10/7/2010

Tax Hike Looms!
The Olive Town Board has a preliminary budget it's working from... with a current proposed tax hike that at least one town board member has described as being "in double digits," at least until they can wrestle with figures at their next meeting on Tuesday, October 12.
The budgets were handed to town board members by Town Clerk Sylvia Rozelle, unannounced, at last Saturday's "charrette" gathering at the Olive Library to discuss comprehensive planning for the town.
According to board member Peter Friedel, approximately 25 people were in attendance... with a couple of those not town officials or planning consultants.
Friedel said the proposed General Fund spending plan is for $2,079,251, offset by $428,860 in anticipated revenues and $250,000 in unexpended balance from the current year, leaving $1,404,391 to be raised by taxes. The town's highway fund is expecting $1,834,077 in spending against $119,329 in revenues and $125,000 in unexpended balance funds, leaving $1,589,748 to be raised by taxes.
Last year's total tax levy amount was $3,189,554, a 6.4 percent hike over 2009. This year's figures add up to several hundred thousand more, including special districts and library funds, which will be rising to $125,000 a year if approved by voters on November 2.
Friedel said the major shifts, at this point, are coming from insurance and retirement costs. He added that he would love to keep the tax hike to zero percent, and would like to hear from the public about what programs in town they feel could stand cutting.
Councilwoman Lindaa Burkhart said the increase seemed to be "double digit," but noted that the board was usually able to get figures down by the time passage comes around in early November.
Deputy Supervisor Bruce LaMonda, who was away over the weekend, noted that he hadn't had a chance to look at the Preliminary Budget yet but, "I know that retirement contributions are up 16%, medical insurance is up 30%, revenues are down. It's going to be ugly"
Supervisor Berndt Leifeld was unavailable for comment as of presstime.
County Budget...
County Executive Mike Hein delivered the proposed county operating budget for 2011 at the end of September, working towards a balanced end result by streamlining operations and further reducing the county workforce to prevent any increase to the county tax levy.
State and federal governments require Ulster County to spend 65% of its budget on mandated services, with the Medicaid obligation expected to cost the county $35.4 million in 2011. New York State also requires that Ulster County pay 51% of its pre-school special education costs, as well as 50% of the local Food Stamp Program's costs. In 2011, Ulster County will also be forced to pay $1.85 million in state-mandated, indigent legal defense services, alongside countywide probation services, State Pension Fund contributions (increased by more than $4 million, or 36 percent, in 2011), and
healthcare costs (which will be transitioning to a modified self-insurance plan for the coming yearm saving overr $2.1 million of expenses.)
To match the rising costs, the Ulster County Department of Public Works will continue to be restructured through attrition, retirement incentives and layoffs for a savings of $2.3 million, the reduction of 36 unfilled county positions on, and the granting of early retirement to 33 others,
With the estimated general fund balance at the end of the current year expected to be $26 million, Hein said that the fact of the county sales tax "trending upwards" has led to the availability of $12 million from the general fund balance that will be used to offset the county tax levy, proposed to be $76,944,960... the same as this year's.
If adopted by the Legislature, he said, there would be no new county property taxes.
Name Route 28?
Anyone have any ideas for a new name for Route 28? If so the Central Catskills Collaborative wants to hear from you.
The Collaborative is considering a name to brand 50 miles of Route 28 stretching from Andes to the edge of Kingston as a state scenic byway. The group, which met on September 30, already is kicking around some name ideas, said Peter Manning, regional planner for the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development and advisor to the group..
"The road is currently known, although not that much these days, as the Onteora Trail," he said, before adding other names that have come up. "We have the Catskill Parkway, we have the Catskill Park Scenic Byway, we have the Central Catskills Scenic Byway."
One idea, not yet entered, was hatched over a decade ago by a short lived entity known as the Route 28 Corridor Committee, an ad hoc group of public officials and local business leaders from the Shandaken/Middletown area headed by local developer Dean Gitter that made an attempt to make a plan for how to boost tourism in the region. That now defunct committee, which is not related to the current Central Catskills Collaborative, wanted the state to rename route 28 the "John Burroughs Trail," after the famed nature writer and Roxbury Native that favored the region during his life.
Formed two years ago with promised funding tied to a governor-approved deal meant to help push Gitter's Belleayre Resort proposal forward, the Central Catskills Collaborative has been pushing the Scenic Byway concept under the notion that such a designation would open the door for new funding and tourism opportunities for the region.
The CCC, representing the Ulster County towns of Hurley, Olive, and Shandaken, the Villages of Fleischmanns and Margaretville and the Delaware County towns of Middletown and Andes, was formed based on receipt of a state level grant to pay the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development to handle the administration responsibilities, although that funding later fell prey to state shortfalls. The CCC has since been operating with aid from the Catskills Watershed Corporation.
In its September meeting, the committee also discussed marketing efforts, including information kiosks, brochures, a website and comprehensive signage.
For information contact Manning at 586-2611.
Gas Drilling!
A giant report on state forest management released by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation didn't capture much attention when it was first published on September 3, and we didn't push news on its recent series of public hearings, feeling that it held little interest for our readers being that we were in the Catskilkls Park, and not its forest land jurisdictions. But then things blew up at a recent hearing in New Paltz, where those who'd read the 338 report closely brought up the fact that it appeared to okay gas drilling in state forest lands.
According to many among the 150 who showed up in New Paltz, new plans for New York state forests would permit up to one wellpad for "fracking" gas drilling purposes every 80 acres and "could result in thousands upon thousands of new wells, pipelines, and access roads." DEC has been said to be inclined to consider natural gas development on State Forests due in part to the fact it is a cleaner burning energy alternative to other fossil fuels such as coal and oil.
Also revealed in the new report were statements that the DEC is open to allowing wastewater from hydraulic fracturing to be injected into the ground on forest lands, as well as proposed guidelines for fracking roads and other industry-related matters. Although the DEC also stresses the fact that no gas or oil leases will be signed on state land without public input.
"Another alternative would be to close State Forests to all future leasing," the report counters at one point. "This alternative has not been selected because minerals leasing provides economic benefits and resources needed by society. Development on public lands, with heightened protections and oversight, has proven to be a compatible use of State Forests."
Key areas pegged by the DEC as potential sites for drilling into the Marcellus Shale iinclude Chenango, Broome and Tioga counties in Region 7, Sullivan County in Region 3, and Delaware County in Region 4. DEC is taking public comment on its draft forest management plan until October 29. You can comment by emailing the DEC.
Meanwhile, Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum accused the US Army Corps of Engineers with becoming "a rogue agency" seeking to fast track regulations before a cumulative impact assessment is completed on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation, saying it would be working backwards to allow for fracking to be performed before the study process has played out.
There is currently a moratorium in place on gas production wells in the Delaware River Watershed, where a number of major environmental organizations, including Trout Unlimited's New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania Councils, are requesting that the federal government intercede to better manage the flows in the Delaware River system.

Suspicions...
The Superintendent of the Onteora School District took a proactive approach to a concern about child safety last week and at least some vocal district parents are lauding the effort.
On Wednesday September 22 parents and guardians received an automated message from the School District: "The intent of this message is to make you more vigilant at your child's bus stop today and in the future. It has been reported that a white Jeep Cherokee with significant rust approached several bus stops this morning to the point that children felt very uncomfortable in the Olivebridge-Samsonville area. No other incidents occurred, but administration wanted to inform you of this event. The driver was a black male with white hair who was smoking. The Onteora School District has notified the local authorities of this event. Again, this message is to bring more attention to your child's bus stop before and after school."
State Police said this week that the vehicle and driver were located that day and after questioning it was determined that there had been no wrongdoing. The case was closed and there were no arrests.
Charlotte Gregory, the Interim Superintendent of Schools, explained that the alert was sent out so quickly thanks to new technology called Shoutpoint.
"Shoutpoint is a communication system between the school district and parents," she said. "We used it last week when we had a situation of concern to encourage parents to be more vigilant at bus stops. We will continue to use the system whenever we have a message of concern to parents."
At an Onteora open house the evening of the incident parents applauded school officials for the actions taken.
"It's a really useful tool," said District Board President Laurie Osmond. "I expect it will come in handy this winter during early snow closings."
Osmond said she has not heard anything negative from parents about the warning issued last week.
Pastor Registered
The former pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Margaretville, charged with 20 charges connected to the alleged sexual abuse of six males over the past decade, has been ordered to register as a sex offender and sentenced to six years' probation supervision.
The Rev. James McDevitt, 63, pastor of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, turned himself in last summer and pleaded not guilty during an appearance at Middletown Town Court. He was alleged to have told the six males to each take down their pants and underpants and then lie across his lap. He then spanked them three times on their bare buttocks, according to court documents. The alleged victims range in age from 11 to 19 at the time of the incidents, which occurred between last October and mid-April, although some of the events with two of the males began three years ago.
The misdemeanor charges were six counts of second-degree sexual abuse, seven counts of forcible touching, six counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of third-degree sexual abuse. McDevitt had been released on $1,000 bail to reappear in court in August. Sentencing was in September.
Albany Diocese Director of Communications Kenneth Goldfarb said at the time that the diocese was issued a search warrant that McDevitt requested a voluntary leave.
Separately, McDevitt was arrested June 2 after a car accident and charged with driving while intoxicated. Before being assigned to the Margaretville church, McDevitt served the Delhi Catholic Church.
Gravediggers?
A town in neighboring Delaware County is trying to force a local Muslim religious community of Sufis to dig up a small cemetery on its property and never bury anyone there again because it says it's illegal.
"What we would not want is an unauthorized cemetery," said Bob McCarthy, town supervisor of Sidney, before a deluge of media attention descended on his comments. "We're taking care of a bunch of cemeteries, and they just came in and buried the bodies, and didn't go through...there's no funding there, it's not a standard kind of deal, and it's going to become a liability to the town."
So what steps have the Muslims skipped? "I don't know what the exact law is," he answered.
Which is the problem; because whether or not the town government likes it, there are no laws in Sidney - or New York state, for that matter - covering cemeteries on private land - religious cemeteries included. Plus, the town approved the cemetery in 2005.
In any event, the cemetery, in the tiny hamlet of Sidney Center, was never a secret - and couldn't have been: When the first body arrived in November, 2009, it had a 3-car escort from the Passaic, New Jersey Police Department, which told local authorities it was arriving. And there's certainly nothing illegal about it as far as the State Troopers are concerned.
"We looked into the cemetery and it was determined what they were doing is lawful," says Captain James Barnes of the New York State Police, Troop "C ", based in Sidney.
Town officers in turn indicated that in the absence of specific laws forbidding the cemetery, the town may try for a court order to force the Sufis to dig up their graves, based on a New York law against cemeteries on mortgaged land - a technicality that covers the Muslim site, sitting in a hillside glade no larger than a Manhattan studio apartment. The Sufis have since said their options include either subdividing the property to exclude the cemetery, or paying off the mortgage, which is under $200,000.
The Sufis, 30-some mostly American-born converts, moved to their 50-acre sheep farm in 2002 under the ideal that since the world is what it is, people who want to live a spiritual life need to live apart from it - not unlike Hasidic Jews or Amish people.
Guys & Dolls!
How do you build a roof on an aging theater? Sing for the money, of course.
This Friday and Saturday, October 8th and 9th, the Shandaken Theatrical Society presents the fantastic classic musical "Guys and Dolls" in concert as a fundraiser for its "Raise the Roof Fund," with show beginning at 7:00 PM each evening. At intermission each evening there will be "gambling" via raffles and an auction, complementary country desserts and "a sip of sin" at a cash bar. Tickets are a $25 donation to the "Raise The Roof Fund."
Amongst the show's cast will be Robert "Uncle Rock" Warren, Jay Bramin Jr., Chuck Sokolowski, Ann Davies, Amy Wallace, Katie and Lucia Legnini and husband and wife theatre veterans Jessica and Brian Sherman. The evening's narrator and commentator is Dave Pillard and Musical Director is Maria Todoro.
In addition to the new roof, funds will also go towards stage floor repairs, window replacements, new curtains and other needs to get the 123 year old space in shape.
"What we wanted to do was stimulate business and help the merchants by asking for vouchers for a percentage off or money towards a larger purchase. So far we have had a great response," said benefit producer Michael Mills. "We are calling it the Economic Stimulus Raffle and so far 30 local businesses including Woodstock Meats, The Emerson, Sweet Sue's. The Phoenicia Belle and Oriole 9 have donated."
In a show of bi-partisan support area politicians will act as raffle "officials" each night. On Friday evening Shandaken Supervisor Rob Stanley will pull the winning numbers and on Saturday Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach will do the honors.
For further info on the Phoenicia-based theater, call 688-2279 or visit www.stsplayhouse.com.
Levon At OCS!
Onteora Central School District will host The Levon Helm Band, on Friday, October 22, 2010, 7:00 pm in the Harry Simon Auditorium at the high school, 4166 State Route 28, Boiceville, The event is being organized by the parents, students and community of the Onteora School District. Appearing with the Levon Helm band will be Levon Helm, Amy Helm, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Howard Johnson, Clark Gayton, Steven Bernstein, Erik Lawrence, Jay Collins, Byron Isaacs, Jim Weider (Onteora alumni) and Brian Mitchell.
Ticket prices are $65, with limited $45 and $20 community seats, and $100 VIP seats, and will be available for purchase at www.levonhelm.com. All major credit cards and Paypal will be accepted. Proceeds will be equally distributed to benefit the arts in all the schools.
Flu Shot Time...
The Ulster County Department of Health has eight flu and pneumonia immunization clinics remaining on its 2010 schedule:
Oct. 8: 9 a.m. to noon, Hurley Reformed Church, 11 Main St., Hurley.
Oct. 13: 9 a.m. to noon, St. John's Episcopal Church, 207 Albany Ave., Kingston.
Oct. 15: 9 a.m. to noon, Woodstock Rescue Squad, state Route 212, Woodstock.
Oct. 19: 9 a.m. to noon, VFW Post 8645, 101 Route 208, New Paltz.
Oct. 22: 9 a.m. to noon, Esopus Town Hall, 174 Broadway, Port Ewen.
Oct. 26: 9 a.m. to noon, Ulster Town Hall, 1 Town Hall Drive, Lake Katrine.
Oct. 29: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Wallkill Fire Department, Park Avenue, Wallkill.
Nov. 1: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Ashokan Legion, Mountain Road, Shokan.
No appointments are necessary, and county residents may attend any clinic that is convenient.
Residents who are at the greatest risk for influenza-related illnesses are urged to receive the flu vaccine. This high-risk group includes those over age 50; adults 18 and over who have heart disease, chronic broncho-pulmonary disease, renal disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic metabolic disorders, severe anemia and/or compromised immune function; and others who are at risk of influenza-related conditions. Flu vaccine also is recommended for home care providers and others (including household members) who may be in close contact with high-risk individuals.
Senior citizens who have Medicare Part B benefits will be able to obtain their vaccinations through Medicare. The recipient must be entitled to Part B coverage on the date of service, Medicare Part B must be the primary insurance coverage, and the Medicare card must be presented on the date of service. For those not eligible for Medicare Part B coverage, there will be a $20 charge for flu vaccinations and a $35 charge for pneumonia vaccinations, payable at the clinic.
County residents enrolled in Medicare managed care programs should first consult with their primary care physician.
College For All!
Linking a decrease in the nation's high unemployment rate to investment in higher education, President Barack Obama launched a national partnership this month that connects community college classrooms with the employment needs of the country's boardrooms.
Five major employers - PG&E, McDonald's, United Technologies, Accenture and Gap Inc. - have already signed onto the program, dubbed Skills for America's Future. A task force, co-chaired by top administration officials, will coordinate the effort with the private sector in all 50 states.
Community colleges educate 45 percent of the nation's undergraduates, and enrollment has surged as the recession pushes Americans to get additional training. But the economic crisis has forced many of the two-year schools to cap student enrollment and cut programs.
The initiative, arriving on the eve of the White House's first summit on community colleges, builds on Obama's goal of having the U.S. lead the world in the number of college graduates by 2020.
The president's renewed focus on community colleges also got a boost recently from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which announced it would donate $34.8 million over five years for a competitive pool of grants for proposals to increase the graduation rates of community college students. The foundation is seeking applications from groups of community colleges in nine target states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington.
This influx of private investment is a boon for the administration's education reform agenda, as Congress repeatedly has blocked its requests for funding. A year ago, the president proposed upgrading community colleges with a $12 billion investment over 10 years, but Congress approved $2 billion over four years.
Education experts agree the urgency is real: In global rankings, the U.S. has fallen from first to 12th in the number of adults with postsecondary degrees. Just two-fifths of Americans hold at least an associate degree, while the world leader, Canada, boasts a 56 percent college completion rate.
The White House has repeatedly pointed out that congressional Republicans want to reduce the national investment in education. Their plans would cut 200,000 children from the Head Start program that encourages early learning, slash federal Pell grants by an average of $700 for approximately 8 million college students and reduce funding for special-education programs.
House Minority Leader John Boehner's office has rejected that argument, saying his party is only interested in cutting non-defense discretionary spending to 2008 levels.
MARK... Wow!
Funding for Main Street revitalization in Fleischmanns and home repairs in the towns of Roxbury, Middletown and Andes has been secured by the MARK Project of Arkville, with Executive Director Peg Ellsworth announceing recently grants from the NY HOME and NY Main Street programs totaling nearly $900,000.
The Fleischmanns Project was finally approved after failing to get funded last year, and will be used for Main Street revival much as Phoenicia and Pine Hill revived using similar grants in years past, when the Shandaken-Olive area's SHARP Committee was still active in local economic development, tourism, and other community-building projects.
The MARK Project is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt rural development company that "unites efforts and secures resources to build and revitalize our communities." For 30 years, MARK has provided housing programs, economic development and technical assistance services to the Towns of Andes, Middletown and Roxbury and the Villages of Fleischmanns and Margaretville. Its current projects range from aiding the creation of the new WIOX community radio station out of Roxbury to this coming weekend's old house tours in Fleischmanns.
The entity has been in a revival of its own ever since hiring on Peg Ellsworth as director several years ago. Ellsworth came to her new position after years with local arts groups and community development projects.
For further information visit www.markproject.org
For more on SHARP, stop by their offices on Main Street in Phoenicia and ask why they don't have a website yet.
By George!!
The orchestral and chamber music of acclaimed American composer George Tsontakis, a resident of Olive, will be presented in prestigious venues throughout the 2010-11 concert season. The concerts, in New York, Albany and at the Bard Fisher Center, are to include two world premieres as well as two New York premieres.
The American String Quartet, celebrating their 35th anniversary season, eloquently reprised Tsontakis' fourth quartet at their Manhattan School of Music recital on September 12. The San Francisco based Cypress String Quartet will present the New York premiere of the composer's fifth quartet "In Memoriam; George Rochberg," at the Tenri Center on November 14.
Last April, Tsontakis led the premiere of his 15-minute "Laconika" with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, which commissioned it. The heralded work was immediately chosen by the Riverside Symphony to open their 30th Anniversary, in a concert at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall on November 6.
Next May 10, the Albany Symphony's will make its Carnegie Hall debut with Tsontakis's 1994 homage to the Civil War, "Let the River Be Unbroken." Commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the Alexandria, Symphony, the work in based on Appalachian and Civil War music. Also in the coming year, the Da Capo Chamber Players will present the world premiere of a new major work for their "Pierrot" configuration quintet on June 2, at New York's Merkin Hall.
Tsontakis is Distinguished Composer-in-Residence at Bard College. On May 5 (following a performance at Harvard's Sanders Theater on May 1), college president Leon Botstein will lead the Bard Conservatory Orchestra in the composer's concerto for two violins at the Bard Fisher Center, a piece commissioned by George Soros and premiered at the Aspen Music Festival in August, 2009.
Tsontakis has is staunchly dedicated to his area of the Hudson River Valley and has stated that he "would rather work with the Albany Symphony, which presents a ton of new music, than the New York Philharmonic." The AS will premiere one of two works that they commissioned from the composer, as part of his residency, on May 10 at Rensselaer Polytechnic's EMPAC Theater.
George Tsontakis has been the recipient of the two richest prizes awarded in all of classical music; the international Grawemeyer Award, in 2005, for his Second Violin Concerto and the 2007 Ives Living, from the American Academy.
New History...
A new pictorial history, "Shandaken," will be available for purchase shortly both locally and online. Put together by Mary Herrmann, a former director and current board member of the Shandaken Historical Museum, royalties from the book will be paid to the Town, with proceeds to be earmarked specifically for use by the museum to help obtain matching funds required by grants. Subjects covered by the nearly 200 rare photographs include the town's early years, business & industry, civic & social organizations, notable residents and regular folks, the railroad and tourism, and hamlets, mountain and streams. The book is part of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series. It can be purchased online through Amazon or other retailers, at www.arcadiapublishing.com, or at the museum located on Academy Street in Pine Hill.
Wood Heat...
The Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC) is funding evaluations of woody biomass heating opportunities for regional businesses, municipalities, non-profits and other institutions. Any organization with a building ranging from 6,000 to 25,000 square feet located in Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Putnam, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster, or Westchester Counties is eligible. Target facilities include maintenance garages, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and offices. Grant applications will be available throughout the month of October with an application deadline of November 1.
This is the third round of woody biomass heating feasibility grants WAC has made available through its Forestry Program. While previous rounds focused on facilities over 75,000 square feet, the current funding is directed at smaller-scale, institutional needs. For both large and small facilities, heating with woody biomass can potentially reduce energy expenses. Many institutions previously evaluated by the first round, pre-feasibility studies sponsored by WAC's Forestry Program found that switching from their current fuel source (such as fuel oil, propane, or electricity) could save them 50% or more on their annual heating expenses. In some cases, results indicated that the woody biomass system would pay for itself in lowered heating costs in less than five years.
Switching to biomass also benefits the community by keeping energy dollars local. Unlike oil, which must be imported to New York from other countries, woody biomass is a renewable fuel that can be produced and processed locally.
For organizations interested in receiving a biomass evaluation, applications can be downloaded via WAC's home page at www.nycwatershed.org. Potential applicants can also request an application by mail by contacting Joshua VanBrakle, the Council's Wood Products Specialist, at (607) 865-7790, ext. 112.
Fox Nation?
With Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee all making moves indicating they may run for president, their common employer is facing a question that hasn't been asked before: How does a news organization cover White House hopefuls when so many are on the payroll?
As Fox New's popularity grows among conservatives, the presence of four potentially serious Republican candidates as paid contributors is beginning to frustrate competitors of the network, figures within its own news division and rivals of what some GOP insiders have begun calling "the Fox candidates."
With the exception of Mitt Romney, Fox now has deals with every major potential Republican presidential candidate not currently in elected office. The matter is of no small consequence, since it's uncertain how other news organizations can cover the early stages of the presidential race when some of the main GOP contenders are contractually forbidden to appear on any TV network besides Fox.
C-SPAN Political Editor Steve Scully said that when C-SPAN tried to have Palin on for an interview, he was told he had to first get Fox's permission - which the network, citing her contract, ultimately denied. Producers at NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC all report similar experiences.
At issue are basic matters of political and journalistic fairness and propriety. With Fox effectively becoming the flagship network of the right and, more specifically, the tea party movement, the four Republicans it employs enjoy an unparalleled platform from which to speak directly to primary voters who will determine the party's next nominee.
Fox has indicated that once any of the candidates declares for the presidency he or she will have to sever the deal with the network. But it's such a lucrative and powerful pulpit that Palin, Gingrich, Santorum and Huckabee have every reason to delay formal announcements and stay on contract for as long as they can. And Fox said it doesn't relax exclusivity provisions.
What worries some in the political and media community, though, is that behind these candidates' incessant attacks on what Palin calls "the lamestream media" is a strategy to de-legitimize traditional news outlets so as to avoid ever facing any accountability beyond Fox.
Keep an eye on this trend...
The New Normal?
Think of it as a new "normal" in American family life. After creeping slowly and steadily upward most of the last 50 years, the number of babies born to young unmarried women quietly crossed a threshold in 2006. For the first time in a half-century of record-keeping, a majority of babies born to women younger than 30 were out of wedlock.
Most of the mothers are not college-educated. In fact, the story of the American family has split into two widely divergent realities. College-educated women are marrying later, having babies within a marriage and divorcing less. Their husbands are spending more time with the children.
Women without a college degree are doing just the opposite - and in growing numbers.
The next generation of children is going to be much more unequal than what we have today, sociologists are warning. There will be a really elite group and a group that will massively fall behind.
Many are starting to advocate providing more public assistance and tax breaks for low-income families, especially those in which the parents are married and working. It is estimated that taxpayers pony up about $7,000 a year to support the typical family of an unwed mother without a high-school diploma.
At the time of an out-of-wedlock birth, it's been found, about half of all couples live together. But because two-thirds of those relationships typically dissolve by the time a child turns 5, there's a lot of instability. A lot of women form relationships with new men, and have children with the new men. There are people moving in and out. Those are dramatic events in a woman's and a child's life.
Out-of-wedlock births are closely correlated with education. In 2005-2006, 67 percent of babies born to high-school dropouts under 30 were born to unwed women. Among high-school graduates with no further education, the figure was 52 percent. Among college graduates, it was 14 percent.
In 1960, 6 percent of babies born to women under 30 were born to unmarried women. By 2006, that figure had grown to 50.4 percent.
More Sustainable
President Obama issued an executive order last October requiring every government agency to spell out how it plans to "lead by example" in environmental sustainability. He wanted to hear about waste management and water use, smart meters in federal office buildings and alternative-fuel vehicles in public fleets.
The Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans were finally due last week, and embedded in the dense documents are hundreds of small ideas. The relatively obscure Corporation for National and Community Service, for one, is promising to set all its printers to double-sided default mode and to check the tire pressure every time a government vehicle leaves the lot.
The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, and the president is aiming for a 28 percent reduction in direct greenhouse gas pollution by 2020. Here's a look at what many departments have in mind.
1. The U.S. Department of Agriculture used an estimated 1.737 billion gallons of water in its buildings during fiscal year 2009, all of which cost about $8.1 million (the president also wants taxpayers save money while the government is at it conserving energy). The USDA has actually cut its water consumption since 2007 by about 20 percent, and it hopes to wring future savings through new water meters, better rainfall management and using native plant species in landscaping.
2. Inside the Department of Defense, the Air Force is planning to certify all of its aircraft against a 50-50 alternative fuel blend by 2011, and by 2016, the Navy expects to field a carrier strike group of nuclear vessels and ships powered by biofuel. Permanent military installations are also already generating their own renewable energy. Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada has 72,000 solar panels producing 30 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.
3. The Department of Education is planning to cut down on the physical paperwork most college students know well - federal student loan applications. The program will be administered almost entirely online, saving both paper and the energy required to transport it. The department also anticipates that as it brings on about 500 new full-time employees, it will find new ways to put them to work, either through satellite offices or telecommuting.
4. The Department of Energy squats in about 10,000 buildings and trailers across the country, covering more than 126 million square feet of office space, warehouses and laboratories. As the department builds more modern facilities, it will adhere to a "one-for-one" policy: For every square foot of new construction, one square foot of similar building must be decommissioned and disposed of. At the beginning of this fiscal year, the department also generated 0.16 percent of its power from on-site renewables. That figure should reach 5.1 percent by the end of fiscal year 2012.
5. The Department of Interior has a similarly expansive footprint: It manages 20 percent of the country's land, while operating 47,000 buildings and 33,000 vehicles. It wants all of its new buildings by the end of 2030 to achieve net-zero energy (generating as much as they consume). Among programs already underway, Zion National Park is phasing out the sale of water bottles in favor of reusable "bottle filling stations" (water fountains?). And a new 18-kilowatt photovoltaic system will offset 30 percent of the electricity used at the Grand Canyon's South Rim visitor center.
6. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is giving energy retrofits to 126,000 public-housing units in 2010 and 2011. The department is spending about one-third of is $4.86 billion in Recovery Act funds on "greening" public housing stock. Inside its own offices, HUD has also nearly doubled its monthly employee transit subsidy (now $230). Seventy-six percent of employees at the department's headquarters now commute to work by transit.
7. The Department of State admits to a unique problem: "The concept of effective diplomacy is inherently about people-to-people relationships and contacts" - in other words, long-distance travel. Last year, State bought 142,370 tickets for domestic travel, producing more than 92 million pounds of greenhouse gasses. To get around some of that pollution, the department plans to look at alternatives in digital video and Web conferencing, in the process scrutinizing "one of the Department's fundament business models."
8. A slew of Environmental Protection Agency offices have sprouted green roofs, including a laboratory in Rhode Island, an annex in Cincinnati, regional offices in Denver, Seattle, Boston and a headquarters satellite in Arlington, Va. The EPA also has its first carbon-neutral laboratory building in Oklahoma and an all-electric office in Kansas City, Kan.
9. The Peace Corps is reducing the square footage - and associated energy use - at its headquarters by 10 percent through more efficient space design. And it has cut down on electricity consumption by 16 percent at the Washington headquarters by shutting down HVAC systems on weekends and holidays.
10. The Army Corps of Engineers is renovating two office spaces in Seattle to use eco-friendly carpeting, furniture and countertops. The Louisville District plans to replace 21 non-hybrid government vehicles with new energy-efficient ones. And the Sacramento District is placing solar electric systems on nine dams, where they're expected to satisfy about 40 percent of each office's electricity needs.
What are you doing in your home?