Follow Up on the News

A Blessing On Wall Street

But the autumnal equinox was approaching, so all seven of us stood in a circle holding hands. Then, one by one, each of us kissed the next person’s hand.
“Oops! I kissed my own hand by mistake!” a blonde woman admitted. We giggled.
Shamanism is not High Church.
Mama Donna handed each of us a bundle of sage tied with white string, and a small pouch of glitter, which she described as “gold dust.” These were the tools of our ritual. A woman with a streak of pink in her blonde hair lit our sage bundles using a barbecue lighter. We waved our burning sage at the citadel of capitalism, as Mama Donna chanted: “We’re blessing the stock market with cleansing, with balance. We want to cleanse the greed. We want to cleanse the manipulation. We want to cleanse the selfishness. We want to cleanse the market system so that real people can have homes, can have food, can have medical care. We offer purification of those who only think of the bottom line.”
“Cleansinnng!” all seven of us chanted.
My sage, I noticed, had stopped burning. The woman next to me helped me re-light it.
“Cleansinnng!”
Now we had reached the second part of our ceremony. Mama Donna lifted a pink spray bottle containing “healing waters” from sites around the world: the Ganges, the Zamzam well at Mecca, Lourdes, Sabana Grande in Puerto Rico, the Doon Well in Ireland, the well of the Oracle at Delphi, Miracle Lake in Florida — and more! “I offer you all blessing water!” she pronounced, spraying us.
“Blessing!” Mama Donna shouted, spritzing some Japanese tourists, who smiled. Clearly, the Three Stooges have slightly influenced her spiritual practice.
In the last section of the ritual, each of us scattered “gold dust” in the direction of the Stock Exchange, with an invocation.
“For power! This place really holds so much power!” exclaimed the pink-streak woman, sprinkling gold dust.
“For prosperity and peace!” shouted Cookie Pemberton, who had helped re-light my sage.
“Salaam alaikum!” I cried, releasing a pinch of glitter. (I personally believe blessings should always be in a foreign language.)
“For balance! For balanced checking accounts!” Mama Donna intoned, releasing gold dust.
The blessing was over, so I interviewed my fellow ritualists. “We had plenty of sage, we had plenty of spirit, and you know, when the going gets tough, the tough start chanting!” Diane Fusco remarked. She reviews books for the online New Age Journal. The next person I spoke to, Dalia Basiouny, handed me her card: “Associate Radio Producer, Arabic Language Unit, United Nations Radio.” Do all shamanic healers also work as journalists?
“Do you think our blessing will change Wall Street?” I asked Mama Donna.
“Are the numbers going to go up? I don’t know,” she answered, smiling. “And I don’t really understand economics. But lately I’ve noticed a ‘spiritual catatonia.’ I mean, people are just frozen in terror. Not just about the stock market, either. About the war, about politics, about the environment, about everything! So that’s part of what I consider my job to be, to offer hope. You know, hope in us, hope in our heart, hope in our spirit.”
But by the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 372.75 points.
Reprinted Courtesy NY Observer.

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Belleayre’s Still OK

At the same time, the DEC is looking to take the opportunity, given all the local support Belleayre has drawn in recent weeks after it looked like cuts would be more drastic than they turned out to be, to get everyone talking about the future of the Catskills.
DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Local Government Day being held at Frost Valley YMCA Camp on Wednesday, October 22, an annual event sponsored by his agency this year, along with the Catskill Watershed Corporation and state Department of State.
The next day, Thursday, October 23, the DEC will host a day-long conference on the future of the Catskills to which all in the region are invited… including those Belleayre supporters who are continuing to say that any cut to the ski center is too much, state budget crisis or not.
“In budget times like these it’s hard to do all we want to do,” DEC Region Three Director Willie Janeway at a September 30 dedication ceremony for a new picnic pavilion at the new Kenneth L. Wilson State Park in Wittenberg when asked about the pending ski center cuts, the same day his Albany office was preparing final details on what they were planning to do for the coming ski season. “All I can tell you is that we’re doing all we can to keep services as much the same as we can.”
An October 1 press release from Grannis’ office in Albany outlined what’s planned at Belleayre, the agency’s first official word since news that it would be moving its annual Autumn Festival over the coming weekend to Arkville, spurring wild rumors of the ski area being shut down altogether.
“Belleayre Mountain will be open for riding and skiing seven days a week for the 2008-2009 season. Weather and conditions permitting, Belleayre will open the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 28, and run through March 2009, operating six lifts and 41 trails and glades,” the press release read, noting a slightly shrunk season and scope than past years, but nothing like what many expected. “All programming will be available, including the popular ‘Kidscamp,’ racing programs, and – new this year — the adaptive ski program. Trained instructors from Belleayre and Helen Hayes Rehabilitation Hospital will provide coaching for the adaptive community.”
So what about across the board cuts called for by Paterson and the state legislature in recent months?
“In response to the state’s fiscal situation, Belleayre is taking a number of steps this season to operate more efficiently while continuing to deliver a world-class regional skiing experience. Two lifts that are adjacent to other, more highly used lifts will be closed, a change that will have only a marginal impact on lift capacity,” the release continued. “While snowmaking and grooming on most of the mountain will be unchanged, several of the less frequently used trails will be open on a natural cover basis. Use of the ‘Half Pipe’ terrain also will be weather dependent. In addition, advertising will be reduced, and other operational and administrative efficiencies achieved.”
Daily lift tickets would increase slightly to account for higher fuel costs and increases in other operational costs, as well.
Grannis was noted mentioning state Senator John Bonacic and state assemblyman Kevin Cahill’s advocacy of the mountain, and a statement by Cahill pointed out how, “Commissioner Grannis and Governor Paterson have demonstrated a keen understanding of the significance of this facility to the region.”
Subsequent statements from Bonacic and Coalition to Save Belleayre head Joe Kelly found the state senator stating that, “Belleayre is greater than a ski center” and any cuts would end up hurting state revenues, as well as the local economy. Kelly, a longtime advocate for the ski center, noted, “The later opening and earlier closing will come as a cost. No one should forget that the rural towns and villages of these counties contain huge public holdings of forest preserve and watershed lands that present an economic challenge to reasonable growth… Those of us who love this facility and those who rely on it for our economic survival just cannot let the facility slip backwards.”
DEC Spokesperson noted over the recent weekend that spending had been planned at about $6.5 million. if everything was kept the same this year, while projections for the total were as high as $7.2 million, “largely because of increased fuel costs. Instead, it’s going to be just under $6.4 million now, an $825,000 reduction of projected spending geared towards cutting rising fuel needs as well.
As for the upcoming Local Government Days, to be held Wednesday, October 22 and Thursday, October 23 at Frost Valley YMCA Camp in Denning the first day and Belleayre the second, Janeway was enthusiastic. He said the idea was to not only provide the sort of governmental hands-on aid the Catskills Watershed Corporation had first designed the event for, but to seriously use everyone in attendance to “move the Catskills forward.”
DEC Commissioner Grannis will be the keynote speaker at Catskills Local Government Day, which requires registration with the CWC (www.cwconline.com) by October 10. The event will feature presentations and displays on recreational use of public and private lands, scenic and cultural trails, and collaborative approaches to making the most of the natural amenities of the Catskills.
“Catskills Environment and Economy Day,” which the commissioner will also attend, is the official name for the October 23 event at Belleayre. With conference planning assistance from the Catskill Institute for the Environment (CIE), this summit will feature speakers on forest management, agricultural “buy-local” campaigns, bird and fish populations, and the ecological threats of acid rain, climate change, and invasive species. A morning panel on Threats to the Catskill Environment will be moderated by Dr. Sam Adams of CIE, and Lisa Rainwater, Catskill Center Executive Director, will moderate a panel on Community Based Economies and Natural Resource Management. The day’s concluding discussion will be led by DEC Regional Directors, Willie Janeway and Gene Kelly. For more information please contact the DEC at (845) 256-3018, or to register (845) 256-3094.
Janeway, in Wittenberg last week, said that in addition to overseeing, and highlighting, projects such as the new Picnic Pavilion at Wilson State Park, which was accompanied by a green renovation of the facility’s maintenance building, he’s looking to work through the coming years of budget leanness by focusing on planning issues, as well as bettering service and stewardship quality.
He’s enthused by Grannis and Paterson’s continued backing for movement on the Catskill Interpretive Center project that had first been set for construction back when Governor George Pataki came into office in 1995.
“We’re still in the contracting phase for our design team,” he said. “But this will give us time to proceed with care. Especially while there’s a hold on any significant capital expenditures.”
Asked if, given that hold, whether he’d heard anything about major capital improvement plans at Belleayre, including the 2007 Agreement In Principal for a private-public partnership building of the long-planned Belelayre Resort with ski center tie-ins, and massive state land purchases, Janeway widened his eyes.
“We’ll be looking at how the overall Catskills are doing,” he said, referring back to the upcoming October 23 event he’ll be hosting, as well as his boss visit to Frost Valley the day before.
“We have to take a look at all the processes we’re managing,” he concluded.

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John Parete’s Legacy

“The party basically was in shambles,” said Parete. “We couldn’t get candidates and we were up against a very well established machine. I mean, this was a completely Republican county except for the City of Kingston and the Town of Olive. Marbletown, for instance, had a slim Democratic majority but they couldn’t vote a single one of them into office. So that was the situation when (Assemblyman) Kevin Cahill and (Representative) Maurice Hinchey came to the Boiceville Inn (which he owns) and asked me to take the chairmanship and go out and find people who were willing to be involved.”
Whether he found them or they found him, for many in our county’s current leadership John Parete WAS Ulster County’s Democratic Party. He was the one person who was always available to anyone with questions, willingly shared what he knew, and was a touchstone for many — and not just Democrats — looking to understand or be involved in local, regional, or state-level politics.
But in recent weeks he’s resigned his volunteer party post and announced that by the end of the year he’ll be leaving the paid job he’s held since 2005 as the county’s Democratic Election Commissioner. Although holding the positions simultaneously is common, some see it as a conflict of interest. Rather than giving up one post he’s opted instead out of both.
The relevant background is that seeds of dissension with Parate’s leadership were sown deep last year, when he backed Vincent Bradley’s bid to participate in the party’s primary for the county District Attorney’s race. In the ensuing months tensions continued as some party members felt he didn’t support John Sennett, their eventual nominee, with his usual energy. Sennett narrowly lost that race to GOP candidate Holly Carnright as a direct result of Bradley’s independent candidacy. It was the only major position county Democrats didn’t win in that election, and the only setback they’d had in recent years.
Currently Democrats hold 20 of 33 legislative seats, along with a large and growing enrollment edge. Although long-term demographic shifts are clearly a factor, few in either major party would argue that Parete hasn’t been the driving force behind the shift in leadership. Like him or not — and most people seem to — consensus is that he’s been one of the most effective party leaders in the county’s modern history.
If Parete’s disappointed by what’s happened he’s not saying so. He isn’t surprised that Republican legislators joined with a minority of Democrats in forcing the dual-position issue to a head through proposed changes to the county Ethics Law. For them, he surmises, perhaps it was a chance for payback to the guy most responsible for moving them to the minority side of the aisle.
“This has been a great experience and a great education for me,” Parete said. “There’s a lot of people out there who are focused on improving the quality of government and the political process. I’ve enjoyed working with them because anybody who puts their name on a ballot line is somebody I respect. It’s easy to complain about things but people who are willing to step up and take responsibility are rare. So I have nothing but the utmost respect and friendship for the people who’ve been my opponents. They’re not enemies or even adversaries, just people I respect and with whom I’ve differed. And I’m incredibly grateful to Maurice Hinchey and Kevin Cahill, who’ve always been there and have supported me every step of the way.”
“But the truth is,” Parete continued, “We’ve been successful with every single thing we wanted to accomplish. We gained a majority in the legislature and held it through the next election. We elected a terrific Sheriff, Paul Van Blarcum, and great judges, Mary Work to Surrogate Court and Tony McGinty to Family Court. And we didn’t just change the politics of the county, we changed the government of the county. Now, this year, we’re voting on a County Executive and a Comptroller for the first time. ‘Till now we were nearly the largest county in the state that didn’t have a County Exec. But by January we’ll have one, and I think Mike Hein will do a great job. And in the process we’re actually reducing the size of county government from 33 down to 23 legislators. We did it by forcing a referendum on redistricting and an end to multi-seat ‘megadistricts.’ And we did it by opening up county government and turning it into something that’s finally accountable to everyone. So I feel like we’ve built a base and a structure from which this party should be the favorite in every single race from now on. We’re earned the trust that people have given us, and we’ve changed the climate.”
“So I think it’s a good time for me to move on,” Parete concluded. “I’m not a kid, I’ll be 67 at the end of the year. I still have our business The Boiceville Inn, which has supported our family for 38 years and helped us raise four great kids. I’m thrilled to be leaving the Commissioner’s position in Cathy Minh’s hands; there’s nobody better qualified. And I’ll continue to chair the party in Olive where I can focus on my friends and neighbors, and where we still have a few more projects. The sewer system is a big deal, we need to insure that our seniors have adequate housing, and we’re hoping to expand recreational opportunities for Olive residents but also for everyone from Kingston to Pine Hill. But we could use some new people with new ideas and new visions and I’m always hopeful they’ll come find me.”

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A Jar Of Olives...
Money Markets

Additionally he has been the Democratic Commissioner of the Board of Elections for the past three years. John set out to accomplish some tough goals, and he did it with good will and wit. Ulster County changed from mostly Republican voters to mostly Democratic enrollees. The Legislature went from minority to majority of Democratic representatives. The cumbersome system of gerrymandered districts will now be replaced by a system of elected officials working with a County Executive and County Comptroller. “Every single thing I came on board to do, we’ve accomplished,” said Parete, explaining his decision to step down.
John is the kind of person who can use a Tom Sawyer approach to politics and to community service. He’s the magnet that attracts people to want to participate in a project. John is not the kind of person who needs the spotlight; he just enables others to shine from within. We will be fortunate to have him closer to Olive. He has already planned a Senior Luncheon, a free hot turkey dinner with all the trimmings, on Thursday, October 23 at the Boiceville Inn. All seniors, sixty or older, are invited to meet candidates and enjoy each other’s company as an early Thanksgiving is shared by John with his community.
The fundraiser for Shannon Ryan was a success. It raised money while all those at Davis Park enjoyed good food and good music. The silent auction, with many donations from individuals and local businesses, created winners all around. The winner of the fifty-fifty donated her winnings back to the cause. An event like this makes us puff out our chests with pride for helping others and knowing that they would help us too.
Last week I attended the 28 Exchange Auction that is held bi-weekly on Wednesdays at the corner of Ridge Road and Route 28 in Shokan. Again, the bonus to bidding on a bargain is that you are chatting and competing with neighbors and a few dealers who are there to scoop up that reasonable antique. Everything from “brick carriers” to curio cabinets found new owners who loaded up cars with their loot. Eric Borjeson is the auctioneer who carries on a good-natured dialogue with the bidders. “Guess no one wants it. Who’ll give me five?” When three bids come up for the bargain price, he charms the bidder into claiming the item. Many locals just enjoyed the experience without bidding. I had to agree that the auction sure beat anything on television that night.
Speaking of television, is anyone else getting weary of the finger pointing and blame fixing of this campaign? I am hoping the next debate gets down to some issues and specifics for change. I think the advertisers and the politicians think we aren’t smart enough to filter the facts from the deluge of platitudes and hollow sound bites. I feel like we are being fed processed baloney when we need some food with substance and taste. Doggone it! Golly, gee whiz! I am hungry and craving change, but please tell me to what policies we are going to change. I can handle it, and so can you.
For an entire week, we were told about the “Bail-out Bill” which morphed into the more palatable “Rescue Package” after the public spit out the bad taste of bailing out executives who peddled ridiculously cheap loans to people who had no business in borrowing so much at so little. Unless you read the bill on-line, before the site crashed, you are probably like me—wondering just what that hundred page document promised that our pockets would rescue. With so many experts on all fronts crying “gloom and doom,” I was convinced we needed some intervention, but I sure would have liked to be clued in on what exactly the solution was.
With all this talk about hedge funds, take-overs, mergers, golden parachute severance pay, bonuses, muni-bonds, and money markets, I, personally, found the solution to playing the market. I clip coupons, double them at the Boiceville Market, and take my cans and bottles back to parlay them into a gallon of milk.
Here’s to a week of kinder political ads and a rise on the DOW and Nasdaq. In other words, how about a week with a bull market without the political bull manure?