helicopper

Very well said, Paul! One of the things that I like about this site is the opportunity to learn from each other and provide new or inexperienced members with the added insight of veterans. Discussions about tactics or approaches to any situation are just that - discussions - and we shouldn't become argumentative or hostile about it! If you're one of the veterans, try to remember when you were a probie/rookie/newbie! If you're a newbie, remember that you have a lot to learn and sometimes it is better to just soak it all in! Regardless, remember the words of Abraham Lincoln: "it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt"!

Any truth to the rumor that it will be Hudson144?

Right! Then the cost is readily apparent to all those involved and the district subsidizes the district's members with taxes from district taxpayers. I'm not going to support my subsidizing the responses of volunteers in a district on Long Island or in the Adironacks with my taxes from Putnam County. Nor are the taxpayers in NYC, Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, etc who don't have volunteers in their communities... And "tax credits" are inevitably political-speak for tax increases or cuts in services elsewhere - aka a shell game. If the revenue was expected but is now being "credited" back to volunteers a budget shortfall will occur. Think of the scope of that - if there are 250,000 volunteers (an estimate only!) in the state who receive this benefit the cost of this "credit" is a whopping 125 MILLION dollars - in a state that is already behind the budget eight ball! If a fire department wants to support its members by providing them with fuel, by all means let them do it - that doesn't mean that every department has to and they can choose whatever means they find equitable and ethical to accomplish it. This also lets the taxpayers know what they are actually paying for their services and the department can establishment benchmarks for eligibility. The legislation is also flawed because a member who spends $100 on fuel will receive a $500 tax credit and a member who spends $1000 will receive the same $500. There are better ways to approach this problem if a problem truly exists. An argument can be made that when you start receiving compensation - in the form of tax credits, LOSAP, fuel discounts, gym memberships, or any of the other "perks" discussed - you're no longer providing a volunteer service. Don't kill the messenger either! I'm not saying that I agree but I do understand the argument. As you yourself said more and more members show up focused on their "points" or on other aspects of the service besides doing the job so there are people out there who don't have the same volunteer spirit that used to be the norm. Again, highlighting your point, this doesn't reward the "best firefighter" either. It can and will be demoralizing to see the point collector receiving the same benefit as the hard working, truly dedicated volunteer! My point exactly! Another great point! Where do we stop? If there are volunteers who are genuinely concerned with volunteering they'll do one of two things - continue volunteering without the proposed tax credit. Or they'll approach the agency and seek an alternative (such as the use of a department vehicle during their duty time). Are there really volunteers who are packing it in because of gas prices? Why don't we provide gas to all the cops and firefighters in NYC who are struggling to make ends meet and in some cases qualify for food stamps so they can get to and from work? Don't we all want NYC to be safe so we can visit? Nobody's complaining about the fuel necessary to get to a parade either! Will that be an eligible event to receive this tax credit? Why? As for the vacations, pool memberships, etc. we all know that there are districts around the state who have rewarded their members with these and other benefits. The Comptrollers Office and several media outlets have reported on the pereceived impropriety of some volunteer organizations and their spending practices. Finally, this has been a generally productive discussion about the issue. Let's take the Chief's advice and quit taking it personally or by responding with snipes at each other. This issue affects us all and we are all entitled to our opinions! Agree to disagree if you must but DO NOT make this discussion counterproductive if you want it to stay open!

And happily it is far off-shore, not even threatening Bermuda at this point. If it stays on its current track, it probably won't be a threat to the US at all.

If fuel prices and consumption are such an issue, then agencies should provide fuel to their members. A "tax credit" is really only a tax on other people (non-volunteers) because the Government is receiving less from the volunteers receiving the "credit". I'm all for making our lives easier but is this really a solution or is it just political spin???

Think about the academy though... It probably wasn't an issue as she was on steady Monday-Friday day tours for the length of the academy so it didn't come up until after she graduated.

The sad fact is that many agencies will hire a police officer candidate who has a minor criminal record. Focusing on this diminishes the real issue - that a rookie police officer was able to dictate her schedule and her department accepted it. You can also become an EMT with many types of criminal convictions but how that is relevant to this thread escapes me. Let's not get too far off topic!!!

No lightning strike. Just poor visibility. Rather then press on and encounter worse weather and have no place to land, they elected to land in the rather spacious parking lot at 2500 CPA. (and rumors that they put the ship in a handicapped space are unsubstantiated at this time!)

Date: 07/03/08 Time: 1830 Location: Westchester County - from Valhalla to North Salem Frequency: 118.575, 120.80 Units Operating: WCPD Air 2 Description Of Incident: Airplane Pursuit - Air Traffic Control advised WCPD Air 2 that an unidentified aircraft had violated their airspace and requested that it be identified for further action. Air 2 pursued the airplane until it was positively identified. Information relayed to NY TRACON for follow-up. Follow-up: We were later informed that this aircraft violated three different airspaces (NY Class B, Westchester Class D, and Danbury Class D) and the temporary flight restriction at Yankee Stadium. If anyone was flying out and was delayed around this time, there's a good chance it was this knucklehead that caused your delays! Writer: Chris192 (this was just unusal enough that I had to post an IA)

Any more information about it???

In all the exercises that I've seen, they're not blowing red lights or traveling at high rates of speed. Many times they have traffic agents secure intersections for them when possible. The law does say "due regard" and I'm sure the city has reviewed the policy with City Counsel and made a determination that this is an emergency operation or otherwise within the limits of the law. NYC and most other municipalities are very liability conscious and wouldn't leave themselves open to such problems.

Hey don't misunderstand me! I'm all for the OFD getting a new boat but I can also understand the resistance of the village administration since taxes are such an issue! If the FD reduced the cost, I bet they'd have a much easier time selling it to the village and the public. Surplus is a valid idea! That's how our aviation unit got started 13 years ago. A lot of excellent equipment is disbursed through the surplus programs.

Half a million dollars for 3 miles of riverfront and a short summer/water season seems like a lot. No other options?

Pathetic! There's only ONE National Anthem and its for everyone - not any single group!

Upgrades? What upgrades? They've jammed just about all that will fit into the existing space and thanks to the NIMBY's that have been building McMansions (and real mansions) all around the airport, you can't put up a DOGHOUSE at the airport! If you've got more info, please share it!

I remember stopping (and ultimately arresting) a local responder who had a stolen Clarkstown PD radio on his "batman" belt. It had been reprogrammed to local police/fire/EMS frequencies for his own buffy use. Of course, he too "bought it from some guy somewhere in the Bronx". Hopefully he's moved on to other interests!

I think he meant the second mid-air collision in Phoenix in less than a year. Two media helicopters collided and crashed while covering a pursuit less than a year ago. A tragic accident and hopefully a reminder that medevac operations are hazardous and need to be used prudently. Our thoughts and prayers to the families and colleagues of all those involved!

The City publicizes these activities and there's no big secret about them. The ones they don't want us to know about we don't know about. If a terrorist is using this site as his source of information, we're gonna win the war!

So who's land is the house on? State land? How is it that it isn't in anyone's fire district, I've never heard of that before.

Most gun laws focus on handguns because they are so easily concealed. Long guns, though there are some exceptions, are not readily concealed making them less of a safety issue. As for marksmanship, that's another reason for handgun regulation (I'm not suggesting restriction, merely regulation)! To make sure that we don't get killed when someone a block away tries to shoot the person mugging them and misses!

The allegations are that slanderous/libelous remarks were made in certain posts. Slander and libel are not protected forms of speech.

Or a helicopter!!! [shameless plug/] The one intelligent thing that he did was stopping! He didn't endanger himself (any further) or anyone else by fleeing nor did he compound the charges against him. Now he has one traffic infraction to contend with (albeit a serious one); he doesn't have penal law charges and legal fees to deal with and he didn't crash and become another statistic. I give him credit for at least that much responsibility. Others on the other hand get no such credit for their juvenile remarks about such conduct.

But of course! As for the value, another post nails the point - if someone is planning something and the PD keeps showing up, randomly and in force, they will move elsewhere (hopefully somewhere far away!). As for valuable resources, that's why the city has 37,000 cops and hundreds of millions in DHS grants - to prevent another attack. It is an excellent use of resources since you can't put an ESU truck at every high profile location all the time. In addition to the CRV mobilizations, they still have Hercules and Archangel teams out there doing much the same thing too right?

Please, spare me the lights and siren nonsense. How about getting ALL FF trained as interior so there isn't a distinction between the "150 members" and the reality of only 40 that are interior qualified. Running hot or cold to the scene or the station isn't the issue here. The issue is whether or not a community actually has enough qualified personnel to the job (note, I'm not saying career or volunteer)! On an average weekday, I'd imagine that most volunteer departments will have a hard time getting 36 qualified firefighters to any call - how about we focus on that instead of what or how they drive to get there!

To who? Ghostbusters? I'm sure that everyone suffering with conditions such as MV or Dallas wishes it was as simple as a single phone call.