Saturday, November 30, 2013

Another wind turbine burns up

Gamesa wind turbine burned up in the Stipa Naya wind power facility. Police and company employees tried to prevent journalists from taking photographs.Continue...
La Ventosa, Oax.- Este martes los vecinos de esta comunidad fueron testigos de la quema de un aerogenerador del parque “Stipa Naya” de la empresa eólica española GAMESA, considerada como uno de los principales fabricantes internacionales de aerogeneradores del mundo y líder en el sector de la fabricación, venta e instalación de turbinas eólicas.

El texto original de éste artículo fue publicado por Romo Noticias en la siguiente dirección: http://romonoticias.com/2013/11/se-quema-aerogenerador-del-parque-stipa-naya-en-la-ventosa/. Éste contenido se encuentra protegido por la Ley. Si lo cita, por favor diga la fuente y haga un enlace a la nota original de donde usted lo ha tomado. Todos los Derechos Reservados © 2013.

Ontario Canada ~ Anti-turbine activists take protest to Hwy. 402 for mass rally

 The road to Ontario’s wind turbine industry — heralded by many, hated by others — goes through Southwestern Ontario.
Anti-turbine activists  held a mass rally October 19,2013. The protest was  against Ontario’s growing number of wind farms. Continue...


 Esther Wrightman speech to the “Unwilling Hosts” Rally (October 19, 2013)  

 Re- posted from National Wind Watch

Slightly edited from the version read at the rally)

Let us be clear about why we are here today. This is a demonstration of “We, The People” versus “We, The Corporations”! (I have of course borrowed the phrase from the American Declaration of Independence.)

This is an in-your-face demonstration of “We, The People” versus the wind energy companies that are strangling rural Ontario — strangling us with the approval and encouragement of our government!

I want to say “Thank you, rural Ontario — you good people who are the backbone of this distinguished province that just produced a Nobel laureate.” I want to say “Thank you” for having the backbone and guts to declare “We’re not going to take it anymore!”
All of us are struggling, in every way short of breaking the law, to save our way of life, our homes, our health, our communities, our wildlife — all this. We have been trying for years. Not days, not weeks — but years!

Our lives are now devoted to saving . . . our lives!
The wind developers and the government were flat wrong! They sneered and whispered to each other, “Don’t worry, they’ll get used to it! They’ll toe the line! They’ll bend the knee and suffer for the greater good of Toronto — our political base!”

But we have not and we will not! They misread us. These are our lives, our homes, our children, our children’s schools you are messing with, Premier Wynne! Ours! (I’m a mother! Don’t mess with my kids!)

One thing you will find out about rural Ontarians, Ms. Wynne, is: We are a tough crowd to deal with when we are vexed (aka pissed off).

With this rally, we put you on notice, Premier Wynne: We are officially and formally pissed off!

If you were to come out here, Madam Premier, you would discover that we invite anyone into our homes! To feed them, talk with them, respect them, even give them shelter. But, dammit, we expect the same courtesies in return! This government has come into our communities to bludgeon us!

Wind turbines are not a courtesy; they are an assault! Let’s call it for what it truly is; government-subsidized corporate terrorism. (The NextTerror, indeed!)

This government has flung us off our land, turned a deaf ear to people who are suffering, sacrificed wildlife to wind turbines — while maintaining the fiction, the hoax of “democracy.”

Premier Wynne, we will not be taken for suckers anymore! We will not be bullied and terrorized anymore! And if we don’t see action — and I mean STOP THE WIND TURBINES action! — then we will redouble our efforts to get your attention, until it becomes impossible to ignore the outraged roar of rural Ontario!

Ontario is not about Toronto; Ontario is about all the towns and villages and communities that just won Alice Munro (from rural Ontario, by the way) a Nobel Prize in Literature. Toronto is just one of those towns. Toronto is not a sovereign state with vassal fiefdoms paying homage.

There are good laws and bad laws. The Green Energy Act is a bad law. We call on the Premier and legislature to strike it down. Until that happens, we do have the right and obligation to see that it is broken — violated. We refuse to live under its jack boot!

Rural Ontario — this rally, this protest, is the beginning of something bigger Take this spirit home to your community, to Toronto — everywhere. Be creative, be determined — and let us all link arms and stand together and put an end to the terrorism of wind turbines in rural Ontario.

Get mad! Stay mad! Make history!

Lambton County will spend $20,000 to join legal battle before Ontario's Environmental Review Tribunal

In a potentially precedent-setting move, Lambton County council will financially back a legal battle before Ontario's Environmental Review Tribunal in an attempt to halt wind turbine construction.

After months of debate and staff reports, county politicians narrowly voted 17-16 Wednesday in favor of spending $20,000 to become a presenter in Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) cases involving Huron County families who are challenging further wind development near their homes.  Continue...

Friday, November 29, 2013

Historic Lincoln speech sets tone for Thanksgiving feast in Cape Vincent

CAPE VINCENT — Thanksgiving Day speeches, scripted or spur of the moment, often set the tone at gatherings before food fills stomachs.
The Rev. Pierre Aubin delivered one Thursday at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church that hearkened back to when the national holiday was proclaimed on Oct. 3, 1863.
Continue...

Numerous homes in the Cape Vincent area will be adversely impacted by industrial wind




Michael S. McCann, McCann Appraisal, LLC reviewed the Cape Vincent wind economic committees report on the economic impacts a wind development would have on our community.
McCann found that after completing his review of the subject location, it was clear that numerous homes in the Cape Vincent area will be adversely impacted, and the best available evidence indicates that value loss of 25% to 40% or more will occur to homes within approximately 2 miles of the turbines. This impact is not expected to be uniform, and some losses may well be lower and others higher.

His full report can be read at this link


Michael McCann has kept abreast of the latest developments in Cape Vincent. The following is an email correspondence between Mr. McCann and a resident of Cape Vincent.

 From: Mike McCann
 I read the * linked article,  and a thought occurred to me that may be of some use to you.

In Illinois, farm land values have shot up tremendously over the last several years, from around $3,500-$4,000 per acre to about $10,000 per acre currently. The reasons for this are the increased price of commodities and lower interest rates, which have made farming highly profitable and created more demand and competition for good quality AG dirt.
If this is also true in upstate New York, then all the farmers need to do is sell off a few acres to cover the “losses” that they claim from not getting a huge lease windfall income.
But, more importantly from a zoning/case law perspective, if farm values have increased there, then the land owners do not have a valid claim to “hardship” or financial plight that could be used (theoretically) to help justify a zoning variation or special use.
You know who to call to check local farm prices/sales, so I leave it to you to follow up. But let me know if I can be of any service.
P.S. I see my name and work is still being cited in the blogosphere. And I thought I just had tinnitus..Ha!
Regards,
Michael S. McCann
McCann Appraisal, LLC
~~
 To: 'Mike McCann'
This link will take to the Town web site where the draft of Cape Vincent’s law is:

 http://townofcapevincent.org/docs/cat_view/14-miscellaneous.html

Click in the Down Load for “Draft Zoning Law 6-4-12”
The sections that you would be interested in are: 6.7 Noise, 7.16 Tall Structures Applications,
Setbacks:

9) To protect the health and safety of all Town residents from ice throw and potential rotor failure, each WECS shall be setback a minimum of:
[a] Six times the total height of the proposed WECS from the nearest residence.

[b] Six times the total height of the proposed WECS from the nearest project boundary or property line.

[c] Six times the total height of the proposed WECS from any road.

[d] 1.25 miles from any WECS to the boundaries of the Village of Cape Vincent and from the Hamlets of Rosiere, Millens Bay, and St. Lawrence Corners as shown on the “Large Scale WECS Exclusion Map,”
Appendix 9.

[e] 1.25 miles from schools. Appendix 9, Large Scale WECS Exclusion Map

[f] In order to ensure that residents of adjoining Towns of Lyme and Clayton are not negatively affected by any WECS proposed in the Town of Cape Vincent, any WECS near the Town’s boundaries shall comply with the Noise Standards in Section 6.7 and shall be no closer than six times the total height of the proposed WECS to that boundary.

10) A map entitled, “Large Scale WECS Exclusion Map,” is attached to this Law as Appendix 9 and it delineates the areas of the Town within which WECS are excluded in conformity with the setbacks established here in above.

The new law has been a six months effort (meeting twice a week for 3 hours time.  We had a committee of 10 people that really busted their hump.

 Thanks for your continued interest in our Town
~~~
From: Mike McCann
I read 6.7 and 7.16 now. Looks pretty solid. Any idea if BP will challenge it legally?
~~~
To: 'Mike McCann'
The Town received a letter from BP stating that the new Z/L prohibits siting turbines in the town.
They intend to take it to the Article 10 Siting Board as being “unreasonably brudensone”
We will see!
~~~~
From: Mike McCann
Burdensome? How reasonable is it to dump their burden on 96% of property owners in Cape Vincent? (Rhetorical question, of course).

Keep me in mind if any supporting testimony is needed at an Article 10 hearing (?)

Michael S. McCann

Real Estate Appraisal & Consulting

* Linked article referred to by Mr McCann ~ The fight over wind farms continues in Cape Vincent

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Welcome to Watertown, mate

First published: November 26, 2013 at 5:00 am
Watertown Daily Times
 
By Daniel Flatley
 
Life in a Northern Town

Welcome to Watertown, mate

 
I come from a land down under where beer flows and men chunder.When I was 16 years old, a few friends and I went to the local grocery store armed with a cardboard cutout of Australian professional golfer Greg “The Shark” Norman and a video camera. Our goal: to secure a six pack of Foster’s — because, as the slogan goes, “It’s Australian for beer.”
Continue...

Monday, November 25, 2013

Cape Vincent ~ Verified Ballot Count is in

Congratulations to the winning candidates!

Supervisor Vote tally

Urban Hirschey 651
Alan Wood 574

Town Board Vote Tally

Brooks Bragdon 623
Paul Aubertine 621
Michelle Oswald 601
Dennis Pearson 569

The winners for supervisor and town council in Cape Vincent.


Town Supervisor Urban Hirschey appears to have won re-election.
 
Town council member Brooks Bragdon also won a seat, but incumbent Michelle Oswald lost.
 
The results give the town's anti-wind-power group one less seat on the council, but it still maintains a four-to-one majority.
 
After election night, Democratic challenger Alan Wood was leading Republic Hirschey 501 to 426, but 300 absentee ballot called those results into question. Continue...
 

FEMA flood plain mapping near completion in north country

Property owners along waterways in the north country are expected to see increases on flood insurance premiums, but there are no answers yet as to how much.
“Rates are changing,” said Karen Dunbar, National Flood Insurance Program customer service representative. “Premiums will go up.” Continue...

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Jefferson County to spend $500,000 to promote tourism in 2013

The county and likely will remain the county’s agency of choice.Jefferson County will spend nearly $500,000 on tourism promotion in 2014.

The bulk of the money is given to the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council. A much smaller portion is given to the Disabled Persons Action Organization.

 The 1000 Islands International Tourism Council has a proven track record when it comes to marketing .Continue...

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Threat of bat fatalities stalls Maine wind project

BINGHAM — The review of a proposed 62-turbine wind farm project in this Somerset County town has been put on hold in part because of concerns about the danger the turbines might pose to bats being threatened by white-nose syndrome, a rapidly spreading fungal disease.
Continue...

Friday, November 22, 2013

He beckons us still

PUBLISHED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2013 
Watertown  Daily Times
Five decades after the tragedy, it’s still unfathomable.
How could the leader of the free world be struck down by one individual? What would drive the assassin to commit such an atrocity? Will we ever fully comprehend what took place in Dallas on this day in 1963?
John F. Kennedy had brought so much promise into the White House when he assumed the presidency in January 1961. He embodied the youthful enthusiasm that would define much of that decade, benefitted significantly by the glamour that he and his wife, Jacqueline, projected. Continue...

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Taming Turbine Fires Before They Start: It’s when, not if…

The most common cause of a turbine fire is a lightning strike—a risk that is heightened by the installation of taller and taller wind turbines

By Scott Starr
 According to reports, the cost of a fire that damages or destroys a wind turbine can be as much as $2 million. Property damage to the turbine, and nearby areas, from fires reported in the past decade ranged between $750,000 and $6 million. 

 Aside from the imminent hazards of a burning turbine, there is also the risk of sparks, embers, or debris falling to the ground and setting off a wildfire due to the remote location of many wind farms. Even if a turbine is not fully burned or damaged, or a potential fire doesn’t spread to the surrounding countryside, costs can be considerable. This was shown during a recent fire at a wind farm in California, which resulted in the loss of just one converter cabinet. Cost for replacement: $243,000, including parts and downtime.Continue...

Vestas turbine blaze in Quebec

NextEra Energy Canada is investigating the cause of a fire that broke out in a Vestas turbine at the 54MW Mount Copper wind farm in Quebec last week.
The Murdochville fire department responded to a call in the early afternoon of 13 November. The blaze started in the nacelle and spread to the blades, NextEra spokesman Steven Stengel told reNews. Continue via NWW...

Vestas has been plagued by wind turbine fires  in the past.  The company blamed a 2011 wind turbine fire on a brake problem.  In 2012, a Vestas V-112 wind turbine in Germany caught fire; Vestas blamed the blaze on a loose connection that caused an arc flash.  Also in 2012; a  similar arc fire occurred in a Vestas V-90 turbine in Spain during maintenance; in addition a Vestas turbine collapsed in Ireland.  Then in April 2013, a Vestas V-80 wind turbine in Ontario, Canada, burst into flames.  Continue ~ Wind Action

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Users Harassed For Criticizing On British Petroleum Oil Spill

After claims that British Petroleum appointed a public relations firm, Oglivy and Mather, to pursue and threaten Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) users who criticized the company for its handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) is entangled in a new debate. Continue...

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

House cuts green energy permitting funds from energy bill

The House approved an amendment on Tuesday that would cut in half the money available to the government to consider and issue permits for solar and wind energy projects.
Members agreed by voice vote to the amendment to the Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act, H.R. 1965. Continue...

Rahall backs bipartisan coalition to end wind power subsidies

In a letter to Congress, one House committee calls for the end of wind subsidies.
The Committee on Ways and Means wrote in a letter the urgency to “allow the wind production tax credit (PTC) to expire at the end of 2013 under current law and not to include an extension of the PTC in tax reform or tax extenders legislation.” Continue...

Wind turbine breaks in Wyoming County ~ Video report

Cape Vincent Ballot dispute

One of the Republicans named in the suit, said the party is being represented by James Walsh an Albany attorney

One of the Republicans named in the suit, Mr. Hirschey, said the party is being represented by James Walsh, an Albany attorney. He said he and his Republican colleagues will see the court action through to its conclusion.  Link to source~Watertown Times


Mr. Walsh's practice focuses on government relations and regulatory compliance matters in the areas of environmental regulation, government contracting, energy, labor, economic development, consumer protection, higher education and lobbying compliance.
Mr. Walsh is a former Senior Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New York State and was responsible for advising the Governor and Senior Staff on legal issues and legislation related to the environment, energy, local government, procurement, and consumer protection. Among many accomplishments, Mr. Walsh helped negotiate the landmark 2003 State Superfund/Brownfield law and laws establishing fiscal oversight boards for the City of Buffalo and Erie County.

Link here to read more about James Walsh

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Cape Vincent ballot dispute goes to Supreme Court

The Watertown Times
CAPE VINCENT — State Supreme Court Judge James P. McClusky has ordered all ballots from the Nov. 5 election for town offices preserved and ordered that the Jefferson County Board of Elections determine the validity of about 100 absentee votes cast in the election.
Democratic candidates Dennis W. Pearson and Paul F. Aubertine, who are running for seats on the town council, and Alan N. Wood, who is running for supervisor, filed a legal challenge to the ballots Monday at the county clerk’s office against Board of Elections Commissioners Jerry O. Eaton and Babette M. Hall, as well as Town Council candidates Brooks J. Bragdon and Michelle T. Oswald and supervisor candidate Urban C. Hirschey. 
Continue...

Fox News WNYF channel 7

Cape Vincent Vote Count Still On Hold

Absentee ballot counting for Cape Vincent town supervisor is still on hold.
Officials at the Jefferson County Board of Elections started counting absentee ballots November 13, but locked the ballots away because both sides questioned the legality of many of the ballots.
Elections officials said Tuesday they're waiting for a judge to give them the go-ahead to resume the count.
There's no word on when that might be Continue...

Democratic Court Challange of Cape Vincent NY Absentee Ballots ~ Legal Document

Monday, November 18, 2013

Cape Vincent Democratic leadership will be taking the Absentee Ballot Challenge to Court

Republican Board of Elections Deputy Commissioner Jerry Eaton estimated one-third of the ballots were being challenged.


The challenges were to the ballots themselves as well as the envelopes in which they were mailed, Eaton said.

Eaton called the challenges "unprecedented." 7 Fox News WWNYTV

Word on the street is that the Democrats will be taking their challenge of the absentee ballots to court. The Democrats will be represented by the Wladis law firm of Albany.

This case could result in a Landmark court decision that may set 
 a precedent that establishes a significant new legal principle
  that could curtail or restrain voter rights in New York
 State.
 This is not just about voters in Cape Vincent this has the 
potential to affect every  resident in New York State.



Wind turbine breaks in Wyoming County

Hunters in Orangeville heard a loud boom when blade from a wind turbine at the Orangeville Wind Farm in Wyoming County broke off around 7 a.m. Sunday.
“It sounded like a cannon going off. A loud cannon. I mean, I could hear it a half a mile away and it was loud,” said Gary Paone from Cheektowaga.
The blade weighs approximately 20,000 lbs and is approximately 160 feet long. No one was injured when it dropped to the ground. Continue...

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Watertown Daily Times reports ~ BP project all but dead:

There is a high likelihood that the proposed wind project in Cape Vincent will die a slow and quiet death

 11/17/13 In his Outside looking in column in the Watertown Daily Times  Perry White wrote:
"Unless something changes on a number of fronts, there is a high likelihood that the proposed wind project in Cape Vincent will die a slow and quiet death, starved by a doomed federal subsidy, a steep increase in the availability of natural gas and a regional electrical distribution system that is not prepared to accept generation from far-flung places like Galloo Island and Cape Vincent.


Three Grey-Simcoe wind turbine projects scrapped

Owen Sound Sun
Two wind turbine projects in southeast Grey County and another one straddling the boundary between Grey and Simcoe counties near Singhampton are now off the table. Officials of Windrush Energy Inc. confirmed on Thursday that Skyway 125 Energy Inc. a five turbine project near Maxwell and Flesherton Wind Energy also known as Silver Springs Wind Farm with four turbines proposed for east of Lake Eugenia have been terminated by mutual agreement with the OPA.
Company spokesperson Derek Tennant also confirmed that Skyway 124 Energy Inc., a proposal to build wind turbines from Singhampton to Dunedin in Clearview Township, has also been scrapped. All three projects, which  had been working their way through the provincial approval process for several years, were terminated on Nov. 1.

There are no winners in the Cape Vincent battle

As the final vote count nears in the hotly contested Cape Vincent town election, it looks more and more like the wind has gone out of the sails, if you will, of the political faction that has staunchly opposed the development of commercial wind power. It isn’t so much that those against the plans by BP Wind Energy to put a wind farm in the town have changed their minds. It’s more likely that the fight has been long and arduous and bitter, and it’s hard to keep that kind of effort up over time. Continue...

Tibbetts Point needs access to fresh water

Since I am blind, I am unable to get in my car and go to the village and get fresh water should we run out.
For the past several years on Tibbetts Point, we have struggled to get water legally by buying shore wells, chlorinators and filters. We are continually threatened by drought and low water. We need legal fresh water and hydrants and are willing to pay our share. 
Edith Wise Burtee
Cape Vincent

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Wind energy firms could be sued easier under bill up for hearing

MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - A new bill up for a hearing next week could make it easier for Wisconsinites to sue energy developers of wind turbines for “physical and emotional harm”.
The bill is sponsored by De Pere State Senator Frank Lasse, a Republican and an outspoken opponent of wind energy.
Under the bill, people living within a mile-and-a-half of a wind turbine would be allowed to sue for reimbursement on medical expenses, relocation costs and drops in property value.

‘Free as the Wind’: The True Cost of Wind Energy

Green activists preach about renewable energy sources, using words like ‘holistic’ and ‘sustainable’. Wind energy is one of their favorites; nothing is as free as the wind, n’est-ce pas?
If we truly consider the holistic environmental impact of wind turbines on the environment and the economy, it’s not a pretty picture. Nor is it sustainable. Continue...

Cape Vincent ~ Dems strike out ~ Hoare not going to bat over absentee votes .

In an unprecedented move Top Gun lawyer Frank Hoare was brought in to contest absentee votes in a small sleepy town in northern NY ,once characterized as little Appalachia by BP's community outreach consultant Trieste Associates.

Frank Hoare is considered the premier election law attorney in New York Sate, he has impeccable credentials and is a heavy hitter when it comes to important major elections at both the state and federal level.
According to the Watertown Times Frank Hoare was brought in to represent the interests of Paul Aubertine.

After election day the democrats had a substantial lead however, if all the absentee votes were counted theoretically all of the incumbents could very well be returned to office.

At the end of the first days count there were enough uncontested absentee votes to ensure Supervisor Hirschey's return to office and confirm an unassailable lead for Paul Aubertine.

It is likely that Hoare's involvement in the contesting of absentee votes ended because at this point the numbers boiled down to a contest between Dennis Pearson and councilman Brooks Bragdon.

On election day Pearson walked away with 497 votes a 91 vote lead over incumbent candidate Bragdon who ended up with 406 votes .

At the end of the first days count of the absentee ballots Pearson's lead over Bragdon had shrunk to 15 votes . Subsequently, for Pearson to prevail would have required Hoare to make a case in court to toss more than half of the contested absentee ballots out.

The chances of success would be nil and it may have been decided that going to bat for Pearson would not be worth the effort or cost.



Political parties, elections officials quibble over Cape Vincent absentee count details

In the race to control the Cape Vincent Town Council, every ballot, every detail, counts.
Candidate representative authorization forms show that Mr. Radley, Mr. White and Mr. Hoare all swore to be representatives of Mr. Aubertine.
Cape Vincent Republican Councilman John L. Byrne III maintains that Democratic candidate Paul F. Aubertine had too many people representing him during a canvass of absentee ballots at the Jefferson County Board of Elections office Wednesday. As the saga unfolds and ballot counting continues, Republican Town Supervisor Urban Hirschey now leads Democratic challenger Alan N. Wood.

Friday, November 15, 2013

A letter to send to your neighbouring wind turbine lease holder

First Last
AddressCityPostal Code
Re: Information Regarding Industrial Wind Turbine Lease
Dear Sir/Madam
As a lease holder for Industrial Wind Turbines you will likely have signed a contract with a wind developer that may include language similar to the following:
“Lessor grants to lessee a non-exclusive license for audio, visual, view, light, flicker, noise, shadow, vibration, air turbulence, wake, electromagnetic, electrical and radio frequency interference, and any other effects attributable to the wind power facilities or activity located on the leased lands or on adjacent properties.”
Having signed said lease(s) with this or similar language included in your lease for Industrial Wind Turbines, you are fully aware that any or all the above mentioned effects may occur on your own or on ‘adjacent properties’.
In the event I or any member of my family suffers from any or all of the above mentioned effects after Industrial Wind Turbines are installed on your property, I will be exploring further legal options.
Regards
Your Name

Top Gun lawyer representing Cape Vincent Democratic leadership has withdrawn from absentee ballot challenge

 The Cape Vincent Democratic leadership is challenging a large number of absentee ballots based on residency issues. 
Apparently they believe that a certain segment of the tax paying population of Cape Vincent should not be allowed to vote .

The Democrats went so far as to bring in a TOP GUN lawyer (Frank Hoare) from Albany with the appointed task of killing seasonal  absentee votes.   Sources have confirmed that Mr. Hoare has withdrawn from the process of challenging the absentee ballots. It remains to be seen if the Democratic leadership will continue down this futile path.

Mr. Hirschey had “no legitimate chance of winning. I emphasize legitimate.” Says Alan Wood

 While Cape Vincent residents await final certification of election results pending a final count of absentee ballots, the incumbents, all of whom are aligned with the forces against wind power, are facing numbers that should cause them concern. Continue...

Thursday, November 14, 2013

BP Wind to Divest U.S. Wind Energy Development Projects by Year's End

 

SUGAR LAND--November 14, 2013--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BP Wind's (NYSE:BP) (London, England) plans to divest its U.S. wind energy development portfolio were put on hold in July of this year. But the company is now seeking to divest its wind energy business by the end of 2013, and it has submitted a notice to the New York Public Service Commission about its plans. These plans include the potential sale of its 285-megawatt (MW) Cape Vincent wind project. Continue...

"Unprecedented" Challenges In Cape Vincent Supervisor Race

Republican Board of Elections Deputy Commissioner Jerry Eaton estimated one-third of the ballots were being challenged.


The challenges were to the ballots themselves as well as the envelopes in which they were mailed, Eaton said.

Eaton called the challenges "unprecedented." 7 Fox News WWNYTV



  Cape Vincent Democratic leadership has brought in TOP GUN lawyer (Frank Hoare) from Albany with the appointed task of killing seasonal  absentee votes  

Second suspect charged for alleged windmill shooting

State police charged a second person in connection with the shooting of a wind turbine in the town of Martinsburg. Continue...

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

AUGUST 16, 2011 Watertown Times Editorial

The illegal attempt by a three-member majority of the Cape Vincent Town Council to limit voting



The illegal attempt by a three-member majority of the Cape Vincent Town Council to limit voting is reminiscent of the literacy tests and poll taxes used to keep black people and other minorities from exercising their constitutional right to vote.

In a town bitterly divided over wind power, the three members of the board supporting a controversial wind-power development rammed through without any prior legal consultation a resolution requiring voters to show their state driver’s licenses with a Cape Vincent address to vote in next month’s primary and the Nov. 8 election. A provision permits election officials to waive the identification requirement for someone they know. The resolution is aimed at blocking seasonal residents from changing their addresses in order to have a voice in the dispute through the ballot.

Continue reading the rest of the story at this link

UPDATE~ DEMOCRATS BRING IN HOARE TO INSPECT ABSENTEE BALLOTS

The Democrats have brought in TOP GUN lawyer (Frank Hoare) from Albany with the appointed task of killing seasonal  absentee votes. 

  Before joining the firm Featherstonhaugh, Wiley & Clyne in August of 2008, Mr.Hoare worked as an aide to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Hoare, 51, lives in Rensselaer with his companion Cathy Calhoun, an aide to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
link here to read Mr. Hoare's profile.

   Town of Cape Vincent Election Results Absentee Ballot Count
Not counting 100 challenged absentee Ballots



This vote tally was reported to me at 5:05 PM 11,13,2013  this count does not include  approximately 100 absentee ballots being challenged over residency issues .

   
                      The results below are the count from the polls + absentee ballots = tentative total:

Urban Hirschey:  426 +143 = 569
Alan Wood      :  501 + 56  = 557
Paul Aubertine :  542 + 59  = 601
Dennis Pearson:  497 + 62  = 559
Brooks Bragdon:  406 +138 = 544
Michelle Oswald: 386 +133 =  519

Again, all totals are preliminary and the final count won't be available for three days.

Cape Vincent absentee tally subject to several challenges

The unofficial tally of absentee ballots from hotly contested races in the town of Cape Vincent may be delayed by at least three days due to a large number of challenges, according to Board of Elections officials.
Huddled around a table in the Jefferson County Board of Elections office, members of both the Democratic and Republican parties are inspecting ballots cast in races for town supervisor and two town council seats and raising numerous challenges to both ballots and envelopes. Continue...

Crowd Gathers For Cape Vincent Vote Count

The room was crowded at the Jefferson County Board of Elections as absentee ballots were counted in the race for Cape Vincent town supervisor.
The ballots were being opened and even a magnifying glass used to inspect them. Continue...




Sunday, November 10, 2013

High bat mortality from wind turbines

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
8-Nov-2013

American Institute of Biological Sciences 

More than 600,000 of the mammals may have died in 2012 in the contiguous United States

A new estimate of bat deaths caused by wind turbines concludes that more than 600,000 of the mammals likely died this way in 2012 in the contiguous United States. The estimate, published in an article in BioScience, used sophisticated statistical techniques to infer the probable number of bat deaths at wind energy facilities from the number of dead bats found at 21 locations, correcting for the installed power capacity of the facilities.
Bats, although not widely loved, play an important role in the ecosystem as insect-eaters, and also pollinate some plants. They are killed at wind turbines not only by collisions with moving turbine blades, but also by the trauma resulting from sudden changes in air pressure that occur near a fast-moving blade. The article by Mark Hayes of the University of Colorado notes that 600,000 is a conservative estimate; the actual figure could be 50 percent higher. The estimate is in rough agreement with some previous estimates, but bigger than most. The data that Hayes analyzed also suggest that some areas of the country might experience much higher bat fatality rates at wind energy facilities than others: the Appalachian Mountains have the highest estimated fatality rates in Hayes's analysis.
The consequences of deaths at wind energy facilities for bat populations are hard to assess because there are no high quality estimates of the population sizes of most North American bat species. But Hayes notes that bat populations are already under stress because of climate change and disease, in particular white-nose syndrome. The new estimate is therefore worrisome, especially as bat populations grow only very slowly, with most species producing only one young per year.
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BioScience, published monthly, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS; http://www.aibs.org). BioScience is a forum for integrating the life sciences that publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles. The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is a meta-level organization for professional scientific societies and organizations that are involved with biology. It represents nearly 160 member societies and organizations. The article by Hayes can be accessed ahead of print as an uncorrected proof at http://www.aibs.org/bioscience-press-releases/ until early December.
The complete list of peer-reviewed articles in the December 2013 issue of BioScience is as follows. These are now published ahead of print.
Rough Trade: Animal Welfare in the Global Wildlife Trade by Sandra E. Baker, Russ Cain, Freya van Kesteren, Zinta A. Zommers, Neil D'Cruze, and David W. Macdonald
A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Analysis of Multifactorial Land Mammal Colonization of Islands by Paul P. A . Mazza, Sandro Lovari, Federico Masini, Marco Masseti, and Marco Rustioni
Managing Multiple Vectors for Marine Invasions in an Increasingly Connected World by Susan L. Williams, Ian C. Davidson, Jae R. Pasari, Gail V. Ashton, James T. Carlton, R. Eliot Crafton, Rachel E. Fontana, Edwin D. Grosholz, A. Whitman Miller, Gregory M. Ruiz, and Chela J. Zabin
Safety in Numbers? Abundance May Not Safeguard Corals from Increasing Carbon Dioxide by Charles Birkeland, Margaret W. Miller, Gregory A. Piniak, C. Mark Eakin, Mariska Weijerman, Paul McElhany, Matthew Dunlap, and Russell E. Brainard
Bats Killed in Large Numbers at United States Wind Energy Facilities by Mark A. Hayes.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

US wind turbines kill over 600,000 bats a year (and plenty of birds too)

Wind turbines killed hundreds of thousands of bats in 2012 in the United States, according to an article by Mark Hayes of the University of Colorado. Hayes took the number of dead bats from 21 wind turbine locations and inferred the number of nationwide bat deaths, arriving at the conservative estimate of 600,000 bats killed in 2012. But the real toll, Hayes notes, may be as high as 900,000.   
Bats are killed by collisions with wind turbine blades or from air pressure changes caused by the blades, the latter being the real danger. Similar to the bends in scuba divers, barotrauma causes bats to pop from the inside. Continue...

Monday, November 4, 2013

Novenber 5th re- elect Michelle Bouchard Town of Cape Vincent Town Clerk



Michelle Bouchard is running for re-election as Town of Cape Vincent Town Clerk .  October 10, 2013 a  meet the candidates event was held at rec park, Michelle spoke about her many accomplishments as Town Clerk.

 What Michelle had to say ~

Good evening, I am Michelle Bouchard the incumbent candidate for Town Clerk.
I am a military brat , my father was a Marine and true Grunt. He and my mother instilled in my brothers , sister and I to honor , respect and to have discipline. These characteristics I adhere to in my professional career.

I was elected three years ago as Town Clerk and came into office under very  stressful circumstances.
These challenges I met, I restored integrity and brought back trust to the position. I cleaned the office, moved the furnature around and made the office more inviting to the public. I installed a drop box so law enforcement and residents are able to drop things off for  the judges, assessor, zoning officer,
supervisor and clerk. making the Town Office building accessible 24/7.

I am actively involved with the county Clerks association and was able to hold a dinner meeting here in Cape Vincent. The first for Cape Vincent . I also chaired a Clerk of the year committee for our Region and was
successful in having Mary Smith , Town Clerk for the Town of leRay honored as Clerk of the year for our Region by the State Clerks association.
I contacted Addie Russell to entice her to have one of her rediscovering  your backyard events here in
Cape Vincent. And together with Shelly Higgins we have had two very successful Escape to the Cape
events
I helped create a new Town website and I am now the "Webmaster".
 In 2011 NYS decided that it would no longer issue dog licenses and because of my past experience in dog insurance I was able to institute a system for renewals and new licenses.

I have been in contact with the DEC and offered Cape Vincent as a training location for all license
issuing agents. In two weeks , here in this room all license issuing agents in Jefferson County will be
trained on the new system. This is not just town clerks but marinas, and sporting good stores that issue licenses.
For the future I will become a notary . I have taken a notary prep course and have taken the exam
and I am waiting to hear the results . This is a service that I can provide at the office.

I will offer to collect second and third installments on your property taxes . If this is an option you choose. I will be able to collect at the office. You will no longer have to pay the County . With three years of collection experience under my belt , I know it is time to offer these services.

Lastly, I am 12 points away from becoming a Registered Municipal Clerk. I will sign my name Michele, RMC. This certification comes from experience and education. I have attended training classes, and seminars . I will be the first Cape Vincent Town Clerk to receive this certification.



Thank you

BP Wind Energy Seeking To Sell Development Portfolio By Year-End

Although the company halted plans to sell its wind energy business in July, BP is still actively seeking to divest its entire U.S. development portfolio by year-end. In fact, the company recently submitted a notice to the New York Public Service Commission about its plans, including the potential sale of its 285 MW Cape Vincent wind project. Continue...

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BP announcs divestment plans, no details. Continue...

Sunday, November 3, 2013

BP is CREEPY THEY BUILD ON THE CHEAPY

Off-year ballots have municipal focus

Voters across the north country will head to the polls Tuesday in an off-year election that will focus on local county and municipal officials.

Important town contests in Jefferson County include Cape Vincent, where a full slate of pro-wind farm candidates are challenging the incumbent supervisor and two councilmen .  Continue...

Friday, November 1, 2013

Cape officials continue to face backlash over proposed Water District 6 expansion

CAPE VINCENT — Amidst ongoing backlash from several Pleasant Valley Road/County Route 6 residents over the proposed Water District 6 expansion, the town apparently has agreed to lower the water rate for at least one additional property.  Continue...