My Mom becomes a U.S. citizen

'Important questions' answered

A week ago, in a column, I tried to guilt Kevin Cahill into reading the Freeman and joining Twitter so that he could give information to his constituents directly.
I also created a quasi-humorous interactive questionnaire to gather some information and have some fun.

Well, the results are in. And, to ease the understanding of the issue, I've created some helpful infographics.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FORM: ANSWERS

This documents includes important question because that's what it says in the title.

• Should we engage with government agencies to find a better way to disseminate information to the public? *

 • What’s the best way for you to find such information?

• Wouldn’t you like to punch Rain and Flood in the face?
(We are not responsible for people who punch actual people with names such as Rain and Flood.

 

• Should we have apologized for sending more than 1,200 storm-related tweets over the last week and half?  

Should we have apologized for sending other tweets that were videos of cute cats? 

 

What’s a tweet?

Will Kevin Cahill read the Freeman, ever?

There actually is a Ben and Jerry’s “Schweddy Balls” ice cream? 

 • Seriously, Kevin, can’t you at least get your staff on Twitter and send a news release directly to the public? 

Area activists, politicians and journalists set to act on civic issues

A small group of area activists, politicians and journalists (and yours truly, for some reason) will gather in Kingston on July 14 with the goal of creating a vibrant community through "A Forum for Engagement," an event which aims to focus on turning vision into action.

I'll be representing THE EVIL MAINSTREAM MEDIA OF DOOM AND DESPAIR AND DECADENCE and will try, with the rest of the group, to find a way for you to easily participate with matters that, uh, matter to you. In short, my role will be, with your help, to figure out ways for us at the Freeman to collaborate and improve our coverage of issues that are important to you. I'll also be adding some needed DOOM AND DESPAIR AND DECADENCE, because that's how I roll.


The forum takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. on July 14 at Stella May Gallery Theatre, 5 Sterling Street, Kingston.

Scott Tillitt, who organized the forum, explains:

Engaging with the audience, the group will use an organized creative thinking process to explore the issues that matter most and, more importantly, act on them. Following a discussion moderated by Brian Mahoney, editor of Chronogram, the group will break to organize the discussion into major themes. Then they’ll reconvene with the audience to focus on the most important issues, break them down further into actionable projects, and form teams to work on them.

Audience members are encouraged to engage with the group in the discussion and the action-focused process. But even if you go to just listen, your presence is participation enough, the organizers stress.

To bring more folks into the process, organizers will stream the event live online and monitor chat and Twitter during the discussion. Audience members and those who can't make it can submit comments and questions before the event and follow the action live on Twitter using the hashtag #civickingstonny.

The group is schedule to include: Kevin Cahill, NY State Assemblyman and person I like to make fun of; Michael D’Arcy, Kingston Neighborhood Watch; Elizabeth Hare, ReadyCollective; Tom Hoffay, Kingston Alderman and person I like to make fun of; Brian Mahoney, Chronogram; Rebecca Martin, Kingston Land Trust; Tillitt of BEAHIVE and me, of THE EVIL MAINSTREAM MEDIA OF DOOM AND DESPAIR AND DECADENCE.


The event is produced by BEAHIVE, sponsored by Chronogram and Freeman, and hosted by Stella May Gallery Theater.


Space is limited. Refreshments will be provided. Event details and RSVP are at http://on.fb.me/civickingstonny7-14.


You can also join the Civic Kingston NY Facebook group (http://on.fb.me/civickingstonny)

How New York State Legislature members spend your money for stuff, for them, to do stuff, which they should do, because that's a lot of money (boring!)

It's a well known paradox: we hate getting taxed in the state, but we love our legislators for bringing the pork home. But how much do they spend on office operations, like travel, mail, long distance calls, personal service (?), and, uh, stuff?

Well, here is a little informative chart that should help you decide in November which way you might want to go, as I'm told that our role in journalism is to communicate to our audience valuable information so they can make informed decisions.

CRAZY TALK!

Anyway, here's the chart, courtesy of The Empire Center's seethroughny.net, as first reported by the awesome Celeste Diaz of the New York Daily News.

Legislative Expenditures 10.09-3.10 Release2

If you are too lazy to break down your local white dude in office (yes, all our representatives are white men), here's a breakdown, from Oct. 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010.

State Senate:

* John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope (we hope). $396.115, ranking 21 out of 65 big spenders, I mean, state senators.
* Steven Saland: R-Poughkeepsie. $377,244, ranking 27.
* James Seward, R-Oneonta. $352,177, ranking 38
* Bill Larkin, R-Cornwall, $338,820 , ranking 49

The biggest offender? Pride of the State Senate Pedro Spada, who likes to switch parties, sushi, and get in trouble with ethics and the law, which is why he is their leader. I wish I was joking.

State Assembly:

* Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston. $219,349, ranking 32 out of 152.
* Joel Miller, R-Poughkeepsie,  $153,175, ranking 83.
* Frank Starkados, D-Milton. $142,156, ranking 106
* Clifford Crouch, R-Guilford. $135,604, ranking 116
* Marc Molinaro, R-Red Hook. $133,186, ranking 123
* Peter Lopez, R-Schoharie. $113,674, ranking 145.

More detailed reports, including pork, are also available.