Thanks to the Cape Vincent Chamber of Commerce

Early in the summer I entered the Cape Vincent Chamber of Commerce "Focus on the Cape" photo contest.  Recently I was honored to find out I was awarded 1st and 3rd place and the People's Choice Award.

I wanted to express my deep appreciation to the Cape Chamber of Commerce and to those who voted for the People's Choice Award.

Since I was unable to attend the chamber dinner where the awards were announced due to a prior commitment I called the Chamber and thanked the director personally.

Thank you all.

Art Pundt

                                                 3rd place and also the People's Choice Award

 

1st Place

An Beautiful End To A Late Summer Day

 

 

 

 

 

Some Common Sense From Cape Vincent Councilwoman Michelle Oswald

I picked up a copy of the 1000 Islands Sun today while shopping and noticed a report by Sun reporter  Pam McDowell on the last Cape Vincent Town Board public hearings on the water district issues and the newly revised CV  zoning law.

I was particularly intrigued with CV Councilwoman Michelle Oswald’s comments on the solar zoning portion of the law that finally questioned the town’s irrational love affair with solar energy.  Below is the quote from the paper.

“She said she was not happy with commercial solar portion and said “Why are we so anxious to let big energy into this town?” She explained that the town gave scrutiny to industrial wind development, and any energy zoning law should be thoroughly explored”

Finally!!!  Well good for you Michelle!!!  But the zoning on small private solar needs a lot of work too.

It’s about time somebody at the board level asked some questions about where all this solar hoopla is coming from and where it is going, and why it has had NO scientific analysis to back the town’s support of solar.  Especially since the town zoning geniuses and the supervisors have clearly demonstrated in last year’s solar zoning fiasco that they don’t know what the hell they are doing on the solar issue and made a complete emabarrassing fiasco of the CV zoning process while tinkering with solar.

In many respects solar is just like wind. Very low capacity factors, especially in a climate like NNY, heavily subsidized by the tax payer (even private solar systems), and an unreliable intermittent source of power, that has to be backed by conventional sources of power, and a play toy for people with the financial means to afford it so they can  look “green” at the tax payer expense.  Like our town supervisor!

So to answer Ms. Oswald’s question…in my opinion there is probably a backdoor connection between 4^th , a local solar developer and our town board or supervisor.  And who knows, maybe there is a larger commercial solar project in the works that will be forced on us just like wind was, but by this board and zoning geniuses this time around.  That would be another energy scam.  And maybe that is why the whole CV solar zoning is a watered down joke and our town officials are running around promoting something they have made no serious examination of!

But solar is far more stylish and chic to talk about at cocktail parties and political get togethers.

And if you remember, a few years ago some of the energy and  zoning geniuses on our town board were even suggesting to the state public service commission and the Art 10 process that BP should consider a large industrial solar project for CV instead of wind like their Brookhaven facility on Long Island.  Geee… let’s see, that project removed approximately 42,000 trees to accommodate it!  42,000 trees!!!  Hell…they should have left the trees up. They would probably removed more CO2 from the atmosphere than the solar project.  Now there was a brilliant idea.  Invite, of all people, BP to do anything in our town after their history here and around the world, not to mention that the town apparently hadn’t noticed one critical factor.  BP had already gotten OUT of the solar business.  WAKE UP!!!

I hope Ms. Oswald will continue to show some rare clarity among her Hirschey govt peers on the CV town board who appear completely irrational on the solar issue, and who appear to be on the supervisors tight leash.

And keep in mind that our zoning also ALLOWS some industrial wind development.  Maybe Ms. Oswald should take a serious look and raise a discussion on that as well.  Especially since the NY Court Of Appeals has made a very interesting recent decision upholding prohibiting Fracking in Dryden, NY and about home rule.  This appears to parallel industrial wind and the home rule issues surrounding it.

And by the way…where is the JLL blog on this solar nonsense???? He was against industrial wind and all that supported it, but says nothing about the Hirshey govts irrational support of solar with virtually all the same problems and tax subsidies. 

Another one on the short leash!

 

 

The 1000 Isalnds Cosmic Connection - WhenThe Whole Galaxy Aligns With The River!

    Our solar system location  in our galaxy the Milky Way.

Internet photo

 

 

 

When I was about 10 years old my parents gave me a telescope for Christmas..  Since then I have spent a lot of time observing the sky and the impact of that gift has been with me all my life.  I am lucky to spend 8  months in the desert SW in Flagstaff,AZ at 7000 ft. above sea level where the air is very clear and dry... and very dark at night.  We have spectacular night skies and several important observatories call Flagstaff and AZ home.

The new Discovery Channel telescope is located about 40 miles from Flagstaff.  On my search and rescue team I teach a special navigation course where students have to find their way in the wilderness using only the stars the sun and other natural signs for direction.  So I pay particular attention to how the sky objects night and day align themselves with the cardinal directions like N. S. E. W. and landmarks and how to use that to orient myself.  I love watching the stars progressing through the night and through the seasons. 

On certain nights the  sky here in Cape Vincent and  the 1000 Islands is still  pretty good too, although the light from Kingston Ont. has encroached on the sky since I was a kid.  Dark skies are a treasured resource  that should be preserved as best as possible.  And it should be done through zoning ordinances that reduce unnecessary light scatter and glare.  But since most people retreat indoors at night or have a fear of the dark we don't think about dark skies much as a resource to be preserved. 

Since Flagstaff, and AZ have many observatories, dark skies are a priority and lighting is controlled.  In this case dark skies have an actually economic value.  For example one of my neighbors is a professional astronomer working at the US Naval Observatory which is critical for many military navigational purposes.

For example try this Naval Observatory website for fun.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php

The night sky tonight ( about midnight, Aug. 28/29 ) in the 1000 Islands and Cape Vincent is bright with stars and the billions of stars that are the Milky Way which is the hazy band across the sky that is actually our galaxy.  The Moon set after sunset as a thin orange crescent over the river and will get larger each night for a couple weeks till it is full.

It is interesting that around this date that the hazy band of our galaxy stretches completely across the sky and directly over head (the zenith) from SW to NE.  It stretches from the constellation Auriga rising in the NE, to Sagittarius (The Teapot) setting  in the SW. The Milky Way is very bright near Sagittarius above the southern or southwest horizon because you are actually looking into the center of our galaxy.

                                                                 Internet photo

Just so happens that around this time the direction or plane of our home galaxy the Milky Way aligns almost perfectly with the direction of the St. Lawrence River running through the 1000 Islands and Cape Vincent.

A powerful cosmic connection????  Are there any crop circles out there in those CV corn fields????

And if you would like to get a better feel for how bright the night sky actually is even without the moon, and how many stars are out there, try this astronomers trick.

If you observe the night sky a lot, especially looking for faint objects, use the astronomers trick of averted vision.  In other words don't look directly at the faint object, look slightly off to the  side and it should appear brighter. Averted vision is a handy tool for any night observation of objects in the sky or on land or water.  I use it a lot when out in my boat or kayak at night, or when searching on my SAR team at night.
.
So find a dark site on a clear night with no moon. Or course dark sites are getting more rare unfortunately.  It won't work unless you can get a dark spot to observe.  Second, give your eyes about 15 or 20 minutes to adjust to night vision. 

 Now stretch out your hand above your head.  This works even better if you can get the Milky Way behind your hand. Any reflected light on your hand will kill the effect. Now don't stare at the stars but instead stare at the black silhouette of your hand or one of your finger tips yet be aware of the  sky all around your hand at the same time. 

The sky and the stars should suddenly light up and be much brighter and expansive.

Interestingly enough, recently the river has been dead calm, and mirror flat at night.  You could see the Big Dipper completely reflected in the water as well as many other bright stars.

 It was like when the river calms down at night it has another secret deep hidden dimension you can only observe on rare nights.

Like the line from the old movie 2001 a Space Odyssey.

"My God...it is full of stars!"

Comment From a Reader And My Response

This comment came into my blog, and I thought it was interesting so I moved it up to a post.  My comments follow.

"Mr. Pundt, your intentions as a self-accredited political analyst/consultant- to- the- voters are baffling. The basics of election campaigning is to promote the positive features of one candidate over another to garner support at the ballot box. Your tactic of supplying your readers with a continual list of actions by every candidate that display how they all fail to pass your litmus test of leadership would seem to have only one end result, that being to convince voters to not vote for anyone.

Since this is an opinion blog,I would offer that in the case of the primary in Cape Vincent between Oswald and Mason, your tactic will assuredly lead to the election of the native, albeit ill-suited, Mr. Mason, since leadership qualities are not the driving force behind his support, rather the fact that he is the favorite of the "return power to the locals" faction ,who have a history of supporting any candidate regardless of leadership qualities ,case in point- Harvey White for supervisor. In a previous post you offered Mr. Mason the advice to consider all the residents of the town, local and seasonal alike. You can be assured that will not happen.

In a two person primary with much at stake, it is difficult to see the advantage of picturing the candidate you claim to prefer, as lacking in leadership. You make a most arrogant assumption that the voting public is unaware of the issues you present, and votes with their eyes closed. It would seem to this observer that a re-election of Mr. Mason would be catastrophic to the town of Cape Vincent. That makes Mrs. Oswald the preferred option for anyone interested in the future of the town."

My comments.

First of all you talk about my litmus test.  Stop with the high road political nonsense.  Every voter who walks into a voting booth has a litmus test on leadership or something else, otherwise it seems rather pointless to vote one way or the other.  Otherwise why not just flip a coin.

You said… "The basics of election campaigning is to promote the positive features of one candidate over another to garner support at the ballot box."

Where you go off the rails in your comment here is assuming I am campaigning for one candidate or another.  You Republicans can do plenty of that.  However,  I am not a cheerleading for any candidate.  I am looking at the realities and the record.   If there is political baggage in the record…well that isn’t my problem.

Ms. Oswald was present as a board member on at least one critical and important zoning issue where some very questionable behaviors were exhibited, bordering on legally questionable, and as I indicated she did NOTHING about it.  So is you choice in your cheerleading to just ignore that????  Maybe that was why we were in the zoning mess that was created last summer.

You also make a very broad and erroneous assumption that because I have pointed out some faults in Ms. Oswald’s leadership, that would automatically lead to Mason winning.  Did you miss the part where I have already indicated I would support Oswald?

In all the campaign cheerleading in past elections we were told we would have a new wonderful zoning law.  Of course as it turned out, that campaign cheerleading and hoopla ended with a new rushed zoning law that the town officials couldn’t even understand or apply correctly and swept them and the supervisor into an embarrassing mess!

But here is a real uncomfortable  question for you before you get to hysterical about Mason being elected as catastrophic for the town. 

If we are talking about campaigning and supporting candidates and showcasing their positives, then why when Mr. Hirschey had the unique opportunity to appoint Oswald to the board, which would have given her experience and a real political advantage later, why was he and at least one other Republican board member considering appointing Paul Aubertine to the board over Oswald.  And then leave that seat empty until the election.  Who exactly was he trying to help and  how exactly does this add up as support by possibly appointing a pro wind person…and that would have been when the BP wind issue was still boiling hot and it would have made a big difference???

Or how about when Hirschey said he would not re-run for supervisor?   Suddenly both Republican’s Schneider and Bragdon indicated they would run for the job.  Now in the past I have been accused by the Republicans of actions that might split a vote and could hurt the town.  Apparently that didn’t matter to Bragdon and Schneider when their personal interests where at stake, and Hirschey even later said he changed his mind and would run because he feared a split vote. 

Let’s see, why weren’t you complaining then about how a pro wind person might get elected and that could be “catastrophic” for the town when those guys were doing that nonsense?

Typical of you Republicans, you are good at talking the talk but when push comes to shove you the record doesn’t show you walking the walk.

And oh yes…if this primary is so critical as you claim, then where are the Oswald signs.  I’ve seen a bunch of Mason signs around ALL the town.  Or are Oswald’s signs just in the village?  There is a lot of town beyond the village and the Tibbetts Pt. Rd.

So knock yourself out cheerleading!!! 

Maybe you should spend less time debating me and help Ms. Oswald put up some signs in the REST of the town if this primary is so critical.

Suck It Up Boys!!!

At the link below you can read an article in the WDT about Hester Chase and the new Cape Vincent zoning law revision process. 

Hester is on the CV Zoning Board of Appeals and in my opinion one of the very few people in CV govt that has any real backbone!

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140824/NEWS03/140829376

Hester has a number of concerns about the zoning law revision and expressed those concerns to the town board in some detail.

According to this article two zoning officials Mr. Faulkinham and Mr. Brown who were on the zoning revision committee showed dissatisfaction and   left the meeting after the board decided against Faulkinham's and Brown's advice against a delay in the  public hearing on the law. 

Well that figures!!!

These two CV zoning geniuses were at the very heart of the solar zoning fiasco last summer that even swept the supervisor into a  very embarrassing zoning fiasco who had his own illegally approved solar project that he had to take down as a result.  This all made news several times in the WDT.

Why was that?  Because the zoning law that Brown and others had written was a mess when it came to solar energy zoning and it still is and in the end they could neither read it or apply it correctly.

And why was that? Because they had rushed the law, just like it  appears they are doing now and upset because the town board won't immediately pass the revision.

After last years solar zoning fiasco, that Ms. Chase had the guts to stand against to truly defend the zoning process and attempt to keep it credible, I suggested some of our zoning officials like Brown Faulknham, and Macsherry and others should be replaced.

Suck it up boys...the town board apparently doesn't agree with you on the timing of the zoning revision and public hearing.

Geee...maybe that is because you created such a zoning f#&*up last year that was splashed all over the front page of the WDT and created an extreme embarrassment for the town supervisor that they are a little gun shy about your advice.

These zoning guys like Faulknham and Brown should get a clue that zoning is run on competence...not arrogance!

The CV law is still a mess in a number of places, particularly the solar zoning regulations.

As for Hester Chase...she should run for town board.

I am also glad to see councilman John Byrne show a little spine and support a delay in the public hearing and to get more input.

Some Comments On Michelle Oswald Running For Cape Vincent Town Board

I have posted comments about the up coming Cape Vincent  primary and election.  Marty Mason is running against Michelle Oswald for a town board seat.  Since I have already expressed my opinion about Mr. Mason in a previous post, I will now have some comments on Ms. Oswald.

First of all nothing I am saying here about Ms. Oswald and her record on the CV board should be taken as support for Mr. Mason.  Mr. Mason in my opinion has already demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt his lack of judgment and leadership during the past industrial wind issue.  So for those of you who still cling to some deluded fantasy that I am helping Mr. Mason or the Democrats…so be it.  I can’t change that nonsense. And those of you who persist in that nonsense you probably have noticed your comments were not posted.

As far as the choice we have now, Michelle is the better choice, however, I say that with some major reservations despite the glowing support from letters in the WDT.    Personally I believe we need to vote with our eyes open to the realities, not glowing political election year propaganda.

Although I could generally support Ms. Oswald and have before  I think she has dropped the ball on a couple very critical CV town issues.

Several comments in editorials were made that would lead you to believe Ms. Oswald is more independent and not just a rubber stamp for the Hirschey govt.  But if you read this blog you know I like to look at the actual record and evidence on those claims and see if they actually hold.  And there is record to look at

During the wind issue with BP under the Art 10 process when Ms. Oswald was on the board she apparently fully supported the appeasing of the Art. 10 process with BP, rubber stamping with her signature many letters written by the town to the NYPSC in this distorted process.

Art. 10 removed our land use home rule rights on the siting of energy projects in our community, yet Ms. Oswald supported the town’s involvement in a process with BP and the State that removed citizen’s rights on one of the most critical home rule powers given to local govts., the local zoning control of our land.

I believe the town should have stood in protest of Art 10 and not appeased it as they did.  I believe that Ms. Oswald, who publicly declared she was against industrial wind in CV (to her credit) should have been a voice to look at other viable alternatives like prohibiting industrial wind development in CV instead of the typical and Art 10 zoning regulation of wind energy approach that gave BP and the State wind agenda a huge advantage over local communities.

Instead she caved in to the Hirschey zoning law approach, or she did not comprehend the other alternatives which were explained to her by myself and others.  And keep in mind the law that exists now allows some wind energy development in CV.  So where was the anti wind  Ms. Oswald who apparently supported the Hirschey govt. zoning (or chose to remain silent under social pressure)?

Now it appears based on some recent case law after a NYS Appeals Court ruling on Fracking, that banning wind development might have been the more appropriate approach to preserve home rule and truly protect us from future wind development and other invasive land uses.  To understand this you can see a very well crafted  explanation on this matter in WDT letter I posted by Dave LaMora of CV.

So on the wind issue and the Art 10, process  I just don’t see the independence and critical thinking when needed that others claim to observe in Ms. Oswald, and to me that is disappointing as a leader.

The second point to consider is the solar zoning fiasco of last summer 2013 when Ms. Oswald was on the CV board.  Our zoning process and officials and the proper administration of our brand new zoning law failed badly and very publicly.  The “solution” was a badly distorted and very legally questionable application of the process.

The questionable clean up and damage control of this zoning mess, which even made the WDT paper, involved many town officials, doing what I would consider some very questionable things.  The final ZBA decision on the fiasco was a disaster as well, with even some officials saying the process if challenged probably would not hold up in court, but they approved the permits anyhow.

What happened was an  inexcusable twisting of the zoning process.

So where was Ms. Oswald on this critical CV matter?  I don’t remember any real questioning or protest of this of this process.  I don’t know what level she may have been  involved behind the scenes, but it seems to me anyone on the town board who appoints zoning officials should have been raising a real stink and having some very serious reservations and questions about the behavior of some CV zoning and other board officials.

The person who was hurt by this process was a fellow CV female citizen who needed help.  So where was Ms. Oswald on that level?

Of course you have to keep in mind that the town supervisor Mr. Hirschey was involved in this solar zoning mess with his own prohibited solar project put up in error months before.  Apparently Ms. Oswald did not question that either, and she may have known about it.

Did Ms. Oswald not comprehend the zoning law and process, or with the supervisor involved was there simply too much social pressure for her to speak up.

I was at the heart of exposing this zoning mess, yet never received a call, email, or contact from Ms. Oswald for details or clarification, nor did the women citizen who was aggrieved by the process.

Once again at a critical point for the CV town board and the zoning process Ms. Oswald in my opinion did not step up with the appropriate leadership when it was badly needed and really dropped the ball on this matter. 

If you have the opportunity you might want to ask her why she failed to address or question this matter that was right in her lap as a town board member.

We know about Marty Mason’s history, agenda and failure of leadership on the town’s most critical issue in decades…but it is time to ask Ms. Oswald some tough questions as well before we support her as the preferred choice.

Of course in the tight knit Republican social scene in CV these questions are not likely to get asked.

That is why we have a supervisor and zoning officials who could not comprehend or properly apply the very zoning law they wrote!