FEDERAL AGENCIES COME TO LONG ISLAND TO HELP COMMUNITIES CUT THOUGH RED TAPE TO REVITALIZE MAIN STREETS

 

SCHUMER HOLDS FIRST OF ITS KIND MEETING FOCUSING ON SUBURBAN DOWNTOWNS; AT SENATOR’S URGING, FEDERAL AGENCIES COME TO LONG ISLAND TO HELP COMMUNITIES CUT THOUGH RED TAPE TO

 

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer opened a meeting with high-level officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), all members of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, to discuss and better understand the needs, obstacles and red tape experienced by localities as they seek to revitalize downtown cores and promote sustainable development. The meeting comes on the heels of Schumer’s call this past May that federal agencies assist local communities in navigate the bureaucracy that often bogs down local development plans. In the meeting, the partnership mapped out areas of coordination in downtown housing, environmental, and transportation planning to promote sustainable development methods to revitalize local economies in the area.

“Long Island is the oldest suburb in the nation and it the perfect place for this first of its kind meeting to take place. Today’s meeting is putting Long Island’s downtown needs on the federal radar screen. We need to revitalize our downtown areas so that they thrive with new economic development, create jobs, and provide better transit options for commuters,” Schumer said. “These agencies should be commended for starting this Partnership, but there is much work to do in cutting through red tape and identifying a regional federal investment strategy. That is why this public meeting with the EPA, DOT, HUD and residents of Long Island is so essential.”

 

Last June, EPA, DOT, and HUD formed the Partnership for Sustainable Communities to promote the coordination of downtown housing, transportation and environmental investments at the local planning level. Over 20 Long Island town and village officials met directly with federal agency staff to present downtown visions and describe their implementation challenges and needs.  This is the first official meeting of the new federal partnership in America’s suburbs.

Schumer believes that this initiative has the potential to transform metropolitan areas by bringing back economic competitiveness, increased access to employment opportunities, and the greater availability for transit options. Schumer joined with local sustainability advocates on Long Island including Sustainable Long Island and Vision Long Island as well as the Hofstra University Center for Suburban Studies in an effort to promote downtown revitalization and sustainable development throughout the area.

In May, Schumer and local partners asked for members of the Sustainable Partnership to hold a public meeting and work session with local government officials and planning advocates. Schumer called on Partnership to plan a visit to Long Island to learn about some of the initiatives in both Nassau and Suffolk counties that embrace ideals like transit-oriented development that will help revitalize and rebuild downtowns and walkable communities.

“Finally, suburban problems are getting noticed,” said Sarah Lansdale, Executive Director of Sustainable Long Island. “Long Island’s downtown revitalization and transit-oriented development plans need more than just local officials and community planners fighting for them; these plans need federal assistance.  Long Island has the ingredients to become the epitome of what the suburbs should be, but it is much easier said than done. Senator Schumer and The Partnership for Sustainable Communities have taken a tremendous step forward in identifying which communities haven’t received a fair share of the limited resources available.”

 

“This event connects Long Island’s main streets to Washington. The smallest municipalities are connecting to Federal agencies, which has not happened in a coordinated fashion, not just on Long Island but any suburban area in the nation.  The strength of Long Island resides in its many downtowns. This new Federal partnership could provide the resources necessary to assist the revitalization of our downtowns and support needed sewer and transit infrastructure,” said Eric Alexander, Executive Director of Vision Long Island.

 

“These are not your mother and father’s suburbs,” said Lawrence Levy, Executive Director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University.  “Demographic change, economic dysfunction, environmental degradation and other challenges have transformed the suburbs in ways that demand a new federal approach that helps us solve our problems. Too many people in Washington and elsewhere still believe the myths of suburban wealth and wellness. I hope that what the federal officials learn during their visit will help change attitudes and inspire change in Washington and Long Island. Thank you Senator Schumer for bringing us together.”

 

The Partnership defines sustainability to include economic competitiveness, environmental health and equity, and access to jobs and transit, to help determine which projects are funded. Nassau and Suffolk Counties offer a variety of opportunities to use the Partnership’s principles to transform communities and blighted downtown areas with new housing, retail, and public transportation centers.  

 

The latest Census notes that more than 50% of the US population now lives in the suburbs.  As the oldest suburb, Long Island is a laboratory for what works and doesn’t work for these communities. In anticipation of a public meeting, Schumer will solicit the participation of local elected officials, planners, and community advocates regarding sustainability projects that have interest or business before the 3 federal agencies. 

ATTORNEY GENERAL CUOMO FILES ANTITRUST LAWSUIT AGAINST PRICE FIXING CARTEL OF LCD PANEL MANUFACTURERS

Lawsuit seeks to recover damages suffered by New York State governmental and other public entities from illegal price fixing conspiracy

NEW YORK, NY (August 6, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today filed an antitrust action against several major technology companies for illegally fixing prices for liquid crystal display (“LCD”) screens used in computers, televisions, and cell phones.

The lawsuit seeks to recover damages suffered from 1996 to 2006 by New York State and other public purchasers - local governments, schools, hospitals, and colleges, among others - that purchased computers and other goods containing the price-fixed screens. The suit seeks damages, restitution, and civil penalties.

The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in New York County, alleges that companies in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and their U.S. counterparts, engineered a cartel that dominated the $70 billion market for LCD screens for approximately a decade. The cartel ensured that LCD prices were set not by competition, but by detailed and explicit secret agreements among the competitors. New York State purchasers paid artificially higher prices for products containing LCD panels as a result of the illegal conspiracy.

“Our investigation shows that an illegal cartel eliminated competition in the marketplace for LCD screens, made its own secret decisions to boost prices, and then took steps to make those high prices stick,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “As a result, hard-pressed New York cities, towns, schools, and hospitals spent hundreds of millions of dollars on LCD screens affected by the illegal conspiracy. My office is bringing this case to get those illegal overcharges back.”

Specifically, the lawsuit cites evidence that:

• Top-level executives, including CEOs, attended secret meetings on a regular monthly or quarterly basis to agree on minimum prices, price targets and increases, and prices to be charged to specific computer manufacturers;
• Companies exchanged production information and agreed to certain output levels;
• In order to cover up the conspiracy, companies coordinated their messages to their customers and manipulated media announcements in order to give the false impression that their agreed upon price hikes were due to supply and demand conditions; and
• Because of the cartel, conspirators were able to avoid competition and keep LCD prices artificially high to the detriment of computer manufacturers and consumers.

The defendants named in the action are:

• AU Optronics Corporation;
• AU Optronics Corporation America, Inc.;
• Chi Mei Corporation;
• Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation;
• Chi Mei Optoelectronics USA, Inc.;
• CMO Japan Co., Ltd.;
• Hitachi Displays, Ltd.;
• Hitachi, Ltd.;
• Hitachi Electronic Devices (USA), Inc.;
• LG Display Co., Ltd.;
• LG Display America, Inc.;
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.;
• Samsung Electronics America, Inc.;
• Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.;
• Sharp Corporation;
• Sharp Electronics Corporation;
• Toshiba Corporation;
• Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd.;
• Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.;
• Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General John Ioannou and Geralyn J. Trujillo and Acting Chief of the Antitrust Bureau Richard L. Schwartz, under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Michael Berlin and Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Maria Vullo

Tanner Park Beach, Benjamin Beach and Lake Ronkonkoma Beach are Closed to Bathing

James L. Tomarken, MD, MSW, MPH, MBA, FRCPC, FACP, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, said today that Tanner Park Beach in Copiague, Benjamin Beach in Bayshore and Lake Ronkonkoma Beach in the Town of Islip have been closed to bathing due to the finding of bacterial levels in excess of acceptable criteria. 

For the latest information on affected beaches, call the Bathing Beach HOTLINE at (631) 852-5822, contact the Department’s Office of Ecology at 852-5760 during normal business hours, or visit the website link below and in the Popular Links box, click on “Beach Advisories Map” (http://www.suffolkcountyny.gov/health).

Attention Veterans

Stop-Loss to End March 2011: The Pentagon expects the involuntary military service extension program called “Stop-Loss” to be eliminated by March 2011.  More than 15,000 personnel, mostly Army, were impacted at the peak of the controversial program in 2005.  Today, the monthly number has shrunk to about 4,000.  Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared last year that the practice had to end, saying it was “breaking faith” with those who volunteered to serve.  Right now the Pentagon is trying to reach about 100,000 former servicemembers who were stop-lossed between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009.  They are due $500 for every month they were kept beyond their initial separation date, but they must apply before the reimbursement program ends Oct. 21.  The VFW is asking its members, Posts and friends to spread the word.  The average benefit paid exceeds $3,500.  For more information and to apply, go to www.defense.gov/stoploss. VA Washington Weekly

Will Dirty Politics Kill the Internet?

By Tim Karr, May 26, 2010

This article was recommended to me and can be located on the Free Press website.  I believe that it is important for everyone to pay attention to what is happening with this important issue.  Visit the Free Press website for more information.  Pat

Congress just sold you out to Comcast, Verizon and AT&T.

Big phone and cable companies are so determined to dismantle consumer protections on the open Internet that they’ve spent millions to flip Congress against you. Earlier this week, many in Congress delivered.

On Monday, 74 House Democrats joined 37 Senate Republicans to sign an industry-written letter that tells the Federal Communications Commission to halt all efforts to protect Internet users and stop big companies from blocking Internet traffic.

Net Neutrality – the principle that would keep users in control of the Internet – was the top communications policy of President Obama when he came into office last year. Obama has repeated his support for an open Internet on several occasions since, and last summer appointed Julius Genachowski to lead the FCC and fulfill this presidential promise.

That promise has now been cast into doubt by dozens of Democrats willing to sell out their president, their constituents, and millions of Net Neutrality supporters to do the bidding of special interests.

Big Money vs. Common Sense

It gets even worse. The Democrats’ “do nothing” appeal would drastically undercut the FCC’s ability to carry out the National Broadband Plan and connect more people to the Internet. These Democrats are actually taking a position against bringing life-improving broadband services to rural and low-income communities.

Their letter warns Chairman Genachowski against pursuing a plan that would enable the FCC to act as a watchdog and serve the public interest over the Internet, preventing phone and cable companies from blocking access to websites and services, while promoting policies that ensure universal and affordable access.

“The uncertainty this proposal creates will jeopardize jobs and deter needed investment for years to come,” the letter says. “We urge you not to move forward with a proposal that undermines critically important investment in broadband and the jobs that come with it.”

Say what? Even the top executives at Verizon and Comcast say that the FCC’s proposal will have no impact on their investment in broadband networks. And experts overwhelmingly agree that extending broadband services to those stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide would create more jobs.

A study by the Brookings Institution and MIT estimated that a one-digit increase in U.S. per capita broadband penetration equates to an additional 300,000 jobs. If our broadband penetration were as high as a country like Denmark’s, we could provide approximately three million additional U.S. jobs.

The Dirty Little Secret

The letter is so full of misleading information that it’s hard to know where to begin.

But behind it all is one dirty little secret: Nearly every one of these representatives has accepted massive contributions from the phone and cable lobby.

Such behavior by elected officials is outrageous and unethical. Perhaps some of these representatives just didn’t know what they were signing. Or perhaps this is just business as usual — members willing to sell out the public in exchange for campaign cash. (Is it any wonder the latest Gallup public opinion poll counts a congressional disapproval rating of 73 percent?)

But in putting their names to this letter, these members are telling us to have blind faith that phone and cable companies have the best interests of Americans in mind – and will deliver fast, open and affordable Internet services without government oversight.

That’s a huge mistake. Comcast and AT&T can no better police themselves to protect the Internet than BP can police itself to protect the oceans. We already know how that ends. The phone and cable companies must play by the rules.

In response, Free Press (my day job) is urging hundreds of thousands of people to sign our own letter telling the FCC that Congress doesn’t speak for you, President Obama or the millions of other Americans who support a fast, open and affordable Internet.

Congress can’t hand these companies control over the future of communications. The results would be disastrous.

If only more members of Congress knew that their bad deeds couldn’t be swept beneath the carpet – unnoted and unpunished. It’s time they heard from us.