<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:st1 = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"><head><title>Albert Baldeo for City Council</title> <meta content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- img { border: none; } .tah10 { font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .tah11 { font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .ver10 { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .ver11 { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .tah9 { font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } .ver9 { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; text-decoration: none; color: #000000; } td { vertical-align: top; } --> </style> <style type="text/css"> <!-- .bgdown { background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: bottom; } span.xcmaintext {} h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; margin-left:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-top:0in} --> </style> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18854"></head> <body leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" bgcolor="#ffffff" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0"><!-- ImageReady Slices (0005_red.psd - Slices: 03, 04, 05) --> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" background=images/bg.gif bgColor=#ffffff align=center height="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor="#000000" background="images/bg.gif" rowspan="3" width="50%">&nbsp;</td> <td> <object codeBase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" classid=clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000 width=780 height=278><param name="_cx" value="20637"><param name="_cy" value="7355"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="flash/0488.swf"><param name="Src" value="flash/0488.swf"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value=""><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="false"> <embed src="flash/0488.swf" quality="high" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="780" height="278"></embed></object></td> <td bgcolor="#000000" background="images/bg.gif" rowspan="3" width="50%">&nbsp;</td></tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="96%" align="center" height=996> <tbody> <tr> <td height="990" width="2">&nbsp; </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="990"> <blockquote> <div align="left"> <div style="WIDTH: 687px; HEIGHT: 5139px"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p></o:p></span> <div class="story_item_info"> <div class="story_item_date"><strong></strong></div></div><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font size="2" face="Arial"> <h2 id="print-link-container">&nbsp;</h2> <h2 class="story_item" align="left"><img style="WIDTH: 164px; HEIGHT: 167px" border=0 hspace=0 src="images/Baldeo_pic_1_15.jpg" width=400 height=320></h2></font> <h1 class="story_item" align="left"><font size="4">In Spirit of the Season, Time to Band Together</font></h1> <p class="story_item" align="left"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The grinches and scrooges certainly had a field day as our economy regressed this past year. Yes, the realities are as grim as any we have faced before:</font></p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"> <ul> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Unemployment in the city is the highest it's been since 1993 (10.3%).</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Water rates have risen 98%.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Property taxes have increased by 40%. </div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">MTA fares have increased, and services reduced or cut, while public transportation remains a major issue.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">We desperately need affordable housing to stem the exodus from our state.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Homelessness in the city has risen over 9% since 2005 to a new high (12,000 people).</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Our hospitals are being closed, while health care insurance is sky rocketing.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Rent increases are squeezing the working class out of our neighborhoods.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Foreclosures are destroying our communities.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Parents have been denied a voice in our children's education.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">While working families struggle to make ends meet, the city's top managerial employees roll in $69 million in salary increases.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Our schools are unbearably overcrowded, while school aides are being laid off.</div> <li> <div class="story_item" align="left">Overdevelopment is ruining our neighborhoods and overwhelming our communities with hideous, out of character monstrosities.</div></li></ul> <p class="story_item" align="left">Yet, hope springs eternal, and our will, both as a community, and as a nation, will pull us through. Now, more than ever before, we have to live out the true meaning and spirit of this season, and be each other's keeper.<br></p> <p class="story_item" align="left">&nbsp;</p> <p class="story_item" align="left"><a href="http://www.leaderobserver.com/pages/full_story/push?article-In+Spirit+of+the+Season-+Time+to+Band+Together%20&amp;id=5248253-In+Spirit+of+the+Season-+Time+to+Band+Together">Link:</a></p></font></span></span></span></div></div></blockquote></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="990" width="100%"> <div align="left"></div></td> <td height="990" width="238">&nbsp; </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr> <tr> <td height="100%"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="780" height="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="63" background="images/bg_down.gif" width="780"> <div style="WIDTH: 780px; HEIGHT: 40px; PADDING-TOP: 13px" class=tah11 align=center><strong>&nbsp; <font style="COLOR: #bc8282">AlbertBaldeo.Com © 2005</font> </strong></div></td></tr> <tr> <td height="100%" width=780>&nbsp;</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></body></html>