63 Responses to:
THE SAGA OF THE GREEN FLOATER

# 1. 7/2/10 10:37 AM
Not to worry bob. That new pedestrian bridge will be able to accommodate a single lane to any emergency vehicle needing quick passage across the river.

Editor's Note: no it can't. it will accommodate a passenger car if it has to, but not an ambulance or fire truck.

# 2. 7/6/10 12:10 AM
Animals have more rights than humans now. Get used to it. Just talk to those poor farming families in a little California town who have had their water turned off because of a stupid endangered fish. Last I heard more than half the town is unemployed. Their family farms are ruined and their spirts are crushed. They have been betrayed by the a government who purports to protect them. I'd like to call it nonsense but some of these situations have now crossed the line into criminal. Maybe your town should hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit? At minimum, this is premeditated negligence.

# 3. 7/6/10 12:11 AM by Fairport mom
I love our community. This area has some of the most gorgeous countryside I've seen anywhere in the world. My family is here. And yet ... with the kids close to moving out on their own, we debate whether or not to stay in a state so incredibly dysfunctional. It's a tough decision.

# 4. 7/6/10 12:33 AM by Jolene
Al Gore has "green floaters" at his house and no one seems to care.

# 5. 7/6/10 12:51 AM by dave
Let's not forget that Pete Grannis, head of the DEC, is a hard-left leaning, tree-hugging greenie who has for decades trampled on individual and private property rights in the name of 'saving the environment.' Let's also not forget that he has been sucking off the public teat for four decades.

That man is all about himself and his agenda.

# 6. 7/6/10 2:22 AM
I would be so pissed off if I lived in Mt. Morris. Our government really needs to get it's head out of its ass and worry about it's citizens not the green mussel. Another stupid idea that came from lawmakers - where do they think of this crap?

# 7. 7/6/10 6:30 AM by Liberty Tom - Rochester, NY
This is just another example of State bureaucrats justifying their existence. I pray every day that when I wake up, that the State government will have shut down. All State workers are told not to report. They won't get paid for the day or weeks either.

If State workers are told to not report for work, will anyone notice? Yes - progress can again be made in advancing the standard of living in the State. Good luck Gramma - hopefully that heart attack won't be during the time that the bridge is out.

# 8. 7/6/10 6:33 AM
These people earn 73% more than us private sector people, so I'm sure they must be right.

# 9. 7/6/10 6:36 AM by frank - rochester
Are you not on the town board?Can we do anything to stop this foolishness?Surely, the town would not agree to put our lives in danger,because of this new bridge.

# 10. 7/6/10 6:42 AM by frank - rochester
It looks like one would have to take route 63 to Jones bridge rd.Which is about a 10 minute drive.Not good!

# 11. 7/6/10 6:57 AM
Bob, i guess you forgot when they redid the bridge at the other end of town in the early 90's. It's the bridge down by the bus garage and all the main st traffic was rerouted to run over the greenway using the foot bridge that goes over buck run-the one Aubrey got in trouble for jumping off into the creek. That bridge handled all the vehicle traffic with no problem.

# 12. 7/6/10 7:09 AM by Mario - Brockport
Well, now that government bureaucrats have handled this problem they are free to move onto healthcare. All is well in our great land.

Thank you so much Campaigner-In-Chief, Barry O.

# 13. 7/6/10 7:16 AM by Carl - wayne
I am one the 90 + % and growing that agree with you. Where are the local politicians on this one?

# 14. 7/6/10 7:18 AM by rjd
That is almost as stupid as NASA being put in charge of improving Muslim relations

# 15. 7/6/10 7:23 AM by Ron
Thanks for the upcoming traffic update.

I cross that bridge to get to 390S. The construction on Main St. was bad enough, for the past...seems like 10 yrs.

FUDEC

# 16. 7/6/10 7:24 AM by lucky wife - Mount Morris, N.Y.
Good morning Bob,

We can use the road behind the canning factory, unless you know something I don't. I agree with you on the stupidity of our government, it's never ending.

# 17. 7/6/10 7:25 AM by roy b. - swain, ny
This is a classic example of buracracy gone amok. I also, have fished below the bridge here on the Genesee. The water runs fast and is full of silt. Above the spillway dam a new walkway is being built for the Greenway pedestrians. At cost of approximately $3 million.I think this is a bit of overkill. The bridge supports I believe are from the old Pennsylvania Railroad going over the river. When I am crossing the road bridge during high water, there is an uneasy feeling in my stomach. The water is flowing that fast. Let the DOT do their job. The DEC is on the wrong side of the bridge on this one. I have seen floaters but they weren't green! (How are your bees doing?)

# 18. 7/6/10 7:47 AM by K.Murray - Charlotte, NC
Bob -

I really don't mean this to sound as nasty as it might, but that is an example of one of the reasons I left my home in Rochester for North Carolina.

NC is far from perfect but it doesn't have the "make a law or regulation" government NY has.

# 19. 7/6/10 8:01 AM by MIKE
I love fishing, and fishermen are always looking out for protecting trout and their habitat...but, even if there were precious trout in that stretch of the river, and you made your argument, I'd be right there with you saying to drive into the river. No reason to put humans at risk, because of some bug. I understand bugs have a purpose, but we have plenty and I'm sure we'll all survive without a few from a small section of a river.

Good luck grandmothers and houses with faulty wiring!

# 20. 7/6/10 8:04 AM
And maybe the New York Department of Environmental Conservation should stand on the bridge and jump off. How absolutely absurd. You are so right, another example of the blind stupidity that permeates our government.

Is there no appeal, no "higher authority?" How 'bout the keepers of the Mt. Morris Dam, the US Army Corps of Engineers? Is the DEC really "THE" final authority?

# 21. 7/6/10 8:06 AM by GEORGE ( THE OTHER ONE!) - Gananoque Ontario CANADA
*

Time to 'lawyer up'! IF this isn't a case that needs to be addressed in court then what is? These enviro-wackos need to be stopped and this could be the first step.

# 22. 7/6/10 8:18 AM by hunter - e. bethany, ny
It is all about power, non-electric.

# 23. 7/6/10 8:22 AM by Gary - Mount Morris, NY
This can't happen.... It will kill current businesses that rely on the traffic flow as well as the "new revival" that is under way in the village. New York's disregard of the people who invest in business is why the State is in the shape it's in. We need to mobilize and fight this plan....

# 24. 7/6/10 8:24 AM
Why can't your town protest loudly about this and change the minds of the DEC? I can't believe the DEC is that immovable on this issue. Why would they be if all evidence says the green floater is no where near the bridge?

If they don't listen then call on the town people to have a mass demonstration to draw attention to the problem. Don't just sit back and cry that the DEC and NY state is a greedy, stupid meanie.

# 25. 7/6/10 8:27 AM
I don't remember the details, but somewhere on the southeastern coast a small tourist community had its bridge washed out by a storm. Government said it would take a year or two to replace the bridge. Businesses on the little spit of land said we can't afford to wait that long, got together, and had the bridge rebuilt at their own expense in like 6 weeks. It's a beautiful example of private efficiency versus government inefficiency ... could you/did you write about it?

# 26. 7/6/10 8:39 AM
I hate hearing so many voices crap on the government and on agencies like the DEC.

You don't know what greed and stupidity really is until you dump government and let predators take over our lives. The rich and powerful will have no impediments to having THEIR way with us.

To the ones who hate the DEC---it's your environment, do you want no one protecting it for you and the rest of us?

Do you think that either dumping government or radically reducing it's power won't bring out greedy, sadistic predators to prey on us? You are very naive if you do.

Editor's Note: thank you, imam obama, for reading my site.

# 27. 7/6/10 8:42 AM by Dave - Rochester, NY
My wife & I are life long Upstate New Yorkers that love living here for all we have.... except for the totally, completely, 1000% dysfunctional government & cultural busybody activism.

# 28. 7/6/10 8:43 AM by Mike - Greece
An DEC official with a normal sized penis would have compared the environment that the green floater likes and the conditions of the river and would have made a decision that there are no floaters. What you have is a person who has little to show for his genitalia, so he makes a "man" decision hoping that this will augment his undersized plumbing.

Editor's Note: takes one to know one

# 29. 7/6/10 9:20 AM by Ryan - Victor, NY
The entire Upstate region is being destroyed by an invasive species that has migrated up from the Albany and New York Metro area. This is a parasitic organism that has a natural ability to target the most prosperous of a species. It has led to the rapid decline in population of the area's dominant predator.

Will the DEC protect me from this?

# 30. 7/6/10 9:21 AM by kittynana - Lewiston NY (come visit!)
It's no skin off their Ashtabula to be F-tards because their homes and grandmothers are all downstate.

# 31. 7/6/10 9:31 AM
When you can tax the people with impunity there is no end to the lawmaking and services that we do not want or need.

The people are morons and will be pummeled into the poor house thinking they are doing good in the name of war, Al Gore's Green floaters, The schooling of kids etc, etc, etc.

# 32. 7/6/10 9:32 AM by NascarDad - Richmond, VA
Wow, this story reminds me of why I left. The state government is full of brown floaters that are apparently immune to flushing...

# 33. 7/6/10 9:32 AM by The Answer Man
Put the crane in the river and take whatever consequence the DEC determines. Also, what is the name of the DEC worker who made these claims about the Green Floater? I'm sure it wasn't the DEC who was this stupid but most likely just one individual who got carried away with his "power". Stupid is as stupid does. Don't let stupidity put your life and property at risk. Please try and come up with a more difficult problem in the future as this one was too easy to figure out.

# 34. 7/6/10 9:32 AM by Donald
Thanks goodness the astronauts didn't discover green floaters in space! We would have had to shut down the entire space program.

Editor's Note: uh, didn't barack obama already do that?

# 35. 7/6/10 9:38 AM by gww - rochester, ny
As one of those tree hugging environmentalist whackos the conservatives like to bash, this is my take.

I am in favor of saving and protecting any and all endangered species of plant and animal life on this planet. All living things are interconnected in one way or another. Losing one species, no matter how negligible an affect on the rest of the planet, could have consequences down the road that we can't foresee.

With that being said, if the green floater is not even in this river as you suggest, then I agree that this decision is downright stupid.

When decisions like this are made, there should be some corroborating evidence submitted to support it.

# 36. 7/6/10 9:49 AM by Hardware
Species come and go. There aren't too many reasons to keep some from disappearing especially if the habitat is not conducive to their specific needs to survive. A hospital was delayed in our town when a spotted owl made it's nest in the steel structure. Instead of moving the nest and owl.....everything went on hold. The poor workers on the project disbanded to feed their families and the construction company had to postpone other projects to complete the hospital when the owls had hatched. It just amazes me how government works.

Editor's Note: recent road work in utah held up by a red-tailed hawk nest. most common hawk in north america, nowhere near endangered, and people are out of work while the chicks grow. crazy.

# 37. 7/6/10 10:03 AM
Closing the bridge and forcing such a long detour is stupid.

1) Find a judge to overrule DEC, or if that fails, 2) crane contractors have solved much more difficult situations before, and should be able to solve this one. For example, place a bigger crane with a longer reach on the bank next to the bridge.

# 38. 7/6/10 10:30 AM by Tom Bastian - Fairport, NY
God save us all from Albany er New York City know nothing liberals. The sky is falling the sky is falling said Henny Penny.

# 39. 7/6/10 10:50 AM by drawlr - slc, ut
Here's one for you. The irrigation company in my Utah town has a difficult time providing water for its shareholders during dry years and often has to resort to rationing. Part of the problem is that during the floods of 1983, a pipeline that took water from a small stream farther up the canyon to the reservoir was destroyed and never replaced. Several years ago, the irrigation company raised the shareholders' rates in order to accumulate funds faster for replacing the pipeline, as well as other repairs. Recently, the irrigation company applied to have the pipeline replaced. All was well until some people who camp in the canyon complained that if the stream were pipelined, they would no longer get to hear the babbling brook as it ran by. So, in order to placate these vermin, the Corps of Engineers did not approve the application. The irony of it is that the stream does not even have enough water in it year round to support fish and it seeps into the ground before reaching the reservoir and is therefore wasted, except to the moronic campers who get to hear it babble farther up the canyon before it seeps into the ground. Saving an inconsequential mussel is bad enough; but wasting water that could be put to good use just because a few dorks want to hear it run by takes the cake.

Regarding this endangered species thing. Whatever happened to survival of the fittest? If some of these creatures can't cut the mustard, maybe it's time for them to be replaced by more viable life forms. Just like here in Utah and the efforts to save some stupid sucker or chub or Cutthroat Trout. Man, if they can't survive without being mollycoddled, let the rainbows and bass take over. Then there'll be more fish, more fun, and fewer restrictions. As it is, you have to walk around with a catalog of fishing regulations to make sure that you're not violating some obscure rule.

Man thinks that by saving these creatures he is keeping some dreamed-up ecosystem in balance, when in fact he might be screwing it up by messing with the natural cycle. Nature changes all the time. It's in a constant cycle of birth, life, decay, and death, on both a micro and a macro scale. Maybe Man is screwing up the order of things by trying to keep them the same.

# 40. 7/6/10 11:02 AM by Dan - Leicester NY
I am your neighbor accross that river, and without the aid of Mt.Morris Emergency Crews in our locality, or vise-versa, people and property will get destroyed or hurt..but at least there will be a beautiful new pedestrian bridge worth millions of taxpayer dollars for the employees from the canning factory to fish off of..Hey, maybe we can wheel the ambulance crews & equipment over that new bridge..as long as they don't get hooked by a bad cast..too late...we all have already been hooked! Bob, If I remember correctly, back when the Road Job was Bid, in the Bid was to replace the Old Bridge with a new Bridge, but the State said it was too much money, so they rejected all bids, took the bridge out of the construction, and re-bid the Project. Now, here we are. They say the Dollars from the Pedestrian Bridge are not connected to the DOT and it is the DEC funds that are paying for this Bridge..but what is more important in this aspect.? A bridge that connects our 2 Villages & Towns with Vital services and will not send Thousands of Tractor Trailers a day past our School? or is it more important to make sure people can fish off a new bridge and snowmobiles can cross the Greenway without riding on the old bridge?...Hmmm We all know the Answer now. This has turned into the biggest joke ever and this is NYS Politics at its best!

# 41. 7/6/10 11:12 AM by drawlr - slc, ut
To gww in Rochester: That ecosystem interdependency theory is a bunch of hogwash crammed down our throats by power-mongering algoreans and their ancestors. Whatever happened to survival of the fittest? (See my post elsewhere here.) Destroying millions of crickets and grasshoppers here in Utah with poison bait and spraying has no effect other than to save crops and gardens. Were we to completely exterminate them, I can think of no ill effect, other than to take one item off my chickens' menu. The seagulls have plenty of stuff to eat other than crickets and grasshoppers. Exterminate the Green Floater and I bet no one, other than someone whose job it is to pay attention to such things, would notice. I, for one, am glad that dinosaurs are not still running around terrorizing the countryside.

Editor's Note: agreed

# 42. 7/6/10 11:24 AM by CALVIN PITZRICK - ROCHESTER,NY
Bob, the liberals are at it again! They want to destroy America! They start in Mt. Morris with the bridgework and all of this extends to the Dying South because of the oil spill which they probably caused too! Did you know that most of all of these oil skimming ships in the Gulf have been "grounded" because the Liberal environmentalists say that they have to be checked, for months, for oil contamination before they are allowed to clean up the oil spill! The Founding Fathers of this Country wouldn`t have put up with all of this crap!

Cal Pitzrick

# 43. 7/6/10 12:08 PM by Garry - Churchville,NY
Maybe they could put some of those green floaters in that nasty a$$ water next to the pier in Charlotte. Wait I think there were "green floaters" already there at least it smelled like it.

# 44. 7/6/10 12:47 PM by GB
One essential skill required to survive in today's world is how to keep your sanity when the insane are running the assylum.

# 45. 7/6/10 12:47 PM by GEORGE ( THE OTHER ONE!) - Gananoque Ontario CANADA
*

"I, for one, am glad that dinosaurs are not still running around terrorizing the countryside."

Oh but you are wrong sir. They are still terrorizing the countryside. They were elected to do so.

# 46. 7/6/10 1:14 PM by Sparky - NC
Your poll is incomplete. Put all the DEC wackos in the bottom of the river, and then you can put the crane wherever you need to.

Patting ourselves on the back once again for getting out of New York. Like you said, beautiful, but . . .

# 47. 7/6/10 1:24 PM by tw - rochester
That is so darn stupid. There's got to be a balance between the needs of humans and the needs of nature. There CAN be a balance, too, but people just don't want to spend the extra effort to work on it. Sadly, extremists on the left and the right influence policy too much, and leave rational thought out of the picture.

And I agree completely with the government butting in all the time, especially when it comes to the government deciding who someone can marry, and under what terms you can divorce. The government has no right to decide if it is right or wrong for gays to marry, but they must but in all the time anyway. That's not right!

Or they try to decide by what method a person can die when they are old, when it isn't any of their business. Infuriating.

# 48. 7/6/10 1:40 PM by Beth - Canandaigua, NY
And when Prince Cuomo is elected, it will get worse.

I am frustrated with NY. Except for a 4 year stint at a SUNY school I am a life long Ontario County resident (which was rated a couple of years ago one of the best rural counties to live in the whole COUNTRY).

Anyway it is not NY government that bothers me. It is my fellow NY'ers who insist on re-electing these idiots over and over again. Prince Cuomo and Bob Duffy are already slated to win. And how many people will even read what they stand for or what their ideas are? Very few. And because of this, we get problems just like you are describing.

These idiots in Albany will keep doing what they are doing because everytime they are re-elected it is the same as giving them permission.

# 49. 7/6/10 2:04 PM by Chuck - Albion, NY
From the movie, The Hangover, I would like to pass this line to #26. "You are literally to stupid to insult."

# 50. 7/6/10 4:34 PM by Jim Faulkner - Salt Lake City, Utah
Sounds like New York is run like K N R S radio in Salt Lake City its not what is best for the people its whats best for the people that has the power don't give up the fight keep on the country needs people like you to help keep things in line. Bob KSL radio in salt lake city may be looking for someone you might check into it we miss you and would like to see you back on the air no mater what station.

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