, 2007
November 16th, 2007…Bay Shore, NY - In 1955 Larry Chance was living in the Bronx and noticed vocal groups on every corner, so he developed his own in 1957 called the group the High-Hatters. By 1960 they had evolved into “the Earls.” Drummer and 2nd tenor, Bobby Tribiuzio has been with Larry since 1963. The current lineup includes George Tuzzeo, keyboards, Bobby Coleman, bass player and vocals, Chuck Mearizo, guitar and vocals.
Larry and company have placed a number of songs on the charts including: Life Is But a Dream, Never, I Believe, and the classic Remember Then.
Lenny Coco, Rocky Marsciano (first tenor), Jimmy Russo (2nd tenor) and Tony Danno (baritone and vocal arranger) perform throughout the tri-state area with their very distinctive sound – “its like having four groups in one.”
This is sure to be an evening of memorable experiences for anyone attending this show as Larry Chance shows always include audience participation as well as quite a few laughs. Please join us as we are whisked back to and era of flawless harmonies, the original doo wop era that put the street corner-society onto the national charts.
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday night, December 8th at 7:00 p.m. at the YMCA Boulton Center for The Performing Arts.
Tickets for the Sat., Dec. 8th show are available at http://www.boultoncenter.com/eventView.asp?idEvent=708 or by calling toll free 866-811-4111 or at the Box Office, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore, NY – (631) 969-1101.
read the entire media release……….
LIPA Proposes 2008 Operating Budget
November 20, 2007
Uniondale, NY- November 20, 2007-The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) today released its proposed 2008 Operating Budget anticipating revenues of $3.7 billion. The cost of the fuels used to generate electricity and the electricity that LIPA buys from suppliers, remain its largest single expenditure totaling 55% of the entire operating budget - and are projected to increase by 10% next year to more than $2 billion. Fuel and
purchased power costs have risen as a percentage of LIPA’s operating expense from 31% in 1999 to 55% for the proposed 2008 budget.
Despite the dramatic increases anticipated in the cost of fuel and purchased power, LIPA officials have employed a “smart management” approach in its budgeting practice in an effort to reduce operating expenditures for 2008 to help mitigate the impacts of the sharp increases in the Authority’s non-discretionary costs.
The net result is a modest increase in the Power Supply Charge back to the rate that was in effect at the beginning of 2007, which will add 2% or approximately $3 to the typical residential customer’s monthly bill -
less than the current price of one gallon of gasoline or home heating oil.
“This is an extremely tight budget,” said LIPA’s President and CEO Kevin S. Law. “We cut back in a number of ways, both large and small, to minimize the need to increase the Power Supply Charge despite the historic increases that are projected for the cost of fuel needed to produce electricity for LIPA’s customers.”
Mr. Law noted that 55% of LIPA’s budget goes for oil, gas and purchased power costs. Another 17% is spent to cover operating and maintenance costs; 16% for debt related costs; 11% on taxes and Payments in Lieu of
Taxes (PILOTS), and, contrary to public perception, less than 1% for salaries and benefits for LIPA’s employees and its professional services and general expenses.
With more than 95% of the Authority’s nearly $4 billion budget comprised of non-discretionary expenses, Law applied the scalpel to the discretionary portion of its spending plan and as a result, cut more than $8 million in spending.
Bring Music To Your Ears at Dowling College
November 19, 2007
Bring Music To Your Ears at Dowling College’s Holiday Concerts
OAKDALE, NY - Enjoy this holiday season with the sounds of Dowling College’s musical performances, taking place on the historic Rudolph Campus in Oakdale. The featured works are all in conjunction with Dowling’s Annual Theme of Globalism: One World.
Pianist Joel Rosenwasser
Pianist Joel Rosenwasser will be performing D. Scarlatti, J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart and others in the Fortunoff Hall Ballroom on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.
Jazz Ensemble
The Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Rich Cruz, will perform featured works A String of Pearls and Nutville by Buddy Rich in the Ballroom on Monday, December 3, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.
World Music Ensemble
The World Music Ensemble, directed by David Racanelli, will perform featured works Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and Spirit Voices by Paul Simon in the Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.
Chorus
The Chorus, conducted by Ronald Armanini, will perform featured works Missa brevis St. Joannis de Deo by Joseph Haydn and Elijah, Rock (spiritual) in the Ballroom on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.
Chamber Ensemble
The Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Paul Piekut, will perform featured works Christmas Medley & Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel in the Ballroom on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Symphony Orchestra
The Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Reynard Burns, will perform featured works Overture from The Abduction from the Seraglio by W.A. Mozart and Overture from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein in the Ballroom on Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Admission is free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact Ron Armanini, Coordinator of Musical Concerts at 631-244-3351.
Plastic Surgery: Decisions, Decisions
November 18, 2007
The news is perfect timing for me. As I’m considering going under the knife to correct some minor issues that came up after I gave birth to two children, the news headlines are plastered with the dangers of plastic surgery, following the tragic death of Donda West, mother of hip-hop star Kanye West. While the circumstances surrounding her death are still surfacing, one thing’s for sure: The nation is taking a closer look at these ‘elective’ surgeries and weighing the risks versus rewards. My heart goes out for the West family. Now that the nation’s talking about plastic surgery—I’m looking in the mirror and wondering if my own desires to get some work done should be re-examined.
A 2004 study published in the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, found that deaths occurring at office-based surgery facilities are rare—less than ¼ percent. More than 400,000 operative procedures in accredited office-based outpatient surgery centers were studied from 2000-2002. Serious complications were infrequent, occurring 1 in 298 cases or 0.34 percent with death occurring 1 in 51,459 cases or 0.0019 percent, which is comparable to the overall risk of such procedures performed in hospital surgery facilities. And a new study presented at the ASPS annual scientific conference in October reported similar findings
Common Cents: The Greatest Gift
November 16, 2007
“As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.”
If there is a time to be inspired by the words of the French poet Victor Hugo, it is the holiday season, which, while joyous for most, remains a time of despair for too many of our fellow citizens and global neighbors.
Hugo knew the great secret of charitable giving, that each act of generosity returns two gifts to the giver.
First, helping others makes us stronger. How often do we feel powerless or overwhelmed by the tangle of problems facing our communities, our country and our world? Self-sacrifice in the name of others replaces that feeling with an empowering sense of well-being.
Second, though we’re all individuals busy with our own families, we’re also members of communities. When the least fortunate are lifted – if an operation is made possible or critical medicines become available, or even if a child gets a chance to practice a sport instead of falling in with the wrong crowd – the entire community prospers.
In Washington, federal employees of the U.S. General Services Administration and other agencies contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area, which represents more than 3,600 charities. This year the CFC is trying to raise a record $60 million for local, national, and international charities. GSA’s target is $640,000.
That includes thousands of small gifts, by the way. Too many people fail to realize that small gifts make a difference. Federal employees know that just $10 per pay period can, for instance: pay five month’s salary for an adult literacy teacher in South Africa; put wheelchairs under two landmine victims in Southeast Asia; support a mobile clinic in a remote rural area for an entire day; or cover the average cost to a family for one day’s lodging in emergency short-term housing.
To help draw attention to the campaign, GSA held a talent show in our auditorium. For one hour on one afternoon, we turned down the lights as Federal contracting specialists became singers, public building experts became ballroom dancers and a graphic designer played the mountain dulcimer.
While no one’s quitting his day job, the GSA Fall Follies was a lot of fun and got us in the holiday spirit. It also reminded me that while those who choose a career in public service don’t get much attention unless something goes wrong, most are caring, creative and dedicated individuals – especially our folks who were willing to get up on stage in order to shine the spotlight on a worthy cause.
So if you’re still struggling with the perfect gift this holiday season, here it is: Contribute time or dollars to the charitable organization of your choice.
Lurita Doan is Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration
Ron Paul Collecting Fans, Big Money
November 15, 2007
WASHINGTON - Those who dismissed Rep. Ron Paul as a joke in the Republican presidential primary campaign aren’t laughing so hard these days.
The Texas libertarian’s rise in the polls and in fundraising proves that a small but passionate number of Americans can be drawn to an advocate of unorthodox proposals such as returning to the gold standard and abolishing the income tax, CIA and Federal Reserve.
Paul, 72, recently set a one-day, online GOP presidential fundraising record, and pulled slightly ahead of Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee in a New Hampshire poll, where he had 8 percent of the Republicans’ support. In Iowa, he tied John McCain for fifth place, with 4 percent each.
Paul remains a very long shot for the nomination. But as the only Republican candidate backing a prompt troop withdrawal from Iraq — and an airing of possible impeachment charges against Vice President Dick Cheney — he appeals to a mix of liberals and conservatives who feel alienated and deeply distrustful of the government.
“Where the extreme left and the extreme right meet, you’ll find Ron Paul,” said Merle Black, an Emory University political scientist and co-author of the book “Divided America.”
“He strikes a chord with some segments of the population,” especially with his quixotic, uncompromising style, Black said. “But there’s a pretty low ceiling in terms of his actual vote.”
Paul, who earned a medical degree from Duke University and embraces the nickname “Dr. No,” often casts the only House vote against proposals he sees as too meddlesome or unworthy of taxpayers’ money.
In recent months he was the only House member to oppose an expression of support for Northern Ireland’s new power-sharing government, a condemnation of “the persecution of labor rights advocates in Iran” and a statement citing the importance of “providing a voice” for relatives of Americans who have vanished.
He was one of two Republicans to vote against funding the Defense Department in 2008, and against urging the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Paul is Congress’ most prominent advocate of returning to the gold standard, which the country abandoned in the 1930s. In its purest form it would mean that all paper currency in circulation could be redeemed for gold.
Supporters say the gold standard would curb inflation and boost confidence in the economy. But others say it would trigger severe recessions because the Federal Reserve could no longer manage the money supply in times of economic weakness.
For that matter, Paul would eliminate the Fed altogether as an impediment to free markets.
Paul breezily talks of eliminating the personal income tax, saying it provides about 40 percent of federal revenues, which spending cuts could absorb. The government’s funding level would approximate that of 2000, he says, although government statistics put the figure closer to 1995.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Paul said he is inching up in the polls “because more people have heard the message.”
He said he was stunned when supporters raised $4.2 million for him on Nov. 5, mostly through the Internet. It broke Mitt Romney’s one-day fundraising record, $3.1 million, for Republican presidential candidates.
“Something is going on,” Paul said. “It’s all spontaneous,” he said, and reflects a hunger for smaller government, greater adherence to the Constitution and “a pro-American foreign policy.”
Paul said the United States should leave the United Nations. “I don’t like giving up our national sovereignty,” he said.
The government should gather intelligence, he said, but dismantle the CIA, which he accused of blunders and abuses of power.
Democratic-drafted charges that could lead to a House impeachment vote against Cheney, Paul said, deserve careful deliberations by congressional committees.
Presidential debate moderators typically pay scant attention to Paul and two other House members seen as fringe candidates. But he has triggered some crackling exchanges on the Iraq war, unusual for primary campaign debates in which most candidates hold similar views.
At a mid-May debate in South Carolina, Paul infuriated Rudy Giuliani and others by saying U.S. troops’ presence in Saudi Arabia contributed to al-Qaida’s decision to attack the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
“If we think that we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem,” Paul said. “They don’t come here to attack us because we’re rich and we’re free. They come and they attack us because we’re over there.”
Many Republicans condemned the remarks. But Paul’s supporters rhapsodize about his candor and integrity on Web sites and at “meet ups.”
“We didn’t really believe we could find an honest politician,” said Cecelia Poole of Elkton, Md., describing how she and her husband intensely researched Paul’s record. First drawn to Paul’s hardline stance against illegal immigration, Poole said she found herself agreeing with him on monetary policy, the war and other issues.
“He would turn this country around in the way that it needs to go,” said Poole, a semiretired mortgage broker. She and her husband now travel to several states, she said, “promoting him everywhere we go.”
By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer
Copyright © 2007 Associated Press / Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
