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At the time of state budget adoption in April 2018, the MTA Sustainability Advisory Workgroup was created, consisting of appointees of the Governor, the Mayor, the Assembly, and the Senate, and others. The mission of the group was to advise the state’s political leadership on critical choices and offer policy guidance.... |
The Workgroup report had many thoughtful recommendations, including supporting congestion pricing as the immediate revenue priority. Governor Cuomo’s support for congestion pricing is now well-known, but neither the Assembly nor the Senate have ever taken a vote, not even a vote in a committee, on congestion pricing, a... |
The Workgroup report confirmed that the MTA still has not fully costed out, or provided a detailed plan, for its Advanced Technology Fast Forward Plan, or the next phase of capital construction, the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, estimated to cost somewhere between $40 and $60 billion. The sums of money involved still have no... |
At the end of the legislative session in 2018, the State Assembly passed a bill to require the MTA to advance the release of the 2020-2024 Capital Plan, due under current law in October 2019, to January 2019, in an effort to have the Capital Plan become contemporaneous with the state budget, but the then Republican-con... |
The Workgroup suggested that the state should proceed with congestion pricing despite the lack of information about future costs, because of the obvious need for immediate revenue; the Workgroup also said the capital planning process might be better aligned if it moved to a ten-year plan like the Port Authority --- a u... |
The MTA’s current 2015-2019 Capital Plan is seriously incomplete. To date, the MTA has received only $7 billion of the $33 billion cost of the plan, and the huge deficits reveal new revenue is needed to continue. Providing the MTA a revenue source for its 2022 deficit -- an extra $1 billion a year-- will provide the mo... |
The projected October 2019 MTA submission of its 2020-2024 Capital Plan, which presumably will incorporate the Fast Forward Plan, at least some version of it, presents an even more severe political test for the state’s governing authorities than congestion pricing itself. That is because MTA investments that cost $40- ... |
Moving to a ten-year capital planning cycle could allow the Governor and the Legislature to separate the additional billions in revenue needed to pay for such mammoth expenses into two five-year phases to avoid excessive tax hikes for the unpopular agency. But the difficulty of finding such a new level of revenue could... |
This conflict was presaged by Governor Cuomo demanding that New York City and the state split the MTA’s shortfalls 50/50 in both 2017 and 2018. He followed up on that demand during his campaign this fall, when the Governor co-signed a pledge with Long Island Democratic State Senate candidates that they would force New ... |
These Long Island political newcomers may not realize that the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) operating costs are the most heavily subsidized, on a proportional basis, of the three MTA transit systems, far more so than New York City Transit or Metro North. The MTA’s poster child for cost overruns is East Side Access, t... |
1. Stabilize the MTA’s immediate funding crisis with the adoption of a $1 billion-per-year plan for congestion pricing, which will keep the capital and operations budgets in balance through 2022. This is the most logical and efficient way to address the immediate crisis and offers some relief for Manhattan’s horrible t... |
A component of congestion pricing could serve as the source for the state’s unfunded $7 billion obligation to the current 2015-2019 Capital Plan, triggering New York City’s $2.5 billion matching obligation, and bring the current plan to about three-quarters funded. |
2. Do a Capital Program Ten-Year Restart: Require the MTA to integrate Fast Forward, the unfunded balances of the current plan, the Expansion Projects, and other essential investments into a 10-year Plan, 2020-2030, with two five-year cycles. The first five-year cycle would have a linkage to the revenue requirement nec... |
Corporate taxes, unlike income taxes, remain fully deductible as a business expense, and avoid more damage to New York from the inability of our taxpayers to deduct most of their New York personal income taxes from their federal taxes after the new federal cap on those deductions (a matter of litigation itself). Furthe... |
4. A full overhaul of the MTA’s Capital Construction Program, with a plan to cut its costs 20-25%, remains a challenge that can be taken up with a Capital Plan realignment into a ten-year cycle. A separate new construction agency with aggressive powers to cut costs and innovate may be necessary. |
Jim Brennan was a member of the New York State Assembly for 32 years, where he chaired four committees. On Twitter@JimBrennanNY. |
Note: this article has been updated to remove an incorrect statement about how legislatively-appointed members of the MTA Workgroup were acting -- they were voting as representatives of their legislative body, not as individuals as originally stated. |
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gas more commonly associated with the smell of ‘rotten eggs’ and blocked drains. However, it has now been shown to be present naturally in our bodies and reside in knee joint synovial fluid, the protective fluid found in the cavities of joints that reduces friction between the cartilage of j... |
The research, carried out by scientists at the Peninsula Medical School and rheumatologists at the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Trust in Exeter and funded by the local Northcott Medical Research Foundation, was presented at the New York Academy of Sciences’ 4th International Conference on Oxidative/Nitrosative Stress and D... |
The study compared H2S in blood samples and knee-joint synovial fluid from patients with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and healthy individuals. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis were found to have higher concentrations of H2S in their synovial fluid compared to controls and up to four fold higher levels than in... |
As a result, the way is open for further study into how H2S could be used as a therapeutic and possibly ‘natural’ option for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases. |
In 2008 the same research team from the Peninsula Medical School synthesised a new molecule that release very low amounts of H2S in a controlled manner. This was a major breakthrough because until then H2S could only be delivered in one go via a gas cylinder or through the use of sulfide salts. Both of which are admini... |
The results of the research that shows a clear correlation between levels of H2S in synovial fluid and inflammation in joints, combined with the earlier synthesis of a molecule that can release H2S safely, indicates that the development of H2S-based therapeutic intervention in human chronic inflammatory diseases such a... |
The team has recently received a grant of £140,000 over three years from the Wellcome Trust to pursue further study in this field. |
According to statistics from Arthritis Research UK, around 20,000 new cases of rheumatoid arthritis are diagnosed in the UK each year. Almost 400,000 adults in the UK suffer from the disease, which is more prevalent in women than men. Up to four out of ten working people with rheumatoid arthritis lose their jobs within... |
Ten million working days were lost in 2006/7 due to musculoskeletal conditions with a cost to the UK of £5.7 billion annually. More than 10 million adults consult their GP each year with arthritis and related conditions and around 15,000 children in the UK have ongoing problems with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and si... |
Speeds reduced. Crews replace deficient bridges and rehabilitate other bridges. |
The project will include the installation and replacement of approximately 2,500 wrong way/roadway signs and highway pavement marking. |
During the first phase of this project, motorists will experience single-lane closures on U.S. 50C in each direction and a northbound closure at Aspen Road and U.S. 50C requiring a detour. Aspen Road at U.S. 50C is expected to remain closed for the next five weeks, weather dependent. Drainage work will continue on U.S.... |
Detour in place. The project consists of bridge repairs on Colorado 167 and milling, overlay work and upgrading of two ADA ramps on Colorado 96. |
The project consists of pavement marking removal and restriping. |
Speeds reduced. Replace deficient bridges and rehabilitate bridges on I-25 from Ilex to City Center Drive. |
The project will include milling and asphalt overlay, storm drainage improvements and installing new ADA ramps and upgrading existing ADA ramps. |
The project will include sign base installation. |
The project will include the installation and replacement of about 2,500 wrong way/roadway signs and highway pavement marking. |
Pavement marking removal and restriping. |
Flagger operations; delays possible; traffic shift; detour in place; width restrictions 12 feet. The project includes bridge replacement and ancillary highway and drainage work to accommodate the new bridge structures. Area inlets that currently are present in the median between the northbound and southbound lanes of I... |
The long-awaited petroleum law, which was enacted on July 1, replaced one which had been on the books since 1991. |
The new law is designed to boost foreign investment in Mongolia’s petroleum industry and provide among the most competitive production sharing terms in the world, Wolf Petroleum’s Ulaanbaatar-based CEO Bataa Tumur-Ochir told Platts this week via email. |
Under the new law, production sharing contracts can be approved by the government within 180 days of request by the developer. Royalty payments are 5% and contractors are exempt from customs duty, VAT in the first five years and income taxes from oil sales. |
In addition, exploration, operation, development and production costs can be recovered 100%. |
According to Tumur-Ochir, the petroleum industry enjoys huge support within Mongolia, which is keen to reduce its dependence on imported oil from Russia. The country currently imports via rail close to 7 million barrels/year of Russian petroleum products, subject to demand from the mining industry, the CEO added. |
The new petroleum law provides Wolf with “easy and transparent procedures” to farm out a stake in its SB block, and “an advantage” on applications for production sharing contracts on its BU and Jinst blocks, Tumur-Ochir said. |
The SB block in Mongolia’s east is Wolf’s most advanced project and is currently at drill-ready stage. The block, which is close to the Chinese border and existing infrastructure, has the potential to hold between 462 million barrels and 2.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to independent estimates, Tumur-... |
Wolf recently opened a data room for potential strategic partners interested in farming into SB. The block could be brought into production within six to 12 months, depending on drilling results, but with Mongolia lacking an oil refinery for now, any output would be exported to China. |
Meanwhile, potential resources at Wolf’s neighboring BU block, located near a producing 2.25 billion barrel oil field operated by PetroChina, are currently being estimated. The company is also in discussions with the government over the PSC terms for the block. |
Wolf’s Jinst block in Mongolia’s west is the country’s largest petroleum exploration area, at more than 41,000 sq km. The company has completed initial geological and geophysical programs at Jinst, identifying 12 large sub-basins which Tumur-Ohir said were identical to producing fields in China. |
Mongolia has a history of producing and refining its own oil, but the domestic industry shut down in the 1960s. According to the US Energy Information Administration, oil production resumed in a small way in 1998, but did not start climbing significantly until after 2005, reaching 14,050 b/d in 2013. |
The EIA put Mongolia’s oil consumption at 23,260 b/d in 2012, with net petroleum imports estimated at 13,330 b/d. |
With plans afoot to build a new refinery in the country, albeit one which would use Russian crude initially, Wolf’s extensive acreage position might make it a small player sitting on an interesting opportunity. |
Tommy Ryan exemplified what coaches preach about not giving up and making that second effort. |
Ryan had just been beaten at defensive back on an 84-yard pass play that had Ell-Saline poised to tie the game in the fourth quarter. But the Trinity Catholic senior swatted down the next pass to prevent the two-point conversion and preserve an 8-6 homecoming high school football victory for the Celtics Friday night. |
Ell-Saline’s Nick Davenport connected with Treyton Peterson on the long TD strike with 7:20 left in the fourth quarter. |
Big defensive plays marked the night. |
The Cardinals erupted after recovering a Trinity fumble on the next series. But Zane Schroeder intercepted a Davenport pass, and Aaron Guerrero came up with a fourth-down sack with less than two minutes left to seal the victory. |
Defenses came out strong for both teams, until the Celtics started a 66-yard march at the end of the first period. |
Celtics quarterback Kaleb Hammeke, who passed for 154 yards, hit Nolan Clarke for 25 yards and Issac Miller added a 10-yard run to help push the ball to the Ell-Saline 23. |
Trinity hammered the ball on the ground with two rushes by Guerrero and a keeper by Hammeke to set up Miller’s 5-yard touchdown run with 10:31 left in the second quarter. Hammeke ran into the end zone untouched for the conversion that proved to be the difference in the game. |
Trinity (3-0) travels to Conway Springs to open up district play next Friday. Ell-Saline (2-1) visits Sedgwick. |
Guerrero also was named king at halftime, and Caeli Clennan was crowned homecoming queen. |
From the first two blocks of demos at the DEMOfall event, a couple of standout applications have already emerged. In the two sessions this morning, the first focused on consumers and the second on delivering more usable applications to business that provide the same capabilities, features, and look and feel that we're ... |
Tribeca Labs: Photobot "zero click" image enhancement and backup. |
Pluggd: contextual search in audio and video files to find the content you're interested in. |
Presto: delivery of photos, e-mail, and subscription content to a connected HP Printing Mailbox using nothing more than an telephone connection for people without an internet connection or PC. |
RingCube: Mojopac is a very cool virtualization of your PC's environment, applications, and files which can be stored on any USB device (inluding an iPod) and connected to any PC to provide a very fast virtual machine that leverages the installed operating system to overcome typical performance issues. At this point in... |
ThinkFree Office AJAX Edition: the latest version of one of the original online office suites which was first shown at DEMO 2000. The new AJAX version is more like using a standard desktop-installed office suite with the advantages of a connected service which allows file sharing, collaboration, document management and... |
Koral: A web-based Content Management System that provides a couple of very nice features including a desktop dropbox for instant upload and metadate creation, alerts when an out-of-date version of a document is opened, and an interesting rating and ranking system to find content you'll probably find most useful based ... |
BuzzLogic: A very interesting tool that aggregates information on a specific topic from blogs, MSM, and corporate web sites and builds intelligent "buzz maps" that show which sites are most influential in the conversation. A particularly compelling feature is the interactive buzz map display which allows you to travers... |
The WiFi is up and down here in the hall. I'll try to post more after visiting some of the companies during the break in the DEMO Pavillion. |
When Edwards went to Victory Lane late that night after the rain-shortened race, earning a championship-contending spot in the season finale, nobody knew that less than two months later he would walk away from the last year of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing without the chance for another of his trademark celebratio... |
"Because I'm so invested in it and it's been so close to me, I don't think I can follow without wanting to participate," he said. "It would impossible for me. I try not to pay too much attention. ... If I'm going to follow it every week and do all of that, I might as well come, and then I might as well drive, and then ... |
The 64 suspected mercenaries who were aboard a cargo jet seized at the country's main airport could face the death penalty, Zimbabwe's foreign minister said Wednesday. |
Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge did not say what charges would be brought against them or when they might appear in court. |
"They are going to face the severest punishment on our statutes, including capital punishment," Mudenge said after a routine briefing for diplomats in the capital, Harare. |
The crew of the aging Boeing 727, which was impounded late Sunday at Harare's international airport, claimed the plane was headed for the central African nations of the Congo and Burundi and was carrying mineral mining personnel. |
Zimbabwe authorities alleged the 64 were hired by a South African mercenary organization and British special forces, state television reported. |
The television said Tuesday that investigations in Zimbabwe found the plane was linked to a South African firm known as "Executive Outcomes" that in the past hired mostly former apartheid-era South African soldiers for mercenary and security work across Africa. |
The television quoted Zimbabwe Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi as saying British SAS, or Special Air Service, forces were believed also to have been involved. He did not elaborate. |
Britain's Foreign Office said it was aware of the allegation. |
"The British government in Harare is following the developments closely. They attended a briefing by the Zimbabwean foreign minister this morning," said a spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity. |
When asked specifically about the SAS claim, she said she had no further details. |
Relations between Britain and the government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe have been strained since Mugabe began evicting whites from farms in a massive land reform project. A subsequent election was tainted by allegations of fraud and outright violence. Mugabe has shut newspapers and Human Rights Watch says hi... |
Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of countries formerly part of the British Empire, and left that association last year. |
State TV said the plane was carrying 20 South African nationals and groups of Angolans, Congolese, Namibians and one Zimbabwean with a South African passport. |
Earlier, South Africa's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jerry Ndou, was trying to verify the status of those on board the plane, the South African Foreign Affairs Ministry said. |
"Should the allegations that those South Africans on board are involved in mercenary activities prove true, this would amount to a serious breach of the Foreign Military Assistance Act, which expressly prohibits the involvement of South Africans in military activities outside South Africa without the due authorization ... |
The small west African state of Equatorial Guinea, where rich oil deposits were recently discovered, has said it is investigating reports foreign mercenaries were being recruited earlier this year to overthrow the government. |
Zimbabwe state television on Monday broadcast footage of a white plane with a blue stripe containing satellite telephones, radios, backpacks, sleeping bags, hiking boots, an inflatable raft, bolt cutters and what appeared to be a can of Mace. No weapons were shown. |
The plane and its passengers were taken to a nearby military airfield, the station said. |
The plane's registration number, N4610, is assigned to Dodson Aviation Inc. of Ottawa, Kan. A company official, Robert Dodson, told CBS News.com that he sold the aircraft to a South African mining company called Logo Limited about a week ago. |
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Executive Outcomes recently was involved in ending the Angola and Sierra Leone civil wars but is now defunct. |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Knowing the teachers at Eugene Field Elementary school means knowing a family. |
Each member plays a special part. |
Monica Aranda teaches bilingual kindergarten. |
“I love being a teacher. This is where I belong,” Aranda said. |
But lately, Aranda has been spending less time in the classroom. |
She has polycystic kidney disease. |
“I've had like seven surgeries since the beginning of the year,” she said. |
After long days of teaching, Aranda spends hours on dialysis. The treatment keeps her alive, but it’s her fellow teachers who keep her motivated. |
“They've all been supportive and stepping up to cover my class and do whatever needed to be done in order for me to continue coming back,” Aranda said. |
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