byte&chew

Good news?

The announcement today that Laidlaw has filed with the State Site Evaluation Committee for its operating permit will be seen in many different ways. Pro Laidlaw folks will jump with joy believing that it's a major step towards their riches while anti Laidlaw folks will mumble to themselves words not fit for print. Personally, I welcome the news! Finally the issues that concern many of us will be examined in detail by hopefully, people with the best interest of the State and Berlin in mind. Finally the professional community will have the opportunity to scrutinize the claims made by Laidlaw that this is a viable project. To date most of what we've heard about the project both pro or con has been more about the emotions of the issues rather than the facts surrounding those issues. Cleverly worded press releases by Mr. Bartoszek with the legal disclaimers on the bottom of every release have done little to shed light on the most important issues. The merits of the project will be under the microscope for the next few months, maybe for more than a year. Unfortunately one issue that won't receive its due share of consideration will be the negative impact on the quality of life of the citizens of Berlin or the negative impact the project will have on changing Berlin's image. For the moment I'm sure that Emperor Grenier has a broad smile on his face as he prepares to take credit for making "things happen". There may be a cold wind blowing out there right now, but there will be plenty of hot air warming things up over the next few months!

A chill in the air

As the end of the year draws near and I try to look into my crystal ball at 2010 I'm struck by the fact that it seems like yesterday when we were all concerned that at the stroke of midnight January 1, 2000 all of our computers were going to crash and the world come to an end, that my friends was 10 years ago! .....So what will 2010 bring us?  For one thing, it won't be as bad as we're making it out to be. So City Government will take a step backward with Emperor Grenier at the helm...without the cooperation of the rest of the Council, his 20th century approach to issues won't fly. I don't believe that we'll be going back to the days when the good old boys closed the door, shouted obscenities at each other and whoever shouted  the loudest won the argument. With the exception of the latest additions to the mix, we have some very intelligent and capable folks leading the City. The Emperor will soon discover that he has no clothes as he's about to get a chilly reception come January. Hanging his crown on Laidlaw was a good strategy to drum-up votes from his card carrying supporters, but it will be years not months or days before his promise of "JOBS" come true, if ever.  The Emperor does not have a kingdom and the turf he stands on is our turf and, he's here only by invitation. So you see, the future doesn't look as bleak as one would believe at first glance. While it's true that we've swaped substance for empty promises and rhetoric, sooner or later the Emperor's nudity will become apparent even if the court jesters that followed him into office attempt to distract us with their tactics.

A world of make believe

For the past 2 to 3 years I've been checking the goings-on on the Laidlaw I-Hub (LLEG) blog on a regular  basis. This is where investors gather to wring their hands and discuss all the ways they're going to get rich with Laidlaw. For the past couple months the conversations have revolved around Laidlaw's EFSEC application for "their" Berlin project. Believe it or not, yesterday one guy was talking about taking money out of his 401K to buy Laidlaw stocks. Lately everybody is on pins and needles waiting for the magic moment when Laidlaw files the EFSEC application in Concord because they're all convinced that it will drive the value of their shares upward. (This is what it's all about folks, not electricity) Believe me when I say that these people are totally obsessed with Laidlaw and, becoming rich. I often wonder about what else they do and, if they have a real life outside their investment life. Their view of Berlin is very negative and narrowly focused around the success of the biomass plant.  In their mind, their project is located in a community on the brink of collapse and where people are burning their houses down in desperation. I think it's safe to say that they also see the election of Paul Grenier and Bob Danderson as blessing, a guarantee that they're just minutes away from striking it rich. All negative issues facing the Laidlaw project are ignored, all challenges are seen as falsehoods being generated by nimbys and people with hidden agendas. It's a perfect example of people who "see no evil, hear no evil" and they can't imagine anything Laidlaw has done or is doing that isn't in their best interest. It's a world of "make believe"! 

A "Grand" Conflict of Interest

 As I read about the accounts of various meetings around the North Country and try to understand what's behind some of the headlines and stories, I better understand why the majority of people don't bother to vote or become involved with their local governments. The events of just this past couple of weeks is enough to turn "OFF" anybody with half a brain. Looking at the regional issues, you have County Commissioner Tom Brady shouting "foul" because his family owned Six Gun City tourist trap in Jefferson was not crowned a "Grand Experience". Now I've been to Six Gun City and I thought it was a second rate experience, never mind a "Grand" experience. The real issue though is the fact that Commissioner Brady has the gall to use his elected position to damage the Branding and marketing effort because he's pissed that his trap isn't considered "Grand". If that isn't enough, his sidekick Commissioner & Emperor Paul Grenier who never misses an opportunity to grandstand, jumps on his soapbox to defame the whole Branding effort. This scene is a disgrace. Brady should know that he's is in a conflict of interest and, should just take the advice given him and spruce-up his tourist trap. Grenier should just shut up, (it's best to be thought a fool than removing all doubt) since it's obvious he doesn't understand this and many other issues. Beware Berlin, this is your Mayor Elect, a fellow that can't understand the simple issue of marketing the North Country even when presented in clear detail, but wants you to believe he's an expert on matters of energy and the value of Laidlaw. It's always interesting to see people who lack knowledge and credibility turn to arrogance in order to mask their ignorance. They shout, point fingers and bang on tables, a behavior they've perfected since the day when they were children and where they also did a little dance. This post is getting too long to go into other issues except to say that the Brady Bunch (Commissioners), in their infinite wisdom, also cut funding to the Coos Economic Development Corporation.  That's right, in the middle of the deepest recession since the Great Depession, they come to the conclusion that we need to get rid of any efforts at economic development. Come to think of it, I bet this whole recession was planned by CEDC in order to make the likes of Brady and Grenier look bad. (As if they can't do that on their own)

Looking foolish again

Yesterday I received a call from a friend who had attended a meeting at the T&C on Thursday night. The meeting turned out to be the Coos Economic Development (CEDC) Annual Meeting and I understand that there were some 50 to 60 people. First, I must say that the meeting was a pretty well kept secret because I never saw any news items about it in the local papers. Upon checking with CEDC I was told that invitations were sent out to a lot of people and to all the political types in the North Country. My buddy tells me that this was the most informative meeting he ever attended on the issue of energy and, that the invited speakers were from a wide range of backgrounds including PSNH who spoke about the High Voltage line of Canadian Power from Quebec to the Noble Wind Farm, to Clean Power Development, to the County Forester who spoke about the availability of wood biomass. These types of meetings take place quite often, sometime it's strictly about one subject or one issue and, those issues can also have a wide range from health-care to economics. To the point of this post. What was remarkable about Thursday's meeting I'm told, was not who attended, but who almost never attend these instructional meetings, our elected officials. I'm told that there was 2 to 3 State Representatives at the meeting, but absent was Senator Gallus, any of the 3 County Commissioners which include Mayor Elect Grenier. Why you might ask is that so important? For one thing I had just read where the County Commissioners voted to cut their financial support ($50K) to CEDC, this is the second year in a row they attempt to cut the support. Their claim is that the organization and it's Director are not doing enough for economic development. Sound familiar?  Isn't that the same line used by Grenier and Danderson during the elections in Berlin about the same issue.  I also question in what manner many of our elected officials inform themselves about the issues that they will be asked to vote on/decide?  These same County Commissioners are also trying to throw a monkey wrench in the Branding effort that's been going on for a couple years.  I understand the commissioners never attended any of the dozens of meetings that took place all over the County and, Commissioner Brady (who has a big conflict on his hands) is upset that his family's Six Gun City was not picked as a "Grand Place". (Sorry Mr. Brady, I've been to your place and it ain't grand) How long are the people of the North Country going to support those who govern by ignorance and arrogance?  Berlin is again on the verge of entering the dark ages of bully politics by Grenier and Danderson. If they really understood the challenges of the local economy and reflected on possible solutions, do you think they would have run a campaign of JOBS, JOBS?  I agree that we need jobs, but yelling "JOBS" from the roof tops won't bring jobs. Of course if you don't have a plan of your own and have no clue as to what the answer may be, you first blame someone else, then you high-jack somebody's else's rhetoric like Laidlaw's promised 40 jobs. Could it be that if Mr.Grenier, Danderson and Rozek would have been at Thursday's meeting they might have learned something? Do you think they want to know what the facts are?  Are they capable of understanding the complexities of the issues? You'd think that they would at least give it a try! Is this another case of the old saying; "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up". Governance through ignorance is not very productive. Slogans instead of informed discussions and plans is what the last election produced in Berlin. Thank God for the remaining folks on the council who will have to carry the burden of not making us look too foolish (again) in the eyes of the State.

A reality check

I know I've written in the past about the human tendency to look at issues within a narrow perspective and prejudice, but the political rhetoric flying around Berlin since the elections is......near insane. The pro Laidlaw force who see the election of Paul Grenier as "proof" that the project is supported by the majority of the residents or that, the mayor elect is the guarantee that now, the Laidlaw project is a shoo-in, are examples of the closed minded thought process of some. The truth is that again and unfortunately, the result of the elections was determined by those who didn't vote, those 60% or so folks who I believe either don't give a damn or have given up on the political process. Now of the 40% who voted, only a small majority supported Mr.Grenier, so you do the math, this wasn't an overwhelming win or mandate, this was a whimper. When at best only about 30% of a community support something, you don't call that a landslide! Now let's examine what the election of the 3 Laidlaw clones can actually deliver. Having watched this council pretty closely for almost 2 years, I can't imagine councilors McCue, Cayer, Poulin, Landry or Evans  do an about face on significant issues. Notice I left out Lucy Remeillard since I'm not sure how she arrives at a position on issues since she's changed her mind about things like Laidlaw. For those who believed that Mayor Bertrand was influenced by Steve Griffin, well, Mr.Griffin's turnabout on Laidlaw didn't seem to impact Bertrand's thinking. On the other hand, I have to wonder how much influence Senator Gallus has on Lucy???????   Back to the false notion that Laidlaw now has a welcoming community in Berlin, think again clones. Clones, your inside boys you helped elect don't have a majority and if they propose things that don't make sense like firing the lawyer representing the City in the EFSEC process, "they ain't going to get too far". Getting rid of legal counsel is the biggest of the dumdum ideas suggested by Grenier. Think about it, even Mr.Bartoszek said that it was a good move by Berlin, and that man knows moves! The other reality that will come to roost on "The Clones 3" heads are the facts about the Laidlaw project. What did the posters say......JOBS?  When you add all of the issues and challenges that we know about, (which is probably only half of them) which Laidlaw faces, we're talking about 3 to 5 years before they're resolved. So how many of you non-clones think that the dumdum promise of JOBS will fly in the elections 2 years from now? By then we'll have a much better idea if Mr.Bartoszek can pull-off his coup-detat called Laidlaw Biopower Berlin. You see, I haven't ruled out that he'll be successful since I've seen other projects that were "long shots" become reality. Once you combine politics and corporate greed you never know what the outcome may be. The product of incest is unknown during the commission of the act.

Sorry, we have opinions!

I was of the opinion that the traffic on this blog was going to drop after the municipal elections in Berlin, but I was very mistaken. Hits have been running  600 to 800 per day all week and many new people have joined the commentators including Mr. Michael Bartoszek CEO of Laidlaw Energy, welcome y'all.  I don't understand why someone of Mr. Bartoszek's stature would bother with or care about what is being said about him or his project on an obscure blog, it escapes me. Most of what is said here should be taken with a grain of salt since it's personal opinions and, the last time I checked it was still legal to express personal opinions. On the question of libel, it's my understanding that one can be found libel only when what is said is false. In other words, I can call somebody a thief or a liar if they've been caught stealing or lying, it's not good enough for that person to be offended by the fact I called them a thief or liar. With  this threat of taking legal action you also have to show that damage was done to the character or finances of the subject. Now I can't imagine what might have been said on this blog that could damage the character of anybody beyond what that person may have already acquired in previous actions or behavior. I also can't imagine what could have been said, pro or con here that could have the clout/power to threaten any project, be it Laidlaw Energy or Clean Power Development. Wishing to silence opposition is a popular tactic when behavior is questionable, where behavior demonstrates signs of contradiction, exaggeration or falsehood. When looking at the history of Laidlaw, we should not be surprised by Mr. Bartoszek's threat. The small town of Ellicottville NY has spent over $100,000.00 in legal fees defending itself from suits brought by Laidlaw. In my mind (opinion) it's been more a question of when rather than if such an action would be threatened.  For two years I've expressed the opinion that Berlin was a vulnerable community  because our naive culture of openness and honesty is not shared by many with high financial ambitions/goals. Berlin has been victimized in the past and the list is quite impressive, the last major exploitation being by American Tissue Company. Although I don't know the details, I've been told that the City was also exploited a few years ago by somebody who claimed to head a company that was going to hire many employees (JOBS!) by mining granite for counter tops etc. I was told the City paid room and board for this scam operator for an extended period until we "wised-up" to the bogus operator. I bet that Mayor Elect Grenier could tell us the story more accurately  since he was a councilor at the time. So Mr. Bartoszek, if you're still interested in our opinions about your project and you continue to read this blog, you need to understand that some of us have been burnt in the past and the old saying that "a scalded dog fears cold water" may just color our opinions.

Making sense of insanity

We would like to believe that there’s no such thing as insanity, but insanity does exist in many forms. Sometime insanity is confined to a single event or character, but often insanity spreads like a cancer, taking over the collective thinking of a whole nation. The insanity of Germany’s Third Reich for example began with the insanity of one man, who offered simplistic explanations to a people desperate for answers to their daily troubles. That’s the explanation I have for the insanity that took place at the municipal elections in Berlin this past Tuesday. The stark contrast between candidates should have made it easy for voters to make the right choice, but the raw emotions of the City’s challenges drowned out the logic of the arguments. When someone yells FIRE and there’s the smell of smoke in the air, our reflexes displaces whatever system of rational thinking we have. So it was Tuesday, candidates yelling JOBS, JOBS was the signal that spoke to the emotions of the City, never mind that they had no jobs to offer, just the empty promises of  an ambitious Wall Street capitalist hovering over the carcass of a once powerful industry. The differences in the candidates style played a major role in the outcome, those differences became more important than the substance of the debate. It was a perfect storm of sorts, a National economy in free fall, a State economy languishing over tax reform and a community searching for an identity. Like the primal instincts that trigger a gut reaction when someone yells fire, JOBS hit the nerve center of the voters. Ignored were the facts about the empty promises, also ignored was the path forward as explained in detail and designed like only an engineer can. The crowd as is often the case, piled up in a panic in front of a perceived door called Laidlaw, who ironically, on the same day was shown to play freely with the truth of their circumstances. These types of events usually turn out to be tragedies, since they could be avoided. History is riddled with these types of stories and soon this story will also become history and the next generation will gather the pieces and, build then what more thoughtful people quietly suggested building today. I feel sadness for my community, for its desperation and fear.  I hope that we soon have the wisdom to accept reality and find the strength to help each other overcome the challenges and capture our opportunities.

Let's be intelligent

Unless some monumental event takes place within the next day or so, this will be the last post I write before the municipal elections in Berlin. This blog has been buzzing with activity where on some days there's been more than 500 views. Although I'm pleased by those numbers, I'm not sure that anybody reading both posts and comments have learned enough valid information to have an impact on the way they understand issues. Too often the conversations are nothing but monologues based on a minimum amount of facts and a whole lot of prejudice. What does it take for any one of us to change our minds about ...anything?  It's sad that the Berlin Elections have been hi-jacked by the Laidlaw issue. I keep telling myself, "self, there will be life in Berlin with or without Laidlaw". That's not to say that the Laidlaw project is irrelevant to the future of Berlin, because it will have impact, but Berlin will adjust and morph into a 21st century community regardless who gets elected on Tuesday or if Laidlaw withers on the vine like I think it will.  What happens in Berlin will to a greater extent, be influenced by the national economy rather than by what happens to Laidlaw. For example, a year ago we were anxious to see a new wood pellet plant break ground at the industrial park. It would have provided jobs during construction and would have gone a long way in raising the optimism of residents who at times believe the City is in a permanent negative spiral. The market crash in the international banking world took care of that project if not permanently, at least for a while.  If that project had gone forward would the candidates Grenier and Danderson taken credit for "making it happen" rather than making negative and personal remarks about the Economic Development Director?  The Laidlaw project may very well determine who wins the elections and that's a sad commentary on how we choose our elected officials. We should take the time to determine how the candidates see the world and how they believe we can influence the events we're facing. Laidlaw is but one issue of many and, the promised 40 jobs Grenier and Danderson hang their hats on to mesmerize the voters will have little or no real long term impact on Berlin as a viable community. The conversation about Laidlaw should be about the compatibility of that boiler and stack with a 21st century Berlin, the highest and best use of the 120 acres of the mill site and the potential for hundreds of jobs and quality of life that could be created long term. The "JOBS-JOBS-JOBS" signs that the simplistic four erected were not the result of a well thought process, (it's not a plan) but it's a knee jerk, in your face and hollow promise meant to evoke emotions not reason. Shouting "JOBS" has the same instinctive impact as throwing a tainted slab of meat at a starving person who grabs and devours it without asking questions about quality. This mindless political style appeals to those who don't have any vision or any viable solutions to issues, it's like name calling, it's the argument of the ignorant.

Here come the clowns

I've been reading the interviews of those running for office in Berlin and the comparisons are startling. I forgot how ignorant some of our political leaders could be, but the minute they open their mouths...it's all there for us to witness. Complex and difficult issues are reduced to slogans and empty or false statements. Personally, I can't wait for the circus to leave town, I've had it with the clowns and their double talk. We're facing serious issues as a community and as a nation and these issues don't need the insane spin some of our politicians weave into the debates. Sorting out the facts is difficult enough without the lies and exaggerations that pour out of the mouths of some of these ego centered self serving characters.  Mr. Grenier forgot that he sat on that council all these years, negatively influencing the outcome of most efforts to bring Berlin to grips with what happening to the paper industry and the community. Shooting from the hip with assertions of knowing what was in the City budget, he managed to scare most taxpayers into believing he knew what was best. Today we're harvesting what was sown during those famous 39 years he and Bob Danderson claim were the good old days. Don't invest and don't manage for the future was their collective styles and today they have the audacity to place blame on those who have been in office for less than two years for the mess they created over the years. They were warned that our housing surplus would someday create social and economic devastation, and they not only ignored the recommendations, they made fun of the expert who did the study. Ask them, they knew better, yeah sure, look at the burnt down buildings and creepy characters on our streets. The same shoot from the hips approach is still their style, ignoring the history and the facts surrounding Laidlaw, shout slogans like jobs, JOBS as loud as you can, tell the folks what they want to hear, but ignore the basic fact that Laidlaw has never produced one watt of power anywhere, while they sued a small town for $10 million. I believe in the collective wisdom of the majority and that's why I can't imagine that the residents of Berlin will vote for the failed characters from the past.