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=E2=80=9CLiens R = Us=E2=80=9D

March 27th, 2009 by=20 admin=20

=E2=80=94Op-Ed by Calvin Luther = Martin

Timothy Chase lives in Chateaugay in a house with big fat liens = on=20 it. And I warn you right now this is going to be a sad story = and if=20 you don=E2=80=99t like sad stories stop reading right now.

I seem to remember Tim Chase = writing=20 numerous letters to the Malone Telegram, singing loud hosannas to = wind=20 energy=E2=80=94to wind turbines in everyone=E2=80=99s = backyard=E2=80=94to Noble Environmental=20 Power=E2=80=94to the whole nine yards.

No one in Franklin County was more =E2=80=9Cclean green = renewable=E2=80=9D than Turbine=20 Tim.

Then the Noble Power Bomb dropped.

This past week Tim=20 had another letter in the Telegram. Quarreling with the = news=20 that Noble hadn=E2=80=99t paid a contractor=E2=80=99s bill, = whereupon the contractor=20 slapped a beefy lien on two or three farms in Chateaugay. = (Alas,=20 this was only the beginning of the =E2=80=9Crain of = liens.=E2=80=9D)

Tim gird his loins once more, took up his righteous clean = green=20 renewable pen, and began squirting ink. =20 Ridiculous, he pronounced it. A = =E2=80=9Cjoke,=E2=80=9D he called it. =20 Attorney General Cuomo=E2=80=99s =E2=80=9Cwind ethics task=20 force=E2=80=9D? Joke. And the = Telegram=E2=80=99s entire=20 report? Another joke.

Don=E2=80=99t worry, he reassured, =E2=80=9Cthese liens are = obviously the result of a=20 dispute between Noble Power and the contractor over work that was=20 completed or not completed.=E2=80=9D In other words, = Noble had a beef=20 with the work that was done (more likely, not done), and told = these=20 bozos to stuff it.

Joke joke joke. End of story. (He even posted the = letter=20 twice, just in case we didn=E2=80=99t hear him the first=20 time.)

(We pause for a suspenseful moment. In fact, = let=E2=80=99s go outside for=20 a smoke. Let me say=E2=80=94mind if I bum a = cigarette?=E2=80=94that for years I=E2=80=99ve=20 been convinced irony is one of the immutable and basic ingredients = of the=20 universe, along with gravity and space-time. The Greeks = seemed to=20 think so, too. They called it hubris, and were = certain the=20 gods took a dim view of it.)

With thanks to = mrdowling.com

Even as the ink was drying on Tim=E2=80=99s letter, an attorney = named Cynthia=20 Ludwig was sealing with a kiss three=20 liens against Tim Chase=E2=80=99s properties.

The liens total $38,439.34. And this is no joke,=20 Tim.

=E2=80=9COur vision is to be a leading supplier of = clean, renewable=20 energy from environmentally responsible facilities that will be a = source=20 of pride and benefits to the communities in which they are=20 located.=E2=80=9D That=E2=80=99s from Noble=E2=80=99s = mission=20 statement.

A source of pride and benefits to the communities in which = they are=20 located. Really? Looks to me more like this:

With = appreciation to=20 Stephen Gilpin

Life is hard.

It=E2=80=99s not just Tim and Ellen Chase. And = it=E2=80=99s not just the 2 or 3=20 people named in the first Telegram article. As the Telegram = pointed=20 out yesterday, there are 45 of these unfortunates. Click=20 here to see all 45 liens=E2=80=94and see if you=E2=80=99re = included.

It doesn=E2=80=99t end with Franklin County, where liens now = total $3.7 million=20 and counting. Click=20 here to see $6.4 million in Clinton County. Then click=20 here to see Noble=E2=80=99s liens, to date, in Wyoming = County=20 (NY).

(Note to leaseholders in Franklin County: Forty-four of = the 45=20 liens posted, above, arrived in the County Clerk=E2=80=99s office = Tuesday 3/24/09=20 en masse. As a block. Figure this is merely = the first=20 wave. Contractors have, by law, till sometime this = summer to=20 file liens. You might want to check at the courthouse from = time to=20 time, to see how big is that ball and chain bolted to your=20 house.)

Anyone wanna find Noble? Just follow the trail of=20 liens.

With = appreciation to=20 www.cartoonstock.com

(A note to Connie Jenkins, Editor of the Telegram, whom I = suspect=20 would pin Noble=E2=80=99s misfortunes on the bad economy, just as = she blames=20 cash-strapped Frank Cositore=E2=80=99s Flanagan problems on the = bum economy. =20 No, Connie, you=E2=80=99re wrong; these people are the = bad economy. =20 They are the reason the economy crashed and = burned.)

It=E2=80=99s called gambling. Noble found eager gambling = partners in big=20 deregulated Wall Street banks, and between them they began = =E2=80=9Cchasing=20 phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute = nobleman=20 gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British = Empire=E2=80=9D=20 (Rolling=20 Stone Magazine).

Underlying the glamorous new world of finance was the process = of=20 securitization. Loans no longer stayed with the lender. Instead, = they=20 were sold on to others, who sliced, diced and pur=C3=A9ed = individual debts to=20 synthesize new assets. Subprime mortgages, credit card debts, = car=20 loans=E2=80=94all went into the financial system=E2=80=99s = juicer. Out the other end,=20 supposedly, came sweet-tasting AAA investments. And financial = wizards=20 were lavishly rewarded for overseeing the process.

But the wizards were frauds, whether they knew it or not, and = their=20 magic turned out to be no more than a collection of cheap stage = tricks.=20 Above all, the key promise of securitization=E2=80=94that it = would make the=20 financial system more robust by spreading risk more = widely=E2=80=94turned out to=20 be a lie. Banks used securitization to increase their risk, not = reduce=20 it, and in the process they made the economy more, not less, = vulnerable=20 to financial disruption.

Sooner or later, things were bound to go wrong, and = eventually they=20 did. Bear Stearns failed; Lehman failed; but most of all, = securitization=20 failed. (= Paul=20 Krugman, =E2=80=9CThe Market Mystique,=E2=80=9D NY Times = 3/27/09)

A bubble. Noble Environmental=E2=80=99s bubble = burst. These=20 liens=E2=80=94a multitude of them=E2=80=94are what=E2=80=99s = left. I have no doubt Noble is=20 hoping to reconstitute its bubble under the Obama = administration. =20 See =E2=80=9CWobbly=20 wind sector sets sights on stimulus=E2=80=9D (NY Times = 3/30/09). The=20 success of that gambit remains to be seen.

Tim, my friend, I think you=E2=80=99ll agree this is more than = a dispute=20 between Noble and a contractor or two. This is a company=20 systematically stiffing contractors around the country. And = you=E2=80=99re=20 left holding the bag.

Ever wonder why Noble sliced and diced itself into an infinity = of=20 LLC=E2=80=99s? And what are the assets of each LLC, = anyhow?

Chances are the assets of each LLC are close to zero, which of = course=20 was the whole point of forming them in the first place.

My guess is that Noble owns essentially nothing, having leased = the=20 white trucks, the trailers, the yellow Hummer, the office = furniture=E2=80=94the=20 whole shebang.

My guess is Noble doesn=E2=80=99t have the proverbial pot = to piss=20 in, and never did.

The contractors at this point don=E2=80=99t care a lot; what = they have, Tim, is=20 you. You have become Noble=E2=80=99s = default bond. =20 Your property =3D Noble=E2=80=99s security deposit when = Noble skips out on=20 the rent (as it were).

This is one of the 15 reasons why Noble didn=E2=80=99t offer to = buy anyone=E2=80=99s=20 land: Why on earth would it want to do that? Much = better that=20 you own the land, so you are responsible for = Noble=E2=80=99s=20 bills.

Get it?

The contractors know you have land and a house, and they know = where=20 that land and house are, and they now have a legal claim to = both. =20 That=E2=80=99s what the liens are about. And should you and = your wife try to=20 get a loan or, say, second mortgage to send your kid to college, = or to buy=20 or pay for whatever=E2=80=94you=E2=80=99re in trouble.

But you know this already. This is one of the reasons why = AG=20 Andrew Cuomo set up the statewide wind ethics task force. We = are=20 fortunate to have DA Derek Champagne sitting on that = committee. I=E2=80=99m=20 sure Derek is keenly aware of these liens.

Tim, I am not your adversary. Nor do I take pleasure in = these=20 liens. Yes, I suspected from the start that Noble was less = than it=20 claimed to be. Many of us pointed this out to your town = board and=20 the IDA=E2=80=99s (see=20 Martin to Clinton County IDA 5/23/06). But I=E2=80=99m = not going to flog=20 you over this.

You have believed in renewable energy. I have, too. = After=20 all, I=E2=80=99m an intelligent man, as you are. The = diabolical thing about=20 renewable energy=E2=80=94any energy source, for that = matter=E2=80=94is that it comes with=20 baggage. Sometimes huge & scary baggage.

Wind energy, in my research, comes with more problems than = it=E2=80=99s=20 worth. Nuclear used to have huge problems. My = understanding of=20 nuclear is that many countries have solved the more egregious = problems of=20 nuclear, including recycling of spent uranium (witness=20 France).

Back to Big Wind. I don=E2=80=99t think these turbines = belong in people=E2=80=99s=20 backyards. That=E2=80=99s been my position all along. = And if your=20 backyard abuts my backyard, and you put =E2=80=98em in your = backyard, then by=20 definition they=E2=80=99re in mine, as well. I suspect you = and I would=20 disagree endlessly on this point, so we=E2=80=99ll just drop = it.

Noble=E2=80=99s shameless behavior is an altogether different = matter. =20 Whether you=E2=80=99re a fan of Big Wind or not (I am not), = it=E2=80=99s clear that=20 systematically ripping off contractors around the country is=20 despicable. I would be despicable, too, if I didn=E2=80=99t = pay my=20 bills. There is no reasonable or acceptable excuse for = this. =20 Period.

I am sorry for this. I am sorry that a dream and a hope = and=20 goodwill held by many people, including you and your wife, should = be=20 soiled by Noble=E2=80=99s behavior.

Like you, I hope Noble pays its bills someday. And I hope = those=20 liens are removed from your property. And I hope wind energy = turns=20 out to be all you wish it would be=E2=80=94and I=E2=80=99m not = being sarcastic. I=20 mean this. I am not your critic, Tim. Yes, I am = Noble=E2=80=99s=20 critic, but not yours. Like countless other people, you = acted in=20 good faith, only to see it scorned. This is not something to = gloat=20 over; this is something to break one=E2=80=99s heart.

I share your pain, my friend.

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5 Responses to =E2=80=9CLiens R Us=E2=80=9D

MAnderson says:=20
March = 28th,=20 2009 at 12:12 pm
Calvin, you have a bigger heart than I. After dealing with = these=20 turbine hosts in Canada who seem to treat me like scum simply = because I=20 don=E2=80=99t want to lose my quality of life, I have a hard = time feeling sorry=20 for any of these people. $$$ was in their hearts when they = =E2=80=9Cembraced=E2=80=9D=20 wind power despite the fact that they knew this would damage the = community and upset their neighbours. So you made your = bed=E2=80=A6. Now you=20 know what it=E2=80=99s like to be royally screwed and have no = control over the=20 situation.

Editor=E2=80=99s reply: The community is all that matters = when it comes=20 to this social creature we call human beings. Homo sapiens. Us. = It=20 required living with Navajos (briefly), then with Alaskan = Eskimos (two=20 years), to understand this concept. Besides, I see it practiced = around=20 the world in hunter-gatherer societies and non-Western = societies. So I=20 apply this principle here, in this community we call the North = County of=20 NYS.

My principle is that if the community is shattered, something = fundamental to being human is likewise shattered. I agree that = wind=20 turbines and wind energy have shattered umpteen communities, = including=20 mine. We have all suffered. But when the occasion presents = itself for=20 healing, I will seize it.

There are many people listed in that host of liens who do not = live=20 here. They are absentee property owners. I despise these people. =

Whereas the people who live here and signed leases=E2=80=94I = don=E2=80=99t know their=20 financial constraints, I don=E2=80=99t know their financial = trials, I don=E2=80=99t know=20 how sound their judgement is. I live in a dairy farming area. = Dairy=20 farming is being hammered into the ground. Dairy farmers are = getting=20 pennies on the dollar for their milk, even as the cost of feed = climbs,=20 fuel bills climb, and so forth. Many dairy farms hereabout are = going up=20 for auction. This is a tragedy of historic proportions.

I, frankly, understand why a dairy farmer about to lose his = (her)=20 land signs on with the wind companies. Mostly, it breaks my = heart.

Because these people are my neighbors, I will embrace them. = Yes, even=20 when they hollered at me at public meetings. (Mind you, I = hollered at=20 them, too.)

Still, we=E2=80=99re neighbors. We will mend our fences. This = is what real=20 communities do. It may take years, but we will mend our = fences.
Wayne Miller says: =
March = 28th,=20 2009 at 3:45 pm
JP Morgan himself, the man behind the bank that eventually = spawned=20 Noble, said, =E2=80=9CThere are two reasons why a man does = anything: a good one=20 and the real one.=E2=80=9D Mrs. Anderson thinks this applies to = anyone signing a=20 lease. Calvin suggests this mindset is limited to Noble. As = Calvin=20 points out, it doesn=E2=80=99t matter. And Calvin posits that = the community will=20 heal.

Yes, but how many generations will it take? I grew up hearing = about=20 how this one or that one took advantage of the situation when = the banks=20 failed and the country fell into the Great Depression. It was = said with=20 disdain decades later. People, especially in small towns, have a = long=20 memory.

But it does have limits.

For example, in the 1800=E2=80=99s, Mr. Morgan and his robber = baron cronies=20 came by with another scheme where they promised that locals = would get=20 rich if only we let them change the landscape. We did. They got = rich,=20 built great mansions near the big cities, and left us to help = the land=20 heal.

But we forgot. Or at least some of us did. And many = didn=E2=80=99t want to=20 hear it when we tried to remind them.

So, I suggest a revision to Santayana=E2=80=99s famous quote: = =E2=80=9CThose who=20 REFUSE TO learn from history are doomed to repeat = it.=E2=80=9D

While it is too late to change the wording in the leases = signed by=20 Mr. Chase and those in the same boat, it=E2=80=99s not too late = for them to take=20 them to a lawyer to see what other unpleasant surprises might be = in=20 store. If his lease is like the one I have read, Mr. Chase is = also=20 responsible for any damages caused to neighbors and perhaps even = for=20 cleaning up the mess when more turbines fall or catch fire or = throw=20 pieces great distances.

That=E2=80=99s right: all those crazy things Calvin warned = about were=20 prophetic, unfortunately.

The good news is that the loud sound heard recently in Altona = was not=20 just a single turbine falling. It was also the sound of an = investment=20 scheme collapsing under the weight of its unkept promises and = outright=20 deceit.
lenny59 = says:=20
March = 28th,=20 2009 at 4:31 pm
Hooray, finally one or a few greedy farmers (landowners) are = getting=20 bowled over by a ball of their own waste.

I hope this happens to many more, then maybe someone will = wake up to=20 the hoax of wind energy, and begin to understand what those of = us have=20 to put up with, living near these terrribly inefficient, noisy=20 industrial wind turbines.

One Wisconsin senator called the wind hoax = =E2=80=9Cpolitically hot=E2=80=9D right=20 now, and is going to continue promoting it. I hope his = constituents=20 remember that at election time and vote him and others out of=20 office.

Editor=E2=80=99s note: The author lives with turbines = next to his home in=20 Wisconsin. He writes from bitter personal experience.
Leo S. says: =
March = 29th,=20 2009 at 11:23 pm
From my Sunday school days I learned, =E2=80=9CMoney is the = root of all=20 evil.=E2=80=9D The dollar sign can cloud ones judgement. I am = sad to say,=20 unfortunately it will be repeated again and again.
formosa says:
March = 31st,=20 2009 at 6:46 pm
There=E2=80=99s the concept of the innocent consumer clause. = That is, the=20 leaseholders signed something they shouldn=E2=80=99t have and = were incredibly=20 casual with their property or their granddaddy=E2=80=99s = property.

The real culprits are the town board members that strutted = around in=20 business matters on a scale and type that they had no business = engaging=20 in. Industrial planning in a residentially zoned land? This = isn=E2=80=99t Billy=20 Joe Bob=E2=80=99s town business of deciding what color and model = the next=20 snowplow should be; this is huge and serious business with a = level of=20 complexity that requires strong expertise. There are entire city = planning departments with industrial engineers and certified = planners=20 working day and night to bring a new industry into an area, and = it=E2=80=99s not=20 a few PowerPoint slides at the school gym and a lunch bus = trip.

What is plain to see is these town boards were clearly way = over their=20 heads and gave these property owners an incredibly false sense = of=20 confidence and enabled very bad judgement. Where was the = town=E2=80=99s attorney=20 in structuring the language of the law to protect the residents? = Where=20 are the breach of contract conditions? I bet there are few if = any.

These attorneys are a joke to the profession and completely = breached=20 their fiduciary responsibilities to the town and the = residents.

The developers came in and rolled over these towns and = property=20 owners, and all we get now from the bold supervisors is, = =E2=80=9CWe need to be=20 careful or we will be sued and lose. There is little we can = do.=E2=80=9D

This is pure insanity.

formosa

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=E2=80=9CLiens R = Us=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=94Op-Ed by Calvin Luther = Martin

5 Responses to =E2=80=9CLiens R Us=E2=80=9D