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Roger Sabota - Northwoods notebook
One week ago Friday the 74th Convention of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress was called to order by Chairman Ed Harvey Jr., in Wisconsin Dells. Each county in Wisconsin elects five delegates to represent their county residents at the annual Conservation Congress statewide meeting plus serve on various study committees.
State statue 15.348 indicates that, “the Conservation Congress shall be an independent organization of citizens of the state and shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Natural Resources Board on all matters under the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Board. Its records, budgets, studies and surveys shall be kept and established in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resource. Its reports shall be an independent advisory opinion of such Congress.”
The mission of the Congress is to represent the citizens of Wisconsin by working with the Natural Resources Board and the Department of Natural Resources to effectively manage Wisconsin’s greatest asset, the abundant natural resources, for present and future generations to enjoy. In order to achieve this mission the state of Wisconsin is divided into 12 districts. Oneida County, along with the counties of Lincoln, Marathon, Taylor and Vilas combine to make up district three. The Congress is further divided into a series of study committees that study the variety of proposals that come before the Congress and report back to the Executive Council of the Congress.
It was certainly inspiring to be seated among the 360 delegates, each with a sincere interest in the natural resources of our state. An annual problem is to find a facility that is large enough to handle a meeting of this size. Chula Vista Resort did an excellent job of hosting our gathering.
Governor Jim Doyle addressed the assembly and thanked the Congress for their support during the year. The first item on his list was his thanks to the Congress for the support that helped to get the Stewardship program re-authorized for an additional 10 years. The original $60 million was raised to $85 million. This money is used to purchase property that will be open to the general public. He cited the help of the Congress to curb the spread of a variety of invasive species.

rhinelanderdailynews.com

The 30th district, comprised of Ridgewood, Glendale, and Middle Village, is a conservative part of Queens, represented in the State Senate by Republican Serphin Maltese, who has sponsored a state Defense of Marriage Act, fortunately forestalled in Albany. His Assembly partner on that effort is Democrat Anthony Seminario, who represents a portion of the 30th.
According to GothamGazette.com, the district is 53 percent white, 32 percent Latino, seven percent Asian, and only two percent black. Just over half of the voters are registered Democrats, with only a quarter identifying as Republicans, yet the GOP has held the Council seat for the past 16 years.
At a candidate forum in Glendale in early April, strong opposition was voiced in the crowd and among some of the candidates to bilingual education and to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan, which shortly afterward went down to defeat in Albany. Only Ober said anything positive about the congestion plan, though he emphasized some reservations. Several mentions of the “Brooklyn border” during the evening indicated community anxiety about the proximity of Bushwick and East New York, two neighborhoods with predominately people of color populations.
In a race that includes three Republicans and two Democrats and will be decided in a nonpartisan vote, the divides among the candidates have played out as though two primaries were simultaneously being contested. Ognibene has been harshly critical of the GOP machine in Queens for supporting Anthony Como, a Maltese aide who just resigned his post as a Queens County elections commissioner.
Ober meanwhile has taken on the county Democratic establishment for endorsing Crowley, who also got the party’s nod in 2001 when, at age 23, she garnered just 40 percent of the vote against Dennis Gallagher, the Republican. Gallagher’s resignation after pleading guilty to two sexual abuse misdemeanor charges set the stage for the special election. Ober charges he was never given consideration by the Democratic organization.

gaycitynews.com