Federal Stimulus for Schools

Times-Union: $50M lift for kids in school

Schumer says badly needed stimulus cash should arrive at region's districts in a month

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Wednesday that federal stimulus money will narrow local school districts' funding gaps.
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Total federal stimulus direct aid by school district.
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Rensselaer City School District $467,836

February 27, 1909 - Women's Wages

100 Years Ago Today: From The Rensselaer Eagle [NY 41 Rensselaer 93-32173].

WOMEN POORLY PAID BY STATE FOR HARDEST WORK

ASSEMBLYMAN LANSING INTRODUCES BILL SO THEY MAY GET MORE MONEY

Are Paid But $1.00 a Day for Eight Hours' Work - Bill Provides That They May Receive $1.50 and Extra Pay for Overtime

It came to the attention of Assemblyman Bradford R. Lansing a few days ago that the women employed as cleaners at the State Capitol were earning $1 a day for eight hours of work. There are two or three Rensselaer women employed there and Mr. Lansing learned that it was necessary for them to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and to take a car to Albany, so as to be at work at 5 o'clock.
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"I was amazed," said Mr. Lansing, yesterday, "to learn that Rensselaer women who are supporting their families by cleaning at the Capitol get only 88 cents a day for their task. The women who live on this side of the river take a car and pay 6 cents to ride to the Capitol, and the same amount to ride back home after their labor is finished. ... These women deserve to get better treatment and if there is any way of doing it I am ready to fight for such a measure at all times."

Remember William St. John, mascot of the J.N. Ring Fire Co.? He made the news again:

Boy Had a Bad Fall

William St. John of Walker Street, aged 4, met with a bad accident on Tuesday when he fell from a ladder in the back yard of his home striking on his head. He lay dazed in the snow until his brother found him. The young man has entirely recovered.

Transmission Towers as Art

I took a drive around the port last weekend, and was intrigued by the power transmission towers for the Empire Generating project. I think they're kind of appealing, and I wondered whether with a little more effort and imagination, the power company could make them almost like sculpture.

It turns out they do exactly that in Finland, where a team of designers led by Antti Nurmesniemi used color, structure and lighting to make their power transmission lines into landscape elements.

Check out some very cool photos of the Landscape Towers of Fingrid Oyj - it's well worth a look. These are "Blue Cranes" . =>

To learn more, here's an article from Transmission and Distribution World: Poles & Structures Transmission Structures As Landscape Art.

Stammel Leads Planning Commission

County legislator Mike Stammel will be chairing the board of the Capital Region District Regional Planning Commission this year. The CDRPC will be heavily involved in attracting federal stimulus funds to the region for transportation and infrastructure projects, and they will have a role in coordinating the 2010 Census as well.

Times-Union: GOP lawmaker to lead planning board

"The CDRPC is an important organization and I am honored to serve as chairman of the organization during what will be an important year,'' Stammel said in a statement.
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CDRPC Executive Director Rocco Ferraro said the commission will seek federal money for a project that aims to stem sewer overflow into Hudson River. The project includes the Albany Water Board, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Troy, Watervliet and Green Island.