The weather is expected to push the load on the O&R electric system past 1,300 megawatts — today’s forecast is for 1,382 megawatts — placing O&R on Heat Watch status. O&R’s all-time electric demand record is 1,617 megawatts which was set on August 2, 2006.

The Heat Watch advisory means that field crews are focusing primarily on emergency work, with normal work being performed as system conditions permit. The advisory also means that distribution system engineers closely monitor the loads on distribution circuits, transformer banks and other key system components to detect any heat-related issues so any concerns are addressed quickly.

During these watches, O&R asks customers to conserve energy as much as possible to avoid a strain on the power system.

O&R offers these tips to Rocklanders as they prepare for the storm:

• For safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, call local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.

• Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences. Supervise children so that they are not in the vicinity and keep pets on a leash.

• If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car and make rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away, and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.

• Stock up on non-perishable food, bottled water, manual can opener, baby supplies and pet food. Set your refrigerator and freezer controls to their coldest settings. Fill the bathtub with water.

• Have emergency equipment within reach — portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Update your personal list of emergency phone numbers. Keep O&R’s toll-free number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.

• If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it or that someone else will report it. To be sure the outage is reported, please call O&R toll-free at 1-877-434-4100 to let O&R know what happened. The more information you can provide, the more O&R can help you.

• Remember, if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.

• If a family member relies on electrically operated medical devices, secure a portable generator or make alternate arrangements for care. O&R does not provide customers with generators.

• Keep at least a half-tank of gas in your car. Consider having extra cash on-hand, in case ATM machines don’t work.

• Listen for storm alerts on the radio. In case of power outages, O&R will keep the stations updated on repair progress.

• Learn how to manually open and close any electrically powered garage door, security door or gate.

In addition to its own overhead line crews, underground line crews and its gas department crews, O&R has contractors ready with heavy equipment to help if there is storm-related damage to the O&R system.

Donovan said O&R Emergency Management planners also are consulting with neighboring utilities about the impact along the hurricane’s path and have been discussing preparations with the various mutual aid organizations to which the company belongs.

Associate Broker, Baer & Macintosh Realty, Nyack, NY

 Someone said to me yesterday, “I’m not putting my house on the market now. Nothing’s selling in Rockland County!”  This was after the recent New York State Association of Realtors report announced lower July home sales. According to the report, the sale of existing homes fell nearly 37 percent in the Lower Hudson Valley in July. Although lower than the national average, it was at least better than the statewide drop of 50 percent.

 Personally, I’ve had an outstanding couple of months: closings on properties in Rockland and Orange Counties since June, more under contract for September and October, and a really nice collection of homes in Rockland, Orange and Westchester counties that I’ve listed that I know will sell.

 I guess I can see how someone might come to that conclusion. Recent news that housing sales in not only in Rockland County but nationwide went down last month, sent a shiver through wall street and got the talking heads rambling on about a double-dip recession.

 Economists blamed it on the end of the government’s stimulus package for home buyers – that everybody who was going to buy did so before the program ended in June. They say it sucked buyers into June like a vacuum cleaner sucks dust bunnies and left July hanging on the line.

 To that I say, “So what?” This is still a good time to sell!

 For one thing, interest rates are a lifetime low, as evidenced by the recent announcement of reduced “jumbo” loan rates for buyers of homes over $415,000. Buyers can get much more home for their mortgage dollar. We’re also seeing more qualified buyers, because banks have tightened loan requirements, we see many more buyers offering larger down payments to secure financing. I’ve even seen more cash deals than ever – we had 60 in Rockland County in July. I just closed a 1.3 million deal where the buyer bought with cash. Who needs banks!

 The point is, there seems to be a lot of unnecessary hysteria out there about selling a home right now. True, you won’t get the crazy money from the 2007 days. But you can still sell a home at a good price. Several of my sales over the last few months had bidding wars between motivated buyers reaping over listing price sales, even as much as $45,000 above asking price!

 The secrets to selling that homeowners need to know are marketing your home effectively, pricing it aggressively not by “giving it away”, but by doing the math to know that the property will appraise, then by using every tool in your Realtor’s tool box to bring in buyers. Don’t be discouraged by one month’s sales figures. There are buyers out there! I talk to them everyday! People move every month! More and more buyers are interested in Rockland and Orange Counties because of their proximity to New York City their affordable prices! Many corporations are moving personnel to this area. Several firms are in the midst of major relocations and their executives are looking hard at Rockland as it still offers great value, wonderful schools and lifestyle. For long term investments too, Rockland has got to be a good bet. With the Tappan Zee bridge expansion and the new rail link to the city going ahead prices and popularity will soar. If you haven’t seen buyers and you are on the market, then something is sadly wrong. It’s typically the price, sometimes condition and poor marketing. With a huge inventory that’s competing against you, all 3 need to be correct to make a sale.

 My advice to sellers, if you’re retiring, or moving to another job, or have other personal circumstances that say it’s time to sell, then go ahead. Buyers can see the value, if the value’s there.  

 Want to know if your home would sell? Call me for a confidential and candid evaluation; Call 845 598 5083.

I couldn’t have said it better myself….

“President Chooses Wrong Side – Again”
by Charles Hurt

Ultimately, politics is all about priorities.
Whose defense a politician rushes to first tells you whose side he is on. And will always be on.
No amount of backpedaling and obfuscation later by even the most magical of politicians can erase the colors he has chosen.
So, after weeks of his administration’s repeatedly dodging the scary issue of whether a mosque should be built within sneering distance of Ground Zero, President Obama decided to pick a side.
In a roomful of Muslim-Americans observing a religious feast at the White House, Obama once again embraced them first over the victims, survivors and rememberers of 9/11.
With our soldiers still fighting wars overseas and atrocities still committed regularly in the name of Islam, Obama did not-standing there in the White House-see the opportunity before him to demand that Muslim leaders do more to scrub away the blight in their religion.
Nor did he see the opportunity, given his personal legitimacy among Muslims, to demand that the Islamic world practice the tolerance and love of freedom that is the hallmark of the very civilizations that the terrorists want to obliterate – again, in the name of Islam.
Instead, in the sea of pain and agony that lingers from that horrible terrorist attack nine years on, Obama determined once again that it is Americans who must do more.
Survivors of 9/11 need to just get over it.
They really need to be more tolerant.
Just as Obama always seems to side against Israel in Middle East matters, Obama has once again sided against a massive group of Americans on this issue.
If we have learned nothing else from the plotters of the Ground Zero mosque, it is that they certainly are not tolerant of those who justifiably feel maligned by their designs.
At the very least, they are provocateurs willing to insult those innocents upon whom hell on earth was unleashed nine years ago – in the name of Islam.
In a speech to the Muslim world last year in Cairo, Obama made the astonishing assertion that “it is part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”
You cannot say you were not warned.

Eight stunning apartments comprising one 2 bedroom with seperate entrance, 5 1 bedrooms and 2 studio feature sparking hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and top of the line cabinetry. The one and two bedroomed units feature washer dryers too. All soundproofed to highest standards with new windows, air conditioning and video entry system, who wouldn’t want to live there?

Hurry along if you want to secure one, they have only been on the market 24 hours and several have gone already!

Call Vanessa Saunders at 845 598 5083 for more information or a showing appointment.

Sunday Evening Farm-to-Table Menu

This week, perfect Pomona Peaches from Conklin’s and Sweet Honey-Orange Melon from Talligerro’s in New Paltz…Dine’s Farm Eggs, Tuscan Kale, Heirloom Pork….

As the summer moves along, Chef-de-Cuisine George DeMarsico and I continue to scour and haunt our Farmer’s Markets looking for the best these sources have to offer.  We bring these finds into our larder as center-pieces, seasonings, sauces, and garnishes for our menu presentations.  We are proud to incorporate the authentic goods of our intimate region – from field, pasture and orchard to waters fresh and waters salty. We prepare a new five-course menu as inspired by the weeks offerings in our market visits.  Bon Appetit!

Sunday Evening Farm-to-Table Menu 

served in Five Courses

$55.00 per person

served from 5:00 till 8:00

Xaviar’s at Piermont

506 Piermont Avenue, Piermont, NY 10968

please call for reservations: (845) 359-7007

Also Happy to offer…

Sunday Cowboy Rib-Eye Dinner for Two

at Restaurant X

Served in Three Courses

$75.00

Two Classic Caesar Salads

&

Grilled Cowboy Rib-Eye for Two

40oz of Aged Beef with a Cayenne & Brown Sugar Crust

[this is the steak that slayed Bobby Flay]

Creamed Spinach

Potato Gratin

Sauce Bearnaise

&

Two Classic Crème Brûlée

&

Two Glasses of one of the Hudson Valley’s Most Heralded Wines,

Millbrook Vineyards’ Pinot Noir in an exclusive Xaviar’s bottling.

This 3 Course Cowboy Rib-Eye dinner for two is $75.00

(not including tax and gratuity)

Please call for reservations: (845) 268-6555

Restaurant X & Bully Boy Bar

117 North Route 303, Congers, NY   10920

This dinner will be available Sunday Evening at Restaurant X only. 

Hope to see you and Bon Appetit

Through a curriculum of academically challenging lessons, infused by the arts and informed by a unique understanding of a child’s developmental needs — the hallmark of Waldorf education — Green Meadow Waldorf School educates its students to become well-rounded individuals capable of bringing purpose and direction to their lives, ready to think on their own, stand for themselves and act with empathy toward others.

At Green Meadow, students’ capacities for learning are awakened and enriched by an education brought to life through storytelling, movement, recitation, dramatic acting, music, drawing and painting. An emphasis on oral expression in all subjects enables our students to acquire confident public speaking skills. The carefully constructed curriculum includes a comprehensive humanities program based on the great literature and the history and culture of world civilizations. Green Meadow’s excellent math program creates proficiency in arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry and calculus. Science offerings in biology, earth sciences, chemistry and physics contain a strong empirical component, allowing students to learn scientific principles through first-hand experience and observation.

An array of specialty classes complements and supports Green Meadow’s main academic curriculum:

A comprehensive physical education and sports program enables students to learn to move and compete in healthy ways. Green Meadow students also learn the art of eurythmy, a form of movement in which language and music are expressed through movement and gesture.
Through the extensive music program, all Green Meadow students take up the recorder in the first grade, begin stringed instrument lessons in the third grade–with an option to switch to wind or percussion in the fifth grade–and develop their musical training through instruction in theory, chorus, orchestra and band.
Classes in handwork and practical crafts stimulate both the imagination and the intellect. Students are taught knitting in first grade, move on to learn woodworking, pottery and metalwork among other crafts, and by twelfth grade are skilled at bookbinding.
Instruction in two foreign languages (Spanish and German) begins in the first grade and continues through the twelfth (students select one language in eighth in which to concentrate through twelfth); many of the high school students choose to apply their language skills by spending a semester abroad through the comprehensive Foreign Exchange Program.
Green Meadow graduates are accepted at selective undergraduate and graduate colleges and universities around the country. With the benefit of their rich, interdisciplinary education, they pursue a wide range of interests and professions and go on to make significant marks on the world.

Recognized internationally as a leading Waldorf school, Green Meadow Waldorf School offers an Early Childhood program (Parent/Child, Nursery and Kindergarten classes) and self-contained grades, one through twelve, in the Lower School and High School. The bucolic 11-acre campus allows your child’s education to occur in a beautiful natural environment, while the proximity to major highways enables a diverse student body of nearly 400 children who come from dozens of towns in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area.

Accreditation
Green Meadow Waldorf School is an accredited full member of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA), an association that strengthens and supports Waldorf schools and informs the public of the benefits of Waldorf education.

Green Meadow is also an accredited member of the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), a voluntary association of more than 140 independent schools in the state of New York. All the schools are non-profit institutions that are chartered by the Board of Regents, individually governed by elected boards of trustees, and privately financed by tuitions, fees, and contributions. NYSAIS offers services to administrators, teachers, trustees and parents involved in private schools from preschool through twelfth grade.

If you are considering sending your children to this wonderful school and are looking at living closeby, give me a call and I’ll send you a list of currently available listings to suit your personal requirements.

Vanessa Saunders | Associate Broker – Baer & McIntosh RE | Tel: 845 598 5083

Buying a House:

Advantages:
• Buying a house increases your asset.
• Houses have a guaranteed appreciation over a period of time.
• You don’t have to pay monthly rentals.
• Buying a house gives you a sense of ownership. Once you pay the loans taken on the house, you own the house.
• You can decorate your house in the way you like without getting any permission from others.

Disadvantages:
• You are responsible for all the maintenance that is to be taken care of.
• You have to think a lot before relocating to another place.
• You have to pay the property taxes.
• You have to pay the Stamp duty, broker’s fee, insurance costs, society charges, registration fees etc.
• Banks never finance your entire home loan. They may take care of 80-90% of your home loan requirement and the remaining amount is to be paid by you.

Renting a House:

Advantages:
• House maintenance is taken care of by the landlord
• No property taxes
• If you do not like the locality of your house, you can change it at any time. You don’t have to think a lot about relocating.

Disadvantages:
• Landlord can increase the rent.
• The landlord can send you a notice to vacate the place at any time on violation of any term or condition mentioned in the home rent agreement
• You have to pay forever
• You can’t modify your apartment

Conclusion:
Buying or renting a house depends upon the personal opinion of each individual, since both the option has its own advantages and disadvantages. Taking a decision also depends upon the financial status of the individual. For a person who desire flexibility of changes, renting a house will be a good option. On the other hand, if one is looking for a long term investment and wishes to increases his asset, buying a house will be the best option.

Buying a home is one of the smartest financial decisions most people will ever make. It offers an excellent investment prospect. If you rent, you’ll always be poor. The longer you rent, the less likely you are to buy. If you have saved some amount for the deposit, buying a house is the best option. By renting a house, you pay a lot for what you are not going to be the owner. By paying rents for a long time, you are not able to save for a deposit to buy a house.

It is still possible to buy a home with a low downpayment and interest rates are at historic lows. Speaking with a mortgage professional will give you an idea as to whether or not you are able to buy given your current credit rating, and income. Call me for a list of my client’s recommended mortage bankers. 845 598 5083.

This beautifully renovated late 19th century cottage is situated steps from the  De Wint house where at the end of the war, in May of 1783, Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander, met with
Washington to sign orders for peaceful evacuation of British troops from New York City. Now owned and maintained as George Washington’s Headquarters The De Wint House is dedicated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public, 10 to 4 daily.

I’d love to live in this charming house a short walk from main street of Tappan

The fenced-in cottage garden is charming, with it’s meandering path leading through the pretty plantings and provides a shaded picnic spot with sunny patio. I can imagine it full of friends enjoying barbecues on the spacious deck, or picnics under the shady tree at the bottom of the garden. One of my favorite spots is the sun-room, where I can imagine sipping cold lemonade on sultry evenings while reading about the vivid history of Major John Andre and his subsequent demise at the hands of a hangman on the hilltop at Tappan.

Winter evenings in would be equally as wonderful with a cosy fireplace providing a warm glow throughout, and I’d love to entertain friends in the spacious dining room adjacent to the new kitchen.

A combination of history, charm, character and modern conveniences make this a wonderful home. Something I’d certainly love to call my own, maybe you would too?

Come and see it for yourself.

Call Vanessa for appointment or for further information about this home or Tappan, at 845 598 5083