November 2004 news

•  Renaissance Square proposals sought -— Elected officials are ready to seek proposals for some design aspects of the downtown Renaissance Square project. A news conference is scheduled this morning to announce that proposals will soon be solicited for the project. In particular, the proposals will seek bids for architectural and engineering services.  (November 1, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Democrat & Chronicle: Designers sought for Renaissance Square A national search is on to find experts to design the largest public project in Monroe County's history. Local officials announced Monday that they're now seeking five firms to serve as the chief consultants for the $230 million Renaissance Square downtown project. The firms would oversee design and architecture, as well as mechanical and electrical engineering. (November 03, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  DEC looks to privatize waste-site monitoring - Critics say watchdogs hired by landfill and incinerator operators would be compromised - ALBANY -- New York environmental officials are proposing to replace their waste-site monitors with private-sector workers, despite complaints the switch would compromise pollution-fighting policies. The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants to change rules that require agency employees to monitor certain hazardous waste sites, such as landfills and incinerators. The agency says allowing a switch to monitors hired by facility operators would save money and allow them to broaden monitoring statewide. (November 4, 2004) Albany, N.Y. -- timesunion.com
•  Mendon panel offers deer solutions - (November 7, 2004) — MENDON — After six months of work, a citizens task force that has been exploring ways of controlling Mendon's deer population is scheduled to report to the Town Board on Monday night. The task force will recommend short-, medium- and long-term solutions, said Brian Mulligan, chair of the nine-member group.  (November 07, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Sen. Clinton asks EPA to expand Diaz probe - — HOLLEY — U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to expand its investigation into lingering contamination left in the village after the closure last year of the Diaz Chemical Corp. plant on Jackson Street. In a letter sent last month, Clinton, D-N.Y., lauded the agency for its decision to purchase eight homes that residents fled following a January 2002 chemical spill. (November 8, 2004)  Democrat and Chronicle
•  Tree-planting efforts take root - Rochester benefiting from renewed focus on urban forestry. — Once a week, Jim Rhody and a few friends — all volunteer "community foresters" — head into the woods at Durand-Eastman Park. They cut back weeds and otherwise care for the unique trees that range over the park's 1,000 acres. (November 9, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Xerox posts gains on environment - — WEBSTER — Copiers, printers and presses made by Xerox Corp. use half the energy they did a decade ago. Worldwide, the copier giant uses less water and energy; its copiers give off less dust and ozone; and its workplace injury rates are down. (November 11, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Buffalo News - Radioactive waste status is made public SPRINGVILLE - Large quantities of low-level radioactive waste are being shipped out of the West Valley Demonstration Project site by truck and rail while other highly radioactive items are being packaged and stored in shielded areas at the former commercial nuclear fuels reprocessing facility in Ashford. A group of federal and state agency officials, along with representatives of West Valley Nuclear Services Co., the contractor working at the facility, presented an update of site activities and the status of work and discussed a mishap involving equipment removal during a quarterly report on the project. (November 14, 2004) The Buffalo News
•  Democrat & Chronicle: Rising temps a local worry Cornell researcher says global warming will affect area's crops. (November 15, 2004) — To David W. Wolfe, a crop biologist at Cornell University, global warming is not only very real, its effects are local. In the Northeast, where he and other scientists have been studying the likely regional effects of global warming for a decade, the average annual temperature has already jumped 1.8 degrees in the last century. (November15, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Kodak emissions cited in new report - A statewide environmental group issued a report Thursday claiming Kodak Park violated state guidelines for emissions of the solvent methylene chloride for 13 years. Citizen’s Environmental Coalition, along with the Kandid Coalition, a Rochester group, said environmental consultant Wilma Subra analyzed Eastman Kodak Co.’s air-monitoring data in Rochester and found it violated guidelines. -- (November 11, 2004) Rochester Business Journal
•  Recycling efforts gaining steam - On national day of celebration, Monroe shows off sorting center. — Monday was America Recycles Day, a national celebration of curbside blue boxes. Locally, the celebration took a financial turn. Regulators and lawmakers cut a ribbon at the Monroe County Recycling Center, where over the last two years a $1.6 million state grant paid to replace or refurbish aging sorting equipment. - (November 16, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Energizing decision: Local residents asked to make electricity choice It’s time to make some choices about the electricity you buy. For NYSEG customers, who were asked to make the same decisions in 2002, this should be nothing new. But, then again, apathy reigned two years ago, when NYSEG first rolled out Voice Your Choice — a program that lets consumers both pick their electricity supplier and their pricing options. Most people — 685,000 of NYSEG’s 835,000 customers — chose by default, by doing nothing. Finger Lakes Times Geneva, NY
•  Won't sign Great Lakes water deal, Ontario says - The Ontario government has refused to sign draft agreements that seek to preserve the Great Lakes, insisting the proposed deals were not strong enough to protect water from being siphoned out. As Canadian and U.S. negotiators were sitting down in Chicago yesterday, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay announced that the province would not sign the current drafts of the Great Lakes Charter Annex after they met with a cool reception with environmentalists and First Nations groups during public consultations over the past three months. globeandmail.com - Canada's best source for news continuously updated from The Globe and Mail
•  Possible bidders eye Renaissance Sq. plan - — Close to 200 people, representing firms across New York State, descended on downtown Rochester this morning to learn more about the future of the Renaissance Square project. The crowd ranged from architects to acoustical experts, all considering whether they should bid to become part of the team that would design the $230 million project. (November 18, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  35 cats recovering from horrific conditions - Thirty-five cats living in horrific conditions in a city home have been confiscated by the Humane Society at Lollypop Farms. Animal cruelty investigators said they found squalid conditions inside the house and many of the cats near starvation. The conditions were so bad the home might be demolished. (November 18, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  EPA helps group tackle environment concerns - Four regional officials from the Environmental Protection Agency visited Rochester on Wednesday, part of a study prompted by the area's high pollution levels, industrial density, poverty rates and lead levels in children's blood. Monroe County pollution rates in the federal Toxic Release Inventory "are the highest in (EPA) Region 2 — with or without (Eastman) Kodak," said EPA spokesman Berry Shore. Region 2 covers New York, New Jersey and the Virgin Islands. (November 18, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  City to boost awareness of aid for ending lead hazards - Advertising aims to increase participation in $16M program. The city program, simply called "Lead," has received $8 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the city has pledged $8.5 million. The goal is to make a minimum of 600 housing units lead-safe.  (November 18, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Cleanup done in cold drizzle -ore than 50 people braved a chilly drizzle Saturday to help spruce up two city parks. Volunteers cut down old trees, planted new ones, thinned underbrush and cleaned up garbage at Sebastian Park on Planet Street and Jones Square Park on Saratoga Street. (November 21, 2004) — Democrat and Chronicle
•  Flu Arrives In Monroe County -  At least two confirmed cases of the flu have shown up in Monroe County. Sources in the local medical community say they received a letter from the County Health Department today telling them that the flu is here. (November 23, 2004) WOKR-TV 13 || ROCHESTER
•  Deer aren't the only ones threatened - The thrill of the chase can put a strain on out-of-shape hunters' hearts.  With the average age of deer hunters getting higher, and more people living sedentary lifestyles, the risk of having a heart attack during an afternoon hunting in the woods has become a legitimate threat. (November 23, 2004) Messenger Post Newspapers
•  Renaissance Square funds in flux - Questions abound on federal aid for $230M multiuse project. — Monroe County officials are basking in the aftermath of last week's announcement that they could receive the largest infusion of federal cash ever for the Renaissance Square project. The $12.1 million for the biggest construction project in Rochester's history moves Renaissance Square backers closer to their ultimate goal of securing $230 million in public and private funds. (November 25, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  Holidays inspire recycling spirit - One million extra tons of solid waste is generated each week in the United States between Thanksgiving and New Year's. That includes 38,000 miles of discarded gift ribbon — more than enough to tie around the Earth at the equator.  (November 28, 2004) Democrat and Chronicle
•  EPA Plans To Name Sites For Sludge Dredging  - FORT EDWARD -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to announce next month where up to three processing plants will be built to handle sludge dredged from the Hudson River. The dredging is meant to remove PCB's discharged into the river at Fort Edward and Hudson Falls by General Electric factories until 1977. (November 29, 2004) WUHF
•  DEC Calls Hunting Tactic Dangerous - Six hundred thousand people head to the woods to hunt in New York State each year. Some don't make it home. Hunting season just started a week and a half ago and already there have been three hunting accidents in Western New York. One of them was fatal. (November 29, 2004) R News: As It Happens, Where It Happens
•  The Globe and Mail: Liberals hedging on promise to shut coal-fired power plants The Ontario government says it is considering keeping some of its coal-fired generating plants in reserve and ready to be fired up despite its pledge to shut them down by the end of 2007.