This is our cottage 15 miles downstream. There is video that I haven't been able to watch yet. We all cried pretty hard. I never would have imagined this, we always thought it would be there.

The river crested last night and ended up breaking the 1972 record. We are all very concerned that when the water recedes that the cottage may not be there anymore. Almost the entire structure was below water at the highest point of the flood.

It is just for summer vacations and not anybodies home but it is a huge part of our family and would forever change the way we stay a family if it is gone. My great grandfather built it with 10 other families during the depression and my grandmother has gone there all her life. I was there when I was a newborn when my great grandparents were still alive and have gone most years since then. This year Mike came for the first time and we celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary there. It connects our family in a way that we could otherwise never be connected. It provides our family with an opportunity to be close for at least a brief period of time which is so important when we all live so far away from each other.

There is federal flood insurance that would cover the monetary damages but they would never let us rebuild anything similar. I agree with not being able to rebuild and it wouldn't be the same anyways. The water will not recede until Sunday and I'm sure someone will venture out through the mud to see if it is still there. I really couldn't imagine not having it around anymore but if it is gone, it is gone and at least we were fortunate to have it all these years.

Lots of people are losing their homes and have no flood insurance. Most of my relatives were hit hard in the Binghamton/Endicott region of NY. Everyone had water in their basements even though they weren't in close proximity to water. My mom's cousin was evacuated and hopefully won't lose the home she grew up in.

Our family cottage will without a doubt flood or is flooding as I write this. The first picture is when we had a very close call in March and the second is the projections. The first picture is about 25 feet and the projection is to just over 40 feet. Water enters the cottage at 31 feet. The worst would be if it goes even higher than projected and goes into the second floor like in 72 after Agnes.





This will be a very big mess to clean up. I'm sure I will go to help and will take some pictures. Besides flooding here most of my relatives are also enduring flooding in Endicott NY. I saw some footage today and it looked pretty bad.

Partay to celebrate the birthday of (e:mike) at our new apartment.

Saturday night at like partay time. We want all (e:strip)pers to come and have some fun.

What would you do if your landlord showed your apartment without giving notice first? Today I was sitting at home and was very startled by very hard banging at my door. It was the owner of the building I live in who had just purchased the building in April. He was standing there on his phone and I had to wait for him to get off it to figure out what was the purpose of his visit. He was there to show it with someone at his side. I was so upset and let him know that but I also permitted the viewing. It was so awkward having people come into my SPACE that I paid for without any warning whatsoever. He showed it to two different people back to back. I am so furious.

This is the letter that I sent to him giving my written notice and requesting 24 hrs notice even though it is already required by law.

Dear Tony and Pat,                             7/012011

I have decided to take the next step and move in with my significant other. We found a nice place on *** Ave for the two of us. I am writing to officially give 60 days’ notice as required by the early termination clause of the lease. I will be out of the apartment before September 1st. Please rest assured that the apartment will be left empty and that it will be clean. The apartment has been very good to me and I am sure you will not have any trouble renting it. Please give me 24 hours notice if you would like to show it or inspect it so that I can make sure it looks nice.

Given that I am giving 60 days notice including my conversation by phone with Tony today, and that I am willing to fully cooperate with showings of the apartment, I am requesting the return of my security deposit after moving out. In good faith I will pay my last month’s rent as required by the lease agreement. I do wish you both the best in your endeavors and hope that you will find a suitable tenant for the apartment.

Sincerely,

Libertad

After watching this I realize how much I miss my Coco bunny. He is so cute!!! He is with my baby bunny's daddy until sometime after Mike and I move. It will be the longest since going to Cuba that I have been away from him. Precious bunny brings cuteness to all!

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Authorities tell News 4 an NFTA Police officer was forced to open fire on a suspected car thief.

Just after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, police were called to Linwood Avenue and Bryant Street. 40-year-old James Delacy, an NFTA Police officer who has been on the force for two years and was previously with the Erie County Sheriff's office, was on patrol spotted a stolen car with a suspect inside. The suspect took off running and Officer Delacy gave chase, eventually catching the large man, believed to weigh over 300 pounds.

The suspect started to get the better of the officer during the scuffle, gaining control of the officer's pepper spray and blasting the officer with it. Officer Delacy pulled his service weapon and shot the suspect in the rear end. The suspect has been identified as Kevin Allen of Buffalo, no age or address available.

Both Allen and Officer Delacy were taken to ECMC for their injuries. Both are expected to be okay. The NFTA has launched an internal investigation with the assistance of the Buffalo Police Department internal affairs division.

We'll have more on this story on News 4 at 5 and 6

So hopefully this is for real that Tonawanda Coke will reduce their benzene output by 2/3rds. Sometimes I can smell the pollution from this company it is really makes it hard for me to breath.

Tonawanda Coke agrees to reduce benzene emissionsBy Janice L. Habuda



Benzene emissions from Tonawanda Coke Corp. will continue to fall under agreements signed this week between the company and regulatory agencies, officials announced Wednesday.

Regional leaders from the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Conservation discussed the agreements at a news conference outside the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Municipal Building, where they also announced that grants totaling $230,000 have been awarded to two groups involved in local environmental efforts.

“Our work on Tonawanda Coke is a work in progress,” said Judith A. Enck, the EPA’s regional administrator. “We’re not done. It’s continuing.”

According to Enck, the agreements, combined with earlier efforts, will reduce emissions of benzene—a known carcinogen — from the River Road facility by at least two-thirds.

“We are focused . . . on the benzene emissions because benzene has been linked to cancer, to blood disorders and to reproductive problems,” Enck said.

Officials did not give a timeline for the two-thirds reduction or any details on current benzene emission levels.

A yearlong air-quality study, performed by the DEC during 2007 and 2008, established that Tonawanda Coke is the predominant source of benzene in the town’s industrial zone.

The agreements with the state and federal environmental agencies require the company to make significant repairs to — and eventually replace — the ammonia scrubber system, among other things.

“That is Phase 1 of our enforcement together,” said Abby Snyder, regional director for the DEC. “The first thing we wanted to target was reducing benzene emissions.”

A total of $230,000 in EPA grants will go to environmental initiatives for local businesses and residents.

A $130,000 pollution prevention grant was awarded to the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, which is based at Rochester Institute of Technology. It will be used to lend technical assistance to businesses in the town, conduct detailed environmental assessments of their manufacturing processes and improve operations to significantly reduce their environmental impacts.

A $100,000 Community Action for a Renewed Environment grant went to the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, a citizens group that initiated air testing on its own several years ago to investigate residents’ illnesses. The coalition will work with residents to prioritize environmental risks and concerns they want addressed.

“Finally, the voice of the Tonawanda community was heard,” said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y. “This agreement, spearheaded by the EPA, along with DEC, [proves] that a community can band together and stand up for their simple right to breathe clean air.”

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, applauded the development. “Clean air is a basic human right, and I’m proud of my friends at the Clean Air Coalition for leading the fight on behalf of everyone in Tonawanda,” she said.

My friend Steve just tried cashing his pay check from Sheehan Memorial and found that the check bounced. Obviously, it is a tremendous challenge for this to occur to anyone. Right after, Steve was alerted by a memo that they wouldn't be paid the next pay period either.

Just a few weeks ago Sheehan discontinued direct deposit and it was clearly an ominous sign. I'm so pissed that they would write a bad check for their employees causing further hardship on the very people who made the hospital run.

If you can't afford to pay your vendors or your employees it is time to shut down. At least you shouldn't be accepting new patients because that is dangerous. People don't go to work when they aren't paid!

Besides the latest, the things I have learned about the inner workings of this institution are horrendous. Corrupt at the very core of existence.

Check out the link to see Steve being interview by Luke Moretti of WIVB Channel 4.

I keep receiving calls from some supposed collector, NCO Financial Systems, a debt collection company. They ask me to call 1-800-295-6724 and ask for Kevin Monroe. When I call to speak to someone they tell me that all operators are busy and to hold but nobody ever answers the phone. It will say "press 2 to leave a message" and when I do that there is no beep no nothing, just absolute silence.

They have left messages with fake English accents and in Spanish too, but they never let me know who they are calling for. A real person called today while I was home and asked for "Neal Wesley Jr". When I told them that they had the wrong number they called again with a machine asking me to call the above number.

So I called Verizon and talked to some girl who didn't even provide her name when she answered the phone, who told me that there is nothing I can do and that is why she canceled her landline was because of collector calls. Actually, the idiot at Verizon suggest that I call the "Do Not Call List", which most people know does not pertain to collection calls. I hardly even use my landline and this is so frustrating because it is so invasive because it is my HOME and I can't make it stop. I am not delinquent in any accounts and need this to stop and I don't know how to make it stop.

I really should just turn the land line off since I really don't need it. I just like having it and it is probably a stupid waste of money anyways.

I was harassed before from a collector calling for an old roommate. One of the women who called actually told me I sound gay and couldn't possibly be my roommate and I told her she was a big f'ing C and hung up. I have also been called a faggot by Rent a Center people coming to collect from a neighbor who wasn't paying. I am so sick of this kind of harassment. I have had my delinquent debts in the past which I have settled long ago and don't appreciate this abuse. I have worked extremely hard at paying back my obligations and this is really not fair that I have to deal with this.