Suffolk County Legislator Nowick is Collecting Used Cell Phones for VIBS

  (Smithtown, NY)…If you are thinking of getting a new cell phone, why not consider donating your old one to be used by the Victims Information Bureau Family Violence and Rape Crisis Center (VIBS), which provides free services to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. “My office is collecting used cell phones, which will be distributed to VIBS’ clients who can use them to dial 911 in case of an emergency,” said Legislator Nowick. “Please feel free to drop off your phone at my district office, located at 59 Landing Avenue in Smithtown, Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. For directions, please call 854-3900,” added Legislator Nowick.

VIBS offers group or individual counseling for adults and teens, as well as for children who have witnessed domestic violence or who have been sexually assaulted. Its advocates can provide court accompaniment, information on victims’ rights, assistance with law enforcement and criminal justice agencies and with the Crime Victims Board. VIBS also has an Elder Abuse program where they provide counseling, home visits and case management to elderly people who are victims of emotional, physical, financial or sexual abuse. Trained and certified counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help any victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. VIBS Family Violence and Rape Crisis Center hotline number is 631-360-3606

 Pictured with some of the collected cell phones are Suffolk County Legislator Lynne C. Nowick (left) and Pamela Johnston, executive director of VIBS.

Best Buddies Begin at Hauppauge High School

In support of the newly formed Hauppauge High School Best Buddies Chapter, senior Carley Weinstein and advisors Tanya Bellia and Angela Braun recently attended the 21^st Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference.   The three-day conference was held at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.  It brought together leaders, with and without disabilities, from high schools and colleges worldwide, providing them with personalized training to develop leadership skills that are needed to organize a Best Buddies chapter.

 Anthony Kennedy Shriver and Hauppauge High School senior Carley Weinstein at the 21st Annual Best Buddies Leadership Conference.

Carley, who will be serving as the 2010-2011 club president stated, “The 2010 Leadership Conference was incredibly inspirational.  People with intellectual and cultural differences connected and we made lifelong friendships.”

Through numerous breakout sessions, attendees enhanced their knowledge of the Best Buddies movement by learning about and discussing topics including the global disability rights movement, inclusion, advocacy, professionalism, public speaking, time management, fundraising, and volunteer management.

Attendees were challenged to explore their full potential, tap into their power to motivate others, and translate awareness into quality friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities.

For more than 20 years, the conference has inspired thousands of leaders to be Best Buddies ambassadors and to bring about social change in their communities. 

“It is my hope that Best Buddies will touch the hearts of Hauppauge, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that process,” said Carley.

Founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies has chapters in each of the 50 states.  The organization continues to create opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

SENATOR FLANAGAN RECEIVES HIGH MARKS FOR JOB CREATION EFFORTS

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) recently received a top score on the job creation scorecard released by the Business Council of NewYork State. The Business Council recognized Senator Flanagan for consistently voting to protect small businesses across the state from increased taxes and out of control state spending that were proposed and passed by Senate Democrats.

“Small business is the very lifeblood of our state and our state should be doing all we can to help them grow so they can create sorely needed jobs. I am certainly honored that the Business Council has recognized my efforts and look forward to working with them in the future to make sure that our state respects the needs of small business owners.

The reality is that when they succeed, our entire state succeeds and that is good for all of our residents,” stated Senator Flanagan.

The Business Council lauded Senator Flanagan for voting against bills passed by Senate Democrats that imposed costly new regulations and mandates on small and large businesses, including the downstate MTA payroll tax and bills that significantly increased costs for things such as energy and insurance coverage for employees.

Ken Adams, President of the Business Council said: “Republicans really have a much higher score and did much better in supporting pro-economic legislation. The scorecard will remind voters that the
economy is what really matters.”

Senator Flanagan also received high scores for job creation from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

Mike Elmendorf, NFIB State Director said: “There’s no question that because of the state’s dire fiscal crisis, small businesses became a target this session for lawmakers looking for quick fixes. Job creators need to know which legislators stood with small business and which legislators voted against their interests.”

This year, as part of his efforts to protect and grow small businesses in the state, Senator Flanagan proposed a job creation plan that included new tax credits for businesses that create jobs, consistently
fought for much-needed property tax relief, advocated for the repeal of all state regulations that merely inhibit business growth and fought for state spending cuts including reduced Medicaid spending and more government consolidation.

“There is a real need to provide our small businesses with effective programs that stimulate economic growth and create jobs. The tax and spend policies of the current Democrat majority in Albany is killing small business. We need to provide greater tax incentives and credits to
encourage small business to grow and thrive,” concluded Senator Flanagan.

The Votes Are In And The Suffolk County Board of Election Is a Winner!

“Things went very well”.  That’s how Ivan Young, assistant to Suffolk County Board of Election Commissioners, described the County’s experience with the new voting machines. Young stated “we had a good experience yesterday and unlike some other areas, our polling locations opened on time and with the exception of one minor incident, which involved a twenty minute down time, we had no problems.”

Even though things went well.  For some people  change is difficult and there are those who will always prefer the older lever machines.  But that is not an option for New York which mandated the use of new machines in the 2005 New York State Election Reform Modernization Act.  The use of lever machines was banned after 2007.  The county was forced into compliance by 2010.

Suffolk County BOE took steps to ensure a smooth transition into the new machines.  Election workers were trained.  Political parties and organizations like the League of Women Voters orchestrated training for  their members and the  public giving them the opportunity to learn how to use the machine prior to Election Day.  The BOE also surveyed all the polling facilities and evaluated the sites for their ability to accommodate the machines and the public. 

Each polling area was equipped with an “Ask Ed” device that lists every registered voter in Suffolk County.  This electronic device allows polling officials to determine whether or not a person is registered and if they have a party affiliation.  If a person is not located on the “Ask Ed” device, the person can fill out an affidavit vote and the legitimacy of the vote is determined at a later date.  For those who have special needs and are unable to use the new machines, a ballot marking device is available at every location. 

Closing up the new machines takes a slightly longer than the lever machines because the process is more involved. But even with the additional work required,  95% of the vote tallies were called in to the Board of Elections by 10:30 pm while in other counties they were still counting the votes.

All of this is to ensure that every one who is eligible to vote has the opportunity to vote. Suffolk County is ready for the November elections.

CUOMO ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT STOPPING SOFTWARE COMPANY “ECHOMETRIX” FROM SELLING CHILDREN’S PRIVATE ONLINE CONVERSATIONS TO MARKETERS

NEW YORK, NY (September 15, 2010) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement that stops the software company Echometrix from gathering information from children’s private online conversations and offering it to paying marketers.

Echometrix is a New York-based software company that sells parental Internet monitoring software which allows parents and guardians to keep track of what their children do on the Internet.  In June 2009, Echometrix began offering a program to companies called “Pulse” that used its Internet monitoring software to secretly collect and analyze portions of children’s private online instant messaging conversations.  Pulse was marketed as a way for third party companies to get insight into what children privately said about products and services.  Echometrix did not disclose to parents and guardians that its Internet monitoring programs were collecting and analyzing children’s conversations for marketing purposes.  

“Echometrix sells software that protects children by gathering information for parents about what their kids are doing online, but at the same time it was marketing its data to outside companies without its customer’s knowledge,” said Attorney General Cuomo.  “This settlement prevents Echometrix from using the guise of children’s safety to undermine children’s privacy.  As my office works to ensure that the Internet is a safe place for children, we encourage all parents and guardians to maintain an active interest in what their children are doing online.”  

Under the settlement, Echometrix has agreed that it will not analyze or share with third parties any private communications, information, or online activity to which they have access.  Echometrix will also pay a $100,000 penalty to the State of New York.  Echometrix, which cooperated with the Attorney General’s office, ceased offering the Pulse product after the Attorney General commenced his investigation.

Parry Aftab, a nationally renowned lawyer specializing in Internet privacy and security law and founder of wiredsafety.org, said, “This is an exceptional case where a company claiming they were providing child protection technologies used those technologies to invade their privacy instead.  No company should sacrifice a child’s privacy for their personal profit.  Attorney General Cuomo has stepped in once again to help protect children and families.”

This case was handled by Acting Chief of the Internet Bureau Karen Geduldig, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Michael Berlin and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Maria Vullo.