Google Zeitgeist 2010

During December, Google releases its Google Zeitgeist report that aggregates “billions of search queries people type into Google” over the year. Google says the Zeitgeist “captures the spirit” of 2010.

Congratulations to Lake George’s Rachel Ray who was #10 in the fastest rising Food & Drink Category.

Here is Google’s entire list.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0QXB5pw2qE

Bits of Everything

Think Tank: NY Pension Costs Could Explode

The NY Post presents an analysis of where pension costs are going.

Top Aide to Gov: Saratoga closure ‘definite possibility’

The Capitol Confidential Blog speaks about Saratoga’s possible demise.

NJ Gov Talks Tough to Paterson

“I have a bridge to sell you”, takes on a new meaning for NJ gov, Chris Christie. So says NJ.com.

Republicans Take NY Senate, Claim Cuomo is One of Them.

Dean Skelos shares some thoughts about being the new Majority Leader in the next NY state legislative session. Read the NY Post.

When the Gold Cup Came to Lake George

The Adirondack Almanack presents a great piece on the Gold Cup on Lake George.

Have Some Turtles? Here’s a Great Practical Joke

The Encyclopedia of Science recounts a practical joke played with some turtles.

Flying for the Holidays?

Then Cargo Collective wear has some gift ideas for you. (Warning: contains graphic images.)

Frank Lasch Joins LGA Board


Frank Lasch of Kattskill Bay, NY has joined the board of the Lake George Association.

Frank Lasch of Kattskill Bay and Loudonville, NY has been appointed to the board of directors of the Lake George Association. He has traveled extensively and has yet to find a more beautiful lake, or one so worthy of protection, he said.

After discharge from the US Navy in 1960, Frank joined the Albany law firm of DeGraff, Foy, where he served as a partner until his retirement in April of 2010. While in the navy, Frank served aboard two destroyer ships: the USS Robert Wilson and the USS Parsons. As past president of the USS Slater Museum in Albany, Frank helped restore the ship to her former glory. The USS Slater, a WWII destroyer and convoy ship, and the only one of her kind remaining, was loaned to the Greek Navy for forty years before returning to Albany.

Frank has also served as president of the Lake George Club and the Fort Orange Club in Albany. He received his law degree from Cornell University Law School.

LGA Receives $25,000 to Protect English Brook


The English Brook delta in Lake George has grown significantly during the past decade. Seen here is an aerial picture of the delta taken by the LGA in November 2010. (Click the picture to see in full-scale.)

The Lake George Association has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program to help protect the English Brook Watershed on Lake George.

The grant will partially fund the installation of a $48,400 Aqua-Swirl hydrodynamic separator on the east side of Rt. 9N at the Lochlea Estate in the town of Lake George. The system will collect previously untreated stormwater runoff from both the east and west sides of Rt. 9N, as well as the bridge between the two exits at Exit 22 on Interstate 87. The majority of the runoff in the 48-acre watershed will be captured and treated.

Other stormwater solutions requiring a larger footprint were explored but were not possible due to the shallow soil depth and high bedrock found throughout the site. The Aqua-Swirl unit has a small footprint and a suitable location was found near existing stormwater infrastructure. The project is also taking the opportunity to capture untreated stormwater runoff from the west side of the road. By installing some additional infrastructure, stormwater from both sides of the road will be directed to the new unit. The cost of the entire project is estimated at $117,000. In addition to the Lake Champlain Basin Program grant, funding for this project has been secured from the Lake George Watershed Coalition and the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation. The village of Lake George will maintain the structure and clean out the system using the LGA’s Catch Vac.

One of the eight major streams entering Lake George, English Brook has been of high concern to the Association for over a decade. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) lists the brook as sediment impaired, and its delta is one of the largest on the Lake. According to National Urban Runoff Program reports conducted during the 1980s, English Brook has high levels of total phosphorus, chlorides, total suspended sediments, lead and nitrate-nitrogen.

How does an Aqua-Swirl Hydrodynamic Separator work?

Stormwater enters an Aqua-Swirl unit through an inlet pipe, producing a circular flow that makes contaminates settle. A swirl concentrator removes the gross pollutants; a filtration chamber then removes fine sediment and waterborne pollutants. A combination of gravity and hydrodynamic forces encourages solids to drop out of the flow and migrate to the center of the chamber, where velocities will be lower. The Aqua-Swirl also retains water between storms, allowing for settling of inorganic solids when the water is not flowing.

Additional work protecting the English Brook Watershed

Significant work in the English Brook watershed has already been completed by the LGA in conjunction with Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District (WCSWCD). In 2009, design work for a 150-foot-long sediment basin at the mouth of the brook was completed. Permits for this project have been submitted to the appropriate agencies. The basin will be about 6 feet deep with a capacity to trap over 700 cubic yards of material. Further upstream, at the Hubble Reservoir, the LGA hired Galusha Construction to remove a non-functioning sluice gate and valve that were making it difficult to maintain the site. The site was dewatered and almost 600 cubic yards of sediment were removed. The LGA acquired funding for both projects through grants from the Helen V. Froehlich Foundation and the New York State Department of State and the Environmental Protection Fund.

Once this important upland work is completed, the culminating step is to remove the sediment that has built up in the delta over the course of generations. The nutrient-rich sediment in deltas supports invasive plant growth, hampers fish spawning, and harbors nuisance waterfowl. By removing the delta, safe navigation is restored, the health of the Lake’s fisheries improves, the Lake returns to its original bottom, and property values are retained.

Bits of Everything

10 Adirondack Weather Disasters

Adirondack Life has an interesting article on the Adirondack’s worst storms.

Beets No Salt

WNBZ reports that the NY State Thruway is going to experiment this winter with a de-icing material made out of sugar beets and brine.

Grant Money for Lake George Delta

Warren County heard that they are the recipient of a state grant to clear a delta in Lake George. Read the Post Star.

Trash Removal Reinstated on Lake George Islands


Young campers enjoy Floating Battery Island, one of the campsites in the Narrows Group of Lake George.

Due in large part to public pressure and efforts made by the Lake George Association, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has reversed an earlier decision to discontinue trash collection centers for the Lake George islands in 2011.

The DEC has decided to raise campers’ fees to offset the costs of operating the trash collection centers. In 2011, in-state campers will pay $28 per night and out-of-state campers will pay $33. Rates in 2010 were $25 a night for all campers. These new rates and the reversed decision are not yet reflected on DEC or camp reservation websites.

Earlier this summer the DEC announced that, beginning in the 2011 season, it would no longer provide trash removal services for people camping or picnicking on the Lake George islands. Due to state budget problems, the DEC announced it would be implementing a “carry in, carry out” policy for the islands. At the time, DEC spokespersons said that the decision was final and non-negotiable.

The LGA responded immediately, with Executive Director Walt Lender issuing a letter to DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis. In that letter, and corresponding letters to the editors of local newspapers, Lender encouraged the DEC to consider alternatives and to meet face to face with Association members, local elected officials, and other local stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the history and unique local situation regarding these campers and campsites. With pressure mounting from State Senator Betty Little, Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, local officials and other groups, the DEC agreed to meet.

The decision deeply concerned the LGA, as trash left behind at campsites, floating in the water, or piling up at lakeside marinas, can be highly detrimental to both the lake’s water quality and to its beauty. Buck Bryan, LGA past president, in an interview with Albany’s Times Union, shared his memories of what it was like before the state started garbage collection on the lake in 1955, and it wasn’t pretty. There was garbage all around on the sites, he said. Marina owners and other shoreline business owners are also well aware of the severe problems that occur at their businesses when state garbage collection is inadequate: garbage overspills from their small private containers.

“The solution really came out of the meeting that Senator Little hosted in Bolton,” said Walt Lender. “Then Betty and Assemblywoman Sayward went back to Albany and did some heavy lifting. We’re very pleased that the service will continue, but we hope campers will plan accordingly and keep their trash to a minimum,” he said.

As has been the case for over a decade, 2011 island campers will be required to remove all of their trash and recyclables from their individual campsites, and will have the option to take it by boat to one of three garbage collection centers: Uncas Island, Narrow Island or Long Island. Campers can stay on the islands as long as two weeks. Without these collection centers in place, the responsible camper would either have had to store up to two weeks of garbage at their campsite or on their boat, or they would have had to interrupt their vacations mid-week, boat back to the shoreline, get in their cars, and drive their garbage to a town landfill — not the easiest task for out-of-town campers not familiar with local landfill locations. A more likely scenario would be that more campers would either leave their trash behind at the campsite, where it could easily flow into the Lake, or would dump it in the private dumpster of a marina or other a shoreline business, causing an unfair burden to these businesses.

Bits of Everything

Medicaid & Pensions Bust Budget: Wash County Looks at 18% Tax Rise

The Wash Blog looks at Washington County’s proposed budget for next year. It doesn’t look good.

5 Towns Claim Navy Started There

Yahoo News reports that 5 different towns lay claim to being the birthplace of the US Navy. (Hat tip to Jason Weeber for the link.)

Scientists Look for Common Threats

Lake George and Lake Tahoe Researchers look at common threats, says the Adirondack Almanack.

Bits of Everything

Fee Hikes to Pay for Island Trash Removal?

The Adirondack Almanack reports on an interesting development on the proposal to end trash pickup on the islands.

Paladino Unfit? Open Letter Shows Hypocrisy

BuffaloNews.com posts an opinion which is worthwhile reading. It takes on three politicians who object to Carl Paladino being well … a politician.

“D’Amato, McCall and Koch see Paladino as a threat. Yet they have no problem with a state government that never saw a tax, a fee, a patronage job or a public-sector perk that it didn’t like. In the last 10 years, the state budget hyperinflated from $77 billion to — hold your breath — this year’s $136 billion. That is a hike of nearly 80 percent. If you let your household budget run that wild, you would be out of a house.”

Paulist Fathers Ponder Future

Looks like the Paulist Fathers are evaluating their land on Lake George, says the Adirondack Almanack.

No Joking Around: Peterson Says State Layoffs to Start Soon

The Times Union says that Governor Paterson is going to start layoffs by the end of the year.

EZ Pass in Ti

Now can now buy EZ pass in Ticonderoga. So says Denton Publications.

Final 2010 Report – Coliform Monitoring

I have placed a link to the “Final 2010 Interim Report on the Lake George Coliform Monitoring Program”. This is prepared by the Darrin Fresh Water Institute. This report summarizes their coliform tests throughout the 2010 season at a number of spots on Lake George.

“The Coliform Monitoring Program focuses on a series of locations that have shown chronically high levels of coliform bacteria in past years with routine surveillance sampling of other locations also included. For 2010, synoptic sampling of public bathing beaches on a two week basis is also included in the program. In addition to samples collected at the lake-shore, a series of samples are collected up the watershed by the Lake George Park Commission to locate and remediate specific sources of bacterial pollution.”

The locations in the town of Dresden that were sampled can be found on page 5 of the report.

In the email which accompanied this report, Mr. Lawrence Eichler of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute explains some of the heightened levels found at certain areas.

We collected additional samples in the south basin at Huddle Beach Brook and South Sawmill Bay Brook in Bolton. We have also collected samples with elevated bacterial levels in Lake George at East Brook at the outlet of Greens Pond. None of the FC/Enterococci ratios suggest a human source, however we will continue to monitor these location. The extensive wildlife populations present in wetland areas may account for bacteria present in these sites.

In the North Basin we collected additional samples at Cook Bay South Culvert, Temple Island Culvert, Stags Leap Brook, and Hearts Bay Culvert. A decaying goose carcass was removed from Stags Leap Brook and may account for the single elevated bacterial sample. A horse pasture is present in the drainage of the Hearts Bay Culvert, possibly accounting for the bacterial counts there. We will continue to monitor these sites and assist the Lake George Park Commission in on-site investigations at selected locations.

All beach samples continued to meet NYS DOH standards for contact recreation.

If you want to learn more about coliform levels in Lake George, read the entire report.

Bits of Everything

Cormorants Flock to Lake George

The Post Star had a good story on a bird problems.

87 Exit 6 Interchange Finished

I know a lot of people who come up from NY City stop here along the way. The Times Union reports the work is done.

Bolton Mountain May Be Purchased by Conservancy

The Post Star had an article on the Lake George Land Conservancy possibly buying a mountain in Bolton.

Super-stylish Houseboat Living in Germany

If you thought houseboats were ugly, check out Freshome.

Bits of Everything

Holy 50,000! Nigerian Ministry Wants to Build Big in Whitehall

The Post Star had one of the more interesting stories in recent memory about Whitehall.

Spread of Asian Claims Minimal in Lake George

It appears that the Asian claims in Lake George are contained right now. Read the Post Star.

Biggest Beach Bubbles Break

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwAnBKeUS7U&

J. Buckley Bryan Jr. Receives LGA Charles H. Tuttle Citation – First Time Presented in 13 Years


Buckley Bryan, Jr. (left) receives the Charles H. Tuttle Citation for conservation excellence, the Lake George Association’s highest honor, from LGA Executive Director Walt Lender and Julie Tuttle Currie. Given for the first time in 13 years, the award was presented to honor Buck’s many years of exemplary service, strong leadership, stalwart support, loyalty, generosity, and devotion to the protection of Lake George and the LGA, said Walter Lender, LGA executive director.

The Charles H. Tuttle Citation for conservation excellence was presented for the first time in 13 years to J. Buckley Bryan Jr., the outgoing board president of the Lake George Association, at its 125th Annual Meeting on August 20. The Tuttle Citation is the LGA’s highest honor.

“The award was given for Buck’s many years of exemplary service, strong leadership, stalwart support, loyalty, generosity, and devotion to the protection of Lake George and the LGA,” said Walter Lender, LGA executive director.

Buck Bryan became president of the Lake George Association for the first time in 1975 and served until 1980. While president during that period, Buck helped the LGA to:

– prevent the federal government from assuming control of the lake;
– stop the dumping of boat holding tanks into Lake George waters;
– hire the LGA’s first full-time staff; and
– increase membership in one year by over 800 members.

Thirty years later, after retiring from his career as an airline pilot and returning to the Lake full-time, Buck once again joined the LGA board. In his most recent tenure as president, Buck helped:

– upgrade the navigational markers on the lake;
– update and reprint the navigational charts, working with the LG Power Squadron;
– launch the largest Capital Campaign to preserve the Lake – the West Brook Conservation Initiative (WBCI);
– kick off the WBCI campaign with a lead gift of $50,000, which he has since matched; and
– launch the LGA’s Helen V. Froehlich Legacy Society. Buck announced his intentions to bequeath $1,000,000 of his estate to the LGA.

Buck has lead by example in other ways. On his lakefront property, Buck has installed stormwater management devices and a native vegetated buffer. He cleans out his sediment catchments with the LGA Catch Vac.

At the meeting, Tuttle’s descendents helped present a framed plaque to Buck, which incorporated a Loren Blackburn print of Glen Island looking north. Charles H. Tuttle was president of the LGA from 1927 to 1930 and remained its life-long counsel until his death in 1971. The award in his honor was established in 1970. During Tuttle’s tenure as president much of the important legislation concerning Lake George and its protection was passed. Most of this legislation was drafted and advocated for by Tuttle himself. Tuttle was twice appointed to the Lake George Park Commission and has lived on the Lake most of his life.