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Election 2012: Newsday's endorsements for New York State Assembly
Once again, the struggle for control of the State Senate, where Republicans cling to a precarious majority, is the dominant narrative this year in state politics. As usual, expectations for the Assembly are for more of the same: easy Democratic dominance.
There's little chance of an erosion of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's power base. His Democratic conference has 100 members. Of those, 62 are from the City of New York and seven from Long Island -- eight when you count Assemb. Fred W. Thiele Jr. of Sag Harbor, an Independence Party member who caucuses with the Democrats.
What that dominance produces from candidates is a dreary repetition of two mantras: Democrats -- either incumbents or challengers -- argue that they'll do the best job for their districts because they would be part of the powerful majority. Republicans acknowledge that they would belong to the powerless minority, but they can get past that crippling obstacle by "crossing the aisle" and getting Democrats to sponsor their ideas.
But members of both parties are no more empowered now than in the past. Three men in a room still decide the major issues: Silver, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. The governor has an almost hypnotic, bipartisan ability to get legislators to praise him for getting things done and changing the way Albany works. But even those who chair committees don't always get a real say on important legislation that gets decided by that powerful triumvirate -- unless they work really hard at it. More than at any other time, these past two years seem to have reduced them to a faint chorus, humming obediently in the background, while the three men in a room sing the solo parts.
What is a little different this year is the embarrassing revelation that Silver doled out taxpayer money in a settlement with alleged victims of sexual harassment by Assemb. Vito Lopez. Until the scandal, Lopez was the Brooklyn Democratic leader. He announced his resignation from that post, but refuses to leave his Assembly seat. As long as the investigation goes on, a cloud hangs over Silver's head.
In some races, the Republican candidate has called on the Democrat to come out in favor of Silver's resignation. Not surprisingly, Democrats have stuck by him, though they have felt free to criticize the use of taxpayer funds in the Lopez settlement. Barring some blockbuster finding in the investigation by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, the chances of a change in the speakership are remote.
Once the election is over, and it's clear again that Democrats are in control, the legislature's incumbents, whether they win or lose, may well be back up in Albany for a lame duck session to vote themselves a pay raise, as part of a mega "reform" deal. The idea would be to make the raise smell sweeter by wrapping it in tougher conflict-of-interest rules, more transparency in legislators' dealings and perhaps even public campaign financing to make corruption less tempting.
Keeping all that in mind, New Yorkers choosing between the incumbent and the challenger would be well advised to cast their Assembly vote based only on their views of the candidates on the ballot, without having to worry about how that selection may change the power equation. It simply won't.
COMING THURSDAY: Endorsements for Districts 11-22
South Fork, Shelter Island, southeast Brookhaven Town
Fred W. Thiele Jr., first elected to the Assembly in 1995, is a former Republican running unopposed on the Democratic, Working Family and Independence Party lines. In the Assembly, he is an Independence Party member who caucuses with Democrats.
Thiele, 59, of Sag Harbor, has been a solid advocate for local causes: land preservation, the environment, improved public transportion and a cap on property tax hikes. In the past few years, he fiercely fought plans to shut down most of Stony Brook University's Southampton campus. His input will be needed as Stony Brook moves to build a new Southampton Hospital on the campus.
Newsday endorses Thiele.
North Fork, Riverhead, northeast Brookhaven
Republican incumbent Daniel Losquadro, 40, who left his role as leader of the Suffolk legislature minority to become a freshman minority assemblyman, likes his new job. He says Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's agenda has been well aligned with the Assembly Republicans and he's pleased to share those successes. Losquadro failed to pass a bill that would speed development at the EPCAL site in Riverhead by making the town, instead of the state, the lead agency for environmental review.
Instead of pursuing this flawed bill, Losquadro should work with the Cuomo administration to craft a compromise. His intense local focus is one of hard-working Losquadro's strengths, and in a district with 100 miles of coastline, he has wisely spent his time on issues involving beach access, erosion and protection of the Mattituck Inlet.
Challenger Nicholas Deegan, 63, of Mattituck, a Democrat, is a Mattituck Park District commissioner who ran unsuccessfully for Southold Town council last year. He did not respond to an invitation to meet with Newsday's editorial board.
Newsday endorses Losquadro.
Much of south Brookhaven and Fire Island
Republican Dean Murray, running for his second full term in the Assembly, has learned a lot in Albany without sacrficing his principles.
He's a true conservative, but a less contentious presence than a few years ago, when he was launching local tea party groups. The job has matured his views.
Murray, 48, even as a Long Island Republican in the New York City and Democrat-dominated Assembly, has helped get sewers installed in Patchogue and brought home money for road projects. He's also been relentless in fighting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax his constituents hate, and arguing that the agency must eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.
Edward J. Hennessey, 50, is Murray's Democratic challenger and a former Republican member of the Brookhaven Town Council. He has a firm grasp of local politics, but much of what he wants to work on can't be accomplished via Albany.
Murray is coming into his own and growing in competence.
Newsday endorses Murray.
Most of northwest Brookhaven
In a rematch from 2010, Republican Deborah McKee, a civilian dispatcher for the Suffolk County Police Department, is challenging
Democratic Assemb. Steven Englebright, who has held the seat for 20 years. McKee, 56, of Mount Sinai, received 44 percent of the vote last time. She sees Englebright as an entrenched denizen of seamy Albany culture, and is campaigning on her promise to help small businesses by changing the tax code.
Englebright, 66, a geologist who lives in Setauket, is one of the Assembly's most effective advocates for Long Island. He's done admirable work promoting jobs here through solar-power bills that have put carpenters to work, through the SUNY 2020 plan and, potentially, with his idea to build a college town at the edge of the Stony Brook campus.
Englebright is skillfully mediating between the Long Island Power Authority and the Port Jefferson school district over the future tax revenue from the power plant there. And his training makes him an important voice in the debate over hydrofracking's safety.
Newsday endorses Englebright.
Northeast Islip, central-west Brookhaven
Republican Assemb. Alfred Graf says he is motivated to keep Long Island's cost of living down so young people, including his three children, aren't driven away. Graf, 54, of Patchogue, appears to face easy re-election as he pursues that goal. Democratic opponent Victor E. Salamone, 49, a Suffolk Off-Track Betting Corp. employee from Holbrook, is not actively campaigning.
Graf comes to the job as a citizen-legislator, bringing a gut sense of what's right, colored by his years as a New York City cop, two terms as a small-town supervisor in the Adirondacks, and current work as a lawyer in private practice.
In his first term, he helped establish a parking violations bureau for Suffolk County. He is pursuing myriad other causes: more funding for local trade schools, college loan repayment for nurses who work in underserved areas, enabling abused women to keep their children. His chief obsession is to channel cheap hydroelectricity from upstate to Long Island. On this point, Graf will need the support of other Long Island legislators because of powerful opposition from upstate politicians.
Newsday endorses Graf.
Brentwood, North Bay Shore, Central Islip
Seeking his sixth term in the Assembly, Democrat Phil Ramos, 56, knows how Albany works, and he's often made it work for his district.
That's one of the perks of being in the Democratic majority, and amassing some seniority.
But so much of what Ramos, of Brentwood, seeks are the same things he's sought for years, albeit with some success. He is deservedly proud of bringing home money to fight gangs and graffiti, and to beautify the downtowns in his district. But Brentwood and Central Islip still aren't beautiful, and gangs and graffiti are still rampant. Ramos may need to look at new approaches, and bring new enthusiasm.
Republican challenger Manuel Troche, 49, pulses with passion for his community. He cites his experiences as a hometown firefighter in Brentwood as central to his understanding of local problems, and wants to fight gangs, sober houses, sex offenders and foreclosures. But Troche isn't familiar with the statewide issues he would confront in Albany, and that's a weakness.
Ramos has the experience, but we hope he can use it to make real progress with the district's problems.
Newsday endorses Ramos.
Southeast Islip, East Patchogue
Republican Philip Boyle's decision to run for the State Senate has opened up one of the most competitive Assembly races on Long Island as a well-known figure faces a capable first-time candidate.
Christopher Bodkin, 65, of West Sayville, is trying to make a comeback to public life. After 16 years on the Islip Town Board, he lost re-election in 2009 after changing from Republican to Democrat. Bodkin is a part-time aide to the Suffolk County Legislature's presiding officer, Bill Lindsay.
Republican Andrew Garbarino, 27, is a Sayville attorney who comes from a political family. Garbarino's father, William, ran for office against two of Suffolk's biggest names: Lindsay and former County Executive Steve Levy.
Bodkin would work on environmental issues in Albany, including solid waste disposal, sewer construction and groundwater protection. He is endorsed by the state teachers union and favors taking "baby steps" toward evaluating teachers' effectiveness. He would explore funding state pensions at less than 100 percent, as some states have, to ease financial burdens on localities. Bodkin would not vote for broader casino gambling in New York.
Garbarino, on the other hand, would expand casinos here to capture gambling revenue now flowing to Connecticut and New Jersey. If elected, he would seek to work on education, aging and banking issues, particularly moving foreclosed properties back on the market.
In education, Garbarino would look to cut costs, including mandates that schools say inflate their budgets each year. He needs more study on this issue to find better ideas on which mandates in particular could best meet the chopping block. Garbarino would encourage schools to eliminate some administrative layers, and he favors evaluating teachers, but not releasing the results to the public.
Both candidates are qualified and thoughtful. However, Garbarino, who has the energy of a reformer and an impressive understanding of how to make Albany responsive to his district, is more appealing.
Newsday endorses Garbarino.
Smithtown and part of north Islip
Michael Fitzpatrick, 55, of St. James, is one of the most conservative members of the Assembly, which inevitably leaves him standing alone in that house. His principled stances and his willingness to challenge orthodoxy, however, have helped bring about a property tax cap and pension reform.
He faces a challenge from Democrat Jesse Safer, 58, of Commack, a senior trial attorney for Geico. Safer opposes public funding of charter schools and using student test scores to evaluate teachers. He would like to revive an idea to invite private investors to build a tunnel across the Long Island Sound.
Fitzpatrick is nearing his 10th year in the Assembly, and has flirted with other roles in politics — Suffolk executive and Congress — but he's found raising money daunting. Still, his skills and popularity might be best put to use in a more demanding office, such as town supervisor.
While he's still in Albany, however, Fitzpatrick should push harder to transform the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center into a useful site, a potentially divisive fight but one that would represent a promise fulfilled.
Newsday endorses Fitzpatrick.
Gilgo, southeast Babylon, southwest Islip, south Oyster Bay
From the rapid pace at which he ticks off his accomplishments, to the stack of mailings, pamphlets and pages listing his work in the Assembly, Republican incumbent Joseph Saladino might give residents new to the vastly redrawn 9th District the idea that he is very effective.
He's not.
Saladino, 50, a lifelong Massapequa resident, tends to sponsor legislation that piggybacks onto the headline of the moment, such as "Jonny's Law," a bill that would require all parents to drug-test their children in grades nine through 12. No other member joined him.
Another of his proposed bills reads, "Any bill containing an unfunded mandate shall bear the words UNFUNDED MANDATE on the face of the bill."
Unfortunately, his Democrat challenger, Jay Cherlin, 60, of Massapequa, displays a shallow grasp of statewide issues. Cherlin, who works for the Long Island Coalition of National Health Planning, is knowledgeable about health care and wants to curb Medicaid costs. But his primary focus, enacting a single-payer health care plan for New York, is unrealistic.
Newsday makes no endorsement.
Western Huntington, Elwood, Lloyd Harbor, northwest Babylon
The winner of this seat will succeed James Conte, the Huntington Station Republican who represented the district for 24 years before his death on Oct. 16. Voters will choose between two impressive 33-year-old lawyers, both Station residents who've already made contributions in public life.
Democrat Joseph Dujmic Jr., grew up in Holbrook and is a graduate of St. John's University and New York Law School. He worked as an assistant county attorney on behalf of neglected and abused children. He has taught at St. John's, is a Vanderbilt Museum trustee and, now in private practice, acts as a court-appointed advocate for children.
Dujmic wants to focus on family services as well as ethics reform. He supports creating jobs through green technology, a local-preference law for New York employers seeking state contracts, and tax incentives for small businesses. He supports the Avalon Bay project to provide affordable housing.
Chad Lupinacci, the Republican candidate, is a lifelong resident whose family's Huntington Station roots go back several generations. He holds bachelor's, MBA and law degrees from Hofstra University. Best known as a member of the South Huntington school board, he is a full-time faculty member at Farmingdale State College and teaches at Hofstra.
He wants to bring more small businesses to Route 110 to create jobs, and short-sightedly opposes denser housing in Huntington Station, preferring to see more apartments above storefronts, as it was decades ago.
This endorsement is among the closest calls this fall. Both agree on many things: expanded casino gambling in the state, bus rapid transit on 110, reducing unfunded school programs required by the state, and opposition to the new teacher evaulation system.
But Lupinacci has an edge on at least two counts. His work on Conte's staff as a college student gives him a head start in constituent services, and his eight years on the school board give him education expertise.
We would like to see him focus on improving New York Avenue and work hard to create affordable housing for young residents.
Newsday endorses Lupinacci.
Much of Babylon
This race pits the leader of the Long Island Assembly delegation against a promising newcomer.
Robert Sweeney, a 63-year-old Democrat from Lindenhurst, serves as chairman of the Environmental Conservation Committee. Rashad Cureton is a 21-year-old from Amityville who switched to the Republican Party to run for office. Cureton, who is pursuing a master's degree in sports management, speaks passionately about providing educational opportunities for all. He's also concerned about the lack of jobs.
While we hope Cureton stays involved in politics, he doesn't make the case to turn out one of our most valuable players. Sweeney is a straight shooter who brings his 24 years of experience and creative thinking to the capital. The environmentally friendly parking lot at Lindenhurst Library he helped facilitate should become a model. Sweeney also voted for the much-needed property tax cap bill. In his next term, we challenge Sweeney to reconsider his opposition to charter schools, in an effort to boost the struggling schools in Wyandanch.
Newsday endorses Sweeney.
This is a corrected version of the endorsement. An earlier version incorrectly stated that Sweeney was the only Long Island Democrat to vote for the property tax cap.
Eastern Huntington, northwest Islip, northeast Babylon
Sometimes it's hard to be a minority party member working in Albany, but Assemb. Andrew Raia, a Republican from East Northport, fills the role about as well as it can be done.
Raia, 44, is seeking his sixth term, and has no opposition. Two years ago he faced a Democratic candidate who did little more than put his name on the ballot in contesting the seat.
Clearly, the district is happy with Raia's service, and it should be. He is a detail-oriented, even wonky worker in the legislature, focusing on complicated issues.
Raia has worked hard to focus attention on some of the abuses of the state's generous Medicaid program, including optional services with overly low co-pays and overspending on transportation for patients. He says that while he and his ally in the fight, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, haven't had as much success as he'd like, the battle will go on.
Locally, he's working on environmental concerns, particularly the nitrogen buildup in Long Island's waters, pushing innovative methods like algae rings and electrolysis of waste water to control the problem.
Newsday endorses Raia.
Glen Cove, parts of Hempstead and Oyster Bay
Charles Lavine, 65, a Democratic incumbent seeking his fifth term, cites the enactment of a property tax cap as a big step toward fiscal responsibility. His effectiveness in Albany, though, is best measured in help he gives to local governments and in the use of his expertise as a criminal defense lawyer on issues such as the recent expansion of the state's DNA database. More crimes now require a DNA sample from the convicted.
Lavine, of Glen Cove, has been deeply involved in the complex negotiations with the Long Island Power Authority to help the North Shore school district absorb the shock to its tax base from closing the Glenwood Landing power plant.
Republican challenger Louis Imbroto, 28, a Plainview attorney in his first run for office, has an impressive command of the issues. He wants more housing built around transit hubs to keep his generation here, and he says the state should spend more to repair and build infrastructure.
Lavine, a longtime champion of ethics reform, should return to the Assembly as an even more vocal supporter of greater independence for the newly created state ethics board.
Newsday endorses Lavine.
RE-ELECT DAVID McDONOUGH IN 14TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Southeast Hempstead
When Democrat John Brooks challenged Republican incumbent David McDonough in 2010, Newsday endorsed Brooks. This year McDonough gets the nod. What the men bring to the race hasn't changed, only our conclusion about what's best for the district and Nassau.
Brooks, 62, of Seaford, still has deep roots in the community and his fire for reform hasn't cooled. He still has thoughtful plans to improve flawed systems, such as school funding. McDonough, 75, of Merrick, is the same plain-talking, knowledgable, tax-averse Albany veteran he was two years ago.
So why the change? One of Brooks' promising initiatives — a plan to reform Nassau's assessment system — is gaining traction in Mineola. He should be here to drive it.
McDonough is the ranking GOP member of the Assembly Transportation Committee. He should light a fire under bureaucrats who've been slow to fix problems on our roads. His fellow Merrick Republican, Sen. Charles Fuschillo, chairs the Senate committee. The two must drive the Island's transportation agenda.
With that mission in mind, Newsday endorses McDonough.
Parts of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay
Incumbent Michael A. Montesano, 57, of Glen Head, is a Republican, a lawyer and a former New York City police detective who has served as board president of the North Shore School District.
In office since a 2010 special election, he supports mandate relief for school districts and municipalities and wants to reduce the size of state government by eliminating or consolidating agencies.
He would also like to see the Assembly alter its power dynamics with term limits for its leadership.
His Democratic opponent is Mario Ferone, 19, a junior studying political science and economics at Stony Brook University. A 2010 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, Ferone says he would like to provide a voice for young people who are not being heard by government.
He also believes the state should take further steps to help with job retraining and education funding.
At the same time, he does not appear to be running a full-time campaign.
Newsday endorses Montesano.
Most of North Hempstead
Michelle Schimel, 55, a Great Neck Democrat, has served in the Assembly since 2007 with energy and passion, but without much effectiveness. She is best known for her effort to pass a micro-stamping law, a measure that would make it easier for police to trace firearms through cartridge casings. The bill has cleared the Assembly five times but has always been blocked in the Senate.
Her Republican challenger, Richard E. Stiek, 39, is a West Point graduate, a Port Washington lawyer and a political outsider distressed by property tax hikes and by what he sees as state and local fiscal irresponsibility.
He's not someone the local party plucked from the ranks and handed their worn playbook. His thoughtful, often nuanced ideas set him apart on many subjects. He would have voted against teacher evaluations based on an "objective metric." He prefers evaluations done by educational experts.
Schimel's grasp of issues often seems anecdotal. Stiek is firmer and clearer on many subjects, and an original voice like his would be a powerful addition to a house in desperate need of new ideas.
Newsday endorses Stiek.
RE-ELECT THOMAS McKEVITT IN 17TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Parts of Hempstead and central Oyster Bay
Democrat Kevin Brady, 25, of Levittown, is challenging four-term Republican Thomas McKevitt, an East Meadow attorney. Formerly one of the most gerrymandered districts in the Assembly, this district is 87 percent remade since 2010.
Brady, a FedEx package handler, believes that elected officials can serve as "midwives" to build support for school consolidation. He's a likable and smart newcomer, but there's no reason to turn out the solid and forward thinking McKevitt.
As a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, McKevitt wants to change foreclosure rules to encourage banks to modify loans for people who could stay in their homes if payments were lowered. Foreclosures coming before a judge after two years find homeowners too far behind to catch up; McKevitt would require action within 60 days.
McKevitt is rightly concerned that the new property tax cap might become a vise in a few years. That's why he is talking about a military-base-closing-style commission to force school consolidation and bring down education costs.
Newsday endorses McKevitt.
ELECT ELTON McCABE IN 18TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Parts of central Hempstead
Earlene Hooper wants a 13th term, which is no surprise, because she seems to really like Albany. Her travel reimbursement filings show she spends more time there than other members and earns even bigger paychecks, too.
Besides her annual salary of $79,500, Hooper gets a leadership stipend of $25,000. And since she is officially retired from the job, she collects an $81,858-a-year pension. Meanwhile, state records show her travel expenses are always among the highest. For 2010 and 2011, Democrat Hooper, 73, of Hempstead, received a total of $61,592 in per diem reimbursements.
Meanwhile, Hooper's leadership position allows her to stop any legislation involving Nassau County, sometimes for no apparent reason.
Republican challenger Elton McCabe, 46, of Uniondale, is running on many of the same issues he did in his campaign for the Nassau County Legislature, reducing crime and the poor quality of life caused by illegal accessory apartments. The soft-spoken McCabe, an engineering inspector for the Town of Hempstead, is passionate about helping people. Open to new ideas, he's a breath of fresh air.
Newsday endorses McCabe.
Western Oyster Bay, south North Hempstead, north Hempstead
Republican Edward P. Ra, 30, of Franklin Square, is seeking re-election in a newly gerrymandered district. He is new to 80 percent of the voters.
Ra needs to present a strong case to these new constituents, but his first-term record is uninspiring. He voted against an amendment to allow casino gambling in the state because there were no details on their location. But, Ra, who sits on the influential Committee on Racing and Wagering, has few ideas on how these sites should be determined or any specifics on how to implement such a major change in policy. Ra supported an expansion of special education that school districts opposed and which Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo vetoed because of the higher costs it would have imposed on taxpayers.
Challenger Gary Port, 50, of West Hempstead, is a divorce attorney who lost a bid for Hempstead supervisor last year. While we didn't think Port had the management chops to run a large town, he seems better suited as a legislator. He has the take-charge manner of the lieutenant colonel he was in the Army Reserve, and wants to apply his negotiating skills to overhaul unfunded state mandates.
Newsday endorses Port.
Southwest Hempstead and Long Beach
Harvey Weisenberg, 78, has long claimed that experience is what matters in Albany and that with 23 years in the Assembly, he has the relationships to deliver. But Weisenberg's effectiveness has waned.
Most crucially for constituents in his home of Long Beach, this year he failed to persuade Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to pass a routine but critical bill to enable borrowing to retire the city's $10-million deficit. Weisenberg's justification for returning to the Assembly — that nobody else cares about the people as much as he does — wears thin when considered against the tax increase his constituents face because his legislation failed.
The Democratic Party should begin grooming a successor. And voters should take a serious look at challenger David Sussman, 62, a urologist from Lawrence who has served on the Lawrence school board for 18 years — one of the few members whose children attended the public schools. That controversial board has likely prepared Sussman for the halls of the State Capitol. Sussman says he would focus on school aid, and we hope he would use his medical knowledge to find savings in the state's Medicaid program as well.
Newsday endorses Sussman.
South and central Hempstead
Republican incumbent Brian Curran says being in the Assembly minority is a lot easier thanks to the "best Republican governor we've had in a long time," Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. And it's true that many of the things Curran wanted to achieve in his first term and hopes to work for in a second have also been on Cuomo's wish list.
Curran, 43, a litigation attorney, served as the mayor of Lynbrook before his election to the Assembly, and has been a reliable fiscal conservative in both roles.
Seeking to unseat him is Democrat Jeffrey Friedman, 44, a nonpracticing attorney and stay-at-home father. Friedman, of Rockville Centre, is an unusually knowledgeable candidate, having done volunteer work with the State Senate for years. He is undoubtedly one to watch, and speaks passionately about reducing the tax burden on Long Island, streamlining and reducing school spending, and limiting unfunded mandates from Albany.
But Curran agrees with Friedman on these issues, and has proved he can do good work on them. He deserves a chance to continue that good work.
Newsday endorses Curran.
Western Hempstead
This is a key time for residents of this newly created Assembly district on the Queens border in southwest Nassau. How the area surrounding the Belmont Park racetrack is developed, as the state moves to legalize casino gambling and reform horse racing, will shape the community for decades to come.
Democrat Michaelle Solages, 27, of Elmont, is a library worker at Hofstra University, where she earned a bachelors degree in athletic training.
Sean Wright, 43, of North Valley Stream, is a lawyer with the Town of Hempstead. He is a registered member of the Independence Party running on the Republican Party line.
The two don't differ much on issues. Both want the unused Long Island Rail Road station at Belmont reopened and favor family-friendly development in the surrounding area. Wright would like to see a walkable mall and soccer fields. Solages added that the track's parking fields would also be a good spot for a park-and-ride, offering a 30-minute commute into Manhattan. Both are wary of legalizing casino gambling but say they want to hear from residents before deciding what should be done with the track itself.
Neither supports the much-maligned Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax. To replace revenue that would be lost if the tax is abandoned, Solages suggests selling advertising on MetroCards. Wright favors a zone system, with subway fares based on the length of a trip. They each support legalizing medical marijuana, promise to vote no on a pay raise for legislators, and pledge to fight for more school aid and less unfunded spending mandated by the state.
No freshman legislator will have much clout on such broad, statewide issues. But Wright, as a member of the Independence Party who will likely caucus with the GOP, would have slower time gaining traction in a partisan chamber dominated by a Democratic majority. That would make it difficult for him to deliver for the district. Solages would fare better. As a Democrat, she would be an energetic voice for suburban interests inside that New York City-focused majority.
Newsday endorses Solages.


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Discredited And Servile: Western Mass Media Perverts Information About Thailand
Discredited And Servile: Western Mass Media
Perverts Information About Thailand
by Andre Vltchek
Rebellion had been crushed and Bangkok streets were covered with blood, mostly that of poor Thai peasants with their origins in the country's north or northeast. Armored vehicles had crashed through the barricades made of old tires and bamboo rods, and government-employed snipers performed had their terrible task, shooting people from the tall buildings, often aiming directly at their heads. Neither were Western or local journalists spared.
As expected, reaction of Western media was almost anonymous. "Peace was largely restored in the city Thursday, a day after a military crackdown on anti-government protesters triggered rioting in which 39 buildings were burned", trumpeted AP, the most radically pro-establishment agency, just one day after the carnage. Not surprisingly, it was AP whose news appeared for days on the front page of Yahoo News, shaping public opinion in Europe, United States, as well as Southeast Asia itself.
Early on it appeared that no one visiting the Red Shirts stronghold at the Ratchaprasong area in Bangkok could ignore the pleas of protesters for social justice. While the military coup against Thaksin Shinavatra remained one of the main grievances of the rebels, the issue was gradually fading, replaced by much more urgent ones.
by Andre Vltchek
Rebellion had been crushed and Bangkok streets were covered with blood, mostly that of poor Thai peasants with their origins in the country's north or northeast. Armored vehicles had crashed through the barricades made of old tires and bamboo rods, and government-employed snipers performed had their terrible task, shooting people from the tall buildings, often aiming directly at their heads. Neither were Western or local journalists spared.
As expected, reaction of Western media was almost anonymous. "Peace was largely restored in the city Thursday, a day after a military crackdown on anti-government protesters triggered rioting in which 39 buildings were burned", trumpeted AP, the most radically pro-establishment agency, just one day after the carnage. Not surprisingly, it was AP whose news appeared for days on the front page of Yahoo News, shaping public opinion in Europe, United States, as well as Southeast Asia itself.
Early on it appeared that no one visiting the Red Shirts stronghold at the Ratchaprasong area in Bangkok could ignore the pleas of protesters for social justice. While the military coup against Thaksin Shinavatra remained one of the main grievances of the rebels, the issue was gradually fading, replaced by much more urgent ones.
Thaksin's images gave way to the red stars on the hats and jackets of defenders of the barricades.
[For complete article links, please see source at Atlantic Free Press here.]
Most readers of Western media reports would have no clue that this was happening. Practically all talk about poverty and discrimination and arrogance of ruling elites quickly disappeared from dispatches of major press agencies. Expressions like struggle for social justice became completely self-censored by journalists in almost all English language publications and wire services.
A brilliantly performing propaganda machine went to work. Government snipers killing of protesters came to be described as 'clashes between protesters and government troops'. Murder (by one of the snipers) of Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol who had earlier switched sides and joined Red Shirts was played down while agencies, newspapers and magazines in the UK and US even invented a derogatory definition for this fallen soldier - rogue general. In the same breath, in one of its recent reports, AP described country's monarch both as 'revered' and as 'beloved'.
With no shame and almost no exception, Western mass media stood by the morally and financially corrupt Thai establishment. Murder of civilians became synonymous with 'restoring peace', shooting into the crowd was labeled as 'quelling of violence'. One could easily read between the lines as to what message the Western media tried to send to the world: "protesters got what they were asking for!"
Not once was the illegitimate government of British-born and Oxford educated Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva described as regime (favorite expression of Western media when dealing with anti corporate and anti-western governments), despite the fact that he clearly came to power through the barrel of the gun after an absolutely illegal coup-d'etat.
While no sympathy for and no outrage over the killing of civilians were expressed, one could read laments over destroyed high-end real estate properties. One day after the carnage, AP reported:
For many Bangkok residents, the 21-year-old CentralWorld was more than a shopping center. It had recently undergone a multimillion-dollar facelift and boasted more than 500 shops, including a Gap and the Japanese department store Isetan.
Larger than the Mall of America in Minnesota, CentralWorld also had a public library and what was touted as the biggest food court in Asia.
"Our hearts sank when we saw on TV what was happening to CentralWorld," said Mathurawan Deo-isares, a 31-year-old lawyer. "It was a weekend home for a lot of people. That's where they went to meet with friends, family, to dine.
Central World, Emporium and other high-end shopping malls on and around Sukumvit Road were the symbols of Southeast Asian consumerism, chain eateries and boutiques, places to be seen for rich and beautiful; as well as favorite haunts for foreign expatriates. In these establishments, one cup of coffee equals one-day wages for a farmer's family in the countryside.
Obviously, much has been written about the history of this unfortunate part of the world – Southeast Asia. But much of it is lies or half-truth. Only the bravest and the most independent of foreign correspondents – as with the expatriated Australian Wilfred Burchett in the 1960-80s – and academics – like Cornell University scholar, Benedict Anderson – ever dared to say what they saw with their own eyes, directly quoting those people and events they encountered and witnessed, not recycling what was expected from them by the establishment.
Manipulation of the news by Western correspondents who are known for artistically applied self-censorship and servility is legendary. On top of it, Thailand is the staunch ally of the United States and the West since the Vietnam War, even earlier. The US designed the local power structures, including that of the highest rank, offered propaganda know-how and then began to comment on how close to divinity certain Thai institutions became. The process can easily be followed in several books recently published abroad but banned in Thailand, as well as in an extensive report by The Economist, one of the very few English language news outlets brave and honest enough to address this propaganda charade.
It is needless to say that Southeast Asia is exactly the part of the world where manipulation of the western media reached shameful and dizzying heights.
Barbaric and brutal bombing of entire Laotian countryside during Vietnam War (by US forces, but also with enormous Thai assistance) was nicknamed a 'Secret War' reflecting the willingness of the US and European press to muzzle itself in exchange for the usual perks. The whole truth about the Western involvement in Cambodia, including its support for Khmer Rouge, is virtually unknown beyond the boundaries of this part of the world.
Western allies in Southeast Asia became virtually untouchable. The Philippines is very rarely exposed for its brutal feudal system, but are always constantly hailed for its 'democracy'.
Indonesia could certainly be designated as the textbook case – almost no country managed to escape scrutiny of the Western media as much as this, the largest archipelago on earth. The Western-backed coup (1965) against Sukarno killed between 1 and 3 million Communists, leftists, intellectuals, teachers and people from the Chinese minority. It also opened doors to unbridled capitalism, corruption, and religious (Muslim) control of the society, but mainly to the plunder of natural resources – something that the Western companies and governments are appreciating until these very days.
Naturally, most of the Western mass media outlets refused to comment on the occupation and the genocide in East Timor and well as on massacres in Aceh. Until now there is hardly any media reporting on the more than 100.000 people who died in Papua, the remote Indonesian province consistently plundered by both Western companies and Indonesian state and military.
Read dispatches of major Western press agencies and the conclusion you will arrive at is that Indonesia is a democracy (not the brutal feudal state it really is), the largest Southeast Asian economy (not the country with most of basic services like drinking water supply on the lower level than in India, even Bangladesh) and 'tolerant Muslim-majority state' (not the country where minorities are historically oppressed to the extreme, where churches periodically go up in flames and atheism is banned by law).
When confronting the Jakarta office deputy director of a major Western press agency about unwillingness to cover brutal attacks by Islamists on children from a Christian school in East Jakarta (many of them indigenous, from Papua), he laconically and cynically replied: "Well, nobody would be interested in reading about this stuff."
It is clear that people like him are hardened, emotionally bulletproof and well trained.
Back to Thailand, which is one of our 'closest allies'. Despite the cliché of being 'country of smiles' (another of our inventions from the old days), Thailand is actually a country with one of the most brutal modern histories. In many ways it is a very tough, heartless and aggressive country, which oppresses almost all intellectual, religious and ethnic minorities. But you would hardly finda report on this topic. And also, those of us who live in Southeast Asia, understanding its cultures, know that even smiles do not always mean the same things as they do in the West or elsewhere.
The longest serving (and the richest) monarch on earth still rules the country that went through 18 military coups. Some coups were relatively 'benign', but some were brutal. Pro-feudal elites to the extreme, Thailand was (and is) systematically liquidating its opposition, particularly any opposition striving for social justice. In its Northeast and elsewhere it was massacring left-wing students and leaders and it was known to even burn alleged communists in barrels of oil. No word of condemnation from the West, which kept promoting the Kingdom as excellent place for beaches, massages, cheap food and sex. And naturally – smiles: another nonsense – Thailand's per capita homicide rate – 7.9 per 100.000 inhabitants in 2009 - is the 33rd highest in the world, well above that in the United States, Peru, or Pakistan, while more foreign women are raped here, on a per capita bases, than in South Africa.
October 1973 saw some of the most brutal massacres on the streets of any Southeast Asian capital (interestingly, just one month after the fascist and US-backed military junta performed a coup in Santiago de Chile). Equally brutal was the killing in 1976 – that of at least 46 protesters - injuring and raping hundreds – mainly at the Bangkok campus of Thammasat University. All this, naturally, was in the name of the fight against communism – therefore approved and never seriously criticized by the Western media.
To make sure that nobody gets 'wrong ideas', AP published an open propaganda piece with the title: 'Experts: 'Bangkok crackdown no replay of Tiananmen', utilizing well-established anti-Chinese propaganda clichés, while proclaiming, with no proof whatsoever, that 'Thailand is a democracy, albeit one now in crisis and long prone to military coups, while China was and is staunchly authoritarian.'
For years, Thailand has been ruled by military juntas (including so called "Three Tyrants" — Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, Praphat Charusathien, and Narong Kittikachorn or Tanin Kraivixien several years later) – with the monarch being ceremonial head of state.
Anti-communism was the main rallying cry of Thai elites. In the name of anti-communism, local opposition had been liquidated, while the country participated in all regional military adventures, basically invading and consequently deeply wounding people of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia on behalf of the United States, Australia and other Western regional powers.
Tens of thousands of poor Thai women, most of them from the North, were 'encouraged' to staff whorehouses created around former Western military bases and airports, particularly Pattaya.
The human rights record of the Kingdom is thoroughly appalling and not unlike that of Indonesia, but the English speaking reader would hardly stumble over the details of those well manicured and orchestrated reports on Thailand in Western mass media. Killing and torturing of the opposition is not the only issue not ventilated on the pages of the US and European newspapers. Other topics include terrible treatment of the minorities (many non-Thai minorities do not have citizenship and therefore are deprived of basic services and assistance) and refugees (more than a million Burmese refugees, for instance, some endure near slave labor or virtual sexual slavery).
As recently as during the presidency of George W. Bush, Thailand was providing 'assistance' by flying terror suspects to interrogation sites.
On 19 September 2006 a military junta calling itself the Council for National Security overthrew Thaksin's government while he was abroad. The Yellow Shirts – a movement that defends monarchy and elites - inspired the event, which fell on the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol's reign. As long as the elite structure and the monarchy were not endangered, the US and the West did absolutely nothing to stop this gross interference in democratic process of the country. No major international organization left Bangkok and no sanctions from abroad were imposed (just try to compare it to the coup in Fiji, which endangered Australian interests there and led to both sanctions and enormous media campaign). The allies of Thailand were used to the countless military coups. Although Thailand was never actually a democracy, since the country was for decades a staunch anti-Communist warrior and ally, it was always awarded democratic status by Western media.
When I visited in February 2010 one of the main cadres of the Yellow Shirts – Pipob Tongchai (the main organizer of the occupation of Suvarnabhumi International Airport outside of Bangkok at the end of 2008), did not try to hide where allegiances of the United States and the West lie:
"The US wants to have 'traditional' government in Thailand. On 19 September the US took no action against the Thai military. Coups don't matter as long as there is continuity. There was no US intervention. And when Thailand has 'traditional;' government, it actually means that the US in fully in charge. It doesn't matter who is at its head – so Thaksin really doesn't matter."
Now Western mass media is attempting to look 'objective' once again, just as it was 'objective' in covering East Timor up to 1999, Indonesian in 1965, or Papua and the Philippines today. Their correspondents look lovely in all those helmets and bulletproof vests (I never wear them, but I admit they look great). Reporters may not tell the truth – they may not even say what those men and women came to die for on the barricades. They may call new national heroes who already died for social justice all sorts of derogatory names – but whatever they tell, they tell it with conviction and pathos. They do it 'professionally', as is expected from the members of big corporations that they actually are.
Naturally, even now one can hear some voices of reason and truth. On May 18 2010, e the International Herald Tribune published a report by Thomas Fuller and Seth Mydans which suggests that: The protest movement defiantly encamped in Bangkok has its roots as a reaction to Mr. Thaksin's ouster, but it has since expanded to resemble a large social movement by less-affluent segments of Thai society rebelling against what they say is elite that meddles to control Thailand's democratic institutions.
And the same reports later states: The government has insisted that soldiers fire only in self-defense, but the death toll has been lopsidedly among civilians since violence erupted last Thursday. A government bureau said that 34 civilians and two soldiers, including General Khattiya, had been killed since Thursday and that 256 people had been wounded, almost all of them civilians… Protesters have attributed some of the deaths to snipers who are stationed in several places around the city on top of tall buildings…
But these voices are in minority. Television networks, including CNN, BBC and even Al-Quaseera are strongly pro-government, adopting open or covert language, which basically blames protesters for the violence. It is evident that men and women they interview on the issue are either openly or covertly disagreeing with protesters and their demands and tactics. When airing interviews with Red Shirts, the most neutral and unconvincing fragments are broadcast.
Not surprisingly, Western media corporations now control almost all news distributed around the world. Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Hata notes that: "All that Japanese networks report about Thailand is just a copy of what is said on CNN, BBC and other English language news outlets. I think most of the people who are really concerned with the situation don't watch TV news, they are following news blogs, twitter and Ustream. Although, one should add that some of the radio stations are adopting critical line, including TBS radio and the other podcasting stations."
In neighboring Southeast Asian countries, the situation is even more extreme. The great majority of The Jakarta Post articles covering events in Thailand now comes directly from Reuters and the situation is not much different when it comes to publications in Bahasa Indonesia, including dailies like Sinar Harapan.
Readers in the West and in the rest of the world hear and read nothing about longing for social justice by Thai masses; there is no mention of the morally corrupt feudal state. Such points of view are simply not allowed to hit news wires and television screens. No in-depth analysis exposes how this country has been shaped before, during and after the Vietnam War by both Western neo-colonial interests, multi-national companies, and by unscrupulous and brutal Thai elites.
"The other side to media distortion and self-censorship is the way that mostly American academia have treated Thailand", explains Geoffrey C. Gunn, a long time student of Lao politics and society; "Practically the only academic who came to terms with Thai violence - and broke from smiles and Buddhist merit model - was Ben Anderson about 25 years ago after he was expelled from Indonesia (and then studied Thai)."
As Gunn concludes "What is going on now is a kind of white terror, pay back and disappearances and the entrenchment of a de facto military government. Of course big business and the West will look the other way. It was the Australian foreign minister who congratulated Abhisit on his near bloodless solution!"
It is made increasingly irrelevant what the Red Shirts really wanted to achieve, what they came to fight for and for what many of them died. Their voices – voices of the voiceless and poor men and women from the countryside and shantytowns – were silenced again; by both Thai and Western media and by the military booths and precise shots of snipers.
As the leadership of rebellion is in detention, as the purges of opposition are reigning all over Thailand, the unbridled and unopposed orgy of western misinformation on Southeast Asia continues.
Andre Vltchek (http://andrevltchek.weebly.com/) is a novelist, journalist, filmmaker, and playwright, co-founder of Mainstay Press, and a senior fellow at The Oakland Institute. A contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus, he is presently living and working in Asia and Africa. His recently published book, Oceania, is exposing Western neo-colonialism in Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.


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Table for 6 Person
SKU: 218-1-2 Categories: Tables, Table for Groups
Enjoy the indescribable view of Patong with a sunset table on the terrace.
(900 ฿ per person including 1 drink and 1 meal (free choice) – see menu cart.)
Enjoy the indescribable view of Patong with a glass of wine or a cocktail. This offer includes 1 drink and 1 meal per person included.
Offers Kitchen:
- Thaifood
- Fingerfood
- Fruits
- Salats
- Snacks
- and more
You can choose from our menu cart. We wish you a wonderful stay in the wassa homemade bar!
Offers Bar:
- Cocktails
- Beer
- Wine
- Wisky
- Wodka
- Water
- and more
If you are not motorized yourself, you can take a taxi to the Wassa-Bar.
Note: unfortunately not all taxis go to the final destination, then the way is very steep. So it can happen that you have to walk.
Tip: If you need a taxi call Mr. GEE! cheap and reliable taxi service tel. 0066/952563192
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text: Often times, carbon gets all of the attention, but as our Senior Advanced R&D Engineer, Chuck Teixeira, says, "If you haven't ridden an aluminum bike lately, you haven't ridden an aluminum bike." And the same reigns true for the Chisel. It packs some serious XC-prowess into an aluminum frame, making it the most durable, value-packed XC bike out there.


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BNP Paribas chose CCH Tagetik to take them beyond Budgeting & Planning
BNP Paribas Fortis have increased accuracy and confidence in their numbers to deliver their budgets, plans, forecasts and integrated reporting across the group in a single platform with CCH Tagetik.
Life before CCH Tagetik is that we had an architecture which was much too complex, due to the size and the history of the company.
We had data quality issues, processes that were much too labor-intensive and the biggest pain point, I would say, is that we have a high risk involved in our processes, because of the need to reconcile data that is scattered around and so on.
With CCH Tagetik we want to replace mostly legacy tools.
We chose CCH Tagetik over the other vendors because during our selection process we found that CCH Tagetik was better than all of them on different domains like robustness, flexibility, reliability, the fact that it has an integrated workflow, possibilities to report and to analyze via drill through and other different capabilities.
It will give the end users better and easier access to the same data that will be both at the granular level and higher level, according to the needs and it still will be coherent, because it will be centralized into the same system.
The benefit of it being one platform means that we can get rid of the fact that we need to reconcile data, that we won't have the redundancy of data, that we won't have possible discrepancies between figures, that we can have one source from the start to the end, from collection and building of the figures for our budget processes, until the reporting that we need to do.
I think CCH Tagetik has a lot to offer, it can bring you beyond budgeting and planning things, including stress test things and regulatory requirements that we need to accomplish, like IFRS 16 and so on, it has a lot to offer to any of its clients.
Yes, I would recommend CCH Tagetik to everybody.


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Interesting market today, to say the least. I am picking up a negative divergence on the RSI mainly on the 20 minute timeframe of all the indices, especially the NDX. Here's a chart of the SPX, blue arrows showing this:
Short term oscillators are once again approaching overbought levels… I still see a mixed picture, however. I do see some formations that look outright bullish and if the VIX breaks down to the next lower level, we could see more upside despite the divergences I'm now seeing. I also am seeing a volume pattern that does not support this afternoon's advance.
I did short HOG this morning and it ran higher, up to $20 and I added a little to it there (very small play) based on the candlestick it is producing. If it closes here or higher it will be a clear air hammer above the upper Bollinger – sorry, the odds don't favor that continuing, despite the momentum that has shot this hog up over 80% since the end of November.
A lot of hubbub at HOG today, they announced their CEO is leaving and they also announced that they are "standing behind" their low end product by "guaranteeing" that you can trade it UP within one year for what you paid for it.
That should tell you what concerns them, it's falling prices for their used HOGS (overproduced). That's DEFLATION at work and they are trying to resist. They will lose that battle as the demographics and collapsing shadow banking system will ensure it.
This is an ad released today:
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Update going into the close…
Posted byAmy Jamison at12:15 PM


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two privacy rights groups questioning law enforcement's use of automated license plate readers asked a judge Monday to order the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to provide more details on how they use the technology.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a writ against the city, county and its law enforcement departments after waiting more than eight months for a complete response to public records requests.
The groups are seeking one week of data collected by the readers, which are usually mounted on police cars and scan thousands of license plates per officer shift. The readers — which collect the license plate scanned, the time, date, GPS location and a photo — alert law enforcement to stolen and wanted vehicles.
Privacy advocates say the readers create a database that tracks movements of innocent people.
Neither department responded to requests for more details on the program. Representatives for the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department said they do not comment on ongoing litigation.
In the LAPD's response to the public records request, the department said the records could not be provided because they contain "official information" and referred to them as "investigatory files" that need to remain confidential.
The Sheriff's Department's also wrote in its response that it would not provide the data out of a concern for protecting "investigatory or security files."
"The public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record," the department wrote.
A Sheriff's Department PowerPoint presentation, which was provided in response to the public records request, seems to indicate that individuals searching their database for a specific license plate can also link over and search the servers of more than a dozen other law enforcement jurisdictions.
Investigators can check the whereabouts of a vehicle after a crime has occurred to determine where it has been, essentially mapping its location over time. They can also identify witnesses in the area where a crime has occurred.
The automated reader can scan more than 14,000 license plates during an officer's shift, reading a plate coming in the opposite direction at up to 160 mph even in poor lighting, according to the PowerPoint presentation.
Peter Bibring, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California said the legal action is an effort to determine how many plates are being collected in a week and also whether the databases, likely taken from areas with higher policing rates, may be more skewed to blacks and Latinos.
Though there is a limit to how long the departments retain the information, there are no clear legal guidelines limiting how the information is used, Bibring said.
"Our concern is they've got this technology that collects information on law abiding residents, and they're saying they can't disclose even a narrow slice of it," Bibring said. But providing such information "would help the public gauge how intrusive it is."


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Lights, Sights, Lasers: Las Vegas Metro Police Department (NV) | April 9 & 11, 2013
Las Vegas Police Department LSL Post-Event Media
Check out this recap video from Khyber Training and visit Lights, Sights, Lasers on Facebook to see pictures, videos and updates this stop with LVMPD!
Las Vegas Police Department LSL Training Information
The 2013 Lights, Sights, Lasers LE/MIL Nationwide Tour's next stop is hosted by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department on April 9th and 11th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In this intensive hands-on workshop, students will delve into basic through advanced techniques for Lights, Sights and Lasers and their application in today's modern combat weapons under demanding real-world conditions. Build mentality and firearm handling skills effectively and efficiently in actual engagement considering real-world scenarios that unfold quickly. Aided by the use of dynamic rapid acquisition sighting systems from XS® Sight Systems and Crimson Trace®, this program focuses on dynamic movement, reaction time enhancement, compressed distance and unconventional shooting positions with a focus on light, sight, and laser techniques. Instruction by Wes Doss and his Khyber Interactive Associates training team.
This program is intended for active and reserved military, certified and reserved police officers and those currently working in firearms training, tactical or specialty assignment units. Professionals needing additional information can email into firstname.lastname@example.com. Pre-registration is required; seats are limited.
No-cost training opportunity is sponsored by XS Sight Systems, Crimson Trace, Blade-Tech Holsters, Steyr Arms, Gargoyles Eyewear and Spec-Ops Brand. Online schedule of dates and locations is available at www.xs-info.com/lsl-tour.


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ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Kitchen, Jennifer
- Mehdizad Taleie, Shahin
- Mahmoudidaryan, Parisa
- 1 Arizona State University
- 1 Bakkaloglu, Bertan
- 1 Kiaei, Sayfe
- 1 English
- 1 Public
- Envelope tracking
- 1 Electrical engineering
- 1 hybrid supply modulator
- 1 hysteresis control
- 1 power amplifier
- 1 slew-rate enhancement
- 1 three-level switching converter
- Reverse Fountain Cytoplasmic Streaming in Rhizopus Oryzae
- Diné Research Practices and Protocols: An Intersectional Paradigm Incorporating Indigenous Feminism, Critical Indigenous Research Methodologies and Diné Knowledge Systems
- Developing an Augmented Reality Solution for Mapping Underground Infrastructure
- Characterization of 2D Human Ankle Stiffness during Postural Balance and Walking for Robot-aided Ankle Rehabilitation
- Using Molecular, Cellular and Bioengineering Approaches Towards Understanding Muscle Stem Cell Biology
A wideband hybrid envelope tracking modulator utilizing a hysteretic-controlled three-level switching converter and a slew-rate enhanced linear amplifierer is presented. In addition to smaller ripple and lower losses of three-level switching converters, employing the proposed hysteresis control loop results in a higher speed loop and wider bandwidth converter, enabling over 80MHz of switching frequency. A concurrent sensor circuit monitors and regulates the flying capacitor voltage VCF and eliminates conventional required calibration loop to control it. The hysteretic-controlled three-level switching converter provides a high percentage of power amplifier supply load current with lower ripple, reducing the linear amplifier high-frequency current and …
- Contributors
- Mahmoudidaryan, Parisa, Kiaei, Sayfe, Bakkaloglu, Bertan, et al.
- Created Date
- 2019


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ZalvisoTreatment for Pain
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Submits New Drug Application to the FDA for Zalviso
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Sept. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough pain, today announced that it submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Zalviso™ (sufentanil sublingual microtablet system). Zalviso is a patient-activated, non-invasive analgesic system, which delivers 15 mcg sufentanil per dose as needed for pain control, subject to a 20 minute lockout period between doses. The proposed indication for Zalviso is the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain in adult patients in the hospital setting. The NDA submission is based primarily on data from a Phase 3 registration program that included two double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials, one conducted in patients following major abdominal surgery, the other in patients following major joint replacement surgery. Additionally, a Phase 3 open-label active-comparator trial was conducted in patients following either major abdominal or orthopedic surgery, comparing Zalviso to the current standard of care, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) with morphine. Zalviso successfully achieved the primary efficacy endpoints for each of these studies. Treatment-emergent adverse events were typical of opioid usage post-operatively, were generally mild-to-moderate in nature, and were similar in both active- and placebo-treatment groups for the majority of adverse events.
"The Zalviso NDA submission represents a major milestone for AcelRx as we seek FDA approval for our first product candidate based on our proprietary sublingual sufentanil formulation and our delivery system technology," stated Richard King, president and CEO of AcelRx. "Based on the results of our clinical trials, we believe Zalviso has demonstrated an ability to achieve rapid onset of pain relief, thereby enabling patients to manage their moderate-to-severe acute pain effectively over 48 to 72 hours post-surgery. If approved by the FDA, Zalviso could provide hospitals and patients with an attractive alternative to the current standard of care, specifically IV PCA-delivered opioids."
The NDA submission required payment to the FDA of a $1.95 million NDA filing fee in the third quarter of 2013, which will be included in the Company's income statement as an additional research and development expense. FDA regulations allow for the waiver of the NDA filing fee if the Company is filing its first NDA and qualifies as a small business with less than 500 employees. The FDA requested the Small Business Administration (SBA) to determine if AcelRx was a small business, and the SBA recently ruled that AcelRx could not qualify as a small business.
Previously Reported Phase 3 Clinical Trial Results for Zalviso
The 505(b)(2) NDA submission for Zalviso is based on a comprehensive development program and includes data from AcelRx's three Phase 3 clinical trials. As previously reported, Zalviso met the FDA-agreed primary endpoints in the two double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 registration studies conducted in patients who had undergone major open-abdominal surgery or orthopedic surgery that involved either knee or hip replacement procedures. In each of these trials, patients treated with Zalviso to manage their post-surgical pain reported a greater sum of the pain intensity difference to baseline over 48 hours (SPID-48) compared to placebo-treated patients (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Adverse events considered possibly or probably related to treatment were generally mild-to-moderate in nature and similar for the majority of adverse events between Zalviso- and placebo-treated patients, with the exception of itching, which was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in the Zalviso-treated group.
The third Phase 3 study, an open-label, active-comparator trial comparing Zalviso to IV PCA with morphine demonstrated that:
- Zalviso was non-inferior (p<0.001) to IV PCA morphine based on the primary endpoint of Patient Global Assessment of method of pain control comparison over the 48-hour trial period (PGA48) as determined by the combined percentage of patients with PGA ratings of "good" or "excellent".
- A secondary comparison of the primary endpoint demonstrated that Zalviso was statistically superior to IV PCA morphine for the PGA48 endpoint (p=0.007). Statistically superior and non-inferior PGA comparisons for Zalviso compared to IV PCA morphine were also seen at the 24-hour and 72-hour time points.
- Secondary endpoints of summed pain intensity, summed pain relief, and dropouts due to inadequate analgesia over the 48-hour study period were similar between treatment groups.
Zalviso had a significantly faster reduction in pain intensity compared to IV PCA morphine in the first 4 hours of treatment. Fewer patients experienced oxygen desaturation events below 95% in the Zalviso-treated group compared to the IV PCA morphine-treated patients (p=0.028). In addition, both nurses and patients rated Zalviso significantly higher for Overall Satisfaction and Ease of Care compared to IV PCA with morphine. Overall, adverse events in the comparison trial were similar and most were mild-to-moderate in nature in both treatment groups.
About Zalviso
Zalviso is an investigational pre-programmed, non-invasive, handheld system that allows hospital patients with moderate-to-severe acute pain to self-dose with sublingual sufentanil microtablets to manage their pain. Zalviso is designed to address the limitations of IV PCA by offering:
- A high therapeutic index opioid - Zalviso uses the high therapeutic index opioid sufentanil. It offers hospitalized adult patients with moderate-to-severe acute pain the potential for effective patient-controlled analgesia with a low incidence of drug-related side effects.
- A non-invasive route of delivery - The sublingual route of delivery used by Zalviso provides rapid onset of analgesia, and also eliminates the risk of IV-related analgesic gaps and IV complications, such as catheter-related infections in IV PCA treated patients. In addition, because Zalviso patients do not require direct connection to an IV PCA infusion pump through IV tubing, Zalviso allows for ease of patient mobility.
- A simple, pre-programmed PCA solution – Zalviso is a pre-programmed PCA system designed to eliminate the risk of infusion pump programming errors.
About Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain
Moderate-to-severe acute pain management in the hospital remains a challenge for healthcare providers with up to 75% of patients reporting inadequate pain relief following surgery. Inadequate treatment of moderate-to-severe pain can lead to decreased mobility, which increases the risks for serious medical complications, including deep vein thrombosis and partial lung collapse, potentially resulting in extended hospital stays. Approximately 12 million surgical procedures per year result in moderate-to-severe pain in the U.S., with an additional 7.4 million hospital inpatients in the U.S. annually experiencing moderate-to-severe acute pain from other, non-post surgical, medical conditions. Currently, patients experiencing moderate-to-severe acute pain in the hospital may have IV PCA treatment, typically utilizing morphine or hydromorphone. However, there are deficiencies associated with the current use of IV PCA that can negatively impact patient safety, well-being and recovery. These include drug-related side effects associated with morphine or hydromorphone, complications associated with IV delivery and medication delivery errors typically associated with misprogramming of the complex IV PCA pumps.
About AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough pain. AcelRx's lead product candidate, Zalviso™, is designed to solve the problems associated with post-operative intravenous patient-controlled analgesia which has been shown to cause harm to patients following surgery because of the side effects of morphine, the invasive IV route of delivery and the complexity of infusion pumps. AcelRx has announced positive results from each of the three Phase 3 clinical trials for Zalviso and has submitted an NDA to the FDA seeking its approval. AcelRx has also announced positive top-line results for a Phase 2 trial for ARX-04, a sufentanil formulation for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain, funded through a grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The company has two additional pain treatment product candidates, ARX-02 and ARX-03, which have completed Phase 2 clinical development. For additional information about AcelRx's clinical programs, please visit www.acelrx.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements related to the therapeutic benefits of Zalviso, the process and timing of anticipated future clinical development of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals' product candidates, the commercial potential of Zalviso and the anticipated timing and therapeutic and commercial potential of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals' other product candidates. These forward-looking statements are based on AcelRx Pharmaceuticals' current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals' actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to: the fact that FDA may not accept for filing Zalviso NDA; ability to obtain regulatory approval for Zalviso, including whether the results of the Phase 3 clinical trials for Zalviso are sufficient to obtain marketing approval for Zalviso, which depends on the ability of AcelRx to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA the safety and efficacy of Zalviso based upon its findings of the Phase 3 trials; any delays or inability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of its product candidates in the United States and Europe; its ability to attract funding from partners or collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization expertise; its ability to obtain sufficient financing to complete registration of its product candidates in the United States and Europe; the market potential for its product candidates; resolution of the determination of AcelRx Pharmaceutical's status as a small business by SBA; the accuracy of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals' estimates regarding expenses, capital requirements and needs for financing; and other risks detailed in the "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in AcelRx Pharmaceuticals' U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 12, 2013. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations.
SOURCE AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Posted: September 2013
Related Articles
- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Provides Zalviso Regulatory Update - May 4, 2015
- AcelRx Provides Regulatory Update on Zalviso - March 9, 2015
- AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Receives Complete Response Letter from FDA for NDA for Zalviso - July 25, 2014
- Zalviso New Drug Application Accepted for Filing by FDA - December 2, 2013
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On Thursday, September 6, Mehuron's Supermarket posted a small cardboard sign above the empty bins next to the tomatoes and garlic. "Corn will be out for about two weeks," it read.
The corn, which comes from Neill farm on North Road in Waitsfield, is reported by many to be the best sweet corn in The Valley, but, unfortunately, bears have been beating customers to the late-summer staple.
"I haven't seen the bears, but I've seen all the signs in the field," the farm's owner, Elwin Neill, said, citing evidence of tracks and scat among his partially flattened crops. Already, Neill estimates that he's lost about 10 percent of his sweet corn to the bear's clandestine feasts and, as a result, he's been unable to keep up with local demand.
One town over, at DeFreest dairy farm in Warren, David DeFreest has been having the same problem. "They come in, they knock it all down and they eat it," DeFreest said of the recent outbreak of bear activity among his feed corn fields, and outside hunters have already shot five bears on his property this summer.
"Two years ago, it was pretty bad," DeFreest said, estimating that bears destroyed two acres of his crops in 2010. "But this year, it's worse."
Currently, there are about 6,000 bears in Vermont—the largest population since Europeans first settled in the state—and while bears can get all the food they need from the forest, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department's website, "They are opportunists."
In other words, "They're going where they can find food," Neill said. "And they like sweet corn, especially mine." Both Neill and DeFreest believe that bears have been getting into their crops more this year than last because, due to poor growing conditions, their usual sources of wild fruit and berries are not as plentiful.
"There aren't any apples for them to eat," DeFreest said. "Last year, [the problem] wasn't as bad, because there were tons and tons of apples."
Farmers can hope for more fruit next fall, but right now the only thing they can do is keep an eye on their property and try to stop any bears before they get too deep into their fields. And Neill hopes to have his corn for sale again at Mehuron's in another week or so.
That is, "if I can get to it before the bears do," he said. "They seem to be on a better picking schedule than me."


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