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.

Marion Carll Farm

The Marion Carll Farm, a 9 acre oasis in the middle of Commack, was visited recently by the people who are working on bringing it back to being an educational and heritage center to further the understanding of the history of Long Island. The farm, which is located in Commack, has a history which dates from the pre-Colonial Native  American period to the 19th century agrarian era of our island. Visitors have included Suffolk County Legislator John Kennedy, Commack School Superintendent Dr. Donald James, Commack Community Association President Bruce Ettenberg, Shinnecock Nation representative Quantah’ Rose, Huntington Historian Robert Hughes, Huntington Historical Society President Toby Kissam, Suffolk County Commissioner of Public Works Gil Anderson, Suffolk County Director of Historic Services Richard Martin and members of the Commack Community Association.

Smithtown Businesswomen Beat the Economy

You Learn by Living,You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

By Erica Jackson  

Despite reports by the United States Women’s Chamber of Commerce (USWCC) that women-owned businesses are doing poorly in the economy, local women business owners are touting  high sales.According to USWCC, women-owned business market share has dropped ten percent over the last decade with nearly 50 percent of all women-owned firms reporting sales of less than $10,000 annually.  However, Angela Poppe, president of the Smithtown Business & Professional Women’s Network, says those statistics don’t apply to her company or to a number of her Organization’s 65 member businesses.  She said, “Actually women’s businesses are doing pretty well.”

The question of “how” comes to mind: In this economy, businesses — whether owned by a male or female — are discouraged by declining business.  Poppe says women business owners know how to “get out of their comfort zone and get creative.”  They also, she said, “are good at going above and beyond for their family and children.” For example, Poppe says to keep her home-based wellness company above the water, she started thinking outside the box and rather than focusing on boosting sales, she put her energy into donating her products for fundraisers. The end result — increased sales.  “It was a way for me to give back, but in the circle of things,it helped my business.”

What also aided her three-year-old business was networking.  “Networking has become so important. Women supporting other women has really helped,” said Poppe. And that’s just what the Smithtown Business & Professional Women’s Network does — provide networking opportunities for women business owners. “We meet and focus on social networking and motivation every month. We keep people positive,” said Poppe.

The organization also has an unwritten rule to support member businesses.  Whenever Jennifer Ryan, a professional organizer and motivational coach, who owns her own home-based business, Create New Order, needs services, she pulls out a list of fellow Smithtown Business & Professional Women’s Network members.  “We support each other and have created an environment where we can learn and share with each other.”

Networking, said Ryan, who is a former president of the Smithtown Business & Professional Network, has certainly helped her business in these economic times, but so has thinking outside of the box. When the economy began to decline, Ryan said she sat down with her assistant to work out a new business plan. She knew that people weren’t going to spend their money on luxury items such as a personal organizer, so she shifted gears and beefed up her lectures and workshops and offered them a lower rate.  The increased  exposure from the lectures and workshops increased her business to the extent that she had to hire additional staff and has a waiting list of new clients.

“I have been very lucky,” said Ryan, who says she has seen other personal organizers lose their businesses in this economy.  “I am fortunate that I am broad and can not only coach and organize, but I can help businesses with their strategies.  I do commercial, residential and between the ears.”

Diane and Jennifer Dente, mother-daughter owners of Metamorphous, a women’s clothing store in StJames has also worked  through the economy, despite being classified as a specialty shop.

Yes, Diane said business did slow down, but she said as the economy started to dwindle, she and her daughter looked to lower their price point.  Where before, Diane said they bought and sold $3,000 gowns, the last few seasons they brought in more of a mix.  “We went into lines that were more price conscious,” said Diane.
It helped the business and Diane says the last few months she has seen a turnaround with more and more customers coming in to spend.

In general Steven Webber, executive director of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, said it seems that local businesses,which have onsite parking available are doing very well and things are starting to change for the better.  Executive Director of the Smithtown Chamber of Commerce Barbara Franco agreed:  “Its summer time and people are out on the street, shopping more than they did before.  The economy is starting to turn slowly.

NY League of Conservation Voters & Conservation Voters Action Fund Endorse Tim Bishop

FARMINGVILLE, NY – Congressman Tim Bishop is proud to receive the endorsements of the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) and the national League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, two non-partisan organizations that support elected officials with proven records of protecting our country’s environmental resources.

NYLCV held a news conference today at Ammann Riverfront Park in Riverhead to officially announce their endorsement of Congressman Bishop.

This endorsement recognizes Congressman Bishop’s ongoing fight to win federal support for projects that help preserve and renew Long Island’s diverse ecosystem. NYLCV President Marcia Bystryn praised Congressman Bishop for his record of reaching across the aisle to rally bipartisan support for environmental legislation that benefits all Long Islanders, regardless of their politics.

“Through his four terms in Congress, Tim Bishop has proven himself as a strong and steady advocate for the environment in Long Island and New York as a whole,” Bystryn said. “The League is proud to endorse him for re-election in 2010.”

This year, Congressman Bishop has helped draw federal attention and funding to environmental issues that New York’s state and local governments cannot handle on their own, like footing the costs of dredging river transportation routes or maintaining the infrastructure that keeps the Long Island Sound healthy and clean.

“Congressman Bishop has been a champion of clean energy legislation that will create jobs, curb pollution and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said LCV Action Fund President Gene Karpinski. “We are proud to endorse Congressman Bishop for re-election because he stands with the people of New York who need clean energy jobs now, and not with the Big Oil companies and special interests who are blocking progress in Washington.”

When environmental disasters struck Suffolk County during the past year—for example, when severe thunderstorms destroyed homes in Riverhead in March—Congressman Bishop fought tenaciously to bring home relief from FEMA. Bishop also spent months negotiating with state and local government to win permission and funding for an emergency dredging of Wading River Creek, which was made impassable by the March storms.

In July, Congressman Bishop joined forces with Congressman Peter King (R-Seaford) to bring home millions in federal funding for projects that will restore and protect the Long Island Sound next year. On the national level, Congressman Bishop sponsored the Clean Estuaries Act, which will improve the water quality of estuaries nationwide and help protect our country’s economy.

“In Long Island, the health of our environment is very much tied to the health of our people and the health of our economy,” Congressman Bishop said. “I look forward to continuing my work with the New York League of Conservation Voters and the National LCV Action Fund to ensure that New York remains a safe, clean and beautiful place to live.”