The Newsroom
- 8/30/10
Hamptons.com
Congressman Tim Bishop announced that he has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to open a wide swath of the waters off Block Island to recreational fishing for Striped Bass.
The bill (H.R. 6092) would amend the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act to allow recreational fishing for Atlantic Striped Bass in the Block Island Sound transit zone, an area of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone lying to the north and west of an invisible line connecting Montauk Point Lighthouse, Block Island Southeast Lighthouse, and Port Judith Lighthouse in Rhode Island.
Recreational fishermen are currently allowed to transport Striped Bass through the transit zone if they have been taken from other waters. The bill allows the Secretary of the Interior to limit the catch in the area should it be necessary for the conservation and management of the local Striped Bass population.
Read more »- 8/27/10
Smithtown Matters
As of August 22, 2010, credit card companies must adhere to the following rules:
-- Your credit card company must justify increases in your Annual Percentage Rate (APR).
-- If your credit card company increases your APR, it must re-evaluate that rate increase every six months and, if appropriate, reduce your rate within 45 days after completing the evaluation.
-- Your credit card company cannot charge you a fee of more than $25 unless:
-- One of your last six payments was late, in which case your fee may be up to $35; or
-- Your credit card company can show that the costs it incurs as a result of late payments justify a higher fee.
-- Late payment fees cannot exceed the level of your minimum monthly payment.
-- Your credit card company can’t charge you inactivity fees, such as fees for not using your card.
-- Your credit card company can’t charge you more than one fee per event or transaction that violates your cardholder agreement. For example, you cannot be charged more than one fee for a single late payment.
Read more »- 8/24/10
Hamptons.com
Congressman Tim Bishop announced that New York schools will receive $696,646,000 in federal funding as part of the Department of Education's competitive "Race To The Top" (RTTT) grant program. RTTT rewards states that are leading the way in comprehensive, statewide education reform.
"Competing in the global economy is truly a race to the top, and young New Yorkers should finish first," said Bishop, a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor. "I pushed hard for this funding and the reform agenda it supports to help ensure all Long Island students are learning the skills they need for a successful future."
According to the New York State Department of Education, the funding New York receives from the competition will help advance the Regents reform agenda through 27 projects over four grant years - $348.3 million of the RTTT funds will be awarded to participating school districts over the course of the grant to support implementation, while $348.3 million will be used to build the capacity of educators statewide and directly support new curriculum models, standards, assessments, teacher and principal preparation and professional development, and the statewide student data system.
Read more »- 8/23/10
Hamptons.com
Congressman Tim Bishop highlighted new consumer protections included in the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act that came into effect yesterday. The new regulations will require card issuers to justify increases in a card's Annual Percentage Rate (APR), and protect card holders from unreasonable fees.
"Big Banks padded their bottom lines for years with unjustifiable rate hikes and outrageous fees on credit-worthy card holders," Congressman Bishop said. "The CARD Act protects consumers and empowers them to better manage their household finances."
The new rules that went into effect on August 22 will fully put in place the "Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights."
Read more »- 8/21/10
Newsday
Mitchell Freedman
Bruce Sykes stood uncomfortably in front of about 50 people at a Mattituck senior citizens center on Friday, ending a 10-year odyssey that left him deeply in debt and, he said, "nearly homeless."
He was uncomfortable because he cannot stand for more than a few minutes without pain. It's been that way since he wrenched his knee while in the Air Force, and the problem has persisted even though his knee was surgically replaced. And he was uncomfortable because he isn't used to speaking in public.
But he overcame those problems to publicly thank Rep. Tim Bishop, whose staff managed to get a decade of Veterans Affairs rejections reversed, and qualify Sykes for $376 in monthly disability payments from the Veterans Affairs.
Read more »- 8/16/10
Newsday
Denise M. Bonilla
Five Long Island members of Congress Monday issued a letter to the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority asking to stop the layoffs of 25 signalmen on the LIRR.
The letter to MTA chairman Jay Walder was signed by Reps. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), Gary Ackerman (D-Roslyn Heights), Peter King (R-Seaford), Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) and Timothy Bishop (D-Southampton).
The letter asks that "as a matter of public safety" the MTA not lay off or furlough the signalmen. The MTA announced earlier this year that 150 LIRR workers would lose their jobs as a result of service cuts and other measures taken to close a nearly $900 million deficit.
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