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More lunacy from the green eco-nuts, this time in the City of Binghamton. (Hey, I moved out of Binghamton–so don’t blame this one on me. Any group of people who vote for, and re-elect Matt Ryan for Mayor and the Citizen Action Gang as the City Council, are certifiably nuts!)

Today’s “through the looking glass” moment: The City is applying for a $321K grant from the state for solar panels to save $7,500 per year in electricity costs at the sewage treatment plant. From the Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton considers solar panels for plant):

City officials are hoping to install solar panels at the Binghamton water filtration plant to save on electricity costs.

The city council voted Wednesday to authorize an application for $320,933 in grant funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to pay most of the cost of the project.

If the state approves the grant, the solar panels will save about $7,500 a year in electricity costs at the plant, said Amelia LoDolce, sustainable development planner for the city.

And further into the article, this:

In order to do the project, however, Binghamton must provide a 15 percent match to the state funding. This equates to $56,635, which the city will borrow.

So, Binghamton city residents will have to pony up $56, 635 out of their “City of Binghamton taxpayer pocket” while the rest of us across the state will have to pony up $264,298 our of our “New York State taxpayer pocket” to fund this folly. Why a folly? Anyone with a scintilla of business sense looks at the payback period for a capital investment like this. I would say most businesses, if they invested $321K, would want to AT LEAST break even and make back their investment in ten years or less. What’s the payback period for this one? What is the period of time it will take to recoup the investment of $321K by saving $7.5K per year? Try 43 years!

That folks, is why government needs to run as absolutely little as possible. They can’t even make intelligent decisions about a sewage plant! The technology itself will likely not last more than a decade, maybe 15 years, before it needs to be replaced. No matter, soak the taxpayer. The mindset is that state grant money appears magically, like a pot of gold someone found along the roadside. It’s TAXPAYER money taken (forcibly) from us, and you’re flushing it down the toilet Binghamton!

Technorati Tags: Binghamton, Matt Ryan, Binghamton City Council, Citizen Action, sewage treatment plant, government spending, government grants, Amelia LoDolce

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has caved to the anti-drillers who are screaming for more time to read the 800-page draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS)–the proposed new drilling regulations all drillers in New York would have to follow when drilling in the Marcellus Shale. They’ve added another 30 days to the “comment period” which is really nothing more than an extra 30 days for the anti-drillers to try and prevent drilling in New York. No worries, drilling is coming and they can’t stop it.

It never ceases to amaze me how biased the coverage of this issue is, even by local media outlets. For example, Tom Wilbur, reporter for the Press & Sun-Bulletin, includes this short narrative in a story reporting on the extension of the comment period (Debate on drilling rules extended by DEC):

The 800-plus page technical document is simply too big for many stakeholders, including municipal officials, to process and respond to in a short period, said Stan Scobie, a Binghamton resident and industry watcher.

“It’s becoming extraordinarily clear that people – grass roots groups, landowners, lawyers, municipal officials, just about everybody – needs time to come to grips with this issue,” he said.

And that’s all we know about good old Stan. You might think from the description that he’s just a local bumpkin from Binghamton who keeps a sharp eye on this issue. An “everyman” if you will, only interested in the common good for all citizens. What Mr. Wilbur doesn’t tell you (even though he knows it), is that Stanley Scobie, Ph.D., is a retired professor of psychology at Binghamton University and a hard core leftist Democrat. Prof. Scobie contributed $8,950 to Democrats in 2008, including money for Obama, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, Kirsten Gillibrand (New York Senator), Michael Arcuri (New York Congressman), and Al Franken–the comedian/writer of pornography who became a U.S. Senator from Minnesota (via voter fraud). All of them far, far left. (Check out Prof. Scobie’s 2008 contributions here.)

In fact, Prof. Scobie wrote an anti-drilling article in the spring issue of the Sierra Atlantic, the Sierra Club’s regional magazine. In other words, he’s as anti-drilling as they come. But not a peep about that from Mr. Wilbur, the so-called “impartial reporter” who writes about the Marcellus drilling issue for the P&SB. Perhaps a little honesty by the media about their own personal biases and prejudices would be nice for change?

Technorati Tags: Marcellus Shale, shale gas, Stanley Scobie, Tom Wilbur, Press & Sun-Bulletin, leftists, drilling regulations

There is an historic vote coming to the voters of Johnson City, NY on Tuesday. They will decide whether or not to dissolve the Village of Johnson City and join with the surrounding Town of Union–merging the two entities into one. The reason? Supposedly to save money. But as I’ve pointed out a number of times before on this blog, consolidation of political entities rarely saves money in the long run, never saves money in the short run, and ends of stripping the citizens of their ability to influence and affect their own destiny by putting more distance between the voters and their elected representatives. In short, it’s a bad move.

This vote all got started a few years ago with mismanagement of union contracts for fire protection and other services in the Village. The unions got too much (with some firefighters getting nearly $100K a year!) and it’s breaking the back of JC taxpayers. I can sympathize with those that think by dissolving the politicial entity it will release them from the heavy tax burden. The problem is, you just shift the burden. The good folks of JC will still need fire protection, and if they can’t raise a volunteer fire department to do it and they need to pay people, what makes you think shifting it to the township level will somehow make it all go away?

In the end, what happens is that locally elected representatives for each precinct and district go away–representatives who are part time and paid very little for what they do–and you end up with less representation of your interests. You have fewer people to pressure about getting the potholes fixed on your street. That is, government becomes less responsive. Overall, I find that people who lobby for dissolution of our local political entities in favor of consolidation with larger entities view government as a benevolant ruling function that benefits society. I do not. I, like the founding fathers of our great nation, see government as a necessary evil–with a very limited role to play in peoples’ lives. The people who are in government are our servants–they work for us! NOT the other way around.

I’ll say what I’ve always said on this issue: Consolidate some of your services (like fire and police) with surrounding political entities like the Town of Union or the even Broome County. And share the cost that way. But don’t, for pete’s sake, dissolve the political structure of the Village because you think you’ll save a few dollars on your taxes. It won’t happen, and you’ll lose something far more precious–your political voice.

Technorati Tags: municipal consolitation, Johnson City NY, dissolution

My wife and I purchased a new Maytag washer and dryer from Best Buy in Vestal last week. This is the tale of my rather poor experience.

The opening of our local Best Buy was eagerly anticipated by yours truly after Circuit City went bust last year. The new store had been open all of two weeks when we visited for the first time, a week ago Saturday night. I did price comparison shopping online between Best Buy and Lowes before we went to the store, and found that Best Buy’s prices were significantly lower than Lowes for the same exact appliances (in our case, a Maytag washer and dryer).

When we arrived at Best Buy and I was finally able to talk with the applicance salesperson (they were still pretty busy, lots of people visiting since the doors opened two weeks prior), I told him the models we wanted. When they appeared on the screen, the prices were higher than I recalled from the website and I said so. The salesperson went online and did a “price match” with their own website. It seems Best Buy guarantees they will match any competitor’s price–in this case their own website being the “competitor” with the bricks and mortar store. I’m happy I mentioned the web price because I would have paid a combined $75 more for the pair had I not mentioned the web price.

In making our purchase, I was careful to confirm that the people delivering would a) haul the old washer and dryer away, and b) the people delivering would fully install both the washer and dryer. An admission: I am Mr. Unhandy around the house and nothing frustrates me more than attempting to do things with my hands that I am not good at. I do not install washers and dryers. The salesperson confirmed they would haul away and do the install for me, so I paid cash via my debit card (Dave Ramsey would be proud), and we set the delivery date for Friday, Oct. 16th.

The delivery men came on the appointed day, a pair of them. Very nice lads–I have no quarrels with them as people–they were pleasant to deal with and quite willing to do what I asked. But, they were not equipped to do the install for me. They lacked most of the tools they needed, forcing me to scramble and find tools they could use. And they simply were not trained with knowledge to do the install. One of the tasks is attaching the 220 volt power cord to the dryer. They had to get out the instructions, and then “guess” as to which leads went on which contacts. Scary. I stood well clear when it was finally plugged in for testing.

Another thing was reading the instructions on how to properly rig the water hose that goes from the washer to the wall drain. Instead of reading, they guessed (wrongly) how it should be hooked up. I had to rework it after they were gone–after I read the manual.

They didn’t have a level with them and weren’t going to level the washer machine! Only when I found my level and insisted we get it leveled did it happen. And so it went.

Finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back. The air hose that hooks to the back of the dryer and vents to the outside was fitted exactly for the old dryer, but the new dryer has its hole in a different location. The hose will not stretch to fit. Meaning they left without it being connected. They did not have any parts with them in ancticipation that this sort of thing happens, which I’m confident often does. So with the dryer still pulled out from the wall and not installed, I went to Lowes and purchased a piece of flexible hose, and struggled for the best part of an hour to get it connected. During the installation process I had to ban all family members from the work area as a precaution–in case I exploded! I hope it’s connected properly now–but it’s likely going to need someone else to look at it to be sure, so I don’t burn down the bloody house!

I’m sure some reading this who know me personally are smiling or laughing. Go ahead and have a chuckle! I don’t mind. But I assure you, for me it was no laughing matter.

Bottom line: I will not purchase another appliance from Best Buy in Vestal–and that includes a flat panel TV we’re planning to purchase as a family Christmas present this year. If you can do the installation yourself, and if you’re careful to fully research prices online first, you may be OK purchasing at Best Buy. But if you’re unhandy as I am, steer well clear of Best Buy in Vestal. You’re better off paying more at someplace like our local Olum’s and having it installed correctly rather than chance a poor installation like I experienced.

Technorati Tags: Best Buy, Best Buy Vestal, poor installation, Maytag, washer dryer installation

Completely mind-blowing. The grand total number of jobs created by Obama’s stimulus money in our area of New York State so far? 3 1/2. You read that right…three and one-half jobs. Not hundreds, not thousands, not even tens…just 3 1/2 single jobs. From an article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin:

In the 10 counties of the Binghamton-Elmira-Ithaca region, contracts for federal projects have created the equivalent of 3.5 jobs, the Associated Press found. Three counties in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier have seen a total of eight jobs created.

I know of Subway sandwich shops that create more jobs–and don’t cost the taxpayers a dime! It begs the question: Of the $16 BILLION already spent from the $787 BILLION stimulus bill, where did it go? Or rather, into whose pockets did it go? The first place I would look is Harry Reid, Christopher Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and other sleazy, corrupt politicians.

Hey, how’s that hope and change working for all you Obamaclones?

Technorati Tags: federal stimulus, broome county, binghamton, stimulus jobs

A tip of the hat to the Town of Union (near Endicott, NY) for returning Obama stimulus money they didn’t want nor ask for, to the tune of $561,302. And a big “boo” to Broome County Social Services for sticking their grubby hands out to grab it before it went somewhere else–continuing the waste and fraud that is the Obama administration.

According to the article, Broome County accepts homeless grant rejected by Union, Town officials were surprised to receive the grant which was to be used to address the issue of “homelessness.” So smart those Obama people–blaziningly brilliant, the whole lot of them. Sending more than a half million dollars for homelessness to a place where there isn’t any.

Union officials tried several different ways to spend the money–one of them being to help the elderly replace their furnaces (need to be more green, dontchya know). But the Obamadrones said “no” every time Union officials proposed something–they flat out rejected it. So Union finally said “no thanks” and sent the money back. But then the Broome County Department of Social Services stuck their collective hands out–Social Services being the department with the largest piece of the Broome County budget, gobbling up 32% of all the money spent by Broome County each year (some $114 million proposed for 2010).

Social Services said, “Thanks, we’ll take that money off your hands Obamaclones, and we’ll pay peoples’ rent checks and utility bills with it.” You see, you can’t use Obamabucks to make mortgage payments of taxpaying homeowners who find themselves in trouble. No way. But you can pay rent for renters. How screwed up is that? It makes perfect sense when you factor that renters are more often Democrat (39%) than Republican (20%)*. The Democrats are simply buying votes, creating a depenendcy class who will keep them in power in perpetuity–it’s sickening and maddening.

So the Obamaclones are giving that half mil to Broome County Social Services and now everyone will live happily ever after. Until next year when Social Services wants that money again, and deadbeats who won’t pay their bills want it again, etc.

But you can only mortgage your kids’ and grandkids’ future once. What a shame and a waste and a FRAUD the entire “stimulus” package was. The bigger shame is that it won’t dawn on most people what they’ve done to their progeny until it’s too late. Hey, how’s that hope and change working for all you Obamaclones?

*Renter political party affiliation numbers are from a study by the University of Virginia and Dr. Larry Sabato.

Technorati Tags: Obama, stimulus money, government fraud, Town of Union, Broome County, Broome County Social Services

This gem comes courtesy my favorite local news outlet, the Press & Sun-Bulletin, from an article titled “Federal grant to pay for solar panels for Binghamton’s Carlisle Apartments“:

The Binghamton Housing Authority has won a $302,400 competitive federal grant to make one of its housing units more energy-efficient.

The grant, which was announced Tuesday, will pay for solar panels to be installed at the Carlisle Apartments on the city’s North Side, said David Tanenhaus, executive director of the housing authority. The panels will generate some electricity for the complex, he said.

The federal dollars coming to Binghamton are part of $500 million awarded nationwide by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to renovate public housing units, or make them more energy-efficient. Of the $500 million, nearly $20 million went to 11 public housing authorities in New York. The money is coming from the federal stimulus program, approved earlier this year.

This is so outrageously funny, and tragic, I can’t begin to count the ways. Anyone who has ever lived in Greater Binghamton (or has even visited) will tell you we get about three days of sunshine per year. Well maybe a few more…but not many more! Paying money for solar panels in Binghamton is like planting a field of corn in the Sahara Desert with no water or irrigation. Completely nuts.

Don’t take my word for it. The National Weather Service has records going back decades. They keep track of cloudy days (see Cloudiness – Mean Number of Days). If you check it out, you’ll find Binghamton has more cloudy days on average than Seattle, Washington! The average number of cloudy days in Greater Binghamton is 212 days of the year. Another 102 days are classifed as partly cloudy. And only 52 days are clear. Seattle, WA on the other hand, has 201 cloudy days, 93 partly cloudy days, and 71 clear days.

Where I used to live, inside the city limits of Binghamton, I had a neighbor who installed a large solar panel on the roof of his house to heat his pool. That was it…just heat the pool water to a comfortable level. Didn’t work. Not enough sunshine. I know that solar technology is gradually getting better–but come on! I thought stimulus money was supposed to go for “shovel ready” construction jobs. Practical projects ready to be built now, like bridges and roads. Doinking around with solar panels in one of the cloudiest cities in the U.S. is an utter waste of taxpayer money.

So the question is: If stiumulus money is being this poorly spent right here in Binghamton, what about other places? Multiply our piddly $302K by a multitude of other cities across the country and you get depressed really quick, and not just from the lack of sunshine.

Technorati Tags: stimulus money, Broome County, Binghamton, solar energy