News Briefs 7/31/2008

Dark OCS Waters
Water at the Onteora district Middle/High School does not meet secondary Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State Health Department standards based on its taste, color, odor and the presence of corrosives.
A consultant hired by the school board has proposed a solution to clear up the aesthetic problems, but new trustee Laurie Osmond believes the problem is not just with the color and taste of the water, but test results showing elevated iron and manganese levels in the water. She is proposing that the board consider a process called Greensand Filtration that removes high levels of minerals.
“I think we need to look at solutions and not just the band aids,” said Osmond.
In May the school board hired Clark Patterson Lee to test the water and make a recommendation based on New York State Health Department standards. According to state standards, water should have a maximum of .3 milligrams per liter (.3 mg/L) of manganese and .3 mg/L of iron. The manganese level at the school tested at .840 mg/L, considerably above the state standard; iron tested at .057, well below the state standard.
But the state health department and the EPA do not recognize health concerns for manganese and iron. A January 2004 report on manganese by the Drinking Water Health Advisory board, appointed by the EPA, says that both iron and manganese are found in nearly all drinking water and reasonable quantities are considered beneficial to a person’s health. The report also stated that the primary source of manganese and iron is food, with adults consuming between .7 to 10 mg a day in a typical diet with vegetarians consuming slightly higher levels of both. Small amounts are found in daily vitamins.
Lee recommended a sequestrant polyphosphate system as the least expensive route to take in fixing the problem. At the July 1 school board meeting Superintendent Leslie Ford explained that, according to the proposal, polyphosphate would be added to the chlorinated system. “It keeps the iron and manganese in suspension instead of having it gather in the system and it doesn’t allow it to oxidize.”
Osmond counters with the argument that the iron and manganese will still be present in the water.
“New Hampshire has set their own health-based limits and standards based on findings that high levels of iron and manganese can cause neurological damage,” said Osmond. Greensand, the system Osmond wants the board to explore, is not a sequestrant system but a natural filtration process that removes minerals.
Since the process recommended by the consultants is polyphosphates, Osmond said, “Basically you are adding another chemical.”
The Ulster County Department of Health will need to approve whatever system is chosen.
Ford said if the school board members want to look at other methods of fixing the problem, they can address the engineers on “…alternative solutions. But that’s not their suggestion at this time because they believe the solution can be addressed…” She pointed out that choosing another strategy would result in higher design and construction costs and “it may impact the school’s plans.”
In a separate phone conversation, Ford said that the new school board would need to create a resolution based on standards different from what the health department recommends, so the engineers can make recommendations based on that particular standard. If the school board agrees that the high manganese levels are harmful to the health of the school community, a polyphosphate system would be eliminated as a solution.
The board’s next workshop meeting is Tuesday, August 5, at the Junior/Senior High School in Boiceville.

Social Gardening
A new grant program that will strengthen community gardens was announced recently with the first grant being presented to the Community Garden at SUNY New Paltz. The Community Gardens Capacity Building Grants Program will improve access to fresh local produce, help New Yorkers reduce their food budgets, preserve open space, and provide a cleaner, healthier environment by supporting community gardens throughout New York State. The community garden grants will provide up to $5,000 to existing community gardens and local garden coalitions that serve low-income people in urban areas. The funding is to be used to strengthen local community garden organizations. The announcement was made at SUNY New Paltz at the first ever gathering of 100 community gardeners and farmers from across the state at the Seeding Our Cities: The Future of New York’s Community Gardens and Urban Farms summit. A community garden is a public piece of land worked by an organized group of people, and owned either by a local government or nonprofit organizations. They provide green space in urban areas and encourage food production by providing gardeners a place to grow vegetables, fruit and flowers. Community gardens also provide a sense of community, neighborhood beautification and a unique connection to the environment. There are an estimated 10,000 community gardens within U.S. cities, with more than 1,000 in New York State alone.

Road Closure
Wittenberg Road between Mt. Tremper and Woodstock, also known as County Route 40, closed this past week for two months of repairs and some serious detours. Posted dates for a detour for eastward traveling vehicles onto Winne Road, and for westward-travelers at Coldbrook Road near the Wittenberg Store, are currently to be in effect until September 30. According to the county, the problem is a stretch of roadway that’s been sinking into an adjacent creek and the need for extensive guardrail repairs.
Stay tuned…

County Cuts…
Faced, like the state and federal government, with significant revenue stream disruptions because of the economic downturn, Ulster County is looking to new cuts, in seven departments of up to $885,038, from the county’s total $325 million budget.
County administrator Michael Hein, currently running for the new County Executive position up for grabs in November, told a subcommittee of the Ulster County Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee last week that what he had found necessary, and was proposing, were “intelligent reductions” and said they are “the strongest actions possible to protect the taxpayers of Ulster County.” He added that he had asked county departments earlier this month to find ways to cut their spending.
The county’s Department of Information Services offered up the most significant savings proposal, suggesting cuts totaling $476,587. Among the proposed cuts in that department is $235,000 budgeted for an ortho-imagery project, a state initiative that has bee delayed until 2009.
Hein said the cuts were “sustainable” reductions that would carry over into future years. However, like the proposed delay of the ortho-imagery project, many of the proposed savings measures seemed to only delay the implementation of new programs - or, as in the case of the Ulster County Health Department, the filling of positions.
The Health Department has proposed achieving a $98,805 savings by keeping three positions vacant until Jan. 1, 2009.
Other reductions recommended by departments included reductions in periodical subscriptions, advertising, supplies, conferences, duplicating and maintenance.
Like other counties in the state, Ulster is grappling with a midyear budget crisis resulting from higher-than-expected fuel costs and a 2 percent reduction in state aid to counties, announced in April… roughly four months after the county adopted its 2008 operating budget. According to the state Association of Counties, the reduction will result in $50 million in lost state aid to counties across New York, affecting roughly 100 different programs, including 39 that are mandated by the state.
Hein said savings from the proposed cuts would cover the expected $268,899 reduction in state cover and the anticipated $290,164 budgetary shortfall in the county’s fuel lines. He said he would recommend the county put the remaining $325,975 in the county’s contingency budget to serve as a buffer against any additional spending increases or revenue shortfalls. The added contingency also will help the county prepare for increased demand for county assistance to deal with possible home heating issues.
Members of the Ways and Means subcommittee will review the proposed spending cuts and recommend a course of action to the full committee, which will present its recommendations to the full Legislature in August.

Dumping Case...
The case of alleged illegal dumping against Phoenicia businessman Harry Jameson was postponed this week. Jameson was scheduled to appear in Shandaken Justice Court on Tuesday, July 29th. At that time it was decided to delay the matter until August 12th. Jameson said it was so he and David Gutierrez, also charged, could appear at the same time.
The State Department of Environmental Conservation issued tickets to both men in what DEC alleges was the unlawful disposal of remains of the Phoenicia Hotel, which burned one year ago on Main Street in Phoenicia and was knocked down a month ago. A mound of debris still sits on the vacated lot in the center of town.
The charges, all misdemeanors and violations, are leveled at Harry Jameson, the owner of Romer Mountain Park in Woodland Valley and David Gutierrez, owner of Woodstock Landscaping. Gutierrez is the contractor that demolished the remains of the Phoenicia Hotel and allowed materials to allegedly be trucked off site to Jameson’s property.
DEC Police investigated and charged Jameson with operating a solid waste management facility without a permit. Gutierrez was charged with unattended open burning, open burning without a permit and open burning for commercial purposes. He was also charged with two counts of unlawfully disposing of solid waste.

Gas Update
Eight environmental groups have written a letter to Governor David Paterson asking for a moratorium on natural gas drilling until an environmental review has been completed. The groups – Catskill Mountainkeeper, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Riverkeeper, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, The Wilderness Society, and Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy – wrote the letter after the Governor’s office announced it had directed the DEC to prepare an updated generic environmental impact statement.
Wes Gillingham, Catskill Mountain-keeper’s program director, said it would be appropriate for the governor to put a hold on any drilling.
“All of us feel it’s a positive step forward for the governor’s office to be opening up the regulations to public comment, but what really needs to have a moratorium until all the comprehensives issues get looked at in their entirety,” he said.
The letter said there must be an evaluation of all the potential impacts to New York State farmland, the New York City Watershed, Catskill Park, the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and other ecologically sensitive areas before the new technologies are employed.
Paterson’s fast-tracked legislation extends the state’s uniform well spacing system to include additional wells and drilling activity, including horizontal drilling.
There is much interest of late by natural gas exploration companies to drill on people’s property in parts of the western and northern Catskills, part of a larger area stretching through Pennsylvania and Western New York into Ohio and West Virginia, that overlays the eastern limits of what is known as the Marcellus Shale formation, rich in natural gas deposits that were considered too expensive to tap… until now.
Noted geologist Robert Titus has said that he didn’t believe the affected areas to reach far under the central Catskills… but others have noted that might not stop developers from trying to reach deep gas deposits from areas other than those directly overlying them.
The governor has directed the DEC to prepare an updated generic environmental impact statement to ensure that all environmental impacts from drilling are addressed.

Hydro Help?
Both Congressman Maurice Hinchey of Hurley and US Senator Hillary Clinton have joined Senator Chuck Schumer to call on the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to move forward on a proposal for the Delaware County Electric Cooperative to develop hydro power facilities at four New York City reservoirs in the Catskills. Both lawmakers have written to DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd urging her to move the project forward.
The proposal would use the hydro-electricity production capacity at the Schoharie, Cannonsville, Pepacton and Neversink reservoirs to create new renewable electricity generation, which would serve the needs of more than 20,000 households at peak load.
“This new generation capacity will help New York State meet its growing energy needs in an environmentally sustainable manner while also assisting the state in reaching its ambitious goals for renewable electricity generation,” said Hinchey.
“With gas prices and energy costs skyrocketing it is vitally important that we take initiative to develop real alternative energy solutions to fit our growing demands – and the Delaware County Energy Cooperative has done exactly that to help meet the area’s long term needs,” said Clinton. “This innovative project has the potential to supply clean energy to tens of thousands of homes in the region, and is reflective of the sort of forward thinking we should be encouraging.”

Catholic Aid
As the cost of transportation, food, utilities and basic necessities continues to soar, Catholic Charities is adding centers of service in Ulster County at St Mary-St. Andrew parish in Ellenville and St. Mary of the Snow parish in Saugerties, to meet the need for services in these areas and augment its growing services throughout the region.
“Due to the lack of public transportation, and the great distances involved in traveling in the Hudson Valley, the area has been particularly hard hit by the rising cost of gas,” said Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New York. “The addition of services in the area will help support those experiencing economic and emotional hardship.”
“Ellenville has been in a terrible economic situation for some time,” said Fr. John Lynch, pastor at St. Mary/St Andrew located on Ellenville’s South Main Street. “People are getting desperate. We are experiencing a brain drain and talent drain, following the closing of our local factory in the past year. People are leaving to put bread on the table and some have even gone to Mexico to get employment.”
Fr. Christopher Berean, Pastor of St. Mary of the Snow in Saugerties, and formerly of Phoenicia, echoes the concern of Fr. Lynch. “People are struggling terribly,” he said, “to keep a roof over their head.” He noted that the local bank is offering loans to enable people to lock in a fixed price for their oil and energy supplies.
“It is a crying shame that people have to take out loans to stay warm in winter, and I never thought I’d see the day that it takes $100 to go to the gas pump,” he said.
“Coping with increased costs, families in all the counties are coming to Catholic Charities with energy bills that are double what they’ve been in the past,” said Mary Ellen Ros, Catholic Charities Director for the Hudson Valley, who is also seeing the same extreme need. “They simply can’t afford to pay these bills and keep food on the table.”
Many of the individuals and families are eligible for the Low Income Heat and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). However, the program does not cover the full cost of the bills and is considered under-funded by housing advocates.
“Catholic Charities is known for providing accurate and timely information, referral and advocacy - always treating individuals with dignity, as we would like to be treated if our family was in need,” Ms. Ross added.
In addition, crisis experts help individuals and families plan long term solutions to their immediate problems through counseling and financial assistance. Catholic Charities utilizes both public and private funds to help families in need to provide food, pay rent to prevent an eviction, pay a utility bill to prevent a shut-off, and cope with other crisis situations.

Resort Review...
Neighboring town officials in Dutchess County are readying to weigh in on a proposed large-scale housing and golfing development that could bring hundreds of new residents to the region, adding to its review deadlines beyond the old Carvel lands’ Pine Plains base. Supervisor Richard Barrett of Milan, who spoke with developer Alexander Durst of The Durst Organization, said a meeting tentatively is planned for Aug. 18 between developers of the Carvel property and members of his town’s Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals.
“It’s time for us to hear from them,” Barrett said.
The meeting would involve an overview of the latest proposal to develop more than 2,200 acres in the towns of Pine Plains and Milan. The Pine Plains Planning Board was scheduled to meet with Carvel representatives this week to discuss the matter.
While the majority of the acreage is in Pine Plains, more than 400 acres of the Carvel property is in the town of Milan.
Carvel representatives gave a brief overview of the development during a Milan public hearing on the project’s draft environmental impact statement in March, but turnout was sparse. An in-depth presentation on what the development would mean for Milan has yet to be given.
The concept for the development initially was presented to the Pine Plains Planning Board in 2003 and has undergone a series of revisions after much scrutiny by project planners, town officials and local residents. The developers have recently hired an ecologist to help design a project plan that works for developers while addressing the environmental, social and cultural concerns of the surrounding communities.
Meanwhile, Barrett said he and other Milan officials also are working to resolve a long-standing disagreement with 1133 Taconic, the owner of the Carvel property, which claims the property has been grossly overassessed by the town.

Young Ideas?
The Ulster County Youth Bureau is seeking Requests for Proposals for New York State Office of Children and Family Services Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP) and Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDPP) funding to support Ulster County youth programs for the 2009 calendar year. The 50% reimbursable Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention grants require a dollar-for-dollar match from the agency/municipality applying for the program funds. Programs must reach the general youth population with quality recreation, social, and/or skill building programs. Eligible agencies must be not-for-profit or community-based organizations with federal identification or charities registration numbers. The 100% reimbursable Special Delinquency Prevention Program grants are available to programs that demonstrate service and impact on one of the identified Office of Children and Family Services youth-at-risk target populations. These populations include youth that are being considered for placement outside of the home, discharged from institutional care, currently in residential care, on PINS or JD charge, on probation, homeless or runaway, truants or school drop-outs, pregnant, prostitutes, victims of abuse or neglect, family member involved with juvenile justice, mental health or social service systems. Eligible agencies must be not-for-profit or community-based organizations with federal identification or charities registration numbers. New program proposals submitted by the due date will be granted 15 minutes to present their proposal verbally to the Ulster County Youth Board the evening of Thursday, August 7, 2008. Applications for funding may be obtained by calling the Ulster County Youth Bureau at (845) 334-5264. Completed applications will be due at the Youth Bureau, 407 Development Court, Kingston, New York 12401 no later than noon Tuesday, August 5, 2008.

Settlements
Three Ulster County residents have reached million-dollar settlements in personal injury lawsuits this month, according to the law office of Mainetti, Mainetti & O’Connor, who represented the three in separate cases. The state Supreme Court lawsuits included two workers who fell at job sites and an 88-year-old pedestrian who was struck by a teenage driver, and one was from Shandaken.
According to the law firm, Andrew Joslin, 45, of Shandaken, was injured March 13, 2006, falling from defective scaffolding while employed in the construction of Elting Gym at SUNY New Paltz. His case against the state of New York and Losco Group, the general contractor hired to build the gym, was settled Friday for $1.4 million. O’Connor said the bulk of the settlement will be paid by Losco group. Joslin sustained serious injuries to his right leg, which prevented him from returning to work as a steelworker, according to attorney Alfred Mainetti.

Autism…
For the second consecutive year, Omega Institute in Rhinebeck will host a conference at August 15-17 for families and professionals managing autism spectrum disorders, to explore the latest research and development in treating and living with autism with former Olive resident and Onteora’s ASPIE program founder Valerie Paradiz. The number of children diagnosed with autism every year is increasing at an alarming rate; the disorder now affects one in every 150 children according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Omega Institute’s gathering will feature some of the nation’s most innovative voices in the autism community.
This year the conference offers two tracks for participants to choose from: a professional training and a family track. The professional training is designed for those who work in the medical, nutrition, therapeutic, and mental health fields. The professional track will focus on the latest information on diagnosis, alternative approaches to treatment and therapy, and insights into working productively with families. CE credits are available. The family track covers - finding support for your loved one with autism, taking care of yourself and your family while caring for an individual with autism spectrum disorders, and navigating the autism advocacy landscape. Families will also gain insight into leading medical options, and nutrition for optimal health.
To register please call 800.944.1001 or visit eomega.org.

Abstinent?
In recent weeks the Bush administration, in the person of Robert W. Patterson of the Children, Family and Youth Services Bureau, issued a letter waiving the annual application process and review for the Title V Abstinence-Only State Grant Program, seeking to keep the program forcefully alive for another five years despite upcoming elections.
While Patterson’s letter reminds applicants that Congress must still authorize the money, his suggestion that they can apply for five year grants implies, “that this program has an unquestioned permanence that it does not, and has not for several years, amidst all the short term extensions,” said Bill Smith, vice president of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS).
Smith called the letter, “an attempt to mislead the states.”
Marcella Howell, Vice President of Advocates for Youth agreed, saying, “This is smoke and mirrors on the part of HHS when they know the money has not been authorized.”
Congress has extended the very controversial abstinence-only program in the face of mounting evidence of its failure to produce any measurable results. Even as Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, they have chosen to allow the programs to continue rather than confront far-right proponents of abstinence-only with the programs numerous failures as documented by public health experts.
At least twenty-three states have rejected abstinence-only-until-marriage programs so far, and the number is growing. Some states refuse because they don’t like the ideological inflexibility, the strings that the federal government puts on states who receive the money. Other states have complained that the uncertainty of the program, because of its highly politicized background, made the annual money less reliable.
If the Bush Administration is successful in its end run on behalf of abstinence-only programs, critics are saying, it could tie the hands of the next administration, at least politically. Cash-strapped states facing tight fiscal times that still accept the money for failed abstinence-only programs, will try to enforce the five-year grants that the Patterson letter offers, reluctant to give up federal money in hard times, no matter how ineffective the programs.
“I look forward to continuing our partnerships with states and territories in the important task of helping American young people experience the health, psychological, emotional, and social benefits of keeping sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing in marriage,” the HHS Secretary has written.

Chenergy?
A congressional investigation has produced new details on the degree to which senior Bush administration officials favored using the Clean Air Act to limit greenhouse gas emissions - until pressure from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, ExxonMobil and others in the oil industry led the Bush administration to change course.
Among the findings of the congressional investigation: There was wide senior-level support at the EPA for concluding that greenhouse gases are a danger to the public and that the EPA should regulate emissions - from vehicles, power plants, refineries and other sources. That would have been a dramatic shift in federal policy, and it would have given the EPA a powerful hand in trying to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases widely blamed for causing global warming. But according to the House committee report, representatives of ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute and the National Petrochemicals and Refiners Assn. argued that the move would undercut President Bush’s reputation as an opponent of government regulation. And, it said, F. Chase Hutto III, Cheney’s energy advisor, supported their opposition.
The committee had been investigating the work of EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson for several months, including his role in stopping California from regulating vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions. Eventually, the investigation led to Cheney’s office.
“I don’t accept their premise,” Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said. As for the report that the oil industry had the support of Cheney’s office in fighting new regulatory action, she added: “Frankly, that’s ridiculous.”

CWC Report…
The Catskill Watershed Corporation Board of Directors approved two stormwater grants to the Town of Shandaken on June 22 as well as a grant to the Village of Walton to repair a streambank retaining wall. The board also heard from Executive Director Alan Rosa that a $26 million contract between CWC and New York City has been executed to continue the residential septic repair program through 2017, and to allow planning for two new septic programs to go forward.
Rules for the new programs – to help Watershed small businesses pay for repairs and replacements of failing septic systems, and to provide systems for small clusters of homes – are in development. The programs are expected to be operational by the end of the year.
The existing septic remediation program for single –family residences or home/business combinations has addressed 2,693 systems since 1997.
Extension of the current program, and addition of the two new programs, were stipulated in the 2007 filtration waiver issued to the NYC Department of Environmental Protection by the US Environmental Protection Agency by which the City avoids filtering its Catskill-Delaware water supply.
Grants approved for the Town of Shandaken on July 22 will pay to plan and implement stormwater improvements. An award of $35,530 will enable a Stormwater Infrastructure Planning and Assessment Project. Another grant, for $24,436, will purchase and install brine tanks for four dump trucks, and a fifth brine storage tank. The use of brine on Shandaken roadways during the winter will reduce the quantity of sand that is needed, thus reducing sediment runoff and water quality degradation.
The Village of Walton will receive a $31,000 grant under the Stream Corridor Protection Program to design and replace a section of retaining wall along West Brook on Mead Street.

Less Equal…
The United States of America is becoming less united by the day. A 30-year gap now exists in the average life expectancy between Mississippi, in the Deep South, and Connecticut, in prosperous New England. Huge disparities have also opened up in income, health and education depending on where people live in the US, according to a report published in recent weeks.
The American Human Development Index has applied to the US an aid agency approach to measuring well-being - more familiar to observers of the Third World - with shocking results. The US finds itself ranked 42nd in global life expectancy and 34th in survival of infants to age. Suicide and murder are among the top 15 causes of death and although the US is home to just 5 per cent of the global population it accounts for 24 per cent of the world’s prisoners.
Despite an almost cult-like devotion to the belief that unfettered free enterprise is the best way to lift Americans out of poverty, the report points to a rigged system that does little to lessen inequalities.
“The report shows that although America is one of the richest nations in the world, it is woefully behind when it comes to providing opportunity and choices to all Americans to build a better life,” the authors said.
Some of its more shocking findings reveal that in parts of Texas, the percentage of adults who pass through high school has not improved since the 1970s. Asian-American males have the best quality of life and black Americans the lowest, with a staggering 50-year life expectancy gap between the two groups. Despite the fact that the US spends roughly $5.2 billion every day on health care, more per capita than any other nation in the world, Americans live shorter lives than citizens of every western European and Nordic country, bar Denmark.
Using official government statistics, the study points out that because American schools are funded primarily from local property taxes, rich districts get the best state education. The US has no federally mandated sick pay, paternity leave or annual paid vacation.
Although the US is one of the most powerful and rich nations in the world, the study concludes it is “woefully behind when it comes to providing opportunity and choices to all Americans to build a better life”.

Health Warning
The incidence of the deadly skin cancer Melanoma, brought to the public’s interest this week via a skin graft from presidential candidate John McCain, increased by 50 percent between 1980 and 2004, a study finds. Use of tanning salons is cited as one possible reason.
Melanoma rates have risen 50% among young women in the U.S. since 1980, a trend that may be related to an increase in the use of tanning salons and exposure to the sun’s damaging rays. Among young men, melanoma rates have remained steady, the study found.
The most lethal skin cancer, melanoma occurs in pigment-producing cells. The American Cancer Society estimates there will be 62,480 new cases of melanoma and 8,420 deaths from it in the U.S. this year. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the biggest risk factor for developing the cancer, although genetic factors can also contribute. People with fair skin are most at risk, but melanoma occurs in people of all races and skin tones.
UV exposure comes from two main sources, said Dr. John Glaspy, a professor of medicine at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA. “The first is worshiping the sun with our leisure time, and the other is tanning salons - and that gets us to the subset of people that were involved in this study,” he said.
The report in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology analyzed more than 20,000 cases of melanoma in people between the ages of 15 and 39 that were reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, a large database maintained by the National Cancer Institute. Researchers found that the incidence of melanoma in young women rose to 13.9 per 100,000 in 2004 from 9.4 per 100,000 in 1980. In young men, melanoma rates leveled off between 1980 and 2004, settling at 7.7 per 100,000 in 2004.
Researchers said that improved detection of early-stage cancer probably accounted for some of the increase in melanoma cases among young women but could not explain all of it.
Also this week, it was noted that a milder type of mental decline that often precedes Alzheimer’s disease is alarmingly more common than has been believed, and in men more than women. Nearly a million older Americans slide from normal memory into mild impairment each year, researchers estimate, based on a Mayo Clinic study of Minnesota residents. That’s on top of the half million Americans who develop full-blown Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia — a problem sure to grow as baby boomers age. The oldest boomers turn 62 this year.
“We’re seeing that in fact there’s a much larger burgeoning problem out there” of people at risk of developing dementia, said Dr. Ronald Petersen, the Mayo scientist who led the study.
Dr. Ralph Nixon, a New York University psychiatrist and scientific adviser to the Alzheimer’s Association, was blunt.
“We’re facing a crisis,” he said.
There are no treatments now to prevent this mental slide or reverse it once it starts.

Prosecutions
Immigration cases continue to heavily dominate federal enforcement efforts, making up well over half — 58% — of all federal prosecutions in April, according to timely data obtained and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). By comparison, prosecutions falling under the general category of drugs and narcotics made up only 16% of the total, while matters classified as involving white collar violations limped in at just under 5% for the same month. The very heavy federal emphasis on immigration cases became especially notable in February, March and April and is concentrated in selected judicial districts along the border with Mexico. The surge in this area is being advanced under a program called “Operation Streamline.”
The April figures documenting the Bush Administration’s intense immigration enforcement effort — mostly involving minor criminal charges being brought against undocumented aliens — have emerged at a time when John McCain and Barack Obama, the two leading presidential candidates, are increasingly debating the immigration policies the United States should pursue.
Meanwhile, it was reported in recent weeks that top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales broke the law by letting politics influence the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges at the Justice Department, according to a federal internal audit report..
Gonzales was largely unaware of the hiring decisions by two of his most trusted aides, according to the report by Justice’s Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility. But it singles out his former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, for violating federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren’t Republican or conservative loyalists. Additionally, a majority of immigration judge candidates considered by former Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson were recommended by the White House’s political affairs office - including one name forwarded by then-top adviser Karl Rove. Sampson told investigators that he did not consider those jobs to be protected from political considerations.
The 140-page report does not indicate whether Goodling or Sampson could face any charges. None of those involved in the discriminatory hiring still work at Justice, meaning they will avoid any departmental penalties. However, Justice investigators said that bar associations that license lawyers have asked about the report’s findings on Goodling - indicating she could be sanctioned there, potentially including losing her ability to practice law.
Congressional investigators said they also were considering asking the Justice Department to pursue perjury charges against Goodling, Sampson and possibly Gonzales as a result of their spoken or written congressional testimony during House and Senate investigations last year. Lying to Congress is a crime.
Democrats said the report affirms their charges of White House meddling in the hiring and firing of Justice Department employees.

Reservoir Leaks?
Congressman Maurice Hinchey has asked New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd to take immediate action to relieve the “enormous burden” that leaks from the Delaware Aqueduct are causing for residents of Wawarsing.
The Delaware Aqueduct System, also known as the Rondout-West Branch Tunnel, supplies more than half of the water supply to the more than eight million residents of New York City.
Approximately 30 million gallons of water per day are leaking from the aqueduct and being pressured upward through the ground into people’s homes and drinking wells. The result has been a contaminated water supply and the need for residents to run pumps around the clock to rid their homes of water.
The DEP, meanwhile, responded to Hinchey by saying a Project Advisory Committee has been formed to address the water problems in Wawarsing with a special emphasis of any influence of the leak in the Delaware Aqueduct.
Committee members include homeowners, representatives from DEP, the Town of Wawarsing, Ulster County Health Department, New York State Department of Transportation, and offices of Congressman Hinchey and New York State Senator John Bonacic, the agency said. Two meetings have been held in the last four weeks and another meeting is scheduled for the end of July.
“Ongoing water sampling of individual properties has occurred over the last two months as part of a comprehensive investigation into the impact of the leak. Discussions and inventories of stormwater infrastructure have been initiated, as well as a special tunnel shutdown in early June to aid one of the tests,” according to a statement.
“DEP is encouraged by the participation of the homeowners and the agencies in the PAC. As a result of these meetings, a cooperative effort between DEP, NYSDOT and the town is emerging to improve stormwater drainage in the area. DEP is also currently considering a variety of strategies to further investigate the leak and to mitigate the water related impacts in the area.”