City Of Kingston Person Of The Week County Majority Leader Jeanette Provenzano

This weeks Blaber news person of the week is Jeanette Provenzano, Jeanette is the majority Leader of the Ulster County Legislator and has dedicated her life to public service. Legislator Provenzano in her tenure as an Ulster County Legislator has had numerous accomplishments and will continue to benefit the County in the future, especially now that she is part of the Majority.
Born and raised in Kingston, Jeanette Provenzano has a keen understanding of families and seniors. A mother of seven, she earned an Associate of Arts degree in political science, served as a legislative aide to State Senator Art Gray and to Assemblyman Larry Bennett. A member of Friends of the Senate House, the Uptown Business Association, the Mental Health Association and the Twallfskill Gold Club, Provenzano has been an Ulster County Legislator for 16 years., served six as the Minority Leader, the first woman to ever hold a leadership position in that body, Provenzano currently serves as the county Majority leader. Provenzano retired from full-time work in 2002 as Executive Secretary to the Kingston Civil Service Commission.

The Smoking Cigar

Blaber News has it on good sources Former County Chairman Ward Todd was the Legislator that had a $39.59 voucher paid for a box of cigars.

It is simply unacceptable and to be honest with you I am shocked Ward would accept such a gift at the county's expense there is no excuse for that behavior as a legislator you are supposed to set an example and as Chairman you are held to a higher standard said Blaber.

* A Blaber News Exclusive, reported before any other news source.

Kingston Public Access Closing, Way Off Base

Recent talk about KPA going off the air is way off base says Jeremy Blaber who serves as the Vice-Chairman to the public Access commission. Blaber went further to say "I have meet with Mayor Jim Sottile and with Supervisor Nick Woerner this last week and have gotten nothing but help and cooperation, they both recognize it's importance and want it to stay in the community and are going to assist in the efforts to make sure that is what happens.

The Kingston Public Access Cable commission is also looking at new routes to generate funds, making KPA a 501(c)3 is something that has been discussed also there are fundraisers and station under writers that may be something to look at down the road. There is also a group of about seven or so citizens looking to start a committee "friends of Kingston Public Access" which will also be beneficial. We have a lot of positive things going along and I am excited said Blaber.

Another development that will be happening in the next few weeks is the city of Kingston is going to finalize a contract with Time Warner Cable, which is five years over due. Mayor Sottile has brought up a suggestion that the money people will be paying on there bill for public access ( which is now only allowed to be used for Capital costs) be used for both capital and operating costs, he has assured me he would have Corp. Council look into it and see if it was something that we could do.

I applaud everyone who has helped in this process especially Mayor Jim Sottile, Supervisor Nick Woerner, my colleagues on the commission and the entire Kingston Common Council because of there efforts we are getting back on track, we still have a long way to go but we are no longer at a threat of shutting down.

Blaber News Endorses Matthew McCoy For School Board

Blaber News proudly endorses Matthew McCoy for school board. We need members of the board to take a open mind approach and look at what is best for our children, we also need someone who will be fiscally conservative. Matt McCoy is someone who posses these traits which is why I am giving him my full support and endorsement.

Matthew McCoy is an eight year resident of the Kingston school district, McCoy aspires to improve communication between the school board and the community in order to provide the best educational environment for our children at an affordable price.

"It is time to bring young educated people on the board who are interested in the future of our area to the betterment of the community. He will take a look objectively at all the views that deal with the educational process," said Kingston Mayor Jim Sottile who has also endorsed Mr.McCoy.

McCoy has also been involved in various community activities over the years, he has coached the Kingston boys modified soccer team and the girls under- fourteen soccer traveling team for the Port Ewen Athletic Association. He also assisted his father Fred McCoy Sr., while he was coaching the Kingston Girls Varsity Softball team. (McCoy Sr. lost his battle with Cancer in January of 2005)

In addition, McCoy has volunteered as a Fireman at the St.Remy Fire Department and has been employed at Begnal motors in Kingston for six years. He has also found time to become a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and finish his degree from Ulster County Community College both while working full time.

" The Focal point of my campaign is a clear and open communication between the school board and the community. Citizens of Kingston are not getting the complete story from the school board and lack of clear communication creates animosity. The second issue I would like to address is safety. The Guardian Angels will help, but we have to work harder in house, with the support of the administration to fix the problems," said McCoy.

" I will also look to repair the Carnegie library. It has been empty for almost 30 years and it is time the district turns it into a building we can be proud of. I think if we can renovate the Carnegie library, we can use it to run more student relations programs. The safety resource officer at the high school, Chris Hulbert is also looking for space to run various after school programs, but due to minimum space, he cannot. The library would fit his needs," said McCoy.

Jail Audit Finds 13 Million In unnecessary Costs

An Audit by the State comptroller's office finds 13 million dollars in unnecessary costs. Among the costs was $39.59 for a box of cigars, $1,000 for lodging in the Greene County village of Tannersville on Jan. 11 and 12, 2001, for three people employed by consultants for project architect Crandell Associates, $95.50 for food and beverages at a Tannersville restaurant, also filed by Crandell, "Air fare with a $100 penalty for an early return flight," parking fees at a garage in Manhattan and $104 for meals at a New York City restaurant.
"Our review disclosed that the county reimbursed the architect for unnecessary and improper expenses incurred by its consultant," the auditors wrote. "Although the total dollar amount is minor, these examples illustrate the county's obvious lack of expenditure control, which has contributed to the cost overruns. The county's failure to institute adequate controls over the spending for this project imposed unnecessary and inappropriate cost to the taxpayers."

Chairman David Donaldson has called for a criminal investigation, I could not agree more and I applaud him for taking action on this, it is simply unacceptable said Jeremy Blaber how dare members of the Ulster legislator pick pocket the tax payers.

City Of Kingston Person Of The Week Alderman Bill Reynolds

This weeks person of the week is Alderman Bill Reynolds the Majority Leader of the Kingston common council, Reynolds who is a 7 term alderman has been an asset to the city of Kingston and his constituents. Alderman Reynolds fulfills a wide range of responsibilities as Council Majority Leader. In this capacity, he serves as chief advocate for the interests of the Council Majority in budget and public policy negotiations with the Mayor and Council Minority, participates in the appointment process to the Council's standing committees, and serves as the Majority's chief spokesperson to the media. I was going to write out a list of Alderman Reynolds accomplishments during his tenure as alderman unfortunately it literally took up the whole page! Here is a link instead : http://home.hvc.rr.com/aldermanreynolds/accomplish.html. In addition to his role in local government Alderman Reynolds served on the Board of the Friends of Historic Kingston for 10 years during which time he created the groups first membership newsletter. He is a past member of the Kingston Urban Cultural Park/Heritage Area Commission, and the Kingston Lion's Club. He is currently a member of the Ulster County Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Curtis Sliwa to make an appearance on Late Night W/Jeremy Blaber

Radio host and Guardian Angel founder Curtis Sliwa who is looking to establish a local chapter of the Guardian Angels in Kingston has agreed to be on Late Night W/Jeremy Blaber, this Monday at 10pm. Sliwa will be on the widely popular show "Late Night w/Jeremy Blaber" via a phone conference to discuss the history and benefits of the Guardian Angels. I was honored to meet him, he was very personable and profesional and I am glad he has agreed to do the show said Blaber. Late Night with Jeremy Blaber is on Monday nights at 10pm on ch.23

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) was in Kingston yesterday to discuss a bill that will federally fund local witness protection programs, that will help fight violence and intimidation of victims and witnesses of Domestic crimes. The Senator stood on the steps of the Ulster County court house with Ulster County D.A. Don Williams to talk about the "Short Term Witness Protection plan Of 06." The $90 million program in which New York state would receive $6.5 million, and counties would receive a share in proportion to their populations: Ulster County would receive $65,000 annually, under the plan. "You come to Ulster County and think of the beautiful riverfront, mountains, lively villages and good schools, but the urban problem of gang violence is spreading," said Schumer, who is sponsoring the legislation. When reached for comment Mr. Blaber said: I commend our Senator for sponsoring this, witness intimidation is a problem and witnesses will not testify if they feel there safety is in question, it happens all the time and without there testimony sometimes the case will be thrown out, putting these violent offenders back on the streets. Senator Schumer also pointed out the benefit of doing this type of legislation on a federal vs. on a local level, what would be a relatively small amount of money on a federal level can make a big difference on a local level. With "skyrocketing" property tax rates, he said, local taxpayers cannot afford the burden of such a program being funded on the local level.

City Of Kingston Person Of The Week

This weeks person of the week is NYS Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, Assemblyman Cahill is a representative of the 101st assembly district, representing Ulster and Dutchess counties. Assemblyman Cahill Mr. Cahill serves on the Assembly Steering, Health, Higher Education, Consumer Affairs and Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry Committees. He is also Chairman of the Legislative Task Force on People with Disabilities. In his previous term in the Assembly, Mr. Cahill served on several committees including Codes, Real Property Tax, Local Government and Children and Families. He was the Assembly spokesperson for Community Corrections and a member of the task force on Local Government Finance Reform. He has a strong record on the environment, civil rights, labor, and women's issues. Mr. Cahill was, and remains, a strong advocate for local real property tax reform. Assemblyman Cahill was chosen this week for his hard work in our community, he is a great leader and I am proud to have him as my assemblyman. I am also proud that Assemblyman Cahill has accepted my offer to become an honorary Board member for my non-profit Governmental Leadership a thriving company, getting young adults involved in local government.

GOTCHA!

Alderman Bobby Senor and Alderwoman Anne Marie DiBella have gotten Post Master Sherry Elkind to take down all the 1700 rural type mail boxes that have been placed around the city for the last two years. This is a big win for the city of Kingston, these boxes were an eye sore and Senor is right it is not every day you beat the federal government. Alderman Senor also said that he has talked with postal workers who said they were receiving a 75 dollar commission to have them installed.....Here is my question I wonder what they are going to pay the workers to take all 1700 down. This is another great example of what can happen when legislators work together in a bipartisan manner.

Kingston Public Access Going Off The Air?

There has been a lot of talk about K.P.A. going off the air, some say three weeks some say two years without local towns funding the network it is inevitable. Kingston Public Access is something that is a great asset in this community, I got my start getting involved in local government through public access telivision, when I started to produce Eye On Kingston w/Bill Reynolds, a show that is now rated as number one on the network. I then expanded and took over and produced The Mayor's Show and then eventually I started my own show were every week I have a chance to talk about local and federal issues and take calls from local residents, it is something that I greatly enjoy doing. In December of 05, Mayor Jim Sottile asked me if I would be interested in joining the Kingston Public Acess board and without hesitation I accepted and was appointed. Then once on the board voted in as the board's vice-chairman. Since then I have really gotten an inside look of the MANY problems facing public access, the equipment is held together by shoe strings , 1 out of the 4 tape decks used to do taped shows work, flooding is also an issue( I once heard a story from Rich Cahill that after a storm him and his father had to do a show in the studio that had a foot of water in it) and of course one of the biggest problems is our lack of funding!! I have a budget sitting at my desk that was put together by myself and the rest of K.P.A. commission for 78,000 to cover the cost of fixing equipment, basic supplies, and the hiring of a desperately needed part-time station manager. There is one problem we are minus the 78k needed to o this because we have no operating budget, why do we have no operating budget because your local towns have refused to contribute ANY money toward public access. The only towns/cities to sign aboard and give K.P.A. a half of one percent out of the franchise agreement they collect to cover our operating costs are the city of Kingston, and the town of Kingston. NO other town has. The towns of Hurley and Esopus do not collect a franchise fee and have stated they do not want to put an extra tax on there residents. Lets talk about the real cost if the town of Esopus collected a franchise fee of just the half of one percent it would only cost each resident forty cents per month. Forty cents a month for 60 hours of quality local programming is that to much to ask? (My show alone is worth 10 times that!) I am afraid that if we do not have these towns start contributing, public access will become a thing of the past, and that would be a shame because threw first hand experience I know the benefits of public access. I know you do to, do not let KPA go down. Your town officials represent you call them and tell them you want public access to be on the air and to contribute there FAIR share!!

Town Of Esopus- 845-331-0676 Supervisor John Coutant home 339-3612
Town Of Hurley 845-331-7474 Supervisor Mike Shultis home 339-7798


THANK YOU TO :The City Of Kingston and The Town Of Kingston, for recognizing the importance of Kingston Public Access and contributing to us we appreciate your support!

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600 New Jobs Come To Kingston

Sottile brings approximately 600 new jobs, in the Kingston business Park. Armor Dynamics Inc. plans to build a 58,000-square foot manufacturing facility at the Delaware Avenue business park. Warren said the company later this spring expects to announce a projected opening date. This is big news for the city of Kingston probably the best thing to happen to the city of Kingston in over a decade. We need more industry in this state and with a manufacturing company like this coming in is a great thing and will make the city more attractive to more people and more business. I applaud Mayor Jim Sottile and our economic developer Steven Finkle for there hard work and tireless efforts on this project. I also would like to thank our governor George Pataki for recognizing the importance of this company and our business park and supporting us in a non-partisan manner.

Blaber News gives City Council 90 day report

It has been a little over 90 days since the new council took office and already a lot has happened some positive and some negative. Here at Blaber news we will go ward by ward and give a letter grade for each alderman based on what they have done in there ward.

Ward 1 - Alderman Al Teetsil not much too report here so far Alderman Tetsil has been very quite but that is not necessarily a bad thing it has only been 90 days being Tetsil is a new alderman there is a lot to learn and soak in from asking around the ward his constituents are overall happy with him being there representative, come to think of it, I don't think I have ever heard a negative word about Alderman Tetsil to date. Over all rating =B-
Ward 2- Alderman Jennifer Ringwood another new alderman on the council, has started out with a bang. Alderman Ringwood has been very influential in her ward dealing with concerns from constituents as well as running a joint neighborhood watch with Alderman Cahill which shows her strong will of non-partisanship. Alderman Ringwood also made headlines with her efforts to clean up the formal Ulster and Delaware railroad way, that has become infested with drugs and prostitution. Thanks to Alderman Ringwood changes are being made. Over all rating = A
Ward 3 Alderman Lenny Walker what can I say about Lenny Walker other then it is always interesting. Lenny Walker who made headlines a month ago for calling for both mayor Jim Sottile and Superintendent Jerry Gretszinger's resignations. We can also give him credit for bringing the Guardian Angels in to the city. Alderman Walker always does what he thinks is best but unfortunately not seeing the forrest from the trees is not necessarily a good thing. He has however done positive things for the ward, it is April 3rd and I have already seen him with his bucket of water cleaning off graffiti in his ward, and although I disagree with his method of bringing in the Guardian Angels it still could end up being a positive thing. Over all rating B+
Ward 4 Alderman Clint Brown has been ill for most of these last few months and you have to give the man a lot of credit for the way he has been able to handle calls with his constituents as well as the way he has been able to transition back after an illness that was life threatening. I applaud Alderman Brown for his good work. Overall rating A
Ward 5 Alderman Anne Marie DiBella the council's rising star and new majority whip of the council has done a great job thus far, Alderman DiBella was the Alderman who first started the effort to take down the postal mail boxes that have been popping up like weeds and causing an eye soar throughout the city. In a non-partisan effort her and alderman Senor were able to stop more of these boxes from coming up and lead the take down of the current boxes that are up illegally. Over all rating A
Ward 6 Alderman Richard Cahill Jr. has been well interesting, it has been an overall mellow Rich Cahill, who serves as the councils minority leader there have been ups and downs. Early last month Cahill signed paperwork that permitted the city to purchase waterfront boat docks. Later he claimed he didn't know what he was signing, and tried to some how blame the dems for tricking him. It has not all been bad Alderman Cahill has many positive accomplishments he is leading the parking commission and from what I hear there first meeting went well. In addition he is running a neighborhood watch with 2nd ward Alderman Jennifer Ringwood. Cahill made his latest headlines with legislation that will go after land lords that rent out to drug dealers although there are small problems I have with some of the details of the legislation I think this is an overall positive effort on his part. Over all rating B+
Ward 7 Alderman Bill Reynolds has been in the news a few times over the pat few months for his continued great works in his ward and his tiredless efforts to improve the quality of life in the city of Kingston. Alderman Reynolds first made headlines when he made a proposal to install cameras at traffic lights to cut down on the speeding throughout the city. Speeding is one of the biggest complaints that I get said Reynolds. Another proposal brought fourth by Majority leader Reynolds was the possibility of having city wide internet service and hot spots through out the city to make Kingston more attractive to business and possibly provide internet service to Kingston residents at a cheaper rate. Alderman Reynolds has also teamed up with Alderman Senor in a non -partisan effort to do a joint neighborhood watch of wards 7 and 8 to address the concerns of there residents. By far Alderman Reynolds has made the most progress thus far. Overall rating A+
Ward 8 Alderman Bobby Senor what can I say about Alderman Senor that has not been whispered under everyones breath these last few months, what a change. I am so impressed with the hard work of Alderman Senor and the bi-partisan effort on his part I almost can not believe I am talking about the same person. Alderman Senor has done nothing these last few months but show results and work in a non-partisan way. Alderman Senor has fixed the Delaware Ave. traffic light to make it safer for the children at Kennedy, got rid of the scumbags that hang out at the Roundout Market making it easier for people to attend the store and not feel intimidated, he has worked with Alderman DiBella to settle the mail box situation, has worked in a joint neighborhood watch with Alderman Reynolds of the 7th and 8th wards and has accepted Sottile's truce to better the city. Did I leave anything out... I am very happy with the works of Alderman Senor. Over all rating A+
Ward 9 Alderman Mike Madsen the alderman famous for wanting to reinstall parking meters is now on Alderman Cahill's parking commissionn and has brought fourth a private company that according to him will install all of the meters at no charge to the city through a private/public partnership, also these new meters if they went into effect would use blue-tooth technology were the user would pay through there credit card or even cell phone for the time they were parked vs. pre-paying, I myself can not support at this time a private company having anything to do with the parking meters. Alderman Madsen has also took it upon himself to correct a lot of over sights in the city charter, it is not unusual to see 30piecess of legislation a month submittedd by Madsen to the city's public safety committee. AldermanMadsen who chairs the tourism committeee has expressed great plans to promote tourism in the city o Kingston Overall rating B+

Blaber News endorses Paul Van Blarcum For Sheriff

Blaber news is honored to give our endorsement for Ulster County Sheriff to Sgt. Paul Van Blarcum. Sgt. Van Blarcum's 35 years experience working with the Ulster County Sheriffs dept. makes him qualified for the position. I am confident that Van Blarcums experience and leadership capabilities will be apparent to the voters and in November there will be a new Sheriff in town by the name of Paul Van Blarcum.

Governor George Pataki Returns to Kingston... New Tenets In Business Park?

Governor George Pataki is making his way back to the city of Kingston this time to discuss the Empire State Development Corp. and smart money says there will be a new tenet in the Industrial Park at 1 corporate Drive. This is good news for years the republican party has bashed Sottile over the lack of tenants at the business park "people just don't understand, things don't happen overnight there is a process" said Mayor Jim Sottile. The press conference will be held at City Hall Monday at 11am.

* A Blaber news exclusive reported before any other news paper or news source!