THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. By John F. Bailey. June 23, 2010 UDATED 6 P.M. E.D.T. :

Common Council President Tom Roach today told WPCNR the topics up for discussion on tonight’s “regularly scheduled” work session, were issues he has heard about from concerned residents, other council members, and he saw no harm in putting them on tonight’s work session to discuss them. He said the Work Session agenda contained items Mayor Adam Bradley wanted, and the discussion items that some council members wanted placed on the agenda. However approximately 5:30 P.M. tonight Mayor Bradley advised WPCNR he would not be there for the discussion portion of the meeting.

The Issues are the “Hot Buttons” long a source of irritation to the public and the Common Council and include: Special Meeting Objectives,City Hall Decision Processes, Commissioners and Information, Budget Process, Department Monthly Reports, Planning Update, Comprehensive Plan, Parks and Recreation Update, Building Department Update, Technology and Communication, Quality of Life Issues. They’ll be discussed tonight.

Mayor Adam Bradley advised WPCNR that he would not be attending the meeting for the first part of the discussion matters, but would return in time for the Executive Sessions (believed to be on the Albert Pirro lawsuit on behalf of White Plainsretirees.)

Roach said he hoped the public would attend the session (it begins tonight at 7 P.M. in the Mayor’s conference room. If there was an overflow crowd it would be moved to the much larger Council Chamber. However, Roach said (as usual in Work Sessions), the public would not be allowed to comment on the issues at the work session.

Roach said he always returns phone calls and receives lots of e-mail from constituents, and indicated these were issues people have expressed concern about. Asked if he could reveal who specifically wanted issues discussed. Roach said, “No comment.”

Asked why the council did not put out more advance notice of this discussion this evening, Roach said:

“We’re not voting on anything. I see no harm in discussing them,” Roach said. He said citizens have plenty of opportunity to tell councilpersons and the administration their feelings in public hearings, “Citizens to be Heard,”(Mondays, once a month,untelevised,) and through e-mail and telephone calls.

Asked if he, Roach, personally would put out a report giving a recap on positions and feelings the councilmembers bring up on the controversial matters, Roach said he would not be putting out “a digest” of the council positions.

The Work Session tonight though would have more of an audience if it was televised, but White Plains Public Access Television informs WPCNR the Work Session will not be televised.

WPCNR THE AIR NEWS (Special to WPCNR) By Peter Katz. June 22, 2010 –

While the federal government’s disjointed response to the Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe has captured a lot of attention, lesser bureaucratic bungling continues unabated in Washington outside of the media spotlight.

WPCNR has learned about an issue currently unfolding in Washington which has the potential for bringing a halt to the vast majority of general aviation activity in the U.S., involving an estimated 210,000 aircraft. Above is Westchester County Airport where a good portion of its fleet of general aviation aircraft may be grounded in August if regulations are not changed.

It seems that one government agency, which does not regulate aviation, has issued a regulation which contradicts requirements of the government agency which does regulate aviation.

The agency which regulates aviation is the FAA — the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency which is causing the problem with its regulation is the FCC — the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC regulates the use of radio transmitters and radio frequencies, among other things.

One of the FAA’s many rules requires aircraft to be equipped with an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). This is a device which automatically sends a distress signal should the aircraft crash. The ELT is a precision device, designed to send a continuous distress signal for at least 24 hours on land or in the water.

Danbury Airport, Connecticut (above). Its numerous general aviation aircraft as well as the vacation destination of Block Island (Block Island State Airport, below) will be grounded if action is not taken to straighten out the Emergency Locator Transmitter mess.

About 95% of the ELTs in use today transmit on the standard aviation emergency frequency, 121.5 MHz, and the military emergency frequency 243 MHz. Currently being phased in is a new satellite frequency of 406 MHz. Newly manufactured ELTs transmit on frequencies 121.5 and 406. Only about 5% of aircraft are equipped with 406 MHz ELTs.

On June 15th, the FCC issued a regulation banning the manufacture, importing and use of “a 121.5 ELT” in the U.S. The FCC’s ban goes into effect 60 days after the new regulation is published in the Federal Register.

It’s widely expected that the ban will be effective sometime in August. The FAA requires that the ELT in an aircraft has to meet its technical standards and operate properly. As far as FAA regulations are concerned, an ELT unit which transmits on emergency frequency 121.5 is fine.

Even if ELT manufacturers were to go into overtime production with units operating on the new frequency, there is no way they could produce enough units to accommodate everyone by the FCC’s presumed deadline. And, it is unlikely there are enough aircraft radio shops and mechanics in the U.S. to install more than 200,000 ELTs by mid-August.

If this bureaucratic action by the FCC is not quickly reversed by the lobbying of aviation industry groups and/or Congressional action, hundreds of millions of dollars in gross domestic product will be lost.