Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Ogdensburg woman shocked by Border Patrol has hired an attorney


CANTON — An attorney representing Jessica A. Cooke, 21, of Ogdensburg, said Friday that the Border Patrol treated his client abominably at a checkpoint outside Waddington last month. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times


Saturday, May 23, 2015


NYISO Wind Generation Study | August 2010

 This study spanned a period of time from the spring of 2008 to the spring of 2010 and involved an extensive review of not only the New York Control Area (NYCA) bulk power system, but the underlying 115 kV transmission system as well. It also involved significant feed-forward and feedback between the power flow analysis and the simulation of NYISO security constrained economic dispatch. This process was used to determine the impact of transmission constraints on the energy deliverability of the wind plants as well as how relieving the transmission constraints affected the energy deliverability of the wind plants.


Thursday, May 21, 2015

Army pulling PTSD program from Alex Bay’s River Hospital


ALEXANDRIA BAY — River Hospital’s one-of-a-kind post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program has been discontinued by the Army. Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times


Monday, May 18, 2015


Clayton NY Welcomes French Tourists Aboard a luxury Cruise Ship

May 18, 2015 — Clayton welcomed a slew of new visitors last week. A luxury cruise ship on its maiden voyage from Montreal stopped at the town’s docks. The ship was filled with nearly 200 tourists from France. Most on board were seeing the Thousand Islands for the first time. Continue reading via this link to NCPR

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Wind farms: a slaughter kept hidden from the public


Impact of wind turbines on bird and bat populations

Submission to the Australian Senate  

WIND TURBINES SELECT COMMITTEE


Mortality predictions being used in Australia to assess the impacts of wind turbines on birds and bats are minimised to mislead decision makers. Continue...



Saturday, May 16, 2015

Update ~ Thousand Islands Regional Assessment Project ~ Department of State Letter



Governor Cuomo should chip away at home rule and force NYS to develop more industrial wind.   

,

Aerial view of Wolfe Island Wind Farm


Opinion~
Watertown Daily Times
PUBLISHED: SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2015 AT 12:30 AM

Lewis County is the leader in wind energy in New York. Beginning with the 195-tower Maple Ridge Wind Farm commissioned in 2005, our community has been open for wind development. There are two new projects in process in Lewis County that would add 150 megawatts of renewable energy to New York state, enough to power an average of 50,000 homes. Our county, towns and school districts are active in the permitting process to make sure that tax agreements are in place to benefit the entire community. Continue…

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Did Border Patrol put Jess Cooke’s life at risk?

The recent tasing of  21 year old Jess Cooke by a Border Patrol agent in Waddington last Thursday(May 7) is disturbing. According to a statement on facebook attributed to Cooke ,the male Customs & Border Patrol(CBP) agent threw her to the ground and the female agent tased her in the back until she stopped screaming.
In the four and one half minute video Cooke begins screaming at 3:02. At 3:56 Cooke can still be heard screaming get it out of me. The audio portion of the video indicates the female officer may have tased Cooke for 54 seconds or more.


The “2011 Electronic Device Control Guidelines” established by the Police Executive Research Forum with the support of the  U.S. Department of Justice, clearly indicate that “...exposure to the ECW (Taser) for longer than 15 seconds (whether due to multiple applications or continuous cycling) may increase the risk of death or serious injury.”  


These guidelines also indicate that all subjects who have been tased should receive a medical evaluation by emergency medical responders in the field or at a medical facility. Subjects exposed to prolonged application (i.e., more than 15 seconds) should be transported to an emergency department for evaluation.


It appears Cooke was tased four times longer than guidelines recommended for her situation.  It also appears that CBP should have ensured that Cooke had a medical evaluation, since more than 40 people are killed each year by law enforcement officers deploying tasers.


Related articles:



Amnesty International Urges Stricter Limits on Police

Taser Use as U.S. Death Toll Reaches 500



 




Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Researchers map bird migrations to avoid turbine collisions



Preliminary data suggest the birds stay close to shore missing a 125-square-mile zone established for possible wind farms, including one between 12 and 27 miles off the coast of Maryland expected to host 125 wind turbines



Galloo Island  Wind complex as proposed 2010
Researchers have spent the last three years mapping the path migrating birds take from their winter homes to their summer breeding grounds as wind turbines spring up along the Atlantic Coast, posing a potential threat to avian travelers. Continue...
Related article:

Blowback: Wind farms run afoul of neighbors, regulators


U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service East Lansing office director Scott Hicks said his agency has "consistently recommended" throughout Michigan avoiding installing wind turbines in a 3-mile area around the Great Lakes. Continue...

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Border Patrol Checkpoints: How Far is Too Far?




border patrol surveillance camera
Wellesley Island,NY
SUNY Canton student Jessica Cooke was tased at a Border Patrol checkpoint after asking questions to agents on Thursday.  Cooke was out of the car and asking those questions because she didn't think Border Patrol had the legal standing to hold her. She was told to wait while a police dog unit was called in. Continue via this link to WNYTV7

Wind project will scar eastern Lake Ontario



Town of Henderson Wehle State Park Lake Ontario shoreline
My husband and I moved to Jefferson County almost 30 years ago, attracted in large part by the natural beauty of upstate New York, especially by the incomparable beauty of the Golden Crescent area with its eastern Lake Ontario vistas.. Continue...

Friday, May 8, 2015

SLC Woman Tasered By Border Agents in Confrontation


A 21 year old SUNY Canton student criminal justice student who was detained and tased at a Border Patrol checkpoint Thursday says she is the victim of "police brutality."



Jessica Cooke of Tuck Road, Ogdensburg says the incident unfolded after she was stopped at a checkpoint and ordered to open the trunk of her car.

Continue via this link to WNYTV7



  Video Posted on Facebook

Thursday, May 7, 2015


Texas poised to kill their Renewable Portfolio Standard


Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) has filed a bill that would eliminate Texas’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)

Clayton receives $50,000 for library, arena improvements



CLAYTON — The town has received $50,000 from the state toward upgrades to the Depauville Free Library and the Cerow Recreation Park arena. Continue via this link to the Watertown Timese.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The Future Of Massachusetts's Offshore Wind Farm Is Uncertain



Officials in Massachusetts bet big on wind energy, sinking $113 million into a waterfront terminal designed to serve the new industry off the New England coast. But Cape Wind is all but dead. Continue reading via this link to NPR

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Jefferson County appoints planning director, loses legislator to new job


WATERTOWN — Jefferson County gained a department head and lost a legislator Tuesday as Frank J. Pace was appointed director of planning and Legislator Jonathan L. Hirschey, R-Carthage, submitted a letter of resignation to take a job in New York City.Continue reading via this link to the Watertown Daily Times


One last trip on the St. Lawrence and a farewell


By Daniel Flatley

Times Staff Writer


I’ve already told a few people this. But two months before I moved to Watertown, I found a copy of “A Fan’s Notes” in the laundry room of my apartment building in New York City. Continue...

Monday, May 4, 2015


Support for Wind Welfare  may be Waning

 
The days of government support for the industry appear to coming to an end. Continue reading via this link to Forbes