David why do you post-date your posts so that they stay at the top for days?

David why do you post-date your posts so that they stay at the top for days?  Someone glancing at the blog will see the same postings for  2, 3, or 4 days and think there is nothing new.  I just posted and thought I had done something wrong and did it again.  When it didn't appear a second time I scrolled down and there it was buried under 3 of your postings.  The top article is dated Friday June 2nd when it is only Tuesday May 30th.  Reason??.

Comcast does not charge snowbirds $5.00 for internet when they are not in Florida!!

I just read in the Reporter Comcast charges snowbirds $5.00 for internet when they are not in Florida!!  Not so.  I cancel it every April and reinstate it when I come back down in November.
The $5.00 charge is  for Snowbirds who have a Comcast phone and want the number held for them.
Those who do not wish to pay this charge just get a new number each season.

IMPORTANT WE HAVE QUORUM AT JUNE 2 DELEGATE ASSEMBLY

Please remember, delegates, that it is vital we have a quorum at the June 2 (this coming Friday's) Delegate Assembly if we are to give Atlantic Broadband a chance at being our cable TV and optional Internet/phone provider when the present Comcast contract ends.

Those who tell you we can wait and wait are wrong and may know it in saying so.

Thank you.

GET WELL SOON, BOB RIVERA

Hi Bob,
In case you should be reading this blog up in Kingston, NY, here is wishing you well there. We hope you make a speedy, but in any case complete, recovery in hospital.

I like your sign on the Plymouth Laundry. Knowing you had painted it on the laundry wall, nevertheless the other day in driving past it, I did a double-take for a second, thinking there actually was a clothesline there with a sheet hanging on it!

Lanny Howe

RUMOR HAS IT, BUT RUMOR IS WRONG - AT&T IS NOT BIDDING ON CV BULK VIDEO SERVICE

UCO OPEN MEETINGS - JUNE 2017

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Dave Israel

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COMCAST MODIFIES OFFER - ATLANTIC BROADBAND PRESENTS RED LINED CONTRACT LEGAL MARKUP

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The Officers of UCO met with Comcast on Friday, May 19th. 2017. We were eagerly anticipating a major new offer. Guess what, one major improvement was presented, the Video Bulk rate was reduced one dollar to $28.99 - distinctly underwhelming!!

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We also have in hand the Atlantic Broadband contract, which has been redlined for legal issues. Additionally, a number of our concern's have been addressed. This redlined contract has been sent to 1000 unit owners by Email.

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As this contract will be presented to the Delegates at the June meeting, any Delegate needing hardcopy of the Agreement, may obtain it at UCO.

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Delegates, know the issues, read the contract, be prepared to vote. Of course, if we receive a Comcast redlined contract, it will be Emailed and made available.

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Dave Israel

BID COMMITTEE MEETING - MAY 18, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

UCO REPORTER AND CHANNEL 63 MEETING - MAY 17, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

INSURANCE COMMITTEE MEETING - MAY 16, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

GREET THE RETURNING HONOR FLIGHT VETERANS - NOTICE OF BUS TRANSPORTATION

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Dave Israel

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OPPOSITION TO TWO SUGGESTED BYLAW CHANGES

This blog discusses, and opposes, two of the 22 “Olga's ByLaw Suggestions” listed on page A5, bottom, of the May UCO Reporter.

#4 “2 – 2-year term limits for all UCO officers and executive board members. “

I oppose for these reasons:

UCO officers and board members are volunteers, not politicians;

they are not compensated, and too often criticized;

they do not award contracts – the delegate assembly does

they form no political parties, but run on their individual merits

are nine month minimum residents of Century Village, an intimate part of the constituency that elects them;

are immediately approachable (you might have to sit and wait at the UCO office);

the CV president, unlike any state governor or the POTUS, has no veto powers;

any bylaw suggestion, like the two discussed here, must undergo a rigorous five-step process before becoming an amendment: the president has no input.

Officers and board members cannot be delegates – they have no vote at delegate meetings

all candidates – incumbents and challengers – are given equal space in the Reporter and equal time in the forums.

The delegates know the candidates, and voting is 100% - not the (approximately) 56% in the 2016 presidential election. A small but active group cannot depend upon the apathy of others to elect a niche candidate.

#9. “. No resident of Century Village shall be a paid employee of UCO “. I oppose for one reason, or person, resident Mr. Donald Foster, our current LCAM (Licensed Community Association Manager).

First, to obtain his license, Mr. Foster had to go through a five step state required process (see below), including paying license and criminal investigation fees, completing an 18 hour course, and passing a three hour test.

Second, on the CV Blog website, he has posted weekly LCAM reports, with pictures.

Third, because he is a resident, he knows about, and solves, local issues: (a) got a volunteer to paint “LAUNDRY” on the laundromat; (b) knew about pedestrian dangers at the East Drive/Century Boulevard 4-way intersection and posted two colorful “Fl. Law: Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalk” signs; (c) put up warning reflective signs at the North/West Drive curve; (d) erected guard posts along the West Drive exit approach. His future plans include (a) working with president Israel on a 2018 UCO budget proposal to "refurbish and widen the heavily trafficked pedestrian walkway along the south side of Century Boulevard, connecting East Drive and Haverhill Road." (b) placing “Fl. Law” signs at all the pedestrian crossings, and (c) improving sight lines presently obscured by shrubs.

Mr. Foster's salary is less than half that of the previous UCO LCAM, who was not a resident manager, did not work on nights, weekends and Christmas, and put in half the hours that he does. As Mr. Foster notes, "Nobody expects me to put in a fifty or sixty hour week- I just like the work and the commute cannot be beat. I used to spend ten or twelve hours per week sitting on the Long Island Railroad or the E Train- now I am on the clock as soon as I exit my unit."

A committed and professional resident employee is a valuable asset for any association.

Richard Handelsman

166 Plymouth W

PS. In this week's (May 8) LCAM report (CVBlog), Mr. Foster notes that the “Leak at North Drive pump station was repaired on 5/4. Artificial hedges were installed over weekend.” Guess who installed those hedges, spending several hours under the Florida sun.

To receive a CAM license, Mr. Foster had to:

Step 1: Register for class: 18 Hour CAM License Course - $279 tuition. (Paid for by UCO) All applicants are required to satisfactorily complete 18 classroom hours of pre-licensure education

Step 2: State Application. a. Submit a license application to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation..include a fee of $223.50 payable to the DBPR. b. Register for electronic fingerprinting Cost of fingerprinting is $53.50.

Step 3. Attend the 18 Hour CAM License Course. The 18 Hour CAM License course must be completed in its entirety prior to taking the state exam.

Step 4: Submit your Course Completion Certificate

Step 5: Schedule and Pass the State Exam.The exam fee is $31.50 payable at the time of registration. A passing score is 75 out of 100 questions answered correctly.)

ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING - MAY 5, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

BROADBAND COMMITTEE MEETING - MAY 10, 2017 - CANCELLED

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Hi all,

I had expected the lawyer vetted and corrected Atlantic Broadband contract. Lacking this, I have cancelled the meeting. As soon as we have the contract, it will be distributed and a meeting will be scheduled.

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Dave Israel



DELEGATE ASSEMBLY MEETING - MAY 5, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

Da 5-5-17-1 part 1, from David B. Israel on Vimeo. -
DA 5-5-17-2 Part 2, from David B. Israel on Vimeo. -
DA 5-5-17-3 Part 3, from David B. Israel on Vimeo. -
DA 5-5-17-4 Part 4, from David B. Israel on Vimeo. -
DA 5-5-17-5 Part 5, from David B. Israel on Vimeo.

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Thanks to John and Kitty Gragg for video conversion services.

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SECURITY COMMITTEE MEETING - MAY 5, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Dave Israel

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PROGRAM & SERVICES COMMITTEE - MAY 3, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING - MAY 2, 2017 - LIVE IN CYBERSPACE

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Dave Israel

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BUS SCHEDULE CHANGES - WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

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Dave Israel

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WHETHER COMCAST OR ATLANTIC BROADBAND: TWO THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

Whether the Village finally selects Comcast or Atlantic Broadband to be its TV cable communications provider, the following are two things to keep in mind in deciding whether to take their Internet or telephone options:

1. Taxes and Fees:

If you are comparing rates with your current Internet/phone rates after taxes and fees, add 15 percent to the CC or AB offerings to approximately cover their taxes and fees. You want to be comparing apples with apples.

2. POTS telephone line:

There is a value, especially to the elderly, in maintaining a POTS telephone service. POTS simply stands for "Plain Old Telephone Service" and refers to the old phone service you may have had in the past with AT&T or Ma Bell or other such telephone companies when your single phone line carried BOTH the electrical current (at a very low voltage) and the phone conversation. Remember those days? Some of us still have such a POTS phone service.

An advantage to keeping a POTS phone service is that you are less likely to lose service in a storm. Were you here during the three hurricanes of 2004-2005? Many of us in the Village lost power for a week or ten days in two of them, but our POTS telephone service remained working. "But I have a cell phone and that works when the power goes off," you may say. Yes, it usually does for a while, but then the cell phone needs to be recharged, and how are you going to recharge it if you have lost electric power? Unless you have the right kind of battery backup device, you won't be able to.

Aside from storm damage, remember that we are in an age of potential cyber attack where the electrical grid could be down for days (and let us hope only days). Today even POTS is not 100% safe from failing, but it is the closest-to-100% way to stay in touch with your friends and the outside world.

One further point. If you have POTS and your telephone instruments are hooked up to answering machine devices, because these devices are plugged into electrical outlets, you probably won't be able to use the attached phones if you lose power. The solution is to have one of your phones connected directly into a telephone jack.