June 2004 news

•  Democrat & Chronicle: Monroe's farmland continues to decline— The number of farms in Monroe County and their total income have increased, even though the farms have gotten smaller in the past five years, a new report says. (June 4, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Plan pushes renewable energy A proposal wants 25% of electricity sold to be from green power by 2013.- — By 2013, 25 percent of the electricity sold in New York should come from renewable resources, such as hydropower, wind, solar and biomass. That’s the gist of a recommendation made Thursday by Eleanor Stein, an administrative law judge with the New York state Department of Public Service. (June  4, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Residents raise a stink over sewage — BROCKPORT — Imagine it’s 3:30 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. You and the wife and kids have just pulled into the driveway after attending church and having a nice lunch in a local restaurant. You’ve worked hard all week, and all you want to do is get out of the suit, get ready for the big game and munch on some wings. Suddenly, upon entering the house, you’re assaulted by a stench. Raw sewage is gushing into your basement. The village sewer line has backed up again. (June 6, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Conesus voting on road work — CONESUS — After a petition drive and talk of a legal fight, residents of this Livingston County town will vote Tuesday on a proposal that would authorize up to $2.5 million in borrowing for road improvements.
  Polling hours are from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Conesus Town Hall, 6210 S. Livonia Road. (June 6, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• MSNBC - Public speaks out about bus terminal project The public got its first chance to talk about the Renaissance Square project Thursday night. Twenty-six people signed up to share their hopes and concerns for the multi-million dollar proposal.  (June 6, 2004) MSNBC - News Front Page
• Trash burning is left off renewable energy list - Official excludes incineration as solar, wind, fuel cells backed ALBANY -- Burning garbage should not be considered a resource on par with wind and waves as New York increases its reliance on renewable energy, a state official recommended Thursday. The proposed exclusion of municipal garbage incineration from state-sanctioned renewable energy sources was contained in a broader recommendation on how New York should go about requiring 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. Gov. George Pataki called for the 25 percent requirement last year. (June 4, 2004) Albany, N.Y. -- timesunion.com
• Beetlemania — hungry insects will target weedy plant  - Thousands of tiny beetles have been growing up on 10 closely watched plants at Charter School of the Dunes in Gary this spring. Thousands more of the galerucella beetles make their homes at Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County. When the school-raised beetles are released along the Grand Calumet this summer, they will feed exclusively on purple loosestrife — a pretty, but prolific species of plant invader. (June 8, 2004) News - Post-Tribune (Northwest Indiana)
• Yahoo! News - Chimps Could Be Extinct in 50 Years - Study JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Humanity's closest relative the chimpanzee could be extinct in around 50 years because it is hunted for meat and threatened by deforestation and disease, researchers said on Tuesday. (June 9, 2004) Yahoo! News
• POWER PLANT POLLUTION LINKED TO HEART ATTACKS - A new report by clean air advocates, based on an analysis by the U.S. EPA's own air quality consultants, finds that power plant pollution cuts short nearly 24,000 lives by an average of 14 years. Power plant pollution causes 38,200 heart attacks each year, the report concludes. --from Ems.org. Press release: http://www.ems.org/rls/2004/06/09/power_plant_poll.html#top_release State-specific fact sheets: http://dirty-power.notlong.com
• Planet Ark : Air Pollution May Slightly Increase SIDS Risk NEW YORK - High levels of common air pollutants may cause a slight increase in the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, new research shows.  Canadian investigators found that the rate of SIDS increased by almost 18 percent following days with particularly high levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.  (June 10, 2004) Planet Ark
• WXXI: Power Plant Pollution Said to Kill 80 Rochesterians Per Year (2004-06-09) Power Plant Pollution Said to Kill 80 Rochesterians Per Year ROCHESTER (2004-06-09) The New York Public Interest Research Group says pollution from coal burning power plants is causing 12-hundred premature deaths a year across the Empire State. NYPIRG issued a report naming Rochester and Buffalo among the nation's 50 worst cities for health problems caused by air pollution. (June 10, 2004) Public NewsRoom
• Democrat & Chronicle: Deal closes on sale of Ginna — The Robert E. Ginna nuclear power plant in Wayne County has a newowner.Constellation Energy Group Inc. closed on the deal today, according to Constellation and Energy East Inc., parent company of Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. (June 10, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Anti-lead policy toughened (June 10, 2004) — Leaders of the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning this morning announced major policy changes with the aim of abating childhood lead poisoning. According to Bryan Hetherington, coalition co-chair, the Monroe County Health Department will adopt more stringent federal guidelines that require dust-wipe tests be conducted during inspections of residences in which children have been lead poisoned. (June 10, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Monroe County to toughen lead testing in homes — The Monroe County Health Department will adopt more stringent federal guidelines when inspecting houses in which children have suffered lead poisoning. County Executive Maggie Brooks on Thursday said the department will use “dust-wipe tests” in houses where a child has been found to have 15 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. (June 11, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• More Commuters Turn To Park And Ride - -- Most of Rochester-area drivers are paying $2.15 for regular gas right now, a month ago it was $1.94, a year ago it was $1.49. Instead of paying those higher prices, many commuters are turning to the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority's Park-and-Ride System.  (June 10, 2004) WOKR-TV 13 || ROCHESTER
• Democrat & Chronicle: Report: Area's air impure Environmentalists rank it 43rd worst in quality, links to illness. — Rochester is the 43rd-worst metropolitan area in the nation for air quality, according to a national report released by a nonprofit organization Wednesday.
  Clear the Air, based in Washington, D.C., released a report, “Dirty Air, Dirty Power,” linking health problems to areas near older, coal-burning power plants. Rochester was 43rd out of 352 metro areas. (June 11, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle * Check out Clear The Air - Power Plant Air Pollution Locater from Clear The Air
• Democrat & Chronicle: Monroe County to toughen lead testing in homes  — The Monroe County Health Department will adopt more stringent federal guidelines when inspecting houses in which children have suffered lead poisoning. County Executive Maggie Brooks on Thursday said the department will use “dust-wipe tests” in houses where a child has been found to have 15 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. (June 11, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: A falcon recruited in solving a mystery Tiny gizmo to track flight of a peregrine, learn where it travels. — Armed with protective brooms, hard hats and a net, a team of environmentalists borrowed a young peregrine falcon from its nest box atop the Eastman Kodak Co. headquarters Friday despite the very vocal objections of its protective parents, who swooped at the invaders. Their mission: to place a custom-made neoprene harness on the young bird and install a tiny transmitter to help researchers study the migratory patterns of peregrines. (June 12, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Ginna Changes Owners - The Ginna Nuclear Power Plant in Wayne County is now operated by a new company. (June 13, 2004) WOKR-TV 13 || ROCHESTER
• WXXI: Nation's Oldest Nuke Plant Changes Hands (2004-06-11) Employees at the Ginna Nuclear Power Plant watched Friday as a new corporate logo went up on the side of the green metal building that houses the plant's nuclear reactor. Constellation Energy took ownership of the nation's longest-running nuclear plant from Rochester Gas and Electric, which first put the plant on line in Wayne County in 1969.Public NewsRoom
• Democrat & Chronicle: Buckeye, residents reach settlement over gas leak — More than a year after a massive gasoline leak contaminated 14 houses in a 19th Ward neighborhood, Buckeye Pipeline Co. of Pennsylvania on Monday announced a final settlement with most of the residents affected. (June 15, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: West Nile still a threat here Education is best means of prevention, health official says - — Scares about new illnesses, diseases and viruses come in waves.Last year it was SARS, a serious respiratory infection that found its way into North America and neighboring Ontario, Canada, via travelers from Asia. But lurking in the background was a virus that had also reached scare proportions just five years ago — West Nile virus. (June 14, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: 'Bike ministers' turn junk into treasure — ”As soon as the snow melts, I take over the garage,” says Dan Lill. That’s where he and his fellow “bike ministers” from Holy Name of Jesus parish in Greece turn junk into treasure.
  In three years, Dan and his cohorts have given away 700 bicycles, distributing them every summer Wednesday morning from the parking lot of St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality on South Avenue. (June 14, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Small wetlands become a big issue State legal authorities say developing the wetlands on the Parma housing site is illegal. And according to the New York Attorney General’s Office, Fairfield Place is one of a dozen sites statewide where small wetlands have not been adequately protected by the federal government and where development should have been restricted or prohibited.  (June 14, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Beads may one day fuel our cars — ALFRED — Drivers might put a stream of tiny glass beads — instead of a tiger — in their tanks in the not-too-distant future.Two Alfred University professors have received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop technology that would use such beads as a way to store the hydrogen that would power upcoming generations of cars. (June 14, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: State's proposal for green energy welcomed here — At a public hearing Thursday, 20 area citizens commented on a state proposal that would require New York to get 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2013. Speaking at Henrietta Town Hall, 19 of the 20 were in favor of the so-called Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, a green-energy requirement already in place with varying required percentages in 13 other states. (June 18, 2004)
• Ontario Beach Park - Just one day after Ontario Beach Park opened for the summer it was closed. The beach closed Sunday because of poor water clarity and high flow from the Genesee River. Throughout the summer the water will be checked to make sure it does not have high bacteria or algae count. 10NBC / WHEC TV-10
• Democrat & Chronicle: Great Lakes future under microscope With today’s expected end of the state Legislature’s session, lawmakers in Albany are debating a bill that would radically expand protection for New York wetlands. Some experts say it will pass — the only environmental law this year likely to emerge from the budget-debate tangle. The other Great Lakes events are about protecting fish, along with the vast and vulnerable waters they live in. The Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, a binational advisory group, held its annual meeting in Rochester earlier this month. Members passed resolutions about concerns ranging from hatcheries to invasive species. (June 22, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Beach reopens … for now — Just in time for the first full day of summer, Ontario Beach Park was open to swimmers Monday. The season, which usually lasts 70-plus days through Labor Day, opened Saturday — and was closed Sunday. That’s the swimming season at Ontario Beach Park most years: You never know.(June 22, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Pollution: Nation up, Kodak down — Federal environmental data released today shows a 5 percent increase in industrial pollution to air, land and water. The data is from the year 2002, and is the latest available. Nationally, 24,379 factories, mines and other polluting facilities reported to the so-called Toxic Release Inventory, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency. In the Rochester area, Eastman Kodak noted an 11 percent decline in overall emissions for 2002. The company’s Kodak Park manufacturing site, traditionally the largest industrial polluter in New York, reported on emissions or disposal of 107 chemicals. (June 23, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• ENN Affiliate News - Great Lakes Forever Campaign Launched in U.S. MADISON, Wis. (June 22, 2004) ? According to a recent report from the Environmental Projection Agency and the Government of Canada, "the Great Lakes are changing . . ." This summer, the Biodiversity Project, a Madison-based non-profit environmental education and communications group, hopes millions of Great Lakes region residents will become concerned about the future of the Lakes to change things for the better. Environmental News Network - ENN.com
• Democrat & Chronicle: DEC gives $440,000 to 3 area projects— GREECE — The state Department of Environmental Conservation announced $440,000 in grants for open space and preservation projects Wednesday at Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area. (June 24, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Regional pollution falls, says study — Federal environmental data released Wednesday show a 5 percent increase in nationwide industrial pollution in air, land and water. The total, 4.79 billion pounds for 2002, is recorded in the Toxic Release Inventory, an Environmental Protection Agency database assembled annually from industry reports of chemical use and disposal. (June 24, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• WXXI: Rochester Population Drops (2004-06-24) ROCHESTER, NY (2004-06-24) Figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday say Rochester lost 0.6 percent of its population last year. (June 26, 2004) Public NewsRoom
• Rochester's Population Declined - Rochester is among three upstate cities to see its population fall last year. (June 26, 2004) R News: Your NewsChannel
• New law aims for smooth ride - ithacajournal.com Just when you thought it wasn't safe to go back in the water... New York made personal watercraft users attend boating school. "It's a good thing," says A.J. Handler, the personal-watercraft race promoter from Penfield, whose event will be the featured attraction at the New York State Summer X Games Aug. 21 and 22 at Ontario Beach Park. (June 28, 2004) theithacajournal.com - News and information for - Ithaca and Tompkins County, N.Y.
• Democrat & Chronicle: Environmental bills advance — The Legislature left Albany last week without passing a budget, but four environmental bills passed or are near passing. A4245-a/S4890-c passed both houses. It expands, for the first time in New York, “net metering” for residences that use wind to make electricity. That means extra power is sold back to the grid, not given away. (June 29, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Pollutant level rising in Great Lakes gull eggs Herring gull eggs collected from nests along the Great Lakes are contaminated with a pollutant that could be as bad as PCBs. Moreover, levels of BDEs -- brominated diphenyl ethers -- are rising, and are highest in eggs collected near Chicago and other big cities. (June 30, 2004) Chicago Sun-Times
• Democrat & Chronicle: Money surfaces to help 2 creeks' watersheds — A $100,000 grant from the Great Lakes Commission will help environmental groups protect the Black Creek and Oatka Creek watersheds. Lying southwest of Rochester in both suburban and rural areas, the watersheds are susceptible to pollution from residential and commercial development as well as from farms. (June 30, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
• Democrat & Chronicle: Former auto parts plant gets cleanup — GATES — Over the next few weeks, crews from the state Department of Environmental Conservation will start investigating toxic contamination on the site of a former automobile parts factory near Interstate 490. The DEC will remove and test soil and groundwater samples from outside the three-acre former ITT Automotive plant at 30 Pixley Industrial Parkway. The facility was known as Rochester Form Machine until 1994 and was used to manufacture aluminum components for automotive air conditioners. ITT acquired the factory in 1994, and ceased operations there earlier this year. (June 30, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle