Sunday, August 02, 2009

VIOLATIONS ISSUED AGAINST UNLICENSED CONTRACTORS...NEW IDEA: CHILDREN'S EXPRESS SHOULD OPEN UP BUREAU IN GREENBURGH

The Town of Greenburgh continues to aggressively pursue unlicensed residential contractors and unlicensed electricians and plumbers. Town Code Enforcement Officers have issued violations to over 70 unlicensed contractors in the past four weeks.



Westchester County regulations require electrical, plumbing and residential contractors to possess valid Westchester County licenses to perform work in the Town of Greenburgh. These licensing requirements are meant to ensure the safety of those residents and businesses by having competent contractors and tradespersons perform work. The Town is teaming with the Westchester County Department of Consumer Affairs and the Westchester County County Clerk’s Department to report those contractors found to be performing work without the requisite licensing for appropriate enforcement action.



CHILDREN'S EXPRESS IS THE KIND OF PROGRAM THAT COULD HELP GREENBURGH STUDENTS TRAIN FOR JOURNALISM---



Wouldn't it be fantastic if Children's Express would open up a bureau in Greenburgh? Could expose our youth to journalism and provide fantastic training.





Background

Children's Express was founded in 1975. Its worldwide headquarter is located in Washington, D.C., with additional bureaus in New York City, Indianapolis, Marquette, London and Newcastle. Children's Express is a nonprofit youth development and civic leadership organization that reaches out to youth across economic, academic, ethnic and cultural lines, and assists them in producing a monthly news service that provides their opinions and stories to news services around the world.


Program Operations


Children's Express maintains six bureaus, each of which works with a diverse group of approximately 125 young people. These young people work in teams to explore the issues that affect their lives. Using a method of oral journalism, they gather and record youth impressions, and communicate the unfiltered experiences and insights of children and young adults. Children's Express reporters range in age from eight to 13, and editors range from age 14 to 18. After exploring the issues important to them, the reporters and editors work together to write articles that will communicate these ideas. This copy is provided to newspapers around the world, including The New York Times News Service. Recent articles include "Bi-Racial Kids Live on Both Sides," and "Teenagers Talk About Racial Slurs." During the summer of 1995, Children's Express reporters and editors traveled the country to interview youth of diverse racial, social and ethnic backgrounds about citizenship, race and diversity in America. The result of this effort, Children's Express's Diversity Project, was launched at the beginning of the summer of 1998. This project is a multimedia initiative which includes television, print, radio and the Internet. Over the course of this project, Children's Express reporters will engage both adults and youth in an important national conversation about what it really means to be an American today, and how to fully embrace what they feel to be the country's essence -- diversity.


Outcomes and Significant Accomplishments

Children's Express was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1982, and received George Foster Peabody and Emmy Awards for coverage of the 1988 presidential campaign. In 1994, Children's Express was awarded the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for "Homeless Teens Discuss Life on the Streets," broadcast on National Public Radio. Children's Express has published five books, including Voices from the Future: Children Speak Out about Violence in America. Children's Express participants have allowed thousands of young people to be heard on the issues of race through the outreach round tables they lead, and through their interviews.



PAUL FEINER

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Isn't it time to cut back these programs. My taxes keep going up and Feiner keeps spending. Time to look around everyone else is cutting or eliminating programs. Shouldn't we?

Anonymous said...

Good Lord! Yes! Let's ask Lanza for a few hundred thousand, kick in a few of our own, pay Thomas to run it, only invite or supply transportation for Woodlands students and charge them no fee.

Duh. Children's Express folded in 2001 according to Wikipedia. It is only active in the UK.

Anonymous said...

Children are our most precious resource. This kind of program provides our children with opportunities for success. Can only help property values.
Feiner is not suggesting additional government funding for this program.

Anonymous said...

Feiner considers only a handful of children in TOV our most precious resource.

Please point out to me one town program that reaches out to all TOV teens.

I rest my case.

As for property values, it is this very reason that property values are always disportionately lower and have declined faster than other surrounding ares. If you own property in TOV GC7 outside of Fairview, you have made an unwise investment. It's a well know fact that both the school district and our Supervisor feel this group is nothing but a source of tax revenues.

Anonymous said...

pardon my spelling :"disproportionately"
"areas"
have a nice day!

Anonymous said...

You can have all the childen you want ,if you have no money are you paying ? If you want eveything for free try living somewhere else. Work for what you want have you no shame.

hal samis said...

From Mr. Feiner
"Wouldn't it be fantastic if Children's Express would open a bureau in Greenburgh? Could expose our childen to journalism and provide fantastic training."

Note the use of fantastic twice.
Think also of fantasy.

From Hal Samis
Wouldn't it be fantastic if the Supervisor would actually do some research before shooting from the hip? I know he's busy running for re-election but...

From Wikipedia
"When founder Robert Clampitt died suddenly in 1996, CE was already teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. In fact, the board of directors had scheduled a meeting to decide how to close the organization when new management secured a multi-million dollar foundation grant to develop the organization and to undertake a major diversity research project. But with a flawed business model and increasing pressures on foundations and other funders brought about by 9/11, further funding proved impossible to obtain. By the year 2001, after a desperate struggle and with a bitterly divided board, the organization ceased operations".

hal samis said...

Look familiar? from google's link to clinton4.nara.gov
Program: Children's Express, Washington, DC
Contact(s): Monette Austin, Editor

"Children's Express was founded in 1975. Its worldwide headquarter is located in Washington, D.C., with additional bureaus in New York City, Indianapolis, Marquette, London and Newcastle. Children's Express is a nonprofit youth development and civic leadership organization that reaches out to youth across economic, academic, ethnic and cultural lines, and assists them in producing a monthly news service that provides their opinions and stories to news services around the world.
Program Operations
Children's Express maintains six bureaus, each of which works with a diverse group of approximately 125 young people. These young people work in teams to explore the issues that affect their lives. Using a method of oral journalism, they gather and record youth impressions, and communicate the unfiltered experiences and insights of children and young adults. Children's Express reporters range in age from eight to 13, and editors range from age 14 to 18. After exploring the issues important to them, the reporters and editors work together to write articles that will communicate these ideas. This copy is provided to newspapers around the world, including The New York Times News Service. Recent articles include "Bi-Racial Kids Live on Both Sides," and "Teenagers Talk About Racial Slurs." During the summer of 1995, Children's Express reporters and editors traveled the country to interview youth of diverse racial, social and ethnic backgrounds about citizenship, race and diversity in America. The result of this effort, Children's Express's Diversity Project, was launched at the beginning of the summer of 1998. This project is a multimedia initiative which includes television, print, radio and the Internet. Over the course of this project, Children's Express reporters will engage both adults and youth in an important national conversation about what it really means to be an American today, and how to fully embrace what they feel to be the country's essence -- diversity.


Outcomes and Significant Accomplishments

Children's Express was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1982, and received George Foster Peabody and Emmy Awards for coverage of the 1988 presidential campaign. In 1994, Children's Express was awarded the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for "Homeless Teens Discuss Life on the Streets," broadcast on National Public Radio. Children's Express has published five books, including Voices from the Future: Children Speak Out about Violence in America. Children's Express participants have allowed thousands of young people to be heard on the issues of race through the outreach round tables they lead, and through their interviews."

P-l-a-g-i-a-r-i-s-m. Look it up.

Express this said...

Yes, Hal. It was pointed out by 8/2 8:04pm that there is no Children's Express any longer in the US. Fantastic!

I would love to know where he came up with this new little piece of junk to throw at the wall to see if it sticks.

So, Paul. How is it that you happen to be thinking about Children's Express? Do tell.

Anonymous said...

Unlicensed contractors,,,,,,Does the building department check on those that have permits to do work in their homes.

Most of the work is done over the weekends so there is no one arround to check as to what is going on.

I don't expect the department to work weekends but I do think it is a good idea to see what is going on .

Anonymous said...

Even if CE were extant, who considers journalism a viable career path? Paul is living in the 20th century.

hal samis said...

Hey 11:24, watch out for my feet. I was Penn State Journalism class of '67.
Ok, so I never went into Journalism but Advertising instead.
"Hebrew National hot dogs are so good nearly everyone eats them with relish".
But look what I learned, remembered and still use it on this blog.

Who, What, Where, Why, When and How:

the 5 w's and an h

Anonymous said...

8/3/2009 6:11 PM raises an interesting point. The Supervisor is constantly talking about thinking outside of the box, but unfortunately never actually thinks outside of the box. Why not stagger the workweek for one or two building inspector positions so that they worked say from Tuesday to Saturday and one from Wednesday to Sunday on a rotating basis. It wouldn't be rocket science to prepare such a schedule. Heck, if in fact there is a lot of unlicensed work going on on weekends, the finds would probably offset any overtime if the Town had to resort to overtime.

By the way, why don't you FOIL to see how much actual overtime the Building Department worked over the past few years? Might be very, very interesting.

Anonymous said...

Oh brother! Feiner isn't thinking outside the box, he's on another planet! He's looking for over 2.5 million in cuts to cover his ass because he overestimated sales tax income and mortgage tax income. He underestimated health care increases and other personnel benefit costs. And no, he can't hang his hat on the current economy. The current comptroller and previous comptroller warned him about these issues. Like everything else, he didn't care and the other knuckleheads on the Town Board just went along with him. When will this cycle end?

Anonymous said...

4:59 thanks I do think plenty of revenue would be brought in if this was done.

How many homeowners have permits for one thing and are doing another?
How many have electrical work done by unlicensed electricians?

How many have changed their plans from the start of the project?

These things should be checked.
What is happening a permit is issued today and the work goes on and on without some sort of time table.

The town needs money.The taxpayers need help.