Culvert Chronicles, The

The People Have Become Disenchanted with Government

Most Americans, unless they are part of the 1% who control the wealth of the nation, have lost faith in our government and are totally disenchanted with their lives. They feel elected officials do not protect them and passed laws for the advantage of the rich to the detriment of the poor. Charles Darwin said in his book, The Survival of the Species, that the strong would survive and weak would just exist. Mr. Mubarak and his cohorts in North Africa thought they could hide behind their guns. I...

Immigrant Students Urge Albany for Tuition Support

"I think it will be a challenge," she admitted. "It's a lot of miles during the day." "I think it's really important because, in New York City, it's more of a safe zone for undocumented youth," she said. "Once you get upstate, it's completely different. People are more afraid to come out as undocumented because they might get into deportation proceedings if they say something." "I know the challenges and struggles to find the money, to take semesters off to afford it," she said. "I am walking...

Nearly 300 Bronx Community Members Voice Concerns and Opinion On Gov. Cuomo's Juvenile Justice Overhaul

"This is a dramatic change in the way that our juvenile justice system works," said [Ronald Richter], whose agency is charged with locating new "placements" in the area for youth under 15 who are incarcerated upstate. "A lot of kids that come out of upstate facilities come out worse," said the mom, who travels nearly three hours every Sunday to visit her son. "What services are we gonna provide for them, knowing that schools are pushing them out? I'm scared that there's gonna be no seats in s...

Al Qaeda Still After N.Y.C., Nypd Chief Ray Kelly Warns

"It's not tied to any threat," [Raymond Kelly] said. "But it's obviously a cause of concern. "They want to keep the message out there,'' Kelly said, in describing jihadist websites. "They want to give us a certain amount of angst and anxiety. "That's where training happens,'' he said.

Cuomo Whacks Pataki Gun Law

"That's what we said would happen from the start,'' crowed Tom King, president of the New York Rifle and Pistol Association and a National Rifle Association board member. "I think Andrew Cuomo is a very intelligent guy who didn't want to waste money, and this wasn't working." "The opponents were saying it's a bad budget because it doesn't include enough spending, a New York Dream Act [aid for illegal aliens], microstamping or a [gas-drilling] hydrofracking health study, and they said Democrat...

March Held in Queens in Memory of Trayvon Martin

"I just really believe that if the case was handled differently, if the boy was just brought to the police station and things of that nature, that this wouldn't have happened," said Jamaica resident Ivy Lockett. "We're hoping that Zimmerman gets arrested," said State Senator Malcolm Smith. "We also hope they're going to repeal that 'stand your ground' law in Florida, just as we're making sure it doesn't happen here in New York."

Wash New York Group Campaigns to Clean Up Labor Abuses in Car Wash Industry

"Overtime? Forget it," he said. "The bosses tell us 'that's not for you' because we are immigrants and many of us have no papers." "You know what this means? It means that the owner has found a group of people he can exploit and nobody can do anything about it," said RWDSU's president Stuart Appelbaum. "That's why unions are important." "There are about 800 workers from more than 20 car washes involved with the campaign," [Nelson Hern]ández said. "We make decisions together. And we think join...

Push to Sell Wine in Grocery Store Runs Dry

"I'd say that it is in a state of dormancy," [Michael Rosen] said of the lobbying effort. "We still believe that this is the best course for the state. But until there's a change in how the governor or the legislative leadership sees this, we won't be actively pushing it." "He has a lot he wants to do, and if a proposal isn't among these, it will be a lot harder to do," [Joseph Morelle] said. "I wouldn't say we've stopped the effort, but it is definitely uphill." "We could still come back,'' ...

At Colleges, Degrees in 4 Years or the Rest Free

"We keep calling it a four-year degree," said A. Scott Weber, UB's vice provost of education, "so it seems reasonable to think about programs that reignite that discussion." The American Association of State Colleges and Universities doesn't keep a tally of how many schools offer such degree guarantees but sees the number growing. Along with New York's state colleges in Fredonia and Oswego, the University of the Pacific in California, University of Minnesota, Midland University in Nebraska an...

State's Public Workers Rush to Join Pension Plan

"We're encouraging them to be aware of that fact, that they should join immediately," said [Darcy Wells], whose union opposed the creation of Tier VI. "We just did a Tier V. There was no reason for a new tier. The governor sold Tier VI as a way to cut local property taxes knowing full well there will be no effect for years." [Stephen Madarasz] said a young worker who may not be a savvy investor would be "put in a position where they have to make choices about whether they're adequately provid...

New York City Snitches Account for 90% of Complaints of Wrongdoing Against City's Employees

Tipsters - including local do-gooders and a wealth of public servants ratting out colleagues - have flooded the DOI with 9,897 phone calls, 3,543 emails and 1,816 faxes, according to the agency's records, which the Daily News obtained through the Freedom of Information Law. "This outreach has been integral in generating tips for DOI, and leading to significant cases," DOI spokeswoman Diane Struzzi said. The agency initiated just 103 cases over the period, mainly against workers who double-dip...

Two Kew Gardens Motels Raided in Prostitution Crackdown; Five Motel Staffers Arrested and Motels Padlocked

District Attorney Brown identified the five defendants as Par Central desk clerks Harripersa Ramjattan, Bhaskar Chaniha and Wojuech D. Sady, and Kew Motor Inn desk clerks Atm Raham, and Masum Chowdhury (See Addendum for details on the defendants and the criminal charges). District Attorney [Richard A. Brown] said that, according to the criminal charges, undercover police officers posing as prostitutes and customers have visited the Kew Motor Inn, located at 139-01 Grand Central Parkway in Kew...

Juvenile Facilities Could Face Closure

"For those that are dangerous, they should be in locked facilities with appropriate care," said Elizabeth Glazer, [Andrew Cuomo]'s deputy secretary for public safety. "But for those who are lower risk, all of the science shows that if you want to reduce offending, they should be close to home and treated with the appropriate programs." The "Close To Home Initiative" would only apply to New York City youths being held in the state's seven "non-secure" and five "limited secure" facilities, all ...

Roll On: Pols Kill Tax On Cheap Cigs and Cigars

"It means cheap cigarettes will still be available and more people will smoke more cigarettes," said Russell Sciandra, New York advocacy director for the American Cancer Society.

Mayor: Gracie Mansion's a House, Not a Home

"Somebody said, 'Oh, it's the same thing as the White House,'" [Bloomberg] opined. "The White House has been the White House since Day One. Nobody had this house for the mayor." "I don't think you have to give the mayor a housing allowance," Bloomberg said. "It does seem like there's a lot of people that want the job."

Pain Remedy On My Neck - Shoo, Gnat, Shoo

"Absorbine Jr. really does discourage gnats. I keep a bottle in my car so I can have it handy when needed. A park ranger suggested it to me," says Cathy Krieger of Chicago, who spends much of her free time in the outdoors of western Illinois. "I was wearing an insect net over my head because the gnats were so bad. When I dabbed Absorbine Jr. around my hairline, it completely solved the problem, and I could dispense with the net."

African Cinema Explodes On the Web

The African Film Library's premiere will be marked by the online release of 14 films by or about [Ousmane Semb]ène. A native of the West African nation of Senegal, Sembène was first a celebrated novelist; the Los Angeles Times called him one of Africa's greatest authors. At 40, yearning to inspire social change and to reach a wider audience in Africa, he directed the first film by a sub-Saharan African, the 1963 short Borom Sarret (The Wagoner). The auteur went on to direct many feature films...

Ex-Gov. David Paterson Bets On Charlie Rangel

"You can't blame State Sen. [Adriano Espaillat] for running for Congress," [David Paterson] said. "In this case the Hispanic and African American communities both understand each other's plight. The African-Americans of Harlem are facing what has really been a gentrification of Harlem, and some displacement," Paterson said.

Student Debt Must Be Curbed, Along with Rising Education Costs

State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, who attended a brainstorming session on college costs with [Barack Obama] late last year, vowed in January to move $100 million in administrative spending to instruction and student services over the next five years. Other initiatives, such as ensuring more students graduate in just four years, will likewise help.

The Physic of the Brain Ky-Mani Marley's Story Dear Dad

This book should be read by all; any young man or women going through a rough time in his or her life. Ky-Mani had a way out through his raw talent, natural given and his Parent's talents, which he had to contend with and put into perspective much later. Others don't have that outlet (sad). True indeed he was some what fortunate but he still could have turned the other way. Mothers with teenagers going through this type of agony should use the example of a mother's unconditional love written ...